An Invitation from Aunt

Jon followed his mother into the wand shop. A mother and daughter were just leaving, evidently having come to choose a wand for school as well. Mrs. Smith and the witch mother nodded to each other, though they did not know one another.

The young witch attending the shop led Mrs. Smith to a bench at the side to wait, then guided Jon to a space at the back of the hall, separated by curtains.

The renowned wandmaker, Mr. Ollivander, was standing on a ladder organizing wands. The witch attendant softly told Jon to wait a moment before withdrawing.

Jon quietly watched the slight Mr. Ollivander drift up and down the ladder. Looking at the "walls" formed by neatly stacked narrow cardboard boxes, he suddenly recalled a description from the Original Work.

He softly recited it: "The dust and silence here seemed to conceal mysterious magic."

That was it! Jon could not have come up with such a straightforward yet elegant description, but that did not stop him from remembering the words from the book.

"Oh, what a novel way of putting it." At some point, Mr. Ollivander had climbed down from the ladder and come before Jon. "Good afternoon."

"Oh, hello. You're Mr. Ollivander, aren't you?"

Jon spoke somewhat nervously.

"Oh, yes, yes. No need to be nervous."

Mr. Ollivander said, "I knew I would be seeing you soon, Jon Smith. There was never any doubt. Your eyes are almost exactly like your mother's. It feels like only yesterday that she came here to buy her first wand..."

Such familiar lines.

Jon strongly suspected that Mr. Ollivander said this to every wizard who came here to buy a wand, but he was not foolish enough to expose it. He simply smiled along.

"All right, Mr. Smith, come here. Let me see." Ollivander coughed twice and picked something up from the workbench. "Which hand do you use?"

"Oh, I'm used to using my right hand."

Jon raised his hand and let Ollivander take his measurements: first from shoulder to fingertip, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and finally his head circumference. The complicated process even made Jon suspect that Ollivander intended to make him a magical wax figure.

"Mr. Smith, try this one. Cherry Wood and Unicorn Tail Hair, thirteen inches long."

Once the measurements were complete, Mr. Ollivander waved a hand, and one of the boxes on the ceiling flew into his hand by itself. He took the wand from inside.

Jon picked up the slender wand and gave it a wave. As expected, nothing happened.

That was perfectly normal. A wizard's wand was never chosen at the first try. Though he did not know whether this was one of Mr. Ollivander's sales tactics.

"Oh, perhaps try this one. Willow Wood, Dragon Heartstring, eleven inches long."

Jon cooperatively continued choosing wands with Mr. Ollivander. After all, he knew nothing about wands and had no other option.

"I like picky customers, but it's all right. I can always find one here—oh, try this."

Ollivander lightly raised his hand, and a box flew over from the edge of the wall of wands. He took out the wand and handed it to Jon. "Vine Wood, Unicorn Hair, nine and three-quarters inches long. Rather soft, with good flexibility."

Jon accepted the wand and gave it a light flick. Golden sparks burst from its tip, blooming like fireworks.

"That's the one. Excellent."

Mr. Ollivander happily wrapped the wand in silk and placed it in a wooden case. Smiling at Jon, he said, "What a marvelous combination. You must be a Young Wizard with extraordinary ambition and vision. I wish you a pleasant time studying at Hogwarts."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Jon took the wooden case, just as the sound of his mother's heels clicking against the bluestone floor reached his ears.

The instant the curtain was drawn aside, Mr. Ollivander's voice rang out as well.

"That will be six Galleons. Thank you for your patronage."

After leaving Ollivanders Wand Shop, picking up their clothes from the clothing store, and choosing a silver-gray Owl, their trip to Diagon Alley was complete.

They had spent too long at the wand shop, and by the time mother and son returned home, it was already noon.

After putting his things back in his room, Jon came downstairs again and happened to see two unfamiliar Owls standing in the living room.

"Did something new arrive?"

Jon stepped forward and opened one of the packages. Inside were two books: Magical Theory and Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, the two books Mrs. Smith had missed when ordering them earlier.

The other Owl had delivered a letter addressed to Lin Smith. Following the principle that there were no secrets between mother and son, Jon opened it.

Dear little sister:

I heard that my adorable nephew received his acceptance letter from Hogwarts. Mother and I are both overjoyed. Since it's the weekend, would your family be able to come to the manor for dinner before supper? Mother and I both miss our little Young Wizard very much.

P.S. To my dear nephew Jon, your cousin sends her regards.

Yours dearly—May Young

It was a family letter. Jon had always liked this aunt of his, who had remained gentle and kind despite having gone through an unhappy marriage. He was also very familiar with the manor mentioned in the letter, which belonged to his maternal grandmother.

After all, he had lived there for a year as a child. His maternal grandmother, Carolina Young, was a rather kindly old witch who looked very much like his maternal grandmother from his previous life.

Perhaps old people everywhere looked more or less the same. Jon called out a few times and briefly explained the contents of the letter to Mrs. Smith, who instructed him to call his father and tell him about it.

Love Smith seemed very excited at the prospect of going to his mother-in-law's home. He readily agreed and said he would come home early today before hanging up.

Jon put down the phone and turned to see his mother standing on the Stairs, waving her wand to send books, a Cauldron, and other items into his room. These things took up quite a bit of space, and a low "wall" soon rose in Jon's room.

Of course, he had tucked his Vine Wood wand into the sleeve of his shirt rather than mixing it in with those school supplies.

This was the most important first step in his exploration of the magical world. Naturally, he could not lump it together with those things.

"Don't you want to change into your robes? We're going to your maternal grandmother's house soon."

Jon shook his head and declined his mother's suggestion, saying that he was fine as he was. He did not find wizarding robes particularly convenient. Their loose fit could hold more things, but it also restricted mobility to some extent. At least at home, Jon still preferred casual clothes.