Next was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The shop was spacious and bright, with the fresh scent of new fabric lingering in the air. A short, plump woman with a beaming smile, dressed in purple robes, warmly welcomed them.
"New Hogwarts students? Oh, dears, quickly, stand on the stools!" Madam Malkin moved briskly, directing Lynn and Hermione onto separate low stools. Two "Sprites," each only half a person tall and wearing tiny work aprons while holding pins and measuring tapes, immediately hurried over and began taking their measurements.
The measuring tapes floated through the air on their own, circling their bodies and measuring them from every angle. Every now and then, the tips lightly poked their arms or waists, telling them to stand straight or raise their hands. Hermione was rather ticklish. When one poked her waist, she could not help letting out a little giggle, then quickly covered her mouth, her face flushing bright red. Lynn, meanwhile, looked quite relaxed as he watched himself in the mirror and experienced the convenience of the magical world.
"All done, dears!" Madam Malkin recorded their measurements. "Your school robes will be delivered to the Hogwarts Express by owl within a week. Now, do you need anything else? Everyday robes, perhaps? Or a lovely little cloak?" She smiled at Hermione.
Hermione hurriedly shook her head. "No, thank you, Madam!" Only school robes were required on the list. She instinctively touched the small pocket holding her money—although Lynn had said his money was enough to cover both their necessities, she still did not want to spend more of it.
However, Lynn had noticed Hermione's gaze lingering on a dark blue cloak on display, its collar embroidered with delicate silver vines. After thinking for a moment, he said to Madam Malkin, "Please make her an everyday robe as well. The color..." He looked at Hermione. "Did you like that dark blue one?"
Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "Lynn! There's no need, I..."
"Consider it a school-entry gift?" Lynn gently interrupted her. "Besides, I want to see you in that color. It should suit you very well." His tone was natural, carrying an unquestionable kind of concern.
Hermione's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and the words of refusal caught in her throat. Looking into Lynn's earnest eyes, then remembering that beautiful dark blue robe, she finally nodded almost imperceptibly, her face red as she softly said, "...Thank you."
Madam Malkin smiled until her eyes narrowed into slits. "Excellent taste! This young lady has such fair skin, dark blue will look gorgeous on her! Leave it to me!"
By the time they left the robe shop, the setting sun had gilded Diagon Alley in a warm golden glow. Hermione hugged her newly bought textbooks, and alongside the satisfaction of having books, her heart now held a touch of sweetness from being so thoughtfully cared for. She secretly glanced at Lynn's profile. The sunset outlined his clear features as he looked toward a somewhat shabby shop at the end of the street, its sign hanging crookedly. A wand was painted on it, with the words beneath: Roland Silverwood - Fine Wandcraft Workshop.
"Last stop," Lynn said, with a trace of barely noticeable anticipation in his voice. "Wands."
When Lynn pushed open the shop door with its brass bell, a scent of aged wood, strange resin, and faint dust rushed toward them. The interior was narrow and crowded. Countless long, slender boxes were stacked from floor to ceiling, crammed into every corner and leaving only a narrow aisle. The lighting was dim, with only a few ancient brass lamps casting hazy yellow halos. Countless tiny motes of dust seemed to drift through the beams of light, filling the place with a mysterious, ancient atmosphere.
Hermione nervously followed behind him, her small hand unconsciously clutching the hem of his clothes again. She could feel a powerful, indescribable... energy pervading the shop. The Moon White Stone pendant at her chest suddenly grew unusually warm, even trembling faintly. The Star Stone on Lynn's chest did the same.
A figure silently emerged from behind the mountain of wand boxes. It was an old man, extraordinarily thin, dressed in a faded dark gray robe. His sparse silver-white hair was combed meticulously. His face was covered in wrinkles like dried tree bark, but his eyes were exceptionally bright and sharp, a nearly transparent pale gray. They focused on Lynn and Hermione like searchlights, examining them with a penetrating gaze. His eyes paused for a moment on the faintly glowing pendants at their chests, and a flicker of surprise flashed through them.
