Hogwarts: Don't call me Wandmaker

Chapter 428 Disappointed Harry

The second day of the holiday.

Early in the morning, the glass door of Ollivanders wand shop was pushed open, and Hermione walked in somewhat reservedly, accompanied by the clear sound of bells.

“Good morning, Mr. Ollivander,” she greeted the elderly man standing behind the counter politely.

“Hello, Miss Granger,” Garrick said with a smile. “Grapevine Wood, Dragon Heartstring, I remember it was a rather flexible wand. Is there something wrong with it?”

“No, my wand is perfectly fine, there’s nothing wrong with it,” Hermione quickly said. “Actually, I came to see Siron. We made plans on the train to visit Ron Weasley together… he’s our classmate.”

"Ah, I remember now." Garrick patted his head lightly. "Sirlen is upstairs, go ahead."

"Thank you," Hermione said, then went up the stairs.

"I doubt many people have ever been to the second floor of the wand shop," she thought to herself, looking around curiously.

The staircase was narrow, barely wide enough for one person to pass through... but that was normal, Ollivanders Wand Shop wasn't very big to begin with, and with more than a dozen cabinets piled high with wands, it was already quite difficult to squeeze out even a little space.

When Hermione arrived on the second floor, she immediately saw that the door to Siron's room was open, and he was rummaging through a large trunk.

Hermione went inside and found that the box was full of thin, long branches, each as thick as a wand.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

“Find a partner who is a mixed-race Veela and doesn’t mind.” Celen looked up, somewhat helplessly placing the silver hair in his hand back on the table.

He thought that his grandfather Garrick had once made a wand with Veela hair as its core, and that he might be able to give him some useful advice, but to his surprise, Garrick was also helpless, as none of the wands he provided were usable.

However, upon closer examination, Veela are magical creatures, and their hair is a type of wand core material. But hybrid Veela belong to the wizarding world, which adds to the original difficulties by making them picky and willful. The two are fundamentally different.

“I really should have left later,” Xiren sighed softly.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Hermione asked.

“If possible…” Xiren pursed his lips, “let’s go to France and take care of Fleur Delacour, and do it discreetly.”

"Ugh, what nonsense are you spouting!" Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation... Fleur was a warrior of Beauxbatons, how could she possibly defeat her?

"Just kidding, just kidding." Xilun waved his hand.

"Oh, right," Hermione suddenly remembered something and asked, "How's Diagon Alley? Is it still safe?"

“Don’t worry,” Siren said. “For now, Diagon Alley is still the same as before. And since Hogwarts went on holiday, the Ministry of Magic has sent a lot of strikers to patrol here. I even saw an Auror in disguise at the Leaky Cauldron. Those escaped Death Eaters don’t dare to cause trouble.”

“That’s good,” Hermione said. “Actually, I’ve been hesitant about whether to let Mom and Dad stay at the Leaky Cauldron for a while. I read a book about Death Eaters before the holidays, and they really enjoy torturing Muggles, especially… Mudblood families.”

"That was before Voldemort fell from power. Now, no one is backing them up."

Siren shook his head gently. "Actually, you don't need to be so nervous. Dumbledore isn't some old man who just walks his birds and reads the newspaper. At least until Voldemort makes a comeback, they won't dare to be too reckless even if they want to do something."

"Thankfully, Mysterio died more than a decade ago," Hermione said thankfully.

“That’s hard to say.” Celen waved his wand and put the box back on the cabinet by the door.

Voldemort created seven Horcruxes for himself, and he will not be truly killed until these Horcruxes are completely destroyed.

However, Siren hadn't figured out how to explain Horcruxes to Hermione yet, so he changed his approach. "Remember that face behind Quirrell in first year? He must have used some tricks to keep himself from dying completely."

“Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic will definitely stop him from being resurrected,” Hermione said.

Xi Lun shrugged and said nothing.

"How is Harry?" He changed the subject. "The Dursleys hate owls, so I haven't written to him."

“I pretended to be a staff member at King’s Cross Station and called him once,” Hermione said. “Harry was in a bad mood and seemed really disappointed this time. Unfortunately, before I could comfort him, the call was suddenly disconnected… I guess his aunt found out who I was.”

“After all, the staff at King’s Cross station aren’t going to make a special call to comfort a sad passenger,” Celen said. “So, will he come today?”

"Probably..." Hermione seemed a little uncertain.

But then, they heard someone coming up the stairs again. They both looked up and saw Harry standing outside the door.

“I remember we’re meeting today,” he said. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get going.”

The three of them went downstairs again, left the wand shop, and prepared to go to the Leaky Cauldron to use the fireplace.

On the way, Hermione glanced at Harry with concern and asked, "Are you... alright?"

“Of course not, what could possibly be wrong with me?” Harry said, though Cyrus could tell he was deliberately putting on a nonchalant act.

"But……"

“There’s no ‘buts’,” Harry interrupted her. “Sirius has things to do and can’t have me stay with him, that’s fine, I understand.”

But can he really understand?

I looked forward to the whole school year, but it all fell through at the last minute. It would be a lie to say I wasn't disappointed.

No wonder Sirius only left a note on the wall; he probably didn't dare to come and tell Harry the news in person.

As for whether he really has something to do... it's hard to say. As one of Dumbledore's trusted men and the first wizard to escape from Azkaban, Sirius Black is likely to be sent to track down the escaped Death Eaters... which is, in a way, a good fit for his profession.

However, Siren felt that this was probably not the main reason he stood Harry up.

Sirius is busy with important matters, and Number Twelve Grimmauld Place won't be going with him, so Harry can easily live there by himself.

The reason it has become like this is most likely because Dumbledore requested it.

Because the ancient protective magic that Harry's mother, Lily Evans, cast on him still exists.

Before Harry came of age, Voldemort could not harm him as long as he stayed with his blood relatives.

Strictly speaking, this arrangement is actually a form of protection for Harry.

However, Siren felt that if Harry had the choice, he would probably give up this so-called protection without hesitation.

So Sirius didn't give him any options at all.

……

(End of this chapter)