In the air before Ryan floated a translucent blue interface, like those holographic screens Tony Stark used in the movies… but in his opinion, much sharper and with an infinitely superior aesthetic design. It was as if magic and technology had fused in perfect harmony.
[Initializing magical core calibration...]
[Calibration complete]
Ryan watched the entire waiting process, which lasted only a few seconds, during which he stood completely still. His heart was beating fast. Not out of fear—out of excitement.
He knew exactly what stood before him.
A system, although the mechanical voice had said it explicitly, even a fool could tell.
'Arcane Creation…' Ryan thought to himself, a little calmer now.
[Arcane Creation System – Interface Linked.]
[The system allows the user to create, modify, and develop magical objects, potions, artifacts, talismans, and more.]
[Current Access: LEVEL 1 – Basic]
[Unlocked Modules: Initial Formula Catalog and Library]
Two icons gleamed before him.
📘 Formula Catalog
📚 Magical Library
"Very well organized," Ryan muttered, as he extended a finger toward the first icon: Formula Catalog.
The interface shifted instantly.
[Loading available formulas…]
Access Level: Basic.
Available items: 7
'Not many,' Ryan thought.
The names began to unfold, each framed elegantly with a small, moving magical illustration:
Speed Reading Glasses (2x) – [Cost: 100 galleons]
Light Pen – [Cost: 30 galleons]
Perfect Sleep Potion – [Cost: 80 galleons]
Dimensional Storage Ring – [Cost: 150 galleons]
Language Translator Amulet – [Cost: 80 galleons]
Magic Agility Shoes – [Cost: 100 galleons]
Mental Clarity Potion – [Cost: 90 galleons]
Note: Upon purchasing a formula, the system will provide the full design blueprint, required spells, ingredients, and necessary runes. This knowledge is not transferred directly into the user's mind. It must be understood, learned, and practiced manually.
Ryan made a slight grimace. Hardly surprising. If the system just handed him everything fully mastered, it would be boring. Too easy. And if there was one thing he had learned in his previous life, it was that stories where the protagonist is OP from the start were boring in most cases.
But then he smiled. A thin, cunning smile.
There were only seven formulas. But with those seven, he could recover the investment and lay the foundations for something much greater. A Capitalist Magical Empire. Some, like the storage ring or the mental clarity potion, were pure gold on the magical market if he knew how to sell them.
The other items weren't far behind. The speed reading glasses, for instance… Who wouldn't want to read at double the speed? Stressed students, overworked teachers, Ministry bureaucrats, magical lawyers, researchers, rune translators…
And from the memories he had of the former Ryan, such objects or potions didn't exist. Which meant he would be their creator. No competition.
That meant only one thing: monopoly. And with monopoly came power. Control; prices; branding.
He could almost see the glowing sign: Ollivander's Arcane Innovations. A greedy laugh escaped him. He needed to work on the name.
[Would you like to visit the System's Magical Library to consult manuals compatible with your level?]
"Yes," he answered without hesitation, and was automatically taken to the library.
Magical Library – Available Books
✦ Ancient Runes:
• Practical Runic Manual I – Introduction to Magical Runes (5 galleons)
↳ Includes basic history, rune structure, and the system-exclusive spell: Inscribere. This spell allows the user to engrave basic runes onto physical surfaces through direct use of the wand.
Ryan narrowed his eyes as he read the title.
'Runes…'
He remembered. Or rather, he felt the memories of the former Ryan emerging with crystal clarity.
Ancient Runes. He had taken Ancient Runes in third year. Not by choice, by pressure. Garrick Ollivander, his grandfather, had forced him. "A wandmaker without runic knowledge is like a cook without a tongue." The old man's words.
And although the previous Ryan had been a somewhat lazy rebel, he had an almost perfect memory. Just like his grandfather, who remembered every wand he had ever sold and to which client.
"This is great…" Ryan muttered.
In the wizarding world, the study of runes was almost archaeological. At Hogwarts, they were taught as translation and theory, not as an active tool of creation. Few truly knew how to inscribe them, and fewer still how to integrate them with modern spells.
But if the system could teach him to use them in practice, with an actual inscription spell…
It was a unique advantage.
A secret doorway no other wizard would have.
