Chapter 5: A Shopping Spree
Dumbledore brought Ezio to Diagon Alley, but unfortunately, he couldn't accompany him on his shopping trip.
It wasn't that Dumbledore was too busy, but rather that he was far too famous. He was an approachable man—students would happily greet him when they saw him, respecting him without fear.
As a result, Dumbledore was treated like a major celebrity in Diagon Alley. He could only offer Ezio a wry smile and take his leave. The old man was perfectly capable of handling such situations, but it would inevitably waste a great deal of unnecessary time.
Fortunately, Ezio's demeanor put Dumbledore at ease. This was a clever and exceptionally independent child who required no looking after.
Ezio, equally pleased with this arrangement, entered Diagon Alley alone. He wore a traditional white assassin's cloak with red accents, a handsome gyrfalcon perched on his shoulder. Yet with his hood up, despite his far-from-inconspicuous attire, hardly any eyes lingered on him.
He was like a beautifully rendered background character, there but not noticed.
"Hello, I need to exchange some Galleons."
After entering Gringotts, it took Ezio only two minutes to complete the essential first step. The bursary from Hogwarts was very small. After purchasing a wand, the remaining 29 Galleons would only be enough to buy second-hand books and required equipment from a used goods shop.
Ezio despised second-hand items, especially used tools and equipment, because they represented the unexpected.
Without exception, assassins have an abnormal aversion to unexpected situations. The target should just let themselves be killed quietly without any theatrics; otherwise, they would see what true cruelty looks like.
He exchanged one hundred Galleons at a rate of £5 to 1 Galleon, and then used five gold bars to get an additional one thousand Galleons. One gram of gold for one Galleon.
The goblins were shrewd businessmen; Galleons weren't pure gold, gilded at best. They would never engage in a losing business, would they? After all, they even made you pay extra for a magical money pouch. (See Author's Note at the end of chapter)
Next began the low-profile "shopping spree." Aside from the very practical flying broomstick, Ezio purchased an extra waist pouch and a chest pack from a magical equipment store. He also commissioned a custom-made inner vest, designed to conveniently store the other tools he carried.
At Flourish and Blotts and a second-hand bookshop, Ezio acquired a batch of introductory magic books, many texts on the history of the wizarding world, and even more assorted anthologies. These were filled with all sorts of tales, sixty to seventy percent of which were likely fictional, but they also contained some factual records.
He needed to find clues about the "twelve moons," and such information was clearly a well-kept secret; otherwise, Snape would have known about it.
This search might be in vain, but he had no intention of giving up. It was a necessary process for understanding the reality of the wizarding world.
He remembered some things about the world of Harry Potter, but it was obvious that the movies were different from this real, alternate world.
For one, the characters' appearances were different. Snape's face, at least, bore little resemblance to the one in his memory. They weren't the same person at all. Compared to the actor, this man truly looked like an old bat flitting about in a dark and gloomy world.
By the time his shopping was done, it was three in the afternoon. Having only snacked on some curious wizarding treats to tide him over, Ezio arrived at his final stop in Diagon Alley just before his body began to signal true hunger.
Ollivanders.
"Hello, I'm here to buy a wand."
Pushing the door open, Ezio spoke simply and quickly. He had reached the counter before the sound of the bell on the door had even faded. An old man behind the counter watched him with a calm gaze.
"Welcome. A new Hogwarts student, I presume." Ollivander nodded lightly. "Let me take your measurements."
Ezio didn't receive the same protagonist treatment as Harry Potter. The old man was all business, not making any small talk with him. This was likely because Ezio had no wizarding parents, leaving Ollivander with no opening for his usual chatter, which inevitably began with, "I remember your mother's/father's wand..."
"Which is your wand hand?"
"Both. So I might need two."
"The second will need to be paid for at the normal price, not the seven-Galleon for new Hogwarts students." Ollivander had encountered similar requests before and remained completely unruffled, not even pausing his measurements.
"Wands are not cheap; in fact, they can be quite expensive. After coming of age, some wizards choose to replace their wands, but this often comes at a considerable cost."
'A monopoly business is certainly profitable,' Ezio grumbled internally.
"What is the normal price?"
