Outside Gringotts, Ethan played with the gold Galleons in his hand and looked at Professor McGonagall with some doubts.
"Professor McGonagall, is there gold in these Galleons?"
"I don't know about that. The currency of the wizarding world is minted by goblins and has magical properties added to it, such as always shining like new, and it is resistant to flying spells and wear and tear."
After saying that, Professor McGonagall sighed inwardly. This kid might really go to Ravenclaw because he's so curious.
Forget it, let's get on with it!
Ethan made up his mind immediately.
Under Professor McGonagall's guidance, they walked through Diagon Alley and soon arrived at a small, shabby store.
It looked completely different from Gringotts.
"Don't worry, the craftsmanship of the Ollivander family is trustworthy. For many years, almost all wizards at Hogwarts have bought their wands from them."
Thinking Ethan might be intimidated by the old and small store, Professor McGonagall felt the need to reassure him and led the way inside.
Inside the store, Ethan looked around and saw long, narrow paper boxes almost piled up to the ceiling, making the store seem even smaller and more cramped than it already was.
"Good morning!"
Ollivander, who had heard the noise, emerged from behind a pile of wands with a kind smile on his face.
"Nine and a half inches, fir, dragon heartstring, exquisite and elegant, suitable for wizards with strong willpower and talent for Transfiguration. Minerva, it's like you bought a wand here just yesterday."
Ollivander's old habit surfaced. He remembered every wand he sold and often recalled these details.
"Good morning, Garrick, that was decades ago."
Professor McGonagall showed a hint of helplessness. She had heard this at least once a year.
"Little wizard, what is your name? Please come forward."
After the greetings, Ollivander got down to business.
He believed that finding the perfect wand for every wizard was the most satisfying part of his job.
"Ethan Adrian!"
After Ethan introduced himself, he stepped forward to Ollivander.
"What is your dominant hand?"
"Right hand, sir!"
Ethan responded and raised his right hand so the magic ruler could measure him.
The results of the measurement were not very meaningful for an eleven-year-old, who still had a lot of room for growth.
After reviewing the measured data, Ollivander went to the counter at the back and returned with a pile of boxes.
Ollivander placed the wand box on the counter and looked at Ethan with a serious expression.
"Every wand is unique. It is not the wizard who chooses the wand, but the wand that chooses the wizard."
"Mr. Adrian, try this one—apple wood, unicorn hair, nine inches long. It's suitable for wizards with lofty ideals and pursuits. Go ahead and try waving it."
Ollivander handed the wand to Ethan.
Ethan took it and waved it gently. The next moment, a loud bang erupted as the wand box on the right collapsed, sending a large amount of dust into the air.
"Ahem! It seems this one isn't right."
"Reparo!"
After taking the wand back from Ethan, Ollivander waved it gently. The collapsed wand boxes floated up and returned to their original positions.
"It's okay, this is all normal. Try this one!"
"Redwood, dragon heartstring, eleven and a half inches. This wand brings good luck and, combined with the dragon heartstring, has powerful magic. It's a great combination."
After reassuring Ethan, Ollivander handed him the next wand.
Ethan felt a burning sensation in his palm when he took it.
As before, he waved it gently a couple of times.
A ball of red flame suddenly shot out from the wand's tip, nearly lighting Ollivander's white hair.
Ollivander, touching his white hair, said nothing and quickly took the wand from Ethan.
"Cedar wood, phoenix tail feathers, ten and three-quarters inches, suitable for wizards with keen insight."
This time, Ollivander took two steps back as he handed the wand to Ethan.
Bang!
A vase next to him, which had been around for many years, shattered with a loud noise.
Ollivander cast a skilled repair spell and retrieved another wand from the shelf.
"Boom!"
"Try this one again."
"Crack!"
"Well, picky guest, try this one."
...
After almost an hour, Ethan had tried dozens of wands.
Some caused minor disturbances, while others were deemed "unsuitable" by Ollivander.
However, some wands felt very smooth in Ethan's hand, and the magic flowed quickly. Spells like petrification and siphoning energy felt easy to use, but Ollivander still thought they were unsuitable.
"Mr. Adrian, please wait a moment. I believe I know the right wand for you."
Ollivander turned and walked towards the back warehouse.
If he were a normal businessman, he might have dismissed such a picky customer, but Ollivander enjoyed it.
He took great satisfaction in finding the perfect wand for even the most particular customers.
The wands Ethan had tried were all mainstream in Great Britain—unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers, and dragon heartstrings.
These are the wand core materials Ollivander prefers to use.
In theory, these three materials meet nearly everyone's needs.
Unicorn hair reflects the essence of magic and is not easily disturbed by other magic. It is loyal and stable but not suitable for dark magic.
Phoenix tail feathers have a wide range of magic and a certain degree of initiative, but wands with phoenix tail feathers are very picky and difficult to tame.
Dragon heartstring wands are powerful and dazzling but are prone to succumbing to dark magic and are not very stable.
Besides these three wand cores, Ollivander has used other materials to stay current with the world and learn from other wand makers.
These include tail feathers of thunderbirds, horns of jackalopes, hair of ocelots, manes of kelpies, beards of trolls, tail feathers of thestrals, horns of horned water snakes, and more.