Wand

The two goblins bowed to them and led them into a lofty marble hall. Around a hundred goblins sat on high stools behind a row of long counters. Some weighed coins on brass scales, while others inspected gemstones through eyepieces, hastily recording everything in large ledgers.

Ye Ting walked up to the counter, took out a stack of pounds from his pocket, and said, "Hello, I need to exchange pounds for Galleons."

An elderly goblin came forward and accepted the pounds. "The exchange rate is five pounds to one Galleon. Are you sure you want to convert all two hundred pounds into Galleons?"

"Yes." Ye Ting nodded. "Also, exchange one Galleon entirely into Sickles."

"One Galleon equals seventeen Sickles," the old goblin explained. After a while, a younger goblin handed Ye Ting a heavy bag.

Next, Dumbledore took Ye Ting shopping.

"First, you need a wand," he said. "And Ollivander makes the best wands."

The shop was small and shabby. The gilded lettering on the sign above the door had peeled away, but it still read: Ollivander—Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C. In the dusty display window, a single wand lay on a faded purple cushion.

"How are you, Ollivander, my old friend?" Dumbledore greeted warmly the moment they entered. A shriveled old man emerged from a corner and warmly embraced Dumbledore in return.

"Hello, old friend," he said in a soft, archaic English accent. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I went to the Muggle world to pick up a student. Wool's Orphanage, you know." Dumbledore winked, then introduced him. "This is Mr. Ye. Though he was Muggle-born, he can already control his magic proficiently."

"Hmm... no wonder." Ollivander stepped closer, fixing Ye Ting with a sharp gaze as he pulled a long tape measure marked with silver scales from his pocket. "All right, Mr. Ye. Come here. Let me see."

"Which arm do you use your wand with?" he asked.

"I'm used to using my right hand," Ye Ting said.

"Raise your arm. Good!" He began measuring Ye Ting, starting from his shoulder to his fingertips. As he measured, Ollivander said, "Every Ollivander wand contains powerful magical substances. That is the essence of them, Mr. Ye Ting. We use unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers, and dragon sinew. Every Ollivander wand is unique, because no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are exactly alike. Of course, if you use a wand that was meant for another wizard, you will never achieve such good results."

Ollivander rambled on as he moved between the shelves and climbed up and down ladders, leaving the tape measure to take Ye Ting's measurements by itself. Though his chatter was enough to make anyone drowsy, Ye Ting listened attentively. While he already knew some things from the original story, he remained deeply curious about everything in the magical world.

"All right," Ollivander said. The tape measure slipped to the floor and coiled itself up. "Now then, Mr. Ye, try this one. Sycamore wood with a phoenix feather core. Twelve and a half inches. Give it a wave."

Ye Ting took the wand, and the moment he waved it, he sensed that something was wrong. Sure enough, in the next instant, a burst of golden-red flame shot from the wand's tip, igniting the cabinet in front of him with a whoosh. Ye Ting even felt as though he was about to summon a living phoenix.

"Aguamenti!" Dumbledore swiftly flicked his wand, and a clear spring of water gushed from its tip, immediately extinguishing the flames.

"It seems this wand doesn't suit you." Ollivander shook his head and took out another. "Beech wood and serpent sinew, nine inches. Give it a try."

This time, black smoke billowed out. The cabinet and boxes caught within it were rapidly corroded with ugly little holes, as if acid had been splashed over them. It took quite some time before they returned to normal.

After that, Ollivander had Ye Ting try one wand after another. The more attempts they made, the happier he seemed to become, but mishaps happened time and again as well. Ollivander and Dumbledore had learned their lesson, keeping their wands ready at all times to prevent sudden flames, frost, or explosions from causing irreparable damage.

Fortunately, the grimy windows of Ollivander's shop kept the pedestrians outside from noticing any of it.

At last, before the wand boxes could bury Ye Ting alive, Ollivander finally stopped the fruitless experiment.

"Oh, what a picky customer," he sighed. "Has that place been enchanted somehow? This child's magic is even more powerful than his."

"Mr. Ollivander, what exactly are you talking about? I don't understand." Ye Ting knew that "he" referred to Voldemort, but he still put on an innocent, bewildered expression.

Ollivander merely changed the subject stiffly. "No, it's nothing. You'll understand in the future. Let's return to the matter of wands."

"This is the wand I can think of that suits you best." He awkwardly pulled an exquisite purple wand from a large chest and handed it to Ye Ting.