10 The Rewards of Hard work

Garrick had seen his nephew locking himself inside his room to practice his Occlumency. It had been two months since his Occlumency shielding stage was completed and currently, the boy was trying to get a hold of the faux memory creation stage.

At times, he saw his younger brother's shadow in Ian. The same determination and the same stubbornness that he loved and hated so much. But those were proof, proof that Ian was Gerald's son, his nephew.

"How is progress coming along?"

The boy staring through the window perked up after hearing his uncle's voice.

"Ah, uncle." He greeted the lord. "It's decent. I almost managed to create a thin layer of memory but it's not strong enough to retain itself when faced with Legilimency."

To be able to form a faux memory layer with the help of nothing but books as a guide, Garrick was in awe of his nephew's talents. He was good at Occlumency, the fact that he was able to keep the secrets of his family's wandmaking from ever leaking was proof of it. But it took him months to get the basics right and years to master the art of Occlumency, he knew that he wasn't the best choice of a teacher for this art and hence he let his nephew continue in his way.

At times, he felt as if he wasn't doing enough for Ian and that pained him. Ian didn't ask for expensive toys or clothes, he didn't ask for the exquisite cuisines. It bothered Garrick a great deal that he wasn't able to provide Ian with the massive fortune that was meant for him.

Because Ian never wanted it.

However, there was something that he could give Ian, something that Ian would love and something that only he can give his nephew.

"Ian." He called his nephew who had gone back to staring out of the window. The window was his favourite as it allowed Ian to enjoy the beautiful scenery that couldn't be accessed from any other window within the mansion.

"Yes, uncle?"

"How busy is your schedule these days?" He wondered if the boy was overworking himself again.

"Eh, it's not too busy. I have my Occlumency training and other basic studies. Other than that, I am free."

'So, he is overworking himself.' Garrick sighed in his mind. 'Just about to be ten and he is already studying so much.'

But it also made him proud. His nephew's progress was far grander than any of the other heirs and if things continued in this way, he would be the most famous of his generation.

"Your birthday is coming." Garrick reminded Ian, which made the heir pause for a few seconds.

"Oh, it is in two weeks." Ian sort of panicked as he realised all the preparations he had to make for the event, the guests he had to meet and the possible screw-ups he had to avoid.

"Do not worry." Garrick assured. "I will handle the difficult stuff, just focus on enjoying your day."

As an uncle, he didn't want his nephew to shoulder too much burden. The event was going to be a massive opportunity for both him and the family to build connections but that didn't mean he wanted his nephew to tend to the lords just to please them.

He was the heir of the Ollivanders and as such, people had to come to him and not the other way around.

"But that is not why I reminded you about your birthday." Garrick said.

"Then?" Ian wondered if there was something he had to prepare for.

"Do you remember that a year ago you asked if you could learn our family's Wandlore?" He smiled as he saw Ian's ears perk up.

"Yes?"

Garrick placed his hand over the young heir's head. "After your birthday, I will start teaching you about it."

Just this sentence made Ian almost jump in joy. Wandlore and wandmaking were something special to the Ollivanders and his uncle agreeing to teach him this ancient art was no less than a miracle.

He expected to learn about it eventually but not so soon. However, it was not something that he could complain about. After all, out of all the different types of studies, Wandlore was the one he was most excited about.

"You will soon be enrolled into a magical academy, preferably Hogwarts, in a year or so. And before that, I want to at least impart the basic knowledge of our family's Wandlore to you. So that you can research and advance it as you continue your studies in Hogwarts."

Ian nodded at that. He understood the reason and self-learning and research was the best way to improve oneself when it came to new topics. As long as the basics were strong, even the most complex topics could be easily tackled.

"Thank you, uncle."

He was ecstatic to know that his Wandlore studies will soon start and it was not going to be just about woods and cores, but every detail on how a wand works and how to create it.

Garrick chuckled. "You truly are his son."

…

Two days after the talk with his uncle, Ian had completed building a basic memory layer. It took him a long time, two months and eight days to be precise, but finally he was able to build a memory layer that wouldn't immediately shatter upon impact from Legilimency.

Now, how did he know that it wouldn't break that easy? Well, the completed status that the 'Book of the Wise' displayed was enough proof for him.

<Reward: Instruction Manual to Merlin's Pendant of Occlumency (Obtained)>

And even greater than that.

<Occlumency: The Art of Protection of the Mind>

<Quest: Learn and master the basic stages of Occlumency>

<Progress: 100%>

'Finally.' After months of grinding Occlumency, he was finally able to complete the basics of it. He wasn't good enough to hide his secrets from an experienced wizard, but he could easily hide them from the average wizard.

But above all else, the thing that interested him the most was the reward.

Finally, the hard work that he did had paid off. The process was bitter but the reward was sweeter.

`Congratulations, young wizard. To be able to learn such difficult magic in barely a few months is inspiring. But you have done so and for that you have been rewarded.`

Ian felt himself grinning as he read the message.

`The mind is a wizard's greatest tool. And it is the wizard's responsibility to keep that tool protected. There are many that can harm the mind with their Legilimency and this pendant isn't made to keep your mind protected from being read but instead it will keep the mind protected from curses and any other form of magic that can directly cause harm to your psyche.`

He had already figured it was more of a defensive item that an anti-mind reading device.

Which wasn't too bad either. He had heard of countless spells that had driven wizards insane and damaged their minds beyond repair.

This for Ian, was a great reward.

`As promised, for the completion of the third stage you have now been rewarded with the recipe to make the defensive pendant.`

And within a moment, the writings changed to reveal a long list of items and procedures to craft a pendant that could shield him from mental attacks.

There were a lot of steps, from engraving the pendant with minuscule designs, adding magical items and herbs and even casting spells. But Ian knew that in the end, it was all going to be worth it.

`As for the final quest reward, it is the location to the scale of the Leviathan. And when the time comes, I will tell you how it can be used.`

Ian frowned a little at that.

`Till then, have patience.`

He sighed as he knew there was nothing he could do about it. So, he shifted his focus onto the instructions for the pendant.

However, before starting with the initial process, he had something else to do. Something else to read.

A letter.

He smiled as he saw the name 'Hannah Abbott' written over it. After their meeting at the party, they had been exchanging letters to get to know each other. He guessed it was Hannah's aunt that both wanted her to have a friend and also to figure out Ian's motive for approaching her.

But it wasn't a bad thing. Through the exchange of letters, they had come to know a lot about each other. And while he initially thought that Hannah was just another rich heiress, he was way off the mark.

She was very much like him, equally determined and hardworking.

`Dear Ian,

I hope you are doing well. The weather's been pretty bad these days and I haven't been able to go out either. However, thanks to your book recommendations, I have been able to keep myself busy. It's been a pleasant few days despite having to remain within my room. I haven't met anyone close to my age that was into books, especially a boy. Even amongst the girls, Daphne is the only one that is immersed in reading —whose group I have surprisingly become a part of.

However, the reason for writing this letter to you is to let you know that I have received the invitation to your birthday party. I will be happy to visit, so thank you a lot for inviting me.

I wish you the best.

—From your friend,

Hannah.`

Ian smiled as he saw her addressing him as her friend. He wasn't certain if it was by her choice or a plot by the adults but whatever the cause was, that little way of addressing made him happy.

"It looks like uncle started handing out the invitations." He mumbled and looked at the book. 'I should start working on this… and hopefully finish it before the event. After all, who knows I might end up needing this pendant.'

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