Ollivander looked terrified.

“He tortured me, you must understand that! The Cruciatus Curse, I – I had no

choice but to tell him what I knew, what I guessed!”

“I understand,” said Harry. “You told him about the twin cores? You said he just

had to borrow another wizard’s wand?”

Ollivander looked horrified, transfixed, by the amount that Harry knew. He

Nodded slowly.

“But it didn’t work,” Harry went on. “Mine still beat the borrowed wand. Do you

know why that is?”

Ollivander shook his head slowly as he had just nodded.

“I had . . . never heard of such a thing. Your wand performed something unique

That night. The connection of the twin cores is incredibly rare, yet why your wand would

Have snapped the borrowed wand, I do not know. . . .

“We were talking about the other wand, the wand that changes hands by murder.

When You-Know-Who realized my wand had done something strange, he came back and

asked about that other wand, didn’t he?”

“How do you know this?”

Harry did not answer.

“Yes, he asked,” whispered Ollivander. “He wanted to know everything I could

Tell him about the wand variously known as the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny, or the

Elder Wand.”

Harry glanced sideways at Hermione. She looked flaggergasted.

“The Dark Lord,” said Ollivander in hushed and frightened tones, “had always

been happy with the wand I made him – yes and phoenix feather, thirteen-and-a-half

inches. – until he discovered the connection of the twin cores. Now he seeks another,

more powerful wand, as the only way to conquer yours.”

“But he’ll know soon, if he doesn’t already, that mine’s broken beyond repair,”

Said Harry quietly.

“No!” said Hermione, sounding frightened. “He can’t know that, Harry, how

could he --?”

“Priori Incantatem,” said Harry. “We left your wand and the blackthorn wand at

the Malfoys’, Hermione. If they examine them properly, make them re-create the spells

they’ve cast lately, they’d see that yours broke mine, they’ll see that you tried and failed

to mend it, and they’ll realize that I’ve been using the blackthorn one ever since.”

The little color she had regained since their arrival had drained from her face. Ron

gave Harry a reproachful look, and said, “Let’s not worry about that now ---”

But Mr. Ollivander intervened.

“The Dark Lord no longer seeks the Elder Wand only for your destruction, Mr.

Potter. He is determined to possess it because he believes it will make him truly

invulnerable.”

“And will it?”

“The owner of the Elder Wand must always fear attack,” said Ollivander, “but the

idea of the Dark Lord in possession of the Deathstick is, I must admit . . . formidable.”

Harry was suddenly reminded of how unsure, when they first met, of how much

He like Ollivander. Even now, having been tortured and imprisoned by Voldemort, the

Idea of the Dark Wizard in possession of this wand seemed to enthrall him as much as it

Repulsed him.

“You – you really think this wand exists, then, Mr. Ollivander?” asked Hermione.

“Oh yes,” said Ollivander. “Yes, it is perfectly possible to trace the wand’s course

Through history. There are gaps, of, course, and long ones, where it vanishes from view,

Temporarily lost or hidden; but always it resurfaces. It has certain identifying

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 822