If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Ira Banner wasn't exactly PLEASED to be here. He was alright with the WAND part of it all, but the CHILDREN part? Circe save him. He KNEW Bryce thought it was hilarious too, he bloody knew that his boss was probably having a right old chortle about it. It was good publicity for his upcoming book and everything, but Ira wasn't writing for PEOPLE, he was writing for WANDS.
This classroom set up wasn't ideal either, but never mind, they’d not be stuck in here for too long because there was a field trip in order. Pre-approved, and Ollivanders-sponsored. Bryce was clearly just SO generous and it hadn't a thing to do with casually putting Ira into what was probably the LEAST COMFORTABLE SITUATION HE COULD POSSIBLY BE IN JUST FOR FOR KICKS. Oh no. Couldn’t be that. He'd have to talk to children who thought they knew him. Merlin.
Just breathe, Banner.
He set up the room as sparsely and uncomfortably as possible. There were chairs and desks. Not an ounce of personality or comfort or warmth. A long chalkboard at the front of the room, which had writing on it because Ira had no intention of saying anything to any of these kids until he absolutely had to. If they could follow instructions, that wouldn't be a problem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackboard
Place your permission slips on the edge of your desk, face up. Fill out the following information on a fresh piece of parchment. Don't get too comfortable. Wand Wood: Wand Core: Wand length: Wand flexibility: Is this your first wand? Yes/No If No, List the characteristics of any old wands here, and explain what happened to them: House: Name:
Now just to wait. In silence. Ira stood there leaning against the chalkboard, arms crossed over his chest, with a sour glare on his face as he eyed the door. Here they come.
Quote:
OOC: Hi guys! Welcome to your first seminar of the term! It’s all about wandlore and includes a field trip for which your characters would have been required to get a permission slip signed from parents or guardians. No permission slip = no field trip, no exceptions. If you don't want your character to go on the field trip that is fine, they'll get a task to do in class, but will not be eligible for full points, because Ira doesn't really care about being fair or whatever.
When you post your character arriving, placing the permission slip on their desk, and filling out Ira’s little questionnaire, I’ll add your character’s name to this first post. This first post will be edited throughout the seminar with information and links as needed with the aim of making it easier to jump in whenever you want to and join in from the most recent set of instructions. Please no catch up posts, just pretend you were there all along, or Ira will give you funny looks. Other than that, general class rules apply and have fun! Feel free to nudge me with any questions.
SPOILER!!: permission slip
Child's name:
Year:
House:
I __parent or guardian__ declare that __child's name__ is permitted to leave Hogwarts ground on a school sanctioned field trip to the Forest of Dean for the purpose of learning about Wandlore. I understand that while all precautions will be taken to keep my child safe, Hogwarts, Ollivanders, and the employees of both, do not take responsibility for any foul play or accidents which may occur during the field trip, and that my child must act responsibly and respectfully at all times while off Hogwarts grounds. My child agrees to follow all instructions given by the teacher, and understands that attendance is privilege not a right.
Parents signature:
Child's signature:
Student -Wand - Permission Slip Adelaide Adams - 11 inch springy Willow with Unicorn hair core - slip Nigel Barrington -11 1/4 inch balanced Walnut with Sphinx talon core -slip Clement Belrose -11 1/5 inch soft Rowan with Unicorn hair core - slip Ella Bishop -12 9/10 inch hard Spruce with Mackled Malaclaw shell -slip Marcus Branxton -11 3/4 inch balanced Fir with Griffin Claw core - slip Sophie Brown - 10 3/4 inch supple Vine with Dragon Heartstring (Chinese Fireball) - slip Alexa Cambridge - 9 3/4 inch strong English Oak with Griffin Claw core - slip Sophie Campbell -12 1/4 inch flexible Elm with Unicorn Hair core - slip Sky Carter-Hope -11 inch swishy Beech with Phoenix feather core- slip Olivia Clarke -9 1/4 inch balanced Hazel with Kneazle Whisker core - slip Adrienne Colbert - 9 1/4 inch firm Acacia with Unicorn hair core - slip Sarah Edwards -11 3/4 inch unyielding Chestnut with Phoenix feather core - slip Wade Elisabeth-Potter -12 1/2 inch swishy English Oak with Phoenix feather core - slipCANNOT BE TRUSTED WITH WANDS Nerida Eventide -11 3/5 inch swishy Oak with Aethonon tail feather core- slip Alice Fischer -11 3/4 inch ?? Rosewood with Thestral tail hair core -slip Tora Gallaway - 11 inch slightly springy Ebony with Phoenix feather core - slip Penelope Greenwell - 10 3/4 inch springy English Oak with Unicorn Hair core - slip UNSIGNED Katrina Hudson - 10 inch spinnable Ebony with Dragon heartstring core - slip Jacob Keller - 11 1/2 inch stiff Holly with phoenix feather core - slip Zahra Kettleburn -10 3/4 inch delicate Redwood with Phoenix Feather core - slip Kace Lecium - 10 1/2 inch solid Beech with dragon heartstring core - slip Ariana Logan - 11 inch sturdy Willow with Unicorn hair core - slip Marigold McAlistor -10 3/4 inch swishy Birch with Phoenix feather core - slip Taylor McIntyre -10 1/4 inch sturdy Aspen with Kelpie Mane core - slip Isidora Miroslava - 9 1/2 inc sturdy Acacia with Demiguise hair core - slip Cutty Mordaunt -9 1/2 inch flexible Aspen with Hippogriff feather core- slip Caterina Moretti - 10 1/2 inch sturdy Ivy with mermaid hair core - slip Caleb Newell - 9 1/2 inch ?? Fir with Demiguise hair core - slip Kalla Ogden - 10 1/2 inch pliable Maple with Unicorn Hair core - slip Anya Phillips - 12 2/5 inch soft Cedar with Demiguise Hair core - slip Fern Quimbley - 9 3/4 inch stiff Hornbeam with Unicorn Hair core - slip Aditya Rehman - 10 2/3 inch robust Hazel with Hippogriff feather core -slip Benzi Rider -9 3/4 inch sturdy Rowan with Unicorn Hair core - slip Cassia Somerlad -13 1/10 inch swishy Ash with Dragon heartstring core- slip Ascanius Stark - 9 1/2 inch swishy Ash with Dragon heartstring core - slip UNSIGNED Asher Stinson -12 1/2 STIFFBUTSTILLSWISHYWHATISTHISMADNESS Willow with unicorn hair core - slip Aidan Stone -9 3/4 inch springy Sycamore with Jobberknoll feather core - slip Alec Summers -11 inch supple Rowan with Unicorn hair core - slip Tobias Tempus -9 3/4 inch whippy Hazel with Griffin claw core- slip Minerva Wheatborn- 12 1/4 inch Solid English Oak with Phoenix Feather core - slip Lotus Wisteria -10 1/2 inch balanced Hickory with Phoenix feather core - slip
_______________________
Seminar progression: Post 1: Starting early, your character can still arrive. Please fill out the permission slip and the little wand questionnaire here in this first post if you're joining in. You'll be added to this list too! How many standard wand woods does Ollivanders use, and name some of them
Post 2: Please fill out the permission slip and the little wand questionnaire here in this first post if you're joining in. Ira lists all the woods and cores used at Ollivanders and talks a bit about finding a balance between them, and the difficulty involved Any questions about woods and cores before moving on
Post 3: Please fill out the permission slip and the little wand questionnaire here in this first post if you're joining in. Ira answers some questions then says some stuff. Its interesting but you don't have to read/listen. Also, guess which cores to harvest Guess the cores, and tell me why you think that is what you'll all be trying to harvest.
