Different Paths

Chapter 7: The Wand Hunter

The following day, Harry and Hagrid were in the Leaky Cauldron talking over a tankard of butterbeer. "If everythin´ yeh´re tellin´ me about this Seth fella `re true then yeh´re very lucky ta have gotten outta there with only a broken wand," said Hagrid before downing the last of his drink.

"Lucky, that´s one way of putting it," said Harry. "What I´m wondering is why someone like Seth Soran is working for Voldemort? And not only him; there was this woman with Voldemort as well. What´s her name again? Yasmin..."

"Yasmin Correllan?" said Hagrid rather surprised.

"You know her?"

"Sure I know her. She was Tom Riddle´s best friend back when they were at Hogwarts."

Harry looked up abruptly, clearly surprised. He took a few minutes to digest this new information before he said "She looked a lot younger than someone in her sixties."

"Musta used a few deagin´ charms combined wi´ the natural long-livedness of wizards," said Hagrid. "Yasmin Correllan is the last one of a renown pureblood wizarding family. Despite their prestige, the Correllans had fallen inta hard times by the time Yasmin went inta Hogwarts, Slytherin House. She became close friends wi´ Tom Riddle and from what I saw, they were never apart for long. Later, she was amongst the Death Eaters caught and sentenced ta Azkaban. The last I heard, she were still there but I suppose I were wrong."

"Interesting," said Harry.

Just then, Remus entered the pub. "Well I´ve got some interesting news," he said. "I just went down to Ollivanders. Now keep in mind that I´ve been in France for two years and haven´t been up on the news around here. But John Ollivander, the man who sold you your wand, and my wand as a matter fact, passed away four months ago."

"Mr. Ollivanders is dead?" said Harry.

"I´m afraid so," said Remus. "The wand making business has been taken over by his son, Timothy Ollivander. He runs the store now."

"Well then, lets go see him," said Harry.

* * *

Across the city at the Tower of London, the Dark Lord and Yasmin Correllan were walking into a path hidden to all save those whom were aloud in: a path that led deep underground below the Tower. Yasmin glanced around at the dreary torch lit corridor.

"Must we stay here my Lord?" she said. "It is dark and dreary and certainly not the ideal place for a woman to be staying."

"Oh come now, Yasmin," said Voldemort. "You know full well that despite it´s dreary entrance, it´s a full blown palace on the inside."

"Of course I do, Tom," said Yasmin. "But it´s still underground. I feel like I have the right to complain."

Voldemort laughed as the two entered a grand doorway. It led into a large, gothic chamber with high arching ceilings that were illuminated with a spell. There was a long scarlet carpet on the floor and flanking both sides of the carpet were legions of Death Eaters, their features hidden under their hoods and robes. Behind the Death Eaters stood the vile detestable creatures known as Dementors, formally the guardians of Azkaban and now allies of the Dark Lord.

"Hail to the Dark Lord!" shouted one of the Death Eaters. The remaining followed with chants of "Master! Master!" With a grin, Voldemort took Yasmin´s hand and led her down the carpet. At the end of the carpet stood a man in his early forties. He was dressed like a businessman, in a brown robe and a gray suit and tie underneath that robe. His brown hair was balding but he appeared to be fully fit. His visual expression showed the fact that he was a man void of emotion, centered completely on logic and probability. He also had an encyclopedia like mind that would´ve made Hermione jealous.

"Welcome home my Lord," he said.

"Horace Salacion, my most trusted servant," said Voldemort clearly delighted. "How were things while I was away.

"I am proud to report that nothing in wrong at present," said Salacion. "Tell me Master, where is Seth?"

"I sent him out to gather the remaining Elite Ten," said Voldemort. Salacion looked pleased.

"Then I am assuming, that the time for battle has come?"

"It has. Harry Potter is heading toward London as we speak. What better time to implement our final battle plan?"

"Actually Boss, my mates have heard that he´s already arrived in Diagon Alley," said a distinct Australian accent from another part of the chamber.

The speaker was a young man who looked outlandish. He was wearing torn clothes made of dragon hide leather. He had piercings in his nose and ears while his bleached hair was pulled up in a Mohawk. On either side of the shaved parts of his head, he had a Union Jack tattooed. He also had many wands sticking out of various pockets in his clothes.

"Ah, Chuck Sullivan, a.k.a. `Chucky the Wand Hunter´, one of my Elite Ten. I see you´ve arrived," said Voldemort.

