August 27th, 1888 — Ollivander’s Wands, Hogsmeade

“There’s no cause for worry,” she reassured the boy softly. His first three trial wands had yielded nothing to satisfy Mr. Ollivander, who had disappeared back into the shelves for more. Nora did not know Winston well enough how to guess at what he might be feeling, under the circumstances, and so chose to err on the side of caution. “It’s normal to take several tries, before you find the right wand.”

Many years ago, she had envisioned taking her own child wand shopping. It was a strange turn of providence, Elinor thought, that the facsimile of that experience was delivered to her still by the Gower family, strangers for all these years and now, through magic, once more in her life. She had, of course, reassured Amelia that she would arrange for all the magical purchases, but it had not occurred to the witch at the time how much a young student actually needed. This was but their first of half a dozen stops that day.

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— MJ never ceases to impress ♡ —

Ever since the Russian man had come to the house, Winston had thought this was a mistake. And clearly - clearly, if none of the wands liked him, he was right. They were going to realize he wasn't magic after all, and Winston in the wand shop was rather like Winston on mute - not-exuberant, standing still, biting his bottom lip as he waited for Mr. Ollivander to come back.

He glanced up at Aunt Elinor. He didn't know her well at all, but with neither Mama nor Papa willing to come - (or able, he guessed) - she was the only family he had at the moment. "Hogwarts doesn't send letters to people on accident, do they?" he asked. He wasn't magic. He was just unlucky, and now everyone was going to know.

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With a handful of trial wands set aside and forgotten, Gideon had dipped off into the back of the shop to retrieve a few more to try. He came back to the front just in time to hear the young boy's question and the wandmaker quickly shook his head. "Not at all," he said with a grin as he settled a few boxes onto the counter, "If you got a letter, you're meant to be there." He gave a reassuring nod to him before pulled a wand of oak from a velvet lined box.

"Give this one a try," he said still smiling, "Eleven inches of oak with a kelpie hair core. A bit rigid but that should soften over time if it's the right fit for you."

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With what she hoped was an encouraging smile, Elinor gave the boy a nod to urge him forward. This was about him, not about her—however many conflicted feelings might have been swirling about in her head. While Nora could not quite manage the feeling of pride she hoped for, tepid excitement would do.

  

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— MJ never ceases to impress ♡ —

The wand man reassured him and Winston didn't quite believe him, but wasn't going to say that, either. He frowned and gave the wand a dramatic swish - and several boxes flew off the shelf in response. "What!" Winston chirped, surprised.

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Nope. Certainly not the correct wand.

With a reassuring sort of smile, Gideon took the wand from the lad and put it away. He pulled another one from the stack and opened it up to him so he could try another. "Nine and half inches of aspen," he said as the boy picked it up, "Bendy and with a phoenix feather core."

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Nora suppressed a wince. It was normal for ill-suited wands to cause problems; Mr. Ollivander was no doubt used to it. That did not mean that she had to like it, though—chaos was not something that the witch enjoyed welcoming into her life.

  

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— MJ never ceases to impress ♡ —

The Aspen wand did nothing, and Winston frowned up at his aunt, rather than the wandmaker. Surely she was going to realize, soon, that someone had made a terrible mistake?

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Of all the reactions to a wand, this was one of his favorites. Well, besides the obvious glow of the right wand. But Gideon much preferred when absolutely nothing happened. It made it far easier when it came to clean up afterwards.

With a simple nod, he took the aspen wand from the young boy. "Let's see about this one," he said simply with a grin, "I've got a good feeling about this one. Eleven inches of sycamore. A little pliant with a fairy wing core."

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As this was the sixth wand he was trying, Winston certainly didn't echo Mr. Ollivander's feelings of confidence. He shot a skeptical look at his aunt before giving the wand a half-assed swish.

The tip of the wand lit up in response, glowing with some supernatural - well, Winston supposed it was magic. He beamed.

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Gideon's grin was much more pronounced than the young boy's own. Clearly having to try so many had worn on him but at least there was some excitement as the wand lit up. "And there you have it," he said with a cheery tone and grin before he began to write up the details of the wand to keep record of it. "If I can just get some basic information then you can be on your way," he added, looking to the young boy's chaperon."[/b]

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Love MJ Sets

An unexpected sense of pride bloomed in Nora's chest as young Winston found what was, unarguably, the right wand. He was a wizard, like his uncle before him, and if she had ever doubted that, well, here before her was the proof. She smiled, but it was not directed at either wizard but for herself. This...contentment she was feeling...Elinor thought she quite liked it.

"Of course," she answered the Ollivander, jerked from her reverie. "Winston, do be careful where you point that."

  

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— MJ never ceases to impress ♡ —