The sickly, iron-fisted beauty in Harry Potter

Ollivander giving Dolly his old wand was a sign of his trust in her and his expectations for her.

Dolly was genuinely planning to learn from Ollivander, so she naturally wouldn't do anything unnecessary.

Ollivander smiled and handed the wand to Dolly, who took it and played with it for a while, muttering to herself.

"Made of applewood, 13 inches long, and the core... could it be unicorn tail hair?"

Dolly finished speaking in a questioning tone.

Ollivander's voice came from behind the counter: "Miss Dursley, it's a pity I'm not a professor at Hogwarts, otherwise I would definitely give you ten points."

"How did you know all this? Did you just have a feeling?"

Ollivander's eyes were full of curiosity. Dolly smiled faintly and said, "As for the length, you can just estimate it by sight."

"As for materials, I've read some popular science books about wand science."

"Finally, there's the staff core. I was just guessing, but it seems I was right."

Dolly was telling the truth, which is why she did some research before coming, such as learning how to distinguish common types of wood.

If it were wood found only in a magical world, Dolly probably wouldn't recognize it.

Unfortunately, this wand is made of applewood, a common and frequently used type of wood in the Muggle world.

Dolly still remembered the properties of applewood.

They are powerful and especially suitable for those with lofty ideals and pursuits, because applewood is not suitable for black magic.

Holders of applewood wands often possess the unusual ability to communicate with other magical creatures in their languages.

The unicorn's tail hair core also has the property of being unable to use dark magic, making it a perfect match for apple wood.

But this combination means that the wand is a pure and noble wand, almost entirely incapable of using dark magic.

With that, Dolly waved her wand.

A cluster of pure white flowers appeared at the tip of the wand, and Ollivander's eyes flashed with surprise the moment he saw them.

His giving the wand to Dolly might have been a test of her thinking.

Although the craft of wand making may seem harmless, if someone who has learned it were to create wands that could harm people, it would be a great scourge.

Ollivander naturally wanted to test Dolly's character, but he didn't expect Dolly to give him a result so quickly that he couldn't find fault with her.

It's worth noting that unicorn tail hair has another characteristic: regardless of whether its first owner was a brilliant wizard, it will maintain a strong connection with that person.

In other words, the unicorn's tail hair has certain distinctive characteristics.

As a result, even such a wand was incredibly obedient in Dolly's hands, which shows Dolly's temperament and talent.

So Ollivander solemnly took out a book filled with his own insights and experiences, and handed it to Dolly.

“Miss Dursley, your task for the next few days is to finish reading this book.”

139 The Role of Intelligence

Although Dolly's process of learning from Ollivander was very unprofessional, Ollivander taught her with the utmost seriousness.

As for the remaining issues...

For example, what if Ollivander taught Dolly this knowledge, and then Dolly tried to take over their family's business?

Ollivander did not ask.

This doesn't mean he was unaware of these problems, but rather that he chose to ignore them.

Even if what he is doing now may pose a great danger to himself, his family, and even his lineage, Ollivander can no longer care.

He just wanted to see how much potential Dolly had.

Clearly, this old man has entered a state of seeking knowledge, and he is now willing to sacrifice everything for the truth.

Dolly, of course, would not let the old man's kindness go to waste.

Dolly's purpose in coming here was simple: to get a wand that she could use at will.

But now, Dolly also wants to see just how far she can go in making wands.

So, in the following days, Dolly began to study the book attentively, as Ollivander had requested.

Dolly quickly realized that this was not an easy job.

Leaving aside the craftsmanship and skills required to make a wand.

Determining the magical effects of each material and how to combine them is a huge challenge.

Dolly even had to memorize every single combination, and also the magical changes that resulted from those combinations.

Finally, one can learn the most basic theoretical knowledge to make a qualified magic wand.

This still doesn't take into account the different results caused by the different properties of various materials.

If this is taken into account, then making a wand requires not only theoretical knowledge and practical skills, but also a long time and countless failures to accumulate experience.

This job... sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it?

It seems that making potions is a similar situation?

Making potions is even more difficult than making wands, because the properties of potion ingredients are far more numerous than those of wand ingredients.

