HP 3

After the third wand, Ollivander handed to me, I was pretty sure the guy was crazy or at least utterly enjoying every moment of this. The first wand he handed me blew up in my hand, the second one blew up one of his shelves, and the third one bent away from my hand, not even allowing me to touch it.

"This will be tricky." Says the old guy, while rubbing his chin and pacing up and down behind his counter. He stops mid-step and raises an eyebrow. "Huh... Maybe that one?" He makes a one-eighty turn and with brisk steps moves toward the cupboard, he summons his ladder and goes way up high. He pulls out an ornamental box and slides down the ladder, placing the box right in front of me.

"Unyielding, 12.5 Inches, Elm with Dragon Heartstring" He says, uncovering the wand with an intricate design. "Don't give it a flick, just touch it." He says warning me.

I reach for the wand and even before I touch it, I can feel a connection forming. The moment my finger touches the wand, it felt like a lightning went through me. I feel the power coursing not only through the wand but myself as well. A magical phenomenon ruffles my clothes and hair while blowing away most of the paper in the shop. The power I held in my hand was scary and at the same time euphoric.

"This is the one." I whisper focusing on the wand. A happy clap from the old wandmaker pulls my attention.

"Good! Good to finally find a partner for that one. It was crafted by my late father, and it's been sitting on a shelf for over a hundred years." He says with a smile. After recalling the past with a smile and a lost expression, he shakes his head and turns back to me. "So Mister Thompson, will there be anything else?"

Thinking about it for a moment I nod and say. "Actually yes, learning from my past mistake, I would like a wand holster and a cleaning kit."

"Smart." He says with a nod. "I have a few designs with or without enchantments, what kind would you like?"

"Nothing over the top, just a mundane one with a quick draw function." He nods in understanding and moves to the back, bringing out a few different colored wand holsters and the cleaning kit. I pick the black one and ignore the rest.

"As this was your first wand in my shop, the wand will only cost you 7 Galleons. With the holster and the cleaning kit, that tallies up to 25 Galleons and 5 Sickles." The older man states. I place my hand into my pocket and pull out the required money, then place the holster on my arm and the wand into it. I test out its functionality a few times while receiving some guidance from the wandmaker and I leave his establishment happy and with a smile on my face.

While I explored the rest of Diagon Alley, it was quite uncomfortable holding the clothes and the wand cleaning kit, so after getting to an out-of-sight place, I placed them both inside of my inventory. I had a few options for the next shops I wanted to visit, one of them being the bookshop, but without anything to place those books into, the first place I actually visited was the trunk shop.

"Good evening." I greet the attendant. "I'd like to buy a trunk with an expansion charm, shrinking charm featherweight, and anti-theft. With at least two rooms and a library."

"Good evening! I think we have one with specific criteria. Let me check." The shopkeeper runs into the store and after some yelling and crashing, he comes back holding a silver neckless with a small trunk pendant on it.

"This is the only one we have right now. The trunk is enchanted with an unbreakable charm which extends to the necklace and the pendant, the anti-theft extends onto it as well and so does the featherweight charm." He places it down on the floor and taps it with his wand. The trunk expands to a 45 by 30 cm standard-sized trunk. Wooden, but silvery in color, and pretty stylish if I have to say so myself. Opening it he starts to explain.

"Placing any book inside will move it to the library room found inside of it." He drops a book from the counter into the trunk and it disappears. "If you need a specific book and you're too lazy to go down, you can place your hand over it and say the book name." he extends his empty hand over the trunk and says. "Charms by Gregory Willglum." With a whooshing sound, the book he just placed inside of it flies out of the trunk and lands in his hand. Placing it back on the counter he starts to enter the trunk. "Follow me please, and watch your steps!" He yells out as his body disappears into it, as I enter, he continues his explanation.

"The trunk is soundproof, both ways, but it can be turned off with that dial on the wall, to allow the outside noise to come inside." He points to the dial next to the stairs we just descended. "It has state of an art anti-theft charms, wherever you place it down, no one except you or anyone keyed to the security enchantment can lift it. The trunk has three rooms and a bathroom. One of the rooms is the library, that's through the door right there." he says and points towards the door to the left. "This is the living room and over that counter, you can see the kitchen, both are already fully furnished, but if you need any changes you can ask us to change them."

The living room had a homey atmosphere, with a couch placed in front of a fireplace, a few empty shelves around the walls, a tasteful carpet, and paintings of different landscapes. The counter to the side was actually an American-style kitchen island with chairs around it. Behind it a stove and a fridge, hopefully magical, and a few empty cupboards. No electrical appliances, but the room was well-lit.

