the_debt_of_time

"Yes, yes." Ollivander grinned. "New wand you say?" He turned back to look at the
young witch curiously, as though he were looking for something but was unable to figure
out exactly what. "Are you—?"
"Yes, a new wand!" Professor McGonagall snapped impatiently. "This is Hermione
Granger; she'll be starting Hogwarts this year."
Ollivander looked at her as if he were shaking off a lingering, unspoken thought.
"Yes, yes, of course. Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Hermione from shoulder
to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and round her head. As
he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance,
Miss Granger. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons.
No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are
quite the same. And, of course, you will never get such good results with another witch's
wand."
The wandmaker then turned to the shelves, letting his hands hover around the
boxes for several minutes before he paused, looked back at Hermione, and then said,
"Hmm," while tapping his index finger against his chin. Finally, he walked into the back
and returned with a long box in his hand.
He removed a small wand from the box and held it out to her. As Hermione took
it, a warmth filled her fingers like soft bathwater. She grinned. "This feels... good."
"Ah, wonderful!" Ollivander smiled. "Ten and three-quarters inch, vinewood with
the core of a dragon heartstring," he explained and Hermione stared at the man excitedly.
"Dragon heartstring?"
"Yes, Miss Granger, very powerful. The dragon that donated the heartstring for
your wand was an old Ukrainian Ironbelly. It donated three strings in total quite some years
ago. One I used for a willow wand that I sold to a young Muggle-born girl just like you,"
he said, holding back tears in his eyes as though he were reflecting on the witch in question.
"And another vinewood I sold that same year, just a bit shorter than this. The girl who
bought it was... was.. ." He smiled thoughtfully as he looked her over, a strange
confusion in his eyes. Eventually, he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Both were
quite amazing witches."
Hermione was grinning madly as she held her wand delicately in her fingers.