"But I had presumed that Merlin's wand was of English Oak?" Dumbledore asked.

"It is only a myth. Merlin did not want it to be known that his wand was so unusual. When on his deathbed, he asked his twin sister to take his wand to a wandmaker to be analyzed and recorded for the future."

Draco looked at his wand. "Brilliant!" he exclaimed. "I have a wand like Merlin's."

"Not entirely like Merlin's," Ollivander told him. "His had dragon heatstring core, and it was not as long as yours. I should also mention this: no one can know what your wand is."

"Why not?"

"It's dangerous enough to have a wand with more than one wood. It is extremely powerful. Besides, no one will believe that you and Merlin shared the same wood."

"Garrick," Dumbledore said, "may I speak with you in private?"

"Of course!" He hurried off after Dumbledore towards the back of the room.

Draco mocked, "Oh, of course!"

He did his best to listen in:

"Albus, this wand is very powerful. He absolutely cannot know why this wand chose him."

"Garrick, it is his wand, not yours. Draco can handle it. Perhaps it is better for him to know why he may not spread this information. I will have to persuade him not to tell his parents, course."

"I suppose."

"I appreciate your understanding. Now where are your most accurate wand books?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I would like to see your most accurate books on wand woods, cores, flexibilities, and lengths."

______________________________________________________________

"Professor, where are we going?" Draco Malfoy asked his future headmaster as they walked down Diagon Alley.

"To the Leaky Cauldron," came the reply.

"I've heard of it, but I've never been there."

"I would not expect you to have."

Draco frowned. "And why not?"

"Your parents do not seem the type to have ever been there."

"You're saying they're too rich to go there?"

Dumbledore merely chuckled and said, "Indeed."

When they entered, Draco was greeted by some sort of warmth he'd never experienced before. Wizards and witches were crowded in the pub, drinking, and talking. 

Draco followed Dumbledore to the bar.

"Hello, Tom," Dumbledore greeted.

"Albus! Good to see you." The bartender directed his eyes towards Draco. "Who's this? Wait. Don't tell me. Platinum blond hair, finest robes of the century, signature smirk plastered on his face. Why, you must be a Malfoy!"

"Excellent guess," Dumbledore said. "This is Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Draco, this is Tom, proud bartender and owner of The Leaky Cauldron."

Tom held out his hand and Draco, being the gentleman he was raised to be, shook it.

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Draco said.

"And you!" agreed the other. "What can I get you today, Albus?"

"I'll have a butterbeer, if you don't mind. Draco, would you like anything?"

Draco had gotten an opportunity to drink butterbeer only once and it had been a reward for doing something well.

"Alright, I'll have that as well."

"Two butterbeers, coming right up," Tom said.

When he returned, Draco was getting out some of his pocket money to pay for the beverage, but was stopped by Dumbledore.

Dumbledore said, "Courtesy of an old man with no one to spend the money on." Draco noticed a sad look in the old man's eyes.

He accepted the glasses and led Draco to a booth in the corner of the pub.

As Draco sat down, he watched Dumbledore take a miniature notebook from his pocket, set it on the table, and tap it with his wand. The book suddenly grew back to its normal sizes.

Draco looked up, amazed.

"Someday," Dumbledore told him, "you'll be able to do that."

"So what is this and why are we reading it?" Draco asked.

"This is Ollivander's personal notebook. You need to learn how your wand represents you."

Dumbledore flipped to a page and shoved the book in front of Draco. "Read," he said.

After a moment, Draco said, "So he does indeed base wand length upon character. Shorter wands are for those who lack something in character."

"And have you read about the flexibility?"

"It's the degree of adaptability and-" he paused to glance at the book, "-and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair."

"So what does that tell you about yourself, Draco?"

"I have a great deal of character and I adapt to things based on reason."

"Excellent. Turn the page. Find your core type."

"Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, they show the most initiative, hardest to tame and to personalize, and their allegiance is usually hard won."

"So?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Cool. Next page?"

Dumbledore nodded.

Draco read about Acacia, which was very unusual and refused to produce magic for any but its owner. His wand was also part Elder, which was apparently the rarest wand wood and only a highly unusual person could find Elder as their match, a person marked out for a special destiny. The last part of his wand was Yew, also rare, possessed a dark and fearsome reputation and never chose a mediocre or timid owner.

"Wow," Draco said. "I'm brilliant."

"It is one thing to be proud of yourself, yet another to be arrogant," Dumbledore said. "Do not inflate your head any more than you already have."

"My head isn't that inflated. My parents aren't exactly satisfied with my actions."

For the first time in history, Albus Dumbledore was rendered speechless. He couldn't tell the boy that his parents actually were satisfied with him-that would be giving him false hope.

"Come on, Draco," he finally spoke. "It is time we got the rest of your supplies."

A/N: I encourage you all to share this book with your friends, comment, vote, and keep on reading! Thank you all so much!