"Is that so?" Wyzett looked puzzled. "But the quality… this doesn't really count as high-grade tail hair, does it?"
Hagrid's method for handling unicorn tail hair was, frankly, rather rough—he simply braided and twisted it into bandages. The lack of proper care left the tail hair dull, even split at the ends.
"If you judged it by potion ingredient standards, of course it wouldn't qualify as good material," Ollivander replied, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "But wandlore is a different story entirely!"
"You see, I can't detect even a trace of a curse in these hairs. To get tail hair of this purity, you must have had a good relationship with the unicorn."
"Unicorns are creatures of absolute purity. If you take anything from them by force, a curse will always cling to the material…"
"Even if such curses are faint, a curse is still a curse. It will always have some effect, however slight."
"To use unicorn tail hair as a wand core, it normally needs to go through a thorough process of cleansing and purification, to strip away any lingering curse."
He lifted the bandage from Wyzett's hand, marveling, "But these tail hairs you brought—there's no need for any purification at all!"
"Unicorn curses?" Wyzett frowned. "But unicorn tail hair is also used in potions. Does that mean those potions—"
"Magic, cauldron, and flame—those three together can dissolve the hair and burn off any lingering curse," explained Dumbledore with a gentle smile. "Of course… unicorn blood is a different matter. The curse within blood cannot be removed so easily."
"Unicorn blood?" Wyzett's curiosity was piqued. "The curse in it is even stronger?"
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them had mentioned unicorns, but only to praise their beauty and describe their form—nothing about curses…
"Absolutely," Dumbledore's face grew grave. "Only by killing a unicorn can you obtain its blood—that's an act of unspeakable cruelty."
"Unicorn blood can prolong your life, even if you're on the brink of death… but the life you gain will be a half-life, a cursed existence."
"But who would ever be mad enough to drink unicorn blood?" Ollivander interjected, steering the conversation back. "Let's talk about wands!"
Once on the subject of wands, all traces of confusion vanished from Ollivander. He launched into a passionate explanation, and Wyzett seized the opportunity to ask every question he'd been saving about wandmaking.
In the end, Ollivander declined to keep the bandages, taking only a few strands of tail hair as a "Christmas present."
Watching Wyzett leave, Ollivander smiled fondly. "What a good child."
Then his tone shifted, a note of concern creeping in. "Albus, are you sure we shouldn't tell him everything about that incident?"
"Not for now," Dumbledore replied softly, shaking his head. "There are too many unanswered questions about that Canaanite wizard. We have no idea who he was really after."
"Risking so much for a ledger…" Ollivander frowned deeply. "And in the end, the ledger wasn't even stolen, and the wizard lost all his memories… It's just bizarre!"
He recalled what the Aurors had said on their follow-up visit—the Canaanite wizard had been caught at the border, hit with a devastating Memory Charm, all his past wiped away, left like a newborn.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. That ledger contains information about both Harry's wand and Wyzett's as well."
"We can't tell if Death Eaters are gathering intel on Harry, or if some other faction is after Wyzett."
"Could it be the Acolytes… or the Purists?" Ollivander ventured. "Maybe they're planning something?"
"If it were truly the Acolytes, they'd never do anything like this," Dumbledore said with absolute certainty. "At the very least, they'd speak to you first…"
"And they'd try to use more courteous means to get the ledger from you. As for the Purists… that's more likely. Their name is far more widely known."
"It's possible someone's using the 'Purist' name as cover for their own schemes. Back in the day, that sort of thing happened all the time—it's nothing new."
Ollivander asked, "Albus, will you keep investigating along these lines?"
"It's a promising lead," Dumbledore agreed. "Whether they're after Wyzett or Harry, I won't stand by and let it happen."
Wyzett and Luna left The Leaky Cauldron, heading north along Charing Cross Road. The crowds grew thicker as they walked.
London had, in fact, seen snow. On either side of the street, pristine drifts pressed up against rows of Christmas trees. The trees, set out by local shops, were festooned with colored lights and ribbons. Bulbs dangled from eaves, and each shop door boasted a grand Christmas wreath.
"Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way..."
As shop doors swung open and shut, the familiar melody of Jingle Bells drifted in and out of earshot.
The pre-holiday cheer was infectious. Luna skipped along, bright-eyed and radiant, her delight practically bubbling over.
Wyzett walked beside her, his voice gentle as he pointed out the sights. "This whole area's a commercial street—just like Diagon Alley behind the Leaky Cauldron. You can find anything here: clothes, food, places to stay…"
"It's a little different from what Dad described…" Luna mused, her words almost a song. "I just remembered—we should've changed into Muggle clothes."
"Things have changed," Wyzett reassured her. "No need to worry. They celebrate Halloween, too."
"They even dress up as all sorts of monsters and go knocking on neighbors' doors, saying 'Trick or treat!' in the scariest voices they can muster."
Luna burst into silvery laughter at Wyzett's gruff imitation. "Monsters? Like ghosts, banshees, and ghouls?"
"And Inferi—though they call them zombies," Wyzett grinned. "But zombies aren't afraid of fire or light, and they eat people."
"So Muggles have to deal with such frightening creatures? That's amazing!"
"They're just imaginary—creatures from movies and stories."
"Movies? What are those?"
"They're kind of like the moving pictures in the Daily Prophet, but you need a special device to play them. The people inside move around, just like magic…"
They walked close together, so close that Wyzett only had to turn his head slightly to see Luna's smile, the soft down on her cheek.
Because of her family's unusual situation, Luna's world had always been limited to Ottery St. Catchpole. Now, in the heart of the city, everything—the passing cars, the crowds in their dazzling clothes, the electronics in shop windows—was new and wondrous to her.
Everywhere she looked, there was something magical. ~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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