Chapter 56: The Second Wand

To avoid exposure, Phineas knew he needed to master a spell he hadn't yet learned: Occlumency.

He didn't believe for a moment that a wizard entangled in vampire civil wars wouldn't be proficient in Legilimency. If someone tried to delve into his thoughts, he'd need to be ready.

With this in mind, he opened the system interface in his mind to check his remaining House Treasure Chests and Library Passes that hadn't yet been redeemed.

In his current situation, learning Occlumency the traditional way wasn't an option. Time was too short, and the environment far too hostile. His only chance was to bet on the system's rewards and hope he could extract the Occlumency skill directly. If that didn't work, his last resort would be to purchase it from the system's store—though the cost was exorbitant. The Occlumency spell alone cost nearly one-third of the gems he'd saved up over a decade.

That was how black-hearted the system's pricing truly was.

Fortunately, Phineas's luck remained as absurdly strong as ever. From more than twenty library passes, he drew over a dozen Occlumency cards and three Legilimency cards. Additionally, a House Treasure Chest yielded an Occlumency spell powerful enough to push his mastery of the art to its highest level.

With his mind now properly shielded, Phineas felt a great weight lift from his chest. At the very least, he didn't need to fear having his thoughts forcibly read—especially the secret about what Professor Jonathan had given him.

As for Veritaserum, Phineas doubted these vampires had access to it. The potion was strictly controlled by the Ministry of Magic, and its recipe was notoriously difficult—on par with advanced mind-enhancing draughts. Only skilled Potioneers could craft it, and such talent was rare among vampires. After all, spellcasting was already limited to higher-tier vampires, and those with the talent and training to become Potion Masters were even scarcer.

Phineas's interaction with the system wasn't visible to outsiders, but the unfortunate timing couldn't have been worse—he was standing up when it happened, having just returned to consciousness.

Right then, the red-robed vampire who had kidnapped him returned to the cave entrance.

"Ah, the little wizard's awake. Tie him up. Search him again—make sure there's no wand hidden on him. And cut off the finger with the ring," he barked.

Though Phineas was focused on the system interface, he heard every word.

He shivered. Even in the wizarding world, there was no surefire way to reattach a severed limb unless it was done immediately. Some potions and healing spells could help if the wound was fresh, but once enough time had passed, the damage became permanent.

And who knew if these vampires would even bother keeping the finger intact?

He was certain they wouldn't dare kill him—not with Hogwarts and Dumbledore watching—but becoming permanently maimed was still a terrifying possibility.

At this point, resistance wasn't optional. It was urgent and necessary.

The only problem? Phineas couldn't use most of his combat magic without a wand. Even with the system's help, learning spells was only the first step—mastery required repetition and precision. And wandless or nonverbal casting raised the difficulty significantly.

To make matters worse, some powerful spells—like the Killing Curse—required a legitimate target. You couldn't just cast it into the air repeatedly to level up.

So his only hope was a wand.

Unfortunately, the vampires guarding him were clearly low-tier and incapable of spellcasting. They didn't carry wands.

The idea of disarming them was off the table.

But Phineas had another option: the System Store.

It was expensive, but he could buy a wand there.

Basic wands made of common magical wood with dragon heartstring or unicorn hair cores cost over 3,000 gems. Wands with rare materials like phoenix feather or basilisk nerve cost more than 4,000. The most prestigious woods—like elder or snakewood—with ancient or extinct core materials soared beyond 10,000.

The most expensive, of course, was the Elder Wand, currently in Dumbledore's possession, priced at an astronomical 9.99 million gems.

The store also offered a custom wand for 30,000 gems, crafted specifically for the buyer's magical nature and preferences. It would only respond to the owner, and even had a tracking and return function if stolen.

But with no time to waste customizing anything, Phineas had to purchase a pre-made combat wand immediately.

The system offered him one: hornbeam wood with a dragon heartstring core—the same configuration as his original wand. Without hesitation, he purchased it for 3,972 gems.

The wand appeared instantly in his hand.

"Stupefy! Protego!"

Feeney struck first. He stunned the two vampires nearest him before they had time to react. At the same time, he cast a powerful Shield Charm, just in time to block a Disarming Charm from the red-robed vampire outside.

"Sectumsempra!"

The Shield Charm rebounded the Disarming Charm, and the red-robed vampire's wand flew from his grasp. Phineas seized the opportunity, countering with a vicious, slicing spell that hit his target full-force.

Sectumsempra—a spell invented by Severus Snape himself.

Phineas hadn't originally known it, but he had drawn Snape's annotated Potions textbook (the Half-Blood Prince's version) from one of the treasure chests. It granted him access to the spells within, including Sectumsempra.

As luck would have it, he had unlocked that spell on his very next draw—then again. Three times in a row.