Chapter 4: Wand Selection for a Wizard

"Good morning," a soft voice came from beside Tom, and a sharp-eyed old man appeared next to them.

Professor McGonagall stood up and said to the old man, "Good morning, Ollivander. I've brought my student here to buy a wand today."

"Oh, no problem, that's wonderful," Ollivander nodded and then looked at Tom. He took out a silver tape measure and inquired about Tom's dominant hand. He proceeded to measure Tom's arm length, leg length, height, head circumference, and other dimensions, leaving Tom with a puzzled expression.

Tom couldn't help but ask, "Sir, why do you need to measure so many data points? I'm just here to buy a wand..."

"Because every wand from the Ollivander family is unique," Ollivander said with pride. "We've been doing this for generations. Before providing a wand to a customer, we measure their physical parameters and choose a wand based on those."

"But I'm only eleven years old. These parameters will change in the future, won't they?" Tom was a bit confused. "And after measuring all these parameters, you won't just hand me a wand right away, will you?"

Ollivander looked pleased, like a teacher who had been asked an interesting question by a student. 

"You're absolutely right," he said. "A person's body shape changes, but I only need prepubescent data. Based on the proportions between these measurements, I determine a range, and then I select a wand within that range."

"I see," Tom said thoughtfully, looking at the thousands of wand boxes in the room. It did make sense to narrow down the possibilities first.

As they talked, Ollivander finished measuring. He led Tom to a stack of wands, but before he could pick one, one of the boxes started trembling. The next moment, it flew out from among the countless boxes and landed firmly in Tom's hand.

"Oh? A very rare occurrence," Ollivander said, looking surprised. It seemed that such a thing didn't happen often. He examined the box closely and displayed a complex expression.

"It's this wand..." Ollivander seemed lost in memory, and after a while, he snapped back to reality, realizing he still had customers in the shop.

"Sorry, I got carried away. This wand is my father's final work. It's been here for decades, but no wizard has ever claimed it..." Ollivander looked extremely pleased, genuinely happy that the wand had finally found its owner.

"Which wand core do you think is the most powerful?" Ollivander asked Tom, not waiting for Professor McGonagall's response. But then he continued talking to himself, "Every wizard thinks that phoenix feather cores are the most powerful in the world, but they're not. Thestral tail hair cores are the most powerful. The founder of Ilvermorny, Isolt Sayre, used a Thestral tail hair core in her wand. This type of core can even sense Dark Arts and warn its owner. It's unmatched in power."

Ollivander gently opened the box, revealing an exceptionally beautiful wand. The wand was slender, with subtle coiling patterns that resembled a snake wrapping around it. The handle had an empty slot.

"This wand is made of gold acacia wood and Thestral tail hair, thirteen inches long. If you manage to obtain a gem from the forehead of a Thestral, it can be embedded in the handle. These gems can grant the user invisibility and flight."

Tom was somewhat astonished. This wand could provide invisibility?

"Child, go ahead and give it a try," Ollivander handed the wand to Tom.

Tom took the wand and felt a warmth in his fingertips, along with a surge of excitement. Faint sounds of wind and thunder filled his ears.

"Very good, excellent!" Ollivander looked extremely pleased. He carefully placed Tom's wand back into its box, wrapped it in parchment paper, and handed it to Tom. Tom paid seven Galleons for the wand, and Ollivander bowed and saw them out of the shop.

Tom checked his character screen and noticed a new entry in the magical items section:

[Wand (Gold Acacia Wood, Thestral Tail Hair, Thirteen Inches)

Star Rating: Five Stars

Compatibility: Ninety-six Percent]

Although the wand cost him only seven Galleons, it had completely depleted his budget.

"Do you have a plan to pay back the money?" Professor McGonagall asked curiously. She couldn't fathom how an eleven-year-old boy could earn 20 Galleons.

"I saw that Gringotts should have a Muggle currency to Galleons exchange service, right?" Tom glanced at the imposing tall building in the distance.

"Yes, but there are limits. Those goblins are quite shrewd, and some of them even have degrees in economics."

"Ha!" Tom chuckled, recalling a widely circulated joke about economists.

One day, Prime Minister Hack wanted to discuss economic issues with two Cabinet Secretaries. His secretary Bernard told him, "Sir, Sir Humphrey doesn't understand economics; he studied classical literature."

Hack asked, "What about Frank?"

Bernard replied, "He understands it even less; he's an economist!"

"So, do you think they might exchange more gold for me?" Tom had already identified a loophole in the rule: gold was a natural currency, and the goblins would prefer it to pounds.

"That's possible, but where will you get the gold?" Professor McGonagall found this child increasingly intriguing.

"It's not difficult," Tom knew of a hidden place that was perfect for him to exploit.

Professor McGonagall nodded and didn't ask further questions. After performing an Apparition, she disappeared.

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[End Of Chapter]