Sirius shook his head. "He would have told me if he had, and he certainly would have told Lily to have stayed away from my grandfather. So it's just as well he didn't know, isn't it?" He said. "The books my grandfather gave her helped her keep Harry safe." There was a note of wonder mixed in with a touch of bitterness in his words.
Remus ran a hand over his face. "Are there any more memories?"
"One."
"Do you want to stop and join the others for some lunch or continue?" asked Remus.
"Continue." Sirius muttered.
The last memory was the most shocking. It was clear that at the time of the memory Arcturus was bed-ridden; he was propped up in a large four poster shakily drinking tea as a house elf showed his visitor into the room.
Ollivander, the wand maker, greeted Arcturus happily and took the seat Arcturus pointed toward. He agreed to refreshment and another elf arrived with a freshly brewed pot of tea.
"Thank you for coming, Master Ollivander."
"You have been secluded for many years and your letter asked for my knowledge, Lord Black." Ollivander smiled at Arcturus, his silver eyes glittering. "I admit to some curiosity."
"What do you know of the Tale of Three Brothers?" Arcturus asked.
Ollivander's bushy white eyebrows lifted half-way up his forehead. "The child's tale?" His expression became slightly mischievous. "I take it you wish to quiz me about the Elder wand?" He settled back in his chair. "And if I tell you what I know?"
"You will receive the copy of Alrac's Wand making Lore from my family library." Arcturus offered smoothly.
"And if I were to tell you that it will not aid you in recovering your health?" Ollivander posed the question quite seriously.
"My research is to benefit the last of the Peverells not myself." Arcturus replied.
"The Potter boy?" Ollivander's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Interesting. But then it would explain the photo by your bedside."
Sirius glanced to where Ollivander's gaze had darted and found the photo of himself with baby Harry on his grandfather's bedside table.
Arcturus chose to stare the wand maker down rather than answer.
Ollivander's lips twitched. "I accept your terms."
Arcturus inclined his head.
"The Elder Wand is also known as the Deathstick. It is said to have been crafted by Antioch Peverell." Ollivander began, enthusiastically. "It is purported to be a wand wrapped in a wand wrapped in a wand. The root of the Elder tree was the inner core soaked in Peverell's blood and covered with runes of power. The bark of the Elder tree was wrapped around the core, covered with more runes that conveyed accuracy and balance. Finally, this was placed within the hollowed out core of an Elder branch and fashioned into a wand. Only one mark was made on the outer wood; the invention mark of the Peverells."
"There was no other magical core?" inquired Arcturus.
"It is all supposition as nobody knows for certain. Because of the tale that has Death gifting the wand there are those that believe the rumour that the inner core was a thestral hair but I consider that a story." Ollivander's thin hand waved in the air. "If it is made entirely of wood, it would make the wand very unique. The other main difference is that normal wands choose the wizard or witch who has the best affinity with the magical element at its core, but their allegiance can be borrowed or stolen if they are a near match to someone else, or if there is a close relationship between the two users. It's why families that struggle financially will often reuse their ancestors' wands, for instance. But the Elder wand's true allegiance is said to be only with the line of Peverell."
"But in the tale, the wand transfers its allegiance to someone more powerful once Antioch used it to kill someone and boasted of it?" quizzed Arcturus thoughtfully.
"Pish and tosh nonsense." Ollivander dismissed with another wave. "Antioch was killed in his sleep and the wand taken; it isn't sentient. It couldn't have known the danger, woken Antioch up and killed the thief all by itself. It is a powerful wand, a most unusual and unique wand, but it is only a wand."
"Do you know where it is?" Arcturus asked.
"The last rumour that was told to me that I believed had any kind of veracity was that Gregorovitch had it." Ollivander smiled. "He's always been fascinated by the topic. He's tried on four separate occasions to replicate a non-core wand and hasn't been able to achieve any success."
Arcturus smiled at Ollivander. "And where do you suspect it actually is now?"
Ollivander smiled back, recognising that Arcturus had seen his evasion and hadn't fallen for it. "If you want to find a powerful wand, you need to find a powerful wizard. And if you want to find this powerful wand, it is wise to look at the last time two powerful wizards came to blows. The history of the wand is drenched in bloodshed."
His gaze sharpened on Ollivander suddenly. "Dumbledore? He won the wand from Grindelwald?"
Sirius's mouth dropped open. Albus? Albus had the Elder wand? Well, that explained his position on searching it out when the Resurrection Stone had been found.
Ollivander spread his hands out in a 'I don't know' gesture. "My theory only although I believe it is the reason Albus never personally challenged You-Know-Who in a one-to-one battle."
"He didn't want to take the risk of losing its allegiance to the Dark Lord." Arcturus said.
"Exactly." Ollivander replied. He blinked, his silver eyes shifting to see something in his own mind. "I suspect the wand will make its way to the Peverell child in good time."
"What about the other Hallows?" Arcturus asked. "Do you know where they are?"
"The other what?" Ollivander asked, seemingly surprised at the question.
"The other Hallows – the cloak and the stone." Arcturus expanded.
"Ah," Ollivander gave another smile, "I'm afraid I can't help you there. They're not wands and I have no interest in them."
"You're not interested in the notion that if all three are reunited, the holder becomes the Master of Death?" Arcturus countered.
Ollivander burst out laughing. "Dear me, Arcturus, the tale is fictional! Death did not gift the artefacts to the Peverells! They created them. Bringing them together creates a powerful arsenal but one to master Death itself? I rather doubt that."
Arcturus huffed but he gestured weakly. "What does the wand lore say about the Elder wand and the Peverell family magic, or family magic in general?"
"Ah, now that is a much more interesting question." Ollivander paused to take a sip of his tea, set it aside again and sat back. "The most credible account that I've come across of the origins of family magic tells of the wizarding world on the brink of collapse as Camelot fell, beset by power-hungry wizards and witches who wished to fill the vacuum and by muggles that feared them.
Thus, Merlin invited thirty families with the most powerful wizards and witches among them, and cast a spell of protection; a spell that bound and sacrificed their most powerful member who, instead of dying, transformed into the guardian spirit totems that embody family magic. Merlin was then able to direct all these spirit totems in concert to hide magical folk from the muggle world and eradicate the evil from within the wizarding. Once done, Merlin disappeared – it is said that he died in the effort – and the thirty families formed the Wizarding Council and began the wizarding society that would evolve into our world today."
He paused. "Soon, they each realised that the most powerful wizard in each generation of their family was bound to the sacrifice, able to call upon the family magic with the price being they added their own magic on dying; family magic became insular, each seeking to protect their own pool. And over time the thirty families drifted in politics and values. Yet, the pool of magic available to help protect the wizarding world remains and theoretically the most powerful overall in each generation should be able to call upon not only their family's magic but that of the others."
"What of those families that have died out such as Hufflepuff?" asked Arcturus.
"The magic is still there in the ether to be called upon." Ollivander stated and shrugged. "One presumes the most powerful within the families would be able to call it."
"But no-one knows for certain if this is true?" Arcturus checked, bemused.
"There are many origin stories." Ollivander said. "Who knows which is the truth? My preference is this one."
"And what of the Elder wand and family magic?" Arcturus pressed on.
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