"Alright, alright," Ollivander grumbled.(TN: One more alright and he would have imitated Matthew McConaughey)
"I can sell you a hundred wands made of the same materials, but even if each wand uses laurel wood and Dragon heartstring, and they are all 14 inches long, the characteristics of each wand will not be exactly the same."
"And you certainly won't get so many in a short time. Wand-making is not as simple as just stuffing a core into a piece of wood. Besides, for Dragon heartstrings, I still need to order a batch from Romania."
Sherlock was not in a great hurry, nor did he pursue ultimate perfection, demanding that every wand be exactly the same.
He stroked his chin and asked,
"How many wands can you prepare before September?"
Ollivander told him a number.
"Around fifty."
"Then I'll come and pick up fifty first, and the remaining fifty I'll get at the end of October. How much deposit do I need to leave?"
"One-third. You need to give me a deposit of three hundred Galleons."
Sherlock poured three hundred Galleons from his pouch, and after agreeing on a time with Ollivander, he left the wand shop.
Thanks to Snape spending a large sum to buy the Basilisk, Sherlock's funds were very ample. Even after spending 900 Galleons on a hundred wands, it had no impact on his financial situation.
He then strolled around Diagon Alley for a while, picked out a birthday present for Harry, and returned home.
The Daily Prophet had already reported Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban while Sherlock and Harry were still travelling.
Now even the Muggle government had been notified.
Television news was portraying him as a heinous murderer armed with a gun, urging the public to call the police immediately if they spotted him.(TN: This detail was something that I always liked due to a deeper sense of immersion)
Sherlock's most profound impression of the third book of the original work was that it was a story about reversing time to fill historical gaps.
As for Black... did he eventually turn into a rat and escape?(TN: .... I hate this guy at times.)
Sherlock thought for a long time but only recalled this much, and he wasn't even sure if it was accurate.
He simply stopped thinking about how things would unfold and began to study the Patronus Charm, a spell he had been researching since the beginning of this holiday.
Dementors would inevitably be stationed at Hogwarts this year.
Since it had been discovered that Black's ultimate goal in escaping prison was to find Harry and avenge his master, the Azkaban guards would naturally think of waiting for him by coming to the Castle to closely protect, and also monitor, Harry.
In Sherlock's impression, the Dementors were not exactly well-behaved during their time stationed at Hogwarts.
And if anything were to happen, the Patronus Charm was undoubtedly the best method against these ghostly creatures.
Sherlock sat in his study chair, examining his new wand bought from Ollivander.
Laurel wood paired with Dragon heartstring; it was much longer than the Original Owner's previous one and felt much more comfortable to use.
Sherlock waved his wand, repeatedly transforming the teacup on his desk into various cups, then changing it back again using Transfiguration.
After getting used to the feel, he prepared himself and cast the first advanced spell with his new wand.
"Expecto Patronum."
Silver light burst from Sherlock's wand, quickly spreading to every corner of the study.
He could feel his Patronus truly trying to form, but ultimately it seemed to be missing something, only appearing as scattered silver specks drifting everywhere.
He stopped casting the Patronus Charm.
Although it still didn't succeed this time, Sherlock could clearly feel that when he used this wand to cast the Patronus Charm, it was significantly more powerful than with the previous one.
The failure was simply due to a slight lack of emotional buildup; his happy emotions hadn't reached their peak and needed more accumulation.
Sherlock sat in the chair and closed his eyes.
Emptying his mind, he tried hard to recall the happiness and joy he felt in his previous life when he checked his university entrance exam results and received his university admission letter.
And after coming to this magical world of Harry Potter, serving as a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts for a year, the comfort and happiness he felt when a student, crying profusely, thanked him for his guidance at the end of the semester, saying they felt their Wizarding Level Examinations were good enough to achieve their dream of becoming an Auror.(TN: I'm assuming they are referring to NEWT.)
As well as every relaxing and pleasant day spent travelling in France during the summer holiday.
Positive emotions accumulated within Sherlock, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily curved into a subtle smile.
Naturally, he waved the wand in his hand and once again uttered the spell.
"Expecto Patronum."
Silver-white light once again flickered in the small study.
But this time, the flowing light did not disperse again. Instead, it burst from the tip of Sherlock's wand, constantly compressing and shaping.
Sherlock watched the converging silver light with anticipation. He could feel that his Patronus Charm had definitely succeeded this time.
So, what form would the Patronus he summoned take?
