Chapter 569: The Loyalty of the Wand

Ivan did remember what Mr. Ollivander had said at the beginning, about the secret hidden in his wand.

He didn't want him to say those things on this occasion either. After all, it was too shocking.

Ollivander had once told Ivan that the core of his wand was the Tail Hair of a Thestral. It was a very complicated substance, one that could only be mastered by a wizard capable of dealing with death.

Mastering death could easily bring up thoughts of surprise, death and misfortune.

Apart from these obvious negative thoughts, Ivan did not quite understand what Mr. Ollivander was referring to then.

However, after thoroughly studying many ancient magic books, including the Wandlore, he realized how special it was to use a Thestral's tail as the essence of the wand, which was not as simple as the literal meaning of "mastering death".

Under the influence of some mysterious power, only those who witnessed death directly could see the Thestral.

The hair from the Thestral's tail that contained this power could not be integrated into the wand by traditional craftsmanship.

In all the books on Wandlore that Ivan read, it was believed that the Thestral's tail hair was the most difficult substance to use in the making of a wand.

Even if the wand could be made, wizards could not use it.

Simply put, the mysterious power of Thestral tail hair made it difficult to transmit the wizard's magical power and was very unstable.

Ivan did not know how his wand had been made, as its mere creation contradicted many basic Wandlore theories.

Aside from his wand, the only wand in the world that used Thestral tail hair as an inner core was the Elder Wand in Dumbledore's hands. The wand was said to have been fashioned by Death herself from the elderberry tree on the banks of the river, and was said to measure 25 centimeters.

Upon reading the Deathly Hallows, one would realize that the Elder Wand had infinite potential and was only subject to the most powerful wizards.

It was also known as the Wand of Death or the Wand of Fate. In the history of magic, it was present in many famous duels.

The Elder Wand was the least sympathetic to feelings, the coldest and cruelest wand, and only took into account the ability of the user.

Other wands had a certain degree of loyalty to their owners, so that even if they were defeated, as long as they still had the wands, they would serve them, they would not abandon their owners so easily.

This trait was especially evident in wands made of unicorn hair, which remained loyal to their owners. If a wand were allowed to choose a competent person, it would prefer the initial owner.

However, the old wand was loyal only to skill; it had no "emotion" or attachment. It was driven by force, so defeating the initial owner meant winning the wand.

This was one of the characteristics of the Elder Wand. It was also reflected in Ivan's wand, and was even more dominant.

In the last two years, Ivan had discovered that no one but him could control and use his wand.

It was even impossible to do the simplest magic with it, and he resisted any other user.

The most obvious example was that Peter Pettigrew had once used Ivan's wand to kill him. But Ivan could clearly see that Peter's killing curse had no effect.

When he wanted to continue using magic, he suddenly dropped the wand and ran away. His face was full of horror, apparently frightened by something.

Something must have happened. Peter Pettigrew must have sensed something extremely powerful from Ivan's wand, the kind of power that could evoke the deep memories of his heart, so he turned and ran straight away.

Ivan didn't know what the power was. In fact, he had never studied his wand.

At certain times, especially when he used deep dark magic involving the power of the soul, he could feel something fresh in this wand, and that thing wanted to break the boundary of the wand and come out from the inside. This was really terrible.

Ivan had never used the Elder Wand before, but he didn't think the Thestral's tail hair would have this effect.

Of course, this was all still a mystery, and not impossible.

As Ollivander had just said, Wandlore was one of the most complex and mysterious branches of magic. It involved the origin of wizards' magical power, and many theories had been handed down from generation to generation, being exclusive to wandmakers, and not really recorded anywhere.

This was also the main reason why excellent wand makers had always had a history of thousands of years.

"This wand is the only thing passed down from my great-grandfather. Believe me, my great-grandfather's accomplishments are what every wandmaker can look up to. He has done great things." Mr. Ollivander looked at lavarita carefully and continued in a low voice, "Mr. Mason, the wand he left behind has been passed down from generation to generation, without choosing any wizard, until he met you."

He waved his right hand holding the wand gently downward, and a silver crescent glow appeared at the end of the wand.

"This wand is well cared for and your features have not changed significantly!" said Mr. Ollivander, handing the wand back to Ivan. "Remember, Mr. Mason, it is the wand that chooses the wizard. Someday you will understand what I mean. Please make good use of this wand; it will be your best assistant."

Hearing his words, Ivan felt even more confused.

Mr. Ollivander made no comment about his wand as he did with the others, and made no mention of its material or its core.

He merely looked at Ivan silently, and his milky white pupils gave an eerie feeling.

Then he turned and nodded to Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Garrick!" Dumbledore rose from the judges' table and said to Ivan, his friends, and the champions. "You may now return to your classes... or perhaps it would be quicker to go downstairs for dinner, as they are about to finish!".

"What, they're finally finished?" Bagman also got up. When Mr. Ollivander was checking the wands, he had been drowsy there, but now he was extremely excited. "Pictures, Dumbledore, pictures! All the judges and champions can have their picture taken together. The four children can come too, what do you think, Rita?"

"Yes, let's do those first!" said Rita Skeeter, whose eyes were once again on Ivan and Harry. "And then maybe some individual pictures."

The photographs lasted a long time. Madame Maxime overshadowed everyone else where she stood. The room was too small, and the photographer couldn't position himself far enough away to get her in the frame.

In the end she had to sit down while everyone else stood around her.

Karkaroff kept twirling his beard around his finger to give it an extra curl.

Krum hid, half-hidden, in the back of the group, as if he wasn't comfortable with the camera.

After the picture was taken, Rita Skeeter insisted that they take pictures of everyone separately.

Actually, what she wanted was to take individual photos of Ivan and Harry.

Ivan ignored her and took Harry and Hermione out of the room.