Post 4: Please fill out the permission slip and the little wand questionnaire here in this first post if you're joining in. Ira hints here what the cores might be, and consider where in the world we are yes? Still guessing two of the cores, and tell me why you think that is what you'll all be trying to harvest.... one is guessed correctly: Dittany Stalk.
Post 5: Please fill out the permission slip and the little wand questionnaire here in this first post if you're joining in. Tell us things about the three cores, it doesn't have to be much, anything is good depending what your character knows. All three guessed correctly:, Augurey Feather, Kelpie Bulrushes, Dittany Stalk. What do you know about Augureys, Kelpies, and Dittany?
Post 6: Please fill out the permission slip and the little wand questionnaire here in this first post if you're joining in. There's a list of the three cores and their properties here, and Ira wants people to say stuff about Wiggentrees and harvesting wood for Runes For those of you who are familiar with the Study of Ancient Runes, you may have some idea of how one might best harvest wand wood, its similar to how you choose wood for making a rune set. Please, tell the class if you have any knowledge about this method of gathering magical wood, and if you don't know, then tell the class what you know about Rowan, and about Wiggentrees?
Post 7: Please fill out the permission slip and the little wand questionnaire here in this first post if you're joining in.There is more information about Rowans/Wiggentrees, and about how to harvest the cores, and the wood in this post. Your charrie should probably take a few notes. Find a partner/small group and prepare for the portkey
Post 8: Portkey! Make sure you read the previous post instructions too.
ooc: Field trip starts soon! Last chance to join in here!
ignore this, Tegz is reminding herself to add Dora and Alice and Zahra and Caleb and Toby to the list
Dani's Citrus Duck Spawn | Mama Giraffe | Lemon PATch | Pushed the Red Button
Here. Heeeere. Alice was here.
There were plenty of reasons she was attending this seminar, one being that wand stuff was interesting, but also because of who was teaching it. Getting an opportunity to observe boyfriend family members who didn't know who she was sounded excellent, so she was there. Yes. There.
Sliding into an empty seat, the sixth year placed her permission slip on her desk before watching the wandmaker interact with others.
Hmm. Interesting.
Text Cut: Permission Slip
Child's name: Alice Fischer
Year: Sixth
House: Gryffindor
I __Lucia Clark__ declare that __Alice Fischer__ is permitted to leave Hogwarts ground on a school sanctioned field trip to the Forest of Dean for the purpose of learning about Wandlore. I understand that while all precautions will be taken to keep my child safe, Hogwarts, Ollivanders, and the employees of both, do not take responsibility for any foul play or accidents which may occur during the field trip, and that my child must act responsibly and respectfully at all times while off Hogwarts grounds. My child agrees to follow all instructions given by the teacher, and understands that attendance is privilege not a right.
Parents signature: Lucia Clark
Child's signature: Alice Fischer
As for that questionnaire... he hadn't said WHO it was meant to be filled out for. Alice already knew that stuff about herself and had no desire to share it with crotchety old men. And SHE was meant to be the one learning new things here, yes? So, instead, she filled out one with as much information as she knew about her seminar instructor.
Quote:
Wand Wood: TBD
Wand Core: TBD
Wand length: TBD
Wand flexibility: TBD
Is this your first wand? Yes/No <--- TBD
If No, List the characteristics of any old wands here, and explain what happened to them: TBD
House: Grumpy. I'm guessing Ravenclaw.
Name: Ira Ainsley Banner
Standard wand woods? "Forty two." Right? Wrong? Was he going to tell them about HIS wand wood?
She had a questionnaire to fill out, sir.
__________________
and so i took an axe to a mended fence.___________________.______._________________ __________________________________..____this is why we can't have nice things, darling.
Dem Carters | even 🕊🕊 have pride | | Expecto PAWtronum 🐈 | U-NA-GI
So, name wand woods? Because Sky had absolutely zero idea how many different woods Olivanders used. Not something she kept track of. But she did appreciate that Mr. Banner wasn't going over stuff they should already know, unlike a certain professor over there did during her first lesson. "Beech, ash, fir and vine," she offered up. That last one was thanks to her Aunt Roxi. Mmmhmmm.
Field trip now?
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Salt!
Eyes for this one. No permission, no field trip. Ira took note of this short and swishy Ash boy. Hmm come to think of it, there was another with swishy Ash in this room. 'nother Slytherin one. Though her wand was quite a bit longer. Interesting. Did they have friends in common? Something telling, that.
.... could he start? He was going to start. Ira didn't care if it was a bit early because the sooner he started the sooner it would be over with and he could be DONE.
AHEM. He cleared his throat.
"You should all know what a wand is. I'm not going to harp on about basic definitions, and I'm going to keep the inane questions to a minimum since I don't particularly want to waste my time. YOU lot can ask questions, and I'll choose to answer them if they're worth answering." Paaaaaaaaause. And vice versa, he supposed. Honestly Ira didn't give a kneazle's rear if people participated or not. That was on them.
"I'm Ira Banner. I'm a wandmaker. And an author. All my books are about wands. I don't care about other things. I'm here because I have to be to promote my new book, and because," He paused and then said as if it was something he had to say, "Ollivanders Wand Shop and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry have for many generations shared the goal of helping Magical folk become the best possible witches and wizards they can be. You can't do that without a quality wand, or without a quality education. Ollivanders have generously sponsored this seminar. Ollivanders Wand Shop: makers of fine wands since 382 BC." This all in a monotone by the way. Because who cared really? Just getting the necessary stuff said.
"We're going on a field trip today, but first we have to talk about things. Wand things." And don't think he wouldn't just leave people behind if they fell asleep or whatever. Best pay attention.
"Does anyone know how many standard wand woods Ollivanders uses, and also: name some." There were plenty. Mhmm. Might surprise them really.
OOC: We've started but Ira is impatient and has started 'early' so y'know, if you haven't posted yet, feel free to have your character arrive. Or you can have them just have been here all along, just please make sure you have the permission slip and wand information thingy filled out too. Thankees.
