Private Pet Thread ♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Date & Time: 7th July 2024, Late Morning
Metamorphmagus: Active ♥ ♥♥♥ ♥ Outfit: Blue jumper, patterned leggings with pink sneakers

♥♥♥ The young girl's gaze scanned the shops as she walked through the alleyway with determination. She had seen it before - the pet store that she wanted to go too. Today, it was her mother's turn to get pulled through the streets by a very excited Xiomara - which was a struggle for Martina, who was trying to keep up on the cobbled stones in high heels.

From the moment Xiomara read her letters from Hogwarts, which clearly stated that she could bring a pet, she wanted a pet. Of course, she wanted a giant fluffy dog but apparently dogs weren't allowed, which she had to say she found rather ridiculous when so many others were. But nonetheless, she had immediately started to beg her family for one. Her grandparents had opted to leave this decision to her mother, who seemed to be the most picky on the matter, and so, it was now Martina's responsibility to take her daughter to the Magical Menagerie and select a companion that would treat her well.

"THERE IT IS!" Xiomara suddenly exclaimed as she pointed with her free hand towards the store in the distance. She pulled her mother with her other hand even more than she had before, hurrying into the store as soon as they had arrived. It seemed like it had taken forever - why did her mother choose to wear heels today of all days?! It was clearly a sneakers day, there was running to be done!

Her eyes widened in an instant as her gaze fell on the magnificent owls that perched proudly in their homes. "Woooooooah," It was a barely audible sound that had escaped her lips before she could control herself. They were so beautiful. Her abuelito grandfather had one but she had not seen this many breeds before. The family owl was rather small as well, whilst there were some giant ones here with enormous wingspans!

"CAN I GET A HUGE OWL? WAIT NO, I WANT A CAT!" She said as she rushed forward, spotting a few adorable cats not too far away. Her eyes scanned the range. They came in so many breeds too! How was she supposed to choose?! Xiomara could not help but wonder if she could have a couple of pets. Why was the limit one?! Maybe she could convince her family to adopt ten and then just take one of them to Hogwarts, was that an option?!

As she moved around, her mother caught up with her eventually. She was staring at a tank full of little toads. Reading the sign, they were spotted toads. They were kind of cute. "No, no, no. You're not getting anything... icky," She heard her mother's voice over her shoulder and frowned, giving her mother a 'look' over her shoulder, "They are adorable, not icky!" She retorted, not understanding the hate for the poor toads! They were so cute. Plus, imagine how much fun she could have with them. She could leave it in her mother's bathroom and scare her! Imagine if the toad jumped out of a cupboard when you opened it?!

As she got to the rats, she could hear her mother's 'no' before it even left her mouth. They too were 'icky' apparently. She heard the older woman mutter something about how they were vermin in Spanish.

"Okay - how about a bunny? They are definitely cute," Xiomara reasoned as she 'cooed' at a Lionhead Thumper that was nearby. Her mama stared at the rabbits for a while before sighing, "You need to learn to be responsible for yourself before you can look after a rabbit. Do you even know what they eat? You need to start with something smaller and... easier. Oh, look! How about one of those?" Xiomara followed her mama's gaze - to the fish.

She looked back at the older woman, kind of exasperated at the accusation. "I'm more responsible than you, mama," She retorted, completely unafraid to call her mum out after the woman literally ran home to her parents when she found out she was pregnant with Xiomara.

"Hey! I resent that!" Martina retorted, pulling a face and sticking her tongue out at her young daughter, before taking her hand, "C'mon, get a fish! It's a good learning experience, it's like a rite of passage - everyone needs a goldfish at least once in their lives," She explained as she became the dragger, pulling her daughter to the fish section.

Xiomara's reluctance was on full display. What was she supposed to do? Carry a fishbowl in her arms wherever she went?! That would look so weird! She'd have no friends! And what if she dropped the bowl?! The glass would smash and then the fish wouldn't survive. Oh gosh, this seemed very traumatic. It was not a good idea! She stared at the fish in the tank, just swimming around innocently. They were... kind of boring.

How was she supposed to cuddle a goldfish? "Oh look, we can get this enchanted case for your fish too. It says it helps prevent turbulence," Her mother spoke and Xiomara saw her pointing at some carry cases that looked a bit safer. Okay, so she probably would look a little less stupid since the case looked like it was meant to be carried.

