I'm a Man of Principle—I'd Never Do Custom Orders

Kane raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I tell you? I couldn't stand the Dursleys' psychological abuse."

There was another half of the sentence he did not say. It was a good thing he had left the Dursley Household early. Otherwise, within a day of Maxwell taking that lock off him, the Dursleys would have drained his Sanity dry, and Shadow Monsters would have come after him one after another like dumplings dropped into a pot.

"That's it?" Harry eyed Kane suspiciously, while Kane nodded. "When Mr. Dursley watched Animal World, didn't you secretly listen in? Even antelopes know to migrate. If I kept living with the Dursleys, I really might have died."

Ron, who had been listening to Kane and Harry's encrypted conversation with a thoroughly confused expression, soon no longer had to keep listening. Hagrid calculated that the Weasleys were probably done beating the twins by now, one parent per twin, so it was time to head to Diagon Alley.

Kane casually set down his lemonade and followed Hagrid. Harry and Ron hurriedly gulped down their own lemonades, then simultaneously looked at the half-full glass Kane had left behind.

Oops, they noticed. Better be dignified about it this time.

The four arrived at the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron, but as they stepped outside, Hagrid realized he had miscalculated. The Weasleys' great child-beating enterprise was not finished yet.

The Weasleys awkwardly put their shoes back on, then sheepishly pulled Kane and Harry, the two first-time young wizards, to the front so they could clearly see the unusual brick before lightly tapping it with their wands.

The bricks seemed to come alive, drawing back to either side like receding tides.

The Weasleys took Percy and the twins to buy supplies for the new term, while Hagrid led Kane and the other two to Gringotts first.

Before entering Gringotts, Hagrid pulled a key from his pocket and handed it to Harry. "Your parents left this for you. It opens a vault. It's a rare sort of ceremony, so this should be yours to do."

"My parents left this for me?" Harry asked, holding the key with a dazed expression.

"Yeah. They were both good people, and most importantly, they loved you very much."

After saying that, Hagrid led the three inside Gringotts. The goblin did not recognize Kane or Harry. Ron's red hair was distinctive, but since he was a Weasley, that did not make the goblin stand up either.

In the end, Hagrid caught his attention, and the goblin trotted over fawningly.

After all, who in all of England did not know that Hagrid was the lackey of Dumbledore, the White Lord of Magic?

Hagrid looked apologetically at Harry. "Dumbledore—the headmaster of Hogwarts—asked me to take care of something..."

"Business first," Harry said considerately.

"Wonderful. I mean, thank you."

Thus, the four of them, plus one goblin, rode in an exquisitely designed cart. Like a gyroscope, no matter how wildly the mine cart and rails twisted and spun, its passengers remained incomparably steady and smooth.

Before long, Hagrid entered Vault 713, took out a small item, and tucked it into his coat. Then the four hurried on to Vault 687, which belonged to Harry.

"The ceremony, Harry. Put the key in yourself."

Hagrid looked at Harry as he spoke.

Harry nodded, rubbed the key, inserted it into the keyhole, and turned it. As a rumbling sound rose, Ron's bewildered voice rose with it.

"Holy crap? Is it normal for a vault to have this much gold?" Ron stared blankly at the mountain of Galleons piled in the center of the vault, utterly stunned. "Your vault and my vault don't seem to be the same."

"Since Harry's mum and dad couldn't give him much love, they could only give him a lot of money," Kane sighed, walking into the vault as well.

With so much gold here, he could make a Science Machine just by grabbing a couple of handfuls. But if he really did that, wouldn't he become a beggar on his knees?

Compared to being mocked by Harry over something like that later... tsk tsk tsk. In the face of such golden temptation, he had to bravely say no.

Besides, who said he could not earn gold himself? He had not thought of a good way yet, but at least he had a goal!

In short, accepting Harry's charity, or having Galleons forcibly stuffed into his hands—those things were impossible!

Yet not until Harry's vault was closed again did he awkwardly realize that Harry had not had the slightest intention of stuffing Galleons into his hands.

He had worried for nothing. The four returned to the surface, and their next stop was Ollivanders' Wand Shop.

"What kind of wand do you two want?" Ron asked Kane and Harry.

"I brought my own materials. I'm planning to have one custom-made." Kane took out the trembling Living Wood.

"Merlin's beard, mate, what the hell is that?" The instant Ron saw the Living Wood's shivering, twisted face, his attention was completely captured, and he hurriedly asked.

"I used my shadow—my innate magic—to cultivate an ordinary sapling. This is what it became," Kane explained.

"Holy crap, Kane, that's insanely awesome! With a skill like that, how many Galleons couldn't you make?" Ron exclaimed.

Kane shook his head helplessly. "Making money with this probably isn't possible. Making a wand for myself with Living Wood and Nightmare Fuel is mainly to suit my Eternal Realm constitution. In the real world, compared with other magical materials, the improvement probably won't be outrageously huge."

And who knew whether the Eternal Realm and Charlie might invade this world because of the things he had created? If it actually happened one day, Charlie alone might pet half the Earth to death.

Before long, Ollivander emerged from behind the shelves and looked kindly at the three young wizards.

Since Kane wanted the man to make him a custom wand, he naturally had to go last, so he gave Harry the first turn.

After trying more than ten wands in succession, Harry received a holly wand with a Phoenix feather core.

Then came Kane.

"Hm? What about Ron?" Kane asked in surprise.

"My family's been short on money lately." Ron sounded embarrassed. "So I'm using my brother's old wand for now."

Kane pursed his lips. "All right. Since Ollivander's here, it shouldn't cost anything for him to help maintain it, right?"

"Of course not." Ollivander gently accepted Ron's old wand. Looking at the battered, scarred wand, he sighed. "Your brother Charlie didn't take care of it at all."

Then, like an old father watching his daughter return home after suffering domestic abuse, he sorrowfully tended her wounds before personally handing her back to the younger brother of her abuser, praying that this younger brother would behave a little more like a human being.

At last, it was Kane's turn.

"Mr. Ollivander, I have a request. I'd like you to make me a custom wand using my own materials."

Ollivander smiled at the request. He was a craftsman, a craftsman with principles. No amount of money could make him break those principles.

Then Kane took out the snarling Living Wood and Nightmare Fuel mixed with his own shadow.

Ollivander: "...But then again?"