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Post by cronon on Aug 8, 2007 19:37:00 GMT -5
Alexander shook his head. That wasn't really what he was talking about, but then again what he was trying to explain probably wasn't something common. "No, Sir. Not like that...like, more of a feeling rather than actual doing. You see, my parents have told me all of these amazing stories that have nothing to do with magic. It probably makes no sense, I'm sure. But when I say natural magic, I'm talking about a magic that muggles have and they don't even know it."
Alexander must have sounded like a complete and total idiot to the man, but he knew what he was talking about. It was how two people fell in love with one another. It was when things just happened to be so perfect in a person's life where they knew nothing in the world could go wrong...it was what happened when love and hate were both in the equasion. It was....natural magic. And, it was what he wanted to accomplish and have, without using magic from the wizarding world. He just wished someone could understand, so they could better explain it to his mother. Alexander sighed.
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Post by Nick Taylor on Aug 9, 2007 21:22:54 GMT -5
A soft smile appeared on Nick's lips as the young man explained what he was talking about. The wand maker listened as the teenager explained, nodding on several occasions. As he received more of an explanation, Nick knew exactly what the teenager was talking about. He continued to smile, a little more as the seconds passed.
"Natural magic..." Nick trailed off, looking at the student in front of him. "Like when you everything's happily-ever-after?"
After everything clicked, it seemed totally ridiculous to him that he hadn't understand the young man before. Nick would never want to give up his wand and live a Muggle life... but he definitely wouldn't mind a little "natural magic" in his life.
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Post by cronon on Aug 11, 2007 16:25:31 GMT -5
Alexander smiled a bit relieved as the man seemed to understand what he was talking about. It was an amazing idea. One of which Alexander would put money on that if you put one of those kinds of situations in front of any witch or wizard, they would swear on their wands that there had to be magic involved. But there wouldn't be, and that was what Alexander was looking for in his life.
"Yes, something like happily-ever-after I suppose. However, going to Hogwarts, I don't find many that are...well, looking for someone who needs a muggle knight in shinning armor." Alexander laughed at his childishness, but he felt as if finally, someone, even if it was the wandmaker, understood what he was trying to explain.
"Though, I'm sure you wouldn't think that it'd be that hard explaining it to my mum....since we practically live the life as such...but I think she wants bunches of witch and wizard babies in my future..." Alexander trailed off and filtered his hand through his hair, sighing heavily. He was only sixteen, and shouldn't be worrying about such. However, in less than a year he'd be considered a man....where did the stress end? Already, Alexander could feel the non-existent hives forming on his neck.
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Post by Nick Taylor on Aug 12, 2007 0:00:30 GMT -5
Nick nodded his head vigorously as his customer continued to speak to him, offering a smile when appropriate. It impressed him that someone young enough to still be attending Hogwarts had this all thought out so clearly. Even as a thirty-one year old, Nick hadn't decided what he thought about the types of things this young man was speaking about. He was obviously very mature for his age.
As the teenager in front of him explained how difficult it was to explain the situation to his mother, Nick blurted out, "But surely you could live a life in the wizarding world while still finding the 'natural magic' to life."
Immediately, the wand maker turned red as he looked away. He really had no intentions to force his opinions on the young man, he just didn't bite his tongue enough when he should have. I really shouldn't have blurted that out, Nick thought as he made eye contact with the teenager again.
"I'm sorry," Nick said. "It's not really my place to say things like that. I apologize..."
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Post by cronon on Aug 13, 2007 19:35:57 GMT -5
Alexander thought about the man's statement a bit and shook his head. "No, no, no, please sir. Don't apologize. That has come into my mind, as well, but I'm not sure you can truly have 'natural magic' when you have wizard magic. Muggles have no sense of wizard magic, yet are able to still find the feats easier that even some wizards. No, I think it's more magical without..." Alexander nodded at the man as he trailed off. What else was there to say about it? He'd thought about it too much, that was for sure.
"But, I've thought about this too much, I'm sure of it," Alexander chuckled a bit to himself before sighing. Looking at the man, Alexander smiled and stuck out his hand. "I'm Alexander, by the way. And thanks for helping me with my wand 'issues'." Laughing again, Alexander rolled his eyes and sighed once more.
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Post by Nick Taylor on Aug 13, 2007 22:02:43 GMT -5
Smiling, he extended his arm and shook his customer's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Alexander; I'm Nick. I'm glad that we've been introduced, I don't think I've ever met someone who knew so adamantly that they wanted to leave the wizarding world, especially at such a young age."
