Ollivander

"Good morning." Professor McGonagall said to an idle goblin, "Our new students need to exchange some Galleons here this year."

The goblin wore a pair of spectacles on his nose. At her words, he pushed them up and looked toward Professor McGonagall.

"Ah... Minerva McGonagall." The goblin's gaze swept over Gemini and the others before he nodded slightly. "It's a pleasure to serve you. Now then, who will go first?"

"May I ask what the maximum exchange amount is for Pounds Sterling and Galleons?" Gemini asked after thinking it over.

"Five hundred Galleons per person per year, sir," the goblin said. "That sum is enough for a wizard born into a Muggle family to live quite comfortably in the wizarding world, while not upsetting the balance of the financial market. Even so, it is no small amount."

"Then please exchange five hundred Galleons for me directly. It's a little over budget, but still acceptable." After considering it, Gemini took out a stack of banknotes from his clothes and handed them to the goblin.

"A considerable fortune." The goblin's eyes lit up. "Considering your age, I expect we will have many opportunities to meet again in the future."

Before long, the exchange for five hundred Galleons was complete.

"Carrying such a large sum with you must be inconvenient. Would you like to deposit it with us?" the goblin asked politely.

"Does it earn interest?"

"Of course it does."

"Then I won't deposit it."

"???"

Whether it earned interest was completely irrelevant to Gemini. Keeping the money in the Weapon Shop's space was the most convenient option. Although any wealth belonging to him could be traded no matter where it was, money mysteriously vanishing from a vault might cause unrest.

Naturally, he could exploit this bug to fleece Gringotts once, but he could only do that once. Any more than that would arouse the goblins' suspicions.

As an arms dealer, his only goal was money, and Gringotts was the oldest goblin bank in the world. Falling out with these goblins over such a trifling profit was clearly not worth it.

Unless they paid more.

All five hundred Galleons were handed over to Gemini. The goblin even gave him an Undetectable Extension Charm Pouch, making his desire to build goodwill obvious. Gemini was quite pleased by this and hoped they could maintain this filthy monetary relationship amicably.

Soon, Mr. and Mrs. Finlay and Mr. and Mrs. Granger had also exchanged piles of gleaming Gold Galleons. Each family exchanged one hundred Galleons. According to Professor McGonagall, that was already enough for first-year students to buy everything they needed for school.

"Professor, could I trouble you to inspect this Undetectable Extension Charm Pouch for me?"

The moment they stepped out of Gringotts, Gemini called out to Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall froze for a moment, then broke into a smile. "Of course. It seems you don't trust those goblins, but that is the right attitude."

She accepted the Undetectable Extension Charm Pouch Gemini handed over and inspected it thoroughly. After confirming several times that there were no additional enchantments or curses on it, Professor McGonagall returned it to Gemini.

"There's no problem with it. This pouch is quite practical as well, so you can use it without worry, Mr. Fox."

"Thank you very much, Professor."

Nearby, Mr. Finnegan looked at Gemini enviously.

Whether it was his appearance, his conduct, or the way he handled matters, Gemini was undoubtedly the most outstanding boy he had ever seen.

Then he looked at his own son. Justin was staring longingly at the chocolate sundaes in the other children's hands. Mr. Finnegan hesitated for several seconds before finally suppressing the restless palm of his hand...

"Professor McGonagall, where are we going next?"

Mr. Granger looked at Professor McGonagall and asked.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips and glanced at Gemini and the other two with barely contained excitement. "For a wizard, the most important thing is naturally the wand in his hand, isn't it?"

It was a small, shabby shop. The gilded sign above its entrance had nearly peeled away, and it read: Ollivander: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion behind the dusty glass display window.

The shop was utterly silent, as though it were not a store at all, but a library.

Stacks upon stacks of long, narrow wooden boxes nearly reached the ceiling. The quiet atmosphere gave the place an intensely mysterious feeling.

"Good morning, everyone."

A gentle voice rang out. An elderly man with silvery-white hair emerged from behind the stacks of wooden boxes. His large, pale eyes shone like two bright moons in the dim shop.

"It has been a long time, Mr. Ollivander."

"Ah... Minerva, it has indeed been a long time. Fir wood, dragon heartstring—a wand exceptionally suited to Transfiguration. And that proved to be true..." The old man's eyes brightened as he spoke softly.

Professor McGonagall nodded, somewhat unwilling to pay attention to the old man whose mind was filled with nothing but wands. He repeated this every year whenever he saw her.

"As you can see, I've brought Mr. Fox, Miss Granger, and Mr. Finnegan to buy their wands."

"Oh... it is about that time." Ollivander's gaze passed over Gemini and the other two. "I hope the wands I made will help you become outstanding and great wizards."

He took a long measuring tape marked with silver scales from his pocket, measured their height, waistlines, and other dimensions, then asked, "Which hand do you each favor?"

Their answer was unanimous. They were all right-handed.

"In my shop, most wand cores are made of unicorn hair, phoenix tail feather, or dragon heartstring. These are conclusions drawn from many years of experience. These three materials are the finest mediums for transmitting magic, and that is where the essence of these wands lies. Every Ollivander wand is unique, because no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are exactly alike."

"Of course, if you use a wand that should belong to another wizard, you will never achieve such good results. I hope you remember one thing: the wand chooses the wizard."

Ollivander rambled on as he pulled a box from one of the stacks, took out a wand, and handed it to Finley.

"Willow, unicorn hair, eleven inches."

Finley accepted the wand, his face full of confusion.

Ollivander lifted his chin. "Give it a wave."

Whoosh—

A gentle breeze swept through the room. Ollivander nodded in satisfaction. "It seems my eye is as accurate as ever."

Having received his wand, Justin beamed with joy and carefully placed it back into its box as though it were a treasure.

The old man moved through the fortress formed by stacks of wooden boxes again. Soon, he took out another wand and presented it to Hermione.

"Walnut, dragon heartstring, twelve inches long. Why not see how she suits you?"

Hermione took the wand and flicked it.

Crack!

A crisp shattering sound rang through the room as a red light from the wand's tip smashed a vase. The sound startled everyone.

"It seems you two don't get along very well." Ollivander took the wand back with slight embarrassment and began searching through the stacks of boxes again.

"How about this one? Vine wood, dragon heartstring, fourteen inches long."

Hermione took the wand and waved it. In an instant, a fragrant scent filled the room, and delicate flowers bloomed everywhere.

"Wonderful, excellent." Excitement gleamed in Ollivander's eyes. "This wand suits you perfectly."