"Good afternoon." The old man's voice was unexpectedly clear and gentle, carrying a strange sense of rhythm, like the tolling of an ancient bell. "A young gentleman bearing the Star Mark, and a young lady whose heart is as pure as moonlight. Welcome to Silverwood's Domain. I am Roland Silverwood." He gave a slight bow, his movements possessing an old-fashioned elegance.
Lynn and Hermione were both stunned. This wandmaker seemed to have recognized the unusual nature of their stones at a glance. He had called this place Silverwood's Domain rather than merely a shop.
Mr. Silverwood's gaze fell first on Hermione. His pale gray eyes seemed able to see through her soul. "Then the young lady first. Please extend your dominant hand."
Hermione nervously glanced at Lynn. Only after receiving his encouraging look did she take a deep breath and cautiously hold out her right hand.
Mr. Silverwood turned around and, as nimble as a panther slipping into the shadows, darted between the piles of boxes in search of something. His fingers brushed over the boxes as though listening to their whispers. Soon, he returned carrying a long, slender box wrapped in faded dark purple velvet.
"Try this." He opened the box and took out a wand. It was a warm ivory white, with naturally elegant spiraling patterns like the fossil of some vine. The wand was slim and smooth, about nine and a half inches long, with a small ring of tiny transparent gemstones at the handle, like congealed dew. "Moonlight Grapevine Wood, Unicorn Hair core, nine and a half inches, moderately flexible."
Hermione carefully accepted the wand. The instant her fingertips touched its surface—
Hum!
The low hum did not come from the air, but seemed to resound directly inside both her and Lynn's minds! Hermione felt a warm, pure force, like crisp moonlight, surge from the wand into her arm and spread through her entire body, making her shiver involuntarily! At the same time, the Moon White Stone pendant on her chest burst forth with a bright but non-dazzling milky white light. The glow flowed as though tangible, instantly enveloping the entire wand! Even more astonishingly, the Star Stone on Lynn's chest seemed to awaken as well, lighting up with a deep blue glow. The two lights—milky white and deep blue—shone against each other in the cramped space, as though silently resonating!
Mr. Silverwood's pale gray eyes suddenly brightened as though he had discovered a priceless treasure. He stared intently at the two intertwining lights and murmured in amazement, "Extraordinary... such powerful compatibility and... a sign of symbiosis?"
Hermione felt as though the wand in her hand had become part of her body. An indescribable sense of comfort and power welled up within her. She unconsciously gave it a light wave.
Puff!
No sparks or smoke came from the wand's tip. Instead, a great mass of soft, pure silver motes suddenly blossomed forth! Like fireflies on a summer night, they floated and circled lightly through the dim shop, illuminating countless dust-covered wand boxes, Hermione's delighted little face, and the equally bright light in Lynn's eyes. The motes lingered for more than ten seconds before slowly dispersing like stardust.
"Perfect!" Mr. Silverwood's voice held undisguised admiration. "The resonance between moonlight and a pure heart! This is the one!"
Hermione held the wand as though she could not bear to part with it, feeling its gentle texture and the marvelous power flowing through her body. She looked at Lynn, her eyes full of irrepressible excitement and joy, her little face flushed from exhilaration.
"Your turn, young Son of Stars." Mr. Silverwood turned to Lynn, his pale gray eyes brimming with anticipation and curiosity. "Please extend your hand."
Lynn stepped forward and held out his right hand. Mr. Silverwood's gaze was sharp as a blade as he carefully examined his palm and the joints of his fingers, as though deciphering some kind of code. Then he vanished once more into the forest of wands.
This time, he returned even faster. In his hands was an extremely ancient-looking box. The box itself was made from a deep, nearly black wood, its surface without any decoration, bearing only the profound luster left by time. He opened it to reveal dark blue velvet lining.
The wand he took out was an icy silver-gray throughout. Its wood grain was exceptionally dense and deep, like a starry sky frozen in a frigid night, covered in incredibly fine, naturally formed starburst patterns. The wand was straight and sturdy, slightly longer at around eleven inches. Set into its handle was a deep blue gemstone the size of a grain of rice, its color as profound as a solidified universe, with what seemed to be swirling nebulae within, echoing the Star Stone on Lynn's chest from afar.
