Gideon chuckled as he shrugged in response to Billie's first question. He'd honestly lost count long ago. Probably more than he really should have carved but.. well, what else was he supposed to do with all of his free-time. It was supposed to be a far busier season but thanks to the fog, he was lucky if another soul even walked into his shop. It wasn't as if a wand shop was a necessary stop in the day to day goings of the Hogsmeade residents. Especially when magic, quite simply, didn't work.

"I'm not entirely sure how many anymore, Billie," he said with another shrug after he set the wand down he'd been working on once the little lad had looked at it, "And some do but only those that can afford to. See, the carvings add to the value of the wand. The witches and wizards that like fancy looking things are the ones to typically buy them." And even though most children could care less when they got their first wand, some parents were more uppity and preferred the fancier ones.

He watched with a bemused smile as Billie seemed to take the initiative to sweeping up all the shavings. He liked that about the little lad. He just did what needed to be done without being asked. Though, Gideon hadn't really realized just how messy the shop had been made thanks to his carving. "It isn't too hard," he answered as he continued to watch Billie, "It's more a matter of being creative enough so that they don't all look the same. It would be far easier with magic though. But this at least helps to pass the time."

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