The Broken Wand

One look at the red ball trembling with excitement told Robin he had made the right bet. The corners of his mouth lifted. Using his shoulder for leverage, he raised one corner of the counter and whisked out a light-brown box.

Clang!

With its support gone, the counter tilted sharply. Everything on top toppled over, clattering nonstop. Ollivander hurriedly drew his wand and cast Freeze. "Mr. Sear, you have quite a talent for getting into trouble!"

"Sorry!"

If anything on the counter broke, Robin had no idea whether the money in his little purse would cover it.

Ollivander propped up the counter with an empty box and began putting the frozen objects back in place. "Oh, thank goodness nothing was damaged. Mr. Sear, I must warn you that the wand in your box is only..."

"Half a wand?" Luo Bin opened the box and cut him off as he picked up the eight-inch wand, black beneath its gold detailing.

"Oh, yes! My great-grandfather found this broken wand in the Palansti Strait. Four generations of my family have failed to repair it. We still can't even identify its wood or core. Mr. Sear, it isn't suitable..."

Only one way to find out!

Luo Bin raised the wand high, turned his wrist, and traced a downward circle. A small ball of reddish-orange flame burst from the wand and floated into a glass. The glass melted rapidly into a puddle, and only then did the flame vanish. The wooden counter beneath it was completely unharmed!

Luo Bin stared at the wand in amazement. He had expected to produce fire, but not to control its size and the area it burned so precisely. No wonder it had resonated with the red ball. There was something special about it.

Ollivander stared excitedly at the puddle of molten glass on the counter. "Oh, my goodness! What a perfect Fireball! The wand has lain dormant for years, and all along it had an affinity for fire. The Ollivander Family has been looking in the wrong direction. I'd love to see how powerful it could be once repaired. But it no longer belongs to the shop. Mr. Sear, it's yours now."

Judging by how fiercely the red ball had trembled, Robin suspected the restored wand might rival the Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hallows!

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Ollivander. How much is this broken wand?"

"Ten Galleons will do, Mr. Sear!"

The wand had been found, but attempts to repair it and identify its magical materials had cost a great deal. Ten Galleons would not come close to covering those expenses. Even so, Ollivander felt ashamed naming that price. After all the work his family had put in, they had done nothing to improve the wand, and he had ended up using it to prop up a counter.

Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts were the currency of the magical world. One Galleon equaled seventeen Sickles, and one Sickle equaled twenty-nine Knuts. After handing over ten Galleons, Robin could no longer see a glint of gold in his little purse. It was a little depressing!

"Don't lose heart, my boy. There are plenty of ways for a wizard to earn Galleons. And I believe you'll find a way to repair that wand at Hogwarts!"

At some point, Dumbledore had ended his apparent nap. He came over to comfort Robin.

Dumbledore's earlier hint had led Robin to the wand, and now he was saying the answer to repairing it lay at school. Given his reputation as a wise man throughout the magical world, it was hard not to read more into his words. Robin fixed him with a bright-eyed stare. Dumbledore answered with a look that seemed to say, You've understood enough. No need to dig deeper.

"Mr. Dumbledore, I've bought everything on the parchment list!" Luo Bin said, putting away the boxed wand.

"Yes. Time we headed back. Come along, my boy!"

Ollivander bowed as the two of them left!

They left the wand shop, followed a long lane, then passed through an archway and the Leaky Cauldron to return to the streets of London. After a quick hamburger, they reached the Thames just as night quietly fell!

Under cover of darkness, they climbed onto a raised platform and jumped, landing squarely on the invisible Fawkes.

The Elder Wand tapped twice in midair. Once the protection and invisibility spells were in place, the phoenix spread his wings and carried them away!

Dim light shimmered on the river, and the ripples spread like butterfly wings. A powerful gust sent the hair of pedestrians on the bridge flying. A moment later, all was calm again. The Muggles took it for a passing wind and thought nothing more of it.

Before sunrise, the two travelers and the bird reached the end of their journey. Once they landed, Fawkes shrank into a palm-sized red bird and flew toward the school building, while Robin was led toward the Forbidden Forest.

Hogwarts. The Hunting Grounds. A stone hut!

Hagrid, a Giant whose hair and beard stuck out like a broom, stirred a pot of green mushroom soup with tremendous force as he listened to Dumbledore explain what had happened. Luo Bin sat in a corner, secretly watching Fang!

Dense, glossy black fur covered the dog's huge, muscular body. His drooping lids and slightly bulging eyes gave him a vicious look, and folds of skin piled up across his face. When he bared his teeth—well, he looked even fiercer.

But Robin, a devoted Harry Potter fan, knew that beneath Fang's rough, wild exterior lay the heart of a complete coward. At the first sign of danger, he ran faster than anyone. Once he sensed it was safe, he would reappear before the main group, wagging his tail!

Right now, Fang had his teeth bared and his eyes fixed on a hamburger stuffed with chicken and beef patties. Plop. A string of clear drool landed on Robin's leather boot with an audible pat.

"Fang, close your mouth. Sorry about him. He's usually very good, but he does get greedy now and then. I hope you won't hold it against him!" Hagrid said apologetically.

The black mastiff glanced at the dark-green mushroom soup bubbling in the pot, then lifted his nose to sniff the chicken. After repeating this several times, he quietly walked over to Robin and tugged gently at his trouser leg with a paw bigger than a human hand!

"Hagrid, can Fang eat this?" Luo Bin asked, waving the hamburger.

"Muggles do love making all sorts of strange things. You can give him a little. Just a little, so he can have a taste!"

Fang was nearly as big as a tiger. His idea of "a little" was hardly the same as a person's.

Luo Bin tossed him two hamburgers, but Fang still wanted more. Luo Bin had to pat his flattened leather bag to show him it was empty. Fang's eyelids drooped even lower, nearly covering half his eyes!

"Fang, the mushroom soup's ready. Come and eat. A good mastiff isn't picky!"

At that, Fang swished his tail, took the pot handle in his mouth, and reluctantly carried it out of the stone hut!

"The school hasn't officially opened yet, my boy, so the dormitories are closed for now. You can stay here in the Hunting Grounds. Rubeus Hagrid is a fine wizard. He'll take good care of you!" Dumbledore said.

"All right!" Hagrid might have looked rough, but he seemed kind, even a little guileless. Spending time with someone like him would not be tiring.

"I must be off, my boy. Oh, there's a pile of school business waiting for me!"

"Please see to your work, Mr. Dumbledore. I can take care of myself!"

The stone hut was small and crammed with odds and ends. There was no way to partition off a bedroom. After giving it some thought, Robin suggested pitching a tent outside. Hagrid clapped his hands in agreement and hauled out a heap of dust-covered supplies. After a great deal of banging and clattering, they had a simple tent. A Scouring Charm left it looking as good as new. At last, Robin had a little place of his own.