Aida was extremely anxious walking into an establishment full of animals in cages. The very thought of it made her cringe, having raised animals for most of her life out on the wide open Scottish countryside… in addition to having certain bad memories associated with animals in cages. However, Aida was compelled to face her fears despite her instincts screaming against it. She needed an owl she could trust in order to send clandestine messages; one that would not go willingly if apprehended, and one that she could love. In short, she needed not just a friend, but also a comrade – but how does one go shopping for a comrade?

Entering the shop, Aida’s hairs all stood on end. There were a lot of cages. She would probably not fit in most of them. Probably. Then again, how many tents had she been in that were larger on the inside, or pockets she had seen that were deeper than the length of their garment? A shiver ran down her spine as she began to bend over, peering into the cages at the shining eyes of the creatures within. The whole concept of buying a friend who was trapped in a cage was frankly not dissimilar to slavery for this unusual Ravenclaw. Suddenly a bout of claustrophobia began to overwhelm Aida, who backed herself into a corner, wobbling until she could squat down out of the way. The shop was small, but not as small as it really felt after seeing all of those cages. Being trapped in a cage was Aida’s biggest fear, after all.

Closing her eyes and trying to pretend she was back in her cavern in the Highlands, Aida took a deep breath. The sounds of the various animals permeated the air… both reassuring Aida and deeply disturbing her at the same time. She wished to the high heavens to be able to understand them, but she did not speak their languages and could only understand the most basic of emotional content behind their vocalizations. A strange hooting cry stood out to her, though, haunting and otherwordly. The room was full of raucous noises and yet one quiet voice was there, crying out as if keening. Opening her eyes, Aida scanned the room to see why one voice should sound so different from the others. Perhaps its cage was the smallest relative to its body size, or perhaps it did not fit in socially with the rest of the beasts here. It could be wounded. Perhaps it had completely unfathomable reasons that Aida could never know. And the voice continued to cry, softly. Aida could almost feel its pain. Yet, Aida understood that the Wittickers were known for their gentle manner and would not physically hurt any of their animals, not intentionally. Scanning all of the cages, Aida could not easily find the source of the call, and so she rose to her feet and began to walk in the direction of its sound. Soon she arrived at the farthest corner of the room where the sound was the clearest, but looking into each cage she could not find the creature producing the sound. Then at the sound of a particularly mournful cry, Aida looked up and saw an owl standing on the corner of the highest cage. It was not even in a cage. It was just standing on that edge, wings tucked neatly but looking down at her. It cried again and Aida’s eyes locked with its firey gaze.

Asking the shopkeepers, Aida learned that this particular owl did not live in a cage, and yet it did not try to escape the shop. Rather, whenever it was put in a cage it would bash itself until its feathers broke, so the gentle shopkeepers could not force it to stay in one. However, instead of it trying to flee at the earliest opportunity, the owl had found this corner for itself where it would stay and look down on everything that transpired during the day. To Aida’s surprise, the shopkeepers told her that the bird usually was extremely quiet, preferring to watch undetected. As it turned out, the owl had no injuries whatsoever, as the shopkeepers took great pride in caring for every medical need their creatures could have. In fact, the kindly Mr. Witticker explained to Aida that the animals needed to consent to going with the wizard that chose them, and that the cages would not force any of them to go unwillingly into foreseeably abusive homes. Aida looked back up at the owl in the corner and wondered if she herself would even be desirable for an owl. It cried again with its mysterious voice, and as Aida stared and blinked, the bird began to beat its wings as if to stretch them out. Then, it tucked its wings in for a dive as it careened quickly over to the chair beside Mr. Witticker. Concluding that the pair had chosen each other, Mr. Witticker collected Aida’s coins and handed her a battered old falconry glove. He made an excuse that he was in the market for a new one though this one would suffice for preventing talons from digging deeply into her soft human flesh. Would the owl come, though? Aida was a stranger, and there was no cage to force it anywhere. Pulling the thick leather glove over her arm, it was much longer than her personal protective gloves and extended to the elbow to give ample room for a perching bird. No sooner had she sheathed her arm in this glove than the eager owl came flying in to land on it. Bidding the Wittickers a gentle farewell, it was time for the pair to go get to know each other.


Word Count: 957

What animal do you wish to purchase? Tawny Owl
What do you want to name it? Scheherazade
Is this a boy or a girl? Female
What is your pet's date of birth? May 1, 2017

Approved! I hope you have fun with your new friend! Take good care of Scheherazade!

Warmest Regards,
Alaric Equinox
Head of House Ravenclaw
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.