As Soon As I Saw You Pet Solo

Word Count: 565

Lizzy stepped into the Magical Menagerie without the slightest hesitation in her step. She had been waiting for this moment for months, and now it was finally here. Her parents had conceded into allowing her to buy a pet after the winter holidays were over. She would return to Hogwarts with a new little friend, but what type of friend she was unsure.

As she and her brother entered the Magical Menagerie together, Ben immediately went over to where the pygmy puffs were with wide eyes. "What are those?" he asked, amazed. "Pygmy puffs," Lizzy replied with a slight smile. At last she knew something her older brother did not. In fact, there was a whole world that he knew almost nothing about, besides what she had already told him.

"If I were you, I would totally get one of those pygmy puff things!" he exclaimed. "The convenient thing about that, Ben, is that you are not me, and therefore do not control my decisions." Lizzy couldn't deny that the pygmy puffs were pretty cute though. They just weren't for her.

He shrugged, unaffected, "The pet is for you, not me. I'm only here to try my best to influence your decisions." Lizzy didn't even have time to reply before he raced off in another direction. "Lizzy..." he began. Nearing him and seeing what had caught his eye, she was horrified. "Absolutely not!" They were over by the spider cages. "I want you to put the spiders and rats out of your mind right now. There's no way I will get one of those things." She had no problem with rats, some were actually kind of cute, but they were not the pet type. Spiders, on the other hand, were a big no way, not in a million years type of thing.

"How about a ferret then?" Ben asked innocently. "I have no issues with getting a ferret, but I wanted either a cat or owl," she admitted. "You could've told me that sooner! Come on then." Ben headed over to where the cats and owls dwelled. "How about this cat?" he asked. "It's a--silver mackerel tabby," he added, leaning slightly to read the placard depicting what kind of cat it was.

"I think that might be the one!" Lizzy said happily. As she started to go up to the shopkeeper to ask him about it, another animal caught her eye. It was an owl. A great white owl. It looked directly at her, and she stared right back. It tilted it's head to one side, making Lizzy smile. "I do believe she's taken a fancy to you," a voice came from behind Lizzy. She turned to see the shopkeeper standing next to her.

"Would you like to buy her?" he asked, seemingly reading her mind. "What about the cat though, Lizzy?" Ben interrupted. She was shaking her head before he even finished. "No. I want her." "What would you like to name her?" the shopkeeper asked in a friendly tone. "Aspen," Lizzy responded. The cat was long forgotten. As soon as Lizzy had seen Aspen, she knew there would only be one pet for her in that store.

What animal do you wish to purchase? Great White Owl
What do you want to name it? Aspen
Is this a boy or a girl? Girl
What is your pet's date of birth? September 15, 2021