A new chapter is up.
Come in, get comfortable, and let’s see what kind of trouble waits this time ❤️ ✦ Outside Ollivanders, the old wandmaker saw Edmund and Snape to the door with a strained smile.
Snape looked at Edmund with an expression that sat somewhere between disbelief and suspicion.
“You will make an impressive merchant one day.” There was a thin edge of mockery in his voice.
Edmund heard it and chose not to be offended.
Only minutes earlier, he had sold Ollivander one of Aurea’s tail feathers for 100 Galleons.
A properly prepared phoenix feather could yield more than one usable core, and in exchange Edmund had secured the right to a custom wand at no additional cost.
It was a fair arrangement.
More or less.
After that, Snape escorted him through the rest of the school shopping list.
Books, robes, cauldron, scales, phials, parchment, ink, quills – everything required for a first-year at Hogwarts was purchased with brisk efficiency.
At Edmund’s request, Snape brought him to the Leaky Cauldron afterward.
The custom wand would take three days.
Rather than return home and depend on someone else to open the entrance to Diagon Alley again, Edmund decided to stay at the inn until Ollivander finished.
Tom, the innkeeper, could open the passage when necessary.
Snape spoke briefly with Tom, then left Edmund there.
Edmund carried his things upstairs, tidied the rather shabby room as best he could, and sat in the chair beside the bed.
At last, he had time to check the system.
Ever since he had entered Diagon Alley, soft alerts had sounded in his mind from time to time.
With Snape beside him, he had not had a chance to look.
[System] Achievement function unlocked.
[System] Achievement complete: First Step into the Magical World – Diagon Alley.
Reward: 200 coins.
Several more achievements followed: Gringotts, Ollivanders, and the other shops Snape had taken him through.
Smaller locations gave smaller rewards, usually 50 coins each.
Edmund considered the pattern.
“Then I will need to visit every shop eventually.
Once I am strong enough, Knockturn Alley may be worth a look too.” He checked the balance on the panel and decided to save until he had enough for a guaranteed Legendary draw.
Luck was too unreliable.
One miracle pull was nice.
Counting on a second one was how people made terrible decisions.
No.
Guarantees brought peace of mind.
Absolutely.
…
Three days later, Tom opened the passage for him, and Edmund entered Diagon Alley once more.
During his stay at the Leaky Cauldron, Edmund had become familiar with the innkeeper.
Good looks and an easy manner worked wonders with adults who spent their days listening to tired travelers.
He had also seen Harry Potter.
The entire pub had erupted when Harry entered.
Witches and wizards crowded around him like starstruck admirers, all eager for a look at the Boy Who Lived.
Edmund watched from a distance.
Harry was smaller than the legend around him, thin and untidy beside Hagrid’s massive frame.
Edmund did not approach.
For the next seven years, Harry Potter equaled trouble.
That equation held far too consistently for Edmund’s taste.
His own surname was already sensitive enough.
Dumbledore might well have noticed him by now.
No need to tie another knot around his neck.
When he returned to Diagon Alley, Edmund went straight to Ollivanders and pushed open the door.
“Mr.
Gaunt,” Ollivander said at once.
The old wandmaker looked tired.
He also looked far too excited for a man who had clearly been working without proper sleep.
“This way, Mr.
Gaunt.
These are the wands I have made over the last three days.
Each uses a phoenix feather core, but the woods and lengths differ.
Try them.” He led Edmund to the counter with eager precision.
“This one first.
Maple, nine inches.” Ollivander placed a wand in Edmund’s hand.
Edmund gave it a cautious wave.
A red bolt of light shot out and struck the wall, leaving a clean hole behind.
“No, no,” Ollivander said immediately, snatching it back.
“A close match, certainly, but far too reactive.” He pushed his spectacles up and turned away, already reaching for another box.
“Try this.
Mahogany, thirteen inches.
A fine partner for Transfiguration.” Edmund had no meaningful opinion to offer, so he accepted the wand and moved it gently.
This time, no red light emerged.
Instead, every wand box nearby rose into the air.
Ollivander’s eyes gleamed.
“Curious.
Very curious.
These are both suitable, yet each leaves a trace of discord.” He thought for a moment, then drew out a wand of deep red wood.
Heat shimmered faintly along its surface.
“Sycamore.
Ten and a half inches.” Edmund took it.
Before he could even wave the wand, the magic inside him warmed.
Not pleasantly warm.
Alive warm.
It flowed toward his hand of its own accord, gathering into the wand.
Edmund lifted it high.
A phoenix of pure flame burst from the wand tip with a ringing cry and shot toward the door.
At that exact moment, the door opened.
A pretty black-haired girl stepped into the shop.
She saw the fiery phoenix racing toward her and froze.
“No!” Edmund shouted and slashed the wand to the right.
Fortunately, the spell answered him.
The phoenix twisted sharply in the air, swept past the girl by a breath, and crashed into the wall beside her.
Boom.
Dust burst outward.
The fiery bird vanished.
Edmund did not spare the wall a glance.
He crossed the distance in a few quick steps and stopped in front of the girl, hands hovering before he carefully steadied her by the shoulders.
“I’m sorry.
Are you all right?
Did it hit you?” As he spoke, he took in the girl in front of him.
She was genuinely pretty, with a small oval face, delicate features, and bright dark eyes that still held the shock of what had just happened.
The dazed look made her seem softer, more vulnerable, and strangely endearing.
Cho Chang had come to Diagon Alley that day to buy a wand-care kit from Ollivanders.
Her parents were both working, so she had come alone.
She had not expected to open the door and find a flaming phoenix flying straight at her.
For a second, her mind simply stopped.
All she could do was watch the bird of fire skim past and explode against the wall.
Then a boy rushed toward her, looking genuinely alarmed as he asked if she was hurt.
The thought that surfaced first was embarrassingly simple.
‘He’s really handsome.’ Edmund had already been a good-looking boy.
Since the Gaunt legacy began awakening, something about him had sharpened further.
He was not merely neat or pleasant-looking now.
He had the sort of striking appearance that made people look twice before they realized they were staring.
“I…
I’m fine,” Cho said at last.
Then she noticed his hands resting lightly on her shoulders.
A blush rose across her cheeks, making her look even more flustered.
Ollivander watched the scene in front of him: the handsome young wizard, tense with concern, and the pretty girl caught somewhere between fright and shyness.
For some reason, the old wandmaker felt abruptly as if he were intruding.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS AuroraVale Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter pulled you a little deeper into the story.
Stay close, because things are only getting more interesting.