Feel free to have your character name as many wand woods as they know, or take a stab at exactly how many standard woods our SS Ollivanders has Also please if you have any questions, feel free to nudge me! I'm approachable, right? Right? And let your friends know they can jump in at any time and its all good. Also, sorry for Ira he's kind of grumpy and needs a general disclaimer.
Ascanius noted this guy's look and just staaaaared at the seminar person. Yeah, he didn't have a permission slip, ugly oaf. And he knew his face was mighty nice to look at, yeah? He still didn't appreciate the guy looking at him or in his general direction though. There might have been a sneer thrown into his expression, but it wasn't clear. Ahem.
And no, he didn't know specific numbers for their inventory. Ascanius THOUGHT that was why this guy was here. To teach them things. Not just have busy body Hogwarts students who ate encyclopedias answer for him.
Oh yeah, he was peeved.
So he just sat there and continued to stare.........
.........and he tapped his fingers against the desk like an anxious tick (or to annoy him).
One and two and a triplet triplet....one and two and a triplet triplet...repeat...
she knew she had that permission slip somewhere, she just didn't know exactly in which pocket, or book or place she had put it. she was reaching in her pockets, in her robes, in her bag, did it slip into a book? she didn't know,"i know it's here somewhere." she said quietly to herself, no one heard her surely, she barely heard herse-- AHA!
there it is! tucked in between her Tuck Everlasting book and her charms book. there we're reasons why she was reading tuck everlasting, reasons no one needed to know, but permission slip she had. and so she placed it on her desk as so asked.
I Alison Logan declare that Ariana Logan is permitted to leave Hogwarts ground on a school sanctioned field trip to the Forest of Dean for the purpose of learning about Wandlore. I understand that while all precautions will be taken to keep my child safe, Hogwarts, Ollivanders, and the employees of both, do not take responsibility for any foul play or accidents which may occur during the field trip, and that my child must act responsibly and respectfully at all times while off Hogwarts grounds. My child agrees to follow all instructions given by the teacher, and understands that attendance is privilege not a right.
then she actually had to DO stuff, lame, lame, this was lame. She took out some parchent and a quill and began to write down her wand stuff..
Quote:
Wand Wood: Willow
Wand Core: Unicorn Hair
Wand length:11 inches
Wand flexibility: Sturdy
Is this your first wand? Yes If No, List the characteristics of any old wands here, and explain what happened to them:
House: Slytherin
Name: Ariana Logan
there there done done, all her pretty wand info filled out.we're they going to do fun stuff now?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! He so hated being here. This was interesting. INDEED. Ira Banner. Yup, pleasure to make your acquaintance.
Now, woods. Acacia, right, that was her middle name. Go figure. She ought to know all types of woods and the like, right? Wrong, who has the time? Which is why she really didn't know the number to Ollivander's standard woods or whatever they considered standards. So, we're not going to answer that.
HOWEVER, there was one type of wood which hadn't been mentioned..., "There's also Hickory." ...until now. There was a small smirk on her face, she was kind of hoping that wasn't a standard wood, you know, for reasons.
Her wand was Hickory, and she got it at Ollivander's. 1+1=2.
lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
SPOILER!!: everyone's answers have been noted, he just is only talking to the ones that said things other than wood answers and guessed the number of woods
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19
Not answering with one words, eh? Adi continued grinning at the man. He always saw the man as a teacher for some reason, and here he was! Teaching, in a sort of way. "Still. It's great to see you again, Mr. Banner! I've been taking good care of my wand, ya know!'' He had polished it just yesterday.
The man was an author too? Adi had not known that! Maybe he'd even check out the books. His thoughts shifted as he thought about the standard wood types. He raised his hand and sort of waved it enthusiastically. "I don't know how many standard woods are used but I do know Hazel, Cherry, Hawthorne and Elder are used.''
"Good." Because if he didn't take care of his wand and came back to Ollivanders with a broken or cracked wand, he'd not hear the end of it from Ira.
... who added those four wands to a list on the board.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aaetha
Adrienne bit her lip. She was sure she knew this- she'd read a book about wands, a couple of years ago, but it had been a while and she wasn't sure she remembered correctly. The number of standard wand woods used by Ollivander's was... uhh... Perhaps she'd better start with the easier half of the question.
"A couple of woods are Acacia," duh, her own wand was made of that, "Dogwood," Papa's, "Laurel," Maman, "Hawthorn and Sycamore." Mamie and Papie. Adrienne knew there were more, of course, but she didn't go into them. She was sure other people would mention them at some point. As for the amount of woods... "Somewhere around forty-four?" Or perhaps exactly forty-four. She wasn't entirely sure.
"Close." Yes her guess was close. Ira added the woods she'd listed to the blackboard.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bitsyandtank
Asher blushed. What Mr. Banner said did sound right, but he was sure he remembered that the old man who sold him the wand had said stiff yet still swishy. He figured that one of the men had to be wrong, and he was leaning towards the old guy they . "I guess you are right, but how do I know which one it is?"
Moving on to the question, he didn't have any idea how man woods were offered, but he did know of a few. "There is apple, beech, black walnut, Ebony, and redwood. Just to name a few."
"Because I can tell you." Obviously. Which he would, but not right now. And the woods he listed went on the board.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bazinga
This man was odd.. Was odd even the best word? There was just something about him that put Min off. She just thought he could be a little more happy. He seemed to be forced here and honestly it was a seminar so he really wasn't forced now was he? He wasn't a professor, so he had to have liked the subject, but his voice was so unexcited.
sigh
She was afraid this was going to be a long seminar, but hopefully maybe possibly it could be a little interesting. She listened as he rambled on about Ollivander's. She had nothing against the great wand shop, but why did it feel like she was watching TV and this was a commercial to go shopping there. Was he trying to get students to rush off to buy more things. Maybe, maybe that was how the school was going to earn some money. Bring in human advertisements for wizard shops.
Placing her hand in the air Minerva tried to answer, "Is there around 45 sir?" She really wasn't sure just a guess with a run down of different types of trees she could remember that could be used, but then lost count so just threw out a number that sounded at least thought about. She then decided to add "Sir there is Oak, Cedar, Aspen, Chestnut, and Dogwood." Those were ones she could at least think of.
"Close." He supposed 45 was close. And added the ones she said to the board too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by feeheeheeny
He was nodding, which fed Sophie's unabashed delight and she sat straighter in her chair, a grin from ear to ear. He REMEMBERED. He KNEW. He thought it was gonna be fun, TOO. The first year bounced ever so slightly in her chair, unable to keep her excitement from bursting from her entire being. THIS WAS ALREADY THE BEST DAY OF HER HOGWARTS LIFE.
But WHAT? Someone dropped their wand in the ocean? Sophie gave that boy a glare. Rude.
So his name was Ira Banner. Her hero and inspiration. She wrote the name down since she hadn't known it before, then her eyes grew wide. HE WAS AN AUTHOR? HE HAD BOOKS? Did he have them with him? Could she see them and write down their titles? Or could she buy them on the spot? How many were there? Sophie bet they had all sorts of super useful information that would further her knowledge about wands. She wanted to know it ALL.
