“No, no,” he reassured the boy with a dismissive smile and a wave of his hand. “It’s a hazard of my line of work.”

The fresh air the broken window brought in was actually rather refreshing, as daunting as the task of dealing with it felt.

Looking at the boy, though, Gervaise could tell his simple words would not be enough. He held up a finger in a “wait here” motion before disappearing into the stacks, returning perhaps two minutes later with a new wand for him to try.

“Here,” he said gently, handing the wand, another redwood, to the boy. In fact, it was practically the twin of the abysmal failure, but for one key difference. “You clearly do not have the disposition to suit a veela hair wand—you saw that first hand! This, though, contains a phoenix tail feather, and I think it will do much better. Don’t be nervous, put perhaps a gentle wave this time.”