Under his hopeful gaze, the magical light threads, composed of hope, happiness, and other positive emotions, finally combined perfectly.
A bird made of silver light spread its wings and flew beneath the ceiling. It circled above Sherlock's head for a moment, then landed on his shoulder.
Sherlock carefully examined his Patronus.
At first glance, he thought it was a dove.
But after studying it for a long time, he finally confirmed it.
It was a crow.(TN: Raven would be more fun.)
It was just that because it was made of silver light, if one didn't look carefully, most people might not recognise its species.
Sherlock gently teased the Patronus standing on his shoulder with his hand, quite satisfied with its form.
Once summoned, a Patronus can not only be used to fight Dementors but also as a messenger to convey information.
And a flying bird like a crow would undoubtedly be more convenient.
As for the inherent symbolism of a crow, that was even better.
Perhaps in some places or at certain times, crows might be seen as ominous.
But here in Britain, crows—or rather, ravens, which are a type of crow—have always been regarded as auspicious.(TN: Ravens are not a type of crow. Crows refer to smaller sized birds of the the Corvus genus and ravens are the bigger sized birds.)
Even to this day, to avoid affecting national fortune, the British government still keeps a large number of ravens in the Tower of London.(TN: This is a genuine centuries-old superstition that claims if the ravens ever leave the fortress, the Tower and the British monarchy will fall.)
It is said that as long as these ravens do not leave the Tower of London, the country will not suffer misfortune.
Hmm.
To prevent them from flying away, the British government specifically sends people to clip a portion of their wings so the country will always have good luck.
With such good practical functions and an auspicious meaning, Sherlock naturally had no complaints about his Patronus being a bird.
After admiring the crow for a while longer, Sherlock cancelled the spell and began to experiment with the application of Control Magic to multiple wands.
Ollivander needed time to make wands, so for now, he only had two wands available for experimentation.
Invisible magic spread from Sherlock's body. Everything around him gently floated up, then returned to its original position.
Only the two wands remained suspended in mid-air.
Sherlock controlled them, pointing them at two blank pieces of parchment on the desk, and softly uttered the spell.
"Diffindo."
The next moment, both pieces of parchment shattered into countless small pieces.
The effects of the spells cast by the two different wands still had subtle differences.
The Severing Charm cast on the parchment by the wand Sherlock had just acquired today was clearly more effective than that of the previous one.
The disparity in spell effects over these many attempts showed that the Original Owner's wand was not the most suitable for Sherlock; the laurel wood wand was the most fitting combination for him.
Afterwards, Sherlock held a wand and used the Severing Charm on the parchment, comparing it with the Severing Charm cast by controlling a wand with Control Magic.
The result was the same as the Petrificus Totalus effect in actual combat against the Goblins earlier.
Spells cast by controlling a wand with Control Magic were weakened by a factor of four to five compared to normal casting.
But this weakening was constant.
It would not cause the spell's effect to weaken further if Sherlock controlled more wands.
Nor would the spell's effect be strengthened if the number of controlled wands decreased.
This laid the foundation for Sherlock to build his wand group and establish a floating wand-casting system.
However, for this tactic to truly be viable in actual combat in the future, Sherlock still needed to conduct a very important experiment.
That was whether the General Counter-Charm would be effective against Control Magic.
If he had prepared his wand group and was about to unleash an indiscriminate barrage of spells on his enemies, only for them to shut him down with a Finite Incantatem, then all his effort would be in vain.
Sherlock levitated his old wand with Control Magic, then held his new wand and used the General Counter-Charm on the floating old wand.
"Finite Incantatem."
The counter-charm was cast, but the old wand remained floating in mid-air, unchanged.
Sherlock breathed a slight sigh of relief, then stood up from his chair.
The General Counter-Charm is a tiered spell.
The effect of Finite Incantatem is the most basic and simplest, generally used frequently in daily life.
Its advanced application—Finite—is considered a highly specialised counter-charm.
Historically, this spell has only been used in large-scale Wizarding Wars, and its effect can be further enhanced by multiple people casting it together.
Whether it's the General Counter-Charm or the advanced Counter-Charm, their incantations are the same—Finite—which can be translated as Finite Incantatem, or "end it."
However, the casting gestures and emotional expressions used when casting the magic are distinctly different.
Sherlock pointed his wand downwards and recited the incantation for the advanced General Counter-Charm.
"Finite."
Red light immediately spread from his wand tip to the floor, then extended upwards along the ground. The red light flared brightly, shining exceptionally in the study!