This remark reminded Ollivander. This wand - making master, who adhered to the principle of one wand per person, had some difficulty accepting that Mr. Diggory owned two wands at the same time.
"Mr. Diggory, since Mr. Dursley has made your old wand loyal, please don't be wavering and keep the new wand!
Come on, return the new wand you just bought from me not long ago! I can refund your Galleon!"
Ollivander stared at Mr. Diggory, hoping that he would return the wand and get a refund.
Mr. Diggory's face froze, and he quickly forced a smile. "Oh, I just remembered I left the door unlocked when I left home. Gotta go back right now!"
Saying that, Mr. Diggory turned around and fled in a hurry.
Ollivander was old and couldn't chase after him.
It was obvious that he didn't have much hope of getting Mr. Diggory's new wand back.
Once a wand was sold, it was like spilled water (an idiom meaning something that cannot be retrieved easily). Its fate, whether to be evaporated by the scorching sun or to seep into the ground to nourish the flowers, was determined by fate.
Master Ollivander had delved into the hearts of wands and could sense their wills and preferences. However, he could only choose a compatible wizard owner for the wands. He couldn't determine their fates after they left his shop.
After all, wands were meant for wizards, not to lie in the shop and gather mold with him.
Master Ollivander closed his eyes and felt the intentions of the thousands of wands lying in the boxes on the shelves. Then he silently walked back to the table in the inner room, sat down, moved the half - written wand - making manual aside for the moment, pulled out a blank piece of parchment, and started writing a letter to Dudley.
Since he had actualized the theory put forward by Dudley and could successfully sense the weak wills of the wands, he had been fully immersed in writing a book.
If it weren't for what had happened today, he would have almost forgotten to write to Dudley to share the good news and thank him for passing on his knowledge.
His original idea was to write down in detail the method he had discovered for communicating with the wills of wands, from theory to practice. Then he would make it into a family manual to enrich the family's heritage.
Then he would publish a simplified version of the book. He would put Dudley Dursley's name as the first author and his own as the second author, to help Dudley enhance his reputation and repay him.
But now, he thought that he should discuss such a big matter with Dudley first.
He couldn't just secretly go ahead and do it by himself.
Now, let's talk about something else.
After Mr. Diggory rushed out of Ollivanders Wand Shop in a hurry, he met the onlookers who hadn't left yet and the reporters from the newspapers at the door.
Rita Skeeter was still in a bad mood because of Ollivander's earlier statement of backing down. When she saw Mr. Diggory's expression, she immediately came up with a bad idea.
She raised her magic camera and took a series of rapid pictures of Mr. Diggory.
She captured Mr. Diggory fleeing in a hurry and Ollivanders Wand Shop in the background together.
She had already figured out how to write tomorrow's report.
The master wandmaker Ollivander didn't have the confidence to outdo Teaching Assistant Dursley, a recipient of the First Class of the Order of Merlin. So, on the surface, he acknowledged that the wand - making skills of Teaching Assistant Dursley were better than his, in order to gain a reputation for being modest.
Secretly, he lured Mr. Diggory, the owner of the wand, into the shop alone. He threatened and tortured him to vent his dissatisfaction.
The panicked expression on Mr. Diggory's face was the evidence!
Rita Skeeter showed a malicious smile.
She completely ignored Mr. Diggory's protests about the inaccuracies in the morning's report and no longer listened to anything he said. Then she left the scene with the others from the newspapers.
And Mr. Diggory was surrounded by gossiping onlookers.
Many people had previously wanted to pay a fortune for the old wand in Mr. Diggory's hand, which had been strengthened by Dudley. Now, even Master Ollivander admitted his inferiority, so the value of that wand skyrocketed.
A large number of wizards who considered themselves wealthy gathered around Mr. Diggory in front of Ollivanders Wand Shop and started an auction on their own.
Among them were some double - dealers who were Death Eaters from pure - blood families.
They really believed Mr. Diggory. They covered their faces and wanted to buy a powerful weapon that could resist Voldemort to protect themselves.
At this time, Mr. Diggory regretted it.
He shouldn't have publicized this matter so much.
He had made the matter worse. It not only brought trouble to Dudley and Ollivander but also backfired on himself.
"I'm not selling the wand! It's mine! Mr. Dursley strengthened it for me specially! You can't use it!"
Surrounded by the crowd, Mr. Diggory exploded. He took out the old wand strengthened by Dudley and roared, "Get out of my way! Otherwise, I'll blast you onto the roof with a spell!
This is a magic wand that can even deal with the Dark Lord. Those who don't want to die, get out of my way!"
Mr. Diggory became manic, but the crowd fell silent.
They quietly stepped aside to let Mr. Diggory through.
They all stared at the wand with phoenix patterns in Mr. Diggory's hand, looking in awe.
They already believed Mr. Diggory and recognized the power of this wand. Of course, they didn't dare to take the risk at this moment.
Moreover, it was not Voldemort in power now but the White Demon King.
The double - dealer Death Eaters were being cautious. How dare they rob or cause trouble in public?
They could only watch Mr. Diggory leave safely.
...
Hogwarts.
The precious weekend of the first week of school didn't bring Dudley peace.
Mr. Diggory's crazy moves and Rita Skeeter's sickening report really ticked him off, but he didn't give it a second thought.
Most of the time, Dudley disdained to hide his feelings, especially now that he had an overwhelming advantage in strength and influence. He wasn't worried about exposing his wand - making skills.
He'll teach that meddlesome Rita Skeeter a lesson sooner or later.
What really concerned Dudley was something that happened on Sunday afternoon.
He hadn't been with Harry and his friends all the time these days. He either stayed in the library to read books, or went to the Room of Requirement to practice the Killing spell, make special wands, and learn the ancient magic of Love Protection.
So, when Harry went to apologize to Malfoy because of the previous flying classes, Dudley wasn't with him.
It was Hermione and Ron who went with Harry.
After two days of mediation, Hermione had already brought Neville to apologize to Harry and Dudley for the incident of blocking the way. The group members were back on good terms.
With Dudley absent, the original three - person protagonist group naturally stuck together.
They found the Malfoy Trio on the playground outside the Castle and walked towards them on their own initiative.
This move surprised Malfoy and made him frown, while Crabbe and Goyle instinctively took two steps back in fright.
The Malfoy Trio looked around and made sure Dudley wasn't nearby. Then they finally let go of their anxiety and regained their courage.
"Yo! Isn't this Mr. Harry Potter, no longer the Savior? What are you doing here? Do you want to misunderstand me again?"