How many woods? A whole lot. As other students offered some, she jotted them down quickly. There were... probably more than she thought, so she threw up a hand and out came a number higher than what she instinctively decided upon as she spoke matter-of-factly so it seemed as though it was an educated answer, "Eighty-seven." Probably. Could there be over a hundred? She considered saying that instead, but a solid number felt better to rattle off than a rough estimate. Or was this some kind of trick question? What did a STANDARD wood mean? What if she named something that WASN'T standard? And only some? She wanted to try to be an overachiever and name as many woods as she could that the others hadn't already said, but Sophie added, her hand still raised, spewing one after another in quick succession, "Maple, Willow, Hornbeam, Walnut, Spruce, Fir." There. Some. Her hand was down now and she leaned forward on her desk, eager to hear if she was right with all of them and for Ira to continue along, wanting to soak up every word he uttered.
".... no. Not 87." But the woods she listed went up. Yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princesspower
Interesting.. Sarah never eally thought of it, yet the sum of the digits of the year Ollivanders was founded 3+8+2= 13.. 13 was said to be an unlucky number. This was not arithmancy.. so moving on.
Sarah raised her hand, "around forty? well, I can name them all if you want. My brother challenged me to memorise them once. Acacia, Apple, Alder, Ash, Aspen" the five A.. now onto the four B's "Beech, Birch, Blackthrone and black walnut" Now onto the four C;s "there is also chestnut, like I have, then cherry, Ceder and Cypress." Maybe it was time to give others a chance now.
"Around forty." Yes but that wasn't exact and.... "Blackthorn." He corrected. And actually yeah he WOULD have wanted her to name them all but apparently she couldn't because she stopped so Ira wasn't inclined to be impressed. The ones she listed, and Blackthorn went on the board though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo
OHAI LOTTIE!! Lex grinned over at her friend as soon as she spotted her before taking a quick look to make sure she hadn't forgotten to have her permission slip signed. If she didn't Lex would have volunteered to forge it for her because her bestfriend was NOT getting left behind when they were going all the way to the forest of Dean where COOL things happened. She was quite skilled at forging and proud to admit it...so long as there were no teachers around. Ahem.
Alexa saw Cassia as well and she got this really wide smile because Lex could see her permission slip was signed as she brought it up to that man...whoever he was. Next on her list of important people that had to be there was Aidan. He had his permission slip from what she could see so she sat back and waited for the epicness to start. Field Trip with bestfriends. Best way to learn anything.
In the meantime, Lex blinked at the man, Ira Banner was it? He...erm...was he gonna be talking like that the entire time? The monotone was killing her attention span at a more rapid rate than a normal lesson would. Had he ever heard of intonation? It did wonders.
She slumped forward listening to everyone list wand woods. They were saying so many of them and she'd never bothered to acquaint herself with such things. However, there was one she knew that no had called (consider her wand offended by the way). "There's English Oak. Brilliant wood really. It provides such a strong structure and it's so smooth. Would you like to feel it?" She asked, extending her wand to him--but only for a feel, he wasn't allowed to TAKE her wand. It was HERS.
..... a strong structure? Wood was by nature strong. Weird kid. Ira eyed the wand in question. "You need conditioning oil on that, or it'll start getting cracks." Didn't need to touch it to know that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin
Whew, so they all knew trees. Bully on them. Mo kicked his feet lightly against his chair and considered if they had missed any. Standard woods. What was standard, anyway? Like standard... in the UK? But what if you lived in India? Were there different standard woods?
What did a redwood wand look like? Mo thought he'd rather like one of those... maybe for a second wand when he graduated. He had a million billion questions, but Wand Dude didn't really give the impression that he would respond to questions without biting someone's face off first.
Hmm hmm. "Redwood," Mo finally offered. "How do you make a wand from vine when it's all twisty? Are those wands just harder to carve, or do they often end up thinner because there's smaller material to work with?" Oh. Those were questions, Mosef.
Quote:
Originally Posted by feeheeheeny
Oh. OH. MO. MO WAS THERE. The first person she had actively noticed in the room aside from Ira. Sophie turned at his voice and waved to him eagerly as he offered up his wood answer. And THEN he asked about VINE WANDS. VINE. HER WAND WAS VINE.
"Mine's Vine. You can look at it later, if you want," she mouthed over to him, pride bursting from her being, extending the wand a little toward the fifth year to show him. "Looks super cool." Nod, nod. She thought her vine wand DID look slimmer than the others, but she was going to listen to what Ira had to say about it instead of giving her input. As long as the Wandmaker answered his question... but it was a GOOD one, wasn't it? Sophie wanted to hear his answer, so she gave Ira super big eager puppy eyes. PLEASE ANSWER. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE.
Redwood went up there.... and a question. About Vine. And overeager eyes his way. Yeah. Well he didn't mind the question, it wasn't a bad one.
"Its rare, vinewood wands. They don't necessarily end up too much thinner, they have to still hold a core after all, and some are straighter than others depending on the piece of wood you're working with. When I use vine I prefer sourcing it from France: if you go to particular vineyards there is more selection, and at the end of the growing season, after the harvest, most of it gets burnt as fuel for fire. The trick is finding the right section of wood, and knowing how you can tweak it without effecting its inherent magical properties."
Quote:
Originally Posted by lemon
Here. Heeeere. Alice was here.
There were plenty of reasons she was attending this seminar, one being that wand stuff was interesting, but also because of who was teaching it. Getting an opportunity to observe boyfriend family members who didn't know who she was sounded excellent, so she was there. Yes. There.
Sliding into an empty seat, the sixth year placed her permission slip on her desk before watching the wandmaker interact with others.
Hmm. Interesting.
Text Cut: Permission Slip
Child's name: Alice Fischer
Year: Sixth
House: Gryffindor
I __Lucia Clark__ declare that __Alice Fischer__ is permitted to leave Hogwarts ground on a school sanctioned field trip to the Forest of Dean for the purpose of learning about Wandlore. I understand that while all precautions will be taken to keep my child safe, Hogwarts, Ollivanders, and the employees of both, do not take responsibility for any foul play or accidents which may occur during the field trip, and that my child must act responsibly and respectfully at all times while off Hogwarts grounds. My child agrees to follow all instructions given by the teacher, and understands that attendance is privilege not a right.
Parents signature: Lucia Clark
Child's signature: Alice Fischer
As for that questionnaire... he hadn't said WHO it was meant to be filled out for. Alice already knew that stuff about herself and had no desire to share it with crotchety old men. And SHE was meant to be the one learning new things here, yes? So, instead, she filled out one with as much information as she knew about her seminar instructor.
Standard wand woods? "Forty two." Right? Wrong? Was he going to tell them about HIS wand wood?
She had a questionnaire to fill out, sir.
