Otherwise, at seven or eight Galleons per wand, he would not even recover the material costs, let alone the labor.
Yet this time, Tom did not spend a single Knut.
Instead, he persuaded Ollivander to quietly violate Ministry regulations by not registering the three new wands.
Ollivander's only condition was simple. If Tom ever damaged a wand beyond use, he must send it back for examination. And next summer, he was to return for another round of testing. Ollivander was deeply curious to see what further changes might occur.
...
On the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, Tom was still pondering how to resolve the wand issue once and for all.
The most straightforward solution would be for the system to reward him with a perfectly compatible wand. Of course, that depended entirely on luck, and on completing the next task. The most recent task would only be settled after the term began, during the examinations.
Exams.
He smacked his forehead.
He had completely forgotten about them.
The moment term started, there would be placement tests. Had he just managed to sabotage himself?
Another method would be to obtain rare, high quality materials and ask Ollivander to craft a brand new wand from scratch.
That was no easy task either. Setting aside the difficulty of acquiring precious materials, Tom was not entirely convinced of Ollivander's limits. The old wandmaker was a master in his field, yes, but he lacked experience with beings of Tom's level. He was not a century reigning magical sovereign. How could he possibly comprehend the heights of power involved? It was not something to entrust lightly.
The final option...
To seek out one of the truly powerful wands that still existed in the world.
For example, the Elder Wand in Albus Dumbledore's possession.
And then there was the snakewood wand stolen long ago by Isolt Sayre, once belonging to Salazar Slytherin himself. At his current stage, that wand would more than suffice.
Now transformed into a towering snakewood tree at Ilvermorny, it stood as a famous landmark. Few knew that the great tree was merely the natural manifestation of a wand's dormant power. What a waste.
Such treasures ought to belong to those worthy of them.
If Slytherin's wand was of that caliber, then the other founders' wands should be comparable. None of the three founders would be significantly weaker than Slytherin. In fact, perhaps Godric Gryffindor had been even stronger. Otherwise, when the founders quarreled, why was it Slytherin who left Hogwarts in anger rather than Gryffindor?
Perhaps he had simply lost the argument.
Or perhaps he had lost something else.
"Tom, hurry up. I am starving!"
Daphne's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He smiled faintly and quickened his pace.
...
At the Leaky Cauldron, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were busy pushing three tables together in the corner. Percy helped move chairs, but every time he set one down, he paused to polish the gleaming badge pinned proudly to his chest.
Noticing Tom's gaze, Percy straightened immediately, practically thrusting the badge into his face.
"Head Boy badge. Thanks to Professor Dumbledore's recognition. Next year, I plan to implement several reforms within the school."
Tom blinked. "Well... good luck?"
A student leader speaking of school reforms. He truly had no sense of scale.
The twins appeared at Tom's sides like mischievous spirits.
Fred clicked his tongue. "Makes you want to knock him down a peg, does it? We can lure him out later. You can thrash him as much as you like. No charge."
"That is your own brother," Tom reminded him.
"No, no," George corrected solemnly. "That is Head Boy Percy now, not Percy Weasley. He has reminded us countless times this summer not to cause trouble at school. Said even as his brothers, he would show no mercy."
Fred added helpfully, "Eventually we got tired of it and slipped some Draught of Living Death into his tea. Bought ourselves two days of peace."
Ginny, who was carrying a tray of dishes, let out a snort. "You really think that was your achievement? Who do you think brewed that Draught? Percy woke up after one day. I had to add two Stunning Spells to keep him asleep another day."
"So that is what happened!"
Fred and George exchanged enlightened looks. They had wondered why the effect seemed so strong.
Tom's lips twitched. The Weasley siblings truly exemplified brotherly love, ruthless and efficient.
"Here."
Ginny pulled out a small wooden amulet and shoved it into Tom's hands. "Bought it at an Egyptian wizard market. Supposedly it has the effect of Felix Felicis. I am sure that is nonsense. But consider it psychological comfort."
The wood carried a faint, pleasant fragrance. Tom slipped it around his neck casually.
"It smells nice. I will treat it as an air freshener."
"Hmph. Suit yourself."
She spoke indifferently, but when she saw him actually wearing it, the smile tugging at her lips was almost impossible to suppress.
Tom turned to the twins. "And your souvenirs?"
One of the girls burst into laughter. "They tried to bring back mummy wrappings. Mrs. Weasley found them and beat them thoroughly."
George sighed wistfully. "Those wrappings were thousands of years old. Who knows, they might have held real magical power."
"Even if they did, I would not dare use them," Tom said with visible disgust. Ancient burial cloth was still burial cloth.
The tables and chairs were finally arranged. Everyone took their seats. Hermione glanced around and frowned.
"Why are there two extra chairs?"
Molly smiled warmly. "Sirius and Harry are joining us. They should arrive any moment."
Not long after she finished speaking, emerald green flames erupted in the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace.
Two figures stepped out.
One was Sirius Black.
The other was a pale, frail looking middle aged man.
It was not Harry.
"Apologies for being late," Sirius greeted everyone cheerfully, then nodded at Tom. "Tom, good to see you again."
Molly studied the thin man carefully, confusion giving way to recognition.
"You are... Remus?"
The man inclined his head gently, offering a small but genuine smile.
"It has been a long time, Molly."