When the vault opened, a pile of gleaming Galleons lay on the floor before him, and various unidentified items were placed on the surrounding shelves.
Regulus Black glanced at the goblin beside him, and Kreacher immediately stepped forward to pull him away from the vault.
Goblins were notoriously greedy—more so than the Jews in the Muggle world. Their desire for wealth was insatiable.
Once the goblin's line of sight was blocked, Regulus Black could finally observe his vault in peace.
Aside from the gold, there were many magical artifacts, and surprisingly, even various manuscripts and ancient books.
After a thorough inspection and getting a sense of what was there, Regulus Black didn't take any of the artifacts. The vault felt secure enough. Before leaving, he only took a few hundred Galleons.
Though he still had the key to the main Black family vault, Regulus wasn't planning to use it just yet.
Leaving Gringotts, Regulus Black brought Kreacher along to Ollivander's Wand Shop—it was time to buy himself a new wand.
What kind of wand would it be? He was honestly looking forward to it!
Ollivander's Wand Shop was a cramped, narrow, and worn-down little shop. In the display window, a single wand sat on a faded purple cushion. Inside, the towering shelves reaching up to the ceiling were packed with thousands of long, narrow boxes containing wands.
Mr. Ollivander would select from them to find the one best suited for each customer. Customers buying a wand would first have to be measured for arm length, forearm length, height, head circumference, and other such dimensions. These measurements were then used to help choose a wand.
In truth, those measurements were unnecessary—they were just part of Ollivander's eccentric preferences and private amusement.
Every wand was different, crafted with different cores—unicorn hair, phoenix feather, dragon or snake nerve fibers—paired with wooden bodies made from various magical-quality woods. All of these materials were powerful magical components.
Each wizard was suited to a different wand. If you used a wand meant for someone else, you wouldn't achieve ideal results.
Of course, that was all a lie. It was more accurate to say that a well-matched wand would be more helpful, especially for new young wizards.
"Anyone here?"
Regulus Black had stepped inside and been standing there for a while, yet the shopkeeper, Ollivander, was nowhere to be seen.
Could it be that now that the new Hogwarts students had gone off to school, with no more kids around for him to "tease," he'd grown lazy and was slacking off?
After waiting a bit longer, Regulus decided to find a wand himself.
Spreading both arms, he released a wave of magical energy that swept through the entire shop. Thousands of wand boxes trembled simultaneously, and then one box in a remote corner leapt out—it was the wand that resonated best with Regulus Black's magical signature.
Inside the black box lay a crystal wand. Who would have thought a crystal wand would show up in a shop where wood was always used as the wand body?
"This is a natural wand. I didn't make it. When I received it, it was already a wand,"
The elusive shopkeeper, Ollivander, suddenly appeared beside Regulus Black, as if sensing his customer's confusion, and explained softly.
"It's said that a unicorn was attacked by a Moke-eye spider. Although it ultimately escaped being eaten, it still died from the spider's venom. In its final moments, the unicorn forced all the venom into its crystal horn."
Regulus Black gently rotated the wand and, sure enough, he spotted a flowing purple pattern within it—vein-like and pulsating as if alive.
Ollivander stared at the wand with a look of both confusion and obsession. It was a natural wand—something he could never replicate.
"The unicorn broke off its own crystal horn so that no trace of venom would remain in its body upon death."
Returning to his counter, Ollivander's expression returned to a bit more normalcy, and the sharpness of a businessman crept in.
"A bargain! 15 Galleons."
Regulus Black wiped the thick dust off the box with a look of distaste.
"This wand has clearly been sitting here unsold for ages. The material's questionable, and who knows if it even works well. Seven Galleons. And I'll also buy a second wand that suits me. If it's fifteen Galleons, then throw in a maintenance kit."
"Alright then! You're clearly an experienced customer—let me help you pick out another wand!"
In truth, the wands at Ollivander's shop—regardless of material—were all priced at 7 Galleons. No tricks, no exceptions.
That earlier high quote had simply been an attempt to make a little extra business. After all, once a wizard buys a wand, they typically use it for life—unless it's broken—so business was, well… very slow.
During back-to-school season, of course, Ollivander wouldn't dare to upsell. The Ministry of Magic required every student to own a wand, which was also why breaking one carried such serious consequences.
But outside of that season, Ollivander didn't mind selling an extra wand or two. Especially with this crystal wand—its compatibility with the customer was still uncertain. Selling a backup would save him from complaints later if it didn't work out.
"I'll choose it myself," Regulus Black said again.
He extended his hand, letting his magic sense flow through the shop, scanning the thousands of wands. Another box leapt out on its own.
Ollivander cheerfully took down the white box, wondering what kind of wand this customer would get next.
"Also thirteen inches long. This wand is made from the coccyx bone of the same unicorn, and the core is filled with hair from that unicorn's tail—every strand was used. It's excellent for summoning spells."
Regulus Black ran his fingers over the wand. The slender tailbone had been polished smooth and connected using braided hair. The blend of white bone and silvery strands created a wand that felt uniquely elegant.
"I'll take this one as well. By the way, did you use any other parts of that dead unicorn's remains to craft other wands?"
Regulus decided to name the wands, to make them easier to refer to in the future.
The crystal one would be called Blazing Blood Crystal, and the bone one would be Silverthread Jadebone.
"Let me think… yes, I believe I did. After acquiring that unicorn, I used its cardiac tendons and spinal nerves."
"Oh? So that means at least two more wands were made from the same source."
"I believe so. Are you interested in buying those as well?"
"If each wand is 7 Galleons, then I'll give you 30 Galleons in total. Include proper maintenance kits for all of them."
Regulus Black's offer was perfectly fair—and he was clearly determined to obtain those two additional wands.
"I'd never turn away a generous customer. However, you'll still need to prove that you're highly compatible with those two wands."
Ollivander meant that Regulus would need to sense the wands again and find them himself.
Extending his hand once more, Regulus sent out a wave of magical energy. The shop trembled as two more boxes leapt from the shelves.
"Also thirteen inches. This one is made from Bacchus vine wood, with a core of cardiac tendons from the same unicorn. Ideal for curse magic."
Ollivander opened the final box.
"Also thirteen inches. This one uses Corpsevine wood, and the core is the unicorn's spinal nerve. It's well-suited for toxin-based magic."
Regulus Black handed over 30 Galleons without hesitation and packed away all four wands along with their care kits.
These two new wands he named Icy Vein of Dionysus and Divine Corpse Codex.
Today's outing had been extraordinarily lucky—he'd acquired four highly compatible wands, all crafted from materials of the same origin.
Now it was time to wrap things up.
Regulus Black took out the family wand he'd brought with him and cast, "Obliviate!"
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09