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HP: a small adventure
🕑 Added 2025-05-29 21:42:02 +0000 UTCWalking down Diagon Alley felt mystical somehow; —well, technically, it’s my first time here so that could explain the feeling— anyway, there are so many shops I hadn't known were there before.
Like this one shop, called 'The Potion Peddler,' as the name suggests, it’s a potions shop that sells rare potions and potion ingredients that don’t grow in the British Isles. The shop itself looked like a Druid lives there, with all the magical trees and flowers that either **hang** from the roof or sticking to the doors and windows.
Then there's a shop called 'Curios for Curiosities,' a strange little store between 'Honeydukes' and 'Flourish and Blotts.' This shop sells and trades enchanted items, old or new, as long as the enchantment is interesting.
No, really, that's what's written on the door beside the half-broken doll hanging there, with its eyes popping out and vanishing, only to pop out again a second later.
That's one interesting enchantment…
There's also a shop called 'The Owlery,' which handles anything related to messenger magical owls, be it their treats or their treatment in case they get sick.
This reminded me to look for my owl, Hedwig.
Just as I was wondering where Hedwig could be, I caught sight of my destination: 'Ollivander's.'
Walking inside Ollivander's shop for the second time in my life—technically the first— I was surprised by the sight.
If you didn't guess it by now, I can see and feel magic and magical energy.
My mage sight had been turned off until now, but I opened it instinctively when I entered the shop, and it truly was a sight to behold. It truly cemented the idea of how beautiful magic is into my mind.
As I was fascinated by the sight, I began to walk around the shop, inspecting the wands, while the grimoire in my hand slowly emitted magic for a few seconds before settling into a soft glow that wouldn't attract much attention.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, I didn't expect you to come here again so soon," a slightly aged voice came from behind me. I had been so engrossed in the sight and wonders before me that I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings…
Turning around, I saw the old man Ollivander standing there between the shelves on what appeared to be a moving ladder with eyes on each side.
Man, the magical world is weird. Who makes a ladder with eyes??
"Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander, how have you been?” I asked the old man.
“Very well, thank you Mr. Potter. Though I can’t say the same for you. You seem like you have seen better days,” Mr. Ollivander replied while looking me up and down, his attention clearly on my prison outfit…
“Yeah, it has been a rough week. Anyway, I'm here because I need a new wand; my old one was unfortunately broken," I told him as I returned to browse the shelves for anything interesting.
I felt something probing directly into my magic and soul, which I immediately shut down by sending a magical pulse in the form of high-frequency light that would temporarily blind someone.
“Ugh!” Ollivander groaned from behind me…
Turning back to Ollivander, I said in the coldest voice I could muster, "Please refrain from doing that again, lest I have to gouge your eyes out and make you eat them. My soul is not for the likes of you to examine. I've already had a dark parasite before, so you'll have to excuse me for being touchy about anything soul-related."
"Ugh, I apologize, Mr. Potter. I was just checking if it was really you. Your magic has a different feel to it since the last time I saw you," Ollivander said quickly while nursing his eyes and waving his wand, casting spells on them.
"Yeah, you try dying and coming back to life again, and let's see what your magic feels like then," I sarcastically said while looking at him. The spell he used was interesting, and made me glad I had my Grimoire out, because I am very sure it’s already analyzing it…
"No need to be sarcastic, Mr. Potter. But I do have a question, if you wouldn't mind?" He asked while looking at me expectantly…
I gestured for him to continue with my hand, and he asked me one of the questions that I expected yet still felt somehow unexpected— talk about cognitive dissonance…
"What is it like on the other side? I mean, how does it feel, you know? Death?"
I looked at him with a puzzled look. I mean, what kind of question is that? It’s not like death feels the same for everyone. Still, is it wrong that I can actually see where his curiosity is coming from…
"Well, first of all, I didn't cross into death's realm; I was only in limbo momentarily to solve my parasite situation.
If you're asking about limbo though, then all I can say is that it's just one of the realms connected to death's domain.
