You Don't Dare

"This is..."

In astonishment, Ollivander set down the Wand in his hand and walked over to Sean, carefully examining the Wand in Sean's hand as he clicked his tongue in wonder.

"Mr. Ollivander, is there something special about this Wand?"

"Wonderful, truly wonderful. This Wand is made of Ebony and Phoenix Tail Feather, thirteen and three-quarters inches long. It is suitable for any type of magic, but relatively speaking, it provides a tremendous boost to combat magic and Transfiguration. As for what makes this Wand special..."

Ollivander looked at Sean with a faint smile and continued, "This was the last Wand my father, Old Ollivander, made before he passed away. The Ebony and Phoenix Tail Feather used to make it were both the finest materials my father had preserved during his lifetime.

"The Ebony came from the heartwood of an ancient Ebony tree, and the Phoenix Tail Feather used as its core also has a long history. It is an extremely picky Wand and has never chosen any wizard as its master. I thought it would never find its owner, but I never expected it to choose you."

Blinking, Sean inexplicably felt that the Ollivander before him overlapped somewhat with those old men and women from his previous life who stood by the roadside selling supposed family heirlooms. He made up his mind that if Ollivander tried to charge an outrageous price, he would toss this Wand aside and buy another. He did not believe that, among so many Wands, this was the only one suited to him.

Clearing his throat, Sean looked at Ollivander and asked, "Then, Mr. Ollivander, how much does this Wand cost?"

"It is special and carries extraordinary significance, but it is still only a Wand. At Ollivanders Wand Shop, a Wand is a Wand. Its value is limited to the Wand itself; any significance attached to it is not included. So, eleven Galleons in total. Thank you for your patronage."

Sean reached up and rubbed his nose. Whenever he felt embarrassed or awkward, he would unconsciously make that gesture. He paid readily, then left Ollivanders Wand Shop carrying his glossy, pure-black Wand.

"Sean, what do we need to buy next?"

Hearing his father's question, Sean thought for a moment. The Gold Ticket Gavin had given him contained a considerable amount. Although Gavin had said it was the same treatment given to magical children from the family's affiliated organizations, the amount on the Gold Ticket was entirely different, allowing Sean to buy many more things he wanted.

Taking out the shopping list, Sean glanced at it, then looked up at the shops around them. "I still need a Cauldron, a set of stationery, and I should buy a pet too—an Owl."

"Sean, didn't the list say you could only bring one pet?"

"I'm buying that Owl for home, so you can write to Grandma. You can also use it to contact me. If the Owl comes from home, no one will mind even if I keep it in the dormitory."

Yad and Martha were both very open-minded people. The scholarship was for Sean, so naturally Sean had the final say in how it was spent. The three of them bought nearly everything, and once they purchased the pet and Owl, they could go home.

In fact, if Sean had not been worried that the pet and Owl would become restless from staying in cages too long while following them around on their shopping trip, he might have chosen to buy them first.

After wandering around for a long time, the family of three decided to take a break. They sat down at Florin Cold Drinks Shop in Diagon Alley, each ordering an ice cream to relax their bodies, exhausted from the frantic shopping.

At that moment, everything was peaceful and tranquil as the family of three enjoyed their pleasant time together.

"Father, we shouldn't come to Florin Cold Drinks Shop again. Eating the same food as those lowly Squibs does not suit the noble status of pure-bloods."

Sean frowned slightly and turned toward the source of the discordant voice. It was a boy about his age, dressed in visibly luxurious robes. Standing behind him was Borel, whom Sean had met once before. With that, Sean immediately knew who the boy calling Borel father was.

If nothing unexpected happened, he should be Sean's cousin by blood—Millicent Bulstrode!

That was right. Borel had had children earlier than his older brother Yad. The two of them were only three years apart to begin with, but Borel had married and had children earlier, so his child was actually a few months older than Sean.

Martha looked uneasily at Yad. Yad gently squeezed her hand to reassure her, then looked at his son and said softly, "There's no need to argue with them over some things. We only need to do what we should."

For Yad, words like those had never stopped since he was identified as a Squib as a child. It was only after he became an adult and left the family that he gradually escaped that environment.

Now that his son possessed magic once more, he would inevitably return to the family in the future. In Yad's simple way of thinking, he absolutely could not cause trouble for his son. If those people wanted to say a few words about him, then let them say them.

But while Yad wanted to let the matter go, Borel, who indulged his son, had no intention of ending things so easily. Especially when he saw that his Squib older brother did not say a word and remained calm and composed, Borel's anger flared up. The resentment from the last time he had followed his father to see Sean and been punished was still lodged in Borel's heart. Now that he had run into Yad, he naturally intended to vent it.

"Hogwarts truly gets worse every year. Every year, it uses the money of our Sacred Twenty-Eight, yet it raises so many lowly Mudbloods and sons of Squibs to defile the Magical World..."

The moment Borel placed sons of Squibs together with Mudbloods, he had undoubtedly revealed his malice toward Sean. If it had merely been other insults, or words directed only at himself, Yad could have pretended nothing had happened. But now Borel was practically insulting Sean to his face, using the most vicious words to abuse his son. Yad naturally could no longer endure it.

His patience had been for Sean's future, but if he could not even protect his son's present, what future was there to speak of?

Yad abruptly rose to his feet. Ignoring Borel's hand reaching for the Wand at his waist, he walked step by step until he stood before Borel and said in a low voice, "Borel, do you dare draw your Wand? Do you dare use magic in a place filled with Muggle parents, risking punishment from the Aurors outside, the Ministry of Magic, and even Father?"

Yad's words immediately stopped Borel from drawing his Wand. Just as Yad had said, he did not dare.

Seeing Borel's reaction, Yad continued, "You can't bear the consequences, so you don't dare draw your Wand. But unlike you, I can bear the consequences, so I dare to throw a punch at you!"

As he spoke, Yad slammed his fist into Borel's face!