The Boy and His Cedar Wand (Ominis Gaunt Oneshot)
[My first fanfiction in a very long time! It's about how Ominis got his wand. Hope you enjoy it! SFW, 1200 words]
Gerbold Ollivander, the most renowned of all Wandmaker of his time, perfectly remembered each wand he ever sold, as well as each client who purchased them. Most were young witches and wizards, buying their first wands, ready for their first year of study in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. To these young ones Ollivander served them kindly, gauging their personality, letting a brand-new wand to choose a new young master, ready for learning and for adventures. Some of his clients were adults, usually coming after their first wands were damaged beyond repair, or lost. To them, Ollivander begrudgingly served them, slightly crossed, knowing that more than often these adults were not ones who treated his creations with care and respect.
Yet today, the client entering his shop was the most unusual one in his recent memory. It was a boy. A very young boy indeed, much younger than his usual young clients. Probably about six years old, probably younger. The boy’s eyes were cloudy and milky, and he tilted slightly his head nervously, while the tall and dark looking witch that must be his mother hold his wrist tightly, practically dragging him toward the shop. Ollivander raised his eyebrow calmly, expecting the witch to be purchasing a wand for herself. He could not be more surprised, yet he was not surprised at the same time, to see what happened next.
“He needs a wand of his own,” the witch said curtly, with an undisguised hint of disgust in her voice. She violently shoved the boy forward, making him stumble and nearly fell to the floor had Ollivander not caught him deftly in time. The boy was shaking slightly, as if wanting to cry but too afraid to do so in front of his mother. “Useless boy, unable to follow even the simplest task he’s told to do, unable to even cast a basic spell we expected our young ones to in our family! And now his aunt is telling us that Ominis needs his own wand, and that things will be better afterward. It better be!” The witch spat angrily, her voice filled with disdain and disgust in equal measure. It made Ollivander wonder what the task was. Whatever it was, it did not sound like something pleasant.
Slowly, he took a long look at the boy who was shaking in front of him, noticing traces of dried tears and terrors in those cloudy eyes, wondering what had happened. He could sense something was terrorizing the boy deeply. Ollivander sighed quietly. Ominis tilted his ears toward Ollivander, afraid to make any noise, his unseeing eyes blinked rapidly. Quietly the boy stood immobile, unlike any other young client of Ollivander, Ominis did not look around excitedly, nor moving from his spot, as if he was afraid to. Either from stumbling or from his mother, Ollivander could not guess.
One more quick look at Ominis and Ollivander knew what he had to do.
Most young witches and young wizards coming to his store would be paired with a brand new wand, sometime ones completed barely a day before. But this boy, Ollivander reasoned, needed something more.
Quietly, under the scathing gaze of the witch and the nervous silence of the boy, he went to the back of the shop, and pulled a long, thin old wandbox. Unlike any other brand-new boxes containing a brand new wand in his shop, this box was quite dented at the corners. Its silver lines were faded and there were scratches on it.
Ollivander slowly kneeled beside Ominis so that they were on the same height. Even if the boy could not see, he wanted his voice to come from the same height as Ominis.
“Here, try this,” Ollivander told Ominis as he gently placed the old wand on the boy’s hands.
Nervously, Ominis’ fingers ran through the wand, exploring all marks and scratches on it. Finally, he held its handle with both hands. And for the first time in his short life, he felt a feeling of warmth and benevolence, running through his fingers to the end of his hairs, his toes, enveloping him in a comforting feeling. For the first time ever, he felt safe. It is as if he suddenly found a friend who understood and cared for him. The feeling was new. From the tip of the wand, sparks flew.
Ollivander nodded quietly, quite proud of his strong intuition. He knew that this wand had come back to this shop waiting for this particular child. He knew what this pairing meant. This boy in front of him needed more than just a wand. Ominis needed this wand in particular.
“That’s not a new wand isn’t it?” The witch behind Ominis sneered. “Looked like an old second hand one.”
“You’re right, Madam,” Ollivander replied politely. “Cedar, ten inches, phoenix feathers. This wand was made by my grandfather and was sold to a witch over a century ago. The witch willed us this wand back after she passed away. I believe your son would benefit with such an experienced wand. Please consider it a gift. I will not sell a wand that had once been sold before,” he added quickly as the witch seemed displeased at the prospect of buying an old wand. It seemed paramount to Ollivander now that Ominis needed all the help he could get, poor boy. He could not even imagine what the boy had to live through with such parents. And quietly, he knew of the reputation of the family now standing in front of him.
“A… a gift…?” For the first time ever, the boy spoke. Ominis hold the wand with an unbelieving expression. Clearly, he had not received that many gifts in his life.
“You should know that a second hand wand always come enriched with the experience of the witches and wizards who wielded them before you. This particular wand belonged to a witch who created a particular spell, one that I am quite sure you will find useful. Just like you, she was blind. But it is not something that stopped her. She was best known as the creator of the Echolocus Spell.”
“E… Echolocus?” Ominis whispered, confused.
“It is also known as the Echolocation Spell. Echo means sound, or a reverberation of a sound. It is a spell that allows you to navigate your surroundings, detecting the terrain and objects around you by emanating magical wave. All around you. When the wave hits an object or any obstacle, it will reflect toward you and your wand will allow you to sense it. That way, you can detect everything around you. As this wand was one that was involved in the creation of this spell and knew it well, I expect it would help guide you in the days to come.”
Ominis said nothing, listening to Ollivander teaching him the spell, and how to use it even without uttering the incantation. He could hear a pulsion coming through his finger toward his wand, and for the first time ever in his life the world seemed less frightening. Whether it was from the warmth of the wand in is hands, or from the warmth of Ollivander’s voice, he could not tell. He felt save.
For the first time ever in a very long time, Ominis smiled.
