It was a strange start to the school year for the golden trio, but at least things were changing. As for whether it was for better or worse, the results were mixed.
For example, Ron was at his worst. Besides the lifelong punishment waiting for him when he returned home and the embarrassment he had to endure in the Great Hall alongside his little sister, his wand was broken!
He tried to fix it by weakly connecting the pieces using magical tape, but the result…
"It's no good; get another one as soon as possible," Barnaby was blunt after looking at the wand at Harry's request one afternoon in the cabin.
With one glance, he knew it was beyond repair. The wood was incomplete, the inner runes were damaged, and the core was severely worn out.
"Besides, even though my last name isn't Ollivander, I can tell this isn't 'your' wand; I'm sure it's a hand-me-down," he added after a second look.
"You can even tell that?!" Ron confirmed that Barnaby was right. Even if first-year students have a special grant that allows them to buy their first wand for only seven galleons, it's still a huge amount for the Weasley family.
Thinking about it, he was somewhat resentful because Lockhart only worsened the situation with his "mandatory" books, which had to be bought in several sets, preventing Ginny from having first-hand material or him from acquiring a wand he could call his own.
"Not only that, but I can also see that your compatibility with it is terrible!" Barnaby even frowned in disgust. "If you kept using this wand, you'd need to put in five times more effort to get a third of the results others get." He had to resist throwing the wand to Calcifer to eat. "It's almost impressive you've managed to use it up to now!"
"So that's why I have bad grades…" Ron nodded, realizing it wasn't his fault.
"No, that's because you don't study; it has nothing to do with it!" protested Hermione at her friend's vagueness.
"Actually, Ron isn't entirely wrong," Barnaby blocked Hermione without even breaking a sweat, much to the exasperation of the young witch. "I can't say anything about your theoretical or written grades, Ron, but your difficulties in casting spells are definitely due to using a wand like this."
Ron and Harry looked at each other.
So, only half of his bad grades were due to the wand?
That explains everything, definitely!
"Barnaby," Harry took over the conversation before Hermione could blow off steam, "Hagrid said you were an apprentice to Ollivander and you're so good he even offered you to inherit the shop. Do you think you could make a wand for Ron?"
Hermione's expression changed upon hearing that. This annoying guy actually studied with someone as prestigious as Ollivander, got his recognition, and even wanted him to inherit his mantle?
Hard to believe!
Looking at Barnaby's large hands, he didn't seem like someone particularly skilled.
"Yes and no," Barnaby replied as he placed the broken wand on the table. "Am I capable of making a wand for Ron? Sure. But I won't do it."
"Why not?!"
Ron didn't want to give up on a free and better wand!
"Because even though I have a wandcrafting certificate, I don't have the documentation to sell wands," Barnaby explained patiently. "If my father told you that, you should also know I didn't do it to open a wand business."
Hermione silently scoffed as she turned her head with crossed arms.
You learned to make wands but don't want to sell them?
Do you want to have a fancy toothpick?
What nonsense!
"Besides, I'd need proper materials to make it," Barnaby paid no attention to Hermione's attitude. "Leaving aside the wand wood that can be easily bought, do you think the core is easy to obtain?"
The group felt Barnaby was right. Although wand wood was cultivated by various families and could be bought, the cores were a problem depending on what was needed.
Ollivander used phoenix feathers, unicorn hair, and dragon heartstring.
Don't even talk about getting phoenix feathers. Anyone who gets their hands on one will keep it as a treasure!
Dragon heartstring could only be obtained from a dead dragon and was prohibitively expensive, especially from some of the most coveted or powerful species.
As for unicorn tail hair, there's demand but no supply.
That's why poachers make so much profit by risking it.
"Can't you just use one of the unicorn hairs you find in the Forbidden Forest?" Hermione said a bit dissatisfied.
Surely he just wanted to ask for more money!
"No, Ron isn't compatible with that core," Barnaby raised an eyebrow at Hermione, slightly irritated by the behavior she'd been showing since arriving at his house. "Are you on your period or something?"
"You!" Hermione's eyes widened at the unexpected and direct question.
"Somnium."
Hermione went from preparing to scold him to having her head fall against the table with a thud, ending up asleep.
"What's her problem?" Barnaby asked Ron and Harry as he looked at Hermione in disgust. "I know we're not friends, but she's not showing the slightest courtesy."
"The new librarian doesn't let her check out more than three books at a time and has greatly reduced the time she can keep them, so she's been irritable since she found out," Harry explained, weakly defending his friend. "Before, she could check out no fewer than eight and hasn't stopped complaining that this is affecting her studies."
"She'll have to mature and adapt. I reorganized the library system to avoid many problems. The headmaster approved it, and Frieren is just following the rules."
"You did it?" Ron's eyes widened.
"Of course. Do you have any idea how many students request more books than they end up using and how long they take to return them?" He made a not-so-subtle gesture toward the sleeping girl on the table. "Due to that selfish behavior, many other students can't use those books when they need them. And even though the school library is large, it doesn't have too many copies of each book; many are unique!"
After hearing the explanation, Harry felt Barnaby was right. Even he thought Hermione abused the school library a bit by taking so many books for herself. These new measures could actually be good for her.
"Can we get back to my wand?" Ron interrupted the conversation, not very interested in the library topic. "Couldn't you just, you know, gift it? That wouldn't count as selling it, right?"
"Well, you have a point," Barnaby nodded as he thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "I could send it as a Christmas gift, but I won't work on a wand unless you can provide the materials."
It would be a real danger to make Ron a wand with what he had at his disposal. The young wizard would be completely unable to control it, and some disaster might happen.
"What would you need?" Harry asked curiously.
"For Ron, the best wood would be hornbeam, cypress, or apple," Barnaby reflected a bit as he looked Ron up and down. "As for the core, I think kelpie hair, dittany stalk, or Kneazle whiskers would be the best options."
This was considering the Weasley family's economic situation, the difficulty of obtaining the material, and the compatibility Ron would have with the combinations. It wouldn't be realistic to ask for some better but impossible-to-get materials like Veela hair.
"I can get everything!" Ron stood up excitedly upon hearing the requirements. "My dad knows people from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It won't be hard for them to give him a Kneazle whisker. As for the wood, we have a magical cypress at home that's used for wands. It was a gift from my uncle."
"Great, make sure the whisker is from a healthy adult Kneazle," Barnaby reminded him. "As for the cypress, a thick branch as long as your arm will be more than enough. If you don't take too long, I guarantee it'll be ready by Christmas."
It would only take a couple of days to make it once he had the materials, so he wasn't lying. It's just that since he didn't have the documentation for selling, he could only give it as a Christmas gift.
Although he didn't know if Ron's broken wand could last another half a year of use, he could only try to perform last-resort maintenance to keep it as functional as possible until it was replaced.