Over the Christmas break, Alexa’s father had agreed to take her to Diagon Alley so that she could visit the Magical Menagerie and finally get the pet that she wanted so badly. She planned to get a rat.

Walking quickly down the street of the magical shops as the snow slowly came down, dusting her shoulders and her hair, Alexa came upon the shop she wanted, and entered the Magical Menagerie. A small bell tinkled as she entered, and was immediately accosted by the warm smell of animals and their food. She couldn't help but smile.

Before the break, her parents had divorced and sold the family farm allowing the new people to keep all of their animals. It had broken Alexa's heart to lose her animal friends that she had grown up with. So she wanted to remedy that with the pet from this place.

She went up to the counter, and met a kindly man. He seemed to be a little bit older, but he was huge in his frame, being very tall and broad-shouldered, even though he had a little bit of a paunch. He looked certainly up to the task of handling difficult animals, but also looked kind and soft in the way he would deal with them as well as his customers.

His eyeglasses sparkled, reflecting light briefly before he bent down over the counter and met her eyes. "What can I help you with today, lass?"

Alexa smiled a little shyly, and then spoke: "Hello sir. I'm actually looking for a gray rat today! Do you have any left?"

A kindly shopkeeper took her over to a cage where five gray rats played rambunctiously. Alexa watch them carefully for a while, picking out three in her mind that she was interested in. She asked the shopkeeper about them. He first asked if she wanted a male or female, and when she replied a male, he told her that of the three she was looking at, one was female. So that narrowed it down to two.

Alexa stuck her fingers in the cage and wiggled them tantalizingly. All of the rats came to investigate, but soon were gone, looking for other things to do. One rat however, remained behind and sniffed her fingers repeatedly, finally licking them. Alexa laughed. "This one please," she told the shopkeeper. He gently extracted the rat from the cage and moved to the counter, placing it in the middle where it gazed around at its surroundings.

Alexa passed over the necessary Galleons for the precious pet, also purchasing plenty of food. The food went in a bag, and the rat went in her shirt pocket, where he curls up to sleep. She thanked the shopkeeper, and turned to go, but he asked "What do you plan to name him?"

Alexa turned back and smiled widely at the shopkeeper. "I think I'll call him Rascal," she said with a smile, and then turned and left the shop.

Word count: 496

What animal do you wish to purchase? A gray rat
What do you want to name it? Rascal
Is this a boy or a girl? my rat is a boy
What is your pet's date of birth? He was born on October 17, 2020.

All seems to be in order. Have fun with your new friend! And take good care of him!