"The wand's core carried an aura of vast righteousness and purity... but I could not remember what kind of dragon could produce such an effect." As Li Mu stood there lost in thought, Ollivander continued muttering, "And the two opposing forces, one righteous and one wicked, canceled each other out, reducing the wand's Mana to zero. I had always considered this the greatest failure of my life... Why?"
Clearly, what had happened today had shocked the master wandmaker deeply.
"Why? What exactly is this so-called Dragon Whisker?"
"Perhaps... it came from a dragon of the Celestial Empire... what we generally call an Immortal Dragon or Divine Dragon. Even in the Celestial Empire, they are rarely seen." Seeing the old man nearly possessed by obsession, Li Mu could not bear it, so he did his best to explain. "Its horns are like a deer's, its eyes like a rabbit's, its neck like a snake's, its scales like a fish's, its claws like an eagle's, and its paws like a tiger's... It can grow large or small, rise or conceal itself, fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth, summon wind and rain. It is far more powerful than the dragons you speak of."
He had heard Li Jianmin say that the Divine Dragons worshipped by the people of the Celestial Empire truly existed. Only a few remained there now, and two happened to live within the Shushan Forbidden Ground. But that was forbidden territory, and Li Mu had never set foot inside, so he had no clear idea what those two dragons actually looked like.
And these so-called Dragon Whiskers... seemed to grow only from the mouths of Divine Dragons from the Celestial Empire, right? Western fire-breathing dragons looked more like lizards and did not have whiskers at all. Western wizards generally used dragon heartstrings as wand cores, which were said to be extremely powerful. But that meant the dragons had to die, making them rare as well.
Unfortunately, Li Mu was not sure of this guess either. Li Jianmin had personally said that the whiskers around a Divine Dragon's mouth grew slowly—at least a thousand years for two to grow. Pulling out Dragon Whiskers was an even more suicidal act than stroking a tiger's backside.
Li Mu's explanation left the other three dumbfounded as well.
Dragons that could transform and use magic? They found it hard to imagine such a sight. In Western eyes, dragons were creatures unrelated to magic. Their skin resisted every magical element, whether within or without, which also made them incapable of casting magic themselves.
"The Eastern Celestial Empire... so that is how it is. Looking at it now, it truly is a fine wand..." Ollivander murmured absentmindedly. Then, suddenly, a trace of fierceness appeared on his face. His pale blue eyes opened wider, his expression twisting grotesquely. "The East, the East..."
He tossed the white wand to Li Mu. With a dark expression, he seemed unwilling to deal with the three of them any longer. He turned and walked away, disappearing into the gloomy darkness at the back of the shop.
The three looked at each other. Harry pressed his lips together, not daring to make a sound. Li Mu held up the white wand, utterly at a loss, while even the burly Hagrid stood there in a daze.
Was he angry or something...? What the hell was this?
"Mr. Ollivander?" Li Mu was the first to react. Tilting back his head, he shouted into the shop, "There is still someone here who needs to choose a wand!"
He was a little anxious. He had decided to come to Hogwarts intending to change "history"—but that changed "history" should not include making Harry Potter's wand disappear, should it?!
Ollivander's voice came from the dark back room. "In the fifteen boxes on the second row, pick whichever one you like. A wand costs seven Galleons. Just leave the money on the counter."
His voice still sounded cold and sulky.
The three exchanged looks again. In the end, Li Mu shrugged, gathered his courage, and walked over to the row of shelves. Following Ollivander's instructions, he found more than ten boxes and opened them one by one.
"Since Mr. Ollivander said so... Harry, come on."
This time, Ollivander's judgment was accurate. Harry tried them one after another. When he reached the fifth box, a stream of golden-red sparks finally burst from the wand's tip, looking like fireworks.
Almost instantly, Ollivander's voice rang out from the darkness of the back room, clicking his tongue in admiration. "Eleven inches, holly wood and phoenix tail feather... truly rare, and quite dramatic."
It seemed that a minor emotional disturbance could not change his tendency to chatter. Or perhaps what was happening before him was simply too astonishing, allowing Ollivander to emerge somewhat from his earlier frustration and anger.
He continued, "What a coincidence. The tail feather in this wand and the one that harmed you came from the same phoenix—the only one! I think we have every reason to look forward to you accomplishing earth-shaking deeds in the days to come. After all, that person did many things with that wand—terrible things, but undeniably great ones!"
Hagrid's expression changed, while Li Mu smiled. They both understood who Ollivander meant by "that person."
Harry Potter had still chosen the wand destined for him—the very same kind of wand as Voldemort's.
After that, Ollivander fell silent again. The three left the Galleons for the wands on the counter and quietly exited the shop. Only then did they realize that night had already fallen outside. Dark clouds rolled across the vault of the sky, with only faint starlight and moonlight filtering through gaps in the clouds.
"Then I should return to my inn." Li Mu lifted his already very heavy trunk. Before coming here today, it had contained only a letter and a few books. Now it was stuffed full of everything a new student needed... If he had not trained hard since childhood, he might not have been able to lift it at all.
They followed the same route back through Diagon Alley, passing the Leaky Cauldron, where only the bartender remained. Hagrid accompanied the two of them all the way to a passenger station and bought their return tickets.
"Oh, right, Hagrid. Where is Platform 9 3/4? I do not remember King's Cross Station having such a platform. You must know, right?" Li Mu suddenly recalled the strange name. He was actually asking on Harry's behalf.
Now that he was here, "history" had changed more or less. Perhaps Harry Potter would no longer happen to meet the Weasleys.
Sure enough, Harry immediately fixed his eyes on Hagrid. He had naturally received his Hogwarts acceptance letter, along with a ticket for the Hogwarts Express.
"You will understand once you get to King's Cross Station," Hagrid said to Li Mu and Harry with a smile. "It is a very easy place to find."
"Then, Harry, Hagrid, I will see you on September 1 at King's Road." Li Mu shrugged, inwardly wondering what was the point of being so mysterious now... But then he thought that, at worst, he could simply wait for Harry on September 1, and he waved goodbye to them.
Harry copied him and waved. "All right, see you on September 1."
Hagrid gave Li Mu another sunshine-bright smile. His teeth really needed a brushing... In his rough voice, he said, "I will not be taking the train. We will meet at Hogwarts."
And so, beneath the gazes of the two of them, Li Mu boarded his own carriage and rode back toward the inn where he was staying.
End of Chapter.
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