Ethan picked up one from the box nearest to him and waved it.
"This one is twelve inches, phoenix feather core. Doesn't seem particularly compatible."
Ethan picked up another one.
"Fourteen inches, dragon heartstring. Seems a bit too long."
Moving on to the next.
"This one seems very compatible. Twelve and a half inches, snake heartstring."
Ethan prepared to stop after trying this one.
"Continue! There are three more. Try them all and choose the one that suits you best."
This was completely different from Ollivander. There, Garrick Ollivander would snatch wands from your hand one by one until he found one that suited you best.
Here, you chose the one that suited you best from the given wands, and judging by the old man's words, if these didn't fit, you could continue choosing.
After trying all six wands, the snake heartstring one was indeed the most compatible with him.
Lefebvre watched the waitress wrap the wand Ethan chose, tie a beautiful bow, and hand it to him. Then he solemnly handed it to him with both hands.
"This was hand-crafted by my great-grandfather about a hundred years ago. The core material is a Runespoor from Burkina Faso. I hope you use it well."
Caught up in the atmosphere, Ethan accepted it with both hands and nodded solemnly.
When Cyril was paying the bill, Lefebvre looked at him and said, "Congratulations on finding the family bloodline."
"Thank you." Cyril looked at him with so surprise. He had been busy chatting with Albert and hadn't paid attention to the conversation between Ethan and Lefebvre.
The waitress opened the door for them with a smile, sending them off with a sweet voice, "Co again!"
After walking out of the shop, Sofia sighed, "The service here is much better than that one in Diagon Alley."
Albert chid in, "Indeed. At least there's a place to sit comfortably and wait."
He still rembered sitting on the cold bench at Ollivander's for so long last ti.
Just as the group left the shop, a middle-aged man with black hair, about to enter the Lefebvre wand shop, grabbed the boy beside him, who resembled him slightly, and stopped.
"Cyril?"
"It's you, Xavier." Cyril's face, which had been smiling, instantly turned cold.
The man nad Xavier looked Ethan up and down carefully for a mont. "Is this... Ethan? You found him?"
"Mm." Cyril seed to dislike him greatly; he nodded and gestured for the group to follow him.
"Then I wish you would protect him well and not lose him again," Xavier called out loudly, looking at their backs.
"Don't worry about it." Cyril snorted coldly, very displeased.
"Who is he?" Sofia and Albert were too embarrassed to ask, but Ethan didn't have that reservation.
Cyril's face still hadn't improved. "My cousin, your great-grandmother's younger brother's son. During the years you were lost, he always wanted his son to inherit our family's estate. That boy beside him just now is his grandson; he should be starting first year this year."
"Is that so?" Ethan silently morized that man's face.
Taking a few deep breaths, Cyril adjusted his mood and continued to lead the group strolling through the magical street.
After the small interlude at the wand shop entrance, the group's interest waned slightly. Finally, after an hour and a half, having browsed the remaining half of the shops, they left the magical street with so books and snacks unique to the shops here.
During the few remaining days that Sofia and Albert were still there, they visited magical factories. Similar to modern assembly lines but powered by magical machinery, these factories required fewer wizards to handle all operations.
Ethan also solved a mystery: where wizards graduating from the three major European magic schools ended up each year. Most of those who weren't particularly outstanding ended up in factories, producing common goods as workers.
A week after arriving in France, busy Albert took Sofia back ho first.
"My elephant wood carving, be sure to bring it back for ." Before leaving, Albert reminded Ethan.
Fearing that the moving elephant wood carving would attract the attention of security inspectors, Albert asked Ethan to bring back the item he liked so much when he returned.
"I know, I know. I'll ask the owl to mail it back to you tomorrow, okay?" Ethan said goodbye to his father helplessly.
When their figures completely disappeared from sight, Ethan and Cyril got into the car and left the airport.
"Next, it's ti to show you a different magical world." After returning to the Shafiq ancestral ho, Cyril said solemnly.
"Is it the dark side of the magical world? Like that gang of exiles."
"Correct. I received news a few days ago that an exile who participated in the attack on Shafiq Manor has appeared in France. Now I plan to take you to see a wizarding venue different from the bright and open magical street."
"Are you ready?"
Ethan nodded. He knew this day would co sooner or later. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm ready."
"Hold on to ."
