He knew exactly what kind of trouble those damned brother wands could stir up.
Dylan had no intention of getting involved with that.
After trying every wand Ollivander had brought out for him,
the one that fit him best was still the thirteen-and-a-quarter-inch yew wand with a Thestral tail hair core.
Ollivander was delighted.
After so many years,
these wands were all pieces he had poured his heart into when he was young.
Now, one of them had finally found a master worthy of being entrusted with it.
He felt like an old father marrying off his daughter.
Because of that, Ollivander did not charge Dylan much. He only asked for a friendly price
and even gifted him a good amount of wand-care materials, along with a wand holster made of Thestral down.
"Sir, you're only charging me seven Galleons?" Dylan, having paid for a single wand but walking away with a whole pile of extras, was in an excellent mood.
"Yes, young wizard. The Ministry of Magic will not allow young witches and wizards to pay outrageous prices for wands."
Dylan suddenly understood.
The Ministry probably subsidized this old codger's wand sales.
And thinking about how these wands were made in his younger years, then left sitting around unsold for so long—
Dylan blinked.
So that's how it is!
No wonder!
No wonder he was showering him with so many little freebies!
"Thank you, sir. I'll be going now."
Arms full, Dylan walked out of the shop.
Ollivander watched his back with a beaming smile. "Another interesting little fellow—and so well mannered, too."
Once Dylan stepped outside,
he immediately spotted Professor McGonagall.
He hurried over. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Professor McGonagall."
"It's all right." McGonagall gave a faint smile. "The pickier the wizard, the greater the achievement they usually reach. I'm quite looking forward to seeing your performance after you enroll."
Her gaze swept over the pile of things in Dylan's arms, and her brows rose ever so slightly.
She did not comment on it, merely reminded him, "Your wand may well accompany you for your entire life. Don't let it suffer irreparable damage."
"I'll take very good care of it!" Dylan promised.
He was a bit worked up himself.
Part of it was the anticipation of truly stepping into the magical world, and part was the simple excitement of getting a new treasure.
Looking at the wand wrapped in Thestral fur, he could not help the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Seeing this young wizard, who usually carried himself with such an oddly mature air, now grinning like a child, a gentle warmth flickered in McGonagall's eyes.
"Come along. You still need to have a few sets of robes tailored. Of course, starting with just one is fine."
With Professor McGonagall leading the way,
Dylan made the rounds of Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Potage's Cauldron Shop, and Flourish and Blotts.
By the time they stepped back out, his arms were already full of bags.
"Professor, I'd like to go take a look at the pet shop."
McGonagall paused. "You probably… can't afford to buy another pet now, can you?"
In truth, Dylan had not bought that many other things.
The issue was Flourish and Blotts.
Dylan had directly bought more than thirty books of all shapes and sizes in one go.
Every one of them had been recommended by Professor McGonagall,
including a number of textbooks.
Dylan figured that since there was a professor by his side, he should make full use of her.
A guide this good to help him choose books was not something he would have every day.
But that did mean he really could not afford much else.
However, Dylan wanted to visit the magical creature shop not to buy a pet, but to ask how to apply for a license to keep a Shadow Wyrm.
So he only gave McGonagall a shy smile. "Mr. Ollivander just told me some things about magical creatures, and I got curious. I really want to go take a look."
"Is that so?" McGonagall nodded. "Very well, go on then. I'll wait for you here. Just don't take too long."
"Okay, Professor!"
Loaded down with bags, Dylan darted into the Magical Menagerie.
After a round of questions,
he did not linger. Instead, he had Professor McGonagall Apparate him back home.
After saying goodbye to McGonagall,
Dylan went straight inside, carrying everything down into his tiny basement room.
The thrill of soon starting at Hogwarts left him feeling no fatigue at all, despite lugging so many things around for so long.
After briefly explaining the day's events to his parents,
he washed up quickly and slipped right back down into the basement.
And just then,
he suddenly noticed that his system panel had a new message prompt. He was not sure when it had appeared, and he quickly looked up at it.
[Message]: You have unlocked a new achievement!
"Huh? A new achievement?" Dylan froze, thinking it might be something like visiting Diagon Alley for the first time.
Like using a wand for the first time, or experiencing Apparition for the first time.
He hurriedly opened the magic scroll icon and pulled up the achievements panel.
What he saw were the descriptions of newly unlocked achievements, but it was as if something had gnawed on the text.
The edges of the characters were jagged and uneven; the strokes twisted and wriggling; the color of the words was a dark, rusty red, like dried, caked blood.
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[Description]: Well done. You've learned how to truly embrace the darkness!
[Requirement]: Learn an Unforgivable Curse (1/1)
[Reward]: Slightly increased affinity with Dark magic
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[Description]: Good job! You are now a perfectly qualified villain!
[Requirement]: Learn Unforgivable Curses (2/2)
[Reward]: Greatly increased affinity with Dark magic
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[Description]: Merlin's beard… There is no light left in your heart. You're even more evil than the Dark Lord!
[Requirement]: Learn Unforgivable Curses (3/3)
[Reward]: Massively boosted affinity with Dark magic
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Achievement: I Am the True Fiend!
[Description]: Yet once again you've mastered max-level forbidden curses. Excellent work! You've taken another big step toward overthrowing the Dark Lord and crowning yourself!
[Requirement 1]: Master max-level Crucio (Cruciatus Curse).
[Requirement 2]: Master max-level Imperio (Imperius Curse).
[Requirement 3]: Master max-level Avada Kedavra (Killing Curse).
[Reward]: Three additional max-level high-tier forbidden spells; cast Dark magic without needing negative emotions!
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Achievement: I Really Am a Good Kid
[Description]: You put on a harmless face and fooled a Hogwarts professor! Who would imagine you understand Dark magic even better than the Dark Lord?
[Requirement]: While carrying max-level Unforgivable Curses, walk back and forth ten times in front of a magic professor without arousing suspicion.
[Reward]: No one can indirectly trace any magical traces you leave behind!