Damien took the wand from the box—and at once, a translucent system interface appeared before his eyes.
Weapon acquisition detected, appraising…
Weapon Name: Ollivander Standard Wand (Blue Rare)
Material: Fir + dragon heartstring
Prerequisite: Transfiguration +1
Effect: Transfiguration +1 (Additional)
Damien gave the wand a light flick.
A shower of sparks burst out, but Ollivander only shook his head with a small, amused smile.
“It seems empiricism doesn’t apply to every child.”
He lifted both hands.
Another narrow box shot off a high shelf and floated neatly down in front of Damien.
“Redwood with phoenix feather, ten inches, very sensitive.
Give it a try?”
The system interface flashed up again.
Weapon Name: Ollivander Standard Wand (Blue – Rare)
Material: Redwood + Phoenix Feather
Prerequisite: Spirit +1
Effect: Slight increase in neural reaction speed
Damien had barely wrapped his fingers around the handle before Ollivander whisked it away.
“No, not this one,” the wandmaker muttered, more to himself than to Damien.
Wand after wand followed.
At first, Damien was curious enough to read every line of text the system revealed.
But when Mr.
Ollivander dismissed even two purple, Epic-quality wands without a second thought, Damien’s initial excitement dulled into numb resignation.
Amid the growing pile of discarded wand boxes and the dust motes dancing in the shafts of light, Ollivander seemed only to grow more animated.
At last, with an air of complete certainty, he personally picked up a box and offered it to Damien.
“A picky customer—but I see your potential.” There was a tremor of excitement in his voice.
“Elder wood with phoenix feather, eleven inches.
This is a very curious combination.
Give it a try?”
The system showed a rich purple glow around the wand the moment Damien took it.
Not even bothering to read the description, he casually traced a semicircle through the air.
Brilliant, multicoloured light burst forth, arcing like a rainbow.
Ollivander threw back his head and laughed, delighted.
“I knew it.
You were meant for such a wand, child.
Remember, it is the wand that chooses the wizard.
Now, you can take your companion to Hogwarts.”
Damien bowed to the eccentric craftsman, laid seven Galleons on the counter, and turned to go.
Out of his line of sight, Ollivander chuckled softly, surveying the chaos of overturned boxes and scattered packing straw all over the floor.
As Damien stepped outside, eager to show off his wand, Severus slipped impatiently into the shop.
Only after everyone had finished laughing and teasing one another did Damien finally have a moment to examine his wand’s attributes.
Weapon Name: Ollivander Standard Wand (Purple – Epic)
Material: Elder Wood + Phoenix Feather
Prerequisite: Spatial Magic +1; Transfiguration +1
Effect: Casting Speed +1 when equipped; Range of Effect +1
Damien let out a low hiss of surprise.
A universal boost like this, applicable to any spellcasting, was far more valuable than the individual talent points he could assign himself.
What felt absurd was that this Epic weapon cost exactly the same as the earlier Rare one.
Then he thought it through and relaxed.
For a top wandmaker in the British wizarding world like Mr.
Ollivander, the true product was never the materials.
It was the unique service of allowing the wand to “choose the wizard.”
While Damien was mulling that over, Severus emerged with his own wand.
He tried to keep a straight face, but the flush at the tips of his ears betrayed his excitement.
Surrounded by their friends, the group spilled back into the alley and made straight for Flourish and Blotts.
Besides the standard set of textbooks, everyone picked up a few extra volumes.
Severus bought an additional copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them—though Damien suspected he intended to use it mostly as a reference for Potions ingredients.
Remus chose Practical Defensive Magic and Its Use Against the Dark Arts.
Lily took a copy of Hogwarts: A History for herself and specially selected The Tales of Beedle the Bard for her sister.
Seeing this, Damien naturally followed suit and picked up Curses and Counter-Curses.
By the time they stepped out of Flourish and Blotts, the sky was already darkening.
They hurried to Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions to order their school uniforms, stocked up on parchment, quills, and other stationery at Scribbulus Writing Implements, and finally bought their cauldrons at Potage’s Cauldron Shop… New chapters come out on g.com first.
