Nikki couldn't keep up with the rest of the class. She knew a bit about Phoenixes, and how they were healers and protective and the like. But she was confused as to how this fitted in with both Herbology (which she had never really liked as her mother was totally over the top about the stupid subject) and Care of Magical creatures.

So the three elements of a wand were the core (the creature), the wood (obviously), and the length...Why the length?? What was special about it? Did it act as some kind of reciptor, or conductor between the two? Did it meld the properties of the two together? It confused Nikki, and annoyed her that she didn't know the answer.

She looked at her own wand, and wondered whether the length affected everyone's wand differently. Did the length have different properties, just like the core and wood? Was the length related to them, the owner, somehow? Her wand, 9 and 3/4 Yew wand with Unicorn hair core, was flexy, and she knew that had nothing to do with the length. So what was the answer???

Nikki picked up the feather, and marvelled at the softness of it. The heat radiating from it was calm, and soothing, and Nikki felt herself smiling as she passed it along. She wondered idly where she could get herself a phoenix...