“So you’re definitely a Slytherin then?”
The blond boy standing before Ivy Doom looked young and thin, with pale skin that now carried a faint reddish tint from excitement.
“I’m starting at Hogwarts this year too,” he continued eagerly.
“And I guarantee I’ll be the perfect Slytherin.”
“Draco.”
The older man beside him—clearly his father—cut off the endless chatter with a calm warning while tapping his cane lightly against the worn wooden floorboards of Ollivanders.
“Remember?
You introduce yourself first.”
“Oh.
Right, Father.”
Although the boy tried hard to pull his eyes away from Ivy’s magnificent glowing Slytherin relic robes and maintain a dignified expression, anyone could see the envy written plainly across his face.
He extended a hand with an exaggerated aristocratic drawl.
“Draco Malfoy.
First-year Hogwarts student.
And I’d bet anything I’ll end up in Slytherin.”
Ivy shook his hand while introducing himself.
“Ivy Doom.
Same as you.
Incoming Hogwarts student.”
“You’re a first-year too?” Draco’s voice briefly became shrill with surprise, though he quickly coughed and recovered his carefully rehearsed noble demeanor before his father could frown at him.
“But you’re wearing—oh.”
Suddenly, realization dawned on his face.
“I understand now!
Perhaps I should learn from Ivy’s confidence, Father?”
“Open ambition and confidence?” The older man’s aristocratic tone was even more polished—and far more irritating.
Especially the slightly raised chin.
Ivy immediately disliked him on instinct.
Absolutely not because of the height difference.
“Why not ask your new classmate where he had those robes tailored?” Lucius Malfoy suggested smoothly.
“Perhaps I could order you a set as well.”
Draco instantly turned back toward Ivy with sparkling eyes.
Ivy politely declined.
“Slytherin relic robes.
I believe they’re…
rather old.”
“What a shame…” Lucius shook his head regretfully and looked ready to continue speaking.
But before he could, Garrick Ollivander returned from the back room carrying a wand box lined with deep purple velvet.
“Mister Doom!” Ollivander called enthusiastically while presenting the box.
“I believe this may truly have been my grandfather’s finest creation!”
Fifteen and a half inches.
A magnificent and elegant combination particularly gifted in Legilimency and Divination!”
“Legilimency and Divination?” Ivy raised an eyebrow while examining the pale silver wand.
So that was why silver lime wands had been so highly sought after over a century ago.
“Precisely.” Ollivander rubbed his hands together eagerly, clearly desperate to witness the wand in action.
“Please, try it, Mister Doom.
And if it proves unsuitable, we can naturally select another.”
This was hardly Ivy’s first time holding a wand.
But the feeling from this wand was entirely different from any he had used before.
Magic flowed through it as smoothly as melted chocolate.
He lightly flicked the wand tip.
Brilliant silver sparks burst outward and transformed into a dazzling phoenix made entirely of shimmering light.
The magical bird circled once around the cramped wand shop before exploding into countless glowing particles.
“Perfect!” Ollivander shouted excitedly.
“I swear I shall remember this moment for the rest of my life!
You are destined to leave your name in magical history, Mister Doom!”
Ivy nodded in satisfaction and carefully stored the wand away.
“Since I’m technically over a hundred years late picking it up,” he asked casually, “I assume there must be some kind of storage fee?”
“No need!”
Ollivander shook his head so vigorously that his silver hair flew everywhere.
“That performance alone was payment enough!”
After thanking him again, Ivy turned and headed toward the exit.
As he passed the Malfoy family, he gave a small nod.
“Excuse me.”
Once Ivy disappeared from the shop, Lucius placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder.
“Besides Harry Potter, you should make certain to build a good relationship with him as well.
Remember that, Draco.”
After his son nodded obediently, Lucius pulled several gold Galleons from his pocket.
“Perhaps a few extra Galleons might convince Madam Malkin to accommodate certain additional requests.”
Then he added calmly:
“However, you should go alone.
I’ll purchase your textbooks.
Your mother will handle your wand.
We’re returning home early today.”
Draco grabbed the coins enthusiastically and rushed out of the wand shop without another word.
At the moment, only one task had been completed:
Wand acquired.
He still needed six first-year textbooks, at least three plain sets of school robes with name tags, potion supplies—including a cauldron, crystal phials, scales, and dragon-hide gloves—as well as a telescope for Astronomy class.
The potion and astronomy equipment wouldn’t actually be difficult.
Ivy distinctly remembered seeing plenty of old supplies inside the Room of Requirement.
Still, he wasn’t lacking money.
And any problem solvable with Galleons wasn’t truly a problem at all.
“Books first, then.”
Ivy decided his next destination would be Flourish and Blotts.
Of course, he had no intention of buying leisure reading material.
The Hogwarts library already contained more than enough books.
Especially the Restricted Section.
That place was practically a treasure vault.
Honestly, Ivy felt rather happy.
He now possessed enormous amounts of free time.
First-year coursework was easy.
Researching magic, on the other hand—that was his true profession.
Flourish and Blotts was packed with witches and wizards of all ages, most likely parents preparing their children for the upcoming school year.
Employees had already bundled the required textbooks into neat stacks by grade level.
Customers merely needed to announce their year, and a clerk would drop the corresponding pile into their basket before quoting the final price.
While waiting in line, Ivy quietly observed the bookstore.
Besides students buying textbooks, many young witches and wizards wandered between the wooden shelves searching for books that interested them personally.
One girl in particular caught Ivy’s attention.
She had bright golden hair, and judging from her height, she was either entering Hogwarts this year alongside him—or perhaps one or two years older.
Ivy mentally reviewed every female character from the original series he could remember.
None matched her.
That realization earned a satisfied smile from him.
“So this truly is a real world,” he murmured softly.
“There are far more living people here than just the ones described in seven novels.”
Perhaps noticing his gaze, the girl finally looked up from her book.
Sharp upward-slanting eyes and a small beauty mark beneath one eye gave her an almost noble arrogance.
Emerald-green eyes paired perfectly with her brilliant golden hair.
She was the sort of girl people remembered immediately after seeing once.
When their eyes met, Ivy simply nodded politely in greeting.
He had no intention of introducing himself yet.
After all—
There would be plenty of time at Hogwarts, wouldn’t there?
(End of Chapter)