it was now two weeks since Draco had escaped fading in his pre-quest by a whisker.
the relief he had experienced from his achievement still sent a thrill over his bones.
he had since then received instruction from the system that after attaining magic from any magical beasts he slew, he could not use it immediately as it would destroy his vitals,
the system instructed him to meditate for two hours uninterrupted so that the gnome magic would be assimilated in his reserve.
Draco found this to be a simple task since his mother, as he had learned to call her, never denied him anything and his new father and sister, never gave a damn about him, for all they cared his absence was good riddance.
he felt his body pumping with energy.
so power tasted this good,
no wonder people killed for it, Draco thought.
his thrill lasted but a few days, before the system presented him with a new problem.
four days after the gnome war, a package was delivered by two owls, Draco learned that this was the courier system of this universe.
his sister Aster who seemed to have anticipated this strange package with zeal rushed to the envelope that was inscribed with her name and jumped with joy on reading it.
"yes, I made it mum, I have been invited to join Hogwarts."
their mother embraced her with a warm smile and turned to Draco,
"honey won't you open your envelope?"
Draco who was staring strangely at his sister was suddenly brought to reality, he noted that the second envelope was inscribed with his name.
he reached for it with curiosity and fear mingling in his brain.
what if the wizarding school had detected his unnatural magic system and had rejected him? or worse still, summoned him for magical questioning,?
would the system find him a trick to evade this stumbling block?.
As it turned out, his fears were unjustified. The letter began by congratulating him on his recovery and wishing him better luck in the future.it continued to invite him to year 1 in the magic school of Hogwarts.
Draco was overjoyed and found himself unknowingly embracing his new mother. he was slowly fitting into the roles of the new Draco.
the mother asked for the parchments for safe keeping so that she could look at the requirement for their first school term.
As Draco entered his room the system display reappeared with the quest tab flashing with a red alert. Draco locked his door and opened the tab.
the orange quest highlight read:
quest: attain the wand with the dragon's heartstring core before admission.
reward:20 exp
magic boost;40
time limit;42;00;00
countdown till fade;42;00;00
Draco realized the time limit was set until their official admission to Hogwarts which was 2 days away.
the 6 hours had been removed since the letters had arrived at 12 noon. below at the quest information tab read:
QUEST INFO;
"A wand is the object through which a witch or wizard channels his or her magic.
It is made from wood and has a magical substance at its core.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
most wands have cores of phoenix feather, unicorn hair, or dragon heartstring, and are of varying woods, lengths, and flexibilities.".
Draco couldn't help thinking that the system had presented him with an easy quest, a 40% magic boost, and an additional 15 exp would be a nice addition to his vitals and all he had to do was ask his loaded parents to buy him a wand with a dragon heartstring core,
easy.
for the first time since being thrown into this strange universe, Draco spent the day getting acquainted with his new home and chatting with his mother and spent time with the house elf whom he had become fond of.his father however did not approve his friendship with the elf.
On her part Narcissa excused her son's curiosity due to his comma. after all, the world had been lost to him for 8 years.
that day Draco slept well with more expectations and less worry.
things were finally shaping well for him
he was torn from his dream of heroic valour and power by the voice of his mother as she banged the door.
" wake up honey, you shall get us late. "
"Today the shops will be filled to the brim and the last thing I want is to get stuck in long queues waiting to be served."
Draco woke up lazily, he stretched his arms and let out a yawn.he was starving.
He realized today he would actually see the outside wizarding world for the first time since arriving here.
He took a quick shower and changed to a set of clothes his mother had prepared for him the previous day.
A perfect morning.
he then checked the system display and found that his magic reserve was at 36%,
it seemed when not faced with an urgent quest, his magic seemed to be on save mode.his time limit however was at 30:00:00 and counting
he had a day and a half to get it done.
he couldn't help but wonder why such a long time limit for such an easy task.
maybe the system wanted him loaded with magic reserve before joining Hogwarts, and since it couldn't dish the reward freely, it gave him an easy quest.
After breakfast, the two parents were engaged in an argument on how to get to a wand shop in Diagon alley belonging to a man they called Ollivander.
Mrs Malfoy wanted to use a carriage while Mr Lucius wanted to do something he called an apparition. Mrs Malfoy was objecting that the ministry of magic allowed underage to apparate only as a matter of urgency.
Mr Lucius insisted that his time was urgent and Narcissa could use a carriage if she wanted to get stuck in endless queues. besides, Mr Lucius finally convinced her by saying they would be taking a side-along apparition and not apparating on their own.
they had reached an agreement that Lucius would take Draco while the ladies followed. Mr Malfoy instructed Draco that under no condition was he to let go of his hand.
after making sure he understood, Mr Lucius offered him his hand and he grabbed it for dear life.
he had learned that instructions were a serious matter in this universe.
suddenly he was being swallowed in a black pit.his chest seemed to be contracting within and his ears were being stuffed with a lot of wax. he was growing dizzy when his legs made contact with solid ground on a marble floor.
he almost fell but Mr Malfoy steadied him.
" man up boy, your sister does it better"
Draco was shocked to see that Aster and Mrs Lucius, were already there.
" you will get used to it honey," she said.
"wow, Aster exclaimed, there is the wand shop."
Draco looked at where she was pointing. an old-looking shop that was on the ground floor of a two-story building written in worn-out letters"Ollivander's wand shop".
they headed towards it.
The shop's display consisted of a solitary wand lying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.
The store was small and almost looked empty. an old man who was dosing on a chair as old as himself stared at them with half-closed eyes,
"Aaah Lucius, I see the young Malfoys are about to join Hogwarts. if am right they need my wands."
"What else would they be here for?."
Mr Lucius stared at the shop suggestively.
the man ignored the comment and approached Draco,
"come here boy, let me see what we have here". he said taking Draco's hand and exclaiming
"aah, I have just what might suit you."
he withdrew into an adjusting chamber and came back caring an 8-inch-long stick.
"not a lot of options am afraid".
"8-inch blackthorn wood with a troll whisker core"
. Draco almost fainted.
up to now, he had forgotten to tell his parents that he preferred a dragon heartstring core.
Mr Malfoy was already objecting vehemently, "what a load of rubbish is this Ollivander? has your shrinking brain already died on you? what the hell do you mean troll whisker,?"
Draco no longer cared about his loathing for his new father,
The enemy of your enemy is your friend afterall.
"Dad I want a dragon heartstring." he said pleadingly,
his entire life and quest depended on it.
he was a dead man if he left here without it.
" you heard my boy, that's what he wants, and that is what he is getting".mr Malfoy was now fuming with range.
"calm, Lucius, surely it must be a misunderstanding" Mrs Malfoy interceded,
Mr Ollivander was now fuming as well,
"what do you mean lady, by misunderstanding?, I will have you know I was doing this job long before you were born, I make no mistake in my work, lives depend on it. besides you very well know that it is the wand that chooses the wizard not the other way round."
Draco almost collapsed as he heard the man's last words.
so that had been the trick all along.
he had thought the system had been dishing him an easy task but his hopes in this realm had suddenly encountered another stumbling block, one that he had no way of navigating.
death seemed very close. he should have known, the deal had been too sweet after all.
he was torn from his thought by a trembling in his hand,
he hadn't noticed that Mr. Ollivander had intentionally placed the wand in his hands as they were arguing with his father.
the wand suddenly emitted some bright spark and then it was still.
it had recognized its new master.
Draco's worst fear had been confirmed.