Ollivander's Memoirs

Lily Evans

Mr. Ollivander had been spending the last few minutes watching a family—a man, a woman, and a young girl—through the window of his shop. They had been outside, looking slightly confused, taking long glances at the surrounding stores. Mr. Ollivander was just about to offer them assistance when they turned towards his shop and walked inside. "Good morning," said Mr. Ollivander.

"Good morning," said the man. "Might this be the place for our daughter to buy her…wand," he hesitated slightly almost like he didn't believe it.

"Indeed it is," replied Mr. Ollivander.

"Oh good," the man said, relieved. "You see my wife," he gestured to the woman behind him with a hand on the young girl, "We're not…well we're not," he dropped his voice, "wizards."

"Oh I see," Mr. Ollivander tried to act like he was surprised. Anyone could tell this man and woman were clearly not wizards. Their daughter however…she had something special in her.

"Yes, we're what they called…oh darling, what was that…muddles?"

"Muggles?" Mr. Ollivander interjected.

"Ah, yes!" the man smiled. "That's the word. Truth be told, we had no idea about any of this until…" he thought for a moment, "Professor McGonagall paid us a visit with Lily's letter. That's my daughter, Lily," he nodded to the young girl. The name Lily struck a chord with Mr. Ollivander. He immediately thought of Severus Snape. He hadn't really looked at the girl until the mention of her name. She was a pretty little girl, with deep red hair and, what Mr. Ollivander noticed before anything else, brilliant green eyes. This had to be the Lily Evans to which Severus Snape was referring. A smile escaped Mr. Ollivander's mouth.

"Hello Ms. E…" Mr. Ollivander caught himself before saying Evans. Her father had not yet said their surname, "Lily."

"Hello, sir," she answered. Her parents were smiling at her.

"I'm Andrew Evans," he offered his hand for a shake, "and this is my wife, Rose." Lily had a wide smile like her father's, but she looked mostly like her mother, except Mrs. Evan's hair and eyes were duller versions of Lily's.

"Hello," said Mrs. Evans.

"Hello," replied Mr. Ollivander. "Well, I suppose we should work on getting Ms. Evans a wand," he looked down at Lily.

"Are there very different types?" asked Mrs. Evans. Mr. Ollivander's eyes lit up at the chance to explain.

"Why, of course. You see, each wand, like the witch or wizard who possesses it, is unique. The wand chooses the witch or wizard. A wand can work for any wizard or witch, but the wand that is truly fitted for him or her, that gives its allegiance, will work best." He turned to a stack of wand boxes behind him, pulling three off the shelf.

"For example," he began, pulling each wand out of its box."

"They're like shoes," Mr. Evans laughed, smiling at the boxes.

"Yes," Mr. Ollivander answered slightly befuddled by how Mr. Evans could compare the artistry and beauty of wands to something as simple and crude as shoes, but he didn't want to emphasize Mr. Evans' naivety concerning the wizarding world.

"You see this," he held out the first wand so that Lily could see, "is nine and a half inches. Its wood is ash and the core is a unicorn tail." Lily went wide-eyed at the mention of a unicorn tail.

"This next one," he handed Lily the second wand, "is made of yew. Its core is a dragon heartstring. Ten and one quarter inches." He made one last exchange with Lily letting her see the third wand.

"This is a cherry wood, with a unicorn tail core, 11 inches."

"Wow," Lily handed Mr. Ollivander back the wand. "I had no idea. I mean I had no idea about anything, but…I had no idea."

"Not many people do, Ms. Evans," remarked Mr. Ollivander, "even witches and wizards who have been brought up in this world do not understand completely." There was an air of silence for a moment. Mr. Ollivander could tell the Evans family had just heard quite a bit more information than planned.

"I think I have just the wand for you, Ms. Evans," Mr. Ollivander broke the silence. He carefully boxed up the three wands and placed them back in their rightful places, before venturing farther into the shop to search for a wand he thought would be most suited to Lily Evans.

He appeared with a wand already taken out of its box. "Here you are," he handed the wand to Lily. Her smile never left her mouth and her eyes seemed to light up as she grasped the wand tighter. "Willow, unicorn tail core, 10 and one fourth inches," he said. Lily was already so intrigued by the wand even though she hadn't even really seen what she could do with it. Mr. Ollivander caught sight of vase sitting behind the counter that was now holding a dying flower. He eyed the vase and with a nod gestured for Lily to try out her wand. At first hesitant, she flicked the wand and instantaneously, the flower regained its vibrant color and blossomed. Completely shocked, Lily's hand flew to her mouth hiding a large, impressed grin. Her parents were beaming.

"Oh darling," squealed Mrs. Evans.

"That was amazing, dear," added Mr. Evans. Mr. Ollivander was amused by how easily astonished they were. He thought of how much fun it must have been to explain everything to them, though Professor McGonagall could sometimes be a little weary of distraction, when there was a job to be done.

"Is this the wand for me?" Lily asked, looking hopeful.

"I would definitely say so," answered Mr. Ollivander, "and what a fine wand it is, good for charm work…oh that's a subject you'll learn in school," he answered Lily's questioning face when he mentioned charms.

"Brilliant!" stated Mr. Evans, "Now all we've got left is a…" he pulled a list out of his left pocket, "Cauldron." He laughed. "Blimey, Rose, it really does say cauldron," he held out the list so Mrs. Evans could read it.

"How much do we owe you," Mrs. Evans directed the attention back to Mr. Ollivander.

"Six galleons," he answered. Again Mr. Evans fumbled around in his pocket only this time pulling out a bunch of coins—galleons, knuts, and sickles. He took a moment to stare at the coins.

"Now that's the gold ones, right?"

"Yes, sir." Mr. Evans counted six galleons and handed them over to Mr. Ollivander.

"Well, I suppose we should be off to getting that cauldron now," began Mr. Evans.

"Right near the Leaky Cauldron is where you can buy them," said Mr. Ollivander.

"Thank you," replied Mr. Evans offering his hand, "It was a pleasure." Mrs. Evans approached the counter next, "Yes, thank you, have a lovely afternoon."

"Thank you so much, sir!" said Lily still tightly grasping her wand. She took one last glance at the now blossoming flowers. "Wait until I tell Severus," she whispered, not knowing that Mr. Ollivander could hear her. She looked up at him with her brilliant green eyes so lively and exclaimed, "I cannot wait for school!" Mr. Ollivander smiled in reply. He watched the family exit the shop and make their way down the alley a little less confused than before. He enjoyed when families of muggleborns came into the shop, at least the ones that were enthusiastic. He could not get Lily's awed expression out of his mind. He tried to imagine what it would be like when she first saw the Hogwarts Express and the castle itself. She seemed like a very sweet, charming girl, and he could tell talent was within her. He knew someday she would be a great witch.