บท 69: Diagon Alley IV

-- .:|| Olivander's Wands||:. --

"Right here, dad."

I smiled up at Tony, pointing towards the shop with {OLIVANDER'S} painted between the two levels of bow windows. High above the door hung a sign with a big swirly O and a wand right through it. If one looked closely, they could read the words 'Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.' encircling it.

It's been at least 2 decades since I've last been here ever since 'h' Potter trashed my wand…or, should I instead say almost a decade into the future?? Or wait… what?... never mind.

Tony opened the door for me, and I thanked him while stepping inside. Looking around, I was thankful that no one else was here except for us.

"Welcome to Ollivander's. I am Olivander. I don't believe I've met either of you before. First time?"

Olivander greeted with a smile but I saw an inquisitive glint flash through his eyes. I responded with a smile of my own as I approached him and held out my hand.

"Tom Stark. This is my dad. He's a muggle."

Olivander shook my hand then proceeded to shake Dad's who had made his way to my side.

"Tony Stark."

"Pleasure to make you acquaintance Tom and Tony Stark. I suppose we shall now begin?" Olivander spoke in a song before waving his wand in a swish.

A tape measure appeared from behind the desk and started taking measurements of all sorts. Between my nostrils. From my ear to my wrist. Around my arm. On top of my foot.

Dad's right eyebrow had visibly raised far above his left one as he was bemused with the strange measurements.

"I see- I see- how fascinating." Olivander wondered in astonishment before disappearing into the back.

"Interesting uh… measurements. You sure he knows what he's doing?" Dad teased with a grin as he nudged my arm with his elbow.

"Yes dad, I'm… relatively positive he knows what he's doing," I assured Tony before glancing towards the back. There was a lot of clattering and shuffling noises between the squeaks of the ladder's ungreased wheels.

Leaning closer to dad, I whispered "Though honestly, no one but the Olivanders knows what they're doing, so we can never truly know. But they do give us wands that we can use, so we're convinced enough that they know what they're doing."

Dad skeptically hummed in agreement.

Not before long, Olivander reappeared with several boxes in his arms. Setting them down on the table, he opened one box and lifted the wand for me to take.

"10", Hawthorn, unicorn hair, reasonably pliant. Try."

My eyes widened at the wand. This was my wand! I could have sworn we went through several wands before we arrived at my wand.

I almost laughed in excitement at seeing my old partner again! Never again will I allow that insufferable 'h' Potter to steal and break what is mine.

I gave my wand a flick but nothing happened. No sparks of green and black. Nothing. Instead, there was a deep sadness. I closed my eyes and used magic to sense what the wand was trying to tell me.

I guided my magic to gently stroke my wand but it did not take to it as it once had. I could feel it saying 'goodbye'. She was telling me that… her duty with me had passed. She was apologetic that she could no longer follow me on my journeys ahead and… this is goodbye.

Inadvertently, my hold on her became firmer and I was shaken out of my sorrow by dad shaking my shoulders.

"You alright sport?"

I gazed into Tony's worried eyes, still shaken over the sudden…goodbye. But then he smiled as though everything would be just right, and I had nothing to worry about. My wand seemed to thank him and urge dad to stay beside me in her place.

"No need to feel sad Mr. Stark. Being incompatible with one wand is not the end of the world." Olivander comforted and yet to me, his word sounded like an empty jar of sugar.

Feeling her tingle in my hands, I lifted her to Olivander's face and brought her emotions to his attention.

"She wants to tell you something Olivander, sir."

"Oh?" He uttered in surprise. Taking her from my hands he brought her closer to his ear. "I suppose she has." Olivander once more looked at me with his inquisitive gaze. Understandable given that I, a supposed 'child', was able to hear and understand her. Though it was only to be expected since I had actually spent all of my learning years depending on her.

Olivander spent a couple of minutes muttering back and forth with her before placing her grievously in her box.

"May I have a look at your wand arm Mr. Stark?" He asked reaching out his hand for me to place my arm on.

Silently complying, I waited for him to poke, prod, and analyze my arm. After a couple of seconds, he took out a pair of spectacles from under the desk and looked at my head through them, before gazing down at my chest.

