Chapter 240: Sirius’s Wand
Chapter 240: Sirius’s Wand
They successfully found the deeds, the purpose of this trip had been accomplished, and no one touched the apparently dangerous Dark Arts items and the other curious collections.
They went back to where they came from led by Griphook.
More than half an hour later, the cart finally reached the surface after another wild ride.
Breathing the fresh air, and looking at the familiar buildings in Diagon Alley and Professor Lupin, who smiled and greeted them, Evan, Harry and Hermione all had a sense of rebirth. The location of the vault and the innumerable secrets beneath Gringotts were really exciting, though they did not get to see the wealth of the Black family as they had anticipated.
The three of them discussed with Lupin what they saw and heard deep underground, the chained Ironbelly, the small islands in the melting lava, the vaults of the pure blood wizard families of thousands of years ago, and so on.
The vault number one, with the Slytherin family emblem was the most interesting.
Evan was absolutely convinced that there was a connection between the ornament on the vault door and the weird ornament on the Slytherin’s Locket he had on him.
There was another point about the secret treasure keys left by the Four Founders.
Evan had speculated about the hints of the key’s location.
In literal sense, since Gryffindor’s treasure key was preserved among the Centaur tribe, the key to Slytherin’s treasure was likely to be hidden by the goblins in Gringotts, right in the mysterious vault that he had just seen.
The question then was: how to make sure of that and get the key out?!
It was impossible to ask a goblin about that, and entering directly into Gringotts meant nothing but death.
Evan thought for a moment that if Slytherin’s treasure key was really in Gringotts, he would have to start looking it up with the vampire girl called Elaine and her family.
Even though vampires, they were also descendants of the Slytherin family.
Like Voldemort, they were the legitimate heirs of the vault.
While Evan was thinking about this, Lupin talked with Harry and Hermione about the magic that the goblins placed in Gringotts and the weakness that everyone had just seen on the Iron belly.
Sirius followed behind and did not participate in the conversation.
He didn’t look very happy and they didn’t know if it was because of the crazy bumpy cart or the empty vault.
He stared blankly to the front, and nobody knew what he was thinking of.
Harry and Hermione quickly noticed that. They exchanged an uneasy look with each other, their faces were full of worry, and the atmosphere was silent.
Hermione pocked Evan gently and signalled him to look back at Sirius.
Evan looked back, and he could understand Sirius’s feelings at the moment.
Although he didn’t care about those treasures and gold, it was the wealth accumulated by the Blacks over the centuries, passed down from generation to generation, and now it was all the property of other families.
No matter who would be encountering such a thing, he would be unhappy.
In particular, Sirius’s mother, who allocated the property, preferred to trust his two cousins rather than leave something for her own son.
If Evan himself encountered such a thing, he would be sad to death.
“Sirius…” Harry shouted anxiously.
“I’m okay, just recalling some unpleasant memories!” Sirius took a deep breath of cold air, cheered up and joined them in the conversation. “Remus was right, the Ironbelly’s weakness lies in its eyes, you can use Obscuro or other spells to attack that part and make it retreat out of pain. In addition, each dragon has a particularly fragile scale. If you want to kill the dragon, then…”
As they walked along, Sirius looked completely recovered.
Before returning to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, they decided to go to 36 Diagon Alley to have a look.
They left the main road and turned into a narrow, backlit street, where the snow had not been cleared for a long time and the deepest point was enough to reach the knees.
The streets were very depressed and all the shops were not open for business.
Only a small shop opened its door. An old wizard with two big, pale silvery eyes was sweeping the snow in front of the store. Peeling gold letters over the door read OllEvanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.
Seeing Mr. OllEvander, Evan was very surprised that he did not change a bit from the time he last saw him.
“Good afternoon, Mr. OllEvander!” Everyone hurried forward to greet.
“Good afternoon, everyone, nice to meet you!” OllEvander looked up, his pale pupils slid across the five faces, stayed the longest on Evan and Harry, and eventually fell on Sirius, “Sirius Black, it’s a great pleasure to see you again. It’s been more than twenty years since I last saw you, and I didn’t think there would be such a chance…”
“Oh, yes, I thought I had no chance to come back to Diagon Alley.” Sirius said cheerfully, “You’ve seen the latest reports! With the help of these three children, I’ve been proved innocent.”
“Of course, of course!” OllEvander happily said “Ebony, twelve inches long, good at Transfiguration, right?”
“Yes, but that wand had been broken when I was caught by the Ministry twelve years ago.” Sirius pulled out a wand and said sadly, “That’s a good wand, but it doesn’t feel as right as the other one.”
“Of course, it’s not easy; it’s resisting your power!” OllEvander came over and whispered softly, “This wand does not belong to you. I don’t know where you got it. It is my grandfather’s work, very ancient craftsmanship, elm and dragon nerves, a bit tough. In those days, dragon materials were very rare, and only the richest families of pure blood wizards could afford to buy…”
OllEvander took the wand from Sirius and observed it carefully, talking about how good and how old it was, as if he were appreciating a work of art.
“Mr. OllEvander?!”
“Oh, yes!” OllEvander handed the wand back to Sirius. “This wand is great, but it doesn’t fit you! If you can, I suggest that you choose a wand from my shop.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary. I’m no longer a young wizard. I can handle any wand skilfully.” Sirius said with pride.
“That’s a pity!” OllEvander continued. “You know, it’s the wand that chooses the wizard, and using someone else’s wand affects your strength.”
“Mr. OllEvander is right. You really should change your wand.” Evan followed and persuaded him; he knew the importance of the wand for the wizard.
For wizards, using someone else’s wand could be extremely difficult, affecting the power of their spells and the transmission of magic. Powerful wands can even resist the will of the user, going against it completely.
In the original book, for this reason, the Elder Wand in Voldemort’s hand resisted the use of the killing curse against its real owner Harry, and he finally died unknowing of that.
So did Sirius, who, in the original book, had been running away, and could possibly not pick a wand of his own. He had to use this wand belonging to one of his ancestors.
When he duelled Bellatrix, he lost his life, perhaps as he couldn’t use his true strength with that wand.
Yes, in order to deal with the dangers to be encountered in the future, changing this wand was very necessary.
“Sirius, Since Mr. OllEvander and Evan said this, just go and change your wand…” Harry said with concern.
“No need, I can control this wand!” Sirius answered stubbornly.
“That’s only temporary. As time goes on, it will affect you more and more.” OllEvander whispered, “The core of this wand is the dragon’s nerves. You know, dragons are powerful creatures, and they don’t obey at will…”
Hearing OllEvander’s words, Harry hastened to shout, “Sirius!”
“Okay, okay, I can come back later when I have time!” Sirius patted Harry’s shoulder and said softly, “Don’t you remember guys? We are going to the store now, and we’re going to the hospital to see the Weasley boy after that. We can’t afford to waste time here.”
“It won’t take much time. We can wait for you in the shop.” Evan pointed to a very shabby house near the wand shop and said, “I saw the sign. It’s 36 Diagon Alley!”