"Close." Very close in fact. Paaaaause. "You need to fill THAT out for yourself." The questionnaire thing. He tapped it. "Unless you don't want to cooperate... then you can stay here." And no field trip for YOU, smartypants.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charely Potter
Wade wasn't all that surprised when the circumstances on his first wand being lost was brought up. Well, it wasn't like he deliberately dropped it, so he felt like explaining, "It fell out from my pocket while I was on the boat. It had been too late when I realised." ...and something told him that whatever he said wasn't going to make up for the loss.. Meh.
"Irresponsible." Was all Ira had to say to THAT. Kid needed a holster and that was a perfect example why.
In a pocket. On a boat. HONESTLY. How did that one get a badge?
"There are forty-one standard woods used at Ollivanders, with two of those woods, Walnut and Oak, also having a rarer counterpart, Black Walnut and Red Oak, making forty-three standard woods. Standard woods are simply the ones we tend to have in stock, and the ones that you most often will find that folk who purchased an Ollivanders wand will have. We have sixty-three different woods in stock at this current time, as I tend to like working with rarer woods where I can, even though they are often more difficult to match."
A rare wood took a rare person obviously.
"Different wandmakers use different woods, and would call different woods standard, and this is greatly effected by where in the world they are. I'm sure many of you can think of example woods that would be more common elsewhere, and for those of you that are interested, the Antipodes has the greatest variety of wand woods to the point where many who are fitted for woods there must have wands made to order, which is never an easy process."
He added others to the list, past the mere fifteen that had been said in class.
"You don't have to copy any of this down if you don't want to. I don't care." Really. He didn't.
SPOILER!!: woods
Quote:
Originally Posted by list of woods currently stocked at Ollivanders
(highlighted woods are the rare/non-standard woods) Acacia African Blackwood
Alder
Apple
Ash
Aspen Avodire
Beech
Birch
Blackthorn Bloodwood Bocote Buckthorn
Butternut
Cedar
Cherry
Chestnut
Cypress
Dogwood
Ebony
Elder
Elm Eucalyptus
Fir
Hawthorn
Hazel
Hickory
Holly
Hornbeam Ironwood
Juniper
Larch
Laurel Lignum Vitae
Mahogany
Maple
Oak (English and Red) Olive Osage Orange
Pear
Pine Pink Ivory
Poplar Purpleheart
Redwood
Rosewood
Rowan
Silver Lime
Spruce
Sycamore Teak Tulipwood
Verawood
Vine
Walnut (and Black Walnut) Wenge
Willow
Yew Zebrawood
Ziricote
"All of these woods have different characteristics beyond their colour or grain or density, and each has a different magical resonation. This means some woods are easier to marry to some cores than others, while others may be a little more.... tricky." Explosive even. "The balance between wood and core is supplied by its length and its flexibility, and it is very individual to that particular wand. If a wandmaker gets it wrong, then the core may die, or the entire wand may explode, or release spontaneous magical effects that can in fact kill." HE was alive so obviously he was GOOD at it, just saying.
"At Ollivanders there are three main cores which we use, however within the last thirty years further cores have been added to the selection we consider standard. There are twelve cores that Bryce and I work with. Phoenix feather, Unicorn hair, Dragon heartstring, Clabbert tooth, Demiguise hair, Fwooper feather, Firecrab shell Graphorn horn, Griffin claw, Hippogriff feather, Jobberknoll feather, and Knarl quill. We do use different dragon heartstrings, and there are other differences such as unicorn tail hair versus unicorn mane hair, and sometimes we'll use different parts of these creatures if its appropriate to do so, but generally these are the cores that you may find at Ollivanders."
"So you can see that there are, theoretically, many possible combinations of wood and core from Ollivanders alone." Grumpy face because he had to pause to say, "Any questions about woods and cores before I move on."
ooc: apparently I forgot to quote headboy wand dropper so I'm going to edit a reply in SOON ahem. I'll go through add those of you that haven't got their charrie listed in the first post in a moment too, < those are done. Yes. You've got about 2 hours for wand and core related questions before Ira gets impatient in my head and has us move on.
You're in the text cut if your character guessed how many woods there were, or if they addressed Ira or caught his attention in another way. If you just had your character say woods they were added to the board and I noticed them, he just didn't bother/care to give you props
__________________
love is like a letter wrote :: and life is like an envelope
be careful who you give it to :: they might not give it back to you
Last edited by TeafortheSoul; 10-01-2013 at 10:04 PM.
elephant-astic•wanderlust•stay in the ninedaaays the original Taco Belle•look at the flowers✿
Ella didn't take notes. Not because all of this wasn't interesting but because she wasn't sure she'd be using this information again. Also, she was sure Sophie knew a lot of this information because of her internship. She'd just casually poke her if she had questions. Best friend perks and all.
As for the wand cores, Ella raised her eyebrow and eyed the list curiously. Her wand core wasn't on there which was different. Mostly because she got her wand at Ollivanders.
"Sir? I noticed that Mackled Malaclaw shell isn't listed under cores. Is that because it is no longer used or because it is rarely used?" She was just curious, it being her core and all.
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ Claimed by Bits ❤️ ~ Queen of Typos ❄ Magical Mosh Pit ❄
Woah! Those are a lot of woods and cores used. Adi proceeded to copied a few from each list. Never know if and when the information may come in handy. The cores particularly fascinated him.
Okay question time! And Adi had one. His hand shot into the air. "Mr. Banner, you said that within the last thirty years more cores have been added to the standard three. What about now? Is there any new core being considered to be added to the list?''
Sardine VIP || Shark Attack! || D A R T E R || Captain Oblivious
Anya just stared. That list. Was long. How did they even remember that stuff? And did only certain things go together? Maybe they didn't remember it. That would be easier actually.
Anya could randomly throw a core in a piece of wood.
Maybe that's how it was done? And 'personality' just kind of... happened.
__________________
I'll Spend Forever Wondering If You Knew__________________________________ _____________________________________________I Was Enchanted To Meet You
SSRPG Admin St. Mungo's Mod WWW Mod Alley Proprietor
Antipodean Opaleye
Join Date: May 2003
Location: In the Blue (EST)
Posts: 9,910
Hogwarts RPG Name: Ean Zoilo Feirgrund
Graduated
Hogwarts RPG Name: Kraetos Julius Menon
Graduated
Hogwarts RPG Name: Diego Mason Melo-Dreamer
Gryffindor
Fifth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name: Diallo Anku Dreamer
Slytherin
Third Year
Hogwarts RPG Name: Paul Lee Gen Rocker
Hufflepuff
Seventh Year
Ministry Department Head:
Firash Zarko Grunt
Games & Sports
Ministry Department Head:
Isaek Fyodore Edelbach
International Cooperation
Diagon Alley Proprietor:
Hunter Iroquois Merculos
Nesting Occamy Rentals
x8 x7
• HuffleStud • Knight of The Zodiac • Manly Beard-Grower • Cicatrice de Harry •
*Blink* Nice guy, wasn't he? *Blink* Wade was not going to admit the irony in being the Head Boy who was just told in the middle of the seminar in front of his classmates how irresponsible he was. Eh.. It had happened over two years ago, guess it shouldn't be too surprising having a wand enthusiast hear the tragedy of a lost wand. Wade himself did wish it hadn't gone away like that, so he could imagine Mr. Banner's feelings being that multiplied by two.. and an extra three. But oh well, his current wand was fine and still by his side, and he had grown a lot in between those years. This one was definitely not going to be swimming with the fishes too. Heh.