"G´day Boss. I came as soon as Seth told me I should," said the Wand Hunter.

"I see you are early for once in your life," said Horace. "None of the other Elite Ten aside from myself are here."

"Well mate, I ain´t going to lie to you. I was just down in Kent when Seth contacted me: basically the closest one here," replied Chucky.

"Whichever way the timing is excellent," said Horace. "If Harry Potter has indeed arrived at Diagon Alley, then we need someone to spy on him, see what he is doing."

"I´m your man, mate," said Chucky. "So, anything I should keep in mind boss?"

"Check out Ollivanders," said Voldemort. "The first thing Potter needs would be a new wand since Seth destroyed his old one."

"Ah boss, no offense but if I´m going to swing near Ollivanders, I´d like a little compensation. After all, they don´t call me the `Wand Hunter´ for nothing."

Voldemort turned to Horace who immediately spoke up, "Rumor has it that before his death, John Ollivander built one last wand, apparently one of the most powerful wands he had ever created. People refer to it as `Ollivander´s final masterpiece´."

"Gotcha," said Chucky. "Then before I seek out Potter, I´ll take this `Ollivander´s final masterpiece´ for myself." With that, Chucky made a quick salute to Voldemort and left the palace.

* * *

Ollivander´s Wand Makers looked pretty much the same for years, an obscure shop located in Diagon Alley. The golden paint on the sign was peeling but other than that, the shop was in full order. Harry hurriedly hid his scar behind his bangs as he, Remus, and Ginny walked into the store.

Behind the counter was a young woman with long black hair. "Can I help you?" she asked politely.

Harry was about to speak when he was startled when something grabbed his legs. Harry looked sown to see a blonde haired toddler clinging to his legs. "Glasses. Glasses," said the toddler between laughs.

"Huh?" said Harry, "Oh, my glasses. Do you like them?" Harry smiled at the toddler who laughed even more so.

"Ian, come back here. Don´t bother the guests," said the woman. The toddler, still laughing dashed back to his mother who picked him up and started cooing him. "Can I help you?" the woman asked again.

"Yes," said Remus. "Is Timothy Ollivander here?"

"Yes he is," said the woman rather sweetly. "He´s in the back making wands while I watch over the store. I´m Andrea, Tim´s wife." She turned around and shouted, "Tim, there are some people here to see you."

A young man with dark hair emerged from the back of the shop. He was clearly in his early thirties and had a close resemblance to John Ollivander. He smiled and said, "Hello, I´m Timothy Ollivander. How may I help you?"

Remus was about to speak when Harry interrupted, "Oh nothing important really. Just that we´re old friends of John Ollivander and were hoping to see him again."

"Oh," said Tim Ollivander, clearly grieved by the thought of his father. "I´m sorry sirs but my father passed away months ago."

"Oh, I´m so sorry," said Harry trying to look his best as if this were news to him. "I´m sorry about your loss."

"No, it´s OK," said Timothy trying to brush it off. "You can´t help it when old age creeps up on you and he died peacefully in his sleep."

"Well, in that case, I´m afraid that we have no business here," said Harry. "I wish you well." With that, he dragged a confused Ginny and Remus out of the store.

"What in the world was that all about?" Ginny demanded as soon as they had placed a little distance between them and the store. "We were there to ask for a wand and you drag us out empty handed?"

"I think you owe us an explanation Harry," said Remus.

Harry sighed and said, "He has a wife and son."

"I noticed," said Remus. "So what about that?"

"Don´t you get it?" said Harry. "If I get a wand from them, they´ll end up becoming more of Voldemort´s targets for having aided me. I can´t bring that on a family living happily in peace. They deserve more than that."

"Don´t get all noble now! Without a wand, there´s no way you can fight You-Know-Who! This is not the time for well intended acts!" Ginny yelled, on the verge of tearing her own hair out. Harry and Remus were thankful that the streets of Diagon Alley were more or less empty that day.

"Look," said Harry trying to brush it off. "Ollivander´s aren´t the only wands out there in the market. I can get a new wand some place else."

Ginny however wasn´t going to let off that easily. She was so busy yelling that the three were too distracted to notice another man enter the store. A man with piercings, torn leather clothes, a bleached Mohawk, Union Jack tattoos, and wands sticking out of every pocket in his clothes.

"May I help you?" Andrea Ollivander asked pleasantly. Little Ian Ollivander looked up at the strange man from his mother´s lap his eyes alight with curiosity.

