'Then you're still alive?' Ollivander looked at Ivan in surprise, and almost spilled his guts.
Grindelwald was well-known as a legendary Dark Wizard, and with the Elder Wand at his disposal, one could only imagine how powerful he was. How could Ivan not be shocked when he claimed to be able to fight Grindelwald?
Ivan could see Ollivander's surprise, but he didn't try to explain. "You seem to know something about the Elder Wand?"
"No, I just happened to hear some of the legends…" Ollivander replied, shaking his head.
Ivan eyed Ollivander suspiciously, not believing that the truth was as simple as Ollivander claimed.
Uncomfortable under Ivan's intense stare, Ollivander forced a smile and said, "Well, I admit to having some ideas about that wand in earlier years, as my skill with it had long since run out of steam, and I wanted to find and study it."
"Unfortunately, I was unable to find any trace of it, and was only able to confirm the existence of the wand from various sources… However, there is also the news that the Elder Wand was once in the possession of the wandmaker, Gregorovitch."
"That's all I know. I have nothing more to hide from you," Ollivander said frankly.
Ivan nodded. With Legilimency, Ollivander had no chance of lying, and it was true that the British wand-maker knew nothing of the Deathly Hallows, other than studying the Elder Wand.
"If you're here to ask me to create a weapon that can rival the Elder Wand, I'm afraid I can't do so," Ollivander said bluntly. No matter how confident he was, he didn't think he could create a wand that could rival the Elder Wand, the legendary Elder Wand that allowed its owner to win every battle.
"Why? I'm sure the Elder Wand was made by a wizard. It can't really be related to Death, like in the legends, can it?" Ivan questioned.
"Of course there is no such thing as Death," Ollivander said with a sigh. "My guess is that the wizard who made the Elder Wand used some lost alchemical skill. Besides, the wizarding world of a thousand years ago was not the same as it is today, where many precious magical materials could be easily found. Many magical creatures are now extinct."
"So the wizarding world is getting worse with every generation…" Ivan shook his head in exasperation. It wasn't just wands; magical objects such as Time-Turners were broken and few and far between. Ordinary alchemy had no way of repairing them.
"I wouldn't exactly call it that. The wizarding world has always moved forward without the need for unstable forces," Ollivander said slowly, but with regret.
All of a sudden, Ollivander seemed to think of something, and he looked at Ivan expectantly. "If… if you could steal that wand for me to study, I might be able to decipher its secrets."
Ivan rolled his eyes. 'If I could steal the Elder Wand from Grindelwald, why would I need you?'
"I can't give you the Elder Wand, but I've brought a brand-new wand made of a far more powerful core than any you've ever used!" Ivan said confidently.
"Brand-new material? I must say, not everything magical is perfect for a wand core…" Ollivander said dubiously, not expecting much from Ivan.
While his shop only sold unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers, and dragon heartstrings, he had tried almost all of the ingredients that could be used as a wand core in order to improve his skills.
"You could try it yourself, Mr. Ollivander!" Ivan reached into his sleeve and pulled out the ebony wand he had made earlier.
Ollivander took the wand and examined it. On the surface, it appeared to be unremarkable, even crudely made, and impossible to sell by his standards.
However, Ivan was watching him, so Ollivander didn't want to seem too casual. He immediately began to evaluate the wand seriously. His slender fingers gently swept across the wand, and a fine magical fluorescence appeared on the wand.
After a moment of serious examination, Ollivander's indifferent expression turned grave. After a moment of silence, he leveled his wand and tentatively cast a spell at the left target.
"Diffindo ~ (cracked apart)"
A brilliant beam of light flashed through the air, and the basic spell, enhanced by the wand, was so powerful that it blew the target to pieces.
"Strange…how strange…" Ollivander's brows drew together. "The wood is ebony, twelve inches and a quarter of its length, but the core of the wand…it's a phoenix's tail feather? No, no! I also felt a cold, cold magic that must…must belong to a basilisk…"
"And the dragon…the dragon heart string…"
Ollivander paced the room as if he were in a dream, his eyes fixed on the wand in his hand. He muttered something to himself and forgot about Ivan.
"There's no need to guess, the core of the wand is my hair!" Ivan exclaimed, seeing that Ollivander's thoughts seemed to be leading nowhere.
"Bollocks!" Ollivander said, glaring. "Wizards may be magical creatures, but their hair-magic is weak, far inferior to those of powerful magical creatures, and would be pathetic when used in wand-making…"
"And I sense many magical creatures in this wand. You must have fused several cores somehow…" Ollivander began excitedly, but before Ivan could respond, Ollivander shot back, as if he had lost his mind. "No, that's not right. The wand would have exploded from the clash of powers…"
"The constitution of a wizard is not the same as that of a wizard, Mr. Ollivander! Also, magic is far more magical than you can imagine." Ivan took the wand out of Ollivander's hand and snapped it in front of his face, revealing a hair dyed red with blood.
"This…this is impossible!" Ollivander was stunned. His right hand trembled as he pulled his hair out of his broken wand and examined it carefully. Suddenly, he looked up at Ivan with a burning gaze, as if he were looking at a treasure!