FicWad

-I-I-I-

Still Wednesday, July 25, 1991

-I-I-I-

Taka tapped his fingers impatiently against the desk, staring steadily at the sweating goblin on the other side.

For his own part, Keephold couldn't understand why the human regarding him calmly a few feet away left him so much on edge. He certainly didn't look dangerous, not compared to some of his customers. Quite the opposite, really. Short, dark blonde hair and clear blue eyes most definitely kept the menace factor low.

Maybe it was the fact that he and the boy with him had simply walked up to the supervisor's desk and plopped down the key to one of Gringotts's oldest and largest vaults. Or that he was now waiting for information on why he could not access said vault.

At last, Keephold glanced away to see one of his best subordinates scuttling towards him. Relieved, he bent down to let Griphook whisper in his ear.

Both Taka and Kaze watched with interest as the two goblins conferred. Finally, the newcomer stepped back, and the first cleared his throat.

"First of all, sirs, I would like to apologize for the wait," he said with a little bow, which looked a bit odd since the goblin was still sitting cross-legged behind his desk.

Together, Master and Apprentice nodded their acceptance.

The goblin hesitated for a moment before plunging ahead. "And I also offer apologies on the behalf of Gringotts, but I'm afraid you cannot access that particular account at the moment."

"And why not?" Taka asked curiously.

Keephold sighed. "For the last three and a half centuries, it has been official policy to add several security spells to those already on any vault that has not been accessed within a period of ten years. Your family's vault was last accessed on December 28th, 1642."

Taka winced. "So basically, you've been ladling on more and more spells every decade since then."

The goblin nodded. "Correct, sir. There are so many spells on that vault that some of the older enchantments have... melded together. We have one of our best cursebreakers, William Weasley, working on dispelling them now, but it will take some time."

"Wonderful," the mage muttered quietly, before gazing again at the goblin. "Look, if we can't withdraw anything right now, can we at least make an exchange? We do need to buy some things while we're here."

Keephold nodded instantly, relaxing. "Of course, sir. What would you like to exchange?"

Taka reached into a seemingly empty pocket and pulled out four of the heart-sized rubies the Citadel had produced. "Will these be acceptable?" he asked, tumbling them rather carelessly on the mahogany desk.

For a moment Keephold simply stared, eyes wide as saucers. Then he dove behind his desk, quickly emerging triumphant with a jeweler's loupe in one hand. Picking up one of the rubies, the goblin expertly screwed the glass into his eye.

The examination of all four took only a couple of minutes, in the course of which the light reflecting off the gems' facets drew several stares from the other customers. At last, Keephold set the last of them down, then gathered all of the rubies together and placed them in a set of golden scales.

"Well," the goblin said with an explosive sigh, folding his long-fingered hands. "These are... frankly, they're incredible. May I inquire as to where you got them?"

Taka simply shrugged. "They were lying around the house."

Keephold's mouth worked silently, until he shook his head and then himself. "Griphook!" he called, and the second goblin, who'd hung around unnoticed in the background, scurried over. A few hurried instructions later, he had left with the same speed.

"We will be glad to exchange these for wizarding currency," said the goblin supervisor, obviously resisting the urge to reach out and touch the gleaming gems. "However, the sheer number of Galleons involved is... shall we say, impractical for carrying around on your person. Might I suggest we give you a portion of the proceeds now, and deposit the rest in your vault, once it has been reopened? It is... truly a prodigious sum."

Unconcerned, the mage simply shrugged again. "Go ahead."

It was a very bemused goblin that accompanied them to the doors a few minutes later, and three hundred Galleons richer in a spelled sack tucked into the older human's pocket.

Behind them, the rubies sparkled demurely in their golden throne.

-I-I-I-

"Now what?" Kaze asked as they stood on the white marble steps of Gringotts.

"Your wand first," Taka said firmly. "Anything else we can find back home, but your wand is one of a kind." Tugging his heir gently along behind him, he stepped off into the busy street.

The boy lengthened his stride to keep up. "A wand? But I thought you said those hurt magic?"

Taka grimaced. "If the proper precautions are not taken, and if the wand doesn't quite fit you, then yes, it can be harmful. But I'll teach you how to balance it and yourself before you go to Hogwarts."

