Zhang Xiao stood in the bustling street, taking in the strange and wondrous sights around him, filled with an indescribable sense of awe.
Although his parents had already revealed the existence of the Daoist Order and the wizarding world to him, the moment the brick wall at the entrance opened...
It was as though a massive door had opened in his heart as well, revealing a living, breathing magical world before him.
It was so real, so... within reach!
The nearest shop sold cauldrons. Pots of every size and material were stacked like an acrobatic balancing act, swaying precariously yet never falling.
A plump woman emerged from the apothecary, carefully carrying an exquisite crystal bottle containing a small piece of something that looked like liver.
As she passed, he could hear her muttering, "Dragon liver's gone up in price. I'll have to raise the prices of my potions too."
The broomstick shop always drew children's attention. A group of children pressed against its window, staring at the gleaming Nimbus 2000 inside and exchanging opinions.
On the clothing shop's sign, a large pair of scissors idly snipped at the air by itself. Other windows displayed baskets of bat spleens and eel eyes, along with piles of spellbooks, quills, rolls of parchment, potion bottles, and lunar globes.
The street teemed with people. Zhang Xiao mentally compared it with the Diagon Alley at Universal Studios.
Hmm... there's no comparison.
Zhang Xiao pointed at a slightly crooked, snowy-white building nearby and asked:
"Dad, is that the Gringotts you mentioned? Are we going to withdraw some money?"
Zhang Chengdao smiled and shook his head, producing a small, finely made cloth bag from somewhere and waving it in front of him.
"No need. We can have a look around if you'd like to see the goblins, though. I exchanged some money when we first arrived. It's all in here."
He opened the bag and reached inside. Zhang Xiao watched in amazement. The bag was only palm-sized, yet his father had pushed half his arm into it.
When he withdrew his hand, several coins of different colors lay in his palm.
"Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons. The conversion rates aren't complicated. This is a Heaven and Earth Bag.
"Even in the Daoist Order, it's quite a rare item. Here, this is a gift from your mother and me to celebrate you starting school."
Still dazed, Zhang Xiao accepted the little cloth bag, unsure where to put it. Of course he knew how valuable it was.
The wizarding world had similar things, such as Newt's case, the tents in Goblet of Fire, and Hermione's little beaded bag.
But Newt's case was practically an heirloom-grade magical item, one of a kind in the entire magical world!
Although the Undetectable Extension Charm was an advanced spell, quite a few wizards could cast it. The difficulty lay in combining a permanent Undetectable Extension Charm with other spells, as well as making the spells permanent.
And according to speculation from his previous life, the difficulty of the Undetectable Extension Charm depended on the size of the space. The smaller the object, the harder it was. Things like handbags and pockets took that difficulty to astronomical heights.
Seeing that her son did not know where to put it, Li Qingshu smiled and helped him fasten it to his waist.
"Just leave it hanging there. It has some safeguards on it too, mainly minor Daoist spells to keep it in place and prevent theft. It's very secure."
Zhang Chengdao snapped his fingers in a distinctly Western gesture.
"We still have plenty to buy, so let's split up. Honey, you get our son's textbooks and other supplies. Oh, right! Get the best! I'll take him to buy a wand."
Zhang Xiao hastily said:
"No, no, ordinary ones will do."
Zhang Chengdao shook his head and said solemnly:
"People judge your clothes before they judge you. The atmosphere in the wizarding world isn't very good these days. Some people look down on this and look down on that, and unfortunately, they're the ones with a say. It's a real nuisance.
"These material things can spare you a lot of trouble. Besides..."
Zhang Chengdao patted his son's shoulder and sighed.
"Our Daoist Order has so much money we don't know how to spend it. A little extravagance is just what we need. I've also put five thousand Galleons in your bag. Consider it your pocket money for this term!"
5,000 Galleons?? Pocket money for one term??
Zhang Xiao sucked in a breath. Was the Daoist Order really that outrageously wealthy? Five thousand Galleons would keep the Weasley family going for years.
Still, thinking about it, Dragon-Tiger Mountain was an enormously wealthy institution with a legacy stretching back thousands of years. It would have been strange if it didn't have money...
Zhang Xiao followed his father to Ollivanders. As another famous location from the novels, Ollivanders had a storefront that did not quite live up to its reputation.
It looked small and shabby. The gold lettering above the door was peeling, and read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. (Note 1)
In the dusty window, a single wand lay on a faded purple cushion.
As they entered, a tinkling bell sounded somewhere at the back of the shop. The shop was tiny, with nothing in it apart from a bench.
Yet the whole place looked as though a storm had swept through it, with long, narrow boxes scattered everywhere. An old man was slowly picking the boxes up from the floor and gently wiping them clean, as though they were priceless treasures.
"Ah, welcome, welcome!" The old man set down the box in his hands, a gentle smile on his face. His eyes were bright as the moon.
"I've just served a very particular customer, and things have become a little untidy.
"Of course, I could use magic, but I've always felt that would make the wands feel disrespected."
Ollivander approached Zhang Xiao, studying him intently with his large, silvery eyes.
"An unfamiliar customer. Well, let us begin."
He took a long tape measure marked with silver graduations from his pocket. "Which arm do you use for your wand?"
Zhang Xiao raised his right hand.
"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured from shoulder to fingertip, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and finally around his head. As he measured, he said:
"Every Ollivander wand is unique. It isn't only the wizard choosing the wand; the wand also chooses its owner. Just like that particular young customer earlier..."
Ollivander abruptly stopped there, though his expression still held lingering wonder and fascination.
Zhang Xiao knew he was probably talking about that stubborn kid Harry, but did not give it much thought.
Once all the measurements were taken, Zhang Chengdao, who had been waiting nearby, suddenly stepped forward, interrupting Ollivander's search for a wand, and said with a smile:
"Hello. I'd like you to make a custom wand for my son, using materials we provide." (Note 2)
Note 1: Personally, I have doubts about this date. Apart from the pyramids, the earliest wizard mentioned was Herpo the Foul, who lived around 100 B.C. The oldest of the Sacred Twenty-Eight pure-blood families were the medieval Gaunt family and Black family, dating to roughly A.D. 800. There was no mention of the concept of fine wands during the intervening period.
The Elder Wand first appeared around 1200. After looking through the relevant material, I found that Ollivander's description said "he firmly believed his ancestors came from Greece." In other words, there are no relevant written or historical records documenting his family's supposed history of more than 2,300 years. I strongly suspect Auntie Rowling may simply have picked a date at random while writing the first book, without giving it much thought.
Note 2: Ollivander can make custom wands, and customers can supply their own materials. This information comes from Hogwarts Legacy. Auntie Rowling was not directly involved in its development, but the details and plot were discussed with her, so it should count as semi-official canon.
Note 3: This story tries to respect the original work and Auntie Rowling as much as possible. As a derivative fan work, disparaging or maliciously altering the characters would be no different from enjoying someone's food and then insulting the person who fed you-a disservice to both the original work and its author.
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