Mithril Corridor and the First Blooming Radiance (Part 2)

Next was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The shop was spacious and bright, the air carrying the fresh scent of new fabric. A plump, beaming witch in purple robes greeted them warmly.

"First-years at Hogwarts? Oh, dears, hop up on the stools!" Madam Malkin moved briskly, directing Lynn and Hermione onto two low stools. Two half-sized creatures in tiny work aprons, carrying pins and measuring tapes—the "sprites" common to Diagon Alley's magical services, with round ears, large eyes, and skin like smooth oak, quick and nimble—scampered over and began taking their measurements.

The tape measures flew through the air on their own, winding around their bodies, measuring up and down, occasionally poking their arms or sides with the tip to signal them to stand straight or raise a hand. Hermione was a bit ticklish; when the tape poked her side, she couldn't help but let out a "pfft" of laughter, then quickly covered her mouth, her small face flushing red. Lynn, by contrast, looked relaxed, watching himself in the mirror and enjoying the convenience of the magical world.

"All set, dears!" Madam Malkin noted down the measurements. "Your school robes will be delivered by owl to the Hogwarts Express within a week. Now, anything else? Perhaps everyday robes? Or a nice little cloak?" She smiled warmly at Hermione.

Hermione quickly shook her head. "No, thank you, ma'am!" The list only required school robes. She instinctively touched the small pouch holding her money—though Lynn had said his funds were enough for both their essentials, she didn't want to spend his money unnecessarily.

But Lynn had noticed Hermione's lingering gaze on a deep blue cloak displayed in the shop, its collar embroidered with delicate silver vines. He thought for a moment, then said to Madam Malkin, "Please make her an everyday robe as well. The color..." He looked at Hermione. "Did you like that deep blue one?"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "Lynn! No, I..."

"Consider it an admission gift?" Lynn interrupted gently. "Besides, I think that color would suit you." His tone was natural, carrying an undeniable warmth.

Hermione's heart skipped a beat. The refusal caught in her throat. She looked at Lynn's earnest eyes, then thought of the beautiful deep blue robe. Finally, blushing, she gave an almost imperceptible nod and whispered, "...Thank you."

Madam Malkin's eyes crinkled into slits with her smile. "Excellent taste! The young miss has fair skin—deep blue will look lovely! Leave it to me!"

As they left the robe shop, the setting sun had gilded Diagon Alley with a warm golden edge. Hermione hugged her new textbooks, feeling not just the satisfaction of the books but also a sweetness from being thoughtfully cared for. She stole a glance at Lynn's profile; the sunset light traced his clear features. He was looking up at a shop at the end of the street that seemed a bit shabby, its sign hanging crookedly—on it was painted a wand, with the words below: Roland Silverwood – Fine Wand Crafting.

"Last stop," Lynn said, a hint of barely perceptible anticipation in his voice. "Wands."

When Lynn pushed open the shop door hung with a brass bell, a scent mixing aged wood, strange resins, and faint dust wafted out. The interior was long and cramped, with countless narrow boxes stacked from floor to ceiling, filling every corner and leaving only a narrow aisle. The light was dim, with only a few ancient copper lamps casting a hazy glow. Countless tiny dust motes danced in the light beams, filling the air with a mysterious, ancient atmosphere.

Hermione followed nervously behind him, her small hand instinctively grabbing his sleeve again. She could feel a powerful, indescribable... energy permeating the shop. The Moon White Stone pendant on her chest suddenly grew unusually warm, even vibrating slightly. The Star Stone on Lynn's chest did the same.

A figure emerged silently from behind a mountain of wand boxes. It was an old man, extremely thin, wearing a faded, deep gray robe, with sparse silver-white hair combed neatly. His face was lined like dried bark, but his eyes were exceptionally bright and sharp—a nearly transparent pale gray. They now focused like searchlights, keen and penetrating, on Lynn and Hermione, pausing briefly on their faintly glowing pendants, a flicker of barely perceptible surprise in his gaze.

"Good afternoon," the old man's voice was unexpectedly clear and gentle, with a strange rhythmic quality, like the tolling of an ancient bell. "A young sir bearing the Star Mark, and a young lady with a heart as pure as moonlight. Welcome to Silverwood's Domain. I am Roland Silverwood." He gave a slight bow, his movements carrying an old-fashioned elegance.

Lynn and Hermione were both stunned. This wandmaker seemed to have seen through the special nature of their stones at a glance? He called this place "Silverwood's Domain," not just a shop.

Silverwood's gaze first fell on Hermione, his pale gray eyes seeming to see through her soul. "Then, the young lady first. Please extend your dominant hand."

Hermione glanced nervously at Lynn, and after receiving an encouraging look from him, took a deep breath and cautiously extended her right hand.

Silverwood turned, moving with the agility of a panther melting into shadows, weaving through the piled boxes. His fingers brushed over them as if listening to their whispers. Soon, he returned with a long, narrow box wrapped in faded, deep purple velvet.

"Try this," he said, opening the box to reveal a wand. The material was a warm ivory white, with natural, elegant spiral patterns like fossilized vines. The wand was slender and smooth, about nine and a half inches long, with a grip set with a ring of tiny, transparent gems like condensed dewdrops. "Moonlight Grapevine Wood, Unicorn Hair core, nine and a half inches, reasonably supple."

Hermitage carefully took the wand. The moment her fingertips touched it—

Hum!

A low hum didn't come from the air but seemed to ring directly in her and Lynn's minds! Hermione felt a warm, pure power, like clear moonlight, surge from the wand into her arm, flowing through her whole body, making her involuntarily shiver! At the same time, the Moon White Stone pendant on her chest burst into a bright but not blinding milky white light. The light flowed like liquid, instantly enveloping the entire wand! Even more astonishingly, the Star Stone on Lynn's chest seemed awakened, its deep blue light flaring in response. The two lights—milky white and deep blue—shone together in the cramped space, as if resonating silently!

