How a bit of wood can hold so much importance

James walked through the streets of Diagon, noting that the clean-up effort from a few nights ago when the fiendfyre had ravaged the district was coming along nicely. He knew that it was difficult to clean up after a cursed fire, but many of the buildings seemed to be making their way back to their original state. Still, the site of a few partially charred buildings increased James' agitation of having broken his wand. The streets just didn't seem quite as safe when you couldn't feel that slender bit of wood attached to your hip.

James kept his eyes resolutely on the sign for Marcheti's wand shop, attempting to keep himself from surveying anymore of the damage. Marcheti had been lucky in the fact that his shop had escaped unscathed, and James felt lucky as well. Without the shop, he would have been quite at a loss as to where he could get his wand fixed; or replaced if it was irreparable. A small bell above the door jangled as James stepped into the shop. His eyes still adjusting to the darkness, James looked around the shop for the form of Aaron, the wandmaker.

It was not unusual for Aaron to be in his wand shop. He had a room that sat right above the shop that he stayed in most of the time. Some might find it odd when he had two other, much larger, places to stay at but he was a man of simple taste. He did not need to have a big fancy house to get by, that was what other people wanted, and was precisely why he even owned the bigger property. It was to show off his wealth. He needed to impress people, on occasion, and when the time came, he did just that.

But most of his time was spent in his wand shop. Most of his thinking happened when he was crafting his wands, so he spent a lot of time doing just that. All of the wands in his shop were custom made, by himself, so it took quite some time to fill the shop. It was his hobby and he thoroughly enjoyed the time he had. So, when the bell above the door jingled, Aaron stopped what he was doing and he came out into the main area to greet his guest.

Aaron felt like he recognized the man who was wandering his shop. He scanned his memory to try and place where it was he knew him from, and it finally hit, he was one of the people who was there during the Diagon Alley ordeal. He had thought that maybe he should have set ablaze his shop so that things did not look so suspicious, but he was never on anyone's radar in the first place, so he decided not to set his pride and joy ablaze.

"You're too old to be buying a wand for the first time, so I must assume, you are here to buy a new one? Or maybe have me look at an older one?"

"Hoping you might be able to repair one actually," James replied, retrieving his broken wand from within his robes, "Had an unfortunate accident, canine in nature, and my wand came off on the worse end of things. I suppose if it is irreparable, though, then I shall have a need to purchase a new one."

James set his snapped wand down on the same table where it had been set before; when he was 11 and was first chosen by the wand. The shined Cypress wood was now marred, splintered at about 3 inches from the tip, the tip held on only by a wedge of wood not even an inch thick. The phoenix feather could clearly be seen, gleaming dully from within the recesses of the wand. His wand had been rigid, so it had snapped fairly cleanly with no deep furrows running clear along the sides, as would happen with a more flexible wood.

"Cypress, phoenix feather, 11 inches long, and rigid," James said a little wistfully, still remembering when he had first received the wand, "Though being a wandmaker, I am sure you saw that the moment I brought my wand out."

James looked Aaron square in the face, the emotional affect of losing his wand showing on his own face, "If it can be fixed, please do so. I'll pay any sum."

Aaron took his wand and he looked it over without revealing what he was actually doing. Wands were much more advanced and could tell a person more than most people thought. A wand could tell more about a person, at least to Aaron, than even having a conversation could. It was strange, but it was almost as if the wand could speak to him, and as he looked it over he got somewhat of a glimpse into the life of the man who handed it to him.

"I saw more than just that, Mr. Potter." Aaron smiled when he revealed that he knew his name. He also remembered him, albeit only slightly, from when they both attended Hogwarts. Aaron did not personally know him, but he was the son of the boy who lived, so of course he knew OF him. He put the wand down and then he vanished behind the counter without saying anything.

He came back with a box and he set it down. "The good news is, yes, I can fix your wand." He opened the box and he revealed another wand. "The bad news is, it will not be easy and I will have to have it for a few days. But a wizard should never be without a wand so I have one that I think will hold you over." He lifted the wand from the box and he gently handed it over to him.

"Ash, 11 inches, hippogriff feather. Not as powerful or as sturdy as your wand, and it may have trouble adjusting to someone it knows is not its owner, but it will work." He put Jame's old wand into the box he had just taken out and he closed it. "I must ask you, though, to take care of it. As best as you can, try not to use any powerful spells."

James flushed a bit, realizing that he had not properly introduced himself, but Aaron had seemed to dismiss the slight, so James did as well. He picked up the offered wand and gave it an experimental swish. The wand did give out a few sparks, but they had come out in what seemed a reluctant way. James almost felt that he had to work slightly harder to get an effect from this wand. He aimed it at the box which had encased the wand next, and levitated it. The box floated into the air readily enough, but it was shaky and James had to strain a bit to steady it. Well, it would have to work for the time being.

"Well, I don't foresee myself getting viciously attacked within the next couple of days," James joked, "so I should be able to promise not to use this wand too heavily. Seems a bit awkward, but that's understandable. I'll just have to concentrate extra hard."

James pocketed the wand and held his hand out to shake Aaron's.

"Thank you very much," he said then added, "Any idea as to how many days it will be before the repairs are complete?"