A Wand Compatible with the Witch Pathway

Chapter 8: A Wand Compatible with the Witch Pathway

Harley took the wand, and light immediately erupted from it.

Ollivander shouted aloud, "Oh, how marvelous! You truly are suited for this wand, suited for the snake-core wand you chose by instinct.

It is truly wondrous. I must make a note of this to conduct some research later."

As he spoke, Ollivander waved his own wand.

A thick notebook and a quill flew out from the deepest part of the shop. Ollivander flipped to a page near the back and began scribbling rapidly.

After a long while, Ollivander remembered he still had a guest and looked up again:

"Thank you very much, Miss Potter. You have provided me with a brand-new line of thought—allowing a wizard to choose a wand core that suits them based on their own intuition.

I have always believed that the wand chooses the wizard, but why shouldn't it be the other way around, with the wizard choosing the wand?"

Harley eventually spent seven Galleons to purchase the wand, and she also received a complimentary wand-care kit from Ollivander.

On the way out, Harley kept examining her wand, a strange glint in her eyes.

Dumbledore, who had been quiet while in the shop, finally spoke:

"Harley, you must protect your wand well. A wand and an owl are arguably a wizard's best companions, so you must cherish them.

You should be especially careful not to admire your new wand while walking, lest you bump into a tree and snap it in two."

Harley nodded sheepishly and carefully tucked the wand away.

It was already noon. After Madam Malkin agreed to have the unfinished robes delivered directly to Harley's home, Harley left her address and politely declined Dumbledore's offer to have lunch together.

Dumbledore did not insist, instead taking Harley back to the Dursley residence, handing her the train ticket to Hogwarts, and then departing.

Seeing that Dumbledore had left the Dursley living room and that the Dursley family had gone out—seemingly with no intention of returning until nightfall—

Harley let out a long sigh of relief, tossed her newly purchased luggage onto the floor of the living room, and collapsed onto the sofa.

It was truly fortunate; the final loophole in Harley's plan had been cleared.

Harley had originally intended to feign complete ignorance, relying on her skilled acting to conceal the secrets of the Witch Pathway.

Simply put, she would deny everything to the death.

But there was a problem with this approach, as Harley was unsure if she was being watched or if the Dursley family might be loose-lipped.

However, the plan had gone more perfectly than she imagined. Dumbledore was very interested in the nightmare Harley described and seemed to know something about that soul fragment.

Thus, by using the shattering of that soul fragment and the extra memory she claimed to have gained as a cover, Harley had successfully misled Dumbledore.

She just needed to seal the Dursley family's memories of the morning soon; a little curse would suffice for that.

After reviewing her plan, Harley drew her wand and began to study it carefully.

When Harley gripped the wand, she suddenly felt as if it were connected to her own flesh and blood.

It wasn't just a matter of compatibility as a wizard in this world; if one viewed this wand as a Sealed Artifact, it was also highly compatible with her Witch Pathway!

This led Harley to form various guesses about the wand's core, even speculating that it might have come from the nerves of a giant snake with the strength of a demigod!

After all, the Mythical Creature form of the Witch sequence was a snake-haired woman, similar to the legendary Medusa.

Of course, this was just Harley's delusion. After all, magical items made from the remains of a demigod were rare and impossible to seek out.

Regardless, the wand was at least highly compatible with her and would suffice for the time being.

Sitting up from the sofa, Harley began to read her textbooks in the living room. The white snowy owl she had named Hedwig was now perched quietly on her shoulder.

Owls were truly spiritual. Before Harley had given Hedwig a name, she had tried to reach out and hold her.

Hedwig had put on airs, acted shy, and pecked at Harley, which angered Harley so much that she had even considered turning the bird into a puppet for a split second.

The moment that thought crossed her mind, the snowy owl, which had been fluttering about, seemed to sense the danger, instantly quieting down and allowing Harley to pet her for a long time.

Later, when Harley casually flipped open A History of Magic and picked the first name she saw to name the owl, it did not resist in the slightest.

This made Harley feel quite fond of such a spiritual bird that knew when to advance and when to retreat. At least they weren't like some nobles who remained arrogant even when facing powerful Beyonders.

Some fools had even hoarded grain during the War of the Gods, refusing to sell it to the commoners at a fair price. Such fools deserved to die.

After returning to Hogwarts, Dumbledore was not as relaxed as Harley.

Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape were in the headmaster's office. Professor McGonagall looked rather grim, while Professor Snape seemed somewhat agitated, pacing back and forth in the office.

Seeing Dumbledore emerge from the fireplace, Professor Snape hurried to meet him, though he still feigned a look of indifference:

"Headmaster, is the child alright? I mean, is she..."

But Dumbledore interrupted him: "Severus, you should leave first. I need to speak with Professor McGonagall alone."

"Headmaster, why can't I stay and listen? You know, I..."

Professor Snape's words were cut off by Dumbledore:

"I am sorry, Severus. You know that some things are not meant for too many people to know."

It was clear that Dumbledore was not in a good mood, so his words cut straight to the point.

Snape was clearly reluctant. However, after the two stared at each other for a moment, Snape still chose to leave the headmaster's office.

After Snape left, Dumbledore looked at McGonagall: "Minerva, I have seen the child."

"How is the situation? Has Harry truly become Harley?" McGonagall asked anxiously.

Dumbledore nodded, then began to recount everything from the moment he met Harley until he sent her home.

Afterward, Dumbledore added quite a bit of his own analysis and told McGonagall that he had already used various forms of magic to confirm it; it was indeed Harley.

"But that shouldn't be possible!" McGonagall said with an uneasy expression, "Even if she were a Metamorphmagus, she should at least be able to change back!

Furthermore, her name shouldn't have changed either. Yet now, even the name in the Book of Admittance has changed!"

"In fact, I have some speculations regarding this." Dumbledore tapped the desk lightly, "Harley told me something..."

Subsequently, Dumbledore relayed the information about Harley seeing the image of Voldemort in her nightmare, as well as her sensation of something shattering.

The two analyzed and discussed this for a long time, but in the end, they could only let it be. After all, the information they possessed was far too scarce to determine exactly which situation it was.

However, the two at least reached a consensus: after all, no wizard had seen Harley for so many years, and the only person who had contact with her was the Squib Mrs. Figg, who had no records in the wizarding world.

Therefore, as long as Dumbledore announced that he had intentionally declared the wrong gender back then to prevent other dark wizards from hunting Harley, everything could be explained away.

After McGonagall left, Dumbledore specifically summoned Snape again and warned him multiple times, demanding that Snape maintain restraint.

Two days after Dumbledore took Harley to Diagon Alley, a piece of news in the Daily Prophet took the entire wizarding world by storm.

"The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, is actually a girl!"