"What else did Diamante need again?" Andras asked his wife as the family of three walked through Diagon Alley. Andras held a hat and cloak under his arm while Emilia insisted she carry the robes.

"One pair of protective gloves, 7 books, 1 cauldron, 1 wand, 1 set of glass or crystal phials, 1 telescope, 1 set of brass scales, and a pet of their own choosing… Oh, bloody hell, we can forget about half of these. We already have a Tatzelwurm hide gloves sitting in our attic. Very high quality, too, much better than a standard dragon hide these folks have in store. I guess we'll need to buy the books, though. And Babbo had been asking when he should tell the family blacksmith to craft Diamante's wand."

"We should ask Diamante if does want the wand, darling."

"Do I really need a wand?" Diamante asked as he held hands with his mother and walked.

"That's a good question. Does he need a wand?"

"He needs a wand, dear."

"You need a wand, Diamante."

"But why?"

Andras looked back to his wife.

"Why does our boy need a wand?"

"Every wizard needs a wand!"

Andras raised an eyebrow. "I don't have a wand."

Emelia looked at her husband with a dead-pan glare "… Every 'Western' wizard needs a wand. Even if they're capable of doing wandless magic. It's… an identification. The evidence that you are a proper wizard in society."

Andras looked at Emilia silently before he looked down at his kid.

"Think of it as a driving license, son. Doesn't matter if you know what the traffic lights mean or what the lines on the road stand for. You're not allowed to drive if you don't have a driving license."

Diamante nodded as the three walked past shops, streams flowing from the gutters, owls and bats, and cats and frogs lined up without being in cages or shelters. Some kids, Diamante's age, were huddled around the newest model of the broomsticks on display behind windows.

"And I really need the wand for school? I mean, Dad's already taught me magic without me needing a wand." Diamante reiterated. Andras looked at his wife and found Emilia nodding her head vehemently.

"Every other kid will have a wand, Diamante."

"Is that the only reason why I need it?"

"No, Di." This time, Emilia spoke. She brought herself down to meet her son at eye level, looking at him in the eyes as she explained. "Wands are a focus. They help you concentrate and channel. I know you're talented, Di. You're my kid- you're Andras' kid. But even talent can't cover hard work and steady practice. And forcing yourself to practice magic without a wand only makes you bite more than you can chew. Don't think you don't need a wand for magic. You will need it, even if you were taught other magic that doesn't use wands from your father."

Diamante blinked as his eyes fell to the floor. He nodded. He understood.

"… And Di, your Babbo loves you. Loves you so much that he's trying to learn more about your father's country. He'll make sure to get a wand that you like. That you'll grow fond of. I promise."

"I know, mom. I know."

"… Let's go find your books." Emilia concluded, looking back at her husband and sighing when she found him reading a rather heavy book on the recent magical thesis about plants and their effects in potions - and scoffing when he realised that recent meant '50 years ago' by Wizarding standard.

"Ahem." Emilia cleared her throat; Andras quickly closed the book, putting it back where it belonged, and showed Emilia the 5 books under his arms.

"I've already found most - I just need The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection and Magical Drafts and Potions."

Emilia's glare lessened as she nodded her head.

"Well, you're awfully fast when you're finding literature. Aren't you?" Andras scoffed at Emilia's retort.

"Girl! If you think I'm fast, you should see your son in the library! Diamante, do you want to look around the store to see if there are any other books you want to read?"

Andras and Emilia saw Diamante's eyes brighten up and soon disappear around corners with the supernatural speed he acquired from Andras - turning him into nothing more than a black-haired blur scuttling between the shelves stacked with heavy hardcover books. When Andras looked back at his wife, he saw Emilia's brow raised in surprise and awe.

"Well… he's certainly your son."

"That he is." Andrus agreed as the two saw Diamante reappear by the counter, asking the clerk what they recommend for research on magic beyond the standard Hogwarts books.

Andras and Emilia saw the Clerk blink and stare at the child in disbelief, before he kindly pointed to a shelf on the corner.

