show me the horizon

odette ollivander 19. slytherin. wands and brooms.

[flyingollivander-blog]

Two dragon scales are found on Odette’s bed. 

Figure out which one is real and which one is fake by next lesson and I’ll let you keep the one that’s real.

Ernest

[flyingollivander-blog]

She walked quickly through the darkness with the frank stride of someone who was at least certain that the forest, on this damp and windy night, contained strange and terrible things and she was it.

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ x ]

“Have you had any success?” he asked curiously, “Have you perhaps considered using a magical core to fuel the broom and drive it to higher speeds, after all that is where most of a wand’s magic comes from. Why should it be different for a broom?” He paused and raised an eyebrow. “We have a number of local games, but nothing organised like which you speak of.” 

“I’ve tried that before. It’s a very different concept. It’s more about charms then a strong core. I wish it wasn’t, it would be a lot simpler.”  her charms book was filled with notes of charms that she thought were useful, but most of them had to be tweaked in one way or another. “Some success. The wood you use is very important. I have one that flies quite nicely, it’s landing and taking off are both quite good as well. But, it’s not very fast. I have another that flies like a demon, but is very unpredictable. Different woods, different charms.” usually her tone would be more bragging then excited, it’s not often someone can actively question her or make suggestions about her work, but faced with someone who might be as smart as her, Odette relaxed and concentrated more on the information. “Woods that make powerful wands don’t always make good brooms.” 

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ wise instructor ]

He chuckled once more. “I will give you my honest opinion once we’ve flown.” He was actually looking forward to it, it seemed like fun and it was so rare for him to do something simply because it was fun. “What is next, oh wise instructor?”

“I know what your opinion will be. Only a fool dislikes flying and you are not a fool James.” she likes that, wise instructor. It has a nice ring to it. “What’s next, is that you will try to mount the broom.” 

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ k she is super pretty ]

Snuffing out the candles at the end of the day was not something that had to be done by hand. The house elves did it through out the castle, and even then it was only in rooms that weren’t spelled to let the candles out on their own. However, in the Library, Rowena preferred to perform the task herself. Tonight, however, she was not alone.  She smiled at the student with their nose in a book. “While your love of the library is admirable.” She said gently, hoping to rouse them from their reverie. “I’m afraid it is very late. Perhaps you should go to bed. 

Setting the charms book down, Odette stretched her neck, realizing only now how late it was. “Would you like some help?” she asked approaching the founder, returning the book to it’s former place.

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ not interested interested ]

Felicity surveyed the great castle. A clever trick, hiding it amongst muggles as ruins. She had seen more than enough castles built like this one. A small thrill filled her at the idea of the possibilities. She was quite sure she could dance circles around anyone at the school, maybe even the founders, but unlike everyone else she wasn’t hear to learn. Once again she would don a character, the Felicity Mallory everyone could like and appreciate. 

She fixed a sweet smile on her face and looked down at her hands. This sweet, kind, lovable Felicity would be poised and kind to all who saw her. She started off towards the castle before coming upon someone out in the field. “Good morning!” She said happily, “This is Hogwarts, is it not?” 

Holding her broom between them, Odette examined the stranger, cataloging everything but finding nothing that sparked her interest. “Yes it is. Why do you ask?” cocking her head to the side, the teenager waited for an answer, but her mind was already wandering.

[flyingollivander-blog]

[Delivered during breakfast on the morning of the feast, a black box with a silver serpent broach, a leather bound journal, a quill and a bottle of ink is delivered with a note attached]

Odette,

Merry Christmas, welcome to Slytherin House. I hope you enjoy your first Christmas as a member of the best house in Hogwarts. In the box you’ll find a number of gifts that I hope you will have use for in the coming year. It is not much, but consider it a token of my affection.

Sincerely,

Salazar Slytherin.

[flyingollivander-blog]

Dear Miss Odette, 

I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. 

You have been an excellent help to me, even if I still owe you two favours. 

Yours sincerely, 

James

[flyingollivander-blog]

Late that afternoon, a school owl found Odette out in the empty field where the snowball fight had taken place and dropped a parcel for her. Inside was a carved figurine of a particularly daring rider, standing boldly on the handle of her broom with her arms outstretched for balance.

“Legend has it that this fabled object does absolutely nothing of importance. It CAN do corkscrews, though, if you snap your fingers. Merry Christmas!

- Oswald”

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ odette: wands are boring. do they fly? no, boring. ]

“Wand making?” Abraxas inquired, his eyebrow quirking upwards with interest, “Now that sounds truly fascinating. Why would you give up on learning how to create wands?” He placed the tips his fingers together and gazed at Odette before laughing. “That’s not quite what I meant, it isn’t anything else, it simply doesn’t exist in Egypt. At least it didn’t on my last visit.” 

“It wasn’t a challenge, not really. Maybe it would have been if I had tried to study new woods and cores, but that was still so mundane. I’ve been trying to apply what I know about wood working to broom making.” she deflates a little bit when he explains himself, disappointed there isn’t a parallel version of the game in Egypt. “I see.”

