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Though the sun had risen further during the time Harry and Hermione had been inside the wizarding bank, there wasn't a great deal more light outside when the arrived. At some point, it had rained, and now a light mist covered the ground, leaving a bit of a winter chill in the air. Harry almost casually conjured a set of light jackets for himself and Hermione.

It also served to help a bit with the disguise. Noone could see details through the misty morning.

Despite the fact that Hermione had regained control of herself, and didn't seem as fragile as she was inside, Harry didn't remove his arm from around her back and waist. This was more force of habit than anything else; since leaving the bank with an arm around her, there was no real impetus to change it. Nor, if Harry would be willing to admit to himself, did he want to.

Traveling through world after world, one learned how to manufacture the appropriate responses to nearly every situation, essentially to trick people into thinking you're reacting normally. However, the problem remains that it was just as easy to trick one's self at the same time.

Finally, Harry and Hermione arrived at the tiny shop that housed the best of all the British wand makers. Harry wondered, as he always did, why Ollivander kept himself in such a small place. With wands being needed by every wizard and witch before they started school, wouldn't a bigger place be more beneficial? And then Harry wondered what the effect of all that magic being in one place would be on the store. There was more magical potential in any space inside Ollivanders than there was in places of more active use, like Hogwarts itself.

Harry pushed open the door, and a bell clanged in the background. He spotted the rickety chair that had been there the first time he'd come, though it looked somewhat the worse for wear. Or perhaps that was from when Mister Ollivander had frightened both of them and Hagrid had sort-of 'crunched' the poor thing.

"Hello?" called Harry, peering around, knowing that Mister Ollivander had a tendency to appear out of nowhere to try and scare his customers. Unfortunately, looking one way meant that you weren't looking the other.

"Good morning, Mister Potter," Ollivander softly voiced, standing right behind the two Gryffindors.

Damn it! How does he keep doing that? Harry wondered.

"I was not expecting to see you again so soon. That is a most interesting look for you, Mister Potter. You are the spitting image of your mother, though I can see your father's lines in your face as well. And also a good morning to you, Miss Granger. Vine, 10¾", dragon heartstring, if I recall correctly? Excellent wand for charms work. Is it serving you well?"

"Er, yes sir?" Hermione said, flinching away slightly from the examination. The guy was a little creepy, what could she say?

"Good, good," Ollivander said. "And yours, Mister Potter? Holly, 11", phoenix tailfeather? Excellent for protective and defensive magics. Is it serving you well?"

"Er, yes sir?" Harry replied, almost unconsciously echoing Hermione. He wasn't so much spooked as annoyed. It didn't matter how many 'worlds' he'd been through, it seemed - Ollivander could still sneak up on him.

"Well, then what can I do for you two?" Ollivander said. "If you needed more supplies to care for your wands, you could have simply ordered through the post, after all."

"Er, well, Mister Ollivander, I need a new wand," Harry said, then paused thoughtfully. "And, sir, would you mind a slightly-personal question?"

Ollivander's eyebrows went up, and he nodded.

"Well, I was wondering if you were related to Luna Lovegood? I just noticed the similarities in both of your eyes."

The elderly man smiled, "Yes, young Luna is my great-granddaughter. I take it you've met?"

Well, not really. Or, at least, probably not yet in this reality. Harry thought. "I've seen her across the Great Hall. She's... distinctive."

"Ah yes, that's because she takes more after her paternal family side in some ways. On that side of the family, she is Cassandra Trelawney's great-great-great-granddaughter, if I remember correctly."

That was actually something he'd never heard before, but it made a LOT of sense. "Then she's related to Hogwarts' Divination teacher?"

"Yes, Sybill is her great-aunt. But, you were asking me about a new wand? You didn't say there was anything wrong with the old one?"

Harry nodded. "I should properly say that I need an additional wand. I was thinking one made with birch wood?"

"You are aware, young man, that very few are trained to be able to handle two wands at one time? Also, only Aurors and Unspeakables normally are allowed two wands." He paused for a long moment, taking in the two teenagers with their arms around each other. "I can assure you that both of your wands are quite capable of casting contraceptive charms. Should, in fact, be quite good at them."

Harry and Hermione blinked at this, then turned their heads to look at each other, confused. Both sets of eyes widened, and then, almost without passing through the intervening spaces, they were on opposite ends of the tiny room (which, granted, wasn't all that far away). Both of their faces were burning hot enough that they could almost set things on fire.

"No! No!" Harry protested. "We would never do that! We're just friends!" Harry's brain caught up with what his mouth was saying and he looked desperately at Hermione, who apparently hadn't caught it yet. "I mean, it's not that I wouldn't want to, or anything like that, but..." He almost screamed and turned back on Ollivander, "Damn it! You did that on-purpose!"

Ollivander chuckled softly, and he shook a wrinkled finger gently, "Oh, I do quite remember what it was like to be your age, young man. You are not fooling me."