"Actually you can lady," replied Chuck Sullivan. "Tell me where is `Ollivander´s final masterpiece´?"

"Excuse me?" said Andrea clearly having no idea what Chucky was talking about.

"I don´t have time for games!" hissed Chucky. He grabbed Andrea´s arm but Andrea pulled away frightened.

"What are you doing sir?" she demanded. Chucky grinned leeringly and displayed the Dark Mark on his arm. Andrea screamed in terror.

"Andrea, what´s going on?" Timothy Ollivander emerged from the back of the shop. As soon as he saw Chucky, he pulled out his own wand and pointed it at the Death Eater. "Get out, now!" he demanded.

Chucky grinned. With lightning reflexes, he pulled out two wands from his pockets and without even an incantation, the wands shot two beams of magic out of them. One of the beams disarmed Timothy and the other immobilized him and his wife. Timothy´s eyes widened in recognition.

"Those wands, it can´t be..."

"Oh but they are mate," said Chucky. "These are the specialty wands your father made. The wand in my right hand is the `Expelliarmus´ wand, 9 inches, beech wood, and the single hair of a mermaid, while the wand in my left hand is the `Immobulus´ wand, 10 inches, oak, with some dragon heart string. Brilliant things. They can only perform one spell each but they can be activated without an incantation." Chucky pulled out another wand, which undid the spell on the Ollivanders. Clearly, it was a "Finite Incantatem" wand. "Don´t bother shouting for help. This store has been soundproofed from the moment I walked in."

"What do you want?" Timothy demanded.

"You see they call me the `Wand Hunter´, I collect wands," said Chucky while twirling one of his wands around. "Your father´s wands are especially prized in my collection and his specialty wands are my favorite. But I was hoping to make my wand collection complete. So tell me where your father´s last wand is. Tell me where I can find `Ollivander´s final masterpiece´."

"Nothing you do to me will make me tell you," exclaimed Timothy. He pushed Andrea and Ian behind him.

The Wand Hunter grinned and said, "Who said I was going to do anything to you?" He pulled out another wand. Much to Timothy´s horror, little Ian flew out of his mother´s arms and into Chucky´s grasp. Andrea screamed as Ian burst out crying.

"An `Accio´ wand. 14 inches, pine, with a few strands of griffin´s hair. Now I´m sure I´ve got a specialty wand for the unforgivables in here somewhere. Want to find out?"

"No, please don´t. Not Ian, don´t hurt Ian. Take me, not Ian," pleaded Timothy. Next to him, Andrea had burst into sobs.

"You´re wasting my time, mate," said Chucky. "´Ollivander´s final masterpiece´, where is it?"

Defeated, Timothy said, "Westminster Abbey, in a grove nearby that´s only accessible to wizards and witches. It´s lying in a memorial there dedicated to my father."

"See, that wasn´t too hard," said the Wand Hunter. "Now, I´m going to get that wand and I´m taking this boy with me. If you even think about calling the authorities, consider the boy dead. Do as I say, and you just might see him alive. So long." After saying that, Chucky pointed the `Accio´ wand to the back of the room and summoned a broomstick. Laughing, he flew out of a window still clutching a crying Ian.

"Ian, no!" Andrea screamed. Timothy held her close.

"We have to alert the Ministry," he said. Andrea looked at him in shock.

"But we can´t. He told us not to alert the Ministry. Otherwise he´ll kill Ian..."

"He´s going to kill him anyway," shouted Timothy. "Didn´t you notice his eyes? Those weren´t the eyes of someone who loves wands! Those were the eyes of someone who loves killing with wands! As soon as he gets a hold of my father´s last wand, he´ll test it on Ian!"

At that moment, the couple was startled when the door burst open again. In came Ginny dragging a reluctant Harry behind her and Remus looking bemused. Ginny was still shouting. "I don´t care what you say, Harry. You´re getting a new wand even if I have to..." Ginny stopped her shouting when she noticed the distraught couple. "What happened?"

Harry somehow had instantly realized what had happened when he noticed that Ian was missing. "Where did they go?" he said.

"W-Westminster Abbey," said Timothy. Wordlessly, Harry dug into his cloak and pulled out his Firebolt to the surprise of everyone else present. A second later he was in the air flying toward Westminster Abbey as fast as his broomstick could carry him.

