mudblood_andproud | Books, Broomsticks and Butterbeer Oh My! ((Jim))

"There is the The Tales of Beedle the Bard, but I should loan you my copy, since I was able to translate the original copy from the ancient runes into English."

"And they have a copy of Sonnets of a Sorcerer, poetry."

Hermione then led Jim to the section of books written by Gilderoy Lockhart. "And here are the novels written by a man, who at one time was my favorite author. The adventures written in those books are adventures, that other wizards and witches had, and then the author took credit for."

Jim's up for poetry, and tucks that under his arm with the herbology book. He raises his eyebrows when Hermione tells him about the Lockhart books. "Isn't that basically just plagiarism?"

"Worse. He used memory charms to steal their memories, and claim them as his own." Hermione frowned. She used to have such a crush on him, before she learned the truth.

"The adventures are really captivating. But you have to consider the fact that Gilderoy accomplishing them is the fiction of the books."

"Yeah, I'll pass on that too. Not a fan of supporting that kind of liar."

"When he taught at Hogwarts, and we didn't know about the truth, I fancied him. A lot." Hermione sighed. She moved to another bookshelf, taking a few books on advanced potions and healing charms.

"Then we found access to the Chamber of Secrets. Ron and Harry had to face off against him, to protect their own memories."

"He is in St. Mungos now. His memory is completely gone."

Jim doesn't really know what to make of that, but he remembers the name of that hospital she'd mentioned before. And even if this author is some kind of... magical amnesiac now, it still doesn't feel right to support his lies by buying his books.

"So," he says instead, slightly changing the subject, "has anyone written anything about the effects of isolation on the magical community? Or at least a history of how and why it happened?" He figures that he might be able to give better feedback and suggest better ideas if he knows more about the background of the whole thing, although they've made significant progress already.

Hermione pauses to think for a moment. "I think the closest we have to that, is History of Magic."

She searches the bookshelves, until she comes across a copy. "Most students at Hogwarts are encouraged to read this book, as part of their studies."

"I have my own copy on me at all times..." She shakes her pouch lightly.

Jim wonders how far back the book goes, but that's a good start. "Three books seems like enough to get me started."

"Excellent." Hermione takes her book selections back to the counter. She sets them down there. A large collection of Arthimancy books were also waiting by the counter for the witch to return.

"Put all of these, and his, on my account please."

"Certainly Miss Granger!"

Jim puts his books up with hers, so they can be properly accounted for, and once the transaction's done he slips them into his shoulder bag. It is beyond weird that the weight of the books just disappears, and he resists the urge to peek inside and make sure they're still there.

"Thanks."

"My pleasure. Is there anywhere else you would like to check out?" There are a lot of place around Hogsmeade that are interesting to see. Shops to tour, even if one is not interested in purchasing anything.

"I think we'll be doing a bunch of window shopping today," Jim says with a smile. Being an actual tourist is a novelty, and he intends to enjoy the opportunity. "How about that wand shop? I'd love to know more about how all that works."

"Sure thing. The one here is a branch of Ollivanders, which is the main supplier of wands to the wizarding world." Hermione guides him down the road to the store.

There is a family of wizards that enter the Ollivanders branch right before Hermione and Jim does. She stays back, as the family goes to the counter top, to get a wand selected for their youngest child.

"Watch this..." Hermione whispers to Jim.

There is a process of different wands being given to the child, and then the child being asked to perform a simple charm. Either levitation or an Accio. And when those spells fail, the Wizard in charge of wands will put that wand away and get a new one. Until finally, a magical light appears in the child's hand when they touch the final wand given to them.

"They're that picky on compatibility!" He had assumed a wand was more like a phaser: mass-produced, identical design, able to be used by anyone with the right anatomy for it. Apparently not, given how many this kid just went through.

"It is much more than just compatibility, Jim. That light... it was the wand picking the wizard."

"The connection made between the wand and the wizard is so strong, that properties of wands can also reveal aspects of their owners' characters."

"All wands are crafted by wand wood, collected by tree guardians. Then a magical core is inserted into the wand, to give it that magical strength. Phoenix feathers, unicorn hairs, and dragon heartstrings are used most commonly, since they are the most powerful and best of magical cores."

"No two wands are the same."

"What happens if the kid doesn't find a match? Do they have to go all over the place to other wand stores?" The whole idea sounds kinda bonkers to him, but he doesn't know enough about it to really judge. Besides, if it's up to the wand, it isn't like they can do anything about it.

"We are wizards, Jim. There is a Floo network in the back, so they can send or receive other wands, if the need requires."

Hermione gestures to the shelves and shelves of wands. "But usually, the wand ends up in the shop where it will be found by its owner."

He frowns, a bit uneasy with the implications of that. That means that the wands somehow know where they'll need to be... whether through clairvoyance or fate, it's still unnerving. "And there's only one wand per wizard, so if yours gets lost or destroyed, you're out of luck? Or does it not work like that?"

"There is no two wands the same, but that doesn't mean there is only one wand per wizard." Hermione explains.

She takes out her own wand. Vine wood, like her first.

"During the war, I had my first wand taken and broken. This one is my new one."

"And I had to use another Witch's wand for a little while. It is possible, but the wand can give you difficulties since it can sense you are not its chosen owner."

That's really weird, like the wands are somehow alive or sentient. But that's kind of been consistent since he started looking into this whole magic thing; there's a lot of stuff that either doesn't make sense with what he knows, or is just so far out of his realm of experience that it's all new to him.

"How does it actually work? Does the wand channel magic from you, or does the power come from the wand itself?" They'd talked about wandless magic on the train, of course, but with as difficult of a feat as they made it sound, it's possible that either situation could be true.

"The wand is like a... conduit for your magic. It helps direct the magic that is within the wizard or witch into their charms, spells and potions."

She holds out her wand to Jim, with a slight nod of permission. "The wand would only work with someone who had the magical ability. If a Muggle found my wand, they couldn't go around casting spells. If another Witch took it from me, my wand would make it harder for them to cast properly."

"But I don't need my wand to feel my own magic. It is still there, no matter what."

Jim takes the wand in hand, turning it over to examine it. It's obviously been crafted by an expert and shaped a certain way, but it just feels like wood to him. While it's what he expected, he is a little disappointed not to feel something more... well, magical. "So it's more like a focus."

"Sometimes, wizard children will cast spells randomly during their youth, before they get their letter to Hogwarts, or a wand. The ability to cast wandless magic is an ability we are all born with. But we have to train, to have a good handle on it."

Jim gives the wand an experimental flick, like testing out a melee weapon to get a sense of its weight. He may not be able to cast spells, but he can see a couple of ways it could be useful in close-quarters combat anyway. Flipping it around, he offers it back to Hermione, handle first.

"So Muggles can't use wands because they don't have that inborn magic, or at least not enough to use." Because there has to be some reason why magical children are sometimes born to nonmagical families, and he hasn't seen any reason to believe genetics are necessarily involved. "Are there any kinds of magic that Muggles can use? Like potions or enchanted items or something."

Hermione nods with a smile. She goes up to the counter. "Good afternoon, Mister Corrigan. Would you happen to have any Weasley Wonderful Wands available?"

"Hmmmm I would have to check Miss Granger." The elderly wizard takes his time searching through the shelves.

"Yes. Yes, here are a dozen. Here you are Miss Granger."

Hermione carefully takes the wand from him, then returns to Jim. "Here. You would be able to cast a couple of simple spells, by using it."

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

That was meant to be a question... Curse this tiny iPod keyboard

i took it as an astounded question

That works

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject