A pity he never heard "a picky customer"

Diagon Alley.

Vinda appeared out of thin air with the two boys.

[Congratulations on entering Diagon Alley, host. Achievement unlocked: Explore Diagon Alley]

[Achievement point reward: 100]

Before Argus could celebrate, he saw Draco beside him, bracing himself against a wall and dry-heaving.

"Urgh!"

"Don't tell me this was your first time using Apparition?" Argus wore an odd expression.

"Of course not!" Draco almost jumped at that, but before he could straighten up, he started retching again.

After about two or three minutes, he finally recovered.

Just as Argus was about to enter Diagon Alley with Draco, several furtive figures caught his attention.

Aurors? Or people from the pure-blood families?

Argus cast Vinda a questioning glance, and she nodded.

She meant that she had already noticed.

"Argus, go and buy the things you need for Hogwarts. I have something to take care of." Vinda quietly drew her wand from her sleeve, signaling to Argus that she would deal with them first.

Argus understood and nodded. "Aunt Vinda, go ahead. I'll take Draco shopping, then come and find you."

He turned to Draco.

"Come on. Let's go to the Ollivander Wand Shop first."

Argus set off and arrived outside a shop.

Its entrance was shabby and narrow, and piles upon piles of wands left almost nowhere to stand inside.

It was hard to imagine that this was the workshop of one of Europe's three greatest wandmakers, the cradle of countless wizards.

"Oh, two young wizards. Welcome."

A polished British accent sounded from among a great pile of boxes, and a grimy, white-haired old man emerged in a brown robe with flared sleeves.

"Hello, Mr. Ollivander!" Argus showed considerable respect for this leading technical expert of the wizarding world.

"Come in, children."

Ollivander warmly ushered them both inside.

"Platinum-blond hair, the bearing of a pure-blood-you must be the Malfoy boy! I still remember when your father came to buy his wand. It was made of elm and dragon heartstring."

"In the blink of an eye, his son is old enough for school."

The moment he saw Draco, Ollivander displayed the qualities of the British wizarding world's foremost information broker, as though reminiscing about those days.

Yet when he turned to Argus, a trace of puzzlement flashed through his eyes.

"An aristocratic bearing, blond hair and blue eyes... as I recall, none of Britain's pure-blood families seem to have those traits. You are...?"

"Just call me Argus."

Seeing that Argus had not answered directly, Ollivander asked no further questions and went straight to business.

"All right, Argus. Tell me, which hand do you favor?"

"You've misunderstood, Mr. Ollivander. I'm only accompanying Draco. As for a wand..."

Argus drew his wand from inside his clothes and showed it to Ollivander.

"I already have one."

"Oh! Good heavens!"

The moment Argus produced his wand, Ollivander stumbled toward him as though he had seen some rare treasure.

He exclaimed again and again!

"Elder wood, a core I've never seen before... this is..."

"Qilin. Qilin nerve, from a fantastic beast native to the distant East."

"Qilin?"

From the wand's materials alone, Ollivander realized that Argus was no ordinary person.

The last time a Qilin had appeared was during Dumbledore and Grindelwald's final battle.

Since then, no one had seen this fantastic beast again.

The fact that the boy before him could produce a wand made with Qilin nerve left no doubt about his background!

"Are you from the Dumbledore family?"

Although phrased as a question, his tone was utterly certain, making Argus's smile instantly freeze.

If not for the aristocratic decorum he had cultivated over the years, he would have snatched the wand straight out of Ollivander's hands.

What was wrong with his eyes?

How did I look like someone from that old bee's family?

Was he worthy?

In truth, acquiring this wand had involved a certain amount of coincidence.

Originally, Argus had not intended to choose a wand so early.

By chance two years earlier, he had discovered that Grindelwald had kept some Qilin hair, scales, and nerves among his stores for research.

Naturally, he would not let such precious materials slip away.

That was how the wand in his hand had come to be.

Taking a deep breath, Argus barely managed to maintain his polite smile.

"Mr. Ollivander, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Argus."

"Argus Grindelwald!"

The next moment, Ollivander's eyes widened.

Having witnessed the era when Gellert Grindelwald swept across Europe, he knew all too well what that surname meant.

Had his father not held him back, he might have become one of the Acolytes himself.

What a pity... ah!

For a moment, Ollivander did not know what to say to Argus.

"Mr. Ollivander, could you help me choose a wand first?"

Draco's words broke the silence.

Ollivander snapped out of his daze and hurried over to Draco with a tape measure. "Young Mr. Malfoy, which arm do you favor?"

"My right!"

"Try this one. Nine and a half inches, redwood and dragon heartstring. Very similar to your father's!"

Finally returning to normal, Ollivander pulled a box from the pile and handed it to Draco.

Draco held the wand and gave it a wave.

An explosion rang out, and the shop window shattered.

"Not very comfortable."

Draco shook his head, not entirely satisfied.

"It seems you're rather different from your father. Try this one. Ten inches, hawthorn, with a unicorn tail hair core."

With a wave of the wand, the shattered shop window slowly repaired itself.

Draco clutched the wand as though he had received a new toy, reluctant to put it down.

"This is the one!"

"That will be seven Galleons. Thank you!"

After leaving the Ollivander Wand Shop, Argus smacked his lips.

He had not heard Ollivander's classic line-"a picky customer."

That left him feeling somewhat disappointed.

Draco gave him no time to dwell on it, pulling him straight toward the other side of Diagon Alley.

"Let's order our Hogwarts school robes at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions first, then pick out a few dress robes at Twilfitt and Tattings."

"You know, Madam Malkin's is really far too low-class. If Hogwarts didn't insist on accommodating those Muggle-born wizards, I wouldn't..."

Before they knew it, the two had arrived outside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Quite a few young wizards were choosing robes inside.

"Hello, are you two new Hogwarts students?"

Argus answered with a smile. "Yes, Madam Malkin. Please make a few sets of regulation Hogwarts school robes for my friend and me."

"No problem. Just a moment."

Madam Malkin was a short, plump witch dressed in purple. She looked very kindly, rather like a middle-aged woman from next door.

After measuring Argus and Draco, she took out several ready-made robes and waved her wand to set the needles threading. Needles, thread, and scissors moved continually through the robes, adjusting their sizes.

"Madam, may I ask roughly how long our robes will take?"

Argus thought they probably would not get their robes for a while, so he planned to buy a cauldron and the first-year textbooks first.

Just then, the bell at the shop entrance rang.

Ding!

As the shop door opened, a thin, frail boy walked in.

The moment he entered, the boy displayed a timid air, seemingly afraid to look at anyone, let alone speak to them.

Argus grew alert.

Oversized clothes, a slightly lost and helpless expression.

And at the entrance... a giant!

Could it be...