Chapter 61: The Wand

By the time Hagrid led Harry and the others out of the Forbidden Forest, daylight had already broken.

Filch was waiting beside Hagrid's hut, clearly disappointed when he saw everyone come out in one piece.

"What a shame…" he muttered under his breath as he walked forward—only to be shoved aside by Hagrid's large hand.

"You scared your classmate in the forest," Hagrid growled, glaring at Malfoy. "I'll be reporting this to Professor Snape."

Malfoy didn't look the least bit bothered. He knew full well Snape wouldn't punish him.

"Whatever. Can we go back now?" he muttered, then stormed off toward the castle, still grumbling, "Wish I'd spent the night in a warm bed instead of that stupid, creepy forest…"

"That idiot—sorry, I mean Slytherin," Hagrid muttered, then turned to Harold and asked in a low voice, "So, you're sure those centaurs didn't take the unicorn's body?"

"No," Harold said firmly.

Harry glanced at him and gave a strong nod in agreement.

"Odd then. Where did it go?" Hagrid scratched his head and returned to his cabin.

Harold, Harry, and Neville followed Filch back to the castle. Along the way, Harry kept glancing at Harold as if wanting to say something, but ultimately said nothing.

After a whole night in the forest, they were starving. Breakfast was all they could think about.

Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins were already in the Great Hall. They, too, had just finished their own detentions and were ravenous.

It wasn't technically breakfast time yet, but the moment they sat down, the table filled with heaps of toast and piles of sausages and bacon.

Harold drew his wand and gave it a gentle flick. Fresh bilberry jam spread evenly over his toast.

"Do you really need magic for that?" Fred asked, baffled.

"I'm seeing myself as a first-year all over again," George added, setting down his pumpkin juice. "I used to use magic for everything. Don't anymore."

Harold ignored them, calmly using his wand to slice sausage and smear jam.

"It's beautiful," Hermione said suddenly. "I've never seen a wand that looks like that. Did you make it too?"

"It's just a wand…" Ron muttered, uninterested—until he looked up and froze.

"Actually, yeah. It really is beautiful."

Harold stroked the wand in his hand with pride.

[Silvermane]

[Whomping Willow (Unicorn), Cerberus Fang, 12½ inches]

[Status: Perfect]

[Traits:]

Prideful – The unicorn element suppresses opposing wand properties and lowers compatibility with any user (even as a wand, the unicorn looks down on all beings equally).

Sanctified – +50% power to white magic; +30% casting speed; +30% spell range; -90% power to dark magic.

Purify – Doubled effectiveness against curses and dark creatures.

Spellpierce – +20% chance for offensive spells to penetrate magical defenses; chance to directly destroy shield spells.

Rend – After dealing damage, reduces effectiveness of reversal or healing by 30%.

[Signature Spell:] Unicorn's Radiance: Silvermane's Starfall

The unicorn's soul leaps from the wand core to unleash a full-force charge against the target.

Harold had never seen a wand like this. He'd assumed the unicorn was the core—but it turned out the Cerberus fang was the actual core, while the unicorn had become part of the wand's body.

Even more outrageous were the wand's five traits—all beneficial, all strong, with the weakest giving a +20% boost and the strongest hitting 100%.

From the looks of it, the first three traits likely came from the unicorn, while the last two were clearly from the Cerberus—perfectly matching their placement in the wand's construction.

This was also the first—and only—wand Harold had ever seen with a name and a signature spell.

Silvermane.

Harold took a deep breath, trying to suppress the temptation to test out the spell on the spot.

For a moment, he even had the absurd thought: Is this what the Elder Wand is like?

Sadly, the last time he'd visited the headmaster's office, Dumbledore hadn't been carrying the Elder Wand. Otherwise, Harold would've loved to compare the two.

"Oh—I get it now!" George suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention.

"This is the wand you made from the Whomping Willow, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Harold nodded.

"Amazing," Fred said in awe. "I've never seen golden engravings on a wand before. Looks kind of familiar… If the tip were thinner, it'd look just like a unicorn horn."

"Um…" Harry looked up, lips parted—but again said nothing.

"If you guys like the look, it's not impossible to get," Harold said.

"Forget it," Fred replied, waving his hand. "We can't afford another wand. That Whomping Willow wood must be crazy expensive."

"No, I don't mean buying a new wand. I mean this." Harold pulled out a thumb-sized vial and placed it on the table.

"Wand Color Spray," he explained. "Spray it on, and you can change your wand's color however you want."

"No way," George said flatly. "We've tried that before. Nothing sticks to a wand—not even with magic."

"That's because you didn't know how," Harold said, smirking. "Remember my last name?"

"Ollivander… Oh!" The twins blinked and suddenly understood.

"How much is it?" they asked eagerly.

"Ten Galleons a bottle," Harold replied. "But since we did detention together, I'll give you the lowest discount—one Galleon."

"What a generous deal," George muttered. "Can you even make a profit?"

"Plenty," Harold said cheerfully.

"…"

"You're such a swindler."

The twins looked at him with mock distaste.

"Could be worse," Harold said. "The green and silver version costs thirty Galleons—and no discount."

"Yeah, fair enough."

In the end, Fred and George each bought a bottle—one gold, one red. Hermione hesitated, then chose blue. One Galleon wasn't cheap for her, but with the term nearly over, she had enough pocket money to cover it.

Ron wanted one too, but had no money. He could only watch with longing.

Ten minutes later, breakfast was over, and the group headed back to the dorms.

Neville collapsed onto his bed and was snoring within seconds.

Their first class didn't start until ten, so they had time to nap.

Ron was exhausted too, but before falling asleep, he forced himself to ask, "What's up with you? You've been quiet all morning. Something bothering you?"

"No, nothing," Harry replied. "Hey… Ron, do you think a unicorn can be made into a wand core?"

"Of course," Ron yawned. "My last wand had a unicorn tail hair."

"Not a hair," Harry said. "A whole unicorn."

"What? Harry, you sound like you're dreaming already," Ron mumbled. "They're huge—how would you even fit one into a wand? Not even a giant could lift something like that."

"But I saw it with my own eyes—and Harold admitted it." Harry's brow furrowed. "Hagrid thinks he was joking… was he?"

No answer came.

Ron was already fast asleep, his quiet snores muffled behind his bed curtains.

(End of Chapter)