When the Sky Falls, the Tall Ones Naturally Hold It Up First

Harry took the wand, feeling a little nervous. The moment his fingertips touched it, a strange warmth seemed to spread from them through his whole body.

He gave it a gentle, instinctive flick.

A brilliant red light burst from the tip of the wand like a warm firework, scattering golden sparks throughout the cluttered but magical space, as though in a silent celebration.

Mr. Ollivander cried out excitedly, "Oh! Very good! Oh, splendid! Wonderful! Truly wonderful!"

Just then, the shop door swung open, and a tall, burly man with a bushy beard squeezed inside, looking like a small mountain. When he saw what had happened, he clapped his hands, each as big as a small umbrella, and cheered in a booming voice, "Ha ha! I knew you could do it, Harry!"

Harry looked excitedly at Hagrid, and only then noticed Chu Yao standing in the corner, also clapping softly, an amused smile on her face.

As mentioned before, Chu Yao was an extraordinarily pretty young girl from the East, with fair skin, a waterfall of black hair, and delicate features. When she smiled, in particular, her eyes curved into crescents, making her look especially lively.

Seeing the unfamiliar, pretty girl smile at him, Harry's cheeks flushed red in an instant, the color spreading all the way to his ears.

He gripped his new wand a little awkwardly, then summoned the courage to introduce himself with a stammer. "H-hello, I'm Harry... Harry Potter."

When he had finished, he saw that Chu Yao was only smiling at him. She didn't look shocked or admiring, or point and whisper like the people in the Leaky Cauldron. Instead, he felt even more uneasy and couldn't help asking quietly, "Y-you don't know who I am?"

Chu Yao gave him a perfectly measured look of puzzlement, as though he had asked a nonsensical question, and asked in return, "Harry Potter, the Chosen One? Of course I know. But..."

She tilted her head, her voice tinged with innocence and confusion. "Do you really need that title?"

"No! I just..."

Caught off guard by her question, Harry hurriedly shook his head. He wanted to explain, but he didn't know where to begin, and his nervousness made him even more tongue-tied.

Chu Yao looked at his embarrassed face, her eyes narrowing in a smile like a sly little fox's, and said in her clear voice, "Actually, whether or not you're the 'Chosen One,' you're still just an eleven-year-old child right now. The elders of my sect told me that when the sky falls, the tall ones naturally hold it up first. There's no reason for a child like me, or a child like you, to charge into battle and shoulder so much."

She paused, then added lightly, "Unless... all those tall adults have sacrificed themselves first. Only then would it be our turn!"

Her words were innocent and carefree, yet they also carried an uncommon clarity...

Harry listened in a daze, Hagrid's mouth fell open, and even Mr. Ollivander stopped putting away the wand boxes and stared at Chu Yao in surprise with his moonlike eyes.

(Harry's inner thoughts: She... what she said seems to... make a little sense? But... something still seems off?)

(Hagrid's inner thoughts: Merlin's beard! This child really speaks... directly!)

(Ollivander's inner thoughts: An interesting piece of philosophical reasoning... wisdom from the East?)

Chu Yao paid no mind to what they thought. When she had finished speaking, she turned to Ollivander and asked politely, "Mr. Ollivander, could you help me find a wand now?"

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