The Wand Chooses the Wizard

After Harry had withdrawn his money, another half hour passed.

When Dumbledore reappeared in the Gringotts lobby, he had a pouch in one hand and a small, grimy paper packet in the other.

He tucked the paper packet into his robes, then handed the pouch to Tom.

"There's two hundred Galleons in here. Plan your spending carefully. It'll be enough to see you through your first year without having to worry about living expenses."

Dumbledore added, "If you can make sure to get excellent grades every year, I won't mind paying out of my own pocket to prepare a generous scholarship for you."

He genuinely cared about Tom. To make sure Tom wouldn't be distracted from his studies in the future, he had specifically prepared the Galleons as a reward.

"Thank you, Professor. I'll make sure to plan how I use the money carefully."

Tom opened the pouch and discovered that the space inside was much larger than it looked from the outside. It must have been enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm.

He hadn't expected to get his first taste of the Wizarding World by making a killing off old Dumbledore.

Galleons were only useful up to a point. Having too many didn't mean much. What really mattered was one's own strength.

Suddenly, Dumbledore seemed to remember something and hurriedly added, "Hogwarts doesn't offer scholarships. Be sure not to mention this to anyone else, or I'm afraid people will say I'm playing favorites."

After all, he was Hogwarts's headmaster. Showing such blatant favoritism toward a particular student wouldn't look good to the outside world.

"Yes, I understand."

"Come on, let's go buy wands." Dumbledore set off ahead of them.

"A wand is a wizard's most important tool."

Tom and Harry nodded, then followed Dumbledore out of Gringotts.

The three of them arrived at Ollivanders Wand Shop. The sign clearly read, "Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C."

When they pushed open the heavy wooden door, the copper bell above it rang out with a clear chime.

"Welcome, Mr. Dumbledore." A gentle voice sounded, and an old silver-haired man slowly emerged from between the towering stacks of wand boxes.

"If I remember correctly, the last time you visited my shop was in the autumn of 1971. You brought along a somewhat withdrawn child, and when you left, you bought a fourteen-and-a-quarter-inch Cypress wand with a Unicorn tail hair core."

Dumbledore smiled helplessly. "Mr. Ollivander, if Merlin were alive, even he would probably envy your memory."

"Haha, it's not that impressive. I just happen to love wands."

Garrick Ollivander stepped forward and shook Dumbledore's hand, then lowered his gaze to the two children beside him.

After studying them carefully, his eyes lit up. He immediately turned back to the great heap of boxes and began selecting wands.

"If I'm not mistaken, one of you must be the famous Mr. Potter. Then the other is..." Ollivander chatted on as he worked.

"Tom. Tom Riddle," Dumbledore offered.

Crash—

Ollivander stumbled and toppled over, bringing down an entire wall of boxes with him. Wand boxes buried him completely.

"Mr. Ollivander, are you all right?!"

Before Dumbledore could even take a step, Tom hurried over and helped Ollivander up from the pile of wands.

"Merlin's wand! I must have been working too hard making wands lately. I ought to take a few days off."

Ollivander knew he'd overreacted. The world was vast, and there were bound to be people who shared a name. As an older-generation wizard, he really should have shown more composure.

"Mr. Riddle, I'm pleased to serve you. Please stand still."

He took out a tape measure. It began measuring Tom's body automatically, while Ollivander held his wand in his other hand and cast a spell, sending the wands scattered across the floor flying back onto their shelves.

"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Riddle. Each wand is unique, just like each wizard."

When the measurements were complete, Ollivander plucked a box from among the flying ones, opened it, and brought it over to Tom.

"...Let's try this one first. Eleven inches, Cypress, Unicorn tail hair.

Cypress represented "bravery and resolve," while Unicorn tail hair represented "loyalty and closeness." Ollivander had specifically chosen a wand whose qualities were the opposite of the Dark Lord's.

Tom took the wand and gave it a wave. The surrounding wand boxes immediately began shaking wildly, and the boxes that had just been put away looked ready to collapse all over again.

Seeing this, Ollivander snatched the wand back.

"Clearly, this isn't the one."

"How about this one? Twelve inches, Alder, Dragon heartstring."

As soon as Tom took it, a ball of fire burst from the tip.

"No, still no good."

Over the next ten minutes or so, Ollivander brought out many more wands, testing Harry along with Tom.

He wanted to prove that Dumbledore hadn't brought another Dark Lord into his shop today, so the wands he chose for Tom were made from materials associated with figures who had rather positive connotations.

But one after another, they all failed. Ollivander's expression grew grimmer and grimmer.

Then a golden light shone from the tip of Tom's wand, blossoming into a beautiful flower in midair.

It worked.

"Thirteen inches, Walnut, Dragon heartstring. It represents intelligence and powerful, dazzling magic. This wand is an excellent match for you."

At last, Ollivander could let out the breath he'd been holding.

It looked like the Wizarding World wouldn't have to endure a third calamity after all.

Tom felt the warmth of the wand in his hand. He was a little excited, but also somewhat puzzled. Was this really the wand best suited to him?

At the same time, Harry was holding a new wand beside him. It was Yew, with a Phoenix Tail Feather core, and thirteen and a half inches long.

The moment Harry waved it—

Bang!

A burst of flame suddenly exploded from the wand's tip.

The sudden force knocked the wand from Harry's hand. It traced an arc through the air before landing squarely in Tom's hand.

The next instant, golden light blazed. The air in the wand shop, which had grown a little chilly after days of intermittent rain, became noticeably warmer beneath its glow.

"Merlin's Socks..." Ollivander's eyelid was twitching wildly.

If he remembered correctly, that was the same kind of wand Voldemort had. Its core didn't come from the same phoenix, but the wood came from the same yew tree.

After a long moment, he finally spoke again. "A stronger match. This wand seems even more suited to... you."

The wand chose the wizard, of course, but this was the first time he'd seen one leap so eagerly into a wizard's hand.

"You'll accomplish great things, Mr. Riddle."

As he spoke, Ollivander looked toward Dumbledore. His eyes were filled with a thousand questions.

He wanted to ask whether the child really wasn't Voldemort reborn. Based on everything he'd seen so far, wouldn't it be perfectly reasonable to send him straight to Azkaban?!

Dumbledore only shook his head silently.

Before, he might have been unable to resist using Legilimency on Tom. But after seeing the friendship between him and Harry in the vault, along with Tom's kindness and selflessness...

He felt that it was all just a coincidence. There had only been a few more coincidences than usual... a lot more, actually.

Seeing how firm Dumbledore's stance was, Ollivander could only sigh.

"That'll be seven Galleons, Mr. Riddle."

"All right." Tom took fourteen Galleons from his pouch and set them on the counter.

"Wands are made of wood, so they can be damaged. That's why I'd like to keep one as a spare."

Back in second year, Ron's wand had been damaged. For a while, he hadn't been able to cast a single spell properly, which had slowed his progress in class as well.

Now that Tom had money, buying an extra wand was no burden at all.

There was such a thing as Brother Wands. Even Voldemort, as powerful as he was, couldn't kill Harry when their Brother Wands were involved. To be safe, Tom wanted to keep another wand in reserve.

Wait, what if he ran into Brother Wands and his spare broke too? Should he get a spare for his spare?