Who would have guessed that one breed of dragon's heartstrings would be different from another? Pansy had assumed she'd come up with the perfect solution for obtaining a wand core. Go to the Hebrides. Sweet talk the MacFusty clan out what she needed. Return to Ollivander triumphant that she'd obtained what the old wand maker couldn't. Get her decent wand made finally. It had been a simple plan, really.
Of course it wouldn't be that easy.
Hebridean Blacks were aggressive loners, which played into the wand craft, according to Ollivander, who had thanked her politely for going to such trouble to provide cores for other people. He'd said it in such a way that Pansy knew was he was amused. Well, Pansy she wasn't amused. She was annoyed. An entire day making nice with that ruffian Acair MacFusty with his indecorous suggestions that they 'slip off for a snog' and his hands which had a tendency to wander to her behind, and it had all been for nothing.
Nothing for her at least.
Ollivander had been delighted at the wealth of new wand cores. So much so, that he'd sat her at the lathe -- all on her own this time -- to work on the wood while he sorted and separated the material she'd carefully brought back with her from Scotland.
It beat washing up his dinner things from the night before, which he hadn't bothered to do. Of course, she couldn't stand the idea of them lying there growing bacteria, so she'd ended up doing them anyway. By hand. Her absolutely wretched hands. She'd wasted her entire Sunday in the Hebrides for nothing, not to mention, having to fend off untoward advances. Her contribution was appreciated, but absolutely useless to her, which had been the entire point of going out there. Then to learn that she'd probably require a Longhorn or Fireball heartstring core for maximum compatibility had nearly left her in tears. She didn't know any Romanian or Chinese wizards who would have access to dragon heartstrings. Pansy needed advice. She needed to see her best friend. Her ...
Her something.
"Draco." He looked absolutely wretched, but she'd never seen a more wonderful sight in her life.