After escorting the family of three to the entrance of Eeylops Owl Emporium, Professor McGonagall glanced at the clock on the wall through the glass window and exclaimed, "Oh no, we're going to be late!"
All three of them turned their attention to her.
McGonagall said apologetically, "Excuse me, I may need to leave you for a short while to collect the student I am meeting at one o'clock."
"You mean you'll be coming back here later, right? Then please go ahead with your work. Just make sure you get us home safely," Ethan Jones said on behalf of his parents.
"Thank you all for your understanding. I'll take my leave now. I should be back soon." McGonagall pursed her lips, nodded to them, and disappeared into the crowd in a flash.
"Wow! What a convenient way to travel!" Ethan exclaimed.
He shrugged and suggested, "Let's wander around first. After we buy the owl, we can grab something to eat on the street. I saw an ice-cream parlour on the way—Florean Fortescue's. We could try what wizarding ice cream tastes like."
"Good idea." They were all feeling rather hungry after the marathon wand session.
When the three of them actually entered the dark owl shop, they immediately ran into trouble.
Although Ethan had suppressed his outward charm as much as possible, his current state was fine for less-sensitive humans and ordinary animals, but for these specially bred magical owls his attraction was still as conspicuous as a candle flame in the dark.
Every owl that wasn't caged immediately tried to perch on his shoulder—and they began fighting fiercely over the privilege, feathers flying everywhere.
Even the caged ones went berserk, banging against the bars and hooting madly, trying to break free.
The unusual racket quickly woke the shop manager, who had been dozing behind the counter.
The relatively young manager hurried out and tried to calm the birds, but it was hopeless. He quickly turned to the obvious culprit—Ethan.
"You need to step outside, lad. With you in here they simply won't stop!"
A flustered Ethan wasn't angry. He quickly pulled his parents along, removed the owls clinging to their shoulders, and retreated back onto the street.
Standing on the pavement, the three of them panted heavily, staring at the owl feathers covering their clothes and the mess of their hair, on the verge of tears.
His mother Sofia was particularly horrified; one owl had ripped off her elegant hat during the scuffle, completely ruining her carefully styled hair.
He felt a little guilty. "I'm sorry, Mum. I didn't expect it to turn out like this."
Sofia smoothed her hair with her hand, patted his head, and plucked a few feathers from his fringe. "It's okay, darling. It's not your fault you're loved by small animals."
A moment later the shop manager hurried out and apologised profusely. "I am terribly sorry! I'm Moise, manager of Eeylops Owl Emporium. Please accept my sincerest apologies for what just happened."
As compensation he offered Ethan any owl in the shop for free.
Looking at Ethan, his eyes gleamed. "What a promising future Magizoologist! A natural-born professional! You're welcome to come work for me the day you graduate!"
"Just tell me what kind of owl you want and I'll bring it out for you!"
Ethan bowed slightly. "Thank you very much, Manager Moise. I need a larger owl that can carry heavier parcels."
Moise nodded and soon returned with a massive brown owl over sixty centimetres long, sporting two distinctive ear tufts.
"Eagle Owl—the biggest bird we have."
"Wow, it's pretty heavy."
The enormous owl settled on Ethan's shoulder with a satisfied hoot, making it sink noticeably.
Ethan stroked its feathers. "This is the one."
"I'm glad you like him. Here are some of his favourite treats. You can let him fly free—he'll hunt for himself." Moise was extremely thoughtful.
After accepting a small bag of owl nuts from the manager, they placed the huge Eagle Owl in its new cage, thanked Moise again, and left.
They bought three ice creams at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, tidied their clothes as best they could, and headed toward Flourish and Blotts.
On the way, Mrs Sofia Jones spotted a shop selling beauty potions. Her eyes lit up instantly. She dragged her husband and son inside for a full half-hour and spent two hundred Galleons of Ethan's money on potions guaranteed to keep her looking youthful forever.
Carrying a small, exquisitely wrapped parcel, Sofia was beaming with joy—even when they finally reached Flourish and Blotts she was still smiling from ear to ear.
"You got a bargain with those two hundred Galleons, son. In a regular Muggle cosmetics shop your mother could spend two thousand pounds and not be this happy for half as long," Albert whispered to Ethan, dropping back a couple of steps.
"It's worth it, but it's tough on my pocket. I'll have to visit the vault again soon," Ethan replied with a wry smile, shuddering dramatically.
"You go get it yourself. These old bones want to live a few more years." Albert shuddered too and patted his shoulder sympathetically.
Sofia, oblivious to the father-son conspiracy behind her, called out, "What are you two whispering about? Hurry up!"
"Coming!" Albert slung an arm around Ethan's shoulders and quickly caught up.
Inside Flourish and Blotts, the three were awestruck: shelves towered to the ceiling, packed with books of every size and material—massive stone-like tomes bound in leather, tiny silk-covered volumes no bigger than postage stamps, and many that appeared to be made of bark or strange shimmering metal.
When the assistant learned Ethan was a first-year, he immediately produced the complete set of required texts.
"All the books needed for first-years—thirteen Galleons total."
Professor McGonagall still hadn't returned, and the parents were exhausted from shopping. The bookstore was quiet, so Ethan casually browsed while they rested.
Before long he had gathered an armful of extra titles: Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) extras, Curses and Counter-Curses, Confronting the Faceless, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration (again), and many more.
If he had known the shop offered owl delivery he would have bought half the store. The dozen extra books he was already holding were heavy enough.
Seeing a big spender, the clerk happily offered free owl delivery for any purchases.
Ethan no longer held back. He bought everything that caught his eye and quickly emptied his money pouch again.
"Mum, Dad—rest here a bit. I'm running to Gringotts for more cash!"
Sofia, now deeply engrossed in a romance novel whose illustrations moved enchantingly, simply waved him off.
Ethan pulled a mock-heartbroken face at his father, clutching his chest dramatically. Albert burst out laughing.
When Ethan reached Gringotts, he happened to run straight into Professor McGonagall escorting another new student and her parents to exchange money.
"Hello, Professor," he greeted politely.
McGonagall turned in surprise. "Mr Jones? Whatever brings you back to Gringotts so soon?"
He patted his now-flat money pouch. "Ran out of money. Came to get more."
"Mr Jones?" a familiar voice muttered.
The girl beside McGonagall whipped around curiously.
"Ethan?!"
"Hi, Hermione. Lovely to see you again." Ethan smiled brightly.