August 21st, 2022
Word Count: 808

"OH MY GOSH!" Harris heard Kasey gasp right next to him. The ginger went streaking in front of his younger brother, nearly knocking him over. Harris huffed and brushed himself off, following a ways behind his brother. The youngest Nocturne child looked at the building Kasey was now hopping in front of.

"Woah..." Carter breathed out from behind Harris. In front of the Nocturnes was a building labeled "Magical Menagerie." From what they could see through the windows of the place, it was filled with critters of all kinds. Harris's eyes darted from owls to cats to rats and toads. It was a shame the school didn't allow ducks, he would have brought one of his girls in a heartbeat.

The brunette jumped as an arm was slung around his shoulder. Looking to his left, he saw Dustin, slowly guiding him to the building. Harris gave a quick glance behind them to see his dads following, muttering about something. Finally, after a bit more prompting, Harris went into the store.

Even after everything he had seen today, he was still utterly amazed at this place. Sure, he had gotten a wand and flipped through a few of his school books, Dustin reading some of them aloud for him, but this was something else.

It was loud inside the store, the cries from multiple creatures, as well as the chattering of other witches and wizards, making a messy symphony that Harris honestly didn't mind. He saw so many animals, but none that caught his fancy just yet. Carter was shuffling a bit awkwardly next to him, the eldest-middle child had never been that comfortable around animals, not even Harris's own pets.

"So, Tiny, any idea what you want?" Dustin asked, forcing Harris to stop worrying about Carter. The small wizard took a look around the shop one last time.

"An owl maybe?" Harris said, his voice laced with uncertainty. "They're birds, so it would be the closest to my girls," Nolan chuckled and walked up to his eldest and youngest sons.

"How about you look around first?" Harris nodded and grabbed Dustin's hand, dragging the older further into the store.

The connection between his girls and the owls before him was shaky at best, Harris realized as he looked at the birds of prey and considered his ducks and chicken, who would be their prey. It was this thought that made Harris turn away from the owls to drag his brother to the frogs and toads. Jumpy little ones, all of them. Though there was one rather large toad that was resting, unbothered and clearly not wanting to move.

"You think I can get a toad here?" Dustin mumbled, eyeing the lazy amphibian.

"If dad and papa have the money," It was true. Dustin, though an adult, had no access to whatever currency wizards used. The elder shrugged and continued through the store, Harris following close behind.

It was when they were passing the cats that he saw it. A fluffy noodle with beady black eyes. It looked very soft and had light brown markings all over it. It was a young one, not a baby, maybe. Harris didn't know much about ferrets. It's markings, by the looks of it, weren't all there just yet. Very light, like someone merely sketched over the little guy in pencil, not yet doing the proper line art.

While Dustin continued walking, not noticing that Harris had even stopped, the youngest Nocturne reached out a hand to the tiny thing. It sniffed the offered hand once before darting into Harris's palm. There was an instant connection and he knew what pet he would be getting.

Harris went of to find one of his dads, the ferret nestled in his hand and with its tail curled around his wrist. It was big, at least, Harris thought it was. The little guy was roughly a foot long, tail not included. So soft and calm. For now anyway. If this little guy was just tired, Harris had a feeling they'd be a handful later on.

It was Elliot that Harris found first. The man, though he worked at an animal shelter, didn't know much about most of the animals in the Menagerie. Harris knew his papa loved animals and knew a lot about them, but he had never seen him interact with a ferret before.

"Papa! Look!" Harris held out his hand, showing his new friend to his papa. "I think I want to get them," The boy ran a gentle finger down the ferret's back. Elliot smiled at his son.

"Alright," Elliot guided Harris to actually purchase the creature. "You have a name picked out?" Harris beamed at his papa.

"Scribbles!"

It was not much later when Harris, followed by his family, walked out of Magic Menagerie, a new ferret riding proudly on his shoulder.

What animal do you wish to purchase? European Ferret
What do you want to name it? Scribbles
Is this a boy or a girl? Boy
What is your pet's date of birth? June 14th 2022

Pet Permission Granted

Have fun with your furry little friend!