Shopping Trouble

"Anywhere else you'd like to browse? I think my son ought to have a handsome set of robes!" Sandrine asked, disdainfully steering clear of a potion stall that reeked of rotten eggs and decaying vegetable leaves.

Without waiting for Xiwen's reply, she dragged him toward Twilfitt.

Xiwen helplessly let his mother pull him to the entrance of Twilfitt. This shop looked far more upscale than the other less-refined stores in Diagon Alley. Its brand-new sign reading "Twilfitt," bright hall, and numerous luxurious robes displayed on the walls all proved the shop's high class.

Sandrine was clearly a regular here. She led Xiwen into the hall with practiced ease, greeted the shop owner, then began strolling around, occasionally commenting on the clothes hanging on the walls. Xiwen strongly suspected she intended to use the excuse of buying clothes for her son to buy something for herself as well.

"Sandrine?" Just as Sandrine was explaining the design style of a set of formal robes in front of them, a blonde-haired, large-boned witch in green robes suddenly approached.

Sandrine looked up at her and replied flatly, "What a coincidence, Irma."

"We're old acquaintances, after all. Though we've been in touch much less since I married into the Black family, there's no need to be this distant, is there?" Irma said with a smile. She especially emphasized the words "married into the Black family," as though it were some extraordinary accomplishment.

"Mummy, who are they?" A little girl with blonde braids clung to Irma's arm and asked.

"Come, Walburga. This is Aunt Sandrine. And this must be your child with Leo, right? If I remember correctly, his name is Sylvie?" Irma introduced them with apparent warmth.

"My name is Xiwen, Aunt Irma," Xiwen replied politely.

"I see, Xiwen. This is my daughter, Walburga Black. You two should become classmates in the future. As members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, the Black family and the Rozier family should look after each other. Walburga, when you get to school, remember to take good care of this friend from the Rozier family, all right?"

Sandrine frowned. "Sorry, Irma. We have things to do, so we'll be leaving."

Then she led Xiwen out of the shop without looking back.

As they walked down the street, Xiwen asked curiously, "Mum, you and Aunt Irma...?"

Sandrine did not mind telling him stories from the past. "Irma Crabbe Black, the only daughter of the Crabbe family in our generation. She used to be my follower."

Xiwen froze slightly before remembering that his mother had once been a gifted young witch from the supposedly noble Selwyn family.

"I don't know how she ended up marrying into the Black family. Ever since then, she abandoned her identity as a Crabbe and considered herself a member of the Black family. Even toward me, she acts as though she's superior." Sandrine continued, "Though I hate to admit it, the Black family is indeed thriving these days. They have begun to see themselves as the foremost family among the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"Our Rozier family isn't inferior to the Black family, is it?" Xiwen asked.

"In terms of wealth and heritage alone, that's true." Sandrine sighed. "But the Rozier family is far less populous than the Black family. Ever since your father was murdered, you have been the only male of the new Rozier generation."

"Moreover, the Rozier family's English and French branches are equally important. In England, we are vastly inferior to a family like the Blacks, who have deep roots here." After saying that, Sandrine gritted her teeth bitterly. "And over in France, your Aunt Vida was bewitched by Grindelwald and invested most of the family fortune into the Pure-blood Party."

Sandrine suddenly stopped walking and looked at Xiwen seriously. "Xiwen, you are the hope of the entire Rozier family now. So once you come of age, you must rise high enough to take over the French branch's assets and stop Vida from squandering them as she pleases. Only then can the glory of the Roziers ensure that Roses Never Die!"

Since arriving in this world, Xiwen had long regarded himself as part of this family. He nodded solemnly. "I will, Mum."

Sandrine met Xiwen's gaze for a second, then suddenly laughed. "All right, no need to be so serious! You just need to study properly at Hogwarts. You defeated a Dark wizard in a magical outburst as a baby. It's hard for me to imagine a genius little wizard like you becoming ordinary in the future."

Xiwen could only smile awkwardly. "It's not that exaggerated."

