Neville's face was a bit twisted, his hands constantly intertwining under the table.
"No... this is my wand."
Howl put down the wand, feeling the changes within it.
The wood was fatigued, and upon closer inspection, the runes inscribed had abnormal cracks extending along their Context.
The wand core was dusty, not at all like it had magic flowing through it regularly.
The tip of the wand was even charred.
This didn't look like a wand that was only two or three years old.
Hmm... Ollivander's unique anthropomorphic description.
Howl looked at the nervous Neville, took out two glass cups, and then opened a small box next to him, clinking ice into the glasses.
"What would you like to drink? Whiskey or brandy?"
??
"No, Professor, I... I don't need any," he quickly waved his hand.
"Then how about a warm cup of eggnog!" Howl said, placing a steaming, clear drink in front of Neville, with a foamy top and a few small yellow osmanthus flowers floating on it.
"Cheers." Howl raised his own cup and clinked it against Neville's.
Neville then awkwardly raised his cup and took a sip.
It wasn't until a while after he'd tasted it that he realized it was just a cup of hot milk.
"I told you—we're just chatting, no need to be so nervous." Howl smiled and picked up the wand.
"Neville, it's tired," Howl said.
"It... who?"
"Your wand." Another voice sounded from the table.
Howl flipped the photo frame, and a girl in a green dress appeared in the frame, stroking a large cat.
"This is my friend, Miss Sindel," Howl introduced. The empty picture frame on the table was specially prepared for Sindel.
He planned to prepare some more in a while.
"Hello, my name is Neville Longbottom, from Gryffindor." Neville greeted.
He relaxed a lot.
Seeing this, Howl handed the wand back to him.
"Professor, what does it mean that it's tired?" Neville quickly asked.
"wands are very loyal," Howl said. "It once served another person, changing itself with all its might, becoming an inseparable companion with them.
And now, although it's willing to serve you, the way it has changed cannot be adjusted anymore."
"Professor, do you mean..." Neville shook his head. "I don't want to change it."
Howl was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"This is just a friend's suggestion—the choice is yours. Also, I have to say, your steadfastness is admirable.
Damn it! If I were a teacher now instead of a friend, I would definitely give you a lot of extra points!"
"Professor, you actually can," Neville said, a smile playing on his lips.
The office fell silent.
Neville suddenly felt a bit awkward, having finally mustered the courage to crack a joke...
"I refuse." Howl smiled. "There's no way I'm secretly giving you extra points here." Howl said.
Neville laughed.
Afterward, Howl chatted with Neville for a long time, until the hot milk in the cup was gone, and the conversation ended.
"A very introverted child," Sindel said. "He said he was extremely nervous the first time he joked around, afraid no one would respond and it would be awkward."
"Yes." Howl nodded. "Quite interesting..."
"Mr. Cat, so you think that wand is..."
"His father's or mother's, probably," Howl said, leaning back in his chair.
They had chatted a lot just now, but Howl intentionally avoided discussing that direction.
And in the parts of the discussion about Neville's life, there was no mention of his parents.
Even...
"A toad as a pet, it seems that Madam Longbottom is clearly worried sick about her grandson," Howl said.
Toads were once considered pets of demons and had very bad symbolism.
Perhaps Madam Longbottom hoped that such a demonic pet could protect her silly grandson.
"Hmm... it seems I need to go have a chat with Dumbledore..." Howl suddenly stood up and walked out.
...
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