August 6th, 1888 — Ollivander's Wands, Hogsmeade

Abraxas Crabbe worked hard to stifle a yawn. He did not wish to appear disinterested in the day's errand—after all, the reason he was so sleepy was that he had scarcely slept the night before for excitement!

He didn't think Uncle Orlando noticed, though, as he skipped along the cobbles of the High Street and all but charged through the front door of the wand shop. To tell the truth, Rex had begun to wonder if this day would ever come; though he had, after weeks of anxiety, received his Hogwarts letter, it had looked still as though the fog would never look. When he had woken up on the morning of the second, the young wizard had scarcely believed his eyes!

"Good morning," he called out, his tone a mixture of cheerfulness and apprehension. For all that Abraxas was incredibly excited, he was not altogether certain what to expect!

---

  

The day of Rex’s departure was looming ever-closer and Orlando still wasn’t entirely sure he was prepared for it. Getting a cat had been one thing but his step-son was soon to be the proud owner of a wand of his own and Orlando had needed a moment at the breakfast table that morning to hide behind his Prophet till he could control the sudden slew of emotions that had overcome him.

Shedding a tear in private was one thing. Rex needed today to be a happy memory, not one overshadowed by him being an utter twerp.

"I'd forgotten the smell of this place," he muttered to nobody in particular, already feeling rather more emotionally invested than was necessary. The dim light of the wand shop worked to his advantage though. If his eyes began to glisten again he could simply put it down to dust and excuse himself.

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   Abraxas Crabbe

It seemed that business was going to have a slow and steady sort of build before Gideon got too busy. He'd had a handful of customers since the fog had lifted but not in the same sort of influx he was accustomed to. He hoped that it would pick up though. Two months with hardly a thing to do or sell had severely depleted his savings. And with the sudden news of Billie.. Well, things were certainly a bit strange at the moment.

He'd been in the back finishing up with a wand when he'd heard the bell above the door chime letting him know a customer was there. Soon after, a child's greeting reached his ears. Adonis, the large white feline that acted as if he ran the shop, was the first to enter the front room. The large feline padded out with his head held high and tail idly swishing behind him before he jumped up onto the counter to peer down at the little boy with two toned eyes, one blue and one an almost eerie yellow. Perched on the counter, he meowed out a greeting just as Gideon came to the front of the shop.

"Good morning!" Gideon responded, smiling to the boy and the man with him, "Let me guess, you're in the market for some cauldrons?" There was a twinkle to his dark eyes as he said it, still smiling as he waited to see how the jest would be taken.

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“No, sir,” Abraxas replied with a frown, missing altogether the wandmaker’s joke, “for if that were the case I would be in a cauldron shop. I’m here to purchase a wand!”

Was he—against all odds—somehow in the wrong place? Had the weeks of fog addled this gentleman’s brain? Was he after all dreaming, and would he awake to find that he could not acquire a wand at all? Anxiously, he looked to his guardian for comfort.

---

  

His step-son had innumerable wonderful qualities that Orlando was absolutely sure would one day turn him into an even more exceptional young man, but an appreciation of sarcasm was not one of them. Which was remarkable given Andren’s presence but still, Orlando was forced to smile ruefully at the confusion before he addressed the proprietor.

“My boy begins Hogwarts in the autumn, so this will be his first wand,” Orlando said with a significant look at the man. This was important, not something to be joked over.

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   Aldous Crouch

Clearly, Gideon had gotten the two most unjoking sort into his shop to start the day. But, the show must go on and so it went even if there was an internal sigh.

"Quite right, young sir," he said with a smile, giving his guardian a nod to show he understood that look he'd been given, "Shall we jump right into it then?" A brow raised in regards to the both of them before he reached up for a wand and pulled it from its velvet lined box.

"Nine and three quarters, a fine mahogany and quite swishy," he said as he offered the wand to the young lad, "With a unicorn tail for its core."

