Wands and Gringotts (Seeking Votes, Investments, and Favorites)

Moriarty took the wand, but felt nothing unusual. He drew upon his Magic Power and gave the wand a flick. A green snake head appeared before Ollivander.

Ollivander gently shook his head. "It seems there's no problem, but I know this wand did not choose you. It simply cannot resist you."

"Try this one." He swiftly pulled out another wand. "Thirteen inches, yew, unicorn tail hair."

Unicorns were sacred magical creatures. The snake head Moriarty cast with the unicorn wand turned white.

"Still no." Ollivander glanced at the white snake head. Though the unicorn had taken effect, changing its color already involved Transfiguration. If Moriarty had not learned Transfiguration beforehand, then his talent was simply too exceptional.

"If you want a wand to accompany you for life, you must open your heart to it. Be like a child who cannot use magic. Otherwise, no matter how many wands you try, the result will be the same." After saying that, Ollivander brought over a large pile of wands.

Over the next thirty minutes, Moriarty tried dozens of them. Every time, he could effortlessly cast a small spell. The wands behaved as obediently in his hand as pet cats.

After all those attempts, Ollivander sighed in disappointment. Moriarty said meaningfully, "It seems you were using the wand selection to test whether I possess a pure heart. Could you tell me why, sir?"

"You saw through it. All right, all right, you really are far too clever." Ollivander stepped up to Moriarty and said seriously, "Although there are plenty of wands in this room, all of them combined are inferior to that one wand—the wand in the hands of Dumbledore, the greatest wizard alive."

Moriarty guessed he meant the Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hallows. But what did that have to do with him? He patiently waited for Ollivander to continue.

"I must admit, Lockhart did not misjudge you this time," Ollivander said slowly. "Your talent is extraordinarily high, Mr. Moriarty.

"So I want to study wandlore with you. You may come to me with any questions you have.

"Oh, of course. Any wands you make will belong to you."

Ollivander added eagerly, "I want to see whether you can create a wand more powerful than Dumbledore's!"

"You want me to study wandlore with you!" Moriarty understood Ollivander's meaning, but he shook his head and politely declined.

Wandlore was an extremely specialized branch of magic, obscure and difficult to understand, and it required a great deal of experimentation.

Moriarty could not possibly study under Ollivander. To him, wandlore was merely a shooting star in the sky of magic—worth admiring, but not worth making his goal.

Ollivander was immensely disappointed, yet still unwilling to give up. He solemnly took out a wand and handed it to Moriarty.

"Eleven inches, Holly Wand, Phoenix Feather. Beautiful, supple, and flexible. This wand is the brother of the wand belonging to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They both contain a feather from the same phoenix."

Ollivander seemed to age all at once. He said quietly, "You are a descendant of Slytherin. I was afraid you might become like that person in the future, so I did not take out this wand at first...

"Oh, look at me, listen to what I'm saying. Of course you won't, right?"

Moriarty ignored the old man's muttering. Being compared to someone who had managed to lose his own nose felt rather offensive.

Moriarty raised the wand before his eyes and examined it closely. There was no doubt—this was the wand used by Harry Potter.

"Ding-dong~ A wand compatible with Fire Elemental Magic has been detected. Possessing this wand will increase the Host's Fire Elemental Magic level."

Hearing the system prompt, Moriarty had a bold idea.

Since there was a wand compatible with Fire Elemental Magic, there had to be one compatible with Water Elemental Magic!

That was precisely the sort of wand Moriarty needed. He wondered whether Ollivander had one.

With that thought in mind, Moriarty deliberately cast a Freezing Charm at the shop's sign with the Holly Wand, adding several beautiful frost patterns to it.

When Ollivander saw the Ice Magic Moriarty revealed, a strange light gradually bloomed in his eyes. His voice rose sharply. "Merlin, I had forgotten that you can use a Magic Circle to summon ice snakes! Aha, I remember now! Yes, that's it! Perhaps that is the wand best suited to you!"

Ollivander searched through a pile of boxes for a long time before approaching with a white box in his hands.

"Twelve inches, Snow Fir Wand. As for the core, regrettably, I do not know—it was made by my ancestor while traveling the world five hundred years ago. Since the day it was made, no one has ever been able to cast a Spell with it!"

Moriarty opened the box and saw a creamy white wand lying silently inside. He had a feeling that this was the wand he had been looking for.

"Ding-dong~ A wand compatible with Water Elemental Magic has been detected..."

Upon hearing the system prompt, Moriarty's lips curled upward. He gently picked up the Snow Fir Wand, and a chill traveled from his fingers through his wrist and arm before finally flowing into his heart.

Moriarty felt nothing abnormal. Then the system's voice sounded beside his ear once again. "Congratulations, Host. You have leveled up and are now a level 27 Junior Wizard."

He had risen two levels. Not bad.

Holding the Snow Fir Wand in his left hand, Moriarty nodded at Ollivander. "This is a good wand."

Ollivander was equally excited. "Yes, yes! I can tell that this time, it chose you. Seven Galleons, if you wish to take it."

"Of course I'll take it. It will be my loyal companion. And not just it—I want the Holly Wand as well. Name your price, sir."

Moriarty raised his right hand and lightly waved the Slytherin staff at the scattered wands. The wands on the floor and walls, along with the opened boxes, all returned to their original places.

Only the Holly Wand remained floating before Ollivander, awaiting his decision.

Ollivander frowned and tried to explain to Moriarty, "Every Little Wizard may only purchase one wand before the start of term.

"If a wizard's wand is damaged or lost, Ollivanders will provide them with a second wand.

"But no one has ever bought two wands at once."

Moriarty remained unmoved. His calm gaze seemed to see straight through Ollivander. So long as the stakes were high enough, anything could be sold.

