The Ollivanders Secret

But well, I was disappointed at what I saw. Yes, Diagon Alley was magical no doubt, but it was not that progressive interesting place I had read about. You could even say that it was like any other magical shopping district. No new research, no pioneers, no startups, just plain old and tested fabrications, probably more than 50 years behind other magical communities. Man their bookstore even sold something from someone named Lockhart and you could tell at the first glance, that they are obviously fake and the man has no knowledge about most of the things he writes. I shortly thought if he goes around mind raping others, as this detachedness from your own knowledge only happens, if you abuse your legilimency, but I threw away that thought as fast as it came, as I didn't think a whole community would be stupid enough to not see the signs.

The other interesting thing we found on this walk through the Alley is a part of my wand. Well, information time for you I guess. In the past every young wizard would go on a search for their foci materials. Most commonly there would be three components. The hull, like wood, stone, metal or in rare cases even flesh, the core, mostly being magical creature parts but sometimes just a material with magical properties is enough, there were even rare cases of goblin silver being a wand core, mostly for half goblins though, and the third material being a supplement to bind the other two together. But there can also be more. Some have enough diffrent materials to build multiple foci out of them, others barely get to the required 3. But most materials are just raw materials and just in the rarest of rare cases you have got someone who got a complicated object as foci material. Some examples are small wind chimes, dream catchers and even some alive small whole saplings or other similar lifeforms. For some it can even be specific wards, charms or spells which are a material for their foci, but these are extremely hard to craft and even the Ollivanders only know of 7 wandmakers who could work with something like that, 6 already dead many many years. The last being an Ollivander, the shopkeeper here in Diagon Alley to be exact. His passion? Foci with a speciality on wands.

So how does someone find their foci materials? Mostly you need to get lucky, but if you get close enough to a viable material, you just get this tugging feeling, like a very strong instinct to go look for it. That is what I got, the moment I looked into a shop selling watches of all types. And I just slipped away into this shop, to find what was drawing me in. After a lot of searching and ignoring the shopkeeper, I finally found it. A comparatively small pocket watch, hanging on a chain out of green materials, with a blue circle around the clock itself, which had blue hands and green digits and an animated image in the background of a calm see. A true masterpiece if I am allowed to say so. The only problem being, that I had not nearly enough money for it. In the same moment I also realized that Henry was nowhere in sight and I instantly got nervous.

From that moment the situation only worsened. I started to panic, followed by hyperventilating and also loosing control. So I took the clock and ran into the darkest corner in the shop I could find. And there I sat, until the shopkeeper found me and then I lost complete control. The only thing I knew after that was pain.

— Henry POV —

One moment I walked next to Clara, was distracted for a split second and then she disappeared. Straight up just gone, no longer in my vision and senses. I started looking for her, for a few hours but I couldn't find her anywhere. The more I looked the more I lost my composure, until I felt my oath going haywire, urging me to go to some place, but I wasn't fast enough, as the very next moment I felt wards on the other way of the Alley going full on ballistic, before they just split apart like glass, with a sound so piercing, that most persons started screaming in pain. I just started running, hoping I made it in time to stop whatever it was from harming my apprentice.

— Andy POV —

I was drinking tea in my garden, together with guests. Then, I got a slightly bad feeling, but choose to ignore it. Over the next hours, even after the guests excused themself, it just kept getting worse and worse. I tried finding out why, checked all wards and things which might go wrong in my house but I couldn't find anything at all. Until I remembered my oath, so I tried floo calling Henry, without getting any answer. After that it only got worse, until my whole body screamed at me to just apparate to a specific location. For a few seconds I wrestled that feeling down, trying to stop myself from apparating into what I could clearly sense was a warded area, until they were fully activated and I realized that they targeted Clara.

After that pure instinct took over, with such an overpowered apparition, it probably was an entirely new and different spell, that it shattered those wards, like they were the most fragile glass. Then I saw her, Clara cowering in a small dark corner, not even having the ability to scream while the pain of the wards ravaged her body. In the same moment I also realized two things I didn't previously knew. First, she was a natural legilimence as that was the whole reason, the events escalated to that point and second, that she had found a foci material, clutching it against her chest while it tried to help control her accidental magic, but clearly not being up to the task.

I also saw a man, the owner of the wards, suffering from her mental attacks, whom I promptly pulled to safety, stationing him behind myself, as I tried my best to block her attacks of going through me and saving that mans life. Luckily, there were no other customers in the shop, so I just needed to shield him and so I tried to hold on, until to my luck I could see Henry running at me, full speed while he also drew his wands and instantly projected several mental shields right next to Clara, so she could no longer attack anyone. That was something I was not even close to being capable of, as materializing a minds defense in the real world is reserved for the absolute best of mind arts practicers.

Next Henry ran, contrary to my believe, directly to the shopkeeper lying behind me, instantly sending multiple mental diagnostic charms and mild healing and calming spells at him, until he stopped, sighing in relieve. I meanwhile watched Clara, until I realized what a commotion we had caused before barricading the whole storefront so no one could see inside.

The moment I wanted to move to Clara, Henry stopped me though, just shaking his head while signaling me to be silent. Then we waited until finally, after another ten minutes of constant mental attacks, Clara just fell on her side, unconscious. After that, he just said: „Hold on a moment, I am gonna be right back, before apparating her to supposedly her room and instantly coming back to stand right next to me. And that not a moment to late, as in the next moment we were surrounded by approximately twenty aurors who had apparated inside, after realizing that the wards were down.