"Approximately sixty to eighty Galleons. Some wands using rare or special materials can be more expensive, with prices ranging from one hundred and thirty to two hundred Galleons."
"It seems I can afford it, then. Thank you for your trouble, old sir."
"It is I who should be thanking you for your generosity, young sir." Ollivander retracted his measuring tape and walked lightly towards the back of the counter.
"Try this one. Chestnut, dragon heartstring, fourteen inches, quite springy. And this one isn't bad either, maple, unicorn tail hair, thirteen inches."
Selecting a suitable wand—or rather, finding a wand that matches a wizard—is not a simple task. Ollivander's physical measurements were mostly to help him select a wand of the appropriate length; determining the wand's characteristics required a process of comparison.
After some time, Ollivander determined that the young wizard before him leaned towards wand types that could produce greater power. At the same time, however, he had an unusually high demand for the wand's sensitivity and precision.
It was true that the wand chooses the wizard, but one had to first present the wizard with wands suited to his own traits, and then let the wands make their choice.
"Alright, alright, a picky customer. But I'm sure I will find the one for you." Ollivander paused slightly. "You are very particular about your wand. I have seen such high standards many times, and each time I have been able to satisfy my customer's needs."
"Try this. I believe this curious combination might bring me a surprise."
"Elder wood, phoenix feather, thirteen and three-quarter inches long. The feather in the core was one I took from a rather special phoenix. It was injured at the time and preparing for rebirth. It was for that very reason that I chose to pair this core with elder wood."
Ezio took the dark grey wand. As it settled into his hand, he felt nothing particularly special, only that the wand felt very... docile. There was no other remarkable reaction.
"It seems it has accepted you. Give it a wave and try." Ollivander's eyes lit up slightly. "You can tell it in your mind what you want to do, such as making something float, and see if it responds accurately."
Ezio nodded, and with a gentle flick of his wrist, a piece of parchment on the counter lifted lightly into the air, hovering two or three inches above the surface.
"It appears we have successfully found one. Now, let's try this." Ollivander nodded in satisfaction and retrieved another new wand.
"I rarely use materials other than dragon heartstring, unicorn tail hair, and phoenix feather to make wands. Although I have experimented with thousands of wood and core combinations, I believe these three cores are the most universally adaptable. However, I would not be so reckless as to declare them the irreplaceable, optimal core materials."
"There are many, many magical creatures in the world. The core of this next wand is a Thunderbird tail feather. The North American wandmaker Shikoba Wolfe is very fond of it. It is undeniable, however, that when a Thunderbird feather is used as a core, it requires a wizard with very strong control to master it, because it is incredibly swift and temperamental."
"American Redwood, struck by lightning, with a Thunderbird tail feather, fourteen inches long. Try it. Perhaps you will like it."
Under Ollivander's expectant gaze, Ezio took the wand. The instant it was in his hand, a spark of something like lightning leaped from its tip. The elder wood wand, not to be outdone in his other hand, shot out a small flame.
"It seems they both like you very much. Be careful they don't fight in the future, ho ho." Ollivander chuckled lightly, then added, "I'm joking. Wands don't fight. But I do hope you won't neglect either of them. Only through constant use will a wand truly bond with a wizard. Rapport needs to be cultivated."
"But for now, which wand will you be paying full price for?" Ollivander looked at Ezio with a smile. "Either of them is quite costly."
"First come, first served. Let's go with the Redwood and Thunderbird," Ezio said, making a decisive choice without a hint of indecision.
"That will be one hundred and seventy-seven Galleons, honorable customer. It comes with a complimentary supply of wand-polishing wax, a cloth, and a holster."
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Author's Note: In the 1990s, the exchange rate for the Pound Sterling to gold was around £5.1 to 1 gram of gold.
(T/N: I googled it and the price was roughly twice that, around 10 Pounds. But it doesn't really matter.)
The wizarding world operates on a gold standard. The reason for the limit on Pound-to-Galleon exchange is likely because the Ministry of Magic controls contact between wizards and Muggles. How could they allow goblins to have unrestricted contact with Muggles, collecting Muggle currency to exchange for gold? The goblins must have restrictions placed upon them. Therefore, the exchange of gold for Galleons is unlimited, while the exchange of Pounds for Galleons is limited.