Wizard's limbo is a shapeless-timeless dimension that tortures the souls of those who defied death and magical laws until they are turned into nothingness—so if I were you, I'd be careful about doing that—otherwise, there's nothing to fear, really. Death is simply that—death, just like how magic is just magic, so there’s nothing to fear when it comes to death. Wizards have their own place after death." I really should start controlling my urge to educate people when they ask questions.
While I was musing on my need to educate people with a soft smile on my face, Ollivander's eyes shone as if he had just had a conversation with Merlin.
He quickly came down the ladder and started walking toward the back of the shop.
Hearing footsteps coming from the back of the shop brought me out of my train of thought…
I looked at Ollivander, now covered in dirt, carrying an equally dirty box in his hands.
The way he gazed at it with obvious affection crept me out.
Man, I'll say it again: wizards are weird.
"Here you go, Mr. Potter. A 13-inch elder/ebony hybrid wand with a double core of phoenix tail feather and thestral tail hair. This is my one and only successful experiment in the subject of wand resonance and their merger. These were two different wands, Mr. Potter, and it took me 777 tries to succeed, and this is my only proof of success. I'm entirely certain that you'll achieve great things in the future," the old man said as he handed me the open wand box.
Taking the wand in my hand gave me a strange new sensation. I suddenly knew exactly how this wand was made, why it was made, what it does, and how it does it.
It felt like gaining a new connection to magic—one not entirely different from my own connection to my magic yet still not entirely the same either.
I understood now why wizards find it hard to cast spells without wands, and generally don't succeed in wandless casting; but this new bond also helped me recognize how bonds feel.
I sensed two weak bonds connected to me at the moment, so I did the only logical thing: I pumped magic into them, which did the trick.
The bonds clicked and finally fell into place, and I realized what these bonds were: they were my connection to Hedwig and my Invisibility Cloak.
I raised my head and looked at Ollivander, pondering if I should tell him that his greatest creation was the product of pure magical phenomena, now that I somehow knew how it was produced…
"Well, Mr. Ollivander, I guess I can thank you by telling you that this wand was created because of the magical phenomenon generated by your crazy persistence, a lot of coincidences, and meeting the requirements of an unknown ritual that helped you in creating it." In the end, I decided to tell him while still keeping the explanation vague; that was the best I could do at the moment.
He stayed quiet for a few seconds before he suddenly started laughing hysterically—no, seriously, he was laughing like a psychopath.
After a minute or so, he quieted down and wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.
"Thank you, Mister Potter. While I don’t know why you’re being vague in your explanation, it doesn’t matter because you have just assured me that magical miracles do happen for those who are persistent enough… Truly, thank you." His voice was loaded with a duality of gratitude and something I couldn’t quite place…
I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before asking for the price—because frankly I didn’t know what else to do— still he was being difficult and refused to tell me how much to pay saying it was free…
So, I simply dropped about 500 Galleons on his desk before leaving the shop with a final thank you…
Walking out again, I was reminded that the only clothes I had on me were my prison clothes, which were quite dirty.
I made my way toward a clothing shop named "Gladrags Wizardwear." Going inside, I dropped about 150 Galleons in front of the woman and asked her for auto-fitted wizard attire with self-cleaning, self-ironing and auto-size enchantments.
Four minutes later, I walked out of the store finally looking like a proper wizard for once.
Now, how do I get Hedwig to come to me? Just as I was asking myself this, my grimoire glowed again, siphoning some magic.
I was about to open it to check what it did, but I was distracted by a popping sound on my side. I turned my head and was greeted by the confused hooting of one snowy white owl named Hedwig.
"I'm so glad to see you, Hedwig," I said as my voice cracked a little, a few tears clouding my eyes.
Hedwig replied with a loud hoot and an angry nip on my ear before she quickly switched and hooted in a pleased manner after my quick apology for leaving her.
Still, even with all that, it was clear Hedwig had been living in the wild, if her unclean appearance is anything to go by…
I started walking again, with Hedwig now perched on my shoulder, clean and shiny.
We continued talking—yes, our bond allowed us to understand each other—with me asking her about her adventures for a while, before I came up with the idea of writing a letter to the Ministry and having her deliver it.
This is going to be fun.
———