The group finally gathered at the Magical Creatures shop on the south side of Diagon Alley, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
Lily and Severus had decided to raise an owl together so they could write home more easily.
What?
You’re asking why they didn’t just buy two owls?
Someone, please drag this person who’s clearly never been in love outside to talk to a girl!
Remus had his heart set on a big dog, but Hogwarts only allowed cats, owls, and toads as pets.
So he trailed circles around his mother, Hope, trying to persuade her to convince his father to keep a big dog at home, one he could visit during the holidays.
Hope shot the idea down without mercy.
With the constant need to guard against werewolf attacks, how could they possibly keep a pet that might end up as a future sacrifice?
Remus shuffled back, shoulders slumped.
Damien clapped him on the shoulder and, in a slightly odd tone, tried to cheer him up.
“Don’t be sad.
Hogwarts is huge.
Maybe you’ll make a special friend somewhere like the Forbidden Forest—say, a very majestic big black dog?”
Laughter broke out among their friends.
Damien then picked out a kitten from the shop, one that looked very much like a European Shorthair.
He took the three-month-old kitten and a full set of supplies.
Altogether, it came to only three Galleons.
In this era before inflation, Galleons in the wizarding world and Pounds in the Muggle world were still worth quite a lot.
With the setting sun casting long shadows on the cobblestones, Damien cradled his cat and set off for home with his friends.
After a long day on the road, the families staying at the London hotel turned in early, slipping into deep sleep one after another.
Damien and Remus shared a room.
Remus was already fast asleep under the moonlight, his breathing even and quiet.
Damien, however, sat awake by the window, silently turning his newly acquired wand over in his hands.
His fingers traced the fine grain of the elder wood, an irrepressible smile tugging at his lips.
Years’ worth of fantasies from his previous life were finally taking shape now.
He quietly took out the wand maintenance kit Severus had given him.
By moonlight, he carefully polished the tawny wand.
Eleven inches fit perfectly in his grip.
Damien itched to try a few spells, but he didn’t dare risk triggering the Trace in the middle of a Muggle residential area.
Reluctantly, he slid the wand back into its box, lay down, and stared out at the night sky.
Under the scattering of stars, he couldn’t help wondering: Would the enchanted ceiling in the Hogwarts Great Hall be as beautiful as the sky tonight?
Following that idle thought, sleep slowly claimed him.
It was rare for the families to come all the way to London, so of course they wanted to use the chance to look around.
The adults each made their own plans, and the children quickly came up with their own.
Petunia insisted on visiting University College London and Imperial College.
Damien privately doubted she had the brains for either, but then again, what child hadn’t once agonized over whether they’d rather go to Harvard or Stanford?
For the past two days, Severus and Lily had their noses buried in their new textbooks.
In truth, Lily was the only one seeing them for the first time; Severus just put on an “Oh, I don’t know either, I’m reading this for the first time too” act, successfully unlocking a new milestone: Previewing the material together.
As for Damien and Remus, they had a different target.
Damien, ever the prankster, made a proposal.
“Remus, let’s go scare Oliver.
He specially ran back here to go on a date behind our backs.”
He lifted an eyebrow, a smug glint in his eyes.
“I saw his address.”
Remus didn’t hesitate.
“Let’s go!”
Two hours later, the pair were still wandering the streets of London…
“Damien, are you sure it’s around here?
We’ve been running for almost thirty minutes since you said we were almost there!”
“Almost there, Remus.
The address says it’s on this street.
It has to be nearby.
Open your eyes and look properly.”
“But I’m exhausted, Damien.”
“Use your head, Remus.
Picture Oliver sitting with the girl he’s been pining after, right this second.
They’re getting closer and closer, just like Sev and Lily.
Wouldn’t it be brilliant if the two of us suddenly jumped out and scared them?”
Damien’s devilish suggestion clearly hooked Remus, but he quickly came up with another idea.
“But Damien, if we’re going to scare someone, wouldn’t it be easier to just scare Severus?
Then we wouldn’t have to run all over the place.”
