"Crikey!" Victor yelped, startled by the voice behind him, and a colorful expression of surprise slipped out.
He slowly turned his stiff neck and saw an ancient man with a long white beard standing behind him. He had a pair of mysterious, silver-white eyes, and his white hair was a messy bird's nest. He exuded an ethereal quality, a transcendent aura that seemed otherworldly. Without a doubt, the man was Garrick Ollivander, one of Europe's three great wandmakers.
"Mr. Ollivander, please don't just appear behind people. You might scare someone to death!" Victor said, his eye twitching, his heart pounding. How could this be? Has my situational awareness really become this poor?
Victor felt a chill run down his spine and began to sweat profusely. He knew that in Earth Land, if an entire person could sneak up on you without you noticing, you'd most likely be meeting your maker, and you wouldn't even know how many times or how you had died.
"Relax, sir. I have lived a very long time, and I have never met a ghost who was scared to death while they were still alive," Ollivander said, walking past Victor to the counter.
Victor wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, looking at Ollivander with a helpless expression. He had pretty much concluded that Ollivander was one of those people who lived completely in their own world. These types of people only cared about things that concerned them directly and often had a bizarre, rambling way of thinking that was incomprehensible to others.
"Hello, Mr. Ollivander. My name is Victor Dreyar. I'm a new student at Hogwarts this year," Victor said, introducing himself. "I'm here to buy a wand."
"Oh, yes, of course. All the young wizards who come here are looking for a wand, especially this time of year. All the new Hogwarts students come in."
"So, Mr. Dreyar, which hand do you favor?" Ollivander asked, pulling out an old leather tape measure from his pocket. The markings on it were so worn down they were completely illegible.
"My right hand, sir."
The moment the words were out, Ollivander approached with the tape measure and meticulously measured Victor's arm, forearm, height, and head circumference. After getting all the detailed measurements he needed, he turned and walked into the shop, beginning to rummage through the many boxes to find a wand for Victor.
"Mr. Ollivander, what's the use of taking all these measurements?" Victor couldn't help but ask out of curiosity. He didn't think these physical measurements could help choose a wand, but he felt that since they existed, there had to be a reason for it.
"Mr. Dreyar, you must understand that the human body holds infinite secrets. This is the most basic knowledge for any wandmaker," Ollivander said, pulling a box from the thousands on the shelves. It was covered in thick dust and spiderwebs, its history dating back at least a few decades. "Every wand in the world is different. They have different cores, such as unicorn hair, phoenix feathers, or dragon heartstring, and are carefully made with wood that complements the core's characteristics. This means every wand has a different personality."
"Here we are: twelve and one-quarter inches, pine, with a heartstring from a Hungarian Horntail. This one has a bit of a temper. You can try to tame it." Ollivander carefully took the wand out of the box and handed it to Victor.
Victor took the wand, examining it closely. It was the color of resin. He first tried waving it to get a feel for it. There was no reaction. Then he tried to pour his magic into it. A feeling of resistance immediately shot back through his hand, and the magic he had cast came back into his body violently.
Interesting. You want to play hardball, do you? Victor was starting to believe what Ollivander had said about every wand having its own personality.
Victor narrowed his eyes and, with a thought, began to channel a large amount of magic from his body, using brute force to pour the returned magic back into the wand.
At that moment, the temperature in Ollivanders suddenly began to rise unnaturally. Ollivander, feeling everything around him, his eyes began to glaze over. "This is truly incredible. To think that someone could completely awaken the hidden power of a wand, but..." Ollivander walked over and pulled the wand from Victor's hand.
"Hey, don't take it!" Victor's hand felt empty, and the feeling of a magical duel instantly vanished, leaving him feeling frustrated.
"I should have known, Mr. Dreyar. You have an Eastern face. This wand is not for you." Ollivander put the wand back in its box. "Please wait here for a moment. I think I know which wand will choose you." He then turned and walked to the very back of the shop.
After a while, Ollivander returned, covered in cobwebs, holding a white box that seemed to be made of jade. He opened the box, revealing a wand that was a milky white and incredibly smooth.
"This is a very special piece my father made a long time ago. I witnessed him make it when I was a child. It was a difficult process. It's twelve and one-third inches, made from poplar wood, a divine tree with extremely strong vitality from the Eastern deserts, with a Night-Kirin tail hair core. A perfect combination of life and death. I believe that with your pure Eastern blood, this wand will make a perfect and correct choice."
After hearing what Ollivander said, Victor's heart filled with curiosity, and he quickly reached out and took the wand. He waved it, and it was a bit heavier than the previous one. Victor once again tried to channel his magic into it, but surprisingly, there was no reaction.
"Mr. Ollivander, what's going on?"
"Congratulations, Mr. Dreyar, the wand has made its choice. You are now its master," Ollivander said with certainty.
Victor was puzzled. There had been no sign. With that, he decided not to test it anymore. He casually waved the wand in his hand, a flash of white light appeared, and a lion ice sculpture the size of a Shiba Inu appeared on the wooden floor. At the same time, tiny ice crystals began to fall inside the shop.
"This…"
Victor's eyes widened at the sight, the shock indescribable.
The casting speed was terrifyingly fast!
When he used to build magic circles, it would usually take a few seconds of charging to complete a spell. But with the wand, the speed of building a magic circle was almost instantaneous.
If he were in Earth Land, this wand would be a magical artifact. In a fight, that two to three-second difference could save a person's life.
"That's a beautiful Transfiguration, Mr. Dreyar." Ollivander exclaimed in amazement. He thought Victor had Transfigured some pebbles on the floor into an ice sculpture and didn't notice the ice crystals that had melted into cold water on the floor. "Believe me, this wand will be your most loyal companion."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Ollivander. I am very satisfied with this wand."
With that, Victor took seven Galleons from his bag, paid for the wand, and then turned to leave. After leaving Ollivanders, Victor went to purchase all the other items on the list, except for the books. He then made his way to Flourish and Blotts.