"But I want to, Harry. Just think of it as a birthday gift from a family friend." Hagrid smiled getting a beaming smile back from Harry. They quickly picked out a nice cage for the Snowy Owl and purchased some food and treats for her before leaving the Magical Menagerie.
Their last stop of the day was the wand shop, Ollivander's. Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was some kind of unidentifiable feeling in the air. Almost like static to his senses.
"Good afternoon." The soft greeting came from behind, causing Harry to almost jump from the sudden sound from behind.
"Hello." Harry replied with caution. There was something about the man and his silvery eyes that was definitely odd.
"Ah, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you here soon, Harry Potter." The man continued, seeming to ignore Harry's discomfort.
"Must yeh do that every time, Ollivander?" Hagrid asked with a sigh his own huge hand over his heart.
"Rubeus, Rubeus Hagrid. Oak at sixteen inches and a Unicorn tail hair core, rather bendy." Ollivander rattled off as he looked at Hagrid. "Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?"
"Yes, but I've still got the pieces though." Hagrid sighed.
"But you don't use them do you?" Ollivander inquired getting Hagrid to grab one side of his large coat while shaking his head.
Harry had to suppress his curiosity at the conversation between the two men. How had Hagrid gotten expelled? The old wand maker apparently knew about Hagrid's wand and what it was made out of as well. Did he know about a lot of people's wands?
"Well then, Mr. Potter, let us find your wand." Ollivander said, handing him a wand. "Try this one. Its Beech wood and Dragon heartstring. Nine inches exactly. Nice and flexible. Give it a wave."
Harry took the wand, feeling his skin tingle when it came into contact with the wood. He gave it a wave as instructed, feeling a little foolish since he knew he could do Magic without it. A weak stream of multi-colored sparks came from the end of the wand.
"A match on the first try?" Hagrid asked in surprise.
"No, no, I don't think so." Ollivander replied as he snatched the wand away, his eyes taking on a calculating glint. "Try this one Mr. Potter. Maple and Phoenix feather at eleven and a half inches."
Harry tried it, getting a similar result as the first. Ollivander suddenly looked as if he was suspicious of something and Harry wondered if it was about his ability to use Wandless magic. Thankfully, the old man didn't comment on it.
Many wands came and went, producing varying results, some stronger and others weaker. Eventually they came to a Holly wand with a Phoenix feather core that had a stronger reaction than any of the others so far. He felt something connect to his magic and seemingly fit with it, the wand releasing a great stream of sparks without any movement until it settled down a moment later.
"Curious, very curious." Ollivander muttered as he gazed at the wand in Harry's hand.
"What's curious?" Harry questioned as he looked back at the wand maker.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter." The wand maker stated. "Every single one, I find it odd that the Phoenix who donated the feather for that wand gave another feather, just one other. That other feather was used to make the wand that gave you that scar." Ollivander explained as he pointed towards Harry's forehead. "It is very curious that you would be chosen by the brother wand to that of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Harry tried really hard not to think it, but it was useless. That sounded undeniably like an important part of the plot for a few of the fantasy books he'd read over the years. Hagrid had even mentioned that Voldemort might not actually be dead, merely severely weakened and barely holding onto life somewhere in the world.
"I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter." Ollivander nodded. "After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things, terrible yes, but great."
Somewhat unnerved by the creepy tone the old man used, Harry was still getting that feeling of an 'important plot point' just being revealed from his books. But his innate curiosity eventually overwhelmed him and he had to ask Ollivander a question.
"You made all of these wands, Mr. Ollivander?" Harry questioned.
"Hmm? No, not all of them, a great many of the ones here are my work. Some, however, are my father's and one or two still remain from my grandfather's time." Ollivander answered.
"How do you make wands?" Harry asked before he could stop himself.
"Ah, I'm afraid the secrets of wandlore aren't so easily acquired, Mr. Potter." Ollivander grinned getting an embarrassed flush to take over Harry's cheeks. "Though, I must admit my own curiosity about that trinket in your robe pocket." The old man stated as he stared directly at the pocket that held Harry's Scouter. Harry quickly put his hand over the pocket as if to protect his creation.
"How did you know about that?" Harry questioned staring back at the wand maker. Hagrid merely looked confused at the back and forth between the two.
"I've been crafting wands for decades, Mr. Potter. I'm rather in tune to the magic given off by Enchanted Objects." Ollivander explained calmly. "Might I have a look at your trinket?"
"I guess." Harry agreed after giving the wand maker a long stare. He pulled the Scouter out of his robe pocket and let Ollivander look it over.
"I see, yes a simple counting runic sequence, followed by a permanent unit of measure outlined by the second half of the sequence. But I'm not sure what it is that's being counted. This combination in the second half is new to me." Ollivander mumbled to himself as he looked over the Scouter. "Would you care to enlighten a fellow craftsman, Mr. Potter?"