"Oh." Kaze dodged around three grey-bearded wizards arguing over the price of fire opals. "Does that mean you have one, sir?"

The mage nodded. "I received it when I was only a little older than you are now. "I'm afraid I haven't had much use for it since, though. Even balanced properly, it isn't the most comfortable magic to use for anyone with our senses." He snorted, fingering a pocket. "In fact, I believe this is the first time I've even carried the damn thing on me in some three hundred years."

Taka blinked as a thought struck him. "And speaking of wands, you'd best call Zephyr back. We'll need him."

Kaze nodded, closing his eyes briefly and trusting his master to lead him safely through the crowds. :Zeph?: he called. :Master Taka says you need to come join us.:

Surprisingly, his familiar wasn't all that adverse to the idea. Curious, Kaze sent a concerned query over the mental bond.

Zephyr snorted. Are you kidding? Sure, it's nice to be able to stretch my wings a bit, see new places, and all that, but it'd be a lot nicer if the damned air didn't stink!

The boy winced in sympathy. :It's that bad?:

You wouldn't believe what the Normals have done to it. It's like bathing in one of the Master's failed concoctions. Both the air elemental and his Bonded grimaced. Anyway, I'll be there in a few minutes.

Kaze nodded, and opened his eyes as Taka paused in front of a shop. Looking up, he read the sign above the door:

Ollivanders

Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

Suddenly apprehensive, the young Guardian took a deep breath and followed his mentor into the shop.

-I-I-I-

Just a little annoyed, Dumbledore gave the goblin a menacing glare. "I understand you can't violate your client's confidentiality. I don't want to know what's in the man's vault, I simply wish to know which way he went!"

The goblin frowned at the little group as his hands ceaselessly stroked an enormous ruby. "And how am I to discern the truth of that statement? Once I tell you what I know, what guarantee do I have that you will not harm my client?"

Severus and Minerva shared a glance as their Headmaster was momentarily stymied. "I... give you my word, as a member of the Wizengamot, that I have no malevolent intentions towards the man, unless he has such towards me or mine. I just need to speak with him about his... charge. Satisfied?"

Keephold studied them for a moment more, and finally nodded. "I accept that you mean what you say, but I cannot help you."

Severus felt a bit like losing his temper himself. "And why not?" he bit out.

The infuriating goblin simply shrugged, sending the younger wizard an annoyed look. "He did not inform me where he would be going next. Therefore, I cannot tell you."

It was at least a full minute before that fully percolated through the minds of the group of wizards. When it did, the silence that followed was only broken again by the Head of Slytherin. "And why," he asked, voice soft, but steadily growing louder, "didn't you tell us that before, you little misbegotten, miserable excuse for a piggy bank?!"

-I-I-I-

The shop was both tiny and so full of stuff it was nearly bursting out through the doors. Kaze thanked the Makers that he wasn't claustrophobic as he moved further into the store.

"Hello?" Taka called, looking around. When several seconds passed with no answer, he shrugged. "Odd."

"Good morning."

Both of the Guardians jumped, as the parchment-thin voice spoke from the back of the shop. Kaze twisted to see an ancient wizard standing behind the even older ebony counter. Waiting a moment for his heart to slow down, the boy glanced over at his Master as the mage stepped forward. "We need to purchase a custom wand," he said quietly.

The old man- presumably Mr. Ollivander- raised an eyebrow in surprise. "A custom wand... It's been a long time since anyone requested one of /those/..." Frowning thoughtfully, he studied them a few moments longer before nodding. "As you wish. If Mister Potter will come over here, we'll get started."

Kaze blinked, startled. "How did you-?"

Ollivander smiled at him, creasing the corners of his oddly pale eyes. "Every summer Headmaster Dumbledore provides me with a list of new students to provide wands for. In addition to that, you greatly resemble your parents."

The boy's face lit up as he walked over to the indicated spot. "You knew my parents?"

The smile widened. "Not well, I'm afraid. I merely sold them their first wands. Your mother's was made of willow, with a phoenix feather as its core, while your father's was of mahogany and the heartstring of a rather powerful Chinese Fireball." The old man cocked his head slightly. "It was as though I were seeing your father again as he bought his wand, when I saw you standing there."

