End of Procurement (Signed! Seeking Collections!)

It took a long time before Ollivander finally calmed down again.

"Raise your arm, Cypher. I need to take your measurements."

It was clear that resolving a major headache had made Ollivander's address toward Cypher less distant.

He personally measured Cypher himself, from shoulder to fingertip, from shoulder to floor...

Throughout the process, he rattled on in a professional tone: "Every Ollivander wand contains powerful magical substances—that is their very essence. Each wand is unique. We use unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers, Dragon Heartstring..."

Cypher listened without showing impatience.

But eventually, Iris saw Cypher being manipulated like a puppet, his expression gradually stiffening.

She couldn't help but laugh from the side, earning a glare from Cypher.

"A very accommodating customer. Feels like another big project."

With that, Ollivander put down his measuring tape and the like.

He raised his hand to summon wands one by one, then shoved them into Cypher's hand, one after another.

Hum~

The wand in Cypher's hand emitted a milky white glow.

"Lukewarm reaction—"

Ollivander didn't even look, directly snatching it away.

"Holly wood, phoenix feather, eleven inches..."

"Hum—"

The wand in Cypher's hand let out another glow.

"No good, no good!"

Ollivander shook his head and tossed the wand aside.

"Unicorn hair, walnut wood, thirteen inches..."

"No good..."

Wands passed through Cypher's hand like an assembly line, emitted a milky white glow, and were thrown back into their wooden cases by Ollivander.

Like a quality inspector checking goods leaving the warehouse—pass inspection, and they're cleared.

Time ticked by, minute after minute, as the two gradually grew more practiced.

The wooden cases on the shelves visibly dwindled.

When the last wand passed through Cypher's hand, Ollivander groped the air back and forth a few times.

Only then did he realize—every single wand here had been tried by Cypher.

Cypher waited a long time, then looked up in confusion.

He stared wide-eyed at Ollivander, who had just snapped back to reality.

Finally, Cypher understood what had happened.

"Mr. Ollivander, how about I just pick one at random?"

Cypher said in a probing tone.

Ollivander's face twitched continuously, as if he was about to fly into a rage.

He was a little afraid this haggard wizard might collapse right in front of him.

"Oh, oh? Oh!?"

Ollivander realized that the two Young Wizards who had appeared today had both given him a shock.

He had just sent off one child with terrifyingly high magical power, and now another had come—a young wizard who had a flat reaction to every single wand.

From now on, he would never be shocked by any picky customer again, would he?

He scratched his hair in irritation. New students couldn't go to school without wands.

Ollivander had no choice but to compromise.

"Fine, Cypher. Do you have any requirements for your wand? I've always emphasized that the wand chooses the wizard."

Cypher pretended not to hear the last sentence Ollivander muttered under his breath.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Sir, I hope this is a wand suited for Silent Spells and capable of carrying a large output of magical power."

"Silent Spells and powerful magic? Cypher, your ambitions are not small! In this world, you need to restrain yourself. Guiding your growth is the duty of the Hogwarts professors. I'm just a wand merchant. I won't say more."

After answering Cypher, Ollivander walked over to the wand shelf.

"Let me look... I remember we tested it in the last few tries. Aha, there it is!"

Ollivander took a pitch-black wand from the wooden case.

"Blackthorn Wood, Dragon Heartstring, eleven and seven-eighths inches."

He gently stroked the wand's surface with one finger, as if making a final confirmation, perhaps bidding it farewell.

With some reluctance, he handed it to Cypher.

"Cypher, I'm sorry. I couldn't make a wand truly suited for you. What's more, I still owe you a favor. This wand is free of charge. When I craft new wands, I hope you'll visit my shop again."

Hearing this, Cypher quickly took it.

"You're too kind, Mr. Ollivander."

"Mr. Ollivander, do you happen to have any semi-finished wands here? Ones with only the shaft and no core?"

No sooner had he spoken.

"Hey, boy, are you insulting me? Every wand I sell here is a meticulously crafted finished product!"

Ollivander bristled, glaring at Cypher.

"Uh, you misunderstand—"

Cypher extended a hand, gently pushing the air to signal Ollivander to calm down. "I wanted to try if just the shaft alone might fit me better."

"You want to make your own wand? Fine, I'll give you the materials for free. But with just this little favor, I can't reveal my craft to you."

Ollivander's expression softened slightly, but he still spoke with displeasure.

After a moment's thought, Ollivander left for the upstairs. Before long, he came back down with a piece of Yew wood.

"Pure Yew wood, no core added yet."

"Excellent! Thank you so much!"

Ollivander waved a hand, indicating it was nothing.

Then he turned to tidy up his cluttered shop.

Cypher put away the Yew wand and scanned the room, searching for Iris, who had disappeared midway.

After taking a few steps, behind a shelf against the wall, there was a sofa with classical decor.

Iris was curled up on it, her eyes closed.

He stopped in front of the sofa.

Before him, the girl's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

A dim ray of sunlight filtered through the dirty, broken window and fell upon her. In Cypher's mind, a thought arose—a desire to protect her until the end of time.

He bit his lip, suppressing the thought deep in his heart. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he softly called Iris's name.

Soon, the beautiful girl yawned drowsily, rubbed her eyes, and saw Cypher standing before her holding a wand.

Iris made an exaggerated expression of amazement.

"You finally got a wand!"

Cypher scratched his head awkwardly, reached out to pull Iris up, and when he saw her take out her bag to pay, he quickly told her what had just happened.

"What's the big deal! It's not even that great!"

Iris pouted and shouted loudly at Ollivander.

"Boss, with business like this, you'll go bankrupt one day!"

"As long as freaks like you don't come around, my business will only get better!"

Amid Ollivander's furious shouts, the two quickly fled the place.

Back outside.

The sun had passed its zenith. Starving, the two decided to have afternoon tea first.

Though it was Iris's suggestion, and she offered to cover the entire cost.

But Cypher had deep doubts about the local cuisine.

Sure enough, looking at the fried potatoes, the strange stew, and the cloyingly sweet desserts.

Cypher watched Iris eating with gusto, hesitating to speak.

"I'll let her see what real food is after school starts,"

Cypher silently noted to himself.

Hogwarts had a 'self-service kitchen'—but you had to find it first.

Buying books, getting custom-fitted wizard robes, weighing potion ingredients for Potions class...

All of these went without a hitch.

"We've bought all the essentials. Ah, no! Cypher, you have to buy an owl!"

Iris stared at the shopping list, thought for a moment, then said to Cypher.

Cypher didn't want to buy an owl at first—it needed to be fed, delivery was slow, and privacy was terrible.

But he couldn't resist Iris's insistence on staying in touch before school started.

Helpless, Cypher picked a lively Snowy Owl.