harry potter - Why does everyone's wand still work for them?

In the seventh book (and the 7th & 8th movie) of Harry Potter, it shows that a wand doesn't belong to a person anymore, or loses its loyalty if another witch or wizard disarms or defeats them.

Given that, why don't more children from earlier films and novels have to buy new wands? It shows students being disarmed many times.

Why was the disarming wand rule only valid in the 7th book?

Answer

The wand disarming rule only applies so ruthlessly in the case of the Elder Wand, which only shows up in the final book.

Wands choose their owner, and most wands seem to stay loyal to their original owners. The Elder Wand is an exception to the rule and chooses the stronger witch/wizard, hence switching owners when its previous owner was defeated.

Edit, to clarify a bit, from Wikipedia:

As stated by Mr. Ollivander the wandmaker, the [Elder] wand will never fully work for the new user unless he or she directly disarms, stuns or kills (even in Muggle fashion) the previous master. Rowling has stated that the wand is brutal in its choice of master, and that, while most wands have some allegiance to their own masters, the Elder Wand only responds to power. If a master dies naturally without ever being defeated, the wand's power will die for any following owner, since it was never won from the former.

Comments

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At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...

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star wars - Why don't rebels take Stormtroopers' armor?

Admittedly, the armor of the stormtroopers is not the best, but it's better than nothing. Why don't the rebels strip the armor from dead stormtroopers to use with their best soldiers? I'd really like to understand why they don't do this.

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF

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