Tom's Fated Wand

Tom stood numbly in place, letting the measuring tapes automatically take his measurements.

Meanwhile, the still-young Mr. Ollivander carefully recorded the figures in a notebook.

Once the measuring tapes were finished, Ollivander plunged straight into the pile of wands.

It was quite some time before he finally squeezed his way back out of the wand pile.

Several long boxes had appeared in his hands.

Tom gazed at the wand boxes, his eyes burning with anticipation.

"All right, we'll try them one by one... barring any surprises, the wand suited to you should be among these!" Ollivander laid all the boxes out on the counter.

Tom looked at the long boxes on the table, then at the wands filling the entire shop.

"Mr. Ollivander... how do you know these might suit me? What about all the others?"

Ollivander smiled. "That's a trade secret... All right, I'm joking. It's not that mysterious. These wands were selected based on the measurements I took just now."

"And they don't merely might suit you. In fact, every wand here is suitable for you!"

Tom asked in confusion, "They all suit me? So I just need to pick one from among them?"

"No, no, no. Let me stress it again: the wand chooses the wizard, child... So you should stand here and try them, then let them choose you. In the end, they must decide for themselves whether they wish to follow you." As he spoke, Ollivander opened one of the wand boxes on the table.

Tom was somewhat dissatisfied with that explanation. He had come to buy a product, yet in the end, the product was the one choosing him?

"Come on, don't just stand there..." Ollivander took out a black wand and handed it to Tom. "Try giving it a wave."

"Ebony wood, Dragon Heartstring core, fourteen and a quarter inches. A very fine wand! Tremendous power!"

Tom took the wand, and the excitement in his heart quickly drowned out his dissatisfaction. Tremendous power? He liked powerful wands!

Swish! Tom forcefully swung the wand in his hand.

Yet... nothing happened.

It was as though he had not just swung a wand, but an ordinary dead branch...

"Ah... it seems this wand has not chosen you. Let's try the next one..." Ollivander put the Ebony Wand back into its box.

Tom could not help frowning. Not being "chosen" irritated him.

"Come, let's try this one..."

After that, Tom tried wand after wand, but none proved suitable for him.

Instead, Ollivander's shop ended up in a rather sorry state from Tom's wand testing.

However, Ollivander was clearly used to such things. With a casual wave, he repaired the blasted tables, chairs, benches, windows, and everything else.

Before long, a pile of wands had already accumulated on the counter before Tom.

"Hmm, a somewhat picky customer... not exactly common... Ah, perhaps I shouldn't have only given you wands with Dragon Heartstring cores. Perhaps..."

As he spoke, Ollivander once again burrowed into the pile of wands.

When he emerged again, he had several more wand boxes in his hands.

He opened one of them and took out a black wand.

"This is one of my masterpieces: holly wood, Phoenix Feather Core, eleven inches, supple and flexible..."

Hearing this, Li Weide could not help looking at the wand.

Because it seemed to be the wand of Tom's future nemesis, Harry Potter.

Tom took the wand and gave it a light wave.

Boom!

The violent explosion once again shattered the freshly repaired glass display window into pieces...

"Oh no! This is completely unsuitable for you!" Ollivander snatched the Holly Wand back from Tom's hand as if grabbing it away.

This was completely different from what he had expected. Not only had the wand failed to harmonize with Tom, it had even produced a severe rejection reaction!

After putting away the Holly Wand, Ollivander fell into thought.

Tom, meanwhile, stared at the glass shards scattered across the floor, looking somewhat at a loss.

He had even begun to doubt himself...

Could it be that his talent was actually terrible, making it so difficult even for a wand to choose him?

In truth, if Tom had not had a huge rock like Li Weide pressing down on him every day, he never would have entertained such thoughts.

But now, Tom had temporarily lost all confidence in his own abilities and kept falling into self-doubt.

Suddenly, Li Weide's voice came from behind him. "Don't worry, Tom. I think it's because you possess exceptionally special talents. That's why it's so hard to choose a wand."

Tom's tense mood could not help improving somewhat at those words.

He turned around, about to speak, only to see Li Weide sitting on a long bench, happily savoring a cup of ice cream.

Tom's mood abruptly became far less pleasant again.

"Where did you get that ice cream?"

Li Weide shrugged. "I went out and bought it just now. You were too focused on choosing a wand to notice me."

Tom frowned. "Where's mine?"

Li Weide blinked. "Didn't buy one. I figured you didn't have time to eat right now... You know, ice cream melts..."

"Hmph! It's not like I care about it at all!" Tom turned back around once more.

Ollivander's voice rang out at that moment.

"I occasionally get a few people here who are difficult for wands to choose. Without exception, they all possess very special talents, but in the end, they all receive the wand most perfectly suited to them!"

"So don't worry. The wand best suited to you is surely still waiting for you... Good things take time, my dear."

As he spoke, Ollivander took a white wand from another box.

"I thought about it carefully. Since that Holly Wand rejected you so strongly, why not try this one... Yew wood, Phoenix Feather Core, thirteen and a half inches, exceptionally powerful. Give it a try..."

Tom accepted the Yew Wand expressionlessly. He was already starting to feel numb, since Ollivander had said roughly the same things when he tried the other wands...

Hum...

The instant Tom tightened his grip on the Yew Wand, an eerie green glow suddenly spilled from its tip, casting the entire dark shop in a ghostly light...

"Wow!" Li Weide watched the scene in amazement.

If he had not known that Tom barely knew any magic yet, he would have thought Tom had just cast Avada Kedavra.

"Ha ha! This is the one! The Phoenix Feather Cores in this Yew Wand and that Holly Wand just now both came from the tail of the same phoenix. You could say they are brothers among wands!"

"I was just thinking that since the Holly Wand rejected you so strongly, the Yew Wand might fit you extraordinarily well! And the facts prove it—just as expected!"

"Oh... a Yew Wand! I can be certain that you will achieve extraordinary things in the future!"

Ollivander looked excited as well. After all, even he rarely witnessed such a peculiar scene.

Tom stared blankly at the Yew Wand in his hand, at that feeling of being connected by blood...

It was as though his arm had been extended!

This discovery greatly bolstered Tom's confidence!

Hmph. Once I get back and properly learn magic, I'll beat the hell out of that bastard Weide!

Suddenly, Tom felt a slight chill in his left hand, the one not holding the wand. Then a cup of ice cream appeared in it.

"Congratulations, Tom. You finally got the wand that suits you best..." Li Weide said cheerfully.

"Didn't you say you hadn't bought one?"

"Huh? You believe everything I say? Since when did you trust me so much, Tom?"

"You motherf—"

"Fine, don't eat it."

"It's your money anyway. Why the hell wouldn't I eat it? Hand it over!"