A Deeper Connection: A New Beginning

A Deeper Connection - Part II

"Did she go by the name Aurora?" Dumbledore once again interrupted him. The urgent nature of his words once again forced Tom to look up, nodding his head, " Oui ... I mean ye... yes. That was her name."

The cover he had to maintain unfortunately prevented the Dark Lord from laughing at the slightly disgruntled look on the old fool's face at the mentioning of the wandmaker's name. It appeared like Dumbledore was as fond of Lady Aurora as he was of Bridget Hawthorne and himself, something he definitely had to tell the wandmaker at their next meeting. The old fool certainly did not like a rather particular clientele of characters.

"What kind of wood and core does your wand consist of?" Dumbledore asked once he had gathered himself.

"Is that not a bit too private of a question?" Severus' familiar drawl echoed through the room, "this clearly is not Yew wood. Therefore, I do not see the point of your question."

"I merely want to make sure that the wand of my future student is safe to use and compatible to your cousin," the Headmaster explained, although the motive for his actions could not be further from the truth, "since students of Hogwarts usually do not carry unregulated wands from unlicensed wandmakers like Ms. Aurora, and instead rely on the fine work of Garrick Ollivander, this precaution is usually not necessary. In this case, I am afraid I must insist."

"Thomas, please reveal the components of your wand," the Potions Master ordered, carefully keeping his face void of any emotions.

"I... I... selected Apple wood and... and Unicorn hair, sir," Tom answered, shyly looking past his fingers which were still holding his wand.

Dumbledore's expression was unreadable, although the Dark Lord had a very good idea what the man opposite of him was thinking. He certainly was not disappointed, "What an... unexpected combination. May I examine your wand just in case there are any faults with it. Wand-making really is a rather complicated affair, especially if one is not properly trained like the manufacturer of your wand."

"But" the Dark Lord began to protest, "my... my wand has always worked perfec-"

"I am afraid I must insist," Dumbledore said once more, accompanied by one of his more serious twinkles, "for the safety of my students, Tom."

"Sir, my... my name is Thomas," Tom stuttered, squirming slightly under the intense gaze of the Lord of the Light.

"Albus, enough of this nonsense. His name is Thomas," Severus said, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "Thomas, please pass your wand to the Headmaster to confirm the safety of your wand once and for all."

Reluctantly, Tom handed his Apple wood wand to Dumbledore, watching with great eyes as the Headmaster performed several highly advanced Charms to examine the true nature of the Apple wood wand, most of which were highly regulated by the Ministry of Magic. As always, Dumbledore appeared to be above such petty restrictions.

Deep inside, the amusement of the Dark Lord was steadily growing with each Charm cast. Given Dumbledore's increasing frustration, it was becoming quite clear that Lady Aurora's work was well above average since it even withstood the increasingly aggressive attempts to determine the true components of the wand. Still, Tom had been aware of her skills long before today. Her work simply was exquisite, something Dumbledore soon also had to admit to.

"It seems like this wand is safe to use. A very nice and well-balanced combination of Apple wood and Unicorn hair you have there, Thomas," the Lord of the Light finally said, sounding slightly disappointed as he passed the wand back to the Dark Lord.