He didn't really have to write the long list of wand woods down.. but he still did. Was it to make up for the earlier guilt? Probably, but mainly on that fact that attending any seminar usually required some note taking. Who knows, maybe a random situation will come up that insist on this... At least that's what his furrowed brows told him as he diligently looked up and down continually writing. Writing on how there were more wand cores being accepted at Olivander's in the last thirty years. He got that down too.
As for any questions from Wade.... Nope. Nothing really. *Scribble* Scribble*
Jake was... surprised. Very surprised, actually. That was a lot of different woods. He wondered how the wandmakers knew what core to put with what wood. Jake sort of thought it'd be really fun to just... pick a core, pick a wand, and put them together and see what happened. Explosions were cool. Wood was replaceable. Wandmaking could be really fun. Why did the guy look so grumpy about it?
...The Prefect had no questions. He just kept quiet and waited for the seminar to move on.
It's not catch up if it's IC, right? Give her looks.
Inside Kitty | HIT ENTER | UNO Queen
Dude. This dude said a lot of words. So Zahra had spent the last ---- HALF AN HOUR *AT LEAST* ---- drawing pictures on her card thingy do. SO FAR it looked like...
Quote:
Originally Posted by CARD
Wand Wood: Redwood
Wand Core: Phoenix Feather
Wand length:10 ľ inches
Wand flexibility: Delicate
Is this your first wand? Naaaaaaah.
If No, List the characteristics of any old wands here, and explain what happened to them: I don't remember and bad things happened to it.
House: G R Y F F I N D O R
Name: ZARHA D. KETTLEBURN
SPOILER!!: Permission slip. That is wet. Don't ask.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MYSTERIOUSLY WET permission slip
We, Albert and Haylan Kettleburn, declare that Zahra is permitted to leave Hogwarts ground on a school sanctioned field trip to the Forest of Dean for the purpose of learning about Wandlore. I understand that while all precautions will be taken to keep my child safe, Hogwarts, Ollivanders, and the employees of both, do not take responsibility for any foul play or accidents which may occur during the field trip, and that my child must act responsibly and respectfully at all times while off Hogwarts grounds. My child agrees to follow all instructions given by the teacher, and understands that attendance is privilege not a right.
Parents signature: H. Kettleburn
Child's signature: Z A H R A K.
Zahra sighed as she raised her hand. "Hey man. I forgot to listen. What am I doing with this stuff?" She waved her two cards around, one wet... the other.... colorful. She smiled because smiling helped.
Puff by day, snake by night | Mj's bestie | Always UP to Something...
Minerva sat writing down the different woods. She gave the man a small smile as he said close. Well she tried at least and when he said forty one she did feel pretty good to get as close as she did without knowing much about the topic. Maybe Mr. unexcited wouldn't be so bad after all. Her thoughts about him lasted about three seconds when she heard him call Wade irresponsible.
Wait.. what..
She looked up blue eyes shocked that he actually said that in class. He was head boy and that wasn't very nice. Min turned and glanced at Wade leaning closer, "Don't listen to him" she whispered. Wade was an excellent head boy and was very far from irresponsible. SO he lost a wand, big deal. People loose things all the time.
Shaking her head she didn't really have any questions so she continues to take her notes.
Nigel thought the answer should be forty two not forty one. It was such a better number. One thing was certain. This Banner guy could write a book on wands. So much information on just wood. Though the explosion part was extremely interesting with the spontaneous explosions. Tough Job, Wandmaking is.Nigel did smirk when his core was not up there. Must be special or something.
The Prefect did see that there are, theoretically, many possible combinations of wood and core. So he just waited for Wand Dude to move on.
__________________
-------------------------------------Be a pineapple: Stand tall,
-----------------------------------------wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside.
Dem Carters | even 🕊🕊 have pride | | Expecto PAWtronum 🐈 | U-NA-GI
No note taking from this Slytherin. Nope. But she did smirk to herself at the Head Boy being told he was irresponsible. Yep, thank you for that, Ira Banner. Though, unfortunately, Bunz wasn't here to hear that. All Sky could think was that Lafay had to have argued fiercely for Kat to be Head Girl. Otherwise, there was no telling who they would've ended up with.
Anyway, onto the actual topic of this seminar. Wand woods. Yep, she had a question. "Does being matched with a wand made out of a rare wood or core mean anything special about that particular witch or wizards personality?" Could explain her aunt.....
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Salt!
Last edited by lazykitty; 10-01-2013 at 11:36 PM.
Reason: so I forgot a word *shrugs*
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
Maybe they didn't have to take notes, but Mo was very interested in every word the grumpy wand dude was saying. He jotted down all the woods, starring those he hadn't heard of before, before adding the cores to the lists too. Whew. What was the math here? How many possible wands?
Questions? No, but he wrote down the stuff about vine wands. Dude was smart.
Oh, a question. He raised his hands. "Some witches and wizards have two wands. Have you seen that multiple wands also need to work well together? Like two wand woods and wand cores need to be considered, rather than just each wand separately? Or does it not matter? And what's a good age for a second wand?"
Dani's Citrus Duck Spawn | Mama Giraffe | Lemon PATch | Pushed the Red Button
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tegz
"Close." Very close in fact. Paaaaause. "You need to fill THAT out for yourself." The questionnaire thing. He tapped it. "Unless you don't want to cooperate... then you can stay here." And no field trip for YOU, smartypants.
But Alice was the closEST. Had grumpy guy labeled her the most clever person in the room yet? He needed to.
She gave him a look, then proceeded to fill out another questionnaire for herself.
His fault for not specifying.
Quote:
Wand Wood: Rosewood
Wand Core: Thestral tail hair
Wand length: 11.75 inches
Wand flexibility: Try bending it and see
Is this your first wand?*Yes/No If no, List the characteristics of any old wands here, and explain what happened to them:
House:*Gryffindor
Name: Alice Fischer
Questions? Her. Pick her. "My core's not on there either, sir. Just like hers." She gave a nod in Ella's direction. "I want to know why too. And will you tell us about your wood and core as well?"
Still had a questionnaire to fill out here, Mr. Banner. His questionnaire.
__________________
and so i took an axe to a mended fence.___________________.______._________________ __________________________________..____this is why we can't have nice things, darling.
