Secondhand Is Just as Good

Madam Malkin's suggestion was truly excellent!

Before today, Luan had never considered buying secondhand things for school.

In Xilin Town, everyone wore their clothes for a long time, only altering them for the younger children in the family once they became torn.

But the United Kingdom seemed very different. There were not only shops specializing in secondhand robes, but also secondhand bookstores and junk shops.

Seeing so many people in every secondhand shop, Luan reflected that besides saving money, it also made wizards seem less lofty and untouchable.

For only nine Galleons, Luan bought all his clothing, including robes, a pointed hat, gloves, and a cloak.

He paid another ten Silver Sickles to have the owner alter them to his size.

Seeing that the shopkeeper's wife had the same figure as Madam Malkin, Luan studied her curiously.

"Stop staring, child. We're sisters."

Luan was not upset that Madam Malkin had recommended her own sister's shop. He had already grown fond of buying secondhand goods.

At the secondhand bookstore next door, Luan bought all his textbooks, along with some necessary parchment, ink, and quills, for another five Galleons.

When Luan returned carrying a stack of books, the lady at the secondhand robe shop had also finished packing his clothes.

"Child, you can go to the junk shop first and buy a suitcase. You can get a cauldron for brewing potions there too, as well as a Brass Scale. The owner is very nice. But remember, you must buy your wand from Ollivanders."

Luan was good at taking advice, though he still had to haggle over the price.

In the end, he spent a total of forty-seven Galleons on every school essential except a wand, including a secondhand suitcase.

Though the suitcase was secondhand, Luan had spent a long time choosing it.

The plump shopkeeper said that the suitcase could not only lighten its weight, but also expand its capacity. Even after all his school luggage was packed inside, half the space would still remain.

Carrying a suitcase that weighed about the same as a dozen wooden carvings, Luan once again felt the wonder of magic.

"Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC."

This was probably the oldest shop Luan had seen that day.

The shop looked small from the outside, and it was quiet inside as well.

Only an old wizard with white hair stood there, carefully examining a wand.

Seeing the thousands of long boxes stacked densely behind the old wizard, Luan understood why the secondhand robe shop owner had urged him to come here.

There were more wands here than hazelnut trees in the Hazelnut Forest he had guarded.

"Good afternoon. Here to buy a wand? I have to say, child, you came rather late."

When Luan nodded, Ollivanders immediately picked up a tape measure and walked over.

"You usually use your right hand, correct?"

"That's right."

The tape measure, marked with silver scales, measured Luan all over—from his shoulder to his fingertips, then from wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and finally the circumference of his head.

While measuring his arm, Luan noticed Ollivanders frown at the scars covering his hand.

After finishing, Ollivanders pulled three long boxes straight from the wall of wands.

"Try these first."

"Fir."

"Acacia."

"Grapevine."

When he tried the seventh one, the wand in Luan's hand finally reacted.

With a gentle wave, streams of golden sparks poured from the Wand Tip, and several long boxes on the wall began bouncing.

"Oh, there we have it, sir!"

Ollivanders abruptly snatched the wand away and put it back into its box.

"Twelve inches, willow wood, with a Unicorn tail hair core. You see, it is the wand that chooses the wizard. May I ask your name?"

If Professor McGonagall and the owner of the secondhand robe shop had not both insisted that he come here, Luan might have suspected that the white-haired old man before him was a fraud.

Just waving a wand a few times was enough to determine that it had chosen him as its master? Luan felt that was a little too absurd.

"Mu En Scarlett, Mr. Ollivanders. Then why did this wand choose me?"

"An excellent question, sir. Wands with unicorn hair cores more readily reflect the essence of magic and are not easily disturbed by other magic.

Willow, meanwhile, is an exceedingly rare wand wood with extraordinary healing power. It is especially suited to advanced nonverbal spells, and it usually chooses wizards with tremendous potential."

Luan did not know whether Ollivanders was telling the truth, and there was still a trace of suspicion in his eyes.

Ollivanders seemed to notice. He gazed steadily into Luan's eyes before speaking again.

"Of course, for someone like you, sir, those who wield Willow Wands often have very long journeys ahead of them."

Sure enough, a wand shop that had stood for more than two thousand years had genuine substance behind it.

Luan did not know whether the man could truly see something, or whether the wand could reveal secrets to him.

Having come here from Xilin, Luan's journey had probably been farther than most people's.

This time, he did not haggle. After paying seven Galleons, Luan accepted the wand box wrapped in brown paper.

By the time he left Ollivanders, it was already afternoon. Looking at a clock hanging outside a shop, Luan realized he had not eaten anything for more than ten hours.

Once he had bought everything, the excitement of exploring the magical world for the first time could no longer suppress his rising hunger.

At an ice cream shop named "Florean," Luan bought wizarding desserts: two Cauldron Cakes and a cup of special ice cream.

This was Luan's reward for himself, because he had saved himself a considerable amount of money that day.

Finally, he bought food for Bouncing at a Magical Creatures shop.

He still had fifty-two Galleons on him, along with fifty pence.

As the sky darkened and some shops prepared to close, Luan left Diagon Alley with the crowd.

Hiding among the crowd was also the safest way he could think of to leave.

After returning beneath the bridge, Luan handed Bouncing a box of dried insects of unknown origin, then eagerly opened his textbooks and began reading.

"Squeak~"

"I bought them especially for you. They must be tasty."

Glancing at Bouncing, who took a bite of dried insect before waving the Magic Wand Toy, Luan began reading The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 beneath the streetlamp.

That day, he had seen many wizards wave their wands and chant spells, after which amazing things would happen. It made him yearn for it deeply.

Luan took out his own mysterious Willow Wand and gave it a wave, then stammered through an incantation.

Nothing happened.

September 1st. The weather was still sunny.

Although his ticket was for eleven o'clock, and the bridge beneath which Luan lived was very close to King's Cross Station, he still got up early.

Taking the only Knight Sculpture he had kept, he went to the zoo staff cafeteria. He wanted to thank the cook who had looked after him for two months.

At the base of the sculpture, Luan carved the plump cook's name.

"To Uncle Gaia."

"Look! Amy, it's simply exquisite. I'm going to keep it as a collectible."

The plump cook proudly waved the wooden carving in his hand at his colleagues before turning to Luan.

"Child, I don't think you'll mind a delicious steak from Scotland."

Luan ate the first steak of his life. It marked the end of the small bond he had shared with this place over the past three months.

He did not know when he would return, so he did not want to leave behind any regrets here.