Pfft, I Thought It Would Be Expensive

The wand was made of Elder Wood and measured fifteen inches long. Its core was Thestral tail hair, which he had ventured to add despite its reputation for being extremely strange and ominous.

Rumor had it that only a wizard who could master life and death could wield such a material.

Yet when this replica wand was finished, it proved to be a complete failure.

Even Ollivander himself could not cast spells reliably with it. The Thestral tail hair was like a black hole, devouring magic and proving exceedingly difficult to control.

With no other choice, he forced a short strand of Dragon Heartstring into the core, hoping to balance and channel the energy. Only then could he barely coax it into emitting some unstable magical light.

But even so, it was extraordinarily picky and had never resonated with any wizard. In the end, he put it away as a failed collector's piece.

He suppressed the storm raging in his heart and walked somewhat unsteadily to the corner. Carefully, he carried out the dusty wooden box, took out the Elder Wand inside, which looked especially ancient and even had a hint of an ominous aura, and handed it to Chu Yao.

The moment Chu Yao took the wand, something stirred within her.

She could clearly sense a faint connection, almost like a resonance, between the wand and the dormant Ten Thousand Souls Banner in her sea of consciousness!

It was as though both had touched upon the edges of some law concerning "death" or "souls."

Huh? This wand... can actually stir my Ten Thousand Souls Banner?

Interesting! Looks like it's a fellow practitioner... no, a fellow wand on the same path!

Startled, she immediately severed the connection, afraid that the baleful aura of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner would taint this "pure" wand.

Then, copying Harry, she gave it a casual, gentle wave.

"Whoosh—puff!"

A stream of magical light burst from the wand tip, more solid than Harry's had been, dark red in color, and likewise flecked with golden sparks. Like fireworks in the night, it was steady and powerful.

Chu Yao smiled with satisfaction and said to Ollivander, "See, Mr. Ollivander? This is my wand. It chose me."

Ollivander opened his mouth and looked at the wand that had been like a dead object in his hands, yet was now obediently emitting light in Chu Yao's. His feelings could not have been more complicated.

He had so many questions: about Eastern magic, about the terrifying mental power she had just displayed, about why this wand had chosen her...

But in the end, all those words became only a somewhat stiff nod and a professional reminder. "Yes... this is your wand. But, Miss Chu, the materials used for this wand... are rather special, so the price will be a little higher."

I've never heard of Ollivander ripping people off, have I?

Could it be that he thinks I'm easy to bully because I'm Eastern?

Chu Yao looked up, feeling slightly displeased, but she had already prepared herself to be ripped off. "How much?"

Could it be a hundred Galleons? Considering its affinity with the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, that wouldn't be unacceptable...

Ollivander pressed his lips together slightly and named a figure. "Seventeen Galleons."

Chu Yao: "..."

Huh? That's it? Only seventeen Galleons? I thought it would be expensive!

Does this old man have some kind of misunderstanding about what "expensive" means?

She readily counted out seventeen Galleons and placed them on the counter, looking as relaxed as if she were paying only a few Knuts.

Then she waved to Harry, who was still in a daze, and gave him a friendly smile. "See you at school, Harry!"

With that, she took her new wand and walked out of the wand shop with a spring in her step, going to wait for Professor Snape at the entrance.

Author's note: Thanks, dear readers, for the bookmarks, likes, check-ins, comments, flowers, coins, and memberships. Love you all, finger hearts ♥