Hagrid's Invitation

Learning was like hollowing out a Wand Core slot in a wand. As long as you made a little progress every day, you would always gain something.

That was the insight Luan had gained after spending two consecutive days hollowing out Wand Core slots.

To ensure the wand wood's magical properties were not damaged, the Wand Core had to be fitted seamlessly along the wood's original grain.

Fortunately, Luan's feel for finding the grain had already been trained and strengthened.

This time, with only five more flames in the fireplace, he hollowed out a perfect Wand Core slot.

Pfft~

After gently blowing away the wood shavings, Luan admired his newest work against the light streaming in from outside.

Only after confirming that not even the tiniest grain had been damaged did he rub his eyes and gaze into the distance to relieve his fatigue.

It was Wednesday. Two days had passed, and the Water Bottle Grass Luan had brought from Xilin had already adapted to Hogwarts' environment.

The seven or eight flowers in the two pots had all opened their lids, as if demanding food.

"It's time to find some food for these insect-eating flowers."

With that in mind, Luan carried the two flowerpots out of the castle and headed toward the Forbidden Forest.

He had brought these insect-eating flowers to Hogwarts to see whether they could help Hagrid deal with the bugs stealing his pumpkins.

When he saw Hagrid again, Luan explained his purpose directly.

"You're saying these flowers eat bugs?"

Hagrid had already taken the flowerpots in his huge hands, his eyes fixed curiously on the plants.

"That's right. Back where I came from, they're often kept in kitchens to clear out mosquitoes and insects. I just don't know whether the bugs in the Pumpkin patch will take the bait."

"I think they will. Those little flying bugs are pretty much like flies and mosquitoes."

Hagrid did not doubt him much. After speaking, he led Luan to the Pumpkin patch behind his house.

After a week, the pumpkins in this vegetable patch had grown to the size of footballs.

Their dark green skins had yet to harden, but the pumpkins' scent had already drawn plenty of flying insects over to steal bites.

Following Luan's instructions, Hagrid placed the two pots of Water Bottle Grass at opposite sides of the patch.

Then he and Luan quietly observed from the side.

The buzzing of the insects around them seemed to trigger the Water Bottle Grass.

One by one, the white flowers opened their lids, and a strange fragrance began to drift through the air.

That scent was the Water Bottle Grass's weapon for luring insects. Luan could already see swarms of duped flying bugs gathering around the flowers.

Drawn by the flowers' fragrance, the insects lined up and crawled into the bodies of the Water Bottle Grass.

"Wow, these work way better than the insecticide I bought in Knockturn Alley."

After seeing the Water Bottle Grass trap more than a dozen flying insects in just half an hour, Hagrid cried out happily.

"Knockturn Alley?"

Luan looked at Hagrid curiously. He had read that it seemed to be a place specializing in items for Dark Wizards.

"Oh, you know. There are always things there that are powerful but cheap."

Hearing Hagrid's explanation, Luan could not help growing suspicious.

"With such a huge Forbidden Forest to watch over, you shouldn't be short on money, should you?"

Luan recalled the Unicorn tail hair Hagrid had given him last time. A single handful of it would definitely be worth over a hundred Galleons outside.

"Don't say that. The assets in the Forbidden Forest belong to Hogwarts. I'm only responsible for guarding and collecting them. I don't have the right to dispose of them as I please."

"Then the Unicorn tail hair you gave me won't cause you any trouble, will it?"

"How could it? The one who arranged it was—"

Hagrid suddenly clamped his mouth shut. Then he looked at Luan. "There's plenty every year. One handful more or less doesn't matter."

"Alright."

Although Luan could tell Hagrid was hiding something, he had no plans to press further. After all, that handful of Unicorn tail hair had truly helped him immensely.

As the sun set and Luan prepared to leave, Hagrid stopped him again.

"I know your carving skills are excellent. Could you help me make the jack-o'-lanterns for this year's Halloween?"

"Jack-o'-lanterns?"

Having never experienced Halloween, Luan had no idea how important jack-o'-lanterns were to the holiday.

"Of course. They're the main event of Halloween. Everyone looks forward to them."

Halloween was a month away, and Luan's Wand Making had reached its final stage.

Adding the time he had in Xilin, he had two months to make a wand.

Taking a few days then to help carve jack-o'-lanterns would not delay anything at all.

Of course, it was also possible that by then, he would already have made a real wand in Xilin.

"Alright. I'll come find you then."

Luan agreed readily, then returned to the castle carrying a basket of snacks Hagrid had prepared for Bouncing.

After Potions Class ended on Friday, Luan finally managed to perfectly embed a strand of Unicorn tail hair into an ordinary piece of wood.

After using plant glue to completely bond the two split halves of the wooden rod back together, there was not a single seam on it.

Having reached this point, Luan had completed all the earlier experimental steps. Next, it was time to practice on those three trees.

The three trees outside the Greenhouse seemed to know their fate. Over the past week, they had gradually stopped growing.

Without any pity, Luan reached for the grapevines crawling across the Greenhouse glass.

About two meters of magical wood should be enough for him to practice seven times.

One branch of the holly tree beside it had developed magical properties. The usable section was about one meter, meaning three chances to practice.

As for the final willow tree, it also offered three chances.

But that would be the final showdown.

On Friday night, Luan polished all the magical wood into rough wand shapes.

Then, for the entirety of Saturday, he locked himself inside the Greenhouse.

It was quiet enough there, making it ideal for him to work in peace.

First came the grapevines.

Split, failed!

Split, failed!

Split, failed!

Luan discovered that wood with magical properties had even finer grain. Every strand of grain seemed to be filled with magical energy.

When the blade split the grain, it inevitably disturbed the energy within, which in turn disrupted the force of his cuts.

Over the whole morning, Luan ruined five grapevines and two holly branches.

After lunch, Luan chose to return to his dormitory for a nap, allowing his brain to rest fully.

When he returned to the Greenhouse, Bouncing followed him over as well.

With the eighth piece of willow wood, Luan successfully split it apart.

But he failed again while hollowing out the Wand Core groove.

Bouncing's arrival seemed to drive away his bad luck.

The ninth grapevine, the tenth holly branch, and the eleventh willow branch all achieved perfect splits.

Now all that remained was to place the Unicorn tail hair inside!

"Why is this happening?"

Embedding Unicorn tail hair was not particularly difficult, yet when Luan embedded it into the grapevine and holly branch, both had spontaneously combusted.

It left Luan with the bitter feeling of nearly reaching the finish line, only to be tripped at the last second.

There were only two chances left.

Luan took out the wand he had bought from Ollivanders and studied it carefully.

As he examined the wand, he could not help recalling the scene when he had purchased it.

"Remember, the wand chooses the wizard."

After that nonsensical sentence entered Luan's mind, he could no longer drive it away.

With those words in his mind, Luan began embedding the Wand Core into the willow wood.

Only when the long seam closed did Luan emerge from his dazed state.

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