Arius – born 9 January, 2018 – Female — purchased May 28, 2018

Staring through the window at her side, Ellaine hesitated in front of the shop. Dozens of enchanted cages, terrariums, and aquariums of all sizes were stacked against the window. She glimpsed the animals caged within, some appearing normal and non-magical, while some possessed the odd kinds of characteristics, glowing and bright, others looking to be amalgamations of what non-magical people conceive to be normal animals. Ellaine looked away, finding her eyes drawn to the sign right above the door, where there were depictions of various animals in a march— she could make out kneazles, puffskeins, owls, crups, and… other magical creatures she hadn’t seen much of. Luckily, she was not here for any of them.

Ellaine pushed the door open, eyes trained forward as squarely as can be. Her movements were stiff, mouth pursed in a not-smile, a downward turning of the corners, intent on getting it done as quick as can be. She didn’t much like shopping alone— oftentimes she ended up contemplating too much on what to buy… except on the occasions where she knew precisely what she needed to be doing. Like now.

The ding! that echoed soon after her entrance served as a comforter, irrational it may be. Her eyes flickered between the confines of this establishment, warily eyeing the cages upon cages stacked against the walls. Various owls she could see, of every size and breed— she even spotted one not unlike her mum’s new owl, and another one that looked much like hers, if a bit juvenile. Cats, kneazles, crups, rats, ferrets, and toads! Though this was not her first time shopping at Magical Menagerie, she’d never been here alone before, and so Ellaine settled upon a displeased frown, hoping that it’d do away with any of the small talks kind shopkeepers are wont to do… She’d certainly never paid attention to what her mum said when she bought stuff before.

Her hand fiddled with the money-pouch she had stashed inside the pockets of her jacket (magically charmed and warded against thieves, courtesy of her mum, of course). Ellaine could imagine the galleons and sickles just dancing inside, and she shook her head before striding towards the counter.

The man— well, old man, but she felt a smidge of guilt thinking that— who greeted her possessed a great deal of white hair, and a wide, kindly smile upon his face. His crinkled eyes made her think of her own grandma, and she just felt tired as the impression flitted upon her mind.

“Good evening! Welcome to the Magical Menagerie—”

Ellaine tried to focus on his words, really! And yet, they simply flowed in one ear and out the other…

“—what would you like to get today?”

Bleakly, she stared at him for a few seconds, the lines she’d scripted beforehand crumbling with ease into ashes in the wind. Pulling words out hastily, she scrambled to string together words into something that could pass as a dialogue, all the while hoping to seem normal from the outside’s perspective.

“…I would like to purchase owl treats— good quality. For a Great Horned Owl,” she added, just in case it mattered somewhere in the process. “Loads of them.”

A raised eyebrow, done in jest— she could tell that much, at least— before he walked away, presumably to fetch her orders. Ellaine wanted to slam her head down to the table, but that would cause a dent, so she wisely refrained from doing so. Instead, she thought back to the reason she bought owl treats in the first place. Arius. A grand Great Horned Owl. Ellaine, after a moment’s war, settled slowly into the wait, slightly leaning into the counter table with her hands.

Arius had been there, living and flying in and out of her house for as long as she could’ve remembered. Arius had been there for many of her birthdays, when she’d started Primary, when she’d graduated (perched upon her mum’s shoulder, cleverly hidden by the grace of magic), when she’d gotten her Hogwarts acceptance letter, and now, she’d be accompanying her throughout the seven years of studying magic at Hogwarts.

Amusement flashed through her mind as she thought back to the actual reason her mum had bought Arius, back in 2018. From the tidbits of lore dropped here and there from her parents’ mouths, Ellaine knew that her mum had applied and fought hard to start her career in the Ministry— specifically, the Department of Mysteries. When she’d at last been accepted, her mum had thought that an owl would be a necessity for wizardly communication, although in the end Arius had been almost an honorary family member, more than anything.

She was a sweet thing— well, a huge sweet thing, according to her younger self’s perception. Arius was now a third of her height. What had frightened others instead endeared her to little Ellaine, who had then thought her a majestic being. Really, she was very kind and well-tempered, and oftentimes Ellaine would find herself soothed out of her worries after she’d pet the top of her head, right above her beak, or smoothed out the feathers on her chest.

Arius was a steady presence throughout each of the Weatherby children’s lives, and Ellaine found herself quite touched that her mum had even thought to send Arius with her to Hogwarts. It would provide her a little more familiarity, and though it would require countless trips up towards the Owlery, Ellaine quite looked forward to having Arius in her school-life.

Blinking her eyes, Ellaine abruptly resurfaced from her thoughts, a strange kind of awareness alerting her to the approaching footsteps.

“Well, Miss, here’s your purchase.” The old man returned from the back, carrying with him several boxes of owl treats. “That’ll be █ galleons and █ sickles.”

Ellaine nodded, shoving her hand inside her money pouch, requesting the necessary amount before handing them over. With thanks, she took the owl treat boxes in hand, before stacking them inside the satchel hung at her side, one after the other. Of course, her mother had insisted it be charmed with the necessary spells alongside a minor extension charm, and so she stacked the boxes inside with ease.

“Thank you, Mr. Witticker,” she said again, remembering what her mum had mentioned the shopkeepers' names were, “…have a good day.”

With that, she carefully turned back, taking one last look around before she strode off towards the door. She reached for the door handle, pushing it open and stepping off towards the rapidly growing crowds of Diagon Alley. Now, to find Arius and her mum…

Word Count: ~1098/200