September 1st

"Proud, extreme, explosive..."

Sitting on the steps outside Ollivanders Wand Shop beneath the bright sunlight, Vaughn examined the brand-new Elder Wand in his hand.

Ollivander's murmured words from ten minutes ago still rang in his ears.

"Dragon Heartstring rejects almost no form of Magic, Mr. Vaughn Weasley. Unlike Unicorn hair, it does not resist evil, nor is it as conventional as Phoenix Tail Feather. It can help you bring any spell closer to perfection—powerful and dazzling."

"But I must say, it is also the most prone to accidents among all wand core materials, especially when combined with elder—this wand wood has an extreme temperament. From the moment it is born, it yearns for the pinnacle."

"The Wizarding world has long circulated the claim that an Elder Wand brings misfortune. Speaking from personal experience, I can certainly say that makes no sense, but the truth is, if one day your Destiny is no longer unique, no longer powerful, or if you are defeated by someone..."

"Then it is very likely to abandon you!"

"You must have heard the story of the Elder Wand, haven't you? Though The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a fairy tale book, it also illustrates the nature of the Elder Wand—it has never truly belonged to anyone!"

Vaughn gently ran his fingers over the Wand. Elder's distinctive knotted texture was smooth and exceptionally comfortable to hold.

He could feel it trembling with delight, almost impatiently responding to his Magic Power!

"So, will you abandon me?"

Vaughn murmured. Naturally, the Wand did not possess the intelligence to answer him.

"Meow!"

Guoguo Tea, whose head rested on Vaughn's lap, lifted its head and gave a soft cry when it heard him speak. It licked his chin, seemingly trying to comfort him.

Vaughn smiled and scratched through Guoguo Tea's thick fur.

He let the enormous cat nuzzle against him in his arms, purring contentedly.

How could he possibly worry about his Wand betraying him?

With his personality, none of the conditions Ollivander had mentioned would ever happen.

His Destiny would no longer be unique... unless there was another Transmigrator in this world!

No longer powerful... then he would simply remain powerful forever!

Defeated by someone... impossible!

Even after mentioning the story of the Elder Wand, the cunning Ollivander had hidden behind the guise of a fairy tale.

But Vaughn knew that the Elder Wand truly existed. It had once aided Grindelwald in stirring up the world, then remained obedient in Dumbledore's hands for decades. He had never seen it actively abandon any of its owners.

In the end, whether it was Grindelwald's defeat or Dumbledore's death, both had been choices made by the Wizards themselves.

A Wand was ultimately just an auxiliary tool!

"Since you crave power, then in the Future, I'll use you to compete with whoever holds the Elder Wand!"

With that thought, Vaughn smiled and tucked the Wand into the wand holster at his waist.

Inside Ollivanders behind him, the crackling sounds of wand testing continued for a while longer. At last, the door opened, and Ron emerged flushed with excitement, holding up a new Wand as he strode out with his head high and chest puffed out.

"Fourteen inches, willow wood, Unicorn hair—brilliant!" Ron boasted loudly. "I made thousands of boxes float inside just now. Too bad you didn't see it, Vaughn!"

Looking so smug, he had completely forgotten that more than ten minutes earlier, he had been shrieking incoherently and had practically needed his mother to drag him into the shop.

Now that he finally had something new in his hands instead of another one of his brothers' old things, the boy was practically bursting with pride!

Then he heard Vaughn say with a smile, "Did you buy a wand case?"

"..." Ron's proud smile froze on his face.

"It's very delicate. You'll need maintenance oils too. A full set costs at least several dozen Sickles."

"..." His shoulders began to slump involuntarily.

"Tsk, don't people exchange gifts on Halloween? Seems some people won't need one anymore?" Vaughn continued with a smile.

Ron sniffled, and his eyes began to glisten with tears. The remnants of his stubbornness wanted him to straighten his chest and shout back... but Halloween presents...

Damn it!

It felt like he had fallen into a trap!

Like all middle-aged women, Molly was always enthusiastic about dragging people into small talk. By the time she had finally chatted enough with Ollivander and stepped out of the shop, their shopping trip to Diagon Alley was finally complete.

Well, perhaps Ron had not enjoyed it quite so much.

They returned to The Burrow through the Fireplace. By the afternoon, the things they had bought were delivered one after another by Owls, including Guoguo Tea, which had been left in their care. It could not travel through the Fireplace.

Besides all of Vaughn's school supplies, there were also all kinds of sweets he had bought for Ginny.

The little girl gave Vaughn a fierce kiss, then took the sweets to share with Guoguo Tea.

From the moment she first saw Guoguo Tea, she had fallen in love with the "little kitty." Especially after Guoguo Tea caught Vaughn's scent on her and rubbed against her, Ginny practically wanted to cling to Guoguo Tea as she led it all around the house, confirming its new territory.

This made Ron even more miserable. He practically hid in his room all day, not daring to let Scabbers leave.

But in the early hours of the next morning, Guoguo Tea still caught Scabbers on the second-floor windowsill.

For some reason, the mouse had opened Ron's bedroom window. Several cookies were curled up in its tail, and it seemed to be preparing to run away from home.

Unfortunately, a Stunning Charm came flying down from overhead. The cunning little mouse became Guoguo Tea's toy without any resistance.

When Ron, who had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, discovered that Scabbers was missing and hurriedly found them, a large patch of Scabbers's fur had been torn off. The whole mouse had nearly died. Ron broke down in terrified tears, making a huge fuss as he tried to drive Guoguo Tea away, only for Ginny to pummel him wildly with her little legs.

After that, he nailed shut every window in his room and begged Arthur to make him a mouse cage. From then on, he kept Scabbers hidden away deep in his room.

Whenever Vaughn passed the fourth floor with Guoguo Tea, he could see Ron hiding behind his bedroom door, opening it just a crack and watching them warily.

Honestly, he looked pretty creepy...

Only during Vaughn's potion-brewing time every half month, when he stayed in the attic for several days without coming out and Guoguo Tea accompanied him, did those days become Ron's happiest.

Vaughn did not pay much attention to Scabbers. As long as he made sure it did not escape, that was enough.

While waiting for school to begin, Vaughn's life continued as usual. He brewed potions once every half month and practiced spells in his spare time—the spells in the textbooks, which he had gradually learned since the age of eight using his brothers' old books and old Wands.

His proficiency varied greatly. Without a teacher to guide him through the tricks, it was difficult to make much progress through self-study alone.

Arthur and Molly were not people he could count on. They had work and housework to deal with and hardly any time. As for his brothers... Percy was rather selfish, so he should not dream of Percy setting aside his own studies to tutor his younger brother.

Fred and George were even less worth mentioning. Their spellcasting was a complete mess. Vaughn remembered that in his previous life's novels, the Twins, who were clearly two years older than Harry Potter, still needed Harry to teach them the Disarming Charm...

Ridiculous!

Time passed, and at last, September 1st arrived!