Before anyone noticed- Diamante sat in a corner, buried in a stack of third-year spell theories and potion brewing. His eyes darting between pages of several books.

~~~
Andras watched as his own son's face grew from excitement to confusion - and then to frustration.

They prepared school supplies 2 months in advanced, and Diamante was busier than ever - going between the standard first year literature to the personal advanced magic books his father had bought for him. And then going to his father's bookshelves to read through eastern magic and… science. Physics and chemistry. He wasn't just reading through them - he was comparing them. And the more he compared, the more he was conflicted with the information.

One book almost always contradicted the other. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant the detail was, it still was a contradiction.

Which meant that until he sorted it out, any contradicting information was considered inaccurate by all accounts under his eyes.

That's why he searched, and searched, and searched. Piling books over books over books over floors.

And yet progress eluded him, he felt like he was no further than square one.

"Why isn't this right!" Diamante grumbled as he slapped the last book shut. Glaring back at the tower of papers and hard cover next to him. He'd have to scour these books again just to get some coherent understanding.

That's when he felt the hand of his father gently rest on his shoulder. Gripping him firmly as Andras lowered one of his knee to look at his son sitting on the living room floor.

"How's your readings going, Diamante?"

Diamante frowned and pouted a little. He felt a little ashamed that, for all the praises his mother pampered him with, he wasn't as capable as he believed.

Andras knew that, so he chuckled.

"I get it, you're angry. Right? Don't like how the books don't make sense when you put them all together?"

Diamante looked at his father, and nodded his head.

"Figured as much. That's what I had to go through on a daily basis, too."

"… Did you?"

"Yes! Do you really think the field of science would be so unified? It's not. I can assure you that."

"But… why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is it all… over the place?"

Andras picked up one of the books opened up on the floor - a book about quantum mechanics. Diamante had obviously tried to find the absolute solution of his problems in one of the more complicated books. He commended the effort, though the direction was a little wrong.

"Because, son, the art of research and studies is a constant conflict between the human thought and the reality of the world. And when a theorem of science differs from the phenomenon of reality? The theorem always loses. It's much more inevitable that established theories and calculations are changed and become obsolete, than for the real laws of the world to do so."

Diamante blinked, and slowly nodded his head. Andras looked to his son - and the sparkle forming in his eyes- before he continued.

"Science isn't such an infallible construct. For the amount of progress it made in the duality of greatness and monstrosity within a human mind, it is… a relatively recently advancing subject, with the laws of the universe being discovered and cemented little by little, grain by grain. And sometimes a single discovery can blow it all back to square one. So, it's natural for two scientists within the same field of research to have views that oppose. Much less something like these two books that differ in fields."

"Then how do you fix that?"

"Fix what?"

"Fix the books."

"Aha, right. You fix them by experimenting them yourselves to see how it goes. You're curious, aren't you? You're curious because you think each of them is different and only one of them has the answer."

"… Is it not?"

Andras snickered as he saw his child blink up at him.

"Not at all, kid. Life has many doors. Hell, you know yourself that the number 4 can be made from a 22, 1111, 31, 2x2, 40, 5-1 and so on. Yes, there could be a single answer to what you are trying to find. But the journey? Well… that's a road that you can take however you want. So long as you do it with the intent to move forward."

Andras watched Diamante's eyes slowly widen upon understanding his father's words. Diamante looked to the books, and then back to his father.

"All those books? They may have their own little shortcuts and detours and roundabouts… but in the end, they're all roads."

Andras chuckled as he patted Diamante's shoulders and stood back up again.

"Keep it up, champ." That's all Andras said as he moved back into the kitchen, helping his wife cook a lasagne for dinner.

Diamante had ended up scribbling notes in his own book - less to memorise, and more to just understand the concepts. To see why they would require such instructions, movements of the wands, or cautions. Some he understood completely well - charms like Wingardium Leviosa was easy enough to comprehend in mechanics… but for the life of him Transfiguration was a nightmare to wrap his head around in perfect understanding of the concept and mechanism.

Of course, his father had told him tales of eastern sorcerers disguising as cranes and crows to spy on a kingdom or a rival school. But that about all he did regarding that part of the subject - tell him, not teach him.

Potion brewing wasn't any different. He had thought he understood the art at first, equating it to chemistry or medicines causing a biological effect on the consumer. Things like Cure for boils or the herbicide potion.

But then there were potions that gave the consumer protection against fire - something that possibly couldn't be a biological effect.

Something that left Diamante scratching his head.

His resources were limited, and he was quickly hitting a wall in his progress.

Though, he guess he was at least happy with the fact that he wasn't feeling as hopelessly frustrated as he was a month ago.

"Diamante!" Diamante's train of thought was broken by his mother's excited voice. "Look what your Babbo sent you!"

Emilia was dashing into the living room with a moderate-sized parcel, wrapped neatly in silk with the Corvus Family's emblem emblazoned on top.

Diamante blinked - before his eyesbrows slowly raised.

"Is that…"

"It's your wand, Di! Come on, open it up!"

It was clear to Andras that Emelia was more excited than Diamante about the situation. Nonetheless, Diamante was already opening up the parcel with a grin on his face, neatly removing the silk wrappings and lifting up the lid of the box.

Emilia blinked when she saw the wand - contrary to standard Corvus-family wands resembling a fairly lengthy dagger blade, this looked… blunt. More like a shiny pitch-black club, if anything. The handle was much shorter having it thickened into a flat end.

Diamante picked it up - and he already felt his own magic senses connect to the tool in his hand.

A Focus, that's what his mother called wands. Now he understood why.

"Give it a flick!" Emilia eagerly said in a hushed voice.

Diamante complied, a small and curt flick - that sent a beautiful spark in the arc the wand moved in.

He already felt how the magic moved from his body to the wand. And that was enough inspiration for him to hit the books once more.

Something in the act sparked an idea, something he needed to write down - and try out.

The way the magic had flowed - a small jolt that was too small to notice if he didn't focus on it. Like a circuit - Diamante wrote notes down on the first year charm books, the so-called swish and flick of the wand for levitation charm.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Diamante announced as he pointed to the pile of books that needed to be returned to the empty shelves.

And he saw how flawlessly they rose from the floor, almost marching through the air as they neatly stacked back into shelves.

He couldn't quite put it into words yet, but he was sure that he found something that would help his understanding of magic a little more.
Beyond what the books informed, beyond what his father taught him.

Emilia looked at her son in slight shock and awe, picking up the box that held the wand and lifted the written note placed on the bottom of the parcel.

A letter from her father, to his daughter and grandson. Emelia quickly read through the notes and snorted in affection.

"Acacia wood for handles and core, with Bronze-Iron alloy for the cover. The core used for the wand is… unknown? Made in a shape of an iron fan, the result of a collaboration with a Sorcerer in South Korea during his search for the right wand for Diamante. Though he trusts the core will protect and serve Diamante well… A fan? Not a blade, a fan?"

Andras and Emilia looked back at Diamante - the kid realising that his wand unfolded to reveal tough sheets of paper-like fabric weaved in between the frame of wood and metal.

Diamante had his mouth ajar, looking back at his parents.

They were reacting the same way.

It wasn't a club, it was bloody metal folding fan.

A folding fan that - upon Diamante swinging it out of curiosity- was capable of sending out a gust of wind that knocked the books straight out of the shelves and all over the floor.

Something Diamante stared at before he quietly closed his fan shut. Not willing to dignify his mistakes with a verbal response.