"Boom!"
The process of Harry Potter selecting a wand took quite some time. After a pile of wands he had tried formed a small mountain on the bench, he finally found a suitable one. In the midst of it all, Harry even accidentally broke a light-colored vase due to a wand going out of control.
Maca watched as the tip of the wand Harry held in his hand sparkled with golden stars, shining as brightly as fireworks. The wall cast dancing patterns of light in response.
Hagrid clapped his hands in applause, and Mr. Oliver Vanderton shouted, "Oh, splendid! Oh, truly, marvelous. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear... how wondrous, truly wondrous..."
He placed Harry's wand into a box, wrapped it in brown paper, and kept muttering the word "wondrous" to himself.
"Excuse me," Harry said, "What exactly do you find wondrous?"
Mr. Oliver Vanderton fixed his pale, colorless eyes on Harry.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single one. In fact, it's like this—two feathers from the same phoenix. One made this wand, the other made a different wand."
Mr. Oliver Vanderton paused and continued, "You are destined to use this wand, and its brother... well, its brother is the one that left that scar on your forehead."
Harry took a sharp breath.
"Indeed, thirteen and a half inches long, made of yew wood. How could this be? Truly wondrous. Remember, it's the wand that chooses the wizard! I believe, Mr. Potter, you are destined for great things... anyhow, the unnamed and dreadful person I can't mention accomplished great things —terrifying, but great nonetheless."
A shiver ran down Harry's spine. He wasn't sure if he liked Mr. Oliver Vanderton, but he paid seven Galleons for the wand that seemed to have a deep connection with him.
"Yes, alright," Mr. Oliver Vanderton nodded, then looked at Maca with his sharp eyes, "Mr. McLean, it's your turn now. Come forward and let me have a look."
"I'm right-handed." Maca had already observed the process once and immediately cooperated with Mr. Oliver Vanderton for the measurements.
The measuring tape unraveled on its own, floating over Maca. It measured from his shoulders to his fingertips, from his wrist to his elbow, from his shoulder to the floor, from his knee to his armpit, and finally, it measured the circumference of his head.
Even though he had seen it before, Maca still couldn't quite grasp the purpose of these measurement steps.
While the measuring tape did its job, Mr. Oliver Vanderton continued, "Yes, yes, as I said before, every Ollivander wand is unique. Using another wizard's wand would definitely diminish its effectiveness! Always remember—it's the wand that chooses the wizard."
Finally, when the measuring tape floated in front of Maca's face, measuring the distance between his nostrils, he felt like he hadn't experienced such an awkward situation in a long time.
"Alright," before Mr. Oliver Vanderton finished speaking, the measuring tape slipped off and coiled up on the ground, "So, Mr. McLean, give this one a try! Made of maple and dragon ear nerves. Ten inches long, sensitive, delicate, yet powerful. Give it a wave."
Maca took it and gave it a casual wave, and a soft red light flickered at the wand's tip.
"Oh! Not bad, didn't expect it to go so smoothly..." Mr. Oliver Vanderton was saying when he suddenly stopped, "Wait a moment, try this one. Yew wood, unicorn hair, nine and three-quarters inches, just as sensitive but even more resolute."
Maca hesitated for a moment, then put down the wand he had in his hand and took the one Mr. Oliver Vanderton handed him.
Whether it was due to the waving gesture being different or for some other reason, this time a hint of golden light appeared on the wand's tip, accompanied by a touch of sacred aura.
"What, what's happening?" Mr. Oliver Vanderton seemed to be witnessing something incredible, his sharp eyes filled with puzzlement, "Or perhaps, try this one?"
He took out another box from behind him, "Pear wood, heartstring of a dragon, fourteen and a quarter inches long, sturdy, powerful, and full of might."
This choice seemed to be completely opposite to the two from earlier, leaving Maca even more confused.
Maca accepted this slightly purplish-red wand, waved it again, and a fiery red light burst from the wand's tip, knocking over the shelves behind Mr. Oliver Vanderton and producing a loud explosion.
Everyone in the room jumped in surprise. But after the initial shock, Mr. Oliver Vanderton fell into contemplation once again.
Maca, Hagrid, and Harry exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what was happening. Seeing Mr. Oliver Vanderton in silence, they wisely stayed where they were, avoiding disturbing his thoughts.
In the world of magic, the study of wandlore was always an extremely complex field, and those who could craft wands were extremely rare. At this moment, apart from Mr. Oliver Vanderton, it was probably impossible to find a second person in Diagon Alley who had such an in-depth understanding of wandlore.
