The space inside the shop was small, almost entirely occupied by thousands of narrow boxes stacked nearly to the ceiling.
Accompanied by the jingling of wind chimes, an old Wizard emerged from the back. He had silver-white eyes that shone like two bright moons in the dim shop.
"Welcome, Ms. McGonagall, I remember... 9½ inches, fir wood, Dragon heartstring."
"That's right, Mr. Ollivander, your memory is astonishing."
"Is this young gentleman here to buy a wand?"
"Karl Orolin, a very talented child."
Ollivander glanced at Professor McGonagall in surprise. He had seen this stern lady many times over thirty years, always bringing Little wizards from Muggle families to buy wands.
She would solemnly introduce the Little wizards by name, but never offer an evaluation, let alone such praise.
"Alright, Mr. Orolin, it's a pleasure to meet you. Tell me which hand you use to wield your wand."
"Just call me Karl, Mr. Ollivander. I usually use my right hand."
"My pleasure. Please raise your arm, Karl, I need to take some measurements."
Ollivander pulled out a tape measure with silver markings and began measuring Karl's fingertips, wrist, elbow, and shoulder.
"Every Ollivander wand possesses powerful magic substances, which is their essence. My favorites to use are Unicorn hair, Phoenix tail feathers, and Dragon heartstring."
"That must be very expensive, right?"
"Don't worry, Karl. Hogwarts students only need seven Galleons. After all, the Unicorn hair and Phoenix tail feathers here are all sourced from your school."
After measuring Karl's arm, Ollivander began measuring his height: the top of his head, armpits, knees, ankles...
"But after you graduate, this discount won't apply, so I recommend you buy a professional wand maintenance kit, it only costs..."
"Cough, cough!"
Professor McGonagall stared at Ollivander expressionlessly, and the old man immediately changed the subject.
"What I mean is... you should cherish and take good care of your wand, after all, Galleons are hard to earn no matter the year."
Seeing the old man a bit awkward under the lioness's gaze, Karl had to help ease the atmosphere.
"Mr. Ollivander, my height and arm length will definitely change when I grow up, so what's the point of measuring now?"
Hearing this question, Ollivander was a bit surprised, and Professor McGonagall looked at Karl with even more satisfaction.
"Excellent question. I only remember two people ever asking me that: you, and Ms. McGonagall."
Professor McGonagall: This child is like me!
Ollivander turned and walked towards the shelves where wands were stored, selecting some long boxes and bringing them down, leaving the tape measure to operate automatically.
"See, Karl? We are Wizards, and this ruler is also a magical creation. Do you think I'm measuring the present? No! I'm actually measuring the future!"
"I see!"
Karl, having another question solved, was very happy, so happy that he had a Whimsy.
"Sir, can wands only be made of wood?"
"What do you mean?"
"Is there a wand that's forged from metal through a thousand refinements, with edges and blades, heavy and hard, capable of easily breaking bricks and stones, snapping bones, with a sharpened tip and blood groove, able to Pierce through chests and bellies at will, making a big hole with one stab, chilling to the bone and spurting blood... a wand like that?"
Ollivander: (⊙﹏⊙)
Professor McGonagall: (￣,￣)
After a long silence, Ollivander looked at Professor McGonagall with a very complex expression:
Are you Hogwarts students not even pretending anymore?
Before, students would only go to Azkaban for further studies after graduating. Now what?
Are you directly establishing the Fifth House of Hogwarts, an Azkaban branch?
"Karl! Don't have such dangerous thoughts. wands are for casting magic."
Professor McGonagall lectured Karl, then explained to Ollivander: "You know, this child comes from the Muggle world, it's not strange for him to have such thoughts; he just lacks a sense of security."
Karl, who hadn't said a word: My Professor will debate for me!
"Alright, try this wand. It's made of willow and Unicorn hair, 11 inches."
Ollivander handed over the willow wand. This wand had a pleasing appearance and the characteristic of being suitable for advanced non-verbal spells. Its ideal owner often lacked a sense of security.
Karl took it and gently flicked it. A gentle breeze blew from the tip, stirring up a lot of dust in the shop.
"Alright, not this one."
Ollivander shook his head, took back the willow wand, and then selected another one to give to Karl.
"Beechwood and Dragon nerve, 9 inches long, suitable for intelligent and talented Little wizards."
The wand let out a roar in Karl's hand, then fell silent.
"Now try one of my rarer wands, made of Phoenix feathers and maple wood. This is a special privilege for Hogwarts Little wizards, as Fawkes is very protective of its tail feathers."
This time, as soon as Karl grasped the wand, Ollivander snatched it away.
Karl: (¬_¬)
It seems Phoenix tail feathers are indeed very precious; this old man was truly afraid the wand would be bought.
"Let me think, let me think... perhaps we can try this one! You two should like each other!"
Ollivander pondered for a moment, then walked back to the shelf, excitedly bringing back a long box.
The wand inside looked like a large sewing needle, with a wisp of gray-gold long hair from some animal tied to the hole at the end, looking very handsome.
Huh? Is this wand tip really that sharp? Karl eyed the old man suspiciously. Compared to a wand, this thing looked more like a weapon, didn't it?
"12 inches, a wand made of plane wood, eager to explore, longing for new experiences."
"If its owner is a curious, energetic, adventurous Little Wizard, its learning and adaptability will definitely be astonishing!"
Speaking of this, Ollivander sighed and began to recall:
"More than 100 years ago, when my father was exchanging notes with Johannes Jonker, a wandmaker from North America, he traded for some Pukwudgie hair."
"Later, I spent a lot of effort to make this wand, but the combination of plane wood and Pukwudgie makes this wand... its personality is a bit mischievous!"
"I think you can try it, after all, you also have a lot of personality!"
I always feel like this old man has a hidden meaning in his words!
What kind of personality can a wand have?
Karl picked up the wand and instinctively twirled it in his hand, performing a parry, flick, and Pierce move like he was wielding an Emei piercer.
Instantly, all the boxes containing wands in the shop flew up and smashed in the direction Karl's wand pointed.
"Bang bang bang... crack... crash..."
Some boxes hit the wall, some smashed glass. Fortunately, as wand boxes, they were of good quality, otherwise, either the old man or the child would surely have died today.
Under Ollivander's dumbfounded gaze, Karl put his hands behind his back, a sweet and innocent smile on his face.
"So~rry~"
"It's fine... I deserved this..."