Ollivander listened to Hermione's careful explanation, a faint look of apology crossing his face.
"Sorry, miss. I don't take custom commissions. And we carry wands of every possible combination.
If you wanted, you could keep trying them until next year. It wouldn't be any different from having one custom-made."
Hermione quietly lifted a finger and pointed at Kane, who was playing with his wand. "Then what about him?"
Kane froze, pointing at himself with his wand. "Me?"
Ollivander looked uncomfortable.
He probably shouldn't have spoken so firmly just moments ago, but his rule about not making custom wands on a whim was real. He could only answer stiffly. "He's different."
Hermione's shoulders dropped.
Her parents had taught her early how the world worked.
People at the top really did enjoy privileges others didn't. Better resources, better education. But she hadn't expected her very first step into the wizarding world to feel so divided already.
"Then help me choose a wand," she said flatly.
She didn't want to talk to these smug elites another second.
She just wanted her wand so she could bury herself in studying, so she could dive into knowledge headfirst, the only thing she could control.
From this tiny shop alone, she could already see just how deeply rooted the wizarding world's class system was.
The only thing she had was her own ability to learn. If she didn't waste a single moment, maybe, just maybe, she could at least catch a glimpse of the pure-blood elite she'd been told were so impressive.
Ron had no idea what was going through her head. As a born-and-raised pure-blood kid from an old family, if he knew Hermione thought pure-bloods were that remarkable, he wouldn't know whether to feel proud or embarrassed.
Kane noticed Hermione's expression tightening and immediately wanted to hurry out of the shop. She looked like a powder keg waiting to blow.
And Mr. Ollivander, the fuse, clearly didn't see it.
After some hesitation, Ollivander decided that being able to work with Living Wood and Nightmare Fuel, two alchemical materials he'd never expected to see in his entire lifetime, felt like a gift from fate.
And Kane, the child who unknowingly brought those gifts to him… if Ollivander still charged him money, that would be far too cold-hearted.
He was a craftsman first, a merchant second.
So, while Kane and Harry looked confused, Ron stared in disbelief, and Hermione watched glaring at a corrupt landlord, Ollivander pressed a small pouch of Galleons into Kane's hand.
"Creating something like that is reward enough. Don't think this is too, young friend" He even crouched down and hugged him.
Once they stepped out of the shop, Kane whispered, "I don't know why, but I suddenly felt a chill at the back of my neck. Like someone was about to murder me."
"Probably that young witch, Hermione Granger," Hagrid said. "If I'd been treated unfairly like that when I was a kid, I'd be angry too."
"Forget it. I need to go to Gringotts. Hagrid, come with me?"
Kane looked at the Galleons in his hand.
He needed two gold bars for a Science Machine, and now that he had some money, maybe he could finally buy them.
With Hagrid around, he wouldn't have to worry about goblins picking on a kid.
"Don't really get it, but sure."
The four of them entered Gringotts, and before long, they walked out again.
The difference was that Kane's pocket now held two gold bars, and the pouch of Galleons Ollivander had given him was completely empty.
"Oh, I heard someone say Kane gave that stuck-up little Malfoy kid a proper beating. Is it true?"
Two voices said it in perfect unison. Kane turned and saw the Weasley twins, speaking in their trademark tag-team rhythm.
"I'm telling you," Ron said, leaping straight into the story, "you all missed out.
Kane's own shadow lifted Malfoy right up to the ceiling. He couldn't get down.
In the end, Malfoy's dad had to come apologize to Kane before it was settled."
He reenacted the whole thing so vividly that the entire Weasley family stood there stunned.
"I can't believe Lucius Malfoy even knows how to say the word 'apologize,'" Mr. Weasley muttered, baffled.
Unlike chatty parents on the street, the Weasleys and Kane's group only exchanged a few lines before parting ways.
In the courtyard of the Leaky Cauldron, only Kane, Harry, and Hagrid remained.
Hagrid stroked his beard. "Professor McGonagall told me things weren't good at the Muggle house you lived in, right?"
Harry let out a helpless sigh.
"Depends how you look at it. I wasn't treated with any respect, but they didn't really hurt me either. Except for Dudley."
"In that case, I reckon you don't want to go back there. You can stay here instead, at the Leaky Cauldron. They've got rooms and meals." Hagrid started toward the back door.
Harry felt a sudden rush of happiness, but almost immediately his thoughts went to his friend, probably sleeping under a bridge somewhere, scavenging for scraps. He couldn't just let that happen.
"Double room. Kane's coming too," Harry said quickly.
"But Kane already has a place to stay," Hagrid said.
"Maybe under a bridge. Definitely not anywhere this nice. And I've got money now. I can't just watch him struggle."
Harry straightened up, puffing out his chest like the proudest big brother in the world, ready to handle everything.
"Um… Kane? What do you think?" Hagrid asked, clearly uncomfortable.
What could Kane say? Sleeping in those crowded bunk beds always made him feel like he was on display.
Now that a proper room was available, of course he was going to take it.
"I just need to grab my things first," he said.
Harry almost said he'd buy Kane all new stuff, like one of those over-the-top CEOs in Aunt Petunia's soap operas. But he stopped. Some things couldn't just be replaced, and they probably meant a lot to Kane.
So he just rented the room upstairs and waited for Kane to return.
At Hogwarts, in Dumbledore's bedroom, Kane quickly started packing.
He stuffed Brother Rock and the firewood right into his pocket along with the campfire. If he could've lifted the floorboards, he would've taken those too.
And if showing up at the Leaky Cauldron with a whole campfire made Harry even more convinced he'd been sleeping on the streets… well, life mattered more than pride.
While Kane worked, Dumbledore pinched the bridge of his nose in the office, trying to straighten his famously crooked one.
He had wanted to observe Kane's strange magical nature a little longer, but the moment he stepped out and came back, the boy was already packing up to leave. What a situation.
He couldn't blame Hagrid. None of this had been discussed beforehand.
Kane stepped out of the bedroom, and Dumbledore smiled. "All packed?"
"Still need to head to the Forbidden Forest and chop some wood," Kane said.
Dumbledore's smile dropped.
Those tree creatures around Hogwarts were nothing the professors couldn't handle, but for ordinary wizards in Diagon Alley? They'd be a nightmare.
He had to stop him.
۞۞۞۞
~ Support & Read 5+ Advanced Chapters on Patreon
https://p-atreon.com/lost_magus
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)