Chapter 21: The Wand of the Revolutionary (Edited)

Lysandro confidently flipped over his cards.

Three Kings.

The largest cards after three Aces.

It's not that Lysandro didn't want Vasco to have three Aces; it's just that he only had two Aces in his own hand.

Nevertheless, he had already won because there was no way the opponent could have a hand stronger than three Kings.

At the same time, Murphy also revealed his cards.

"No way!!!" Lysandro stood up in disbelief. "You cheated!"

In front of Murphy lay the unmistakable three Aces, the highest possible hand.

Lysandro angrily spread out his remaining cards. "I have two Aces here. You couldn't have three Aces!"

Murphy glanced at him and said, "You might want to take a closer look at your own cards. Are you sure you have two Aces?"

Lysandro looked down and was stunned.

Where are my Aces? I had two big Aces!

He spread out his pile of cards, and every suit and number was there, except for the Aces.

This was impossible!

He had calculated it when he divided the cards. He had two Aces.

Did I make a mistake in my sleight of hand?

He cheated!

But the wand was still in the hands of the official, and the opponent never touched the cards. How did he do it?

"I win," Murphy said, not waiting for Lysandro to argue, and he took out twenty Galleons from his pocket and pushed them across the table.

"What do you mean?" Lysandro was confused.

"It was just a game, a way to make a friend. Fairness doesn't matter, and winning or losing doesn't really matter, does it?"

Lysandro hesitated for a moment but finally collected the gold coins.

"Speak up, what do you want me to do for you?"

"Can we talk privately?"

"No need for that!" Lysandro stood up, took both wands from the official's hand, and looked around at the patrons of the tavern. "The tavern is closed, everyone get the hell out!"

Soon, except for the bartender, only Lysandro and Murphy remained.

Lysandro held Murphy's wand but didn't return it. Instead, he asked, "How did you cheat?"

"It wouldn't be fun if I told you," Murphy replied, reaching for his own wand.

"This is my turf!" Lysandro warned.

Murphy glanced at him and said, "Do you want to win, or do you want money?"

They stared at each other for a long time, and finally, Lysandro let go of his hand.

"Can you tell me your purpose now?"

"I need potion ingredients, a lot of them. I will buy your ingredients at a price one percent higher than what you would get from the apothecary. If you can acquire all the ingredients available in the market, making the other apothecaries in Diagon Alley run out of supplies, I will give you an additional one percent."

If Malfoy wanted to mess with him, wasn't it impolite not to cause him some trouble?

Lysandro was suspicious. "How much capital do you have?"

Murphy smiled. "Enough."

Fifteen minutes later, Murphy left the Siren's Song.

Lysandro sat silently by the gambling table. Suddenly, he looked at the bartender and asked, "Should we agree to his offer?"

The bartender continued wiping glasses. "If there's money, why not make a profit?"

Lysandro nodded. "I understand."

He reached out and turned over Murphy's cards.

Then he was stunned.

It was a straight flush with over twenty Aces.

"What... What's going on? Magic? Wasn't his wand taken away?"

The bartender finished wiping the last glass, took out a skull-shaped decanter from under the counter, poured some crimson liquid into the glass, and tasted it.

"You fool, who said a wizard can only have one wand?"

...

Cheating was like magic. It looked mysterious, but in reality, it was nothing to brag about.

Murphy left the tavern and placed the wand he had taken from the bald wizard back into its conspicuous position on his waist.

His own wand was hidden in a convenient pocket in his left sleeve. This was a precaution against being disarmed, but he had never expected to use it for cheating at a gambling table for the first time.

During Lysandro's performance, Murphy had used his concealed wand to cast Levicorpus and Transfiguration spells on both Lysandro's and his own card piles.

He had used Levicorpus to find the Aces in Lysandro's pile and transfigure them into ordinary cards, erasing any evidence of his own cheating.

At the same time, he transfigured all his own cards into Aces, ensuring that no matter which cards Vasco chose, he would always pick the highest hand.

With everyone believing that his wand had been confiscated, no one had noticed his cheating.

This experience taught Murphy the value of having a spare wand. Using the bald wizard's wand had some risks, but in Knockturn Alley, there were plenty of second-hand wands available.

He quickly sold the bald wizard's wand and bought several second-hand wands in decent condition as backups.

Thinking about it, his own wand had been purchased in Ollivanders, and Ollivanders remembered every wand he sold.

It was like owning a registered firearm; if he used it for illegal activities, it could be traced back to him.

Wasn't that a problem? It was indeed a problem!

Murphy thought for a moment, returned to the Leaky Cauldron, and bought a vial of Polyjuice Potion from the bartender. Then he went to Diagon Alley, found a secluded corner, and drank the potion in one gulp.

A moment later, a black-haired teenager walked into Ollivanders Wand Shop.

"Hello, is anyone here? I want to buy a wand."

Ollivander peeked out from behind the shelves. "Who wants to buy a wand?"

"It's me," the teenager replied.

"Oh, how old are you?"

"I'm eleven, and I'll be going to Hogwarts next year, so I want to buy a wand."

"Of course, of course. What's your name?"

"Murphy Darkholm."

Ollivander seemed puzzled for a moment. "Darkholm, ah, but... but..."

He stared at Murphy for a while and said, "You seem familiar. Murphy, your wand is made of beech, twelve and a half inches, unicorn hair core, a very handsome wand, just like you... but how did you..."

"Are you getting confused in your old age?" Murphy interrupted. "I haven't bought a wand before. Help me pick one."

Ollivander still seemed bewildered, as if he couldn't quite grasp what was happening, but with Murphy's urging, he finally began selecting wands for him.

"Try this one first, beech, unicorn hair, twelve and a half inches, similar to your original one..."

"Boom!"

Murphy waved the wand, and the floor exploded into a small crater.

"Oh! Oh... Well, this one won't do!"

"Then try this one..."

He tried five or six wands in a row, and finally, Murphy found one that felt right.

"Oh, this one is very good. It seems it has chosen you." Ollivander once again took Murphy's wand and stroked it. "Yew wood, fourteen inches, phoenix feather core... Yes, I remember this wand. This combination is not common, very rare... It possesses both tremendous power and versatility, suitable for challengers and revolutionaries..."

"Extraordinary, Mr. Murphy. When you truly start using this wand, you will surely achieve remarkable feats."

"Oh? Are you saying I will become a hero?"