Asher just stared at the man. Mr. Banner had teased him over how he described the flexibility of his wand, yet wouldn't help him answer the question correctly. Figuring he was just a grumpy old man that didn't care for children, Asher shrugged his shoulders and began taking notes. He wrote down all of the woods, all of the cores, and noted that there were other wand woods, but Mr. Banner didn't seem to be skilled in a way to use them.
Yeah I broke that mirror, so what? ll NOT backward ll Official Gryfferin ll Lemon's favourite
Whaaaaaat?
Lex's eyes shot to her wand. Cracking was a big NO. If it never did anything right for her ever again the least it could do was stay in one perfectly smooth piece. She worked had not to break it, cracking was no exception to her wand care. For now she wouldn't worry about it. First chance she got she would owl her father to send her some. Everything would be fine. Her baby would not get cracks. No.
Alexa listened as well as her attention span would let her but none of this was particularly interesting. They were talking about wood then cores and it all meant nothing to her. Far too many details made wonderful things overly boring and no longer intriguing. Could they just go now? Like, before she completely lost all interest?
This was meant to be a field trip, not a discussion on the more tedious aspects of wand making.
WOULD THEY GET TO CHOP A TREE DOWN WHEN THEY GOT THERE???
__________________
Imma say all the words inside my head____________________________________
______________________________I'm fired up and tired of the way that things are said.
Browncoat l Extra Syrup l Kita's Strong Confident Other Half l Lemon Patch
So Dora knew all of this stuff. Like, books, right? Right. She had loads of them. Part of reason being why Dora didn't feel the need to answer or ask any questions. Not even about the man's wand since her best (who she was sitting beside, oh yeah) was doing a good job of that while also making her smile just a tiny bit. A little.
Was the field trip coming up soon? Yes?
She absently folded and unfolded her questionare repeatedly while her eyes were intense on.... everything.
Isidora was watching everything.
Quote:
Wand Wood: Acacia
Wand Core: Demiguise hair
Wand length: 9 1/2 Inches
Wand flexibility: Sturdy
Is this your first wand? Yes
If No, List the characteristics of any old wands here, and explain what happened to them: N/A
House: Ravenclaw
Name: Isidora Miroslava
SPOILER!!: permission slip
I __Galina Dementieva__ declare that __Isidora Miroslava__ is permitted to leave Hogwarts ground on a school sanctioned field trip to the Forest of Dean for the purpose of learning about Wandlore. I understand that while all precautions will be taken to keep my child safe, Hogwarts, Ollivanders, and the employees of both, do not take responsibility for any foul play or accidents which may occur during the field trip, and that my child must act responsibly and respectfully at all times while off Hogwarts grounds. My child agrees to follow all instructions given by the teacher, and understands that attendance is privilege not a right.
Parents signature: Galina Dementieva
Child's signature: Isidora Y. Miroslava
__________________
♥ I won't pass up on the danger ♥ I'd miss out on the fun ♥_____ ______________♥We'll live while we're young ♥ We'll chase down the sun ♥_________________________
Tora did indeed have a question, and it was about something that was not on either of those lists. However, considering the general grumpy-ness of this Ollivander's worker, she hesitated. Was this something he would just write off as stupid? Oh well, you're more often hurt by hesitation than by what you were hesitating to do... she raised a hand. "I've heard of things like coral and kelpie mane and thestral hair being used as a core, what do they do? And how common are they? And I've also heard of other wand woods like Reed and... a couple others." She sincerely hoped her questions wouldn't be too bothersome. She had only meant to ask one, but one thing led to another and well, Tora just got carried away.
lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
Quote:
Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow
Ella didn't take notes. Not because all of this wasn't interesting but because she wasn't sure she'd be using this information again. Also, she was sure Sophie knew a lot of this information because of her internship. She'd just casually poke her if she had questions. Best friend perks and all.
As for the wand cores, Ella raised her eyebrow and eyed the list curiously. Her wand core wasn't on there which was different. Mostly because she got her wand at Ollivanders.
"Sir? I noticed that Mackled Malaclaw shell isn't listed under cores. Is that because it is no longer used or because it is rarely used?" She was just curious, it being her core and all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lemon
But Alice was the closEST. Had grumpy guy labeled her the most clever person in the room yet? He needed to.
She gave him a look, then proceeded to fill out another questionnaire for herself.
His fault for not specifying.
Questions? Her. Pick her. "My core's not on there either, sir. Just like hers." She gave a nod in Ella's direction. "I want to know why too. And will you tell us about your wood and core as well?"
Still had a questionnaire to fill out here, Mr. Banner. His questionnaire.
"Mackled Malaclaw is a difficult core to work with, partly because catching them comes with high risk of a bite, and therefore a bad luck reaction. A wandmaker can't make a wand when infected by a Mackled Malaclaw bite. As for Thestral," He checked the girl's filled out paper, "Its an unstable and subtle core, difficult to work with. When married correctly with a wood however, it balances perfectly. Sometimes a core is rare because of the logistics of sourcing them, sometimes because of the cost, or the risk to life and limb. The cores on this list are just those that we currently prefer to work with at Ollivanders." So. There you go. Both of them.
....
As for his wand...
"Maybe."
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19
Woah! Those are a lot of woods and cores used. Adi proceeded to copied a few from each list. Never know if and when the information may come in handy. The cores particularly fascinated him.
Okay question time! And Adi had one. His hand shot into the air. "Mr. Banner, you said that within the last thirty years more cores have been added to the standard three. What about now? Is there any new core being considered to be added to the list?''
"No, my colleague and I prefer to work with the cores on that list, that is why they are on that list. Sometimes we are able to get other cores, and we may work with those, but it depends if we have to harvest them ourselves or not, and how difficult it is to work with them."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mad Eye Touz
Dude. This dude said a lot of words. So Zahra had spent the last ---- HALF AN HOUR *AT LEAST* ---- drawing pictures on her card thingy do. SO FAR it looked like...
Zahra sighed as she raised her hand. "Hey man. I forgot to listen. What am I doing with this stuff?" She waved her two cards around, one wet... the other.... colorful. She smiled because smiling helped.
".... just leave them on the edge of your desk."
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazykitty
No note taking from this Slytherin. Nope. But she did smirk to herself at the Head Boy being told he was irresponsible. Yep, thank you for that, Ira Banner. Though, unfortunately, Bunz wasn't here to hear that. All Sky could think was that Lafay had to have argued fiercely for Kat to be Head Girl. Otherwise, there was no telling who they would've ended up with.
Anyway, onto the actual topic of this seminar. Wand woods. Yep, she had a question. "Does being matched with a wand made out of a rare wood or core mean anything special about that particular witch or wizards personality?" Could explain her aunt.....
"Sometimes." Pauuuuse, this here was not an easily defined concept. It was very much a feel. "It doesn't make them better than someone who has a less rare wand though. It depends specifically on the wand or core in question."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin
Maybe they didn't have to take notes, but Mo was very interested in every word the grumpy wand dude was saying. He jotted down all the woods, starring those he hadn't heard of before, before adding the cores to the lists too. Whew. What was the math here? How many possible wands?
