[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker":3,"chapter-hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-chapter-5":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Hogwarts: Don't Call Me a Wandmaker",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2292257,4482,"Chapter 5: Preparations Before Term Begins","hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-chapter-5",5,"\u003Cp>Although Silven didn’t need a new wand, he still had to buy other things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he first came to Diagon Alley at six, and until eleven, nearly every shopkeeper there knew him—he didn’t even need to open his letter to check his acceptance notice; just walking around once, Silven knew exactly what he needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Little Silven, I knew you’d come—your new books are all here, already wrapped…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Mrs. Bloot, how much do I owe you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two Galleons total. How’s that discount?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Impossible to refuse,” Silven said sincerely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eight books for two Galleons—Mrs. Bloot of Flourish and Blotts must have charged him only cost price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a favor couldn’t possibly be because of him; it must be because of Ollivander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To repay the discount on his first wand?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, Silven bought a full set of tin cauldrons and brass telescopes, a standard measure of powdered ingredients, and three sets of plain robes including gloves and cloaks—all at discounts no one else could get, saving him a great deal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The herb shop owner had prepared far more herbs than standard—about one and a half times the usual amount.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The items weren’t worth much, but the sentiment weighed heavily; Silven accepted them all with smiles, without protest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Except at the Owls Emporium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven didn’t know why Mrs. Theodora was so enthusiastic, insisting on gifting him a snowy owl as a back-to-school present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That thing wasn’t cheap—a common breed cost ten Galleons, and better ones doubled that; Silven naturally refused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at the shopkeeper, a woman nearing sixty, and helplessly scratched his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, he didn’t know Mrs. Theodora at all—he’d barely seen her a few times—and he couldn’t fathom why she was so generous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Out of caution, Silven didn’t accept her expensive gift. But she was too insistent; unable to refuse, he reluctantly picked another pet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A tabby cat… maybe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked like a tabby, but its fur wasn’t as beautiful—muddy, dull gray, and patchy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Silven looked over, it was huddled in a corner with a ginger, flat-faced longhair cat, completely ignored, despite its very low price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One Galleon—only five Sickles more than the cheapest rat, even cheaper than most toads.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why Silven chose it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that price, he could accept it without guilt; as for why he didn’t pick the ginger one… mainly because he had no habit of collecting crushed soda cans, especially flattened ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Mrs. Theodora repeatedly urged Silven to exchange it for a prettier, gentler purebred cat at the same price, Silven held firm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until he understood her true motive, he wouldn’t accept such excessive kindness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, he wanted to pay for the cat too, but Mrs. Theodora refused, saying she was grateful—he’d done her a great favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That cat’s too fierce. Be careful at school—it might eat someone’s pet rat or toad.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven looked at the tabby cat lounging lazily on his arm, skeptical of Mrs. Theodora’s warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, even if it were truly fierce, it didn’t matter—he wouldn’t have much time to care for a pet at Hogwarts anyway; a bit of wildness would let it fend for itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An hour later, laden with purchases, Silven pushed open the wand shop’s door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He planned to give the enthusiastic shopkeeper a wand care kit as a return gift, plus a sheet of custom wand stickers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stickers were his own invention from last year, inspired by Chocolate Frog cards—they moved but didn’t vanish suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people didn’t mind spending a Sickle to stick a Dumbledore on their wand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ollivander always thought the stickers were scamming customers; though he allowed them on display, he never promoted them, so only a few knew they existed, and sales were mediocre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, and custom color sprays—able to change a wand’s color—but Ollivander flatly refused to let Silven sell them in the shop, so Silven had locked them in a box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, though, he planned to take them to school and try selling them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven knew perfectly well why Ollivander opposed them: wands needed concealment, especially for dangerous jobs like Aurors—matching the color of wood was the best camouflage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So wands were mostly brown, tan, or black.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Imagine, during a nighttime operation, someone pulls out a bright red wand—it’d be glaringly obvious, practically like casting a Lumos charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at Hogwarts, it didn’t matter—students didn’t need to fight at night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And at sixteen, it was the perfect age to be unique—who could resist giving their wand a distinctive color?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he thought, Silven opened a small pouch containing over thirty Galleons and a few silver Sickles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all the pocket money he had so far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Silven’s age, that sum was substantial—most first-years had only seven or eight Galleons for the whole year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Silven had many expenses—he needed to buy wand cores, and the wood for wand shafts wasn’t cheap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And once school started, he couldn’t freely take from family wealth—he’d have to buy everything himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking like that, thirty Galleons really wasn’t enough…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe turn the gold and red sprays into rare editions—double the price. Hmm, green and silver? Triple it…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven made a silent decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t meant to target anyone—he wasn’t that kind of person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After first witnessing the wonders of the magical world, some Muggle-born witches and wizards couldn’t bear to leave—they came nearly every day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those unsure how to open the entrance simply moved into the Leaky Cauldron; old Tom, experienced and prepared, had plenty of rooms ready and made a tidy profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made Diagon Alley increasingly crowded in August—every shop, at a glance, was packed… except the wand shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wands weren’t consumables; aside from new students each year, there were almost no repeat customers in a short time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven welcomed the quiet, using the days before term to ransack the storage room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside were the woods Ollivander had spent decades traveling the world to find—each piece top-grade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Previously, Ollivander had hesitated to take them out; now that Silven had received his Hogwarts letter, the grandfather, unusually generous, finally let him have them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silven felt like a gnome dropped into a vault—his eyes turned red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Applewood soaked in pine oil for a full year… excellent, take it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ironwood—hard to work with but rare—take it too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oh, phoenixwood—also excellent; paired with phoenix feather cores, the effect was explosive. Luckily, there was a phoenix at Hogwarts—take it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grapevine—ordinary, but why not take it if it’s free…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Further ahead, at the end of the shelf, Silven suddenly stopped, staring in shock at a reddish-brown branch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Merlin above—a dragonwood main branch, at least thirteen hundred years old! Old… dear Grandfather, you kept something like this hidden?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, Ollivander turned pale and immediately tried to stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dragonwood was common—Romania had plenty—but one that grew to thirteen hundred years? Extremely rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of its hardness and unique sulfur scent, it was beloved by fire drakes—essentially their toothbrush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Few survived being gnawed for over a thousand years; he’d only found this small piece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No wonder the young were quick—before Ollivander could speak, Silven had already snatched the dragonwood branch and shoved it into his robes, clutching it tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning it was out of the question—don’t even think about it. As an adult wizard, one must keep one’s word; breaking promises was the mark of a Dark wizard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was Ollivander a Dark wizard?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Silven wouldn’t let his beloved grandfather become a liar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The result? Poor young witches and wizards who came later to buy wands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They arrived happily to choose their first wand, only to look up and see a scowling, disheveled, muttering old man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few timid children nearly cried—they didn’t want to buy wands anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ollivander had done great harm—may this image not leave a shadow on their young hearts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1303,"2026-06-20T04:03:11.805Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a14e30eeeb169e258509a4424f56ac75a811ae22e8b2378771f3979d3a8e8ede","hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-chapter-6","hogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-chapter-4",149,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhogwarts-don-t-call-me-a-wandmaker-cover.jpg"]