In addition, while the process of making wands may seem complicated, the timing and techniques for brewing potions are equally complex.

Give the simplest example.

Many potions are brewed over months, but Ollivander's wand obviously cannot be made in months.

Every year, the number of new students at Hogwarts, plus the customers who accidentally break their wands and need to buy new ones, adds up to at least a hundred people.

Although adult wizards can buy wands from other wand shops, this at least shows that Ollivanders made wands at most in weeks.

At most, it can extend the time when crafting certain Heartfelt Wands.

Of course, Ollivander may not have made the wand by himself, so this time could be extended appropriately.

In short, after this comparison, Dolly's restless mood calmed down.

Since making a wand is something that seems less complicated than brewing a potion.

So how could Dolly, who could persevere even in Snape's Potions class, be deterred by the difficulty of wand lessons?

So Dolly spent a whole week getting familiar with everything in the book.

Of course, the "familiarity" mentioned here is just that—familiarity.

At most, Dolly would look up the book when she needed the knowledge, rather than memorizing the entire text.

This is Dolly's normal level; even if Dolly tried her best, she couldn't possibly memorize the book in a week.

Clearly, Dolly's performance left Ollivander slightly disappointed.

After all, he also hoped that his apprentice would be a rare genius who could astound everyone with his every move.

But Ollivander also knew very well that this was impossible.

Making wands is a tedious craft, and few people in their family are willing to learn it, let alone ordinary wizard apprentices.

Ollivander has recruited at least seven or eight apprentices in his lifetime, but unfortunately none of them have been able to go all the way; they haven't even made a single wand.

By comparison, Dolly was already considered very serious and meticulous.

After that, Ollivander wrote a few simple questions on parchment and asked Dolly to answer them.

Although Ollivander forbade Dolly from reading the book this time, Dolly still managed to answer most of the questions based on her memory and understanding.

Dolly's understanding, in particular, caught Ollivander's eye.

For example, in the last question, Ollivander asks Dolly, "What exactly is a wand?"

If you were a complete outsider, you would probably answer: A wand is a tool used to cast spells; it is a short, long wooden stick with a core.

A more knowledgeable person would answer: There are many different types of wood and cores available for wands. Each wand is unique due to its material, core, length, and other characteristics. If you use a wand that is not your own, the magic will be much less effective.

However, this is already the limit.

For wizards, their primary focus is on how to use wands better, rather than asking what a wand actually is.

Kodory's answer was: "A wand is an extension of a wizard's body. It is a structure and craft that helps wizards complete the process of releasing magic at the extremities of their bodies, in order to improve wizards' lack of control over magic."

Ollivander could tell that Dolly was only speaking in generalities.

Kodori's words, however, touched on the core issue.

Why does Ollivander insist that the wand should choose the wizard, rather than the other way around?

That's because wizards have very weak control over magic, and it's even getting weaker and weaker.

Most wizards can no longer feel the magic flowing through their fingertips, and they can't even control it in their palms.

At this point, the only way for wizards to regain control of magic is through the intricate structure of wands and the use of premium materials from magical creatures.

In this process, the wizard and the wand must become one, as if they were one life.

In addition to what was mentioned above, the wizard could no longer feel the magic at his fingertips.

Therefore, the choice of the wizard can only be made by the wand, since the wizard has neither the right nor the ability to choose the wand.

This wasn't just Ollivander's obsessive habit and style; in his eyes, it was the real truth.

Of course, Dolly's answer alone was not enough to get past Ollivander.

Next, Dolly will learn to feel the different effects of each type of wood and magical animal material on magic with her fingertips.

This is a process that truly tests one's talent; it's impossible to do without it.

In other words, Ollivander, as a wand maker, must possess a magical perception more sensitive than most wizards.

Only in this way can wand makers carve wands into tools suitable for wizards, instead of making them into a piece of wood.

If Dolly doesn't do a good job in this process, then she will only become a wand theory researcher, completely ignorant of the actual wand making process.

Clearly, this process also proved challenging for Dolly.

Looking at the hundreds of types of wood laid out on the table in front of him, Ollivander's requirements were very simple.