"Garrick! Are you quite alright?" Dumbledore rushed forward, helping the frail wandmaker to his feet. "Perhaps you didn't rest well last night."
"Yes… yes, that's it," Ollivander stammered, regaining his composure. "A new wand core… it kept me up all night." He turned to Tom, his smile strained. "Not to worry, my boy. I will find you the perfect wand, even if I must do it from my deathbed."
Despite his reassurances, Ollivander's hands trembled as he measured Tom. The first wand he offered was of yew wood—the same as the other Tom Riddle's—a wood associated with death and rebirth, favored by powerful dark wizards. Tom gave it a wave, and it shot a gout of flame across the shop. Ollivander snatched it back.
"Too gentle," he muttered. He offered another. This one produced a flock of birds that immediately crashed into the ceiling. "No, the Thestral hair does not suit you."
He handed Tom a third wand. The moment Tom's fingers closed around it, a current of power surged through him, a feeling of rightness, of completion. He pointed it at a cracked flowerpot in the corner, and the pot exploded into fine dust.
At that exact moment, a new sensation bloomed in his mind—not a sound, but a pure, crystalline thought that was not his own.
//SYSTEM ANCHORING//
> Future Trajectory Confirmed: [Power].
> System Profile Selected:.
> Initializing...
> The Strongest Learning System is now online.
> Welcome, Host.
Tom's expression remained a perfect mask of calm neutrality.
"Curious," Ollivander whispered, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and terror. "Very curious indeed." He cleared his throat. "Fourteen and a half inches. Yew. Dragon heartstring core. A powerful combination. It will be capable of the most spectacular magic."
"I will use it well, Mr. Ollivander."
"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Riddle. Remember that." He paused. "That will be eight Galleons."
After they left the shop, Ollivander sank onto a stool, cold sweat beading on his forehead. A wand over thirteen and a half inches denoted a personality with immense self-confidence and a desire for mastery. The dragon heartstring core demanded a wizard of great power. And yew…
"Albus," the wandmaker murmured to the empty shop, "you know what this means, don't you?"
Outside, Dumbledore pointed to a pet shop. "First-years are permitted an owl, a cat, or a toad. Do any of those appeal to you?"
"No, thank you, sir," Tom said. "An owl is a messenger, and I have no one to write to. As for toads and rats… they do not appeal to my aesthetic sensibilities."
Dumbledore nodded, and after a quick butterbeer at the Leaky Cauldron, he escorted Tom back to the children's home.
"I look forward to seeing you at Hogwarts, Mr. Riddle."
"And I you, Professor."
Tom watched the old man disappear down the street before turning and entering the house. After a quiet dinner, he went to his room, closed the door, and lay on his bed.
Show me the System Panel, he thought.
A translucent blue screen materialized in his vision.
//THE STRONGEST LEARNING SYSTEM//
Host: Tom Riddle
Status: Healthy
Core Currency:
> Study Points (SP): 0
> Achievement Points (AP): 0
Functions:
>: Hire spiritual projections of history's greatest minds.
>: Enter a heightened state of learning and comprehension.
>: Gain talents and abilities from your tutors.
//NEW HOST GIFT PACKAGE//
> [Open?]
Tom's lips curved into a slow, cold smile. Finally, he thought. A real weapon.
He mentally selected [Open].
//GIFT PACKAGE OPENED//
> You have received: 100 Study Points.
> You have received: 1x Free S-Rank Teacher Summon.
A brilliant golden light filled his vision. When it faded, his consciousness was no longer in his bedroom but in a vast, misty, grey expanse. He could still feel his physical body lying on the bed, but his awareness was here, in what the System called the ****.
A booming, joyous laugh echoed through the mist. A towering figure strode towards him, parting the fog like a ship's prow. The man was dressed in an ancient Greek chiton, his muscular frame exuding an aura of immense power and vitality. He wore a laurel wreath on his head, and his face was as noble and resolute as a classical statue.
"Hahaha! So you are the little wizard who summoned me?" the man roared, his eyes alight with curiosity. "A remarkable talent, to awaken a soul as long dormant as mine. And this contract… child, your luck makes even me envious."
The System's introduction was clear: tutors in this space were bound to teach, unable to harm him. But even without that assurance, Tom felt no fear. The man radiated an almost blinding aura of righteousness.
"Shouldn't the teacher introduce himself first, sir?" Tom asked, his tone respectful.
"Hahaha! You are right! Forgive my rudeness," the man boomed. "My name is Andros. A simple wizard from Greece, with some small skill in wandless magic and the Patronus Charm. I should be sufficient as your first tutor."
Tom's mind raced. Andros. Invincible Andros. He'd seen the name on a Chocolate Frog Card. A wizard from antiquity, a "King of the Century" who had never known defeat and could cast a Patronus the size of a giant.
This was his free S-Rank summon.
"It is an honor, Mr. Andros," Tom said with a slight bow. "I am Tom Riddle. I am your student now. Please, correct me wherever I am wrong."
"Of course!" Andros clapped his massive chest. "I will do my utmost to help you become a great wizard! Now, your time here must be costly. Let us begin at once! What shall we learn first?"
Tom considered. "Let's start with the basics, sir. The Levitation Charm and the Lighting Charm."
Andros stared at him, his brow furrowed in confusion. "The what?"