I was momentarily perplexed by his gaze before I came to realize. He had seen everything!!! My enlarged magic channels, the scattered channels around my arms which had no main vein. He also looked at my soul in my head and traced down the magic being drawn into my soul from the reactor on my chest.

I suspect he could even see everything much clearer than I could. [1]

"Where could I get one of those?" I demanded before remembering to watch my tone and adding "-sir?"

Olivander amusedly smiled as he took them off and placed them back into the desk.

"Even if I were to hand you my pair, I'm afraid you would not be able to use them."

"Oh… bloodline?" I continued my query

"Bloodline." He confirmed.

Taking all the boxes and placing them behind the counter. "It is with my deepest regrets to inform you that sadly, none of our wands will work on you. Nor any wand for that matter."

Olivander took out a large box with wands pilled on top of it labeled {hollow wood samples}

"The best I can offer you is a hollow stick that only serves to concentrate magic into a single flow. And I have a hunch you know why."

Olivander replied empathetically. "However-" he continued.

Shifting his gaze to my father, cold sweat broke down my back fearing that he will out me. Oh come on! It hasn't even been a day!!!

"-does your father know?"

Dad reeled in surprise, before dark clouds formed around his head.

"Tom!" He scolded. Locking me in place with a firm grip on my shoulder, his eyebrows knitted with all sorts of emotions. Worry, anger, incredulity, stupefaction, but also… disappointment.

Ah feck…

My hand immediately moved to my watch to speed-dial Pott-… No… He's on a sensitive case. My eyes shook as my heart sped up. Cold sweat broke out on my hands thinking of the only other person who can save me. No… the scolding will get worse - much, much worse. I may also lose my internet and TV rights for the rest of Summer. But at least I know with her I'd still be able to make it to the first day of school. Unlike with dad, at this point, he may just keep me house-quarantined for the rest of the year – if not 'a' year.

Opportunity cost Draco. Opportunity cost.

Dread filled every fiber of my being as I flicked the screen to the next emergency dial.

"Mom"

a.k.a.

Pepper Potts

[1] Draco is panicking because he realized Olivander could see his messed up magic channels on his arm. Olivander traced the source of magic back to his chest, which is weird because I mentioned the soul was in the head and the soul was supposed to be the magic core/source of magic.

So Draco is panicking because Olivander bringing into attention his artificial source of magic (cold fusion reactor) could alarm Tony about his newly discovered/confirmed medical condition. And we wanted to keep his medical condition a secret for at least until he gets into Hogwarts in time as he fears Tony's overprotectiveness could prevent this.

I think that if Tony found out about Draco's condition and all decision-making was left up to him, he may indeed house quarantine Draco for safety. Especially since Draco's new condition mimics Tony's, this may magnify his fears alot. (Without Draco's new cold fusion reactor which produces raw magic, his soul may destabilize again and start repidly expanding to produce more magic-->which will consume more magic-->which will cause more expansion.... Well ya'll know where I'm getting at here!)

A/N: So basically yep, this is his new "power", a very "deadly" one. Two meanings intended. (to those who don't understand what I mean= Deadly to his enemies as he can use a much larger scale of magic, but also Deadly to himself... which I explained in a previous chapter.) In my fanfic, all power comes at a cost.

His knowledge of the future = Enemy's knowledge of the future.

His power against other = His power against himself.

P.S. I'll let you guys in on one of my guilty secrets. Plot shield? AHAHAHA, I flip coins to determine his (and any other character's) fate at crucial times excluding major rational decision making plot points. (I flipped for "if Voldemort would have noticed the used fireplace in the Bellatrix's flashback arc" , or "which direction - further in or out - of Amor alley Draco would have gone in "American Wizarding World"." Believe it or not, if it had been into the dark, Draco would never have met Samuel Potter and rested for the night. The arc would have gone a much "darker" route, literally and figuratively.)

So far he has been quite "lucky" generally. I finished flipping chocolate coins to determine who will "blip" a couple years in the future when Thanos snaps his finger. (I flipped for EVERY character including Draco) And I did NOT like the results. But I will write it that way anyway!!! Ahahahahaha!!