As a traditional wandmaker, Ollivander had always believed that the wand chooses the wizard, not the wizard choosing the wand.
This principle naturally applied to Devil's Snare as well.
Three wands simultaneously chose the same master—or rather, the same Devil's Snare plant.
However, upon reflection, when the wands themselves were crafted from Devil's Snare, such a choice seemed perfectly reasonable.
In the end, Ollivander sold all three wands to Adrian.
After obtaining the three desired wands, the Devil's Snare slithered down from Adrian's body and returned to the plantation through the portal in Adrian's portable suitcase.
It couldn't wait to cast magic with its very own wands.
Soon, magical spells of various colors were flying everywhere throughout the plantation.
Meanwhile, Adrian walked toward Flourish and Blotts at the other end of Diagon Alley—Harry should have already purchased what he needed.
At the same time, inside Flourish and Blotts.
Harry had stored his complete Broomstick Servicing Kit with a shop clerk and was now casually browsing through books near a corner bookshelf.
"Travels with Trolls, Wanderings with Werewolves..." Harry quietly read the titles, flipping through each book, only to discover they were all written by the same author.
They all told thrilling adventure stories of an adventurer named Gilderoy Lockhart.
The golden-haired man on the covers smiled somewhat foolishly with his gleaming white teeth, but the stories were genuinely captivating—Harry read with great interest.
Just as Harry was engrossed in an exciting chapter of Voyages with Vampires, a shrill voice suddenly piped up from near his feet: "Harry Potter!"
Harry's hand trembled, and the book snapped shut.
Looking down, he saw an ugly little creature staring at him eagerly with tennis ball-sized eyes.
The creature was extremely short—not even reaching Harry's height—and wore what appeared to be a tattered cloth, perhaps a pillowcase?
Harry paused, recognizing the creature's identity—a house-elf.
He had seen similar beings in the Hogwarts kitchens before.
Harry asked cautiously, "Who are you?"
"Dobby! Sir, house-elf Dobby," Dobby said excitedly. "Dobby has something important to tell you, sir!"
"Welcome—" came the shop clerk's voice from the entrance.
Dobby nervously looked around, his large ears trembling with each movement.
It would be terrible if someone saw him!
He tugged at Harry's robe hem, pulling Harry behind the bookshelf.
Harry was somewhat bewildered.
Once certain no one was paying attention to them, Dobby lowered his voice and said to Harry, "Harry Potter sir must be careful! Terrible things will happen at Hogwarts this year! Dobby came to warn you, respected Harry Potter sir."
"Just call me Harry," Harry frowned.
"Ah!" Dobby looked as if he was about to cry. "Harry Potter lets Dobby call him by his name—Dobby is so happy! No one has ever treated Dobby ..."
In fact, Harry knew about the existence of house-elves and understood that normal house-elves usually had a master.
But Dobby's attitude toward him seemed rather strange.
"Who is your master, Dobby?" Harry inquired.
Dobby suddenly widened his eyes with a terrified expression: "Dobby cannot say master's name! Dobby shouldn't have come here! Dobby spoke ill of master!"
As he spoke, he began violently banging his head against the bookshelf. "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"
The bookshelf began shaking violently.
"Stop!" Harry quickly grabbed Dobby.
This seemed to be the sound of a book falling to the ground.
However, when Harry looked down, there was nothing there.
"What's happening here?"
A shop clerk approached with a frown, suspiciously examining Harry and the shaking bookshelf around him.
Harry looked toward where Dobby had been, but somehow, Dobby had already vanished.
"Nothing," Harry nervously shook his head. "I heard something fall from the top of the bookshelf just now."
The clerk scanned the floor suspiciously. "There doesn't seem to be anything here."
Suddenly, the clerk seemed to remember something and began feeling around on the floor.
Soon enough, his eyes lit up.
Harry watched in amazement as the clerk raised his hand in mid-air, as if grasping something invisible.
"It's The Invisible Book of Invisibility!" he said delightedly to Harry. "We've been looking for these invisible books for ages! Thank you for your help, sir!"
"Uh..." Harry scratched the back of his head. "You're welcome."
The clerk brought over a tall ladder and climbed up to search the top of the bookshelf.
Before long, he climbed down with satisfaction.
"We spent a fortune ordering these books," he said, "but after the first day, we never found them again."
Harry remained silent for a moment, unsure what to say. Who would want to read invisible books anyway?
At this point, the clerk noticed the copy of Voyages with Vampires in Harry's hand.
"Ah, Lockhart's book," he gave a friendly smile. "Since you helped us find these troublesome invisible books, this copy of Voyages with Vampires is yours as our thanks. By the way, next month, the author Mr. Lockhart will be coming to the store for a book signing."
'Lockhart?' Harry became slightly interested.
After the clerk left carrying a pile of "air," Harry looked to the side.
Dobby's form materialized beside Harry.
"Harry Potter must be careful!" Dobby said abruptly. "Harry Potter cannot return to Hogwarts—it's dangerous there..."
"What nonsense are you talking about!" Harry was puzzled.
"Harry Potter must stay somewhere safe," Dobby ignored Harry's words, continuing in a low voice: "Harry Potter is so great, so kind—he will surely encounter danger at Hogwarts."
"What danger could Hogwarts possibly have..."
Harry's voice grew weaker and weaker.
Actually... last semester had indeed been quite dangerous, hadn't it?
At that moment, a familiar voice came from the entrance: "Harry?"
Harry immediately ran out and found Adrian looking around near the doorway.
He quickly ran to Adrian, his face still showing lingering confusion.
"Teacher," he said, "I just met a strange house-elf..."
"A house-elf?" Adrian couldn't help but look around. "House-elves don't usually appear in bookshops."
Harry took Adrian's hand and led him to where Dobby had been.
"Dobby?" Harry called softly.
However, the wrinkled house-elf did not appear.
"Looks like he's already gone." Adrian looked at Harry and shrugged.
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