As soon as they entered, Anna was enveloped by the faint smell of wood. The whole shop was very quiet, so quiet that it seemed out of place in Diagon Alley.
Other than a bench, there were thousands of small boxes. They were stacked high in the cabinet, but they were arranged neatly.
Anna liked the environment here very much. She thought that it would be better if there were some green plants to decorate the place. It would be more lively.
Dumbledore and Anna sat down on the only bench in the room.
"It seems that Mr. Ollivander is not in the shop now." Dumbledore looked around. "It's still the same."
"Actually, Mr. Ollivander is just hiding." Anna shrugged. "This is his technique. Every time someone comes to buy a wand, he will hide."
Anna lowered her voice and told Dumbledore, "He will ask the customer to wait, so that he can firmly control the rhythm of the business."
"Is that so!?" Dumbledore really did not know about this.
"Of course!
I knew it long ago. "Anna pointed at herself proudly." I'm an old 'Diagon Alley person'! "
There was a slight sound of footsteps, and an old man came out from behind a wooden cabinet. "Sorry, a picky customer just came, and the storeroom was in a mess..."
"Good afternoon... Headmaster Dumbledore!
What a rare guest! "Ollivander came out from behind the shelf and greeted the two." And Anna... "
"Going to school in Hogwarts?" He winked at Anna. "Finally willing to buy a wand from me?"
"This money still needs to be spent..." Anna scratched her head.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander. We have not seen each other for some time." Dumbledore stroked his beard. "Are you familiar with Miss Lawrence?"
"Oh!
Of course! "
Ollivander nodded and stepped over a small pile of messy documents on the ground. "The shops around here are all familiar with her, and the Weasley children..."
"She should be old enough to go to school!"
Ollivander laughed out loud. "She and the twins are too noisy. Sometimes, they even bring a boy with a red turban with them … Not long ago, they tried to fight Quidditch while riding a broom in Diagon Alley. In the end, they accidentally rushed into Overturn Alley!"
Riding a broom was real, and playing Quidditch was fake. The real purpose was to find out which corner of Overturn Alley was the most suitable place to set off Darkfiend Fireworks …
"You won't have so much freedom in the Hogwarts." Ollivander turned around and took out a wand from the nearest cupboard. He smiled at Anna. "I helped you measure the ratio last time. I've already prepared a few wands that should be suitable for you."
"Try this one first. It's made of the very popular rowan wood and dragon heart string. It's 9 inches long and it's easier to bend …"
Anna took the wand. She felt as if she was taking a tree branch. There was no special reaction. She shrugged her shoulders.
Ollivander kept the wand. "Not this one, not this one … Then try this one. It's made of larch wood and unicorn hair. It's 7 inches long and it's very elastic."
It was a lighter colored wand. Anna took it but she still didn't feel anything. "It's a little heavier than the previous one." She looked at the wand carefully. "It looks quite nice."
"The color of the larch wood wand is very warm. It's very popular among the female wizards. However, it's very picky. It will choose wizards who 'don't realize that they're very talented'." Ollivander took back the wand in Anna's hand and rummaged through the box. "It seems that our Anna is very clear about her talent … Hmm … This one …"
Ollivander picked up a straight wand and smiled. "This one. It's made of dogwood and phoenix tail feathers. It's 11 inches long and very hard. It's very special, very special …"
"Is there a saying?"
Anna took the wand. Strangely, she could feel her palm slowly heating up, as if something was tickling her palm.
"Dogwood wands like to cause trouble. The master they choose usually also likes to cause trouble." Ollivander nodded his head.
"It's very suitable for you. It's famous for its strength. It can cast very high-level spells under difficult conditions. I think this has something to do with its master's pranks."
"This kind of wand will look for a master who can bring excitement and joy to it … Most of the dogwood wands are very noisy and don't like to cast a silent spell. But, like I said, this one is special …"
"Try waving it." Ollivander was a little excited. "I like the scene when a dogwood wand and a wizard pair up."
Waving it?
Anna looked at Headmaster Dumbledore who was standing at the side with great interest. Alright, I'll try it.
Anna waved the wand very gently.
"Swoosh —" The nearest cabinet shook a few times.
Some vines quickly grew out from the corners of the cabinet and quickly wrapped the whole cabinet. There were also some small red flowers blooming in some places.
"Good, good!
This wand has finally found its master! "Ollivander stared at Anna, his eyes almost showing the word 'excited'.
"Old friend, is this wand very picky?" Dumbledore looked at Ollivander curiously.
"Yes!
It's mainly because the core of the wand came from an eastern phoenix. It's a very ancient material. They are always very low-key, "Ollivander explained.
"It's all my fault for forgetting the origin of the wand when I made it, I combined it with the high-profile Dogwood Tree. The benefits are obvious, it neutralizes the shortcoming of the Dogwood Wand that it can't release a Silent Spell …"
"But this also makes it very difficult for me to find a suitable master. First of all, they have to be very talented and like to cause trouble. Most importantly, they have to be very low-key."
Secretly causing trouble, don't use guns.
"Cough cough!"
Anna coughed violently, trying to end the topic. Mr. Ollivander knew her too well. "Then how much does this special wand cost?"
"Eight Garen. After all, it's a special model." Ollivander gestured eight with his hand.
Anna looked at the wand in her hand and began to doubt whether this wand was really special or just a marketing ploy by an unscrupulous merchant …
Forget it, since he had been talking for so long … Anna counted eight Garen from the pouch.
"Do you have that kind of … uh … warranty service?
The kind that can be unconditionally replaced if it's damaged within a few months … "
"No, every wand is unique. If it's damaged, we have to buy a new one." Ollivander smiled as he took the glittering wand from Anna's hand. "So you have to take good care of your wand. I have a wand maintenance manual here …"
"Free?"
"Two Garen, but a full set of wand maintenance tools."
Ollivander's eyes flashed with a 'treacherous' light in Anna's eyes. "If you want to become a member, I'll give you a discount the next time you buy a wand."
After pausing for a second, Ollivander continued, "You only need to spend three more Garen …"
"Goodbye, Mr. Ollivander." Anna pulled Principal Dumbledore and turned to leave, as if she would lose more than half of her money if she stayed here for another second.
Dumbledore waved at Ollivander and followed Anna out of the shop. He was in a good mood as he recalled their interesting conversation.
Ollivander chuckled and waved goodbye to the two of them. When the shop was completely quiet again, he walked to the cabinet that was covered in vines and looked out of place.
"It's really special." He muttered to himself, not sure if he was talking about Anna or the Dogwood Wand, or maybe he was admiring the vine cabinet in front of him.
"But it's a good thing …" He went to the back of the cabinet and took out the wand. He walked out and smiled at the next little wizard who walked in and looked around. "Good afternoon."
The little wizard was shocked and stammered, "Good afternoon, sir, uh …" He noticed the eye-catching vine cabinet. It was very different from the surroundings, but this strange and funny feeling made him relax.
"This cabinet is very nice …"
"It's full of vitality, right?" Ollivander winked at him. "I think so too."