Hogwarts: The Witch Education Handbook

Chapter 5 Silverwood Wand

After passing through the second silver door, two fairies bowed to Sean and led him into a tall marble hall.

A huge conical chandelier hangs in the center of the hall, its light dazzling like a starry night sky, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daytime; while the marble pillars around it are carved with intricate patterns, seemingly telling ancient and mysterious stories.

About a hundred goblins sat on high stools behind a long row of counters. Some were weighing coins on bronze scales, others were examining gems with eyepieces, and they were hastily recording their findings in a large ledger. The hall had countless doors, each leading to a different place, and many goblins were guiding people through these doors.

Sean walked toward the counter.

"Vault 128." Before the fairy could ask any questions, Sean placed the vault key on the counter.

Behind the counter, a man in a suit who looked like a little old man bowed to the fairy and said, "Yes, sir, please follow me."

Sean followed the goblin out of one of the doors into the hall, where a narrow stone corridor came into view, illuminated by burning torches.

The stone corridor is a steep downhill slope with a small railway running below.

The fairy merely whistled, and a small cart rushed toward them along the railway tracks.

After Sean got into the trolley, it sped through the maze-like, winding passages until it passed an underground lake covered with huge stalactites and stalagmites, at which point the trolley stopped at a doorway in the passage.

Sean looked troubled and leaned against the wall ever since he got off the stroller to make sure he wouldn't fall.

British Muggle and wizard traffic isn't great, and now the list has to include fairies.

He dodged the first two but not the latter.

Sean speculated with the utmost malice that this unpleasant experience might be a major tactic the fairies used to prevent the wizard from frequently withdrawing money.

The fairy used a key to unlock the door, and a thick green smoke billowed out. After the smoke dissipated, dozens of piles of Galleons emitted an alluring glow in the stone chamber.

Approximately 20 Galleons.

This is all the wealth he has accumulated over the years.

There is nothing else besides that.

Under the watchful gaze of the demones, Sean grabbed a handful of Galleons and haphazardly stuffed them into several snakeskin bags that had been prepared beforehand.

When the several burlap sacks were already full, there were still quite a few Galleons left in the stone chamber. Sean glanced at them and estimated there were about twenty or thirty thousand left.

"Come back for it next time." The fairy standing to the side also saw through the wizard's intentions. He actually wanted to withdraw all the money he had deposited in Gringotts, so she quickly dissuaded him.

Sean nodded calmly.

He already has over 100,000 Galleons to squander for a while, so keeping the rest here as emergency reserve funds is a good option.

And so, led by the fairy, he returned to the ground.

What's worth mentioning is that perhaps Sean's behavior just now caused the goblins to develop something called "service attitude," because the trolley back was unusually smooth, just like... Sean was riding a slow-moving green train in his previous life. He even had the leisure to look around, trying to find the fire dragon that was said to be hidden beneath Gringotts.

Unfortunately, he clearly didn't have that destiny.

After walking out of Gringotts' bronze doors, Sean followed the cobblestone path for a long time before finally spotting a small, shabby shop.

The gold lettering on the shop door has fallen off, and it reads: Ollivanders - Crafting fine wands since 382 BC.

From the outside, the shop window display is covered in dust, and a magic wand sits alone on a faded purple cushion.

Sean pushed open the door and went inside. He heard a series of jingling bells coming from somewhere at the back of the shop.

The last time Sean visited this shop was about twelve or thirteen years ago. He couldn't remember the exact date, but he hadn't forgotten the shop's decor; in fact, he had a hard time forgetting it.

Inside the shop, there was only a solitary bench, while inside, thousands of long, narrow boxes towered into the sky, arranged neatly like a mountain, creating a unique bridge between the floor and the ceiling.

An old man was surrounded by these boxes, his head down, seemingly busy with something.

Noticing Sean's gaze, the other person looked up: "What is it?"

"Mr. Ollivander, my wand was damaged during the adventure... so I thought..." Sean said, taking off his black mask and sunglasses.

Of course, this was a lie; Sean needed a new wand just in case, to do something special.

"Phillips," Ollivander studied Sean's face carefully for a moment, then recognized the explorer and author who had become quite the sensation in recent years, and said with a regretful tone, "This sounds like a very sad story..."

"I still remember the wand you used, thirteen inches long, made of silver linden wood, with dragon nerve..."

"The other day, a lot of incoming young wizards came to choose their wands, and they all said in unison that they wanted a wand made of the same material as yours or Lockhart's..." Ollivander said irritably. "The last time silver linden wands were this popular was in the nineteenth century, because of the shortage, some unscrupulous wand makers dyed inferior wood to fool buyers..."

"But the exquisite appearance of the silver linden wand certainly attracts many young wizards, doesn't it?"

Sean interrupted Ollivander's spellcasting in time; if he were to continue, it would probably start from the history of the shop more than a thousand years ago, and he didn't have that kind of time.

But Sean's words seemed to displease Ollivander, who frowned and said, "A glamorous exterior can never conceal an empty interior. Our ancestors determined long ago that it is the wand that chooses the wizard, because it always faithfully reflects the qualities of its owner..."

Ollivander abruptly changed the subject, muttering things like about a restless society and a disorderly Ministry of Magic. Sean could easily guess that he had been holding these words in for a long time.

After a long while, Ollivander finally ended his pointless rant, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a long measuring tape with silver markings.

"Right hand, Mr. Phillips."

Sean obediently extended his arm.

The measuring tape flew up automatically and began measuring dimensions as Ollivander moved, from wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and finally head circumference.

After the measurement was completed, the measuring tape fell to the ground, and Ollivander began to move through the back shelves, picking up several boxes and returning to the counter.