Julian wasted no time setting his luggage at the foot of the bed and arranging a spot in the corner where Steve could keep his hoard while they stayed there. Aside from that, though, he did not feel any need to alter the room further. With Helena following behind him, Julian stepped back out and quickly found Ollivander in the front of the shop attending to an auror who apparently needed his wand repaired. The auror was a fit middle aged man with ordinary features, short black hair, and a jagged scar cutting across his cheek.
"Oh? And who might this young man be, Mr. Ollivander? I was under the impression you lived alone," the auror asked curiously when he saw Julian emerge.
"A Hogwarts student who will be apprenticing under me for the summer," Ollivander replied, not seeming bothered in the slightest by revealing that he was taking on an apprentice, even if only temporarily.
The auror still looked surprised by the answer. "An apprentice, you say? I did not even know that was an option back when I attended Hogwarts," the man admitted honestly.
"It gets far less attention than it deserves, in my opinion. It's quite an opportunity for students to miss out on," Julian cut in.
Both Ollivander and the auror nodded in agreement, though likely for entirely different reasons.
"Well then, I suppose I should find something to do while my wand is being repaired. A pleasure meeting you, young man," the auror said before taking his leave.
Once the man was gone, Ollivander turned to Julian. "Because of how dangerous their work is, I unfortunately receive quite a number of aurors needing their wands repaired or replaced," he explained with a sigh before indicating the wand resting on the counter.
At first glance, Julian could not tell what was wrong with it, since it appeared perfectly fine. But when Ollivander gently rolled it over, a deep slash became visible along one side, the sort of damage an animal might leave behind, exposing the red core within.
"This wand, for example, needs an entirely new housing for the core, as you can see. It makes for a good opportunity to show you some of the most basic wandmaking techniques," he said calmly.
"Speaking of instruction, I will teach from Monday through Thursday as business allows. Friday through Sunday, however, will be yours to use however you see fit," Ollivander added.
He then picked up the damaged wand with care and motioned for Julian to follow him before leading the way into the back of the shop, specifically into the materials storage room.
"When replacing the wooden housing of a wand, it is always best to make sure the wood used is not only the same type, but also as close to the original as possible in age. In this case, elm at approximately thirty years old. That is why I keep a thin cross section showing the rings from every piece of wood, so I can identify the best possible replacement," he explained, pointing toward the samples in question.
Julian also noticed that Ollivander kept every type of wood stored in a particular place to make finding the one he needed easier. Walking over to a certain area, Ollivander pointed toward one of the cut sections.
"Do you know how to tell a tree's age from its rings?" he asked.
Julian nodded. "One ring equals one year, if I remember correctly," he answered, and Ollivander smiled, pleased.
"Exactly. So why don't you examine these different pieces of elm and find the one closest to thirty years old at the time it was cut down," he said, gesturing to the neatly stacked wood.
Julian stepped forward and carefully checked each sample one by one until he found the one he wanted. Then he reached out and selected a piece from that stack.
"This wood is twenty nine years old, and it should work better than the thirty one year old pieces next to it," Julian said as he handed it over.
Ollivander smiled faintly. "And why do you think the younger piece would serve better than the older one, despite both being close to thirty years in age?" he asked, sounding intrigued.
Julian frowned, because he did not actually know. It was simply an instinctive feeling born from his own experience as a craftsman.
Ollivander saw the look on his face and laughed. "No need to trouble yourself, lad. Your instinct is correct in this case. The true reason younger wood is often the better option is because of experience within the wood itself. A younger tree is less fixed in its ways, you see, so it can adapt itself to the core more easily than older wood, which has become more set in its nature," he explained calmly.