The wizard looked carefully at Rita's quill and shrugged.

"Wand."

He muttered to Rita, put down the golden magic detector, and stretched out his hand.

Rita Skeeter handed over her wand.

The wizard dropped it on a strange-looking brass machine that looked like a single-plate balance.

The machine began to vibrate slightly. A narrow piece of parchment quickly spit out from a hole at the bottom, with the value of Rita Skeeter's wand recorded on it. This is almost the way the wizarding world verifies the identity of a wizard - similar to

A personal passport to the non-magical world.

This round of procedures is one of the reasons why they must enter through the visitor entrance today.

If Rita Skeeter wants to back down, the wand test is her last chance to back down.

"I'll keep this," the wizard said, jabbing the parchment note on a small brass nail. "Take this back."

He handed the wand back to Rita Skeeter, who was hesitant to speak.

"Thank you, Eric."

Tonks, who had been waiting impatiently behind, said quickly, pulling Rita back into the crowd heading towards the golden door.

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Chapter completed!