"Oh no!" Sandrine suddenly cried out, startling Xiwen. "I was so busy being angry that I forgot to buy you clothes!"

Xiwen: "..."

In the end, Sandrine still bought Xiwen a set of formal robes, from the newly opened Elegant Wizardwear. Only after Xiwen repeatedly pointed out that he had to wear school uniforms at Hogwarts, and that he would outgrow the formal robes in a couple of years, did she refrain from buying four or five sets at once.

Sandrine took a liking to a plain teal-blue formal robe at Elegant Wizardwear. As she described the embroidery she wanted, the owner directed floating needles and thread to sew a blue rose onto the left breast of the robe—the Rozier family crest. Then she selected a black velvet top hat with a hatband to match for Xiwen before finally leaving reluctantly.

"We have a wand, formal robes, and Millie has already brought the textbooks home... Oh, right, we still need a pet!" Sandrine clapped her hands. "A toad, an owl, or a cat—which do you want?"

Xiwen thought carefully. There was no way he could accept raising a wet, slimy toad. Owls were convenient for delivering letters, but there were plenty of public owls, and the family kept several as well, so he was not particularly interested. A little cat he could hold whenever he wanted in the dormitory clearly suited his needs better, so he quickly made his decision.

"I think I need a cat!"

Magical Menagerie was a shop on the southern side of Diagon Alley. It was very crowded, with cages densely covering the walls. Inside, a witch clerk patiently introduced Xiwen to cats of various colors and breeds by the wall.

Xiwen had his eye on a silver-white striped kitten that looked like a British Shorthair silver tabby. "What breed is this cat?"

The clerk looked over and said uncertainly, "An old wizard found this little fellow in the wild. The owner thinks it's a kitten bred from a silver Kneazle and a white cat. But it's been here for a month and still hasn't opened its eyes."

Xiwen reached out and stroked the kitten's head, deciding it was the one.

"I'll take this one!"

The clerk's face lit up. Clearly, she had no idea how to handle this cat that would not open its eyes.

"Wait." Sandrine said, "An animal of unknown origin could be unsafe. Are you sure, son?"

"I'm sure! I feel like we're fated to meet." Xiwen smiled. He had vaguely sensed magic within the kitten's body just now, and after touching its head, he became certain that its magical power already surpassed that of an adult Kneazle. He felt he had struck gold this time.

Sandrine had spoiled her son since childhood and had no strong objections. When the clerk hesitantly named a price of fifteen Sickles, Sandrine directly tossed her a Galleon, then left with the finest cat cage and a large pile of high-end cat supplies.

The moment he returned home, Xiwen took a few casual bites of food before impatiently beginning to study his new wand.

Pine, Unicorn Horn Nerve, fourteen inches. Unicorns were strictly forbidden to be hunted and were extremely rare. The horn that accompanied a Unicorn throughout its life possessed powerful magic while it lived, and its magic gradually faded as the Unicorn died naturally of old age.

A Unicorn horn from one that had died naturally had lost all its magic and could not be used as a wand core. Therefore, only Unicorns that died accidentally could provide such core material.

Unicorn Tail Hair was more commonly used as a wand core. It usually produced the most stable spells and was the least likely to suffer fluctuations or blockages. Under normal circumstances, wands with Unicorn Tail Hair cores were the least likely to yield to Dark magic. They were the most loyal of all wands.

Its only flaw was perhaps that it was not powerful enough. Yet the horn was the most magical part of a Unicorn's body, and using its nerve as a core perfectly made up for that lack of power.

Pine, meanwhile, did not resist any new method or spell, making it perfectly suited for Xiwen to cast the spells from Kamar-Taj that differed from this world's magical system. This wand truly was the one most suited to Xiwen.

As for its resistance to Dark magic, Xiwen did not care at all. He had never wanted to draw upon negative emotions to cast spells. Magic that could negatively affect him was not something he needed to learn for now.

Xiwen kept experimenting with his new wand, reviewing the spells he had learned in his previous life. He even lost track of time until Sandrine interrupted him.

"My dear son, do you really intend to spend your final two months at home entirely on studying?"