One interesting thing about a veritology license was that it was divided into levels based on skill, with the rating for each level displayed directly on it. Those levels were called stars, and the license reflected them in that exact form, with ten stars being the highest possible standing. Ollivander was one of the very few people in the world honored with a full ten-star rating as a wandmaker. Each star was then further divided according to the same grading scale Hogwarts used, though the failing grades only appeared after the first star. Those grades, from lowest to highest, were T for Troll, D for Dreadful, P for Poor, A for Acceptable, E for Exceeds Expectations, and O for Outstanding.
Ollivander himself was a ten-star O-ranked veritologist, and when Julian's test concluded, he was given a metal badge marked with two stars, an O in the first star and an A in the second. "It means your skill placed you one rank above novice," Ollivander explained when Julian asked what it meant. That honestly surprised Julian, since he had assumed the test represented only the bare minimum required to earn a license, but apparently that was not the case.
Ollivander chuckled when he saw Julian's astonishment. "To be honest, I deliberately held you back from taking the test until you reached this point in order to protect my own reputation. After all, I am the world's foremost wand crafter, so any student of mine, even one who has only trained for a few months, must still appear exceptional," he said frankly. Julian could understand the reasoning there, because it made perfect sense when looked at that way. Ollivander had almost never taken on students, and he was the most famous wandmaker in the world, so if someone trained by him tested below a certain level, people would naturally start questioning whether he was actually as skilled a teacher as his reputation suggested.
It was ridiculous, but that was simply how reputation worked in the magical world. "Even so, do not start thinking this is enough for me to accept that you have reached a respectable level of skill. You will reach at least the three-star A standard before you leave my tutelage," Ollivander said sternly, and Julian could only shrug and accept it. The old man had not been joking either, because throughout the entire final week of July he came down hard on every tiny flaw in the wands Julian produced, even after the school supply list arrived.
Julian had already expected it, but seeing that most of the list was made up of Lockhart's books irritated him beyond belief. Instead of spending thirty-five galleons on them, he simply bought six full sets through the system and sent five of those sets to the Weasleys, who definitely could not afford such an absurd cost. For a family as poor as theirs, one hundred and seventy-five galleons was enough to come close to ruining them. Besides, Julian wanted to make some amends for deceiving them when he had visited.
Even if he was sure they could understand why he had done it, that did not change the fact that he had still lied to them in order to get what he wanted, and that had definitely hurt a bit. Harry was more complicated, because he did not care about wealth or anything like that, but he had cared very much that Julian had kept something so important from him. Still, Ollivander had been correct as usual, because the first week of August brought in streams of first years. "You see, when a wand is held by a wizard or witch the wand does not acknowledge, there are various ways it can show that."
"For example, in your case, the wands either became lifeless and unresponsive in your hand or turned violent because of the rejection. Of course, we were usually able to avoid the latter outcome because of your sensitivity to wands," Ollivander explained while Julian took the measurements of a first year who looked deeply uncertain about being helped by a student only one year older than they were. The child's mother clearly shared that same concern, but Julian only smiled and held up his license. "No need to worry, I'm a professional," he said confidently.
That little display of legitimacy visibly relaxed them, and Julian could only glare at Helena, who was snickering to herself from the corner while spoiling Steve, who Julian was fairly certain had put on weight. At least Dusk had his back, or more accurately his shoulder, in his full oversized rooster-like form. By the end of the week, Julian nearly wanted to burn his license, because he had long since lost count of how many times he had repeated that same line while flashing his credentials. Things became awkward on Saturday, however, when the Weasleys entered the shop so Ginny Weasley, the family's only daughter, could get her wand.