first timer | nell

[yvonne rae de snaijer]

━ callin' it quits now, baby, i'm a wreck━

july 2028

LONG BEFORE GRADUATION, YVONNE DE SNAIJER knew she wanted to eventually cut ties with her family. It felt horrible to admit, given Lila's help throughout the years, especially when the De Snaijer's parents were ultimately killed. Although she was thankful, she was also forced into a life she didn't want. There were other factors of course, that grew with the resentment she had held but finally graduating from Hogwarts was the biggest relief the teenager felt.

Funnily enough though, with her future goals in mind, Hogwarts was the one place she would be going right back to. Regardless though, it was summer. And summer meant trying new things, such as getting your first part time job, in an area of expertise your boyfriend had experience in...working alongside no other..than his aunt. Stepping through Horizont Alley and approaching The Queen's Wands and Woodworks, Yvonne swallowed the nerves in her throat.

This was probably the worse idea she had yet, but sometimes risks - even stupid risks - were worth it. Pushing the door open, the De Snaijer smiled small at the little chime while eyes wandered around, taking in the different creations amongst her.

| eleanor gwendolen ollivander |

SORRY FOR THE WAAAAIT D:

[eleanor gwendolen ollivander]

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Nell knew that eventually she was going to need to get some kind of help for her shop. She had made it three years without having to get an employee that wasn’t one of her brothers occasionally helping out with menial tasks like sweeping the shop or sitting behind the cash register when she had to run an errand. There was finally a point where she felt like having a part-timer would be beneficial. Whether that was for just a normal cashier job or potentially turning into an apprenticeship, she wasn’t sure yet. She planned to teach them everything she could regardless, as needing to know the wares was extremely important. That tended to be the problem with working at Ollivander’s. The employees had to be a wandmaker, only because they needed to know all of the ins and outs of the wands that were being sold. Luckily her own shop had more than wands, and giving details and taking orders for her charmed furniture was fairly easy to do.

The girl she had hired was supposedly Gideon’s girlfriend. Nell didn’t want to pry and certainly didn’t want to interfere with her nephew’s life too much. She liked having a solid relationship with him, which she often wondered if that ticked off her sister at all. All the better, really. Needless to say, Nell was nervous because she’d never had someone work directly under her that she couldn’t lovingly bully, and she didn’t want to come across as the crazy aunt. She didn’t think she was that way, but anxiousness had a way of making things weird sometimes.

She had spent all morning pacing back and forth between the shop and workshop portions of the building. If there had been a carpet there, she would have worn it out by now. It was a bad habit of hers, something she’d always felt like she’d get yelled at for by her sister. Even in school, there had been points where her roommates had told her to sit down because her pacing made them nervous too.

Eventually, the front door to the shop opened and Nell hurriedly made her way there, sort of hoping it was a customer and not her new employee, Yvonne. She was wrong, of course, and instantly felt the nerves take over. Her single thought was to not act like an overbearing adult. ”Th-Thanks for coming in, Yvonne.” Nell found herself stumbling over her words. Merlin, she hadn’t been like this since her NEWT exam in Potions. Or maybe telling Veronica she was leaving to start her own shop. Maybe both. ”Umm…I guess to start I can show you around the shop? And if you have any questions, just ask away.” Yeah. That seemed like would work.

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[yvonne rae de snaijer]

━ callin' it quits now, baby, i'm a wreck━

NOT EXPECTING TO SEE ELEANOR Ollivander so quickly, Yvonne almost jumped out of her skin as she heard someone speak in her direction. Smiling as wide as she could, the De Snaijer nodded happily. "It's my pleasure..thank you for giving me the opportunity!" Despite her disconnect from Lila and her siblings, Yvonne had finally learned over the years that kindness did indeed cost nothing. And if she was kind for even the smallest of things, a door of opportunities could open for her.

Not even noticing that Eleanor had stumbled over her words, Yvonne nodded. "A tour would be great." It would be a great ice breaker and allow the De Snaijer to form any kinds of questions after all. "You..make more than wands here right?" During her time of living in England, Yvonne was forced by Lila to visit the Ollivanders, and it grew rather tiresome every time the eldest twin needed to change her wand. The feathers and cores tended to be the same over there.

