Chapter 16: Ron

It's strange, really.

That glowing red "rope" didn't look long at all—just two or three inches—but it had connected the entire ten-inch wand body end to end, and not in a straight line.

Harry saw clearly that the cross-section of the wooden rod was also carved with various symbols, all now emitting a faint red glow.

I don't know how long it took—maybe minutes, maybe hours—but finally the "rope" reached the end, and the two halves of the wand snapped shut instantly.

"Is it… done?" Harry swallowed, his voice dry.

"Not quite." Silven didn't turn around, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the wand before him, as he waved his hand, "You'd better step back. I have no idea if it'll explode this time."

No sooner had he spoken than Harry and the others stumbled backward; Neville and Seamus nearly collided—mainly because they'd been standing too long and their legs had gone numb.

At this point, they'd already considered leaving, but hadn't even reached the door when a sharp scraping sound filled their ears.

Creak—creak—like someone sawing wood.

In the horrified gazes of the group, the wand floated into the air and began shaking violently.

In a daze, Ron seemed to see the shadow of some strange creature.

About twenty inches tall, its gray-brown skin rough as a tree stump, most striking was its head, wearing a crimson hat, as if soaked in blood.

The monster roared and swung a wooden stick with force.

Crack!

Someone slapped him hard on the shoulder; Ron jolted awake.

"Run! It's the Red Hat!" he shouted, grabbing for Harry.

"What are you talking about? What Red Hat?" Harry, bewildered, was yanked hard and nearly fell.

There was nothing for it—he and Seamus and Neville had to grip Ron tightly as he jumped and thrashed.

Only after their combined effort did Ron gradually calm down.

It was the familiar dormitory; faint laughter from the common room still drifted in his ears.

"Where… where's the Red Hat?" he rubbed his eyes, asking blankly.

"What Red Hat?" Harry released his arm. "There's nothing here. What's wrong with you?"

"But I clearly saw…" Ron rubbed his eyes again. "Did I imagine it?"

"You didn't imagine it." Silven spoke, drawing everyone's attention.

He studied Ron with interest, then glanced at the wand on the table.

"Remarkable. It was supposed to explode—but somehow it completed the fusion. And you saw the core's original form."

He picked up the wand.

【Holly, Red Hat Nerve, ten inches】

【Status: Perfect】

【Traits: Poisoning Charm success rate +5%; Explosive Charm success rate +10%】

By Merlin's beard.

Silven tightened his grip on the wand slightly.

Two traits—even if the bonuses were tiny and they didn't even deserve names—still, they were two traits!

And both were positive traits!

Silven looked again at Ron, thought for a moment, then handed the wand over.

"Want to try it?"

"Huh?" Ron blinked. "Me?"

"Yes." Silven nodded.

Ron didn't overthink it—he jumped up excitedly, wiped his hands, and took the wand.

He'd dreamed for years of owning his own new wand.

Even if this one wasn't his, at least it was new.

"Try it," Silven said.

"Try what?"

"A spell. The one you know best."

"Oh." Ron licked his lips, cleared his throat.

"Daisies, sweet cream, and sunshine."

"Turn this broken old table yellow."

Hum…

A flash of light passed before their eyes; the brown table instantly turned bright yellow.

"Oh, my goodness!" Ron covered his mouth, face filled with disbelief. "This spell actually works!"

Not just him—Harry's eyes widened too.

He'd seen Ron cast this spell on the train, but nothing had happened then.

So why did it work now?

"Looks like you and this wand are well matched," Silven raised an eyebrow. "Consider buying it? I can give you a great discount."

"How much?" Ron's eyes lit up.

"Seven Galleons," Silven said. "That's the price for all new students."

The light in Ron's eyes vanished instantly; he reluctantly placed the wand back on the table.

"I don't have any money. Not even seven Sickles." He kept his head down, face flushed.

"I'll pay for it!" Harry, overflowing with wealth, reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of glittering gold coins.

He had money—a small mountain of it in his vault—helping a friend buy a wand was nothing.

"No, no need!" Ron gripped Harry's arm, his face redder still.

"And… I, I already have a wand; I don't need to buy another."

Had Ron not kept glancing at the table while saying this, Harry might have believed him.

But Ron refused outright, and Harry couldn't force him to buy it.

"It's fine—I can hold onto it for you." Silven reached out and took the wand, finally ending the stalemate.

"I'll put it in Ollivander's Wand Shop; you can come buy it anytime."

"Good!" Ron licked his lips again and nodded firmly.

"You must keep it for me," he added again.

Seeing Silven agree, Ron quickly returned to his usual self, apologized to Silven along with the other three, then left the dormitory.

The celebration wasn't over—they wanted to eat something and drink a bottle of butterbeer.

The dormitory was left alone again.

Silven took out the wand once more, recalling the moment when the wand core and shaft had fused.

The violent shaking's frequency and the shrill noise—he knew them too well; they were unmistakable precursors to an explosion.

Yet in the instant before explosion, all anomalies vanished completely.

Even more coincidentally, Ron had seen the wand core's red cap.

This was a resonance, occurring only when a wizard and wand were profoundly attuned during wandmaking—nearly impossible under normal circumstances.

After all, wandmakers always chose quiet places, free of other wizards nearby.

Silven's case was exceptional.

He never expected success; he'd merely wanted to soothe his classmate and give himself an excuse.

Let them see how dangerous his usual work was—how it could explode. Not sharing a dormitory was for their own good.

Silven's plan was perfect—except he never imagined it would succeed this time.

He'd failed for a month, and now, somehow, he'd completed it!

"Because of Ron?" Silven murmured, recalling the phrase he'd heard so often his ears were numb.

The wand chooses the wizard…

(End of Chapter)