By this point the young Guardian was almost beaming. Taka watched from the sidelines with a little smile of his own as Ollivander pulled out an enchanted tape measure and began calculating the boy's dimensions. After a minute, he let go to let it finish up the measurements on its own.

Moving towards the back of the store, Ollivander vanished into an unnoticed doorway. Quickly he reemerged, holding several wooden rods of various colors and lengths. "All right, Mister Potter. What will you be customizing your wand with?"

Kaze sent his Master a questioning look, and the mage stepped forward. "Take out your instrument, child."

There was only the briefest of hesitations before he reached into his pocket and pulled out the miniature lute he'd been fingering all morning. The beautiful little instrument twanged softly, and Kaze gently pressed his fingers over its six silver strings to quiet them. He stroked the rowan wood reassuringly as he held it out to the older Guardian.

Taka shook his head, silently telling him to keep it. "You need to choose which of the strings resonates most closely to your magic. That string will go into your wand."

Biting his lip, Kaze looked down at his favorite truly portable instrument. It had taken him forever to tune the strings so they would resonate together, and affect the ether with perfect synchronization. And now he would have to break that chord...

He sighed, and carefully detached the A string from its pegs. It wasn't his favorite note, but it was the one that affected his inherent magic the most. With only a few regrets, he handed the silver strand over to the wand maker.

It was at that moment that Zephyr flew through the wall, making Kaze smile and the old man to nearly drop the string as he gasped.

"You can see him?" Kaze asked, surprised, as the elemental wound himself around his Bonded's arm.

Ollivander smiled, and carefully placed the tip of a finger over one eye. Within seconds, he'd pulled out a tiny object, and a perfectly normal brown eye looked back at them. "These are magical lenses that allow me to see many things beyond the surface. They help me place the right wand with the perfect wizard." With that, he replaced the nearly-invisible sheet, and the strange silvery eyes Kaze had wondered about were back.

"Now," he said, "I presume we'll also need something from this fine fellow?" He gestured towards Zephyr.

Taka nodded. "Along with the actual wand core, yes." He looked towards where he presumed his heir's familiar to be. "You'll need to give up a strand of fur."

Zephyr sighed in Kaze's mind. Wonderful... Well, let the pain begin.

The boy stifled a laugh at his familiar's dramatics. Thoughtfully, he ran a finger down the muscular, snake-like body, ignoring the glare he was getting from the proud eagle's head. "Um, fur or a feather?" he asked.

"Fur. A feather would be too stiff for what I need to do," Ollivander said quickly.

Nodding, Kaze immediately pulled out a strand of the golden, nearly translucent fur. He ignored the elemental's yelp of pain as he handed it to the old man.

Ollivander smiled and walked behind the counter to pull out a heavy case. Opening it, he carefully placed the two strands between his fingers and ran them over the case's glass-covered contents. He began in a sweeping spiral, one that gradually tightened until the filaments came to rest atop of a burning feather.

"Phoenix feather, then," he muttered. "Seems you received more from your mother than just your eyes." Pulling a pale wand the pocket of his robes, he double-tapped on the panel, and the wand ingredients inside changed until there was nothing but fiery plumes inside. He repeated the motions, coming to a stop on the second-to-last feather.

"Curious..." he murmured softly, so quietly that neither of his customers heard. With a quick shake of his white head, he pulled the feather from its slot.

Both of the Guardians watched with interest as the old wand maker braided the three ingredients together with dexterous hands. "Almost done," he said absently. "Now all that's left is the wood itself..." They shared an anticipatory glance as he lifted the hollow wands he'd brought earlier one at a time from the counter. He was nearing the end of the selection when at last he paused, turning one wand over and over in his hands.

With a decisive movement, Ollivander thrust the cores into the rod, pulling a tiny potions vial from his pocket and letting a drop fall into the open end. The wand briefly glowed a pale yellow, and when the radiance faded, it was complete.

Smiling wearily, the old man handed the brand-new wand to Kaze. "Well, give it a wave!"

At his nervous glance, Taka smiled at his child reassuringly, and the Guardian brandished the wand. All three, four, if you included the familiar, sighed as the air around them shimmered and a haunting refrain swept over them.

"Ah, yes," Ollivander said softly. "I believe we may expect great things from you, Mister Potter."