Before making his first purchase, he needed money, real money, in his hand. He knew how these things worked. He had read plenty of novels.
He walked to the nightstand. Opened the drawer and pulled out a leather coin purse. Old, with golden edges and elegant stitching. Fancy, no doubt, though a little outdated for his modern taste. But it was what he had.
He opened it and pulled out five gleaming galleons. They had the perfect weight. "Five pounds sterling per galleon…" he murmured.
He knew that thanks to his uncle Joseph. The only family member who seemed to keep one foot in both worlds. Joseph loved numbers, conversions, and explaining to everyone why the magical economy was a disaster and ought to learn from the Muggles.
With the galleons in hand, Ryan lifted his gaze toward the interface.
"Buy Runic Manual I."
[Transaction denied]
"What? Why?" Ryan asked.
[Invalid funds. The system does not accept money inherited, gifted, or received as part of your family status.]
[To access the system's knowledge, you must use money earned through your own effort. Spoiled-child resources are not accepted.]
Ryan raised an eyebrow. The voice was still completely mechanical, flat, neutral… but he could swear there was a hint of sarcasm in that last line.
"Since when do systems have moral values? What's next, an ethical code?" he said aloud, annoyed.
There was no answer. But the message was clear: if he wanted the knowledge, he had to earn it. No easy wallet. No Ollivander Jr. perks by surname.
Ryan sighed, closed the interface window, and tucked the five galleons into one of his pockets. 'Fine, let's go and earn five galleons the proper way…'
Before leaving the room, he went to his desk by the window. Opened the second drawer. There it was: a black magical quill, quite worn, the previous Ryan had used it for letters and homework.
He grabbed it without hesitation, twirling it between his fingers.
Then he got up and walked out into the hallway, moving naturally. The memories of the other Ryan mixed with his own, guiding his steps as if he had always lived there.
Ryan's house wasn't large, but not small either. Tucked into a discreet alley near Ottery St. Catchpole, not far from the Lovegoods and the Weasleys, it was hidden in plain sight by ancient magical protections. From the outside, it looked like a shop closed for decades.
Dark wooden furniture, shelves crammed with books on wand cores, arcane symbols, runic treatises. The carpet creaked. The walls smelled of resin and old parchment.
On the second floor were the bedrooms of him and his mother: Iris Ollivander. She had stopped working to raise Ryan alone, since Ryan's father had disappeared before he was born and never took responsibility.
'Went out for cigarettes…' Ryan thought with a cynical grimace as he descended the stairs.
With the old Ryan's memories, he knew his father had abandoned him, and it had affected him even though he liked to act tough and pretend he didn't care.
As for himself, he had been an orphan since birth in his first life, so he hardly cared about his missing father in this one. Having a mother who had raised him with deep love since he was a baby was already a great achievement.
His grandfather, the legendary Garrick Ollivander, lived apart, near Diagon Alley, in a modest home next to his famous wand shop. He was not a warm or affectionate man, but neither was he a purist like the Malfoys. Garrick's own mother, after all, had been a Muggle-born. To him, blood didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was magic.
And the right wand for every wizard.
Garrick was strict, meticulous, obsessive with details, and tremendously proud of the family legacy. He accepted no mistakes, no improvisation, no mediocrity. Not because he was cruel, but because he sincerely believed that wandmaking was a sacred art. A tradition that had to be protected. Perfected and respected.
"Fine wandmakers since 382 B.C."
That wasn't just a slogan. It was real.
The Ollivanders were not like the Malfoys or the Blacks. They held no seats in the Wizengamot. They didn't fund laws, nor pull strings from the shadows.
But they had something even older than the Malfoys, and perhaps even the Blacks: Reputation and Prestige.
That's why, even though the shop was dusty, with an almost empty display window and a single wand in sight… buyers kept coming in.
And they trusted blindly.
Ryan stepped down the last stair and paused for a few seconds. He adjusted his robe, glanced at the quill in his hand, and then raised his eyes.
"Well, let's get to work. If the system wants me to earn it… then I'll earn it," he murmured with a crooked smile.
He walked through the hallway on the ground floor, following the soft scent of tea and old wood until he reached the main room. The warm light of sunset filtered through the half-drawn curtains, bathing the living room in a golden, dusty glow.
There, on the old velvet sofa, sat his mother…
...
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