ink - sirius black

black bruises and hasty lies

June 7, 1977
11:58 am
Ollivanders

"Well maybe I can't decide what flexibility to use because I started this a goddamn week ago," Anneliese snapped back, running a hand down her face. "If this is going to be my wand for the rest of my life, then I want to get this right."

"I've already told you many times, you are thinking too technically because you're nervous," Ollivander replied patiently. "Get back some of those more conceptual ideas, and then you'll know what the right thing to do is."

Things had been going like this since six in the morning, and Anneliese was getting more frustrated by the second.

She and Ollivander were standing with their forearms leaning on the desk in the front room of the shop, him working on a new wand of his own and her trying to figure out how to treat the base she had selected.

There were about a dozen strands of wavy golden hair sticking out from her bun, framing her face and driving her crazy from the small tickles against her cheeks and back of her neck every five seconds.

"Maybe the blackthorn wood was a bad idea," Anneliese sighed, tucking a piece behind her ear. "It's too temperamental, I need something to neutralize it."

"Rigidness wouldn't do that," Ollivander replied. "It would just make it more focused on dueling like the grain is made for. I would suggest finding that balance in the core."

"The only core powerful enough to cancel out blackthorn is unicorn hair," Anneliese pointed out with a small frown. "And blackthorn and unicorn hair are like the polar opposites. It would explode before I could cast a first year charm."

"Well then perhaps the blackthorn was the wrong choice," Ollivander said, still not looking up from the phoenix feather he was trimming with a tiny pair of brass scissors. "But any other wood will be much less powerful and much less suited to you."

The tarnished silver and wood grandfather clock in one corner of the room let out twelve chimes.

"Don't you have lunch planned with those two boys at noon?" Ollivander asked, and Anneliese nodded, surprised that he had remembered her casual mention the previous night.

"I can keep working if you need me to," Callaway offered, eyes skimming the small pile of wood shavings across the desk. "There's a lot to be cleaned up-"

"You have been working for six hours today, have you not?" the wandmaker said with a kind smile. "I think that if you try anymore, then you're going to end up asleep leaning against this desk. Go, get some lunch."

No matter how often Ollivander displayed this kindness, Anneliese hadn't quite gotten used to it yet. She blinked a few times in surprise before smiling and nodding.

"Do you need anything picked up?" she asked, hand on the glass and half out the door. "Or something to eat from the Leaky Cauldron?"

"I had something already this morning," Ollivander replied with a smile as well. "Be careful, Anneliese. Don't talk to strangers."

Callaway laughed lightly as she rolled her eyes.

"I'm seventeen, I can handle it," she said, grinning brightly. "But thank you. I'll be back by dark, or at least stop by to tell you otherwise if I won't be, I promise."

He gave her a sunny wave goodbye as she shut the door. A happy feeling filled Anneliese's chest, one that she couldn't quite describe besides saying that she hadn't felt it since she was six years old.

It only took her a few moments to spot Leo and Remus even in the ever so busy alley. The pair were leaning against a wall, both of them with their hands in their pockets and facing each other with almost embarrassed looking smiles.