With a loud bang, the two disappeared from the living room. Lala the house-elf walked out of the kitchen and wiped the spot where the two had just stood with a rag, just as he always did.
Ethan, who was frequently taken via Side-Along Apparition in England, had adapted to the sensation of Apparition. After taking just two deep breaths, he returned to normal.
"This is the Black Market?" Ethan asked.
"Mm. This is the largest magical black market in Paris. Most wizards who operate on the shady side fence their goods here. The crowd is a mixed bag, so stay close to . And don't trust anything anyone says."
The two appeared on a street in a dilapidated residential area of the 11th arrondissent. Presumably under a Muggle-Repelling Charm, the street was empty of passersby.
On a wall bearing graffiti of a gorgon, Cyril took out his wand and tapped one of the snake heads.
The gorgon smiled.
"Alright, go in. Like the entrance to the magical street, just walk straight through."
Ethan pulled on Cyril's sleeve and entered the seemingly dilapidated black market.
This black market was actually a small plaza, smaller than the magical street. It had more stalls than the magical street, and there were shops around the periter, but compared to the conspicuous bright signs and dazzling goods on display there, this place was far more sinister.
Hanging at the entrances of these shops were not only dried hands but also fist-sized skulls. One look and you could tell they weren't legitimate shops.
The peddlers sitting in the plaza wore black robes and covered their faces, pulling hoods over their heads for fear of being recognized. Even when they spoke, you could tell they were deliberately disguising their voices.
As a seasoned veteran of the black market, Cyril ca prepared. Before entering, he had already made Ethan put on a black robe and cover his face with a black scarf, leaving only his eyes visible.
Now the two were dressed no differently from the peddlers.
Cyril pretended to be an ordinary custor, walking from stall to stall and engaging in brief exchanges with various peddlers. Ethan followed beside him, watching his actions without saying a word.
After walking past all the small stalls, Cyril chose an unoccupied corner. He cast Muffliato, then whispered to Ethan, "Third row in the middle, second from the end. That's our target, Loup."
Ethan was about to look at the person when Cyril stopped him. "Don't look. These desperadoes are very vigilant. If you look at him, he'll likely realize we're watching him."
Ethan nodded. "Then what do we do next?"
"Wait. To prevent robbery, the black market has cast Anti-Apparition Charms. These people can only leave through the exit. We just need to wait at the exit."
"Okay."
The two hurried out of the black market, cast Disillusionnt Charms, and hid opposite the entrance, staring at the people coming out of the black market.
The wait was exceptionally long. They waited from noon until late afternoon, when the sky was beginning to darken, but still hadn't seen their target.
Ethan's patience was wearing thin. He said in a voice barely above a whisper, "Did he leave from sowhere else?"
Cyril replied just as quietly, "No, this black market has only one entrance and exit."
Ethan kept his eyes wide open, watching everyone who entered and left the black market so as not to miss their target.
He had seen that man's build before he exited, and he was certain that none of the people who had co out so far were their target.
Another half hour passed, and their target finally appeared.
A burly man with a masked face and short gray-white hair that stood up like steel needles erged from behind the wall.
He looked around, then took out his wand, as if he intended to Apparate away.
But how could Cyril, who had finally caught him, just let him leave?
A silent Petrificus Totalus was cast, interrupting his action. As an experienced desperado, he always carried a few alchemical items for protection against such surprise attacks. The spell didn't take effect, but it successfully delayed his departure. After Cyril's spell, Ethan directly released the Incendio he had mastered most proficiently to interfere with the wizard's movents. Loup's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and a green light shot from his wand toward the two of them. Cyril pointed his wand, and a brick at his feet turned into a blue cat, pouncing toward the green light. After being hit by the Killing Curse, it turned back into a brick and fell to the ground. The surprise attack failed; Cyril stopped using silent spells. A Disarming Charm (Expelliarmus), combined with Ethan's hellfire, knocked Loup's wand flying. Despair filled the man's eyes. Just as he was about to shout for help—this wizard without a wand obviously hadn't mastered any profound wandless magic—Cyril and Ethan used several Silencing Charms and Stunning Spells, completely penetrating his protective items and taking Loup down. They cast a Disillusionnt Charm on him, tied his hands and feet together, gagged his mouth with his face cloth, and stuffed him into a sack Cyril had prepared with an Undetectable Extension Charm.
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Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 256
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 178
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 258
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 105
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