The Pet Of Dreams
Ruby stepped into the Magical Menagerie with a feeling of excitement welling up inside of her. After finishing her list of supplies for Hogwarts and buying a new wand from Ollivander's, Ruby knew that there was only one missing piece to the puzzle: a pet. Ruby had always longed for a pet, but her mother Christina was hesitant to buy her an animal as she did not think that Ruby could handle the responsibility.
However, after several hours of nagging, Christina could no longer ignore her daughter's demands and allowed her to view the pets inside the Menagerie. Ruby eagerly approached the cages lined up in rows. At the very front of the store, the owner placed a cage full of little kittens, practically bouncing off the walls of their confines, as they blissfully enjoyed an afternoon of playtime.
Ruby squealed, "Mother, they are adorable! Could I please have just one!" Christina approached warily. Christina had never owned a pet before but knew that kittens were an awful lot of work, and that her daughter would not have the time to care for a fragile creature while studying at Hogwarts.
"Ruby, I don't think you're ready for a kitten, instead we should look at the older cats."
Ruby sighed but reluctantly went over to the cages lined up on the left side of the shop. The cages were enormous and, each held about 5 cats. There were calicos, tabbies, siamese, persians, ragdolls, and shorthairs.
Ruby was particularly drawn to a blue shorthair but as Ruby extended her arm to pet the tempting kitty, it pawed her away giving her a scratch. "Ow!" Ruby cried.
Christina scolded her, "You should know better than to stick your arm inside the cages. Episkey." so with a flick of her wand the scratch disappeared. "Don't be reckless."
Ruby apologized, "I know mother, I'm sorry. Can we keep looking?"
"Alright, I suppose we can."
After the incident Ruby moved away from the cats and began looking at the toads and the rats. There was a white rat that particularly caught her eye, but another boy with his parents snatched it.
A popular cage in the store besides the kittens was the cage for the pygmy puffs. Ruby could vaguely see the creatures inside, but three other witches blocked the way. They were older and looked to be third years.
"Excuse me, but I can't see the puffs, could you move over a little please." Ruby asked politely. They did not hear Ruby, they were too busy arguing over an especially fluffy pink puff in the corner. "Excuse me." Ruby asked again raising her voice.
The older witches snickered. "Is that a First-Year. Why are you asking us to move?" one said.
"I can't see the puffs, it would be much appreciated." Ruby said while craning her neck to try to make out the balls of fluff from behind the older girl's tall frames.
"Sorry, there are only three puffs left, and we were here first so I guess you're out of luck." they giggled again.
Ruby a bit sad now went back to her mother. "They're sold out of pygmy puffs those girls bought the last ones. I don't know if I'll find a pet today."
Christina smiled, "Don't be discouraged yet love, there are still the owls."
Ruby's face seemed to brighten as she headed over to the tall rounded cages towards the back of the store. There were seven owls. One was a snowy owl but it paid no attention to Ruby it was too busy eating pellets. There were two barn owls and three eagle owls to the right of the snowy owl, but they screeched and flapped their wings in annoyance when Ruby passed by.
Ruby turned her head after noticing a hooting coming from the corner, and noticed that the last owl on the far right seemed to be the culprit. She walked over curiously and examined the tag on its cage. It read:
Age: 2 years old
DOB: 1/17/2023
Species: Eagle Owl
Gender: Male
As Ruby walked closer the owl turned its head to look her in the eye. He then proceeded to hoot and gave a little rustle of his feathers. Something drew Ruby towards him, like a moth to a flame. He was the only pet to acknowledge her in the store, and he seemed to not mind her standing by his cage. Ruby tentatively stuck a finger into the cage, and the owl gently nudged it with his beak. He then proceeded to hoot some more.
Christina noticed this interaction and called the shopkeeper over. "Excuse me ma'am is that owl for sale?"
"Yes he is! What a gorgeous creature, he was imported yesterday! Are you interested?"
Christina laughed as she watched her daugher's face light up. "I want to call him Hooty!" Ruby stated. Christina examined the owl through the dim candlelight. He looked sturdy enough to fly letters between their home and Hogwarts, and he was being very gentle with Ruby.