She sighed, pondering for a while as she went back to stare at the fish. Maybe she could convince her mama to get something else small, like a lizard or a snail or a slug. Though Martina would likely think they were "icky" too. They were pretty adorable though - and didn't need to survive solely in water. Xiomara giggled a little at the thought of putting a snail or slug into her mama's hair one day and scaring the living daylights out of her. As she was staring at the fish, she ran her finger very slowly near the glass to see if they would follow it. She did not tap on the glass, since she figured they probably wouldn't like that. But she heard the sound of someone tapping against glass near her. Looking over, she saw a small boy - probably younger than her - aggressively tapping against the glass of a small fishbowl. "This one isn't responding to me. Can we eat him?" He would say to another boy who looked not much older than him.

Xiomara stared at them, shocked. Sure, people did eat fish but... this was a pet store! Not a grocery store! "FISH ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD!" She snapped suddenly at the kids, making them jump a little at the suddenness of her interruption, when they were about to stick their hand into the top of the fishbowl. It was this single moment that solidified the decision in her head. She looked at her mother, "Let's get this one," She continued, still kind of annoyed by the situation, as she looked at the Golden Veiltail in the tank that they had been tapping on. It looked scared, hiding behind some foliage.

Her mama gave her a look that said 'behave' for a second after she snapped but she nodded to her daughter before turning away saying something about how she would get the essential supplies, such as the fish food. Nodding to her mother, Xiomara pushed past the boys. Immediately, she lifted up the fishbowl, wrapping both arms around it and shooting a glare at them as she shoved past them, "You got a problem, buddy? Huh? Huh? Do ya, do ya, do ya?" She asked them, glaring at them both some more, whilst holding her new friend protectively in her arms. She made her way over to the counter in a bit of a waddle, trying not to spill the water from the fishbowl as she moved past the other customers and avoided the other pets.

"Excuse me please, I'd like to get this uh Golden Veiltail," She said politely as she placed it on the counter. The old man behind the counter smiled and nodded at her, "And my mama said you have an enchanted carry case too? I'd like one of those too but how do I move it...?" She asked uncertainly. He chuckled a little, picked up an enchanted carry case and helped her to transfer the fish carefully into the carry case, so she did not have to. Xiomara watched in fascination.

If nothing else, Xiomara was stubborn and she had been irked by the kids who were trying to bully a little harmless fish. What sort of monsters would do that?! She was annoyed but that helped her make the decision to purchase a fish, just like her mother had wanted, instead of trying to convince her to get a cooler pet. Oh wells, she supposed she could learn to be responsible with this little orange thing.

"Thank you, sir!" She said with a toothy grin as she pulled out a tiny cloth bag from her pocket and started to count out the money. It was going to be at least three of the gold coins but probably more by the time the food was added. She started to count out the sickles, as her bag contained a bunch of them and not many galleons. She frowned after a minute or so, having emptied out the bag on the counter. She was a couple of sickles short.

Turning around, she looked for her mama, who she spotted... not paying attention to her. She waved a little to try and catch her mother's eye but the woman was busy talking to someone. Xiomara blinked as she looked at him. It was not someone she recognised. Was that her new boyfriend?Growing impatient, she put her hands on her hips, "Mama. Can I have two sickles, please? And the kind sir needs to know how much food we want so he can charge us Wait... do we need a year's supply if I'm going to school?! Wait- Can I even take a fish to school?! Where am I going to leave it...?" She called out the first part before she started to ramble towards the end, mostly to herself as these questions flooded in her mind, oh gosh, this was going to be difficult.

"Xiomara!" Martina's accent switched from Northern Irish to a Puerto Rican accent in an instant and the young girl pulled a face to say 'sorry', as she recognised her mama telling her to behave. She watched her mother turn back to the bloke. Her lipreading skills weren't the best but she could make out a 'sorry', likely apologising for her troublesome daughter, and then saying bye.

Her mother came over a few moments later, gave her a look and placed some fish food onto the counter, before taking out an extra galleon. "Don't worry, we'll post you more food if you need it and yes, I checked, you're allowed to take fish. I imagine you could leave the bowl in your dorm but you'll have a carry case if you need to transport them," She answered her daughter's worries, rather than scolding her as she paid for the reminder of the items.

"Do you have a name in mind?" Her mama asked her as they started to exit the store. Xiomara pondered for a moment before looking up and grinning at her mother, who looked back into the store for some reason before looking at her, "Nemo." She responded. She had no idea if the fish was a boy or a girl but she did not care. Nemo was a great name for a fish.

What animal do you wish to purchase? Golden Veiltail
What do you want to name it? Nemo
Is this a boy or a girl? Girl
What is your pet's date of birth? 7th June 2024

Pet Granted

Look after Nemo well.