Flashing back to his years at Hogwarts, Nick remembered how the presence of Voldemort only seemed to rise as he got older. Regardless, he still managed to have fun and cause trouble in his classes. He never had to worry about making such important decisions. He never had to worry about telling his parents something so life-altering. He had to worry about whether or not his teachers would notice that he used extra large handwriting to fill the three pages of parchment had been assigned.
Staring absently into Alexander's eyes, Nick sighed. He felt bad for the young man...
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Post by cronon on Aug 13, 2007 22:18:24 GMT -5
Alexander shrugged and smiled. He was content. Unique, most definately, but content all the same. "I figure I have to make the decision sometime," Alexander said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And since I'll be seventeen in less than a year, I figure I have to start figuring out what in fact I'll be doing with myself. I want to be a lawyer....like my dad."
A bright and confident smile crossed the boy's face. Sure, he hadn't told his mom yet, but if he at least kept his wand around and knew the spells, she couldn't get that mad right? It was what he was going to school for, any ways. He'd learned a bit, just not in what he wanted.
About to speak again, Alexander heard the store door's open and Patricia Cronon walked in, carrying a box of newly boughten quidditch supplies. Alexander looked down at the ground and rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. "Alex! I've got you a present...oh! Is your wand alright?" Patricia looked at Nick, not even paying much attention to her son's hiding facade.
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Post by Nick Taylor on Aug 14, 2007 21:44:38 GMT -5
As he heard the magical bell ring again, Nick took his eyes off of Alexander and stared up into the face of Alexander's mother. Smiling a greeting, his eyes flickered between the young man and his mother.
"Alex! I've got you a present... oh!" the mother said. "Is your wand alright?"
The wand maker stood, still smiling, completely unaware of what an appropriate response would be. He obviously wasn't going to tell Alexander's mother about the conversation they had just had -- that was something he would leave to the teenager, of course. At the same time, he wasn't going to lie and say that he had fixed the problem. Nick honestly had no idea what to say.
"Well...." Nick said, trailing off.
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Post by cronon on Aug 15, 2007 0:44:51 GMT -5
"Yea, everything's fine mum. Turns out, I've been holding my wand wrong or something," Alexander lied to his mother blantently and matter-of-factly. He didn't want to, but if he hadn't who would? Patricia looked at her son awkward and then towards the wand maker.
"Is that so?" she questioned suspiciously. Alexander tried his best not to let his smile fade from his face. If anything, that was his only key to getting out of this one without being grounded or something. Wow....for how badly he wanted to be a lawyer, he was an awful liar.
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Post by Nick Taylor on Aug 15, 2007 21:35:01 GMT -5
As Alexander's mother asked him if the problem really lied with the way the teenager held his wand, Nick instantly felt a cold, icy feeling in his stomach. It was certainly not his place to out the young man to his mother. On the other hand, he really didn't like the idea of lying to his customer.
Later, Nick would realize that the amount of time it took him to respond probably looked incredibly ridiculous and probably very suspicious. However, an internal debate was occurring within the wand maker. His first instinct was to tell the truth, to tell the woman that Alexander really just wasn't trying. However, his stronger instinct was to follow the teenager's lie.
Why am I having such a problem lying? thought Nick. I used to lie to my parents and teachers all the time... but this is a customer...
Finally, Nick smiled slightly, nodded, and slowly began to speak. "The core of Alexander's wand is... different... from most wands. It requires different techniques that your son probably isn't being taught at Hogwarts."
The wand maker was surprised at how easily the lie came out. He never used to have such problems when he didn't tell the truth. However, ever since he started getting paid for his knowledge in wandlore, he realized how much he detested lying to the customer. And even though Nick wouldn't be receiving any money for what he did, that didn't seem to make it any better...
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Post by cronon on Aug 16, 2007 21:07:34 GMT -5
Alexander was relieved when Nick didn't tell his mother the truth. With how long he took to answer, Alexander had started to sweat and worry quite a bit. He had thought about how to counter the man's truths that never came. But as he said, what he did, Alexander sighed and smiled brightly at his mother. Maybe a bit too brightly.
"Something wrong, Alex?" asked Patricia. Alexander shook his head and shrugged. "Not a thing, mum," Alexander became worried once more as he fidgeted with his robes, pushing them back around the holster that held his wand. It caught his mother's eyes, and she sighed while shaking her head. "Alex...I told you to get rid of that ratty thing. It's got holes in it...." As Alexander looked down at his wand holder, his mouth dropped.
"What are you talking about?" Alexander said to his mother undoing the belt like wand holster showing it off to both her and Nick. "It's fine!" In his hands, Alexander held a leather, cone shaped wand holder, with a belt strap that made it an obvious belt, and wand holder. It had a few small holes, but nothing to major to what Alexander could see.
