Two goblins bowed to them, guiding them into a grand marble hall. About a hundred goblins sat on high stools behind a row of long counters.
Some were weighing coins on copper scales, others inspecting gemstones with magnifying glasses, while hastily recording transactions in large ledgers.
Alaric approached a counter and took out a stack of British pounds, saying, "Hello, I need to exchange pounds for Galleons."
An elderly goblin approached, taking the pounds.
"The exchange rate is five to one for pounds to Galleons. Are you sure you want to exchange all 200 pounds into Galleons?"
"Yes," Alaric nodded. "And also exchange one Galleon into Sickles."
"One Galleon equals 17 Sickles," the old goblin explained. After a while, a younger goblin handed Alaric a heavy bag.
Next, Dumbledore took Alaric shopping.
"Firstly, you need a wand," he said. "And Ollivanders makes the best wands."
The shop was small and shabby, with a faded gold sign on the door that read: "Ollivanders - Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C."
In the dusty showcase, a single wand lay on a faded purple cushion.
"Hello, How are you Ollivander, my old friend!" Dumbledore greeted enthusiastically as soon as they entered. A shriveled old man emerged from a corner, warmly embracing Dumbledore.
"Hello, old friend," he said in a gentle tone of archaic English. "How come you have the time to visit me?"
"Oh, just picking up a student from the Muggle world, Wool's Orphanage, you know," Dumbledore winked and then introduced, "This is him, Alaric, although born to Muggles, he can already proficiently control his magic."
"Ah... I see." Ollivander approached, staring sharply at Alaric, and pulled out a long tape measure with silver markings from his pocket.
"Well, Alaric, let me have a look. Which arm do you use for your wand?"
"I use my right hand," Alaric replied.
"Raise your arm, good!" Ollivander began measuring from shoulder to fingertip.
"Every Ollivander wand contains a core of powerful magical substance, the essence of its being, Alaric.
We use unicorn hair, phoenix feather, and dragon heartstring. Each Ollivander wand is unique because no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are exactly alike.
Of course, if you use a wand that belongs to another wizard, the effect won't be as good."
Ollivander rambled on while moving between shelves, climbing up and down ladders, and letting the tape measure automatically measure Alaric.
Although his constant prattling made Alaric somewhat drowsy, he still listened attentively.
Despite having some understanding from the original work, he was still curious about everything in the magical world.
"All right," Ollivander said, the tape measure falling to the ground and rolling into a ball.
"Alaric, try this one. Made of chestnut and phoenix feather core. Twelve and a half inches long. Give it a wave."
Alaric took the wand, but as soon as he waved it, he sensed trouble.
Indeed, the next moment, the tip of the wand emitted a golden-red flame, quickly igniting the nearby cabinet in front of him. Alaric almost felt like he was about to summon a live phoenix.
"Aguamenti." Dumbledore quickly waved his wand, and a gushing stream of water immediately extinguished the flames.
"It seems this wand isn't suitable for you," Ollivander shook his head, then took out another one.
"Made of hornbeam and serpent heartstring. Nine inches long. Give it a try."
This time, an unexpected event was a cloud of black smoke. The shrouded cabinet and boxes quickly corroded with unsightly holes, taking considerable effort to restore.
Next, Ollivander had Alaric test one wand after another. It seemed that the more trials there were, the happier he became.
However, accidents occurred again and again. Ollivander and Dumbledore became cautious, ready with wands in hand to prevent sudden flames, frost, or explosions from causing irreversible consequences.
Thanks to the dirty windows of Ollivander's small shop, the pedestrians outside didn't notice any of this.
Finally, before the wand box submerged Alaric, Ollivander stopped this unproductive experiment.
"Oh, what a picky customer indeed," he sighed. "Is that Orphanage under some spell? This child's magic is even stronger than 'that guy'."
"Mr. Ollivander, what are you talking about? I don't understand," Alaric said, knowing that "guy" referred to Voldemort, but at this moment, he still pretended to be ignorant.
But Ollivander dryly changed the subject, "No, nothing. You'll know it later. Let's get back to the topic of wands."
"This is the wand I think is most suitable for you," he stumbled, pulling out a delicate purple wand from a large box and handing it to Alaric.
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[ A.N: Guys if you like this story consider giving some power stones, comments and reviews, it really motivates me to work on next chapter. ]
[ And I will leave the option to choose new name for MC till next update. So do checkout the suggestion chapter to give some of your ideas on MC new name. ]