SPOILER!!: Felixir
Emerging from the back room behind the counter, Zeke spotted his next customer and his chaperoning adult. He gave both a wide, welcoming grin, but it was to the boy that he directed his words to when he spoke. He, after all, was the one getting the wand.
"Hello, hello," he said, and plucked his floating parchment from the air, on which were written the boy's measurements. "Let me just have a look at what we have here, and we'll find you a wand."
Zeke ran a finger down the column of numbers, doing all kinds of calculations and deductions as he went, then looked up again, with another smile. "Just a moment," he said, and strode away to one of his shelves.
He returned within the promised moment, having taken down one of the wand boxes. Now opening it up, he offered the wand inside to the boy. "Give this a wave, and let me know how it feels." They'd likely get a visible sign too, of course, but it still helped to get that feedback.
Alaric hesitated as the wand was handed to him, his fingers brushing against the smooth wood. He turned it over in his hands, feeling its weight, its balance, and how it seemed to fit perfectly in his grasp. His heart raced, and for a moment, he glanced toward his mother, who gave him an encouraging nod.
“
Alright,” he murmured to himself, gripping the wand a little tighter. Taking a deep breath, he gave it a careful wave.
A warm, golden light burst from the tip of the wand, spiraling upward like ribbons of sunlight. Alaric’s gray eyes widened in awe as the light illuminated his face, casting soft shadows across the shop. The air around him seemed to shift, humming with a newfound energy that resonated deep within him. It wasn’t just a wand—it felt like an extension of himself, as if the magic flowing through it had always been waiting for him.
The knot of nerves in his stomach loosened, replaced by an overwhelming sense of certainty. “
This is it!” he whispered, his voice filled with wonder. The wand felt alive in his hand, responding to his very thoughts, and he couldn’t help the small, triumphant smile that spread across his face.
Eleanor stepped closer, her expression proud and warm. “
I told you, the right one would find you.”
Alaric nodded, still mesmerized by the soft glow fading from the wand’s tip. “
It’s perfect.” he said firmly, gripping the wand with newfound confidence. For the first time since entering the shop, he felt ready for whatever Hogwarts had in store for him.