A gray old lady Pet

Spoken: #610000 Clothes: -

Date: 4.3.2025

The first thing Eldred thought after the sound of the doorbell had faded away was: the Magical Menagerie shop is bigger than he had predicted. Somehow, he had enivsioned it would be smaller, dustier, and would smell like cats. That wasn’t actually the case, because when he looked around at the furniture and aquariums, it was relatively clean, space-efficient, and cozy.
While looking around, he briefly noticed a spider in one of the glass boxes out of the corner of his eye. The Gryffindor had never had a conscious problem with arachnids, which is why he explained the nervous unease in his stomach with that the spider was simply too big! by Merlin‘s beared he definitely wouldn’t move in that direction.

"Good morning," a deep voice drew his attention to the counter. There stood a six-feet-tall man with broad shoulders, glasses, and a flannel shirt. He appeared competent, pleasant, and relaxed – which made Eldred breathe a sigh of relief.
Standing alone in a shop and making such a big decision was eating away at his nerves. Usually his parents would accompany him, wanting to spend as much time around their kids as they can, before he becomes an ever-annoyed teen.
"Hello," the boy replied and walked straight toward the man. "I wanted to buy a pet."

"What? No, I can't believe it. I thought you were here to buy something to eat!", the man responded in an exaggeratedly funny voice, forcing a small chuckle out of Eldred. It relaxed the boy enough to let his shoulders drop and reach into his pocket for a small pouch. He placed the leather bundle on the counter and calmly slid it toward the man, smiling politely at the adult. "I have about five Galleons... I was thinking of something small, with fur... no more than four legs."

The man then moved around the counter and past Eldred, heading deeper into the room on slow, long steps - straight toward the glass boxes!
"How about a discount on four more?" His head turned over his shoulder to Eldred, and the man began to grin briefly. It was clearly a joke, to keep the atmosphere comfortingly light. With his attention back to the front, he moved around the shelves to a small section that Eldred hadn’t even known existed. Should he follow him?
His feet felt like lead, keeping him in place.

The man’s voice called back loudly, making sure he could be understood despite the distance. "Do you prefer something to play with and tumble around, or...?"
The question surprised the Gryffindor student. He had assumed that all adults would see the red of his uniform and think he was adventurous, loud, and a bit wild. At least, that’s how his parents imagined people from his House. He was genuinely pleased to find out the bias wasn‘t shared among all adults of the wizarding world. Before answering, he briefly thought about it. Eldred liked working on his journal, and with the current crisis of his first crush, he had hoped to find an animal to accompany him through rough days.

"Maybe something slow that just lies around while I do homework... but not a cat... and I don’t like rabbits—I don’t know if there even is such a p—" He didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence.
The man was already walking back, a smile on his lips and something furry and grey in his hands. The creature looked sleepy at first glance. Its pink ears drooped slightly to the sides.
The shopkeeper stepped in front of Eldred and held out the fully grown rat to the Gryffindor boy. "She’s come into years. You know how it is, lad – you get slower and tired."
The student took the elderly appearing rat from the shopkeeper. It hung like a warm sack in his hands. Its small legs dangled over his fingers, and its head leaned right into his palm. It seemed to want to sleep right with him—it was perfect.

Her sweet grey fur made his heart race, and all his recent problems were immediately forgotten. Although the name didn’t quite fit, he spontaneously decided to name the creature after the nickname he would have liked to give Sebastian - named after the mother of gods!
"Tia..." he whispered, pulling her closer to his face. The rat barely woke up. She just rested her head against his cheek and licked his skin once.
Eldred looked up at the shopkeeper. "She’s perfect… thank you!"
The man smiled contentedly and walked back to the counter. There, he took out the Galleons needed from Eldred‘s pouch and slid the rest back.
"I’m glad she found a home – the old lady deserves it."

What animal do you wish to purchase? Gray Rat
What do you want to name it? Tia
Is this a boy or a girl? Girl
What is your pet's date of birth?June. 4th 2022