Chapter 6.
Since the experienced Lucius and Narcissa both knew that buying wands was the most time-consuming task, the first stop for shopping was chosen to be Ollivanders Wand Shop.
As they pushed open the old shop door, a series of jingling bells rang out inside.
Soren looked around; the shop was very small, with nothing but a long bench in front of the counter. Not far away were thousands of narrow paper boxes stacked almost to the ceiling. Ollivander had been in the wand business for nearly hundreds of years and was one of the three major wand manufacturers in Europe. Soren remembered that the Ollivander family was also one of the Sacred 28 pureblood families.
"Good morning." A gentle voice came, and an old man seemed to suddenly appear in front of them. Draco was startled and instinctively grabbed Soren's clothes. It was obvious that this old man was Garrick Ollivander, the owner of the shop.
Soren's pupils could observe a unique sharpness in the old man's magic; although it was considerably weaker than Lucius's, he did not dare to underestimate the old man in front of him and replied, "Mr. Ollivander, my brother and I are going to join Hogwarts this year, so we're here to purchase our new wands."
"Of course, of course!" Ollivander's gaze was fixed on Soren. "You'll need wands to cast spells, but remember, it is the wand that chooses the wizard! So, which of you Malfoy will go first?"
Soren pushed Draco forward.
Ollivander measured him, starting from shoulder to fingertip, then from wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and finally measuring the head circumference. Then he took out a wand for Draco to try.
Draco tried several times, and the wand that finally chose him was made of hawthorn wood and unicorn hair. It was exactly ten inches long, had a certain flexibility, and was well-designed. Hmm, unicorn hair; it seems Draco is still a pure-hearted child, Soren thought.
Unicorns are beautiful creatures found in the forests of Northern Europe. A fully grown unicorn is a horse with pure white fur and a horn, often attracting pure and kind-hearted people, which gives unicorn hair the characteristic of favouring good people. The hawthorn wood wand is favored by wizards with contradictory personalities or those going through periods of confusion.
It was Soren's turn. After all the measurements were done, the measuring tape fell to the ground in a heap, and Ollivander picked up a wand.
As soon as Soren held it in his hand, it was taken back by Ollivander. He furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, and Ollivander took out another wand for Soren to try. However, as soon as Soren held it, it was taken back again.
This continued as Soren tried one wand after another, with the same situation repeating. Soren noticed that the wrinkles on Ollivander's forehead deepened with each attempt.
Even Lucius, standing by, felt something was off and couldn't help but speak up: "Olivander, what's going on? Surely it seems like you don't have no suitable wand for my son here?"
This statement seemed to hit a nerve with Ollivander. He exclaimed, "Impossible!" He stared intently at Soren, as if trying to discern something from him, and murmured, "The Ollivander family has been making wands for over hundreds of years; there has never been a case where we could not meet a customer's needs!"
He paced back and forth, muttering to himself, and finally stopped. He looked up, revealing his somewhat bloodshot eyes, as if he had made some significant decision, and drew out a wand, pointing it at the ceiling, chanting, "accio!"
The ceiling emitted a rumbling sound, and a black hole suddenly appeared. A redwood box, inlaid with four egg-sized gemstones, slowly floated down from the opening. As it descended, the gemstones sparkled, radiating brilliant red, blue, green, and white colors.
Ollivander reached out to take the redwood box, gently caressing its patterns as if it were a lover, his face filled with nostalgia.
He lightly tapped the box with his wand, and the brilliance of the gemstones vanished in an instant. The box opened by itself, revealing an unremarkable... wand.
The wand was longer than any wand Soren had ever seen, at least 15 inches long, completely black.
"Try this one, fifteen and a half inches, made of vine wood, with a core of Thestral tail feather. This is the last wand my grandfather made, and he was a very famous wand-maker of his time." Ollivander carefully took out the wand, as if holding a precious treasure, and slowly handed it to Soren.
Faced with this strange situation, Soren first exchanged a glance with Lucius, and after Lucius subtly nodded, he reached out to take the wand.
As soon as Soren held it, a warm current surged through his fingers into his body, flowing within him, as if building a connection with himself. This made him feel a bit strange, as if he were holding a small animal that had life and thoughts.
Suddenly, the patterns on the wand glowed with a crimson light, and Soren's palm felt a scalding heat, gently vibrating. The tip of the wand emitted a white halo, making him appear like a host in highlight.
A gentle whirlwind swept through the shop, swirling around Soren and the wand. Soren carefully sensed this strange state, feeling as if something had been added to him, while something else had been taken away.
