It took Ollivander quite a while to calm down again.
"Hold out your arm, Cypher. I need to take your measurements."
It was obvious that solving a major problem had made Ollivander's way of addressing Cypher much less distant.
He personally took Cypher's measurements, from shoulder to fingertip, from shoulder to floor...
Throughout the process, he chattered on in a professional tone. "Every Ollivander wand contains powerful magical substances. That is the essence of them. Every wand is unique. We use unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers, Dragon Heartstring..."
Cypher listened patiently.
But in the end, Iris watched Cypher being posed like a puppet, his expression gradually stiffening.
She could not help laughing from the side, earning a glare from Cypher.
"A customer with great compatibility. This feels like another huge project."
With that, Ollivander put down his measuring tape and other tools.
He raised a hand and summoned wand after wand.
Then he placed them into Cypher's hand one by one.
Buzz—
The wand in Cypher's hand bloomed with a milky white glow.
"A mediocre response—"
Without even looking, Ollivander snatched it away.
"Holy wood, phoenix feather, eleven inches..."
Buzz—
Another flash of light came from the wand in Cypher's hand.
"No, no!"
Ollivander shook his head and tossed the wand aside.
"Unicorn hair, walnut wood, thirteen inches..."
"No..."
The wands passed through Cypher's hands as though on an assembly line, emitting a milky white glow before Ollivander threw them back into their wooden cases.
It was as if a quality inspector were checking goods leaving a warehouse, letting them pass only if they met the standard.
Second by second, time passed. As the two of them became increasingly practiced with their movements,
the wooden cases on the shelves visibly dwindled.
By the time the last wand passed through Cypher's palm,
Ollivander reached back and forth through the air several times.
Only then did he realize that Cypher had tried every wand in the shop.
Cypher waited for a long while before lifting his head in confusion.
He and the newly recovered Ollivander stared wide-eyed at each other.
At last, Cypher understood what had happened.
"Mr. Ollivander, how about I just pick one at random?"
Cypher asked tentatively.
Ollivander's face twitched continuously. He looked as though he were about to fly into a rage.
Cypher was a little afraid that the haggard wizard might collapse right in front of him.
"Oh, oh? Oh!?"
Ollivander realized that the two young wizards he had encountered today had brought him one shock after another.
He had only just sent off a child with terrifyingly powerful magic, and now another young wizard had arrived, one who received only mediocre reactions from every wand.
From now on, he probably would not be shocked by any picky customer he encountered.
Irritably scratching his hair, he knew that a new student could not attend school without a wand.
Ollivander could only compromise.
"Fine, Cypher. Do you have any requirements for your wand? I have always emphasized that the wand chooses the wizard."
Cypher pretended not to hear Ollivander mutter the last sentence under his breath.
After pondering for a moment, he said,
"Sir, I hope for a wand suited to Silent Spells and capable of bearing a large amount of magical output."
"Silent Spells and powerful magic? Cypher, your ambition is not small! In this world, you need to restrain yourself. Guiding your growth is the duty of Hogwarts professors. I am merely a wand-selling businessman, so I will not say much more."
After answering Cypher, Ollivander walked over to the wand rack.
"Let me see... I remember we tested it during the last few rounds. Aha, this is the one!"
Ollivander took an entirely black wand from a wooden case.
"Blackthorn Wood, Dragon Heartstring, eleven and seven-eighths inches."
He gently stroked the wand's surface with one finger, as though making one final confirmation—or perhaps bidding it farewell.
Reluctantly, he handed it to Cypher.
"Cypher, I am sorry. I was unable to make a wand truly suited to you. Besides, I owe the two of you a favor. Take this wand for free. When I make new wands, I hope you will visit my little shop again."
Upon hearing that, Cypher hurriedly accepted it.
"You are too kind, Mr. Ollivander."
"Mr. Ollivander, do you happen to have any unfinished wands? The kind with only the wand body and no core?"
The moment he finished speaking,
"Hey, boy, are you insulting me? Every wand I sell is a carefully crafted finished product!"
Ollivander said to Cypher, blowing his beard and glaring.
"Uh, you misunderstand."
Cypher raised a hand and gently pressed the air, signaling Ollivander to calm down. "I want to see whether having only the wand body would suit me better."
"You want to make a wand yourself? Fine, I will give you the materials for free, but for such a small favor, I cannot reveal my craft to you."
Ollivander's expression softened slightly, though he still spoke unhappily.
After thinking for a moment, Ollivander went upstairs. Before long, he came back down carrying a piece of Yew Wood.
"Pure Yew Wood, without a core added yet."
"That is wonderful, thank you!"
Ollivander waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing.
Then he turned around and began tidying up the messy shop.
Cypher put away the Yew Wand and looked around for Iris, who had disappeared midway through.
After taking a few steps, he found an elegantly decorated sofa behind a shelf against the wall.
Iris was curled up on it with her eyes closed.
He stopped in front of the sofa.
The girl's chest rose and fell rhythmically.
A ray of dim sunlight shone through the dirty, cracked window onto her. Cypher suddenly felt the urge to protect her until the end of time.
He bit his lip and buried the thought deep inside. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Cypher softly called Iris's name.
Soon, the beautiful girl yawned sleepily and rubbed her eyes. When she saw Cypher standing before her with a wand in hand,
Iris made an exaggerated expression of amazement.
"You finally bought a wand!"
Cypher scratched his head awkwardly and reached out to pull Iris up. When he saw her take out her shoulder bag to pay, Cypher quickly told her what had just happened.
"What? That is not very impressive!"
Iris curled her lip and shouted loudly at Ollivander.
"Boss, if you run your business like this, you will go bankrupt sooner or later!"
"As long as freaks like you do not come around, my business will only get better and better!"
Amid Ollivander's exasperated roar, the two of them quickly fled.
They returned to the outside world.
The sun had already passed its peak. Starving, the two decided to have afternoon tea first.
Although it was Iris's suggestion, and she was covering the entire bill,
Cypher had deep doubts about the food here.
Sure enough, there were fried potatoes, strange stew, and desserts so sweet they were cloying.
Cypher watched Iris eat with great relish, wanting to say something but holding back.
Once school starts, I will show her what real food is.
Cypher quietly made a mental note.
Hogwarts had a "self-service kitchen," provided one could find it.
Buying books, having Wizard Robes tailored, weighing out potion ingredients for Potions class, and so on...
None of it caused any trouble.
"We have bought all the necessities. Ah, no! Cypher, you have to buy an owl!"
Iris stared at the shopping list, thought it over, then said to Cypher.
Cypher had not wanted to buy an owl. Not only did it need to be fed, but it was slow at delivering messages, and its confidentiality was terrible.
But Iris insisted that she wanted to keep in touch with Cypher before school started.
Left with no choice, Cypher chose a lively Snowy Owl.
Before you continue