Listening to stories about Eleanor from Gideon only sparked something within the De Snaijer, and despite having a career path in mind, what was learning one more potentially useful skill going to do?

| eleanor gwendolen ollivander |

[eleanor gwendolen ollivander]

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Nell really wasn’t ready to have an employee. She had so many concerns about accidentally turning into Veronica and becoming an absolute bitch to anyone that worked under her. It was one thing if Frankie came by and tended the till or cleaned up the workshop, or if Benny wanted to assist on a wand or two because he felt like it that day. To have a complete stranger as her worker though? If Ollivander’s had operated that way it also would have been different. Nell had always been the lowest rung employee, even as an apprentice. It was all so nerve-wrecking and she had been losing sleep over it.

Thankfully talking shop was one way that Nell was able to diffuse her anxiousness. It had always been that way, even in school. Worried about some new person that had approached her? Talk about Potions. Going on a date? Bombard them with details about wandmaking. It always ended up with her not getting another one, but it helped in the moment. She swore she was an actual functioning adult that had a business she ran. And not being in a committed relationship had other benefits too. No one else around her seemed to know about that part though, which she was fine with.

”Yeah…so the wands obviously,” she motioned with a broad gesture at the shelf that held her several dozen wands she currently had available. ”And then also all of the furniture over there. Self-rocking rocking chairs are the big seller. Mostly to expecting mothers. I make them all in the workshop out back and then use a series of charms on them to achieve the autonomous movement.” That was about as basic of an explanation she could give about her work. There were other pieces too, ones that matched the rocking chairs, and ones that could be custom ordered. Her waitlist was currently lengthy, to the point where she couldn’t take any more currently.

”But with the wands, I do things a bit differently from the rest of my family. Different woods and cores mostly. I try to specialize for more complicated careers and things like that.” Nell stepped to the side so Yvonne could take a look at the wand shelf. Their woods, cores, and length were all written on the end of their boxes.

yvonne rae de snaijer ● 388

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[yvonne rae de snaijer]

━ callin' it quits now, baby, i'm a wreck━

FOLLOWING ALONGSIDE ELEANOR, YVONNE MADE sure she was listening as if this was an active test. In some ways it felt like it but in other ways she knew that if she ever had doubts she could simply..ask a question about it. Yvonne hadn't exactly let it slip to Gideon that she was thinking of doing such a thing - working for his aunt - but instead she was careful with her choice of words.

Gideon had made it clear that Eleanor (Aunt Nell) was very clear with her instructions and tended to 'geek' over the joys of wand-making. Eyes widened though, watching through Eleanor's gesture as she pointed upwards to the wands that sat comfortably on the shelf, at least a dozen on display. Yvonne could already tell that they were different from the kind you could see at Ollivanders and that's what made the experience more interesting.

"I see! How long does a rocking chair usually..take you to craft? I'm sure the charm is easy to cast instead of the woodwork right?.." Yvonne finally had more of an interest in charms, but learning how to whittle and be precise with different types of wood seemed interesting no less.

"Right!..I visited..Ollivanders when I first moved to England and eventually noticed the same types of woods and cores there..Especially after I broke my last wand..What tends to be your popular wand core?..Or is it different all the time?" As Yvonne spoke, she noticed Eleanor moving to the side so she could look more at the wand shelf and the De Snaijer jumped at the opportunity. Seeing them more clearly made her interest sky rocket.

| eleanor gwendolen ollivander |

[eleanor gwendolen ollivander]

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Nell listened to the question about the length of time it took to build one of the chairs, nodding her head along as Yvonne asked. It was a great question, and one that frequently popped up when someone came in to make an order. Obviously, customers wanted to know how long they would have to wait for one to be made, since those on display were essentially floor models to test out. ”About three days, only because I have to work the shop as well.” There was only so much she could automate with magic. While machines could be set to cut and sand to the perfect parameters, she still had to be there to observe it the entire time. At that point, it was easier to do it herself. Because all of the chairs were virtually identical, she rarely had to deviate from the template she had created a few years prior. If only she had a cnc to run her machines…

”But you aren’t wrong. The charms are the easiest part about it.” Nell hated admitting that she had almost zero free time to herself because of the amount of time she spent in her workshop. Having someone to work the front of the shop finally would be such a relief. Usually she had to rely on Benny stopping by for a few hours every so often to cover for her.