"I don't understand, really don't understand," Mr. Oliver Vanderton suddenly raised his head again and loudly addressed Maca, "Pick up each wand from that pile on the bench and give them a wave, quickly!"
Maca looked at the wands Harry had tried earlier, then turned to look at the overturned shelves behind Mr. Oliver Vanderton.
"But, sir, those shelves..."
"It's alright, it's fine, don't mind that, just wave them!"
Seeing that everyone else was carefree about the consequences, Maca naturally felt no burden and immediately picked up the wands one by one, waving them around. In no time, light, smoke, wand boxes, and even shelves were all in disarray as they careened through Ollivanders Wand Shop due to Maca's wand.
"Alright, that's enough." Mr. Ollivander quickly signaled for Maca to stop, then looked at his hands, his puzzled expression quite evident. "I don't understand, this simply doesn't make sense. Each wand perfectly adapts? How is that possible?"
Even Mr. Ollivander couldn't comprehend what was happening, leaving Maca thoroughly baffled. Eventually, under the reluctant gaze of Mr. Ollivander, Maca chose the wand that had caused the most commotion earlier. He left the wand shop, which had turned into a chaotic mess, along with Hagrid and Harry.
After exiting Ollivanders, the three of them cross-referenced their shopping lists and bought everything they needed. When they reached the end of the alley, Maca remembered something about Potage's Cauldron Shop.
"Oh no! I had arranged to meet Mrs. Weasley at the Cauldron Shop. This is not good."
"Mrs. Weasley?" Hagrid glanced towards the Cauldron Shop. "No need to worry, I spotted her. You haven't missed her."
Maca looked at Hagrid and repeated in his mind, "Goodness, you're really tall," before bidding them farewell and making his way toward the Cauldron Shop.
It was nearing noon, and there were even more people in Diagon Alley than in the morning, making it feel quite crowded.
"Mrs. Weasley, hello..."
Maca finally managed to maneuver through the crowd to Mrs. Weasley and Ron. However, he was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought you had already left!" Mrs. Weasley didn't seem angry at all. Instead, she started with an apology, "Ron's rat got into the garden's burrow and the goblins chased it all over, which made us arrive a bit late..."
Ron wore a pained expression and continued, "Then Mum scolded me again, saying I didn't look after Scabbers properly, but you know..."
"That's enough! Clearly, it's your fault, don't make excuses!" Mrs. Weasley scolded in exasperation.
Seeing that Mrs. Weasley seemed like she might start lecturing again, Maca had to change the subject. "Oh, Mrs. Weasley, I don't think it's a big deal. Actually, when I was at Gringotts to withdraw money, I ran into Hagrid, oh, and Harry Potter too."
Upon hearing this name, Mrs. Weasley's attention immediately focused, as Maca had expected.
With the cauldron purchased here, Maca's shopping journey finally came to an end. To be honest, he was feeling a bit exhausted, but he still had to carry a pile of stuff and continue forward, although Ron had already helped him carry quite a bit.
"Maca, give me some of it, I'll help you carry a few things," Mrs. Weasley offered.
"No, absolutely not. How can I let a lady carry things?" Maca insisted.
These words made Mrs. Weasley very pleased. She took the owl cage from Maca's hands with a smile on her face. "Oh my! Little Maca, you're quite the talker. I'm sure you'll be able to win over quite a few girls in the future."
Real unmarried young ladies are much harder to win over, Maca thought to himself.
It was mid-July, and the British weather was as mild as ever, but the constantly changing sky left people feeling a bit drained.
To be honest, Maca didn't want to stay at the Weasley's house, but he ended up staying there for a few days anyway.
He didn't leave until the next month when he finally rented a room upstairs at the Leaky Cauldron, where he stayed until the start of term at Hogwarts.
During this time, Maca immersed himself in studying magical textbooks. He found that he was genuinely interested in these fascinating subjects, even though he still felt that some of the content in "A Guide to Magical Theory" was somewhat ambiguous.
"...So, how exactly is this formula derived?" Maca stared at a magical formula in the book, feeling a bit annoyed.
During his reading and memorization, he noticed a distinct pattern in many of the crucial magical theories in the book—they never explained the source of their formulas. It was a discovery that left Maca quite frustrated.
"Knowing the result but not understanding the process...could magical theory actually be the accumulated experience of generations of wizards?" He groaned in frustration, his face showing weariness.
However, during this last month, besides the monotonous magical knowledge, a small incident did occur. Of course, I don't think it's appropriate to mention it now because today is the last day of August, and tomorrow is September 1st—time for Hogwarts to start!