Chapter 127: Wands and Wizards

Chapter 127: Wands and Wizards

"Fir vine wood?" Felix Harp repeated, and the young witch noticed that Professor Harp's expression seemed to momentarily freeze.

"Not bad," he offered in a brief assessment.

Felix explained, "From my personal experience, a wand-carving knife is similar to a wand itself. So, aside from using chestnut wood for the knife, it's best to select a knife that matches the material of your own wand."

"Like me, I find ebony wood carving knife most comfortable."

Hermione's face lit up with realization. She quietly thought to herself, vine wood, the top choice for her personal carving knife.

However, this also piqued her curiosity. When purchasing a wand, Ollivander had said that the wand chooses the wizard, not the other way around. And now, Professor Harp was giving similar advice. Was there a secret behind all this?

She voiced her question to Professor Harp.

Felix pondered and replied, "There's truth in that statement. Ollivanders never makes custom wands, which means young wizards must adapt to the traits of their wands."

"So, the wands we have are only roughly matched to us?" Hermione grasped the essence of his message.

"You could interpret it that way, but don't worry. For the vast majority of wizards, there's no need to consider such subtle differences," Felix said. "It's an interesting question though. You can go to the library, research and see what your friends' wands are like and what traits they represent."

Hermione was genuinely intrigued. This blend of satisfying her thirst for knowledge and indulging in a bit of gossip was utterly irresistible.

"Professor, do you have any book recommendations?" the young witch inquired. She had grown accustomed to asking Professor Harp for reading lists; each time, she received precise suggestions.

As expected—

"Hmm... I remember the library has a book called 'Wands and Wizards.' It covers over a hundred renowned wizards and their wands," Felix said.

Hermione murmured to herself and jotted down the title.

"Alright, moving on to the seventh carving knife," Felix redirected the conversation back on track.

The young witch gazed at the final carving knife. It was thin, almost dagger-like, a chilling pale color that resembled the teeth of some creature. Astonished, she said, "This is... a snake creature's fang?"

"Correct, I stumbled upon the idea of using parts of magical creatures to craft wand-carving knives under unusual circumstances," Felix chuckled. "It was just an experiment."

Hermione felt that the material was rather sinister. Could the runic carvings carry snake venom or curses by themselves?

So, she asked Felix, "What are its effects?"

Felix made a thoughtful sound and offered vague remarks like "opening up new avenues" and "I might try a unicorn horn next time." Wisely, Hermione didn't press for more details.

"Morning," he greeted. He had practiced Quidditch until late the previous night, so he was a bit sleep-deprived.

Harry pulled out his Potions homework from his bag, but his thoughts were scattered.

A few minutes later, he finally noticed the oddity of the three across from him. "What are you all up to?"

Hermione was intently writing on a thin wooden board—Harry had initially mistaken it for parchment and double-checked.

The tool in her hand was peculiar too, somewhat like a quill but resembled a miniature wand.

But Hermione clearly didn't have time to answer him. Harry looked to Ron.

Ron whispered to him, "It's magical looping."

Ginny contradicted him, "No, it's runic circuits."

Ron shrugged, "Close enough," he explained to Harry, "You know, for fixing her beaded bag."

He looked over to the other side of the table. Hermione was sketching an oddly-shaped pattern on the thin board; from his angle, it vaguely resembled a giant squid in the Black Lake.

A red light flowed continuously from the 'quill tip,' she was writing slowly, and the initial strokes had already cooled into black.

"Phew," Hermione exhaled deeply, wiping the sweat off her face.

"How's it going? Did you succeed?" Harry asked, very interested, although he still wasn't quite sure what she was working on.

But Harry figured he might end up taking Ancient Runes next year.

Hermione visibly relaxed, lazily saying, "I can never consistently infuse magic. The differences between individual runes are just too substantial."

"I remember you saying your success rate was around ninety percent?" Harry inquired.

"That's for individual runes. Runic circuits are much more challenging..." She sighed.

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