Chapter 29 — The Professor Without a Wand
Mr. Ollivander was momentarily taken aback.
"You mean… you don't have a wand?"
Gale Depp shrugged lightly.
"You know, the world is a very large place. In some regions, wizards don't rely on wands at all. I once worked in Wagadou, in Africa."
"That's true—wandless magic is practiced in Wagadou," Ollivander nodded thoughtfully.
"However, wand sales are regulated by the Ministry of Magic. If a wand isn't registered, or you cannot provide a valid guarantor, I cannot sell you one."
Professor Depp had clearly come prepared. With a casual reach, a document appeared in his hand.
"This is a certificate issued by Albus Dumbledore," he said calmly.
"He guarantees that any wand I purchase will never be used for illegal or disruptive purposes."
"Well now…"
Mr. Ollivander squinted at the document, slowly reading each word.
"This is indeed Professor Dumbledore's handwriting…"
After a brief pause, he said,
"Then, to verify your claim, I'd like you to demonstrate wandless spellcasting. I've always been curious, but I've never had the opportunity to visit Africa myself."
Audrey blinked, her eyes bright with curiosity.
"Professor Depp worked in Africa before?"
You've got to be kidding me.
With skin pale enough to rival a vampire and a distinctly Danish–German accent, he looked nothing like someone who had spent years under the African sun.
She was genuinely curious how this old man had managed to convince Ollivander.
Then Professor Depp calmly clasped his hands together.
"Lumos Maxima."
A dazzling white light burst forth from his fingertips.
He clasped his hands together again.
"Incendio."
Flames erupted from his palms.
Once more, he brought his hands together.
"Protego Maxima."
A silver-white phoenix materialised inside the wand shop, circling Professor Depp gracefully as it sang a clear, ethereal melody.
"Incredible!"
Ollivander exclaimed, utterly astonished.
"This level of skill is truly extraordinary."
Professor Depp withdrew his magic and smiled.
"So—may I purchase a wand now?"
"Of course, of course!"
After searching through several boxes, Ollivander finally selected a wand.
Fourteen inches, aspen wood, phoenix feather core.
Professor Depp was faintly surprised that a phoenix feather core accepted him—but he merely tilted his head slightly, as though it were nothing unusual.
"That will be forty-three Galleons."
A young wizard's first wand was subsidised by the Ministry of Magic, which was why Audrey's had cost only seven Galleons.
As Professor Depp exited Ollivanders with Audrey, two wizards approached from the opposite direction.
One of them said,
"Serenis's methods are far too aggressive. The Sidis family only obeys her on the surface—they're resentful underneath. They didn't openly rebel, so why exile them from the family?"
The other replied,
"But you can't deny that under her leadership, the family has grown stronger year by year."
Serenis.
That name referred to the Grey family.
Since she'd run into them, Audrey had no intention of letting the opportunity pass. She gestured subtly at Professor Depp and followed behind them.
Depp merely smiled and did not stop her.
He had always believed that a wizard required an appropriate number—and strength—of enemies in order to grow.
The Grey family wizard continued,
"That's true. Who would've thought that just five years ago, our family was drowning in debt, on the brink of collapse?"
"How could anyone argue with that? We won't have a single peaceful day until we catch that traitor Bode—and that little beast, Hydras!"
"Yes. Last month, the Hyland family was wiped out, all their assets looted. The killing methods were eerily similar to Bode's."
"To avoid causing panic, Serenis kept it quiet—she claimed it was the work of a passing Dark wizard."
"With no source of income, he could only resort to robbing his former clansmen."
"We need to stay vigilant. We have to admit—Bode is extremely dangerous."
"Exactly. Let's hurry to Gringotts and deposit the money. Once the task is done, we should return home immediately."
"Home might not be safe either."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"How about buying a house together as a safe house?"
"…"
Listening to the Greys discuss how best to evade Bode, Audrey followed them all the way to Gringotts.
Professor Depp chuckled softly and patted her shoulder.
"So—how do you feel, seeing your enemy family again?"
Audrey shook her head.
"What could I possibly be thinking? I was just listening in."
"You've heard enough. If there's nothing else on your mind, let's head back."
Audrey's eyes flicked toward the bank entrance.
"No rush, Professor."
The two Grey family members had already entered the inner hall and begun their deposit.
"You bought me a wand earlier," she said sweetly.
"So I should return the money to you."
She smiled like a little fox.
"Don't let my appearance fool you—I still have some savings in my vault."
Depp nodded.
As the eldest daughter of the Lestrange family, it was perfectly normal for her to have personal assets.
"Wait here for a moment," Audrey said.
"I'll be right back."
"Alright. Let's meet later at the Leaky Cauldron."
"Deal!"
---
Audrey soon found an old acquaintance.
"Pucci, I'm here to make a deposit."
The goblin banker looked up at the unfamiliar face before him, clearly surprised.
"Do we know each other?"
"I'm Audrey Astray."
Pucci certainly remembered the name—owner of Vault 870, a famously wealthy witch.
But the girl in his memory didn't quite match the one standing before him.
Audrey produced the vault key and gave it a light shake.
"I registered for the service that allows withdrawals with just the key."
"Very well."
Appearance mismatches were trivial. As long as the key was correct, that was all that mattered.
They boarded the underground cart and descended deeper into Gringotts.
The Thief's Downfall had no effect.
Just like before, Audrey's disguise remained intact as she passed beneath the waterfall.
(Many works interpret this differently; this story adopts the setting that the Thief's Downfall cannot dispel disguise magic.)
As they passed Vault 833—the Grey family's vault—Audrey saw the two Greys sealing the door and heading toward the cart.
Perfect. Their deposit was complete.
Upon arriving at Vault 870, Audrey once again asked Pucci to close the vault door, just as she had five years ago.
For a brief moment, Pucci saw the girl before him overlap with the little girl from five years past.
Hair dye?
Or perhaps girls simply change a great deal as they grow up…
While Pucci was lost in thought, Audrey reverted to her true form—Hydras—activated her house-elf-like magic, and vanished with a soft whoosh.
The reason she hadn't Apparated directly into the vault this time was simple.
Last time, it had been evening—Gringotts was closed, and the risk of discovery was minimal.
Now it was business hours.
If she carelessly Apparated onto the tracks, she might collide head-on with a moving cart.
The Grey family had already left.
Before her lay a small mountain of Galleons.
Over five years, nearly all profits from the Lestrange family's businesses had flowed into the Grey family's hands.
At minimum—one hundred thousand Galleons.
Had other pure-blood families not also been circling the Lestrange estate like vultures, forcing the Greys to relinquish many benefits, the amount would've been even higher.
Hydras wasn't short on money.
She truly wasn't.
But running into the Grey family today reminded her of everything they'd done.
And since she believed firmly in the principle of "Why wait until tomorrow?"—
If opportunity knocked, she'd answer.
Is this a lot of money?
Converted to pounds, it was barely half a million.
Even accounting for magical purchasing power, it wouldn't exceed a million pounds.
A million pounds?
Miss Audrey Astray could earn that with a few pleasant words and a charming smile.
And if that wasn't enough—she could smile a little more and say a little more.
How hard could that be?
So tell me—
Grey family,
what exactly are you fighting so desperately for?
---