* * *

"Oh will you shut up," said Chucky as he carried a crying Ian into the grove near Westminster Abbey, hidden from muggle eyes. "You stay there," said Chucky, tying Ian to a tree. "You´re a valuable test subject for my new wand, can´t have you wandering off." Leaving Ian behind, Chucky started to make his way down the path that led to the memorial. "Now, to complete my collection..."

"Before you complete your collection I suggest you let the boy go," said a voice from the entrance of the grove. Startled, Chucky spun around to see Harry. He had discarded his cloak, revealing the black and scarlet uniform of the members of the Order of the Phoenix. It was a black open robe that was tied down with a single black belt around the waist. Underneath that black robe, the uniform consisted of a scarlet tunic with gold trimmings, gray trousers, gray dragon hide gloves, and black dragon hide boots. On the back of the black robe was the image of a golden phoenix.

"Glasses!" Ian exclaimed, obviously delighted at seeing Harry. Harry gave him a quick smile before returning to glaring at Chucky.

"Who the hell are you mate?" hissed Chucky. In silent answer, Harry brushed away his bangs, exposing his scar. Chucky looked surprised and delighted at the same time. "So, you´re the Boy who lived."

"I´ve been referred to as that," said Harry. "So are you going to release Ian or are you not?"

"You really are naïve aren´t you Potter?" said Chucky. "After I get a hold of this `Ollivander´s final masterpiece´ I was supposed to spy on you. However, since you already seem to know who I work for I might as well kill you now and spare you the trouble."

"You´re welcome to try," said Harry. "You have a name I could call you by?"

"Chuck Sullivan a.k.a. Chucky the Wand Hunter. And now that you know that, Harry Potter, you´ll die."

"With a strangled cry Chucky pulled out two curse wands and fired their spells at Harry. Harry managed to dodge one of the curses but wasn´t able to move out of the way of the other one.

"Ha gotcha!" Chucky proclaimed when the second curse hit Harry. His gloating soon turned to surprise however. Harry had blocked the curse with a shield charm from his broken wand.

"You did that with a broken wand?" Chucky exclaimed.

"Hey give me a break, it´s a lot harder than it looks."

"Fine then," said Chucky a little irritated. "Then try dodging this!" He pulled out another wand that fired a blast of flame at Harry, an "Incendio" wand. Rather than dodging however Harry charged straight at the flame. Right before the flame was about to engulf him, Harry ducked low and slid right underneath the flames. The next thing Chucky knew, Harry was holding his broken wand right at Chucky´s chin.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Harry. If Harry had been standing at a distance, the broken wand would´ve backfired but since Harry was at pointblank range, the disarmer hit Chucky right on target. He was flung back some eight feet, at least half of his numerous wands flying out of his hands and pockets.

"Curse you! Curse you!" hissed Chucky as he leapt to his feet. Harry dashed toward Chucky apparently trying to use another pointblank disarmer against him. Chucky pulled out another curse wand and fired it at Harry just as he had come right in front of him. Harry however suddenly veered to the left and dodged the curse with a small summersault. As Chucky turned to face Harry, Harry spun around and landed a high kick on Chucky´s cheek.

Chucky reeled back in pain. "You...you..." he spluttered. Chucky was extremely irritated at the fact that he, the Wand Hunter, who had a legion of specialty wands at his command, was being bested by a wizard with a broken wand. He backed off a little, intending to cool off.

It was then when Ginny, Remus, and the Ollivanders arrived in the grove. "Ian," Andrea exclaimed but Ginny held her back.

"Don´t," she said. "Fundamental rule of wizard dueling number 1: a wizard or witch must never intervene in another wizard´s duel unless he or she´s the backup in case the dueler falls. We can´t intervene."

"But...but...Ian," said Timothy.

Remus was about to say something when Chucky looked up and saw them. "Oh look, the gallery is here." He turned to Harry and said, "Take a good look at these folks mate. They´ll be the witnesses to your death." It was clear that he was struggling to keep his cool.

Harry glanced up at Chucky´s bleached Mohawk. "Have you ever considered a career in Quidditch? With hair like that you´d make a good broomstick," he said.

Ginny and Remus couldn´t help laughing a little. From his tree, Ian started saying, "Broomstick, broomstick," while laughing.

Chucky finally lost his cool. "You´ll pay for that Potter!" he yelled. He flung off his leather jacket, revealing one last wand holstered on his back. Timothy gasped in horror as Chucky took hold of the wand.