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ hang out with her long enough you will see it played 700 times ]

“I’m afraid that where I’m from Aigingein wasn’t exactly a sport, actually, I only heard about it when i first arrived in Europe and even then I’ve never seen it played.” He paused for a moment, they had similar games in Egypt, just nothing the same as Aigingein. “Is that what you aspire to do? Once you’re finished with your studies?”

“Yes, it’s what I have been training for years. I gave up learning more about wand making to completely focus on flying.” she was talented, sure, but she would never be able to make a name for herself that wasn’t intrinsically connected to her family legacy. “What is it? If it’s not a sport?”

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ i have to google the spelling of that game every damn time ]

“A sensible path to take, academia and understanding magic is key to understanding the world that we live in, the more I learn the more convinced that I become of that fact.” However interesting to discover that she wasn’t quite a professional, not yet at least. “Sir Fingal?” Abraxas asked curiously, “I am afraid that I’m relatively new to your country and I’ve never heard of this Fingal before.”

“You don’t know Sir Fingal?” her tone made it seem like Abraxas had just told her he didn’t know the properties of water, flying is eighty percent of her personality, its hard to remember that some people don’t take it as seriously as her. “He is one of the greatest Aigingein players in the world.” looking him up and down, she added, “Aigingein is a broom sport. You need to fly through burning barrels and throw the Dom into the final barrel. The winner is the player who completes the course in the least amount of time.”

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ fingal the not so fearless ]

Raising an eyebrow gently, Abraxas shrugged. “It was enjoyable, to say the least.” He couldn’t help but agree with her on this matter. After all, she flew professionally. “Whom do you fly for? If I may be so bold as to inquire about your employement to provide yourself with professional credentials.” 

He smirked for a moment and nodded. “I’m sure you would.”

“At this moment, I am not flying for anyone except myself. My education comes first,” pleasing her father comes first, “but I am better then Sir Fingal.” they will need to rename him, because she is going to be the one with the title Fearless after she destroys him in a match.

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ five year old vc: can i try ]

“Exhilarating I guess, not the most exhilarating experience I’ve ever had mind you, but I enjoyed it the few times I did it. However the real pleasure is the intuition that the carpet has. It almost flies with it’s own mind, it’s own personality. Which is obviously impossible but nevertheless, still a wonderful experience.” Abraxas had seen so much of the world already, visited countries that he’d never imagined could exist. From the Dome of Rock in Jerusalem to the slopes of Vesuvius in the gulf of Naples. “Of course not, but often the two are tied to one another. It just depends on who’s in control.”

“That sounds incredible!” she breathes, trying to imagine what the feeling is like, flying with something that has its own conscience. Pressing her lips together, Odette mulls over her next words, trying to find the perfect combination to convince him that he should, no, needs to loan her his carpet for a ride. “I have excellent control, I fly professionally.” technically she doesn’t, not yet.

 “I would love to see what its like.”

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ the youth these days, so disrespectful ]

“There is more than enough excitement in my life, my carpet is an old family heirloom that I grew up with, it’s been in my mother’s side of the family for generations. It’s predictability, stability and my confidence in it is what makes it so valuable to me. I know I could push it’s limits, I have in the past and perhaps one day I will do so again…” he shrugged and fell silent, thinking of the best way to possibly finish his train of thought, but nothing came to him so he simply moved on. “Brooms are hardly as spacious as a carpet, besides, where I’m from brooms are an oddity, a recent inclusion as trade with European states increases.”

“I wouldn’t say that I’ve never tried, I just don’t see the need to use it recklessly.” He shrugged gently. “Not everything is about risk and reward.”

“What was it like? Pushing it to it’s limits? Going fast?” his sensible words and general advice were lost on her, she was a lot more interested in the nuggets of information he let slip. Maybe he wasn’t as boring as she thought, just old and jaded. Old people wanted comfort, they know that they are too old to find the best version of themselves and give up.  It’s really sad.  “It’s not reckless to go fast, as long as you know what you are doing.”

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ let me hug mateo pls. look at his sad little face ]

Mateo swallowed thickly, wondering what hex he could cast on Odette. Or Dayo. He knew lots of possibilities, magic was easy for him. “A life with me. We could have visited our families.” Not that his parents, living in Spain, were particularly comfortable with how Mateo chose to live, but they did try to love him anyway. “Your family might be bigger, but it was no less important to me than mine. But Sam didn’t feel the same way.”

“Clearly we are. Or else we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” shrugging her shoulders, she smiled victoriously at him, “For you, visiting your family might have been enough. But we are Ollivanders, we always come home, we stick together.” the unwanted and lost children of the world, brought together under one roof to make up a weird but loving family. 

[flyingollivander-blog]

[ they really do ]

“Clearly, some traits run in the family.” Blood didn’t always make family, Cass knew that. Persephone was no family to her, despite the blood. Therefore, the lack of blood seemed to be no reason for the Ollivanders to share more than just a name. “I would like that a lot. If there is a book you’re looking for in particular, I’m sure I could find it for you if they don’t have it.”

“I am sure you could, that’s your special talent isn’t it?” waving at the shopkeeper goodbye, Odette opened the door for Cassandra to pass before leaving herself. “The school’s library has almost all of the books I’ve ever wanted, the only thing I haven’t been able to find is this old charms book by a roman wizard. Some books reference it but I’ve never met anyone who has actually seen a copy of it.”