"Wonderful, truly wonderful!" Ollivander's voice became increasingly gentle. "I don't particularly like using Thestral tail feathers, but I must say, sir, you and this wand are indeed a very remarkable combination."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ollivander!" Soren couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "What made you feel remarkable just now?"
Soren was genuinely curious; most of the wands Ollivander made used materials from phoenixes, unicorns, or dragons as cores, while the core of this wand was a Thestral tail feather, which was different from the other wands Ollivander had made.
"You all know the 'Tales of Beedle the Bard', right? The story of the Three Brothers?" Ollivander asked softly.
Seeing Soren and Draco nod, he continued, "The elder brother's wand, the 'Elder Wand', according to my ancestors' research, is made with a Thestral tail feather as its core..."
"It is well-known that Thestrals are considered a symbol of bad luck." Ollivander fixed his milky-white pupils on Soren. "This is a very strange material; only wizards who can master death can control it. Moreover, vine wood wands are quite rare, and I can't help but notice that their owners are always those ambitious wizards who do not wish to flaunt their talents."
"My grandfather always wanted to create a wand that could rival or even surpass the legendary Elder Wand. Personally, I believe this wand combination is superior to the Elder Wand. The Elder Wand only accepts powerful wizards as its master; overly pursuing power will only invite misfortune—few of its masters have ended well. This wand, however, has a much more restrained temperament. I believe its owner—"
"Mr. Malfoy," Ollivander suddenly grasped Soren's arm, his pupils flashing with a fervent emotion, "I can assure you that you will achieve extraordinary accomplishments in the future. I hope that in my lifetime, I can hear your name as the master of this wand, celebrated throughout Britain, oh no, throughout the wizarding world..."
Soren felt very complicated inside, but he also breathed a sigh of relief that this wand purchasing ordeal was finally over.
Lucius, realising that his son had found a treasure, spontaneously took out a bag filled with thirty galleons to hand to Ollivander, but Ollivander refused to accept it, insisting that as long as Soren treated the wand well, his wish would be fulfilled.
Next, to save time, the Malfoy family decided to split up.
Lucius went to the bookstore to buy textbooks, Narcissa went to buy cauldrons and potion ingredients, while Soren and Draco headed to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to purchase robes.
On the way to Madam Malkin's, Soren curiously looked at the surrounding shops, including a dimly lit owl shop, where soft hooting sounds could be heard; several children around their age were leaning against a window, intently staring at a flying broom. Soren heard a boy say, "Look! This is the latest model, the Firebolt 2000—the fastest flying broom!"
Coming back to his senses, Soren suddenly noticed that Draco was unusually quiet.
"Soren, the old man said you will become an extraordinary wizard in the future, while he said nothing about me, It seems like there's nothing exceptional about me or my wand," Draco said, looking down, with a sour tone.
Seeing him like this, Soren knew what was wrong with him, so he wrapped his arms around Draco's neck and said, "Of course, I will be an extraordinary wizard. Just look at whose brother I am. It's just that you haven't practiced properly." After saying that, he shook Draco's shoulder again. "You just love to play too much."
"Hahaha, you're absolutely right," Draco suddenly understood and said with a smile, "I need to start working hard too! As an older brother, I definitely won't lose to you."
Madam Malkin was a short, plump witch with a friendly smile, dressed in purple. She stood at the shop door and, upon seeing Soren and Draco, said with a smile, "Oh, two young gentlemen, are you here to buy Hogwarts uniforms? We have plenty here, in all styles, fabrics, and sizes."
Soren smiled lightly and said, "Just give us two sets of fitting plain robes each. I have some other requirements for myself, so let's get the uniforms first and then discuss in detail, okay?"
As the two were taken to the back of the shop to be measured by a young witch, Soren heard someone else coming in for measurements. He turned his head and saw a skinny boy with black hair, feeling that this boy seemed familiar. At that moment, Draco also turned his head and said, "Hey, are you going to Hogwarts too?"
The other party seemed a bit at a loss and could only nod shyly.
Draco continued, "My dad is next door buying our books, and my mom is out shopping for school supplies. Then I want to drag them to see the flying broomsticks. I don't understand why first-year students can't have their own broomsticks. I think I'll have to force my dad to buy me one, and then find a way to sneak it in. You think the same way, right, Soren?"
Soren rolled his eyes and ignored his brother, instead smiling kindly at the little boy, "Hello, I'm Soren Malfoy. This is my brother, Draco Malfoy. We're both new students going to Hogwarts this year. Nice to meet you."
"Oh, hello, I'm Harry Potter. I'm also very glad to meet you," Harry replied.
"Merlin's beard, you really are Harry Potter." Draco asked excitedly, "Ahem, I mean, it's great to meet you."