Ruby cried out with a smile, "I love him, he's perfect!" Christina grinned back she could not agree more.
However, after several hours of nagging, Christina could no longer ignore her daughter's demands and allowed her to view the pets inside the Menagerie. Ruby eagerly approached the cages lined up in rows. At the very front of the store, the owner placed a cage full of little kittens, practically bouncing off the walls of their confines, as they blissfully enjoyed an afternoon of playtime.
Ruby squealed, "Mother, they are adorable! Could I please have just one!" Christina approached warily. Christina had never owned a pet before but knew that kittens were an awful lot of work, and that her daughter would not have the time to care for a fragile creature while studying at Hogwarts.
"Ruby, I don't think you're ready for a kitten, instead we should look at the older cats."
Ruby sighed but reluctantly went over to the cages lined up on the left side of the shop. The cages were enormous and, each held about 5 cats. There were calicos, tabbies, siamese, persians, ragdolls, and shorthairs.
Ruby was particularly drawn to a blue shorthair but as Ruby extended her arm to pet the tempting kitty, it pawed her away giving her a scratch. "Ow!" Ruby cried.
Christina scolded her, "You should know better than to stick your arm inside the cages. Episkey." so with a flick of her wand the scratch disappeared. "Don't be reckless."
Ruby apologized, "I know mother, I'm sorry. Can we keep looking?"
"Alright, I suppose we can."
After the incident Ruby moved away from the cats and began looking at the toads and the rats. There was a white rat that particularly caught her eye, but another boy with his parents snatched it.
A popular cage in the store besides the kittens was the cage for the pygmy puffs. Ruby could vaguely see the creatures inside, but three other witches blocked the way. They were older and looked to be third years.
"Excuse me, but I can't see the puffs, could you move over a little please." Ruby asked politely. They did not hear Ruby, they were too busy arguing over an especially fluffy pink puff in the corner. "Excuse me." Ruby asked again raising her voice.
The older witches snickered. "Is that a First-Year. Why are you asking us to move?" one said.
"I can't see the puffs, it would be much appreciated." Ruby said while craning her neck to try to make out the balls of fluff from behind the older girl's tall frames.
"Sorry, there are only three puffs left, and we were here first so I guess you're out of luck." they giggled again.
Ruby a bit sad now went back to her mother. "They're sold out of pygmy puffs those girls bought the last ones. I don't know if I'll find a pet today."
Christina smiled, "Don't be discouraged yet love, there are still the owls."
Ruby's face seemed to brighten as she headed over to the tall rounded cages towards the back of the store. There were seven owls. One was a snowy owl but it paid no attention to Ruby it was too busy eating pellets. There were two barn owls and three eagle owls to the right of the snowy owl, but they screeched and flapped their wings in annoyance when Ruby passed by.
Ruby turned her head after noticing a hooting coming from the corner, and noticed that the last owl on the far right seemed to be the culprit. She walked over curiously and examined the tag on its cage. It read:
Age: 2 years old
DOB: 1/17/2023
Species: Eagle Owl
Gender: Male
As Ruby walked closer the owl turned its head to look her in the eye. He then proceeded to hoot and gave a little rustle of his feathers. Something drew Ruby towards him, like a moth to a flame. He was the only pet to acknowledge her in the store, and he seemed to not mind her standing by his cage. Ruby tentatively stuck a finger into the cage, and the owl gently nudged it with his beak. He then proceeded to hoot some more.
Christina noticed this interaction and called the shopkeeper over. "Excuse me ma'am is that owl for sale?"
"Yes he is! What a gorgeous creature, he was imported yesterday! Are you interested?"
Christina laughed as she watched her daugher's face light up. "I want to call him Hooty!" Ruby stated. Christina examined the owl through the dim candlelight. He looked sturdy enough to fly letters between their home and Hogwarts, and he was being very gentle with Ruby.
Ruby cried out with a smile, "I love him, he's perfect!" Christina grinned back she could not agree more.