Hermione managed to blow through states of embarrassment and anger, ending up with her old standby, curiosity. Her face was still flaming, but she asked, "Why did you think H... Harry was asking about a wand for con... contraception?"

Ollivander turned a grandfatherly smile on Hermione. It was much like Dumbledore's, but quite a bit more creepy. There was just something about those silvered eyes. "Because Mister Potter was requesting a wand made from birch."

Harry picked up the explanation, "Different woods have different associations with it. Holly, for example, is a wood associated with protection. I'm not quite sure what vine is..."

Once again, Ollivander smirked and watched their faces. "Emotions. And sensuality."

Yep, two sets of burning faces again.

"Vine wands excel in spellwork that is rooted in the use of emotion as control, and in the use of spells that either inhibit or expand sensuality. For the former, consider the levitation charm, one of the first taught. I would gather that you did rather well at it, Miss Granger?"

There was no mistaking the pride that came from Harry's voice. "First in our class, across all the houses." Crap! Her wand helps her express sensuality? That explains a lot about that world.

"As for the latter, I do believe I shall let the young lady discover that on her own," Ollivander said.

Harry cleared his throat. "In any case, birch wood represents healing magic and, yes, fertility magic. But I'm more interested in the more generalized aspect of life magic. Mister Ollivander, I need a wand that can help me counter the darkest of dark magics. Horcruxes, to be specific."

Ollivander's face lost all hint of humor. "That is not a topic any sane or reasonable wizard or witch should be involved with, especially one your age, Mister Potter."

Hermione asked, guilelessly, "What are horcruxes?"

Harry winced, having forgotten for just a moment who his audience was. "It's something else I can't talk to you about until you learn to occlude your mind. I will say that this is not something you should be involved in." Crossing the room to take her hands again, much as he had in the bank, "I know you're curious, and I won't make you make a Wizard's Oath since I trust you, but... I want you to promise to stay away from this, Hermione. This is major bad juju. I can't emphasize it enough." And, to a certain extent, I do understand why Dumbledore hesitated so long to talk to me about this. I just think it was a mistake.

Hermione frowned, not happy with this idea. She knew that her curiosity about this would just eat her up inside. "All right. I promise." So she would just have to study this occlumency thing, and then he could tell her. How hard could it be?

Harry released one of Hermione's hands and turned back towards Ollivander. "There's another reason I need a new wand as well. Because, in the worst possible situation, having my current wand is like not having a wand at all."

"Oh? How so?"

Harry lifted his holly wand. "Against its brother wand, priori incantantem applies."

Ollivander frowned again. "You are correct. That is something I had not considered. You need to have something that you can use against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's wand. I will do it, but there is one problem. I do not have any cores with the kind of power that you will need."

"Would a fang from a millennium-old basilisk do?" Harry asked, depositing a wrapped bundle on the counter.

"Priori incantantem?" Hermione asked. "Reversed spell effect? What does the ability to check what spells a wand has cast have to do with You-Know-Who's wand?"

Ollivander almost choked. "The fang from a millennium-old basilisk?" he squeaked, attention directed away from the other two. "Yes, yes, that should do." His hands twitched slightly as he moved behind the counter to unwrap the fang.

"If it helps, the venom from that beast still runs through my body, as well as phoenix tears, which are what healed me from it. Tears from the same phoenix that my normal wand core is from. So I don't think that there will be a problem of conflicting foci."

Ollivander jerked his head up and stared at Harry, who was still holding one of Hermione's hands. "It sounds like your wand has already seen its share of dangers."

"I have, and it has," Harry said. "But I'd be dead without my friends." He looked towards Hermione, who blushed suddenly at the attention.

Ollivander nodded distractedly, as he stared at the fang on the counter. "I will begin work on your new wand. Come back in a week. I should have an idea how long it will take by then."

"How much will it cost?" Harry asked.

Ollivander looked up. "If this turns out to be what you say it is, there will be no charge. I will merely keep the rest of it for making more wands." And, he didn't need to add, make up the cost by selling them.

"All right," Harry said. "Could you reinforce the wood at all? It's quite likely that it'll be taken into a combat scenario, so I'd like it to be tough."

"I'll see what I can do," Ollivander said, his tone distant as he examined the fang from every side.

Harry looked back at Hermione and nodded his head towards the door. The two edged their way out onto the street and closed the door carefully, in an attempt not to set off the bell.

"I forgot to ask him if he wanted me to take a message for Luna," Harry said. "But I don't think he'd even hear me if I went back in." He shrugged, and then ducked his head. "I'm sorry if I insulted you inside."

Hermione blinked in confusion. "I don't remember you insulting me. What are you talking about?"

Harry let out a breath of air. "Don't worry. It's not important, so long as you're not angry with me. C'mon. I need to get myself a new trunk, and then... then we can go to Flourish and Blotts to see how much of my money you can spend."

Hermione growled and took a swat at Harry with her free hand. "You....!"

"Yes, me!" He tugged on her hand and pulled her towards the next shop.