The Start of Something New Pet Solo Finished

7 July 2024 | late morning

Mentioning: Madeleine Nakamura @Aaron Jones and @Xiomara Torres

With summer break finally here, Marcus Iwasaki had been doing more traveling away from his home in Hogsmeade. It was nice to get out to places like London, visiting some old friends he had in the area. And a trip to London meant a visit to Diagon Alley to take care of some errands. Since summer months meant tons of children school supply shopping or getting ready for the upcoming summer camp, Marcus knew having a plan to get in and out was important. But Marcus would happily brave the crowds for Momo - she needed some fish food, some treats, and maybe even a new castle for her tank.

The Head of Ravenclaw had been the owner of a Golden Veiltail for nearly a year now. Momo had been a gift from Marcus' daughter; well, to be exact, the fish was the very first gift he had ever received from his daughter. Not knowing of her existence for so long is what led to that of course, but the last couple years had been spent repairing and building a bond between them. It's probably why he treasured the silly little fish she got him as much as he did. Most wouldn't consider a fish as a particularly interesting pet, but he was quite fond of his aquatic companion. He had spent quite a few nights in the Ravenclaw tower talking to Momo, playing with her, and finding solace in the company. Perhaps his daughter knew he needed a quiet companion like Momo.

Marcus stepped into the Magical Menagerie and the smell was a familiar and rather unpleasant one. So many animals in one place would do that, but he noticed a rather floral scent mixed in somewhere. Before he could focus in on it, he had to take a step to the side to avoid a child who was running around the store in awe. Years ago such an interaction may have produced a scowl on the werewolf's face, but things had changed quite a lot. So much so that the man actually felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips, shaking his head in amusement as he made for the fish section. Fish food first.

Marcus must not have been paying much attention though, because a nicely manicured hand reached out at the same time and for the same box. Their hands touched very briefly, and Marcus felt an unexpected warmth on his fingertips.

"Excuse me," he said apologetically, removing his hand from the fish food. As he looked over at the woman, he realized she was the source of the nice floral scent he'd noticed earlier. She was quite beautiful - dark hair and dark eyes, tanned skin, and a lovely smile that appeared as they made eye contact. What happened in that moment could only be described as a meet cute. A little bit of banter and laughs, an exchange of names. Martina. But before much else could be exchanged, her attention was grabbed by a child at the other end of the shop.

"Mama. Can I have two sickles, please? And the kind sir needs to know how much food we want so he can charge us. Wait... do we need a year's supply if I'm going to school?! Wait- Can I even take a fish to school?! Where am I going to leave it...?"

"Xiomara!"

So she was a mother, and of a student, no less. Marcus' amber eyes glanced at her hand, but he didn't see a ring. "Don't worry," he chuckled, waving off the apologies she offered. "I work with students, so I understand how excited they get for school. You can reassure her that fish are absolutely allowed at Hogwarts."

They exchanged one more brief pleasantry of nice-meeting-you's, then bade their goodbyes. It was a nice interaction but nothing had come of it - no contact information exchanged or plans to meet. Although the scent of her perfume lingered, he turned his mind away from the beautiful woman he'd met and back to the task at hand. Buying fish food for Momo. And treats. And maybe another castle.

Word Count: 686/400

What animal do you wish to purchase? Golden Veiltail (3 galleons, 2 sickles)
What do you want to name it? Momo
Is this a boy or a girl? Girl
What is your pet's date of birth? April 2nd 2023