"Mr. Potter! That´s the `Avada Kedavra´ specialty wand!" he shouted. The warning came just in time; Harry barely managed to leap out of the way as the green killing curse flew past him.

"Oh dear," Harry muttered as he quickly inspected the crater left behind.

"Oh ho, now you´re in trouble," gloated Chucky. "Yew, 9 inches, and the single stinger of a manticore for its core. This `Avada Kedavra´ wand is one of the hidden masterpieces of John Ollivander. You´d think he´d known better than to make specialty wands of the unforgivables but he simply couldn´t resist the lure of creating more and more powerful wands."

"Dammit!" Harry cursed. He leapt out of the way of another killing curse.

"I hate that broom-head," Ginny muttered.

"Join the club," said Remus. It was then that he noticed the Ollivanders whispering to each other and listened in.

"Now´s our chance," Timothy was whispering. "While those two are distracted dueling each other, I´ll go in and get Ian out."

"But what will happen to Mr. Potter then?" asked Andrea. "If you went in there, he´d be far too distracted trying to protect you as well as Ian."

"How do we know that?" said Timothy. "For all we know, he could just be fighting that Death Eater because he´s a Death Eater. This could all just be part of a grand scheme of vengeance against You-Know-Who and Ian could be something neglected..."

"You seem to have a low opinion of Harry, Mr. Ollivander," interrupted Remus to Timothy´s surprise. "However, before you jump into such rash conclusions I suggest to take a very good look at what it is Harry´s fighting for." Hesitantly, Tim Ollivander looked toward Harry.

`OK think Potter. You´ve got to come up with a plan,´ thought Harry. On a sudden inspiration, Harry charged straight at Chucky.

"Your loss!" shouted the Wand Hunter with a laugh. He fired another killing curse straight at Harry. Harry however tossed his broken wand in front of him. The killing curse destroyed all that remained of the wand, leaving behind only the phoenix tale feather that comprised its core, and was promptly absorbed into the feather. Before Chucky could react, Harry leapt at the Wand Hunter and elbowed him in the forehead as hard as he could.

Chucly keeled over as Harry grabbed the phoenix tail feather: all that remained of his wand. `Please be knocked out,´ both he and Ginny silently prayed at the same time. However, Chucky pulled himself back up to his feet.

"That was close," he said rather groggily. "Too close. Nearly knocked me out." He turned toward Harry and started laughing. "But you´re dead mate. Without a wand, even a broken one, there is no way you can defeat me! After I kill you, I´ll take `Ollivander´s final masterpiece´ for myself and test it on that brat!"

"I won´t let you," hissed Harry. "Even if I have to jump in front of the killing curse myself I will not let you lay a finger on Ian! Do you get that Death Eater?"

As soon as he said that, a single thought shot through Timothy Ollivander´s brain, `This is the man!´ Without a second thought, Timothy started running toward the memorial. Ginny, Remus, and Andrea were too startled to stop him.

"What is he doing?" Ginny yelled. Remus didn´t have an answer.

"Oh no you don´t," said Chucky. He pointed the `Avada Kedavra´ wand at the running figure of Timothy. Before he could fire however, Harry threw a rock at him, which struck his hand. "You are really pissing me off, Potter!" hissed Chucky.

In the meantime, Timothy had reached his father´s shrine. `This is the man,´ he thought. `This is the man whom I can trust my father´s final masterpiece to!´ With that thought, he grabbed the simple looking wand off of his father´s memorial. As he left the memorial, Timothy quickly reviewed the fundamental rules of wizard dueling. `Is there a rule I can use?´ he thought. `Yes! Fundamental rule of wizard dueling number 4: if a dueler´s wand is destroyed, then the dueler may take a spare wand from a bystander if he chooses, so long as the bystander doesn´t intervene in the duel itself.´

"Mr. Potter!" he yelled as soon as he was outside. "Please accept this wand!" He threw the wand into the air. Harry leapt up and caught it in his right hand, where he was also holding the phoenix feather of his old wand. The odds were once again even; Harry immediately placed himself into a battle ready stance.

"So, that´s `Ollivander´s final masterpiece´ eh?" said Chucky. "Well then, I´ll just finish you off and take it for my own." Harry continued to glare at Chucky, his right hand twitching as if he wanted to curse Chucky till kingdom come. Yet, he did nothing.

"What´s he waiting for?" yelled Ginny. "He´s got a wand now! Why isn´t he hexing that broom-head with everything he has?"