The three stood together chatting for a while about their fantasies and aspirations for Hogwarts, and then talked a bit about broomsticks and Quidditch. After purchasing their uniforms, Harry bid farewell to the two—he still needed to buy other things. Draco eagerly wanted to drag Soren to see broomsticks, but Soren sent Draco away on the grounds that he wasn't very interested in Quidditch, and stayed behind to ask Madam Malkin about the types of wizard robes.
Madam Malkin's robe shop didn't just sell plain robes for Hogwarts students; it also offered a variety of everyday wizard robes—
There were decorative long robes with faint golden floral stripes, fitted long robes that made one look slimmer, loose long robes that appeared more casual, robes that automatically lengthened as one grew taller, and temperature-regulating robes that kept warm in winter and cool in summer;
By the way, all the robes sold by Madam Malkin came with two functions: automatic ironing and automatic repair, so there was no need to worry about wrinkles, dampness, or damage.
Soren had always had a question while reading the original book in his previous life: the design and aesthetics of wizard robes were inherited from medieval times, and for over a thousand years, they had remained unchanged in appearance and design, with no improvements whatsoever. Leaving aside the subjective factor of whether they looked good or not, these wide and fluffy wizard robes were not conducive to running and agile dodging, and in battles among wizards, they could be a hindrance, not to mention the unfortunate situation of tripping over one's own robe.
Moreover, these wizard robes didn't come with any practical functions, such as the ability to defend against certain curses, or functions to reduce weight and increase agility and speed, or the ability to change appearance at will to aid in disguise along with Transfiguration, and so on...
Based on Soren's understanding of the wizarding world and magic, creating wizard robes with these functions was definitely not a far-fetched idea.
After Soren raised his questions to Madam Malkin, her expression was quite complex as she looked at him. She was amazed by the various ideas and thoughts presented by this young boy.
She explained to Soren that she could indeed create a robe with the functions he described, but first, the wizarding world had been peaceful for a long time, and she believed that such an expensive wizard robe would not have a large market. Secondly, she admitted that the wizarding world had been stagnant for too long, and compared to the progressively advancing Muggles, the wizarding world was indeed lagging behind in terms of aesthetic and functional needs in clothing.
Then Soren requested Madam Malkin to specially tailor a combat wizard robe for him, listing his requirements one by one. The design of this combat robe focused on a close-fitting and streamlined style, with the fabric chosen to be bird and snake skin—providing enough elasticity to ensure agility. Visually, it resembled a Muggle suit jacket.
There had to be a hidden pocket sewn into each cuff to store his wand or other weapons, allowing him to enter combat mode anytime and anywhere. The robe's pockets needed to be expanded using a seamless extension spell, capable of holding his luggage and personal book library.
In addition, the fabric needed to undergo special treatment through alchemy, ensuring it would never get stained with dust or other impurities, including blood, while the waterproof and moisture-proof features would help Soren maintain a clean and dry state at all times. Of course, temperature regulation and breathability were also essential to ensure comfort in any season or location.
Initially, Soren wanted to add functions such as defense, gravity reduction, and appearance alteration, but Madam Malkin expressed her inability to accommodate those requests, stating that no amount of Galleons would change that, and Soren had to give up.
The tailoring, sewing, and special treatment of this combat robe were quite complicated and time-consuming. Madam Malkin originally did not intend to take on this business, as her status in the wizarding clothing industry meant she was not short of work or money. However, when Soren mentioned his plan to bring this idea to the Extraordinary Clothing Store, potentially creating a new reputation and bringing new visibility to the store, Madam Malkin wavered.
Madam Malkin also knew that the clothing design in the wizarding world was indeed too lacking and dreary; if the Extraordinary Clothing Store could successfully tap into a new market, it would seriously threaten her future market share. With that in mind, she had no choice but to agree to do her best for Soren.
This combat robe was worth 30 Galleons, more than seven times the price of a regular wizard robe. Madam Malkin said she would need two weeks for tailoring and sewing. After Soren paid half the deposit which he had been accumulating thanks to his mother who oftened used them as reward.
After madam Malkin said that the robes would be delivered directly to him by owl after their completion, Soren left happily.
In the evening, as the shops in Diagon Alley closed one by one, Mr. Ollivander sat in his wand shop on a chair, with an open, empty mahogany box in front of him. He stared blankly at the box, murmuring to himself, "Grandfather, could I be wrong..."
"I have always believed that phoenix tail feathers, unicorn hair, and dragon heartstrings are the most stable and suitable materials for wand cores, which is why I abandoned the tradition of custom wands for the family... Could it be that it is not the wand that chooses the wizard, but—"
"Fate chooses the wizard?"