Chapter 116: Power and Wand

The next morning, almost everyone knew the news that Lockhart had been attacked and was lying half-dead in the entrance hall.

Rumor had it that he was in a foul mood, and was attacked while drinking in Hogsmeade. Madam Rosmerta, the owner of the Three Broomsticks, could just so happen to confirm this.

Because Lockhart had started out drinking at the Three Broomsticks, then for some unknown reason went to the Hog's Head, and after that there was no word of him.

No one knew where Lockhart had gone, what he had been through, or why he had suddenly appeared in the castle entrance hall in the end.

But the few lines of blood-written words on his body quickly caused panic among the students, and his identity as a professor also lent a few shades of horror to the matter.

Rumors flew around the school, everyone wanting to know what those words meant.

For several days running, the students discussed the one who spreads power, who the prophet who should not appear was, whether it was one person or two, and whether they were right here at Hogwarts.

And the one who holds the wand, be wary… Does it mean that if you hold a wand, you'll be attacked?

Many of the younger students, out of fear, didn't dare bring their wands to class, and only after being sternly rebuked by the professors did they reluctantly tuck their wands into their pockets.

Until the last weekend before Christmas, a guess swept across the entire school overnight.

Someone combined two of the messages and arrived at a startling clue.

The one who spreads power, the one who holds the wand… could it be referring to a wandmaker?

Many people knew that the Ministry of Magic's emblem was a wand, and a capital "M," of which the wand represented the authority of magic, a symbol of power.

The person who sold a wand to every wizard—wasn't that the one who spreads power?

And the meaning of the third line—was it that the person holding the wand needed to be wary, or that one should be wary of the person connected to the wand?

This theory quickly gained the support of many people, and as luck would have it, there was an Ollivander right there at the school.

Even more coincidentally, Silven Ollivander was the very first person to be attacked, and combined with that line, "The beginning and end of every disaster."

Being the first to be attacked—wasn't that precisely the beginning of the disaster?

It fits again!

In an instant, rumors ran rampant through the school, every target pointing faintly toward Silven Ollivander of Gryffindor.

……

"Silven, don't worry, we all believe you!" In the Gryffindor common room, Fred and George walked over to Silven and gave his shoulder a firm pat, using it to show where they stood.

"We believe you have absolutely nothing to do with that damned Chamber."

"And Hogwarts probably doesn't even have a Chamber." George muttered quietly.

"It never had anything to do with me in the first place." Silven said, "The Hogwarts legend only mentions one Chamber left behind by Slytherin—could it really be opened by a Gryffindor like me?"

"But they're all saying this attack was meant to drive you out of the castle." Harry said quietly from the side.

"Then that's even more impossible." Silven set down the book in his hand. "If the target was me, why go after Lockhart? Do we look alike or something?"

"No, of course not." Harry shook his head. "I mean, I completely believe you have nothing to do with this; I just worry you might not be able to stand all the gossip."

"What?" Silven looked at him in confusion.

"You didn't know?" Harry hadn't expected that reaction from Silven.

"What should I know?"

"A lot of people are saying now that as long as you leave the school, the attacks will stop, so…"

Harry suddenly paused, and only after two or three seconds continued: "So a lot of people are saying the school should… expel you."

"You haven't heard any of this?"

"Honestly, not at all." Silven shook his head. "That was the first time just now."

"No way." Ron said in surprise. "I've heard that kind of talk several times recently—didn't a single person come to you?"

"Really, no one." Silven spread his hands. "I've no reason to lie to you."

"Why is that?" Ron didn't understand.

"Probably because they don't dare." Silven said calmly.

"Don't dare?" Ron still didn't understand.

Silven wasn't some famous, powerful wizard like Dumbledore; he was just a second-year student—what was there for anyone to be afraid of?

Anyway, if this had happened to Malfoy, he certainly wouldn't mind loudly declaring his own stance right to the bloke's face.

"Because no one can guarantee they'll only ever use one wand for the rest of their life." The speaker was Fred, who immediately understood what Silven meant.

"In Britain, Ollivander's wands are the best." George understood as well. "If Silven in the future refused to sell a wand to someone, they'd have no choice but to go abroad and buy from Gregorovitch."

"And when their kids enrolled, they'd have to go abroad to buy wands too."

"The ones most likely to target Silven are the Slytherins, but they're also the shrewdest—they certainly wouldn't want to take that risk."

