Chapter 35

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In Diagon Alley, Meira and her family stood excitedly on the street. As soon as Meira heard that she could go shopping, she suddenly became interested. It happened that Martin and the others still needed to buy things for school, so Cole accompanied his family. The Lucius family was also there. After that day, Martin wrote a letter to Draco, telling him that he and his younger siblings were also going to Hogwarts to study. Draco jumped with joy at the news. Now, with a friend to accompany him to school, Draco was so happy. As for Goyle and Crabbe, they were just followers. Draco had never considered them to be on the same level as himself since he was a child. Only Martin, the Black cousins, could be his friends.

"Martin, will you buy an owl? I want to get a raven, but my father won't let me," Draco said softly, glancing at Lucius, who was talking to Cole. It was clear he was dissatisfied with Lucius's decision but felt powerless to change it. "Father said we could choose any pet. Anyway, if we need to send a letter, we have an owl at home," Martin replied, making Draco look envious. Regarding Martin and the others being able to freely choose their own pets, Draco wondered why Uncle Cole was so nice. At this time, Meira and Narcissa were not in the mood to look after the children and went directly to Ms. Prim Burnell's Beauty Pharmacy. Meira's beauty naturally didn't require such things, but she couldn't resist her curiosity about the difference in beauty potions in this world.

Cole didn't stop her and went directly to Ollivander's wand store with Lucius and the children. As soon as the doorbell rang, Cole walked in and saw Ollivander sticking his head out from among the pile of rubble. "Oh! Mr. Black, walnut, dragon's heartstring, ten and a quarter inches. It's a good wand, not easy to bend," Ollivander recalled as he emerged from the countless wand boxes. Cole smiled inwardly, knowing that in England, virtually all wizards' wands came from here. Ollivander, the wand master, truly had a remarkable memory, but the wand he mentioned was only used by the original Cole, as Cole had since changed it. "Mr. Malfoy, you are here too," Ollivander said, ignoring the origin of Lucius's wand, as no one would overlook the cane Lucius carried everywhere.

"Is there something wrong with your wands?" he asked. "Mr. Ollivander, this time we are selecting wands for the children. They have all received notices from Hogwarts," Cole explained. Ollivander's slightly dim eyes looked at the children following him through his glasses, and he smiled after a moment. "Time flies so fast. It seems like yesterday you came here to choose a wand. Now it's time to choose a wand for your child. Who comes first? Little Black or little Malfoy?" The unkempt Ollivander made Draco a bit uncomfortable, even making him feel the old man was a little eccentric. "I'll go first, Mr. Ollivander. My name is Martin Blake," Martin said, stepping forward in his small suit. To those unaware, he looked like the oldest among the children, aside from the eleven-year-old Draco.

Ollivander smiled, picked up the tape measure, and measured Martin, asking whether he was left-handed or right-handed. Neither the children nor Cole understood why height and arm length were being measured.

Wizards generally don't change their wands; they are items that young wizards have used since childhood. What's the point of measuring these? Cole could only suspect that this was a ploy by the Ollivander family to showcase their expertise and monopolize the wand business in the wizarding world. While measuring, Ollivander paid attention to several children of the Black family. Apart from the Weasley family, he had never seen any pure-blood family with so many children. 

"Well, the talent is extremely powerful, so try this: yew wood with a dragon's heartstring, most suitable for powerful wizards," Ollivander said as he placed a wand in Martin's hand. As Martin waved it, wand boxes in the room began to fly, and even the wands at the back began to vibrate. Unlike other young wizards who couldn't control the wand, Martin's talent was well known. Seeing this, Draco was about to jump with excitement, while Lucius looked dissatisfied. 

"Mr. Ollivander, I think it suits me well, doesn't it?" Martin felt the wand in his hand and chose it immediately. The next in line was Jerome. With the same procedure, all the wands in Ollivander's store managed to find their rightful owners. 

The success of Ben, Darlene, and Alice did not give Ollivander any sense of accomplishment. He liked picky little wizards the most, but the wands for several young wizards in the Black family were all suitable. "Okay, but remember, it's the wand that picks the wizard, not the wizard that picks the wand." Ollivander's words were ignored by Martin and others. It wasn't their first time holding a wand, and they weren't very excited. 

Draco was next, standing with an eager expression on his face. After some maneuvering, Draco received his own wand, made of hawthorn wood and unicorn hair, exactly ten inches long. Seeing Draco wave his wand, Cole couldn't help but sigh. Although Draco usually appeared arrogant, he had a kind heart. It's important to note that none of Martin's wands had unicorn hair. Sometimes, the material of the wand can reveal a person's character. For example, Martin's yew wand, often associated with death by wizards, symbolizes eternal life and immortality according to certain beliefs. 

Several children were discussing their wands when Cole didn't notice two people, one large and one small, standing outside the window. The three-meter-tall Hagrid, patting his moleskin coat, looked at Lucius through the glass with disdain and said, "There will always be annoying wizards. These evil wizards should go to Azkaban." 

When Harry entered Diagon Alley for the first time, he was curiously staring at Ollivander's Wand Shop, his face full of wonder as he heard Hagrid's words. "Hagrid, do wizards have bad guys too?" "Of course, Harry. Some bad wizards are born to harm others. You must remember to stay away from them. Come on, let's go to Gringotts to get the money first. The smell of Malfoy is always unpleasant." 

Hagrid led Harry away, clearly disgusted. Harry followed, catching the natural scent on Hagrid's body and wondering to himself, "Is there anyone with a stronger scent than you?" Of course, kind-hearted Harry did not say it out loud. Hagrid was the best person he had met in these years.