He proceeds towards the first door and opens it, as I look inside, he continues. "This is the bedroom, again, fully furnished with a king-sized bed with a wardrobe to the side."

The bedroom, as he said, had a king-sized bed, that looked quite comfortable a few paintings of different landscapes, two nightstands, and a larger wardrobe stretching from one end of the room to the other. Exiting the room, he continues. "Let me show you the Library and the bathroom." He walks out and proceeds towards the next door. Looking inside I see a stylish, almost modern-looking, bathroom, with a sink, a small cupboard, a mirror, a bathtub with a shower head attached to it, and a toilet to the side. "This is the bathroom, with a shower and a huge bath." I nod and we proceed toward the last room. "The office area that can serve as a library. These shelves can store up to a hundred thousand books. If you're looking for a specific one you tap your wand on it and say its name. It will bring it out for you. It can even group books by their contents or by authors." He says with a smile as I look around the room. The room was nothing too extravagant, a large ornamental wooden table sat in the middle of it with a comfy-looking chair behind it, on the opposite side of the room two armchairs sat, and in between them a small coffee table. The shelf on the left side of the room looked quite small, but if the guy can be believed it can store quite a few books.

"This is just what I was thinking about. How much for it?" I ask as we leave the trunk.

"Well the original price is 6,500 galleons" He says but after noticing my grimace he quickly adds. "but it's been sitting in our shop for five years now. So if you're willing to buy it and take it off of our hands, I can give it to you for 6,300 and I'll even register it for you in the ministry. What do you say?"

"I say, you have a deal." I smile as I extend my hand for a handshake. He shakes it and goes over to the counter. "Now I have to ask you to fill this form out." He says giving me a form with too many questions. 20 minutes later, after a lengthy explanation of the trunk's features and usage, and 700 UC less in my wallet, I exit the shop smiling at a new necklace around my neck. This bad boy is coming with me when I leave this world, even If I have to pay a premium to extract it. 'Wonder how the extraction system will work with the items inside of it.'

Done with the main money hog of my shopping spree, I only hope that I'll still have enough for the bookstore. While wandering around in the alley, I located two bookstores. The first one sold new books, while the second one sold second-hand ones. If the first one didn't have everything I was looking for, I was going to visit the second one, and if even that one didn't have everything, the one in Knockturn Alley surely did. However, for that one, I would need to at least know a bit of magic, for self-defense.

First of all, I enter the second-hand bookstore, and as I enter the place, the smell of old books assaults my nose. I take in a deep breath and enjoy the aroma while giving a good glance at the place. It was a two-story establishment, housing nothing else but a single counter and shelves with books in a different state of disarray.

"I see someone else enjoys this smell, as well. Another book enthusiast, perhaps?" Asks the older male attendant from behind the counter.

"You guessed it right." I answer and turn toward the man in his fifties.

"So what can I get for a fellow book lover?" Asks the man.

"First of all, I'll need the full Hogwarts curriculum from the first to seventh year." My answer makes him rise his eyebrow.

"And may I ask why? You don't seem like someone starting his magical education."

I chuckle and answer. "You may, and it's nothing special, I studied in Mahoutokoro, and I was just interested in what the difference between the two school curriculums are."

"Ah! Interesting, interesting, but it will be quite pricy interest."

"That's okay, it's for my own enjoyment, so it's worth every penny."

"Ha! I like you, lad. Do you need all the electives and the extracurricular subjects as well?" He asks rising an eyebrow.

"Yes, even the apparition one." I answer with a nod.

"Huh... Alright, look around while I fetch them." He says before turning around and going into the back room, and I wasn't going to argue with him. I look through the shelves and straight up spot a few books that I know will interest me. I mainly focused on spell creation, enchanting, and charms, but I couldn't spot a single one for anything mind magic related.

The older guy comes back from the storage levitating seven stacks of books, he places them to the side and looks through the ones I already picked up.

"Oh, nice choices." He nods. "But if you're picking up this one, you might as well pick the second book in the series too. It's quite insightful." He says and moves from behind his counter and shows me the book.

"Alright, I'll get that one too. Any other books you would recommend?"

"Hmm." He starts rubbing his chin and I could practically see the gears turning in his head. "If you're interested in charms, perhaps these two books might interest you." He rises his wand and summons the book labeled '101 Household Charms: Be a perfect wife!' from who knows where. "Don't let the name discourage you." He says with a chuckle. "It doesn't only have cleaning and ironing charms, it has charms to help with cooking, packing, shaving, and similar other useful stuff as well." He shoves the book into my hand.

"That will be extremely useful for a bachelor like me."