Questions? No, but he wrote down the stuff about vine wands. Dude was smart.
Oh, a question. He raised his hands. "Some witches and wizards have two wands. Have you seen that multiple wands also need to work well together? Like two wand woods and wand cores need to be considered, rather than just each wand separately? Or does it not matter? And what's a good age for a second wand?"
"Two wands doesn't mean two wands at once. Your magic would be diffused, so it would be pointless, unless you were a show dueler and just doing it to look impressive. Magical Law Enforcement employees are permitted to carry a second wand however, for emergency reasons. As are Obliviators, and some Curse-Breakers, though often they choose not to, depending on their fondness for their primary wand. You need a permit from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to legally have a second wand."
Quote:
Originally Posted by amadshade
Tora did indeed have a question, and it was about something that was not on either of those lists. However, considering the general grumpy-ness of this Ollivander's worker, she hesitated. Was this something he would just write off as stupid? Oh well, you're more often hurt by hesitation than by what you were hesitating to do... she raised a hand. "I've heard of things like coral and kelpie mane and thestral hair being used as a core, what do they do? And how common are they? And I've also heard of other wand woods like Reed and... a couple others." She sincerely hoped her questions wouldn't be too bothersome. She had only meant to ask one, but one thing led to another and well, Tora just got carried away.
"Not particularly common." Ira answered with a quick nod of almost... reluctant approval. "We'll get into some of the inherent values of different cores and woods later, but suffice it to say that yes, there is a range of woods and cores that we don't usually work with at Ollivanders."
----
No more questions? That was easy. Fine. More information dumping coming now.
"Wands are quasi-sentient. The word quasi is Latin for 'as if', and sentient comes from the Latin sentientem, meaning 'feeling'. Along with the semantic meaning of 'having the ability to feel', the word sentient in English also carries the meaning of 'possessing consciousness' and so the term quasi-sentient therefore means 'as if possessing feelings, awareness, or consciousness'. This state of quasi-sentience exists because the magical components which combine to make each wand often interact in unique and unusual ways. Some wands will give electric shocks to anyone who attempts to steal it for instance, others have the innate ability to divine water, and still others are fickle in their loyalties and must be kept 'entertained' in order to be an effective tool for its owner. Wands often seem to have their own idea about how a spell ought to be cast, and whether or not the magic will work as intended, but in truth this is simply a result of the various affinities the wood and core may have with different spell types, elements, or areas of magical experimentation." He was paraphrasing his own book here. Ira cleared his throat and continued.
"The origins of wands for magical purposes can be traced back thousands of years, even as far back as 50,000 years, which is the age of the oldest dated wand made of rock and mammut eyeteeth that was found in the Jungles of New Guinea. Wizarding Archaeologists have theorized that the first Homohabilis nomad wizards in Africa used wands like these for transfiguration spells, to conjure fire and water as well as to transform parched and dry desert into arable and lush jungle forest. Further archaeological evidence suggests they might have used their wands to put animals to sleep before attacking and killing them, though their methods and spells have been lost to the past. Ancient Egyptian wizards, Druids in Europe during the Iron Age, and Siberian and Mongolian Shamans have also been found to have possessed some form of magic wand, staff, or rod designed to channel magical ability in much the same way as a modern wand." A few notes appeared on the board for people to copy or not as they pleased. Ira didn't care.
"Our field trip today will have you lot having a go at harvesting some woods and cores. The three cores you'll be trying to harvest are not on this list. If anyone can be first to guess any one of the three cores, they'll receive a free polish kit from Ollivanders to the value of ten galleons. Here are some hints: Something that flies, something that swims, and something that grows."
Pauuuse.
"So guess the cores, and tell me why you think that is what you'll all be trying to harvest."
OOC: wooo IC prize ftw? Yes? There are three cores that they'll get to try to harvest, and like Ira said they are NOT on the list. *shifty* they're also not necessarily canon as cores so feel free to get creative with your guessing, just that they are from actual things in the wizarding world. Don't forget to say WHY that might be a core that is harvested We will post again when at least 2 of the 3 have been guessed, or in six hours, depending on which happens first. And yes, people can still join in.
__________________
love is like a letter wrote :: and life is like an envelope
be careful who you give it to :: they might not give it back to you
Puff by day, snake by night | Mj's bestie | Always UP to Something...
Minerva thought for a moment harvesting.. This was their field trip then to harvest wand cores. That sounded interesting. So yes Mr. Unexcited could bring interesting to the seminar. So now she had to think about what they could be harvesting. Well she thought about what was in her own wand and then what was in others.
Putting up her hand she waited her turn. "Sir could it be Troll Whiskers and honestly I'm not really sure why we would be harvesting them except for the fact that it sound interesting and things at this school are never of things you can predict so Troll whiskers seemed like a good thought." Plus it was just a random thought that came to her mind that she felt like using. Did he at least like her honesty even if she really had no clue what she was talking about.
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ Claimed by Bits ❤️ ~ Queen of Typos ❄ Magical Mosh Pit ❄
Adi nodded when Ira had finished answering his question. He wished a new core was being considered, for some reason. It would be cool to learn about a possible new core. And now Mr. Banner was rattling of information. Soooooo much! But thankfully, notes appeared on the board which he quickly wrote down.
Interesting these clues were! Adi racked his brains, mentally scanning through creatures. Hmmmm. Thestral, maybe? Grindylow? The last clue had him a little stumped. Didn't all animals grow? He raised a hand. "Hair from a Merperson, perhaps?''
Who knew? They did swim... "Because they fit one of your clues, Mr. Banner.''
Oh wow. Wandy guy whose name Adrienne had forgotten was saying a lot of interesting stuff, and all very quickly, and she had to admit she was having quite a hard time copying it all down. In fact, by the time she'd managed to finally get down the bit about Mongolian Shamans, her handwriting had become quite unreadable due to her writing too fast. Ergh. Why did this always happen?
But at least now they were talking about their field trip, which was certainly interesting. Adrienne was excited for that part of this seminar, at least. Something that flies, something that swims, and something that grows... hm. She sat and thought for a moment, before putting up her hand with her mind swimming with ideas.
"Possibly Billywig stings? Because they can fly? Or Doxy wings? They can fly too." Well duh, they had wings. "Or maybe Diricawl feathers? They also fly," she added unnecessarily. Adrienne felt herself getting into the territory of things that couldn't actually be used as wand cores, so she backtracked quickly. "Er, never mind that Doxy one. Grindylow hair, perhaps, or tentacle, because they can swim, um, hippocampus tail hair? Same reason," she added quickly. And she was definitely going to have to wrap this up now. "As for the growing one, the only thing I can think of is... uh. Nothing." Well now she sounded pretty lame. Adrienne resolved to just shut her mouth now.