Still, it was the only wand in the entire shop brave enough to stay near Ethan.
At that point, refusing to buy it would've felt cruel to Mr Ollivander after watching the old man sprint around the store for hours like a stressed librarian hunting escaped books.
After paying seven Galleons, Ethan finally left Ollivanders together with Edward.
As they walked through Diagon Alley, Ethan continued examining the wand thoughtfully. After a while, he reached an interesting conclusion.
The "souls" inside wands weren't truly intelligent.
They possessed emotions, certainly, but only very simple ones. Things like: I like this wizard, so I'll stay with them forever, or I dislike this wizard, therefore I refuse to cooperate.
Now, however, a new emotional category had apparently been added.
Run immediately before the Dementor child eats us.
Considering the established rule that wands changed allegiance whenever their owners were defeated, Ethan decided wands resembled magically enhanced door locks with abandonment issues.
They remained loyal right up until someone stronger kicked the owner unconscious at the front door. Then the wand happily unlocked itself for the winner.
Fence-sitters.
That was the perfect description.
The rest of the shopping process went much more smoothly.
Textbooks didn't scream and flee from Ethan. Neither did cauldrons, potion ingredients, or robes. The only exception was a terrifying book locked inside an iron cage at Flourish and Blotts.
The moment Ethan entered the store, the furry volume instantly stopped trying to eat itself and curled into the corner of the cage while trembling violently.
[ Soul Strength: 5 ]
"What a weak little thing," Ethan thought while staring at the book.
The clerk helping them collect school supplies happened to notice the miraculous silence too. Moments later, he secretly shoved two Galleons and seven Sickles into Ethan's pocket while practically begging him to buy the horrible book.
He even showed Ethan the half-healed bite marks on his hands.
"These books are monsters," the exhausted clerk complained bitterly. "I can't believe management thought selling them was a good idea. They're worse than Cornish Pixies. At least Pixies don't chew your fingers off."
Edward pushed the overflowing cart out of the bookstore while the clerk continued ranting behind them.
"And one day Hogwarts will probably make these things required textbooks! Then we'll need thousands of them, and every employee here will resign immediately!"
"Right," Edward groaned once they escaped outside. "Next stop: pets."
He glanced suspiciously at the now completely motionless Monster Book of Monsters sitting inside the cart.
The thing looked dead.
That was because Ethan had quietly devoured its soul moments earlier.
"I finally understand why your grandmother hated bringing me shopping," Edward muttered. "Buying supplies for a Hogwarts student is exhausting."
"I just hope animals aren't as terrified of me as the wands were," Ethan thought nervously.
Ordinary animals usually didn't fear him unless he actively attempted to feed on them. However, magical creatures might react differently to the aura of a Dementor hybrid.
He received the answer immediately after entering Eeylops Owl Emporium.
The noisy shop fell silent the moment Ethan stepped inside.
The female shopkeeper blinked in confusion while staring at the suddenly frozen owls. Most of them had gone completely stiff inside their cages like feathery statues pretending death might save them.
Outside, Edward remained with the supply cart because the narrow shop barely had enough space for one customer at a time. Diagon Alley still had pickpockets occasionally, and even wizards weren't immune to greed.
"Hello," Ethan said politely while approaching the counter. "I'd like to buy an owl."
The shopkeeper forced an awkward smile.
"O-Of course. Our owls are usually very lively…"
Her sales pitch died halfway through the sentence because every owl nearby looked traumatised.
"Can I choose one myself?" Ethan asked.
Honestly, he already felt slightly guilty continuing this purchase. If the owls feared him that much, buying one almost resembled animal cruelty.
Besides, ordinary owls only possessed soul strengths around two or three points. Ethan had just absorbed the Monster Book of Monsters with a soul strength of five, and even that only increased his soul integrity by half a percent.
Eating normal owls would provide less benefit than stealing sweets from children.
Then two specific owls caught his attention.
The first was a snowy white owl with a soul strength of seven. Ethan immediately suspected it was Hedwig, Harry Potter's future companion.
The second one was far stranger.
A large brown screech owl sat quietly in its cage with mottled feathers, white eyebrows, and dark feather tufts resembling ears.
[ Soul Strength: 10 ]
Ethan stared at it curiously.
Ten points?
That was absurdly high for an owl.
The bird stared back at him with equal curiosity, tilting its head almost ninety degrees as though examining something bizarre.
For some reason, Ethan suddenly felt this owl should've been holding crisps beneath its wings while lounging on a sofa somewhere.
Wait.
Why were there half-eaten crisps inside a bird cage?
Did the wizarding world already have crisps?
"What's this one called?" Ethan asked slowly. "And how much does it cost?"
"Doesn't this owl seem a little old?" Edward asked later while frowning at the large screech owl perched on Ethan's arm.
Compared to the younger owls nearby, this one looked enormous.
"His name's Earl," Ethan explained. "The shopkeeper said he's been here for three years already. If nobody bought him soon, he probably would've been sent to work at the Owl Post Office illegally."
Edward's expression softened immediately.
"That's honestly a bit depressing. Is that why you chose him?"
"No," Ethan answered honestly. "I chose him because he only cost ten Sickles while every other owl cost at least two Galleons."
Edward stared silently at his son.
Meanwhile, Ethan looked quite satisfied with his purchase.
An owl with unusually high soul strength for only ten Sickles was an incredible bargain. Even if Earl turned out completely useless for research purposes, Ethan could always cry sadly while eating him years later.
Both spiritually and physically.