"He can´t and he won´t," said Remus. "That wand isn´t specifically attuned to Harry the way his old one was. If Harry uses it, then even a plain stunner could very well kill that Death Eater."

Ginny was startled by this news. "But...maybe...if he can save Ian..."

"Ginny, did you know that the sorting hat initially wanted to put Harry into Slytherin house?" said Remus.

"What?"

"Harry has the potential and the markings to become a dark wizard every bit as powerful as Voldemort. If he kills that Death Eater in cold blood, he´ll be no different than the Dark Lord and Harry knows it. That´s why he´s hesitating."

"What´s the matter Potter? Too scared to move?" said Chucky. "Well, if you´re not going to move I will, by killing that brat!" He pointed his wand at Ian.

"No!" Harry yelled. He dashed straight toward Chucky.

"Ha ha! You fell for it, mate!" said Chucky with a laugh. He turned his wand straight at Harry. "Now you´re the one who´s going to die!" Chucky fired the killing curse. However, using quick Quidditch reflexes, Harry kicked toward the left and leapt right over the killing curse. "What?" The next instant Chucky found himself starring at the "business end" of Harry´s new wand.

"Stupefy!" Harry yelled. Chucky was blasted back five feet and was finally defeated.

For an awful moment everyone present couldn´t tell if Chucky was alive or dead. However, that was soon confirmed when he groaned.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed in delight. "You did it! You didn´t become a killer! You´ve won without taking a life!"

Harry released the breath he had been holding. "Thank God," he said as he glanced down at the wand. "Wait a minute. This wand..."

"What about it?" asked Ginny.

"It doesn´t have a magical core!"

"What?" Ginny took the wand and examined it herself. Indeed, it was hollow. "You´re right. But then how did you fire that stunner?"

"The only reason I can think it did that," said Remus. "Is that it must´ve bonded with that phoenix feather in your hand."

"But that´s not possible," said Timothy as his wife untied their son. "Wands are supposed to be attuned to their own magical core. It should´ve rejected the phoenix feather of a different wand."

"Then how..." Ginny suddenly realized something. "Harry, can you see what this wand is made of? How long it is?"

Harry took the wand again gasped as he realized what Ginny had just said. The wand was made of holly and was 11 inches long: a 100% replica of his old wand.

"It´s the same," said Harry. "It´s the exact same as my old wand." Before they could continue with this discussion, the group was disrupted by Chucky´s groaning.

Ginny sighed and said, "Remus, will you do the honors?"

"My pleasure," said Remus. He and Ginny pointed their wands at Chucky and gave him a hexing that would keep him out cold for hours.

"There, now what shall we do with him?" said Ginny.

"Turn him over to the aurors," said Remus. "They´ll know what to do."

* * *

"This wand is yours," said Timothy Ollivander. They were back at Ollivander´s Wand Shop. Chucky was in auror custody and Ian was playing with his mother in the back. Timothy had just finished inserting the phoenix feather of Harry´s old wand into the new one and was presenting it to Harry.

"I now know why my father made this wand. It was meant to be a back up to yours, in case it was ever destroyed. My father knew that only one wand would ever be good enough for Harry Potter, the first one he sold you. He must´ve made this wand in his hopes that it would some day defeat it´s brother, the wand of You-Know-Who. And now, here it is once again: holly, 11 inches, with the single tail feather of a phoenix for its magical core, nice and supple. Please take it, Mr. Potter. No payment whatsoever."

As Timothy said this, Harry´s thoughts drifted back to the past seven years ago, when he had first met John Ollivander and received his old wand...

"Curious...curious..."

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what´s curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I´ve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother - why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry swallowed.

"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember...I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter...After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great."

With that thought in mind, Harry took his new wand. Or rather he thought, his old wand reborn like a phoenix who was reborn after bursting into flame. Once again he felt a sudden warmth in his fingers and once again when he waved it, the wand shot out red and gold sparks. Remus and Ginny applauded.

"Mr. Timothy Ollivander," said Harry, "I accept this wand. Thank you very much."

To be continued...

A/N Whew! That was the longest chapter I had to write so far. And one of the most fun I had writing. For that flashback by the way, I quoted directly out of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer´s Stone, U.S. edition, Paperback, pg. 85. So R/R. Next: Harry gets reclusive again and Ginny finally meets up with Ron and Hermione.

Oh, and Merry Christmas everyone!