"Right now they should be stirring up others instead. The talk going around the school now, Slytherin's definitely been fanning the flames behind the scenes."

Ron's eyes went wider and wider, as if only just realizing Silven had that side to his identity.

"Don't be silly—how could Silven possibly refuse to sell wands to people just because of a few words?" Hermione couldn't help but say.

"I'm ashamed to say, I really could." Silven raised an eyebrow. "What you just described is actually my grandfather—he had nothing in his heart but making wands, and didn't care about anything else… but I'm not that magnanimous."

"But you lot have reminded me of something." Silven looked up at Fred and George. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Of course, no problem."

"Ten of them, even."

The two said with grins.

"Won't need ten." Silven said. "Just help me spread a message—to those idiots who haven't yet realized they're about to be made fools of."

"Oh, we get it." George gave him a wink. "We'll pass the word for you."

"The great Silven Ollivander will one day take over his wand shop."

Fred pressed a hand to his chest and raised the other high. "If anyone doesn't want to be forever shut out by an Ollivander wand."

"They'd better learn to shut their mouths…" George high-fived him.

"Pretty much what I had in mind." Silven nodded.

"But Silven, I have to say this method won't work for everyone." Fred sat down across from him.

"Some people haven't yet realized the importance of a wand."

"I see…" Silven pondered for a moment, then said, "Then let's add one more rule — if this kind of noise gets too loud, once I take over the wand shop, I might just raise the price."

"Raise the price?" Now no one could sit still.

"But the wands have always been that price." Dean Thomas, not far off, couldn't help but say.

"You also know it's always been this price." A vein twitched on Silven's forehead. "One unicorn tail-hair is nine Galleons, and using it to make a wand is seven Galleons — do you think that's reasonable?"

"But… the Ministry of Magic will compensate you for it." Someone muttered in a low voice.

"Five Galleons — they've calculated it very precisely, exactly the cost price of one wand." There was a hint of contempt in Silven's tone. "And they drag their feet about it too; you have to wait a whole year to get it."

There were things he had long wanted to say, and this time happened to be a good opportunity.

"Or you can go somewhere else and ask around — twelve-Galleon wands were the price three centuries ago. Now a single Gregorovitch wand costs at least twenty-five Galleons, and if you're not a first-year, add another ten Galleons on top of that.

"Including France's Acajou — it's the same price."

Twelve Galleons for first-years, seventeen Galleons for non-first-years — the wands were purely the previous Ollivanders subsidizing the cost with their own time and experience… or rather, doing free labor for the Ministry of Magic.

New little wizards only needing to spend seven Galleons to buy a wand — this matter had almost become a calling card of the British Wizarding World at the International Confederation of Wizards.

Other Ministers of Magic were fine with it; every time they brought up the matter, they would mention Ollivander — although it didn't make money, it still earned a bit of fame.

Until not long after Cornelius Fudge came to power, he boasted that the "seven-Galleon wand" was his own achievement, claiming it was the Ministry of Magic footing the bill for new students.

Under these circumstances, more and more people came to take the seven-Galleon wand for granted — Dean Thomas just now, for example.

But Silven only needed a few sentences to leave him utterly speechless, and there weren't many around him supporting him either.

"Silven, first of all, I don't oppose you raising the price of wands." Fred licked his lips, his expression growing a touch more serious.

"But think it through — if you really can call the shots, this matter is bound to cause a huge uproar."

"And the scope won't just be Hogwarts, but the entire Wizarding World."

"Don't be so serious — I only said I would decide to raise the price." Silven waved his hand. "But I'm only in my second year now; it's still a long way off before I take over the wand shop."

Hearing Silven say this, the Weasley twins finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as they said, they didn't oppose Silven raising the price of wands, but if this matter were really to be carried out, it would need to be planned carefully — not decided on the spur of the moment like this… otherwise Silven would probably truly become a target for everyone.

But if it were a dozen or so years later, then there would be no problem.

"Don't worry, we guarantee we'll get your words across!" Fred thumped his chest, once again wearing an expression that loved nothing more than watching the world go up in flames.

"I think we can write them down and post them in the most conspicuous spot of every house's common room."

"Good idea, I'll go find some parchment right now."

"Then I'll go find out the password for the Slytherin common room."

The two of them couldn't wait and dashed out through the passage.

In the common room, Hermione seemed to want to say something more, but before she could open her mouth, Silven had already gone upstairs and returned to his dormitory.

……

(End of chapter)