"Loki Fir?"
Leo and Professor McGonagall asked in unison. Professor McGonagall, being an experienced wizard, had heard rumours about this type of wood before, but she never expected to see this extinct material with her own eyes.
Leo, however, felt somewhat uneasy because he suddenly realised: This was a magical world... could those deities and mythological creatures from various legends actually have existed?
Perhaps they were powerful wizards, or perhaps some magical creature clan... It was entirely possible that ancient humans, upon seeing wizards casting magic, regarded them as deities.
Ollivander began explaining as if reminiscing: "Loki Fir, also called Trickster Wood or Shapeshifting Tree. Legend has it that it was born when Loki was bound in the chasm, and his blood and curses dripped onto a fir tree, transforming it into a magical tree with shapeshifting power. Wands made from it as a material symbolise infinite transformation."
Professor McGonagall frowned and asked: "But I heard this type of wood has long been extinct; its very existence is almost mythical."
Her implication was questioning whether this wand was truly made from Loki Fir or if old Ollivander had made a confused mistake.
Ollivander smiled bitterly: "Not only is Loki Fir exceedingly rare in the world, but even magical creatures like sphinxes are on the verge of extinction worldwide. The sphinx, originating from Egyptian mythology, is the embodiment of wisdom and the never-ending pursuit of knowledge. This wand's maker was my grandfather's grandfather's grandfather..."
Seeing Leo and Professor McGonagall's expressions becoming increasingly strange, Ollivander coughed lightly and stopped reciting his genealogy. "Anyway, many generations... over a thousand years, this wand has existed for over a thousand years. Of course, the wand's quality is absolutely genuine. Ollivander would never lie about wands!"
Ollivander couldn't help but puff out his chest... this was the family's pride.
Glancing at the hovering silver-black wand, Leo connected it to the "Loki's Faceless" he had merged with. Loki Fir, even if it was legend, its origin was connected to Loki. Now that he possessed Loki's magical talents, it was natural that he would be attracted to a wand made from such wood.
As for the sphinx spine feather? Pursuit of knowledge? Well, mastering more knowledge wasn't a bad thing. Over a thousand years... this wand was quite the antique.
"After so long, it hasn't been sold... err, it hasn't found a suitable owner?"
Facing Leo's question, Ollivander instead looked at him with burning eyes, as if seeing a rare treasure. "Perhaps it has found one now. Child, oh no, Mr Leonardo, please try this wand."
Perhaps having waited too long, the silver-black wand trembled slightly, its illusory symbols became more active, and the faint snickering became more obvious.
Extending his right hand, he gripped the handle. In an instant, Leo felt unprecedented harmony. The magical power within his body surged toward the wand in his hand, yet it wasn't violent... the entire process was gentle and quiet.
Leo felt the wand was cheering, rejoicing. At the same time, Leo felt a new surge of magical power bursting forth within his body. This magical power didn't rampage wildly but instead concentrated and gathered toward the wand in his hand.
As magical power accumulated, Leo instinctively pointed his wand at a candle on the counter. Black-green light shot out.
The candle trembled slightly and instantly transformed into a hammer. The hammer remained still for less than a second before its surface rippled and grew bone armour, instantly becoming a black turtle.
The black turtle stretched out its head, its small green eyes about to look toward Leo. Those eyes suddenly enlarged, and the pupils became horizontal. The shell became soft and smooth, and the black turtle had become a frog.
"Ribbit!"
A rather loud croak sounded as the frog hopped several times on the counter. Its round body quickly elongated, and smooth skin grew scales, transforming into a snake's slender body. Wings covered in feathers grew from both sides of its body, while its head became like a heron's.
At the same time, as if to adapt to the current space size, this strange creature's body kept expanding, becoming five to six times larger in the blink of an eye.
"Bang!"
The still-expanding creature suddenly exploded, bursting into smoke before returning to its original candle form.
Watching this transformation process that lasted less than a minute, Ollivander exclaimed: "Transfiguration... I've never seen such Transfiguration talent! I seem to already see that the future magical world will witness the emergence of a Transfiguration master. Minerva, congratulations on finding a genius student."
Ollivander looked at Professor McGonagall with a smile but found her gaze constantly moving between the candle and Leo, seemingly not having heard his congratulations at all.
"The final transformation was an Occamy?!"
McGonagall had already anticipated Leo's Transfiguration talent, and seeing him actually cast spells with a wand confirmed her judgement even more. Although it was just instinctive spellcasting, unstable and unsustainable, it highlighted Leo's potential even more.
Next, Leo only needed to learn and train methodically, constantly absorbing knowledge of Transfiguration charms. Whether it was transformation between objects, transforming objects into living beings, transformation between different species, or even the highest difficulty Animagus transformation, Professor McGonagall believed Leo would eventually master them all.
But why did it become an Occamy at the end? If it only looked similar, that would be one thing, but that characteristic of freely shrinking and expanding its body according to the size of its surrounding space was undoubtedly an Occamy!
How could it be a magical creature? How could it be such a magical being? Transfiguration spells cast by wizards could only transform into ordinary animals, not magical creatures. Perhaps it was because the innate magical power circulation methods of these magical creatures fundamentally conflicted with wizards' magic.
Having studied Transfiguration for decades, Professor McGonagall had never seen anyone transform into magical creatures, not even partial characteristics!
"Is this an unknown direction in Transfiguration? But how could a child who just came into contact with magic... I should ask Dumbledore about this."
McGonagall murmured softly. Dumbledore was one of the few Transfiguration masters of the current era... perhaps he could understand what this transformation meant.
Calming her emotions, Professor McGonagall smiled at Leo. "Leo, you're truly talented. I very much look forward to your performance at Hogwarts."
Leo put away his wand. "I'm also very much looking forward to your instruction."
He glanced down at his status panel.
[Magical Power: SS] (Unlocked)
Magical power was an important indicator of a wizard's strength. Why did some pure-blood wizards discriminate against Muggle-born wizards? Besides family resource accumulation and generations of inherited magical knowledge, it was also because pure-blood wizards often possessed more abundant magical power.
When both sides had similar magical levels, whoever could cast more spells and persist longer naturally had the advantage. But now that he had unlocked SS-level magical power talent, he had broken free from his original constraints.
Whether in the speed of magical power growth or future total magical capacity, he could leave others in the dust, far surpassing his contemporaries.
Bidding farewell to Ollivander, they headed to the next shop. Watching Leo's retreating figure, Ollivander sighed silently: "A legendary wand must have a legendary owner. Giving the wand to that young man... another day worth commemorating."
Purchasing cauldrons needed for Potions class, telescopes for Astronomy, selecting wizard robes at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions... Leo arrived at the magical pet store, "Magical Menagerie".
Entering the shop, various noisy sounds hit him.
"Croak croak croak..."
"Meow..."
"Are you looking to select a magical pet?" asked the shop owner, a woman wearing thick black-framed glasses, her voice gentle and inviting.
Leo nodded, his eyes drifting over the animals in the store as he took in the variety before him.
"This one's too ugly."
"This one really stinks."
"Umm, this is a cat?"
A Persian cat with long ginger-yellow hair and a big tail crouched in a cage, lazily glancing at Leo. Its face was very flat, as if it had been smashed against a wall.
Leo shook his head. He wondered who would like this strange-looking pet cat. These pets were all quite ordinary; there was nothing special about them.
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