Now only one thing remained, Harry's wand. He was excited to get his own wand. Hagrid led Harry to Ollivander, the best wandmaker if you believed Hagrid. When they entered the shop, for some reason the back of Harry's neck prickled. The dust and the silence in the small shop were eerie.
"Good afternoon." Said a soft voice.
Harry was taken by surprise. He normally noticed people coming close to him. But this man, he didn't notice at all. The man was old; his eyes shining like moons through the gloom of his shop.
"Hello." Harry said.
"Ah, yes, I was wondering when I would see you, Mr Potter." He said, not making it sound like a question at all. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems like yesterday that she came in here to buy her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice for charms work."
Mr Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Those eyes were a bit creepy.
"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches, pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I said your father favoured it – it's really the wand that chooses the wizard." He said.
"That sounds like wands have their own personalities, Mr Ollivander. How is that possible?" Harry asked.
"Ah, you see, no two wands are the same. When I make wands, I use mainly three core materials, dragon heartstrings, unicorn hair and phoenix feathers. Now no unicorn is like the other, the same with phoenixes and dragons. It also depends on the wood. Some woods are more temperamental than others and some don't like certain personality traits in a wizard and will refuse to work for him. And of course you will never get as good results with another wand as your own. Wandlore is a very deep branch of magic." Then he seemed to notice Hagrid.
"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid, how nice to see you again. Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?" he asked.
"It was, sir, yes." Hagrid said.
"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" Said Mr Ollivander suddenly stern.
"Er,- yes, they did, sir, but I still have the pieces." He added brightly.
"But you don't use them?" Said Mr Ollivander sharply.
"Oh no, sir." Hagrid said hastily and hid his pink umbrella behind him.
'Guess I know now why he uses the umbrella to tip the stone.' Harry thought finding this amusing.
He pushed a strand of hair that had fallen in his eyes up, shortly revealing the healing scar. Mr Ollivander noticed and concentrated on him again.
"Ah, yes, that's where…" He said, looking at the scar. "I'm sorry to say that I was the one who sold the wand that did that. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands … Well, if I'd known what that wand was going to do in the world." He trailed off on thoughts.
"Nonetheless, we need to find you your first wand, Mr Potter. Which one is your wand arm?" Ollivander asked.
"I'm right handed." Harry said.
"Very well, hold your arm out." Ollivander said and started taking measurements.
Harry had the impression that all the proportions of his body were measured by the tape measure, which worked on its own. When Ollivander thought he had enough information, he went into the shelves and got one wand after the other. Harry tried each wand he was given, but none seemed to work for him. He didn't really know what Mr Ollivander was looking for.
"Ah, a tricky customer, but don't worry, somewhere here there will be the right wand for you." Ollivander assured Harry.
Hagrid had sat down on a stool in a corner, waiting until Harry found his wand. After nearly an hour, Ollivander was bringing out the wands he had dubbed special combinations. Harry tried them all.
"Hm, try this one, holly and phoenix feather, nice and supple." He said, obviously tense if this could be the right wand.
Harry felt something, but it wasn't completely right.
"This one has a reaction I could feel, but it feels a bit off." Harry said.
Ollivander placed the wand to the side and got more boxes with wands for Harry to try. But even after two more hours, Harry was now really exhausted and annoyed; he didn't get a better reaction than with the wand Ollivander had separated.
"Hm, curious, very curious. I wonder. Mr Potter, do you by any chance have a familiar?" He asked. "You have now tried all the wands I have in my shop and only this one seems to respond to you. It is rare for a wizard to have to get a customized wand, but in some cases if a wizard has a rare magical animal as his familiar it can happen." Ollivander explained.
"Yes, I do. My familiar is a moon owl." Harry said.
"A moon owl, those are incredibly rare indeed!" Ollivander exclaimed astonished. "With all the conditions that have to be met for one to be born and then to come into her full powers. Mysterious birds that, while pure, are always changing their mood, just like the moon. Always female as well. I think to get you a fitting wand; we would have to see if a feather of your familiar would balance out this wand that seems to have some connection to you." Ollivander said.