94 Diagon Alley

It also depends on the wand itself. Usually, when a wand is won, its allegiance changes. "

The room was silent except for the distant sound of sea waves.

"You talk about wands as if they have feelings," said Harry, "as if they could think for themselves."

"Wands choose wizards," Ollivander said, "and it's always been obvious to those of us who study wand lore."

"A man can still use a wand that doesn't choose him, though?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, as long as you are a wizard, you should be able to express your magic with almost any tool. But the best results have to come from the strongest bond between wizard and wand. These connections are It's complicated, initially attracting each other, then seeking each other's experience, wands learn from wizards, and wizards learn from wands."

"I took this wand by force from Draco Malfoy," said Harry, "is it safe for me to use it?"

"I think so. There are fine-grained rules for wand ownership, but a conquered wand usually submits to a new owner."

"Can I use this too?" said Ron, taking another wand from his pocket and handing it to Ollivander.

"Chestnut and Dragon's Nerve, nine and a quarter inches, with a crisp texture, I was forced to make for the Death Eaters shortly after my kidnapping. Yes, if you win Yes, it will carry out your commands more than any other wand, and it will do it well."

"All wands are like that, right?" Harry asked.

"I think so," Ollivander replied, his bulging eyes fixed on Harry's face, "you are asking a deep question, Mr. Potter. Wandology is a complex And the mysterious subject of magic."

"So, to actually own a wand, you don't have to kill its previous owner, right?" Harry asked.

Olivander swallowed. "Sure? No, I don't think it's necessary to kill someone."

"But, there are some legends," said Harry, the scar hurting worse as his heart beat faster. He believed that Voldemort had decided to put ideas into action. "The legend has it that a wand - or some wands - changed hands through murder."

Olivander's face changed. On the snow-white pillow, his face was ashes as paper, his eyes were particularly large, bloodshot and bulging, and he seemed to be full of fear.

"Only one wand, I suppose," he whispered.

"You-Know-Who is interested in it, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"I—how did you—?" Ollivander asked hoarsely, looking helplessly at Ron and Hermione, "How did you know this?"

"He wants you to tell him how to overcome the bond between our wands," said Harry.

Olivander froze for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief. "Dumbledore must be proud of you, boy. Too bad I didn't even make it to his funeral..."

Harry said, "You told him about the twin cores? You said he just had to borrow a wand from another wizard?"

Olivander didn't expect Harry to know so much, and nodded slowly.

"But that didn't work," Harry continued. "My wand still beat the one he borrowed. Do you know why?"

Olivander shook his head slowly again, as slowly as he had nodded. "I… never heard of anything like this. Your wand behaved peculiarly that night. The connection of twin cores is extremely rare, yet why your wand would break a borrowed wand, I don't know…"

"Gwen said my wand absorbed the power of other wizards," said Harry. "I thought Dumbledore left it for me."

Olivander rejects this assertion, "As far as I know, he won't leave you with any direct weapons - does that really help you?"

"We were talking about another wand, the one that changed hands by murder. When Man-You-Know-Who realized that my wand was behaving oddly, he came back and asked about the wand, didn't he?"

"How did you know?"

Harry did not answer.

"Yes, he asked," whispered Ollivander, "he wanted to know everything I could tell him about that wand by a different name—the death rod, the wand of destiny or the Elder Wand.

Harry glanced at Hermione next to her, who looked stunned.

"The Dark Lord," Ollivander said in a low voice in horror, "has always been happy with the wand I made for him - yew and phoenix feather, thirteen and one-half inches —until he discovered the connection between the twin cores. Now he is looking for another wand more powerful as the only way to conquer your wand."

"But even if he doesn't know it now, he will soon know that my wand is broken and can't be fixed," Harry said softly.

"No!" said Hermione in horror. "He couldn't have known that, Harry, how could he—"

"Flashback Charm," said Harry, "we left your wand and sloe wand at Malfoy's house, Hermione. If they check carefully, let them recreate the most recent They'll see your wand break mine, and they'll see you trying to fix it without success, and they'll think I've been using a sloe wand ever since."

The blood that had recovered from Hermione's face when she came here disappeared. Ron glanced reproachfully at Harry and said, "Don't worry about that now—"

But Mr. Ollivander interjected. "The Dark Lord is no longer looking for the Elder Wand just to beat you, Mr Potter. He is determined to have it because he believes the Elder Wand will make him invulnerable."

"Will you?"

"The owner of the Elder Wand is always afraid of being attacked," Ollivander said, "but the idea of ​​the Dark Lord having a death rod, I must admit...is daunting."

Harry suddenly remembered that when they first met, he wasn't sure if he liked Ollivander. Now, even after being tortured and imprisoned by Voldemort, the old man seems both disgusted and fascinated by the idea of ​​a dark wizard having an elder wand.

"You—do you really think this wand exists? Mr. Ollivander?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yes," Ollivander said, "yes. It's completely traceable in history. Of course there will be interruptions, long interruptions, and it will come from people disappears from sight, temporarily lost or hidden, but always reappears. It has certain identifiable features that anyone who has studied wandology will recognize. There are some written records, some obscure, me and others Wand makers have researched it. There's some truth to those records. But don't tell Gwen, I keep telling her it's a wizard's fairy tale.

"Then you—you don't think it might be a legend, or a fiction?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"No," Ollivander said. "As to whether it needed murder to change hands, I don't know. It has a **** history, but that's probably only because it is such a A coveted object that arouses strong desire among wizards. It is immensely powerful, it can be dangerous in the wrong hands, and for those of us who study the power of wands, it is an alluring object."

"Mr. Ollivander," said Harry, "you told You-Know-Who the Elder Wand is with Gregorovitch, isn't it?"

Olivander's face became - if possible - even more gray and ghostly, and he choked with shock.

"Never mind how I knew that," Harry said, his scar burning and he closed his eyes slightly. For only a few seconds he saw the sight of Hogsmeade Avenue, still dark because it was so far north. "You told You-Know-Who the Elder Wand was with Gregorovitch, didn't you?"

"It was a rumor," Ollivander said softly, "a rumor, many years ago, long before you were born! I believe it was Gregorovich himself. You You can imagine how good it would be for his business if it was rumored that he was researching and replicating the properties of the Elder Wand."

"Yes, you can imagine," said Harry, standing up, "Mr. Ollivander, one last thing, and then we'll let you rest. You know about the Deathly Hallows. what?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about," Ollivander replied, looking confused.

Harry looked at the sunken face, not sure Ollivander was not pretending.

"But I can tell you one thing, boy." Ollivander looked very distressed, "Everything I told You-Know-Who was at Dumbledore's direction - now the situation has come The most terrifying level."

"Thank you," said Harry. "Thank you very much. We're leaving now, so you can rest."

He led Ron and Hermione downstairs and caught a glimpse of Bill, Fleur, Luna and Dean sitting at the kitchen table with teacups in front of them. They all looked up when Harry walked past the door, but he just nodded and continued into the garden, Ron and Hermione following. The pain in Harry's forehead intensified. Now he needs a huge effort to shut down the vision that pops into his head, but he knows that with just a little more patience, he'll soon give up and he'll have to test his reasoning. He had to hold on a moment longer to explain to Ron and Hermione.

"Gregorovich got the Elder Wand, a long time ago," he said, "I saw You-Know-Who was looking for him, but when I found it, the wand was no longer in Gregorovich It was stolen by Grindelwald. As for how Grindelwald knew that Gregorovitch had the Elder Wand,