Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 207 Practice Makes Perfect?

After several days of storms, the weather suddenly cleared up before Christmas. In the early morning, a layer of glistening white frost covered the muddy grass, and the sky turned a bright and dazzling eggshell color.

Although Christmas is still a while away, the castle is already filled with the busy atmosphere typical of the holiday season.

Everyone was happily discussing their holiday plans.

“Dad wants to take me skiing,” Hermione said. “We’ve had this idea for a long time, but we just can’t find the time.”

"So are you going home for Christmas this year?" Harry asked.

“No, I have to stay at school and finish reading these.” Hermione pulled out her bulging backpack and took out three thick volumes.

"You're going to watch all of this over the Christmas holidays?" Ron stared incredulously. "Are you kidding me?!"

In his opinion, Lockhart's books were already thick enough, but the ones Hermione brought out now were each equivalent to three Lockhart's books combined, and even larger in size.

It would take him several months to finish such a thick book, not to mention that they still have homework to do during the Christmas holidays.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes!" Hermione said irritably, her temper getting increasingly short.

Ron shrugged and looked in the other direction.

"Silen, what about you?"

“I’m going back for Christmas,” Celen said.

“That’s a shame,” Ron said. “I was hoping to get a look at your divination assignments.”

"There's nothing I can do. I've recently discovered some very strange things, and I feel it's necessary to go back and ask my grandfather about them."

"The thing about the wand?" Harry asked curiously.

Silen nodded. It was indeed related to the wand; he had noticed it while researching Dementors these past few days.

"Are you in any trouble?"

“No, quite the opposite,” Siren said. “I feel like I’ve been making wands a little too easily lately. Runes that took half an hour to carve last year only take fifteen minutes now.”

"Isn't this a good thing?" Ron said nonchalantly, feeling that Xilun was making a mountain out of a molehill, or rather, showing off.

It's like finishing a homework assignment that would normally take half an hour in just half a day – that's something to be happy about, isn't it?

Theoretically speaking, that's true, but Xilun just felt something was off.

He was well aware of his abilities; it was normal for him to finish carving the runes in half an hour. After all, it wasn't just about carving the runes; he also had to make adjustments based on the texture and material of the staff.

Therefore, the position of the runes on each wand is different.

Only an old wand maker like his grandfather Garrick, who was extremely familiar with runes and every wand material, could shorten this time to within fifteen minutes.

But yesterday, when Xiren was thinking in his history of magic class, he casually carved a yew wood staff. It was then that he suddenly realized that he hadn't been deliberately looking for the right spot for the staffs he had been making recently.

It was as if... he already knew where each rune was supposed to be.

Moreover, those staffs were all perfect, and even if they failed, the problem was always with the Dementor's core.

Is this change a good thing?

Of course it’s good!

But because it was so good, Xilun felt a little uneasy and thought it would be better to figure things out.

“You’ve become just like Hermione.” Ron couldn’t help but purse his lips as he looked at Siron.

Hermione is like that; even though she gets the highest grades in her grade, she gets incredibly nervous and always feels like she's made a mistake somewhere.

The situation in Xilun is similar now; it's just a matter of practice makes perfect. What's there to be surprised about?
Ron promptly found Harry. "Strange, why are you wearing a hat?" He glanced at Harry's pointed hat. "Didn't you say before that wearing this kind of hat makes you look silly?"

“Yes, I think so now,” Harry said. “But it seems a bit cold this year. When I wake up in the morning, I feel a chill on my head. Wearing a hat helps keep me warm.”

“Really?” Ron scratched his head. “Now that you mention it, it does seem to be true.”

So he put on the pointed hat too.

To be honest, this hat really looks pretty silly.

……

After breakfast, everyone went to the lobby.

It's the weekend before Christmas, and they can go to Hogsmeade again. Everyone except Harry is very happy... including Sirius.

“While I’m in Hogsmeade, you’re not allowed to enter the castle, nor can you go looking for Peter Pettigrew.” Cyren specifically sought him out and instructed him, “I’ll have Tom keep an eye on things. If he sees you in the castle, I’ll retract my agreement and won’t sell you a wand anymore.”

“Stop nagging. I’m not going to go find that damned rat,” Sirius said, but the smile that kept appearing on his face made it hard for Sirius to believe what he had just said.

"You seem quite happy?" he asked.

“Yes,” Sirius said. “I’ve noticed that Harry often wanders around outside the castle when he’s in a bad mood, which gives me the chance to be alone with him, and I’m certainly happy about that.”

This reason seems to make no problem.

"Be careful, don't give yourself away," Xilun warned. "You're still his enemy, after all."

Sirius's good mood vanished instantly, and he glared at Sirius with annoyance.

"Thank you for your kindness, but if it's not necessary, you don't need to remind me of these things."

“Next time for sure,” Siron said, then turned and quickly followed the group heading towards Hogsmeade Village.

When they passed by the school gate this time, they encountered Dementors again, and even more than last time, a total of five.

In addition to the Dementors, there were two wizards around the gate. It was unclear whether they were Aurors or Strikers, but they were definitely sent by the Ministry of Magic.

It seems they have made corresponding changes after what happened last time.

Disappointed, Siron followed the group and arrived in Hogsmeade with everyone.

It's still as lively here as ever.

“We can buy everything we need for Christmas here!” Hermione said. “Do Mom and Dad love Honeydukes’ Fluffy Tooth Peppermints?”

It's a loose, feather-like candy that cleans the user's teeth like dental floss when held in the mouth; it's also the only candy that's good for your teeth.

Hermione's father happens to be a dentist, so naturally he would be interested in this candy.

“Let’s hurry,” Ron said, “before Honeyduke gets bursting!”

Honeydukes has always been the most popular shop among students. Every Hogsmeade Day, students who come here wish they could take away all the stock in the shop.

“You guys go ahead, I’ll be there shortly,” Celen said. “I need to go to the Owl Post Office first to arrange the Christmas gifts in advance.”

He wasn't at Hogwarts this Christmas, so he couldn't use the school's owls to send presents; he had to send them through the owl post office.

Fortunately, it's very convenient. The Owl Post Office has a special Christmas service, a holiday specialty, and it's much cheaper than sending letters and packages separately... one nut per gift.

Siron is going to send about a dozen gifts. According to the post office staff, he just needs to prepare the gifts and the corresponding addresses in advance and leave them at the Hogwarts dormitory. The owl will pick them up on its own.

……

(End of this chapter)