"Star-patterned Fir Wood, Phoenix Feather core, eleven inches, powerful yet restrained." Mr. Silverwood's voice carried an almost reverent solemnity.
Lynn reached out, his fingertips touching the wand's surface, cold as a starry night.
Boom!
This time, it was not a hum, but a tremor that seemed to rise from the depths of his soul! A vast, profound torrent of power, like the birth of the universe, instantly poured into Lynn's body! The Star Stone on his chest erupted with an unprecedentedly dazzling deep blue radiance. Like burning flames, it instantly wrapped around the entire wand! The natural starburst patterns on the Star-patterned Fir Wood wand suddenly lit up under the blue glow, as though coming alive! At the same time, the Moonlight Grapevine Wand in Hermione's hand once again shone with a soft milky white light. The two radiances—deep blue and milky white—instantly intertwined like two surging Milky Ways, colliding, twisting, and resonating fiercely within the cramped space! Every mountain of wand boxes throughout the shop seemed to awaken beneath this power, giving off faint hums and tremors!
Mr. Silverwood's lips trembled with excitement. "Star Origin! True Star Origin! And... twin radiance?! Merlin's beard..." He stared without blinking at the intertwined light.
Lynn felt as though the wand in his hand had become an extension of his limbs. That cold, powerful force resonated perfectly with something inside him. There was not the slightest rejection, only a seamless compatibility like water blending with milk. With a thought, without deliberately waving it, he simply lifted the wand slightly.
Crackle!
A slender, condensed arc of deep blue electricity, like a streak tearing across the night sky, shot from the wand's tip! It was not an attacking bolt of lightning. It leaped nimbly through the air, winding and darting about, leaving fleeting yet beautiful blue trails behind it, as though writing mysterious Star Runes in the dim shop! The arc lasted several seconds before silently dispersing into the air, leaving only a faint scent of ozone and lingering blue motes of light throughout the room, like the embers of stars.
The shop fell silent, with only the faint residual humming of countless wand boxes.
Mr. Silverwood took a long, deep breath. He looked at Lynn, then at the wand in his hand, now calm but seemingly containing an endless starry sky. Finally, his gaze swept over Hermione, who was also holding her wand with shock filling her eyes, and her wand that gave off the warm aura of moonlight.
"Fates intertwined, twin stars shining..." the old man muttered. His pale gray eyes were filled with an inscrutable, complicated light, which eventually turned into a long sigh and barely restrained excitement. "Good! Good! Good! They chose you! Remember, the wand chooses the wizard! Treat them well!"
After paying—both wands had been quite expensive—Lynn and Hermione stepped out of Roland Silverwood's wand shop. The evening glow had already dyed the whole of Diagon Alley a warm orange-red. Each held their own wand, with the faintly warm stones resting against their chests. Their hearts were full of indescribable excitement and a strange sense of connection. The soul-shaking resonance within the shop seemed to have formed an invisible bond between them.
"Your wand... is beautiful," Hermione said sincerely as she looked at the silver-gray wand in Lynn's hand, set with a deep blue gemstone.
"So is yours." Lynn smiled, his gaze falling on the warm Moonlight Grapevine Wand in her hand. "They... seem to get along very well." His words carried another meaning.
Hermione's cheeks took on the blush of the sunset. She lowered her head to look at her wand, gently stroking its surface as she felt that wonderful connection. A sweet curve unconsciously appeared on her lips. The Moon White Stone on her chest seemed to respond with a wave of warmth.
The two walked side by side toward the ice cream shop where they had arranged to meet. The setting sun stretched their shadows long, and the newly acquired wands in their hands gleamed with restrained, mysterious luster in the afterglow. Star and moon white, within the ancient alleyway, had completed their most important pact with the magical world, quietly illuminating a new chapter in each other's lives, one filled with infinite possibilities.
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