"And the other one I can think of is this one." He says before summoning a book labeled 'Witchcraft and Waggery: A Collection of Mischievous Spells' from who knows where. "No sure if that one will interest you though."

"It definitively will." I say nodding and accepting the second book.

"So anything else?" He asks.

"Hmm, anything about spell crafting, rituals, or mind arts?" I ask already knowing Britain banned rituals. His face morphs into a grimace and he shakes his head.

"Rituals are banned in Magical Britain."

"Really? Even purification ones?" I ask acting all shocked. The older man looks at me confused and answers.

"Yes? Does Japan allow the usage of ritual magic?"

"Yes, and we do use them pretty often. Especially, the purification ones, how else would you remove malicious entities from haunted areas? Additionally, they are perfect for curse removals with the combination of onmyoji arts. We even have seasonal and harvest rituals, even the muggles managed to take over some of our traditions." I say nodding, pulling the information out of my ass, then I add. "It was quite the experience to learn how the Japanese Magical Society influenced the culture of the mundane people."

"Intriguing..." He mumbles, and after thinking for a bit he adds. "About the other thing you asked, I do have a few books on mind arts, specifically about Legilimency, Occlumency, and Obliviate. However, those will cost you quite a bit. Additionally, if someone asks, you didn't get them from here." He says with a stern expression.

"Perfect, I've heard about those spells, but wasn't allowed to learn them in Japan. So I'll be getting those books as well, and don't worry, my lips will be sealed. Anything else you have a spell crafting?"

"Hmm..." He says thinking for a moment, then summoning three other books labeled: 'Baby's first spell', 'Spellcrafting for Dummies' and 'How not to blow up the house: A spellcrafting guide'. "With the one you already picked, this is all I currently have."

"Fantastic, that will be all." I say heading to the counter with the already stacked heap of books.

Counting and tallying them all up, I ended up purchasing ninety-nine books, one short of a hundred and paying a total of 257 galleons for all of them.

The school books were reasonably priced, but the specialized ones accounted for a significant portion of the total cost. Once I had placed all the books in the trunk, a feeling of satisfaction washed over me, and I left the store with a smile on my face. For the time being, I had everything I needed. I knew that learning the basics of magic would take precedence over rituals, curses, and the darker aspects of magic. With that in mind, I left the Alley, stowed the items into my inventory, and strolled down the streets of London.

That was the moment when I realized something crucial - I still hadn't figured out the day or year. After leaving the magical part of town, my first order of business was to purchase a newspaper. Fortunately, newspaper vendors were readily available on almost every street corner.

As I gave a glance over the newspapers, and one headline pulled my attention. In big bold letters, it stated: "Family of Four Found Dead After Home Invasion!"

Out of morbid curiosity, that's the one I picked. Firstly, I checked the date and I was pleasantly surprised, that it was Monday the 17th of June 1991. With that, I was sure I had enough time to learn magic and maybe even do a few quests before the start of the school year on the first of September.

I flipped open the paper and ended up on the page that was talking about me. The picture of the cordoned-off Dursley's house was displayed in the middle of the page, so I gave it a quick read.

'A quiet residential neighborhood was rocked by tragedy yesterday when a family of four was discovered dead in their home. According to police, the family was the victim of a home invasion that took place late Saturday night.

The victims have been identified as Vernon and Petunia Dursley, both in their early forties, their child, Dudley, 11, and their nephew Harry, 10. The Dursleys were a well-liked and respected family in the community, and their deaths have left their neighbors and friends in shock and mourning.

Police were called to the scene late at night on Sunday after a concerned neighbor was woken up by screams and noticed that the Dursleys' lights were on. When officers arrived, they discovered the bodies of the family members near the entrance of the house. The investigation is ongoing, but initial reports suggest that the family was attacked during a robbery.

"This is a heinous crime, and we will do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice," said Police Chief Johnson in a statement to the press. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and their loved ones during this difficult time."

The community is coming together to support the Dursleys' extended family and to offer condolences and support to each other during this tragic time. Funeral arrangements for the family are pending.

The investigation into the Dursleys' deaths is ongoing, and police are asking anyone with information about the crime to come forward. Meanwhile, the community is left grappling with the loss of a beloved family and trying to come to terms with the senseless violence that has shattered their peaceful neighborhood.'

"The Dursley's beloved? Ha!" I couldn't help but chuckle, and I was actually surprised by myself. Reading the article about yesterday's happenings didn't even faze me a bit.

As I shake my head, I turn the pages of the newspaper until I reach the advertisement section. I'm in search of a tranquil apartment to live in for the next few months. One particular ad grabs my attention due to its favorable location and reasonable price. Without wasting any time, I scan the area for a telephone booth and dial the first number listed.