---

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   Aldous Crouch

Thank Merlin Uncle Orlando is here, Rex thought to himself, casting a grateful smile in his guardian’s direction. His nerves, the boy realized, were getting the better of him.

Gingerly, Abraxas reached out to accept the proffered wand. Though the young wizard knew the details the wandmaker was supplying were important, it was all Greek to him—and he had studied Latin instead. Almost timidly, he gave the wand a small wave.

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It was nothing like his own wand, but then there was no great reason for it to be so, and Orlando felt a slight disappointment in that - they shared so many other things despite their lack of blood relation a small part of him had been hoping they might have their wands in common. Still, it had not chosen Rex just yet.

Orlando watched with bated breath for the wand to react. Any moment now.

Did it usually take this long for a wand to work?

  

The silence and waiting seemed to last far longer than it really did. Only a few moments had spanned before it was beyond evident that the wand he'd just offered the lad was not the right one. Nothing had come from the small wave he'd given to the boy, not even a foul smell. It was, quite frankly, a dud.

Taking the wand from the boy, he shuffled it off into its box and pulled another out. "Give this one a try. Eight and a half inches of a bendy Aspen," he handed the wand to the boy before adding, "With a dragon heartstring at its core."

---

  

Rex felt the blood drain from his face as the seconds ticked on and absolutely nothing happened. The fog had drained him of his magic after all, the boy realized as anxiety stiffened his limbs. He was a squib now.

Should he confess, or would that simply embarrass Uncle Orlando? Mutely, the boy returned the first wand and accepted the second, giving it a tentative wave but now convinced that it was not to be.

---

  

There was no mistaking the uselessness of the second wand in his step-son's hands and Orlando felt himself begin to tense slightly - shouldn't there be some reaction? Hadn't Andren pulled out half the shelves when he'd come to claim his and Orlando was quite sure he recalled breaking a vase at the very least when the magic came out a little too strongly. If there was nothing at all did that mean...

No, it couldn't be. The fog was gone and all the other magic had come back. Perhaps the wands were faulty.

"Have you another to hand Mr Ollivander? I think Rex here is in need of something a little more unusual."

  

Sensing the worry and frustration, Gideon nodded at the man's words. He pulled out a wand and handed it off to the boy.

"I've got a good feeling about this one," he said as he stood back to watch, "Eleven inches of a sturdy ash. With a mermaid scale core. Certainly on the unusual side of things though a powerful and trustworthy wand."

---

  

Given his track record so far, Rex absolutely did not have a good feeling about this one, and he was no longer able to keep his emotions from his face as he took the third wand and gave it a futile wave.

---

  

Orlando blanched. Perhaps the fog really had done Rex some serious harm? Were other children getting their first wand having the same problem? He glanced up at the wandmaker, trying to guess from his face whether he looked surprised or not: three failed attempts was not unusual was it?

Reaching forward he wrapped his hand around Rex's small shoulder, squeezing encouragingly.

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   Abraxas Crabbe

Gideon could understand the frustrations and fears the boy had but he had plenty of faith himself. The wand never failed and he had yet to ever send anyone away, especially an incoming firstie, without their very own wand.

But despite the weak sort of wave the boy gave the new wand, it lit up. Faintly at first but the glow brightened and continued to do so until the three of them were all bathed in the vibrant glow of the wand. It was almost blinding at first but as the light faded once more, Gideon was left standing before the two gentlemen with a broad grin on his face.

"I think it's safe to say the fog did not take away your magical abilities," he said before moving back behind the front counter so that he could see to the necessary paperwork and get the boy down on the register with his wand.

---

  

He had done it.

Rex struggled, but succeeding, in suppressing a whoop! of joy, but the grin plastered ear to ear across his face certainly belied his relief and glee. Not only did Abraxas Crabbe now have a wand, but he was not rendered a squib by the fog, as he had so long feared. He would go off to Hogwarts in September, and he would make his family proud.

Abraxas Crabbe was a wizard, through and through.