Yvonne went on to explain that she had stopped by Ollivanders when she first came to London and had also noticed how similar most of the wands there were. ”I still use the standard three on occasion because they tend to be cheaper to buy…but it’s more whatever I can get is what I end up using.” In a way, that sort of helped her reputation. Nell wasn’t here to make starter wands or have consistent builds available. She wanted to be known as a proper craftsman of wands. Not that her sister and other members of her family weren’t as well, just that she wanted to break the mold. ”I also do wand repairs, which there’s always an influx of at the start of the Christmas and summer holidays.”

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[yvonne rae de snaijer]

━ callin' it quits now, baby, i'm a wreck━

SMILING AS SHE REALISED ELEANOR was listening intently, Yvonne realised there and then what Gideon had said about his aunt was entirely true. She was sweet, seemed to have a kind heart and always showed her kindness to those that had an interest in what she loved. Nodding at the Ollivanders' answer, Yvonne found herself wondering aloud. "So, if you had help around the store front, do you suppose it would take a shorter amount of time for you to start and finish?"

Even though they had the help of magic to aid in their tasks, the De Snaijer figured that intricate details required more attention. Humming quietly as Eleanor admitted that the charms were the easiest part of the task, the De Snaijer felt her lips rise. She couldn't help but find interest in the charms aspect of it all, and she already felt like she could be valuable to the Ollivander.

"So in a way..more customisable?" She questioned, eyes lighting up with interest. Ollivanders were known for their consistency, the top three cores amongst all their wands, but sometimes a level of consistency eventually got boring. That's where the interest in the Ollivanders competition became..interesting. "You do?" Yvonne added. "Merlin, if I had known earlier I would've gotten my old wand fixed instead of a whole new one...I quite liked that one.."

| eleanor gwendolen ollivander |

[eleanor gwendolen ollivander]

▲

”Absolutely,” Nell answered. ”I occasionally build some on the days I have the shop closed, so I know for a fact that I can get at least one and a half or so done in that amount of time.” What really took the longest was getting all of the wood cut and into the correct dimensions. Realistically, if she spent a few days doing that and getting a stockpile of parts made, she could be set for months. Then all she would have to do is cast the building charms and she was essentially set to make as many as she could until it was time to cut more.

Nell offered Yvonne a sympathetic smile when she mentioned having to get a new wand instead of being able to fix her old one. ”If it’s any consolation, most wands end up being beyond repair. First years are just inept at properly breaking them, so I’m able to fix them up.” Usually it was little things, like a chipped tip from accidentally smashing the wand on a desk, or the handle popped off. For the latter, that was because parents decided to buy third-party handles that were never put on correctly. Nell preferred the natural route, personally, but there were a few in her collection that had rather ornate designs added to their handles.

”But yeah, a lot more customizable than Ollivanders has been in…centuries?” That was a great question, actually. If one did some digging through the records (and to some degree, the shelves of unsold wands), they would probably find an ancestor that dabbled in uncommon cores. Nell just happened to be the most current one to try it. Personally, she thought her business was rather successful in it. People wanted different things, especially when it came to specialization for careers.

”For example,” Nell approached the shelf of wand boxes and plucked one off to show Yvonne. ”This is hawthorn and fairy wings. Because of how delicate they are, most wandmakers won’t even think of touching fairy wings. It was a process to get them inside without damaging them. You can take it out if you’d like.” Learning the stock was incredibly important. Not that Yvonne would be the one setting customers up with wands, since that was Nell’s job. But it was good to know the broader details of how everything worked here.

yvonne rae de snaijer ● 395

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