Patricia sighed and shook her head. Looking at Nick, Patricia smiled sweetly. "You wouldn't by chance carry wand holsters would you? This was my Grandfather's...." she trailed off, still shaking her head at her son.
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Post by Nick Taylor on Aug 16, 2007 21:55:11 GMT -5
Smirking slightly as he watched the mother and son argue about the wand holster, Nick anticipated the woman's question: "You wouldn't by chance carry wand holsters would you? This was my Grandfather's...."
Nick nodded slightly before leaving the counter and walking towards the hallway to the right of where Nick was standing. The hallway led to the back rooms of the wand shop, but it also had shelves which Mr. Ollivander, the previous owner and Nick's mentor, had used to store extra supplies and wands he didn't put out on the public shelves.
"Unfortunately," Nick said, returning with a semi-large box, "there is absolutely no organizational system to these. They're all just thrown in this box so you'll have to dig through them until you find one you'd like."
He set the counter in front Alexander and his mother, before backing away slowly. "They all cost 12 sickles, in case you find one you like."
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Post by cronon on Aug 16, 2007 22:36:06 GMT -5
"12 sickles? See, Alex...that's not bad. Please.....get one that's not ratty. I'll even get it for you. What do you say?" Patricia said adoringly at her son. Only the best for him, or so Alexander would joke and roll his eyes about, many of times. "Alright...." he agreed reluctantly, but only to please his mother.
Looking through the the different holsters, he looked up at Nick and smiled. "Do many people buy these? I haven't seen many students have them. They usually keep them in their pockets or something." As he continued to look, one with what looked like scales popped out to him. It'd match his green robes if he held them up just right, and on the side there was an insignia that Alexander never before had seen. "What's this, 'F'....or is that a 'G'?" he pointed it out toward the wand maker, a puzzled look upon his face.
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Post by Nick Taylor on Aug 17, 2007 22:22:49 GMT -5
The wand maker smiled as he watched Alexander's mother convince her son to buy a new hostler. While the Hogwarts student rummaged through the box in front of him, Nick began to feel embarrassed. He had never really even considered creating a more organized method for displaying and storing the hostlers.
As a matter of fact, the wand maker really had no idea where the the wand hostlers came from. Most of them he inherited when he bought the shop, and a few he found and bought after testing their durability. Unlike the wands they held, hostlers never contained any magic (unless, of course, they were cursed or jinxed), so Nick never really cared about them, aside from their quality.
When Alexander asked what the letter on the back of a particular hostler meant, Nick hardly even glanced at the spot the student indicated. "It's probably the initial of the person who made the hostler. Not too many people use hostlers anymore, so I don't have any reason to produce them myself. When I come across a good, quality one, I buy it, test it for jinxes, and then throw it in the box. So, those hostlers come from all over the place."
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Post by cronon on Aug 17, 2007 23:13:39 GMT -5
"Oh." Alexander wasn't at all shocked that the man didn't make his own, nor was he shocked to hear that no one really used them. Alexander, however, found them incredibly handy. For not accepting his wizarding side, Alexander still found that side of himself that loved the idea of dueling. He had watched many western muggle movies and had seen a lot of duels with muggle guns and pistols. His favorite fights, however, were with John Wayne. The man was a genius in Alexander's mind, and when Alexcander had found his Great Grandfather's wand holster he couldn't believe his eyes. It was brown leather, with a snap cover to hold the wand in place. Nothing really fancy, yet not shabby either in Alexander's eyes. It was magnificent, and it made him feel as though there was a small part of him that wouldn't mind one day being an auror or hitwizard. Though, his grades weren't good enough for that, nor would his father find it very appealing, Alexander still liked the idea of the holster. Silly dreams he told himself as he smiled and continued to look through the selection. It was then that he found what he had been looking for. If he had to get a new one, it was going to be one worth having. "Here it is," Alexander said as he held up the one he wanted in awe. Patricia smiled at the sight and said nothing, just proud of her son for wanting to buy something worth going all the way to Diagon for. The holster was completely black, and it's cone shaped rounded at the end as if not to pinch or crowd the end of a wand. A sliver trim, and lining inside of the holster glistened, as did the outside. One small touch was all it needed, and without even thinking about it, Alexander took out his want and encrested the holster himself with a silver identification: "Alexander!" His mother scolded, but he couldn't hear her. His face was lit up and it looked as if a wizard had actually entered the body of the boy who wanted to be muggle. Alexander was impressed, with the holster but also with himself. "I want this one."
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