"Dad, why were you so polite to that guy?" Draco asked, sounding a little sulky.
Lucius Malfoy gave him a quick look. "To lay groundwork for your future connections, of course."
"Right. After that first meeting, I'm pretty sure he already dislikes me." Draco rolled his eyes, clearly unconvinced.
"Good. At least you're aware." Lucius lowered his voice. "Since you've already rubbed him the wrong way, what should you do now to fix it?"
Draco blinked. "…Fix it how?"
"Think about it. He's an orphan dressed like someone from an old pure-blood portrait. Clearly used to comfort. But he's still an orphan. So what's paying for all that?" Lucius prompted.
"…Money?" Draco said slowly. Lucius's faint smile told him he was on the right track. Draco continued, "He definitely isn't paying for it himself. But the Weasleys and that Hagrid guy don't look wealthy."
"And that green-eyed boy with the scar on his forehead? You noticed that, right? That's Harry Potter. The Potters are not short on gold," Lucius added casually.
"So you want me to throw money around to compete with Potter for Kane Heath's friendship?" Draco frowned.
Lucius, who knew exactly how unlikeable his son could be, lowered the bar. "You don't need to compete. Just make sure you're on decent terms with both of them. No hostility. That alone would be enough."
"So now I have two more people I'm supposed to get along with?"
"Exactly." Lucius nodded. "And if you can manage it, I'd even like you to repair things with the Weasleys."
"They're broke, Dad. What good are they?" Draco scoffed.
"There are a lot of them. Numbers mean influence. But if you really don't want to, then forget it," Lucius said lightly.
Draco stared at the four retreating figures...
"At least they're all pure-bloods. I guess I can try. Just try."
Lucius reached out and ruffled Draco's hair. "That's my boy."
---
Meanwhile, at Ollivander's wand shop
"Compared to Diagon Alley, where half the kids act like they invented magic, this place is a relief. It's cool in here, too. And quiet," Kane said from the small couch in the corner.
Right as he said it, the doorbell chimed. A girl with bushy brown hair and a pale, nervous expression stepped inside.
"Oh, there are already people here. Should I come back later?" she asked reflexively.
"No need. Ollivander's just making a wand for Kane. Call out and he'll come right away," Hagrid said.
The girl nodded. "Alright. I'm Hermione Granger. It's nice to meet you. You're all new students, except you, sir, obviously."
The "sir" was clearly meant for Hagrid.
Hagrid sighed dramatically. "Guess I'm not as young as I think." Then he introduced himself, and everyone else followed.
Hermione nodded politely, then wandered the shop on tiptoes, hands behind her back, half browsing, half trying to socialize.
She eventually approached Kane, who was staring directly at the raven perched inside his cage.
"Mr. Hagrid said Mr. Ollivander is making you a custom wand?" she asked.
Kane glanced at her and nodded.
"But the books say the Ollivanders only use three wand cores: unicorn hair, dragon heartstring, and phoenix feather. I've never read anything about custom orders..." Hermione frowned, more anxious than accusatory.
A quiet worry began blooming in her chest:
Was there already a divide?
Standard wands for Muggle-borns, custom craftsmanship for pure-bloods?
Ouch.
Kane threw the question straight at Hagrid. "Uh, Hagrid? Ollivander must've made plenty of custom wands, right?"
Hagrid rubbed his beard.
"Actually, yeah. Over the years I've seen all sorts of special wands from him, elder wood with Thestral tail hair, elder with snake nerve, elder with Taotie hair, elder with Qilin hair, all kinds of magical bird feathers.
Even some made with a bit of hair from the young witch or wizard themselves."
Hermione blinked. "Wait, what's so special about elder wood? Why is everything elder this, elder that?"
"Oh, it's not that elder wood is the best," Hagrid said. "It's 'cause Dumbledore's wand is elder wood. People like to imitate it."
Hermione nodded, then turned back to Kane. "So… yours is elder wood too?"
"Definitely not. I've seen Dumbledore's wand up close. It's covered in knots. Looks uncomfortable to hold," Kane said casually.
Hermione froze.
He had met Dumbledore already?
Seen the headmaster's wand up close?
And had opinions about it?
She suddenly felt very, very behind.
Just as Hermione spiraled, footsteps came from the back room. Ollivander emerged holding a wand.
"Mr. Heath, I'm quite certain you'll love this," he said, placing it on the counter for Kane, who ignored the formality entirely.
To Kane, the wand felt like an extension of his own body. With a flicker of intent, it flew straight into his hand.
Hermione's eyes went wide. "Was that, wandless magic?"
Kane looked genuinely puzzled. "I just picked it up. Isn't that normal?"
He examined the wand.
The Living Wood grip had been stripped of bark and outer layers, leaving dense, oily heartwood polished smooth.
It was slightly longer than a standard wand, so Ollivander flattened its shape and inlaid thin lines of mithril and crystal along both sides.
It looked almost like a slender blade.
At the base, the once-twisted face in the Living Wood had shrunk and been shaped into a pommel.
Its mouth was sealed with two shining golden cross-shaped nails.
Ollivander's eyes gleamed. "Go on, give it a try!"
Kane raised the wand and gave it a loose, casual wave.
The crystals flared softly.
His shadow, usually calm, suddenly stirred, breaking free and twisting around him like a living creature.
The more he moved the wand, the more animated the shadow became.
The shop descended briefly into chaos, but Ollivander looked delighted.
When Kane finally lowered the wand, Ollivander cleaned the shop with a single flick of his own.
Harry and Ron glanced from Kane's wand… to their own.
Their expressions said enough: Well. Ours suddenly look kind of sad.
Hermione swallowed, then raised her hand.
"Mr. Ollivander… if I wanted to commission a custom wand too, what would I need?"