"Rowan, from today onward, you are my student."
Garrick Ollivander clutched the box of unicorn tail hair to his chest, hands trembling as if he were holding a newborn. His silver eyes burned with a feverish light.
"I swear to you, I will teach you everything I know. I'll make you a wandmaker worthy of my name."
"Please don't get too excited," Rowan said gently. "I believe you."
He was half afraid the old man might keel over on the spot. For someone who had spent an entire lifetime immersed in wandcraft, eight thousand strands of unicorn tail hair were less a payment and more a divine revelation.
Gold could be refused.
This could not.
"When do you want to begin?" Ollivander asked, finally forcing his breathing to steady.
"If possible," Rowan replied without hesitation, "right now."
The sooner he mastered wandmaking, the sooner both his main body and his other self could wield proper wands. The increase in combat potential would be immediate and dramatic.
Ollivander glanced once more at the box, then rose decisively and flipped the shop sign to Closed. Without another word, he led Rowan into the back workshop.
And so Rowan's Christmas holiday became a wandmaker's apprenticeship.
Even on Christmas Day itself, he worked until dusk before returning to the potion shop. That morning, however, he still found time to send gifts through Peggie. Small, thoughtful things. Tonks and her Auror colleagues. His Slytherin classmates. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny. Every professor at Hogwarts.
Even Dumbledore received one.
Nothing extravagant. Gifts too valuable became burdens, not kindness.
On the final day before the holiday ended, Ollivander examined a wand Rowan had just finished.
"Troll whisker core. Pine wood. This one…" Ollivander nodded slowly. "This is acceptable. Barely, but acceptable. Your talent is real. Don't grow complacent. Keep practicing once you return to school."
Rowan bowed politely. "Thank you for your guidance. I'll come back during the summer."
He left the shop quietly.
His rapid progress wasn't magic talent alone. It was three minds working in parallel, a body that didn't tire like a normal wizard's, and a foundation built from countless books he'd already read. Talent helped, but preparation mattered more.
Watching Rowan disappear down the street, Ollivander murmured to himself, "If he commits to this path… he may one day surpass me."
That same day, at the Fairy Tail guild.
Rowan descended from the library and landed lightly in the hall, scanning the room before turning to Mirajane behind the counter.
"Have you seen Natsu?"
"He took a job," she replied warmly. "He's teamed up with Lucy on a book retrieval request."
Levy, who had been studying the job board nearby, hurried over.
"The one paying two hundred thousand?" she asked. "I was still deciding whether to take it…"
Makarov dropped down from the second floor and landed atop the counter.
"It's been raised," he said casually. "Two million."
The guild erupted.
"That's as much as a large-scale subjugation job!"
"I should've taken it!"
"Finding a book for that much money?!"
Rowan turned back toward the library, expression calm.
High pay always means high risk.
If it were truly simple, the reward wouldn't have changed. And Levy's team… wasn't ready for something like that. Her magic was versatile but lacked stopping power, and her partners were weaker still.
Even without a wand, Rowan knew he could defeat the three of them if he fought seriously.
Which meant that whatever Natsu had walked into—
It wasn't just about finding a book.