Silverwood's pale gray eyes lit up as if he had discovered a rare treasure. He stared intently at the two merging glows, murmuring in awe, "Remarkable... such a strong affinity and... a sign of symbiosis?"

Hermione felt as if the wand had become part of her body, an indescribable comfort and power welling up. She instinctively gave it a light flick.

Pfft!

Instead of sparks or smoke, the wand tip burst into a large cluster of soft, pure silver light specks! The specks, like summer fireflies, danced lightly in the dim shop, swirling and illuminating countless dusty wand boxes, as well as Hermione's delighted face and the equally bright light in Lynn's eyes. The specks lasted for over ten seconds before slowly fading like stardust.

"Perfect!" Silverwood's voice held undisguised admiration. "The resonance of moonlight and a pure heart! This is the one!"

Hermione clutched the wand, reluctant to let it go, feeling its warm texture and the wondrous power flowing within her. She looked at Lynn, her eyes brimming with excitement and joy, her face flushed with exhilaration.

"Your turn, young Son of Stars." Silverwood turned to Lynn, his pale gray eyes full of expectation and curiosity. "Please extend your hand."

Lynn stepped forward and extended his right hand. Silverwood's gaze was sharp as a blade, carefully examining his palm and finger joints, as if deciphering some code. Then he disappeared again into the forest of wands.

This time, he returned faster. He held an extremely ancient-looking box, made of a deep, almost black wood, with no ornamentation on its surface, only the deep luster of age. He opened it, revealing a lining of deep blue velvet.

The wand he took out was a cold silver-gray, its wood grain extremely dense and deep, like a frozen winter night sky, covered in extremely fine, naturally formed star-ray patterns. The wand was straight and resilient, slightly longer, about eleven inches, with a grip set with a grain-sized, deep blue gem whose interior seemed to have rotating nebulae, echoing Lynn's Star Stone.

"Star-patterned Fir Wood, Phoenix Feather core, eleven inches, powerful yet restrained." Silverwood's voice carried an almost reverent solemnity.

Lynn reached out, his fingertip touching the cold, starry-night surface of the wand.

Boom!

This time, it wasn't a hum but a vibration from the depths of the soul! A vast, profound power, like the dawn of the universe, surged into Lynn's body! The Star Stone on his chest erupted with unprecedented, brilliant deep blue light, the light burning like flames, instantly enveloping the entire wand! The natural star-ray patterns on the Star-patterned Fir Wood lit up under the blue glow, as if coming alive! At the same time, the Moonlight Grapevine Wand in Hermione's hand also glowed with soft milky white light. The two lights—deep blue and milky white—intertwined instantly, like two surging rivers of stars, colliding, tangling, and resonating fiercely in the cramped space! The countless wand boxes piled throughout the shop seemed awakened by this power, emitting faint hums and vibrations!

Silverwood's lips trembled with excitement. "Star Origin! True Star Origin! And... Twin Radiance?! Merlin's beard..." He stared unblinkingly at the two merging glows.

Lynn felt the wand become an extension of his limb. That cold, powerful force resonated perfectly with something inside him, with no resistance, only a seamless fusion. He moved his mind slightly, not deliberately flicking, but simply lifting the wand gently.

Crackle!

A thin, condensed, deep blue arc, like lightning tearing through the night sky, shot from the wand tip! The arc wasn't an attacking bolt; it leaped nimbly, weaving through the air, leaving brief, beautiful blue trails, as if writing mysterious Star Runes in the dim shop. The arc lasted a few seconds before silently dissipating, leaving only a faint smell of ozone and the lingering blue light dust, like star embers, in the room.

The shop fell into silence, broken only by the residual faint hums of countless wand boxes.

Silverwood took a long, deep breath, looking at Lynn, then at the wand in his hand that had returned to calm but seemed to hold endless starry skies. Finally, his gaze swept over Hermione, who also held her wand, her eyes full of awe, and her wand radiating a warm, moonlit aura.

"Fates intertwined, twin stars shining..." the old man murmured to himself, his pale gray eyes filled with complex, unreadable light, finally turning into a long sigh and barely contained excitement. "Good! Good! Good! They have chosen you! Remember, the wand chooses the wizard! Treat them well!"

After paying—the prices for both wands were considerable—Lynn and Hermione stepped out of Roland Silverwood's Fine Wand Crafting shop. The sunset's afterglow had dyed the entire Diagon Alley a warm orange-red. Each held their own wand, their chests pressed against the slightly warm stones, their hearts filled with indescribable excitement and a strange sense of connection. The soul-shaking resonance in the shop seemed to have forged an invisible bond between them.

"Your wand... it's beautiful," Hermione said sincerely, looking at Lynn's silver-gray wand set with the deep blue gem.

"Yours too," Lynn smiled, his gaze falling on her warm Moonlight Grapevine Wand. "They... seem to get along well." He said meaningfully.

Hermione's cheeks flushed with the sunset's red. She looked down at her wand, her fingers gently stroking its surface, feeling that wondrous connection, the corners of her mouth unconsciously lifting into a sweet curve. The Moon White Stone on her chest seemed to respond with a wave of warmth.

The two walked side by side toward the agreed-upon ice cream shop. The sunset stretched their shadows long, and the newly acquired wands in their hands shimmered with a restrained, mysterious luster in the afterglow. Stars and moonlight, in the ancient alley, had completed their most important covenant with the magical world, and quietly lit a new chapter in each other's lives, full of infinite possibilities.