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July 5th, 2024

Back-to-school shopping had come early this summer for Pyxis. His parents, with bothered expressions, rushed him from shop to shop in an effort to have him out of the Alley by midday. They had some very important meeting to get to on the other side of London and doing their jobs as parents was obviously on the backburner for today. He knew they would get like this the second he learned that summer camp was going to be in the middle of the holidays. The brief breaks they would have to take to safely deliver and collect their son from the Quidditch Stadium ruined their perfectly planned schedules, it seemed. Whatever. Not like I need to be here much longer, anyways.

Despite the thought, Pyxis glanced longingly at the various displays in the Alley. He knew he could spend an entire day there and not get bored, but in the interest of keeping himself happy, he would continue to tell himself that shopping was his least favorite thing. Yet, as soon as his parents became occupied with something work-related, the boy slipped off as quietly as he could.

And where did his legs take him? To the pet shop, of course. Magical… What the heck is that second word? Pyxis pushed open the door and breathed in the welcome stench of pet food and animal droppings. The sight before him was breathtaking. Cats and rabbits lounging in stylish pens, owls screeching from their caged perches, lizards mimicking statues, snakes stacked on top of each other… Oh… definitely staying away from that side of the shop.

Pyxis was so jealous of his peers who brought their pets to Hogwarts. The Hellebores were minted enough to get him one for his first year, but if he recalled correctly, they spouted some bullpoop about learning responsibility before they allowed him to take care of an animal. Pish posh. He’d survived a year on his own and managed to not blow anything up with those unpredictable arcane powers of his. If they were hesitant before, they wouldn’t have to be anymore. I’m like… the poster child of responsibility now. He immediately ran into a shelf of goods, knocking it over.

After profusely apologizing and assisting the shopkeeper in picking everything up, Pyxis walked straight towards the pet he’d seen last summer. Or, it could have been a different one of the same species. He didn’t know and didn’t care. That black kitty was going to be his. It saw him coming and Pyxis stopped in his tracks, swearing the thing looked at him with annoyance. Can cats even do that? No, he was imagining things.

“Pyxis!” Ugh. The parental police finally noticed that he was missing. He had to hand it to them - that was pretty fast. He thought he’d have way more time to browse the animals before they caught on.

“I want a pet this year,” he held his left fist to his chest and pointed at the black cat. His father caught up to him and placed a firm grip on his shoulder.

“N—”

“You promised!”

“I didn’t! …Did I?” He muttered the last bit and Pyxis grinned. The advantage of having parents like his was the amount of manipulation they were susceptible to.

“You did. You said last summer that you’d get me a pet next summer. It’s next summer right now!”

“Fine, darling. But not that thing,” came his mother’s voice, matching her repulsed face. “A black cat - no, a cat won’t be living under my roof.”

“Muuuum,” Pyxis stretched the word in a softened plea.

“What about this thing?” His father was the one to pull the disappearing act now, sidling over to a pen of purple and pink fluffballs while Pyxis tugged on his mother’s sleeve. “Small and looks quite low-maintenance. And expensive. All the best kids at Hoshwarts are bound to have these, right?”

“Rich doesn’t equal best, Dad. And it’s Hogwarts,” Pyxis corrected his father. His tone was vexed, but the boy was already inching away from the irritated cat to the pen of attractive colors. Peeking at the actual name for the creature, he reached in to pick up a purple one. Supposedly sensing his inexperience with animals, it quickly rolled out of the way. Too caught up in the unnatural movement of the creature, Pyxis didn’t notice a pink one getting closer to him until it gently slammed into the back of his palm. He cupped it, lifting it slowly and bringing it up to his face. After listening to its somewhat melodic squeaking for a couple seconds, his conniving grin turned wholesome. “Okay. Let’s go with this guy.”

WC: 778

What animal do you wish to purchase? Pink Pygmy Puff
What do you want to name it? Pixel
Is this a boy or a girl? Girl
What is your pet's date of birth? October 16th, 2023

Take good care of your new little friend!