The night before, as Ivy Doom was checking the Book of Destruction, he had first been delighted by the sudden appearance of his attribute panel, but then disappointed by his inability to access any D&D-style classes.
In this mixture of joy, sadness, shock, and confusion, Ivy finally decided to just wash up and go to bed, hoping to end the frustrating day as soon as possible.
The next morning, still sulking, Ivy fixed his gaze on the ice cream vendor in Diagon Alley, deciding to treat himself to a massive ice cream cone to soothe his troubled soul.
But when he got the giant cone in his hands, he started to worry about his not-so-high constitution.
Although his constitution was still 10 due to the underage penalty, which was the level of an average adult, no normal adult would eat an extra-large ice cream on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. He began to wonder if he might end up with stomach issues or worse—diarrhea—from the massive ice cream.
After some internal debate, Ivy suddenly remembered that he was a wizard!
Wasn't this the perfect time to use magic? Whether it was the giant hazelnut-and-raspberry-swirl ice cream in front of him or the potential stomach aches and diarrhea it might cause, there had to be a spell that could solve both problems!
And he could already think of a couple of them.
The Freezing Charm would prevent the ice cream from melting, allowing him to prolong the time he spent eating it. By lengthening the eating process, it would give his stomach enough time to adjust, thus preventing stomach aches and diarrhea from consuming too much cold food in a short period.
Then there was the Levitation Charm—"Wingardium Leviosa." It would free Ivy's arms from the discomfort of holding the massive ice cream. After all, with a strength stat of only 6, Ivy might as well have no strength at all. Even holding this giant ice cream cone was exhausting.
But of course, magic could solve everything.
However, there was one problem—he didn't have a wand.
While Ivy could indeed cast spells without a wand, a wand was still the standard for any wizard. It was listed on the Hogwarts supplies list, so there was no hesitation. He had to head to Ollivanders to get one!
As Ivy walked through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley with the huge, cold, hazelnut-crusted ice cream floating in front of him, he couldn't shake the feeling that people's eyes were lingering on him and the ice cream for more than just a moment.
Every time he felt their strange and amazed stares, Ivy would vigorously lick his ice cream, even if it meant getting cream on his nose.
By the time he stepped into Ollivanders' wand shop, he had almost turned into a walking mess of ice cream and cream stains.
"Ding-ding-ding."
The bell above the door rang, signaling a customer's arrival. Ollivander appeared from seemingly nowhere.
"Good afternoon," the old man with large eyes said in a soft voice, "A new face, and wearing a lovely Slytherin robe…"
Ivy loved this robe that shimmered with an eerie glow, so he just used "Shrinkify" to make it fit, rather than taking it off like Snape had wanted. Given the way people in Diagon Alley stared at him, a part of the reason was probably his robe.
But Ivy never cared much about what others thought, especially since he loved the robe so much.
"Ivy Doom," Ivy introduced himself briefly, "I'll be attending Slytherin in September."
"Quite confident," Ollivander's tone remained gentle, almost magical in its cadence. "I'm sure Slytherin will be quite fond of a young wizard like you. But right now, you're missing a wand, aren't you, Mr. Doom?"
When Ivy nodded, Ollivander's gaze lingered for a moment on the floating ice cream before he glanced away and pulled a long silver-measured tape from his pocket to begin measuring Ivy.
"Clean up." Ivy pointed at his nose and spoke the charm. In the next instant, all the cream on his nose disappeared without a trace.
"Wandless magic?!" Ollivander's eyes widened. "I've never seen such a skill in an unenrolled young wizard before!"
"I'm special," Ivy tossed out a non-explanation with a shrug. "As for the wand, more than a hundred years ago, someone named Ivy Doom placed an order here for a wand made from silver lime wood and phoenix tail feather. The wood was provided by Ollivander, and the phoenix tail feather was delivered back then."
Ivy opened the Book of Destruction, reached inside, and pulled out a small ticket. "I think there was a receipt too…"
"Ah." Ollivander let out a short exclamation, "That was my grandfather's work, very exquisite! Although no one has picked it up in over a hundred years, we've kept it in great condition. I must say, it gave me a lot of inspiration…"
The phoenix tail feather, dragon heartstring, and unicorn tail hair—these were the three fixed wand cores suggested by Ollivander in front of him. Ivy remembered that more than a hundred years ago, Ollivander had even used werewolf hair as a wand core material.
The silver lime wood and phoenix tail feather combination was something Ivy had personally chosen. Over a century ago, silver lime wood wands were highly sought after and incredibly expensive.
Sticking to the "buy only the expensive ones, not the right ones" principle, Ivy chose this wood as the core material for his custom wand.
As for the phoenix tail feather, it was given voluntarily by a phoenix he had rescued.
After all, the Fire Ash Snake Party was the main criminal organization threatening magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest at that time, and Ivy, being a noble wizard dedicated to saving magical creatures, had earned the phoenix's favor, which was only natural.
He didn't even think it was anything special.
What he didn't know was how the magical creatures he had kept in the Room of Requirement were doing. He'd have to check on them once he returned to Hogwarts.
Ivy handed the long-sought receipt to Ollivander, who sighed in admiration.
"Kept in excellent condition… as good as new!" Ollivander took the receipt and walked toward the back of the store. "Feel free to look around while I fetch your wand, Mr. Doom."
"Okay," Ivy answered briefly, then went back to focusing on his ice cream, which had already shrunk considerably. He figured he might finish the cone in just a bit.
"Ding-ding-ding." The bell rang again, signaling the arrival of other customers.
"Oh—" Ivy heard a voice from behind him. "Mom, look at his robe… It's perfect..."
Ivy turned around, and standing in the doorway was a family of three, making the already crowded wand shop even more cramped.