Hermione's advice turned out to be invaluable, as when Harry entered the Great Hall he was assaulted by a swarm of camera flashes and a barrage of voices, every one of them trying to shout over the others. Harry ignored them all, and his escort helped plough the way through to where the other champions were already waiting. Fleur and Cedric were chatting, while Krum sat stoically, much like the way he appeared in many of his Quidditch posters. Ludo Bagman had once again taken center stage, and off to the side were several mediwitches, as well as Ollivander.
"Everyone, please settle down. The Weighing of the Wands is about to begin. Please keep quiet until after the champions have been inspected and save your questions for afterwards." After reporters finally settled down, Bagman introduced Mr. Ollivander. "Britain's most famous wand-maker and wand expert, Mr. Ollivander, will be conducting the Weighing of the Wands today. Ladies first, of course. Miss Delacour, would you please step forward?"
Fleur walked up to the old, eccentric wandmaker and curtseyed to him. She handed him her wand, and he twirled it around in his fingers, then regarded it carefully. "Nine and a half inches, rosewood. Inflexible. Let's see here... Veela hair?" His eyes widened and he looked to Fleur.
"Yes, ze core of zis wand comes from ze 'ead of my own grandmuzzer," Fleur stated proudly. "Eet was custom-made for me."
"Hm..." Ollivander gripped the wand and conjured a small stone block. He then levitated the block up and down, although it didn't seem to go the same height or speed each time. He transfigured it into a block of wood, then set it on fire. The flames very nearly caught the old wandmaker off guard, as they erupted from the tip of the wand and completely engulfed the wood right away. He extinguished the flames by conjuring water, cast a reductor to blow it to spliters, then vanished everything. "Rather temperamental, Veela hair. I never use it myself." Seeing Fleur's disapproval of his assessment, he handed the wand back to her. "I'm certain it is highly attuned for you, especially if your grandmother gave that hair with you in mind. Could you perform the same set of spells, please?"
Fleur took her wand back, and expertly conjured the stone, levitating it with complete control. The transfiguration was much faster, and the flames far more controlled. She completed the round of spells twice as quickly as Ollivander did.
"Yes, that wand is certainly in perfect working order and is definitely very well matched for you, Miss Delacour. I declare this wand fit for competition." Fleur stepped back in line as Ollivander moved in front of Cedric. Two mediwitches walked up to Fleur and escorted her to the same side room they went to during the selection ceremony. Harry started to feel nervous, as the set of spells definitely involved two conjurations (albeit simple ones), transfiguration, and several charms. If he had to demonstrate it himself, he thought he might end up embarrassing himself. The other students were definitely confident in their abilities, having learned those spells in school already.
"Ah, one of my own. Twelve and a quarter inches, Ash. A pleasant springiness to it, if I may say so myself. Unicorn hair. Got it off one of the feistiest unicorns I've ever encountered. I see you've taken care of it."
Cedric grinned. "Polished it last night, sir." Harry quickly glanced down at his own wand. From sticking it into a troll's nose to dropping it in a pool of basilisk saliva, his wand looked far older than the three years he'd owned it. In fact, it seemed especially battle-worn given his last several weekends running around the Forbidden Forest being chased by, or chasing, Moody.
Ollivander performed the same set of spells as he did with Fleur, and then handed the wand to Cedric, who once again performed them slightly better than the wand-maker. "I know my wands, Mr. Diggory. They certainly like me, but this one definitely likes you. I declare this wand fit for competition."
Cedric was led away from the group by the two medi-witches to the same room, who had returned with Fleur during Cedric's inspection. Ollivander moved on to Viktor.
"Ah yes, a Gregorovitch. His style is certainly not to my taste, but I can't doubt his skill. Ten and a quarter inches, Hornbeam. Dragon heartstring core. Absolutely rigid, and slightly thicker than most wands I've seen. Very aggressive indeed." Ollivander then performed the same set of test spells. The flame seemed especially powerful, although not as strong as with Fleur's wand, and the reductor curse blasted the wooden block to sawdust instead of splinters. He handed the wand back to Viktor, who performed the same spells and certainly didn't bother turning down the power.
"A most powerful wand, very suited to charms and curses. You've got quite a bit of power there, Mr. Krum. I declare this wand fit for competition." Krum took his wand back and was led to the side room as Cedric emerged.
Harry finally noticed how all the journalists and photographers had their eyes on him when Ollivander stepped in front of him, asking for his wand. He handed his over.
"Yes, yes, yes... I remember this one. Spent nearly seven decades in my shop before it finally found its master. Eleven inches, Holly. Nice and supple. Phoenix feather core," he said. Once again, he performed the set of spells as easily as he did with Cedric's wand before handing it back to Harry. Harry hesitated for a moment. He realized he was being very nervous, and he would have to perform several spells above his year level in front of a large crowd. Sure, he'd performed the Patronus charm last year, which was pretty special, but he got a lot of training for that. This time it was sixth- and seventh-year spells he'd need to perform flawlessly or else the press would have a field day. He was nearly hyperventilating when he remembered Hermione's advice.
Stay calm, he thought to himself. Good advice, Hermione. When he thought of her, he suddenly remembered when they activated the very first beacon. He had performed complex conjuration without even thinking. He had learned all this before. In fact, he'd probably done this particular set of spells, in front of this crowd, several times before. Hopefully he could rely on his instincts for this. Taking a deep breath, he tried not to think too hard and conjured a brick, levitated it several times, turned it to wood, set it on fire, doused it with water, blew it up, then vanished the mess. His arm was practically moving by itself the whole time, without pausing. It seemed that he had performed all the spells expertly, and faster than everyone else as well.
Ollivander was smiling gleefully while Fleur and Cedric looked at him in surprise. "That wand is serving you very well, Mr. Potter, although I would ask that you take better care of it. I declare this wand fit for competition." Harry was led by the two mediwitches to the side room as Viktor rejoined the other school champions.
"Please lie down on the cot, Mr. Potter. We're just here to perform a quick medical and magical checkup." He lay down on his back, realizing what this could mean. They had better not ask me to take my shirt off or look at my back... he worried.
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