Ollivander quickly lost their contest of gazes.

"You really are difficult to deal with. If we set wandlore aside, I would be willing to call you Mr. Moriarty!

"Fine. I can give you the Holly Wand, but I hope that when you have time, you will learn a little about wandlore. It will not be difficult for someone with your talent, all right?"

Ollivander placed the Holly Wand in its box and solemnly handed it to Moriarty.

After placing the box into an exquisite bag enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm, Moriarty took an emerald from his money pouch and set it on the table.

"The Slytherin Family has no habit of owing favors. No matter how much the Holly Wand costs, I believe this gemstone is enough to pay for it."

After saying that, Moriarty put away his money pouch and said to Ollivander, "Farewell, sir."

As he stepped out of the wand shop, Moriarty was startled to find that all the wizards in Diagon Alley were staring at him. When they saw the wand in his hand, they burst into cheers.

"For Slytherin! For magic!" the wizards cheered.

They understood that Moriarty's return to Britain and his acquisition of a modern wand carried extraordinary significance. Perhaps, just as Lockhart had said, an era of magical revival was truly about to arrive!

Moriarty nodded to the crowd in acknowledgment, his aristocratic bearing beyond reproach.

"Luke, I have an important task for you." Moriarty took out a list and handed it to Luke. "Purchase everything according to the requirements on it, then send it back to the castle."

"At once, my lord!" Luke headed toward Flourish and Blotts, his first destination. Moriarty wanted him to buy every magical textbook from first year through seventh year.

Leaving the shopping to Luke would save Moriarty more time. He was preparing to take Ingo home when he noticed Ingo's gaze fixed on a towering building of snow-white marble.

That was Gringotts, Britain's only wizarding bank.

"Don't even think about it, Ingo. I will not take you there, because the Slytherin Family has never stored its wealth in Gringotts!"

While organizing the castle, Moriarty had found some of Salazar's diaries—not that diary, but other scattered journal entries.

They recorded Salazar's hostility toward Goblins. He believed it necessary to eradicate the Goblin race permanently, or they would bring disaster.

Moriarty was not as stubborn as Salazar, but he always remained wary of Goblins.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing Moriarty's words, Ingo's eyes widened. "My lord will take me there. I'll give you a reason you can't refuse!"

Clearly, Ingo's words carried a hint of rebellion. As soon as he finished speaking, the Golden Shackles rapidly shrank, clamping around his ankles until they turned black.

A wave of agonizing pain shot through Ingo's legs, and he crashed hard to the ground. He could not resist the Golden Shackles' punishment until Moriarty pointed his wand at them and said, "Stop!"

The shackles gradually enlarged, saving Ingo. He lowered his head and did not dare say another word.

What happened to Ingo drew the attention of both the wizards and the Gringotts Goblins.

Lockhart proudly proclaimed the existence of Slytherin Castle's Vault to the crowd. Hearing their sour remarks of envy delighted him, as though the Vault belonged to him.

Meanwhile, the Goblin standing beside Gringotts' entrance in a scarlet-and-gold uniform wore an ugly expression, his skin flushed crimson with anger.

It was unclear whether he was angry because Ingo had been punished or because of Slytherin Castle's Vault.

Moriarty guessed it was both. Gringotts controlled the magical world's economy to a great extent, yet his Vault was an exception—its wealth would never be deposited in Gringotts.

That alone was enough to drive the Goblins mad with envy. And once the Goblins set their sights on him, Moriarty would have to devote some of his time and energy to dealing with them.

I need to find a way to keep these Goblins busy... Moriarty began to ponder. The Harry Potter world was an incomplete magical world; taking finance alone as an example, the wizards' financial system was riddled with holes.

Voldemort had worked painstakingly for over fifty years, all for the lofty ambition of becoming a village chief. He had gone to great lengths to create seven Horcruxes and win over a large number of Pure-blood families, but why had he never considered taking another approach?

Moriarty felt that Voldemort might never have considered another approach, but Tom Riddle certainly had!

Though he had considered it, he could not do it!

Because of monopolies.

Ollivander monopolized wands, the Fli Family monopolized book-related businesses, Goblins monopolized financial circulation, St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries' shareholders monopolized medicine, and even shampoo was monopolized by the Potter Family...

Voldemort could freely abduct Ollivander, kill the Fli Family's heir, and seize the Ministry of Magic... yet he could never obtain the monopolists' knowledge and privileges.

Those privileges were not as powerful as Dumbledore or Voldemort, but like eternal truths, they were passed down from generation to generation.

To break a monopoly, Moriarty believed one needed knowledge and privileges that stood opposed to those of the monopolists.

As it happened, in the financial sector, Moriarty possessed the capital to break that monopoly.

That night, Moriarty summoned Lockhart for a detailed discussion.

Early the next morning, Lockhart announced at Flourish and Blotts that he would use the money earned from his new book to establish a "Hogwarts Mutual Aid Fund," and that he would deposit the money in Gringotts that very day!

Watching the Goblins grin broadly, Lockhart could not help sneering inwardly. On the surface, however, he put on a grief-stricken expression and publicly declared that the Mutual Aid Fund was meant to help Hogwarts' Little Wizards improve their Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Lockhart explained that Hogwarts changed Defense Against the Dark Arts professors every year, leaving no complete curriculum system and undoubtedly forcing Little Wizards to take many unnecessary detours.

Some older students felt this deeply, so Lockhart won the favor of the student body and raised his reputation once again.

Yet this time, Lockhart did not make the front page of The Daily Prophet. The Daily Prophet did not even report on the Mutual Aid Fund.

Moriarty sensed that something was wrong. Lockhart had been too popular lately; someone might have set their sights on him.

But who? The Ministry of Magic?