Damien glanced at Remus—who seemed far less sharp than the Remus in the original books—and sighed.
“Remus, does Oliver have a wand?”
How would he have a wand?”
“And does Severus have a wand?”
“Of course he does.
We just bought them together yesterday.
What are you getting at, Damien?”
Damien summed it up with the air of someone imparting great wisdom.
“So, if we scare Oliver and he resists, we can handle him.
But if we scare Severus, do you honestly think he wouldn’t whip out his wand and cover your face in boils?”
“Oh…” Remus finally caught on, though what little conscience he had left gave a guilty twinge.
He asked hesitantly, “But isn’t that a bit like bullying the weak?
That’s not very gentlemanly.”
“First off, Remus, you’re a wizard, not a Muggle—and definitely not a Muggle aristocrat.”
After carefully re‑establishing Remus’s position, Damien laid out his real motive.
“And more importantly, last week Oliver played for the other side and beat us three–nil.
Just for having the nerve to join the opposing team and betray us, I’m duty‑bound to help him learn a lesson.”
“But Damien, didn’t you say last time that Oliver should go to the other side so they would stand a chance against us?”
“Dammit, Remus, could your memory be any worse at picking out the wrong things?
You don’t need to remember the unimportant stuff!”
Their bickering carried them down the street until, in the garden of a small villa, they spotted a girl with the same shade of brown hair sitting on a swing.
The boy pushing the swing behind her—careful and attentive—was none other than Oliver, the scapegoat they’d spent all morning hunting down.
Remus, who had been searching desperately for this excuse to finally stop running, lit up the moment he saw him.
He grabbed Damien’s arm, eyes shining, and whispered excitedly.
“Damien, Damien!
Look, Oliver!
He’s right there!”
Even though Remus lowered his voice, two boys suddenly turning up in a quiet residential garden stood out at once.
When Damien looked up, he saw Oliver already glancing over in their direction.
Damien shot Remus a despairing look.
Remus only scratched his head and grinned sheepishly.
Rubbing a hand over his own face, Damien smoothed his expression and turned toward his Muggle friend.
He raised an arm and waved, as if he’d simply dropped by for a friendly visit instead of a prank.
But Oliver knew perfectly well what kind of person Damien was.
His expression turned wary.
Damien watched him murmur something to the girl on the swing.
She nodded with a smile, then walked back toward the villa without looking around again, leaving Oliver to come over alone.
Seeing Oliver approach but making no move to invite them into the garden, Damien felt a weary sort of disappointment.
“Oliver, we’re friends.
Isn’t it a bit much to be this on guard against me?”
“Ahem.” Oliver coughed, then said, quite seriously, “I’m pretty sure, Damien, that if I let you meet Monica, you definitely wouldn’t say anything helpful to me.”
Then, as if remembering his manners, he quickly added, “Remus, you’re different.
As long as Damien’s not with you, I trust you.”
At that, Remus seized Oliver’s hand and shook it enthusiastically, looking as if justice itself had finally descended.
Damien was left spluttering in indignation.
“What a thing to say!
Oliver!
What are you talking about?
Am I the kind of person who would harm his brothers?”
Oliver answered without mercy.
“No, Damien, but you can’t stand it if you don’t find some fun for yourself.
You definitely wouldn’t let me off the hook.
Honestly, sometimes I wonder if you’d even prank yourself when you’re bored.”
“Uh…” Oliver’s blunt verdict shut Damien up.
He scratched his cheek, looking a bit sheepish.
After all, his reason for spending most of the morning tracking this place down hadn’t exactly been pure.
Seeing Damien’s defeated expression, Oliver couldn’t help but grin.
He slung an arm around each of them and said to the two friends who’d come all this way.
“Since it’s rare for you to be in London, I’ll treat you to something good for lunch.
Damien, don’t sulk.
I’ll make it up to you with a great meal, I promise.”
Damien and Remus traded a high-five at that and laid down their only condition.
“Anything’s fine, as long as it’s not fish and chips!”
Oliver flashed them a confident smile.
“Guys, welcome to London.”