Freaks: Year Two

The Twisted Tree

Eve went through the door. "Let's go," Theodore followed, and so did Alabaster. He looked at all the dusty boxes in the shop. It was a very dark place, with few lanterns, and smelled strongly of dust and rotting wood but it was beautiful nonetheless.

Eve went first to get her wand. She ended up going through five, breaking random objects with each that were not a good fit. Finally, she ended up with a 9-inch yew wand with a dragon heartstring core.

Theodore nodded in approval. "Good wand Eve."

Eve smiled and asked, "Can we go to another shop now?"

Theodore said, "We have to wait for him," he signalled to Alabaster and rolled his eyes.

Eve pouted, "Do we have to?"

"You can go without me," Alabaster told them. He would hate to be the reason that slowed them down.

Theodore gave him a cold glare. "Just meet us at 4:00."

Alabaster nodded. "Will do," they both walked out of the shop, and Alabaster walked up to the man whose name was Mr Ollivander. "Hello sir!" he said brightly.

Ollivander gave him a warm smile. "Hello, Mr Jackson."

"I'm here to get my wand!" he exclaimed although he knew that was quite obvious he was just so very excited that he had to announce it.

Ollivander nodded. He went to the back and got a few boxes, and sorted through them. He picked up a box and took the wand out. "Now this is quite a unique wand, but I have a hunch that it will be a good fit," he handed the wand to Alabaster.

Alabaster liked the wand. It felt perfect in his hands. Ollivander smiled. "I am surprised, but I think the wand has found its rightful owner."

Alabaster looked up, "Really?" he thought the process would have been longer.

Ollivander mused. "This wand has been in the shop since the beginning of time, it was never a right fit for anyone, but it was told it would know its owner as soon as they arrived, and..." Ollivander indicated to him. "I think it has."

Alabaster turned the wand over in his hands, now hoping he wasn't handling it too harshly. "Wow," he breathed. "What type is it, sir?"

"Well, there is a bit of a story to it," Mr Ollivander said. "The wand is a unique one. Would you like the story?"

Alabaster nodded. "Please." He liked hearing stories.

"The story of the three woods. It started with a tree – a bit of a twisted one actually," Ollivander said. Alabaster was immediately intrigued. "This tree was a very odd one. The tree started as a seedling, and the wizards caring for it were careless with the instructions. They planted several seeds in one spot, and every time it was watered, the tree grew slowly, but surely." Ollivander looked wistful. "The tree, due to all the different seeds, grew very abnormally. Three tree seeds were planted, Beech, Rowan, and Ebony. As the wizards watered it, the tree grew with a mixture of different woods. The tree was quite a sight with the mixture of woods and additionally, the roots and branches grew in a twist. The wizards in the village thought it was absolutely horrid looking, and that it would never be used for a wand. How could a wand be made with three different types of wood? A wizard attempted to make a few wands using the twisted tree, but people deemed it worthless, broken, these were wands that could never be used. Although one witch decided to send it to this shop and the wands have been here for centuries, waiting for the right people."

Alabaster's eyes were wide. "That is a really cool story, sir."

Ollivander nodded. He indicated to the wand.

Alabaster looked down at it, now that he was looking at it closer, it did look a bit odd. It had a mix of the three kinds of wood Ollivander had described. "But - but..." he started. "I can't have this, it must be for someone else."

Ollivander replied, "Test it, and we shall see."

Alabaster looked at the wand, not even believing this. He, with a wand with three different wand woods? It was crazy! He took a deep breath and waved it. It floated the book perfectly off the shelf and went down slowly back into place. The wand surely felt right in his hand.

Ollivander smiled. "After centuries, this wand has found its proper owner."

"But - but what does it mean?" Alabaster asked.

"Well, the first wood is beech. Beech wands are well suited for the open-minded. People tend to ask about the apparent wand's lack of power when the wand is properly matched, the beech wand is capable of subtlety and artistry, unlike other wand woods. The second wood is rowan. This wood has always been favoured for wands because it is reputed to be more protective than any other, and in my experience renders all types of defensive charms and it is quite strong. No dark witch or wizard has ever owned a rowan wand, and I cannot recall a time when one of my own rowan wands has gone on to do evil in the world. Rowan is placed with the clear-headed and the pure-hearted."

He took a breath and continued. "The last wood is ebony. Ebony is happiest in the hands of those who have the courage to be themselves. Owners don't conform to others' social ideals, they are said to be comfortable with their title of an outsider. The ebony wand's perfect match is one who will hold fast to their beliefs, no matter the pressure they may face and they will not be swayed from their purpose."

Alabaster stared at him, digesting this. There was so much new information to take in and he wondered how one wand could hold it all.

"And your wand's core is unicorn, unicorn is the most faithful of all the wand cores, and they get quite attached to their first owner. They aren't usually swayed to the dark arts but some would say the core is considered weak but you can let yourself make that decision."

Alabaster was speechless but he felt he should say something. "I...wow sir. Wh-what happened to the others? You said there are other wands with three wood types?"

Ollivander nodded. "They're are a few other wands that hold the different wood types but they have not been sold yet. Yours has been the first. One holds a dragon heartstring core and the other holds a phoenix feather core."

Alabaster nodded, wondering who would be purchasing the other wands from the twisted tree. He came to the conclusion that he would never know unless he somehow met them one day. "I've heard there are other cores for wands. Like there aren't just unicorn hair, dragon heartstring and phoenix feather, is that true?"

Ollivander nodded. "That is quite true, but the three you named are the most commonly found in my own shop. There are a handful of wands with different types of cores; thestral hair, veela hair, troll whiskers, and even basilisk venom. I don't carry wands with those cores – well, not anymore, the last thestral-haired core wand I sold was in 1968."

"Wow..."

Mr Ollivander gave a warm smile just as the door opened making a little jingle. "Now, use your wand well Mr Jackson."

Alabaster gave a swift nod and slid the correct payment across the counter, still in shock. "Thank you, sir."

Ollivander nodded. "It was my pleasure."

Alabaster walked out of the shop just as Mr Ollivander started talking to another young first year boy. He was still stunned. Getting a wand that had three types of wood and was one of three was not something that happened every day. He wondered how it worked. Would it work the same as every other wand or would it have some quirks to it due to the different properties? He knew he would get a wand, but a wand that was first seen as useless, and broken? Alabaster was not sure if he should be pleased, or insulted.

Nevertheless, he loved it.