Then we just stood there, two against 20, all wands drawn, until a young man, possibly a new recruit, shot a stunner, aimed at Henry, followed by even more restraining spells, who impacted against multiple combat wards and protegos, while Henry still tried to stop spells from hitting the shopkeeper, while defending himself. After a few barrages of these spells, there luckily was another person who arrived and who actually knew one if not even both of us. Mad-Eye Moody, who froze mid casting, before misfiring a nasty cutting curse into the wall right behind him, before shouting: „Cease fire, you dunderheads" And while some stopped firing, some didn't stop until he again shouted: „I will personally curse you if you do not stop this very instant!" which apparently did the trick, as all fire ceased.

After that he barked out: „Patric, take the shopkeeper to St. Mungos, emergency grade black!" who reluctantly came near us, before side apparating the unconscious shopkeeper away. He then followed up with: „Talk, what happened here?!" To which Henry replied: „I cannot tell you that," and the moment Mad-Eye wanted to fall into his words he said: „Let me talk. While I cannot tell you most of the things which happened here, as a matter of fact we are both oathbound to keep this from anyone, I can tell you this much. Panic attack, followed by accidental magic of the mental type, strengthened by a foci material, after which the wards went ballistic, as the mental attacks reached the shopkeeper through which we both got a warning of what was happening, also through the same oath and while I could just run here, he somehow shattered the wards of this building and I probably don't need to tell you that that was not intentional but on pure instinct. After that I applied emergency treatment to the shopkeeper and apparated the kid away, together with her foci material which I will compensate the shopkeeper in full for, additionally to all the damage we have caused. I can also swear on my magic, that this is true and you should probably stop the shopkeeper from pressing charges, as she got a very good backing." To which an auror scoffed: „What has that got to do with anything? We don't shrink back from some ancient or noble family!" and before Henry could reply to that, Mad-Eye practically whispered, but it still reached everyones ears: „While that may be true, they do not talk about some wizengamot family. They talk about a family, which could tear down the government in mere days if not hours…" After which it went dead silent. A while later Henry asked: „So can we go? You know where to find me Mad-Eye and I will only communicate through you, understood?" Which was answered by a: „Yes, I will apply the same old rules." after which Henry side-apparated me to his living room, before going to his liquor drawer while sighing: „We need to talk, now."

And then he started to talk, like a waterfall, not allowing me any questions, the only pauses being him sipping on his fire whiskey and telling me about everything that happened these past two and a half months. Her minds structure and its problems, her suppressor problem, her probably multiple fused consciousnesses and maybe even souls, their effects on her, which luckily were not as bad as one would think, as except the past trauma there are no negative ones, and also about the process of her fusion of these, which he even showed me a memory of it, well more like shoved it into my mind but still. After all that happened that day, I just joined him in sipping the fire whiskey until I asked, after sorting through everything: „So, what do you need my help with?" Which was answered by a snort followed with: „I don't know myself, but I needed to unload onto someone and you are the only other oathbound person to whom I can talk about this. You also saved my ass today, so I thought you are at least entitled to know about these things. Without you, I would probably be crippled for life if not even dead." That outlook on things, while pragmatic was probably the most likely outcome, had I not intervened. So we just sat there in silent, barely talking throughout the whole night until in the morning Mad-Eye came.

Well more like he was locked out until I got Claras permission for him to enter, after explaining her the reasons why she should or shouldn't cooperate in this „investigation". I also revealed to her, that Mad-Eye was a former apprentice of mine a few years back, as he struggled with his extreme paranoia fueled by his lack of control over his occlumency. And I also told her, that he still struggles with it though he mellowed out considerably.

She concurred but only after he was included in the oath of secrecy which was a nifty little nice thing about the olde ways oaths. You could add and remove persons to it, depending on various circumstances, though a removal happened only in the most dire straits. This was also not that hard, as Andy just needed the permission of both of us original oath bounds, to include him officially.

Though not all was sunshine and roses, as we basically needed to force Mad-Eye to accept this oath, as he lives what he preaches: „Constant vigilance!" In the end, he probably only agreed as he was curious to know about the kid and that he needed to do his job.

After that another long talk followed, with a lot less fire whiskey, explaining an outline of what happened in the last few years, at which's end Mad-Eye just said: „So you want to make me believe, that the most abnormal, paradoxical, talented, gifted and weird kid in the last century is under your care? And on top of all that she is an Ollivander?" Sighing, I just nodded my head, after which he started walking circles in the living room while muttering and cursing until he stopped and said: „It was a damn smart idea, to keep these things behind an oath. I presume it was your idea, Mr. Ollivander?" But before Andy could reply, Clara, who appeared soundlessly in the room said: „No, it was mine", after which she went on to sit on an armchair, while I could literally see the strain in Mad-Eyes face to not hex her into oblivion.

What followed was an awkward, downright weird silence, until Mad-Eye asked: „If she really got the full brunt of those wards, how the hell does she still look like nothing happened?" while throwing us both a reproachful look and while I instantly wanted to jump to her defense, I had no idea either. „Because …"