Change of Plans Pet Finished

August 28th, 2020

Here she was. This day had been a long time in coming, the day she'd finally get a pet. She'd had the money for a while now, sure, but when you were a Quidditch player coming from a Muggle family, every last sickle was saved for a broom. Walking into the Magical Menagerie on a hot day towards the end of August, the rest of her school shopping already completed, she knew exactly what she was doing.

Bridget was going to get an owl. It was the logical choice; she needed a way to stay in contact with the magical world while away from Hogwarts, so getting one of the winged mail-deliverers would suit her needs perfectly. Even pureblood families occasionally had telephones, but this was the best way to guarantee correspondence with her classmates over the summer. Besides, an owl just seemed like a good fit for the girl that so loved flying, and if something happened to her, as was a very real possibility with the dangers of Hogwarts, the owl would be able to take care of itself. Her mind was set, ample galleons clinking in the drawstring pouch she clutched in hand.

This was not the first time she'd been inside this particular shop, though she often just stood near the entryway, looking on the variety of creatures from a distance. Coming any further in would have been a bad idea; if that happened she would've been liable to set her eyes of the perfect pet, unable to afford it. Now, though, she wandered further in, eyeing the creatures held in the cages curiously. There were the majestically perched owls, of course, cats either napping or watching her lazily, lizards scuttling around, weird balls of fluff she couldn't put a name to, and then... spiders.

The thirteen-year-old froze. No. Not now. Spiders were not pets. What were they doing here? Who in their right mind could want one of those scary eight-legged creatures? She didn't want to have a panic attack, not here and now when she was supposed to be happily getting the pet she'd been waiting so long for. Didn't want her breaths coming in short gasps, blackened veins throbbing in remembrance of the pain. Didn't want to have to explain what was happening to the people running this shop.

But there was no stopping it. She couldn't help it, couldn't help the screams echoing in her thoughts, the terrible memories of that terrible night. Squeak. The insistent squeaking sounds coming from behind her snapped her out of it, the brunette turning to identify the source of the noise. In a cage at about her waist-level was a small grey rat, scratching at the bars of his cage. Squatting down to get a better look at the creature, he stopped making noise, his mission to stop her from freaking out a success. Rats, she noticed, or at least this one, could be surprisingly cute.

She wasn't sure if she was supposed to put her fingers near the bars and if the rat would bite at them, but even if he did, it would be nothing magic couldn't fix. Besides, she needed some way of thanking her savior. Her index finger brushed the soft top of the grey thing's head. The rat sniffed at her fingers but didn't bite. A small smile crossed her face, breaths evening out, heartbeat slowing. 'Thank you,' she mouthed. A tiny pink tongue darted out and licked her.

In that moment, her plan of purchasing an owl was thrown out the window. The thought of having a rat as a pet had never even crossed her mind, yet here, leaning down and stroking the small thing, she couldn't imagine making a different choice. The rat was small, sure, but she knew from experience that small was not a bad thing. It got tiring, the automatic underestimation due to your size, and other, taller people often blocked your view, but it had its benefits. For one, you could sneak into small places no tall person could dream of fitting through, and it was easier to go unnoticed. Perhaps with his small size this rat would be the one to finally solve the mysteries none of the rest of them were even close to figuring out. Just like...

"Sherlock." A wonderful name for a wonderful rat. As much as she wanted to buy Sherlock right then and there, there were a few concerns she needed to address. Standing up, she turned to the old man walking towards her, clearly one of the shop's owners.

"They're cuter than you'd expect, aren't they?" he said with a nod towards the grey rat. Taking in a small breath, she steadied herself. She could do this. The snake hadn't exactly had a lot of practice communicating with adults, but this one seemed nice enough. "Yeah. I was wondering, actually... well, my friends have cats and I don't want to buy a rat if that means he'll constantly be chased by them."

"I don't think you'll have to worry too much. They might chase him, but this one's a survivor. We had a little boy let him out the other day while another customer was just going to take home a cat. The cat bolted for him, naturally, but this little guy's fast. He darted right into a little nook where the cat couldn't get him. So long as you take good care of him, I'm sure he'll be fine."

That decided it. Before she knew it, she was leaving the shop with a packet of rat food, rat treats, and Sherlock himself. This had most certainly not been how she'd expecting her day to go, but maybe that was okay. Sherlock seemed the perfect fit, already making himself right at home in the pocket of her hoodie. It made her feel a little safer, knowing that while this year was sure to house plenty of new threats, she wouldn't have to go through it alone.

Word count: 999 (yes, really)

What animal do you wish to purchase? Gray Rat
What do you want to name it? Sherlock
Is this a boy or a girl? Boy
What is your pet's date of birth? March 15th, 2020

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