thanks to ami for the thread title because i'm terrible at thread titles

The sign loomed over Cecily's head as she stood in the bustling corridor of Diagon Alley. Magical Menagerie. It was a daunting endeavor, yes, but at the same time, the young girl could barely bite back a grin. This trip, she knew, was long overdue-- she had been eyeing that owl in the window since her last visit to the magical strip mall. But every Galleon she had saved, of course, had gone towards her shiny new broom. All of her pocket change, every sickle and knut she had earned. Such was the life of a Quidditch player, and she had long since resigned herself to it. But now, now she had the broom. And she had pleaded and begged her parents, and now she clutched 20 Galleons in her small fist. It should be plenty to pay for an owl.

Taking a deep breath, Cecily composed herself and pushed open the door to the shop. It was... louder than she had expected, but quieter too. In fact, she realised that she hadn't even known what to expect, just that there would be many, many animals. Because, duh. It was a pet shop. But what she definitely hadn't expected was the range of animals. Owls, cats, yes, maybe the occasional toad. But rats? Spiders? ...Lizards?

Cecily, officially off-task not even four steps through the door, leaned down to peer through the glass that supposedly contained a Girdled Lizard. She searched for a moment, seeing nothing but habitat inside the tank. A shame. She'd bet it was very cool. She hadn't seen many lizards before, particularly not ones that, according to the plaque, looked like an armadillo. She had just begun to straighten her back to move on and find her owl when a flash of movement caught her eye. Just there, in the corner of the tank, half-buried in the dirt, a small, dark-colored creature stared back at her curiously. He couldn't have been longer than Cecily's finger. A wisp of a smile touched the corner of the Ravenclaw's mouth, slowly spreading over her face until she was grinning like an idiot at the spiny lizard. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, his yellow and black markings mesmerising her and the spark in his eye calling her name.

"Can I help you find anything today, miss?" A kindly voice came from behind Cecily, making the young girl jump and spin around. An elderly lady was approaching her, a warm smile on her face.

"Oh-- hi!" Cecily replied, rather startled. She turned back to look at her new friend. She was amused to see that he had curled up in a ball, jaw clamped around his own tail. If there was ever a moment of hesitation that Cecily would be taking this lad home with her, it was long gone. All thoughts of an owl were far from her mind. "Um, can I...have this guy?" she asked hesitantly, gesturing to the tank behind her.

"Why, of course," the woman said, smile growing larger. "He's yours." Cecily grinned. The visit may have not gone as according to plan, but her mission was accomplished.

WC: 522
What animal do you wish to purchase? Girdled Lizard
What do you want to name it? Remington
Is this a boy or a girl? Boy
What is your pet's date of birth? March 13th, 2019

Pet Granted

Look after Remington well.