Found Family
Location: Magical Menagerie
Tag: Solo, Pet
Date: August 29th,2025
Time: 1:00pm
Word Count: 1462/400
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I should’ve had some self-restraint, Corrine thinks to herself half-heartedly, adjusting the strap on her bag with a wince on her face. On a normal day, the girl is always the first to claim that there’s no such thing as ‘too many books’, as her love for them overpowers practically anything that exists in this mortal plane. However, with the way her shoulder is aching from the weight of the books piled within her bag, it’s starting to seem like she may have overdone it this time.
How could anyone blame her? With newfound access to the Wizarding World, there’s too much of everything to experience! So many things to learn about, so many beings to research.. And a whole new world of authors. It’s no doubt that her Nana expected her to come out of that magical bookshop without any extra books aside from those in her supply list, which explains the extra money the elderly woman had given her in an amused manner earlier.
As she subtly struggles to carry her heavy bag, her eyes trail towards the nearest shop. The intricate window fronts of the store go on to reveal that it’s some kind of pet shop, at least based on the numerous animals that are easily visible through them. Corrine’s eyes practically bulge as she sees a small, puffy animal with obnoxious pink fur scratch at the window.
“Is that a hedgehog?” She stops in place to stare, genuinely curious. She’s never seen such a creature before, so she can only assume it’s a magical creature. If that alone is able to catch her attention, what others are contained there? Before taking another step, she glances down at the pouch in her hand, hesitant. Twenty-nine knuts to a sickle, seventeen sickles to a galleon, she reminds herself, looking inside the brown pouch.
She’s greeted with nothing but gold, which she knows are galleons.
It might be enough, she concludes, relaxing as she puts the money away. If I get attached to an animal, I might be able to get it.
Without thinking about it much further, she steps into Magical Menagerie, her eyes immediately going wide as she takes in. It's bigger than it looks on the outside; those windowfronts did it no justice. For once, the large population of students and adults alike don’t immediately trigger a wave of anxiety, as her eyes focus more on the animals themselves.
Stepping closer to a terrarium, she glances inside in curiosity. There’s a frog in there, and Corrine can’t help but smile as she sees the small, sparkling pond it had. It almost seemed to be flowing like it would a real pond, and she can only attribute that to magic. Moving on, she turns her head another way, making eye contact with a. . . small tiger?
The girl tilts her head, confused. The ‘tiger’ tilts its head in the same direction, seemingly mimicking her. Its large ears twitched, as if amused by her confusion. When her hazel eyes trail down to the bottom of its cage, it’s labeled as ‘kneazle’.
Must be another magical creature, she looks away. If there’s anything she knows about cats, it’s the fact that you don’t want to stare for long, lest you trigger aggression. Or maybe that logic only applied to dogs. . .
She can only wonder. Either way, she’s already stepped away, so there’s no use lingering on the matter any longer. As wonderful as all these creatures are, there aren’t any that catch her eye, much to her disappointment. Maybe it’s not just curiosity and wonder that dragged her here; instead, it might’ve been a part of her that hoped for a true connection with one of them here, and maybe finally have a companion.
“Whatever is the matter, hm?”
Flinching in surprise, Corrine turns around, coming face-to-face with a tall man dressed in a checkered flannel and blue jeans. It doesn’t take long for her to relax again, seeing the kind smile on his face.
Hesitantly, the girl replies, “..I think I came here in hopes of finding a companion, but.. I don’t think any of them have clicked.” Her tone is uncertain and soft, as if she doesn’t know whether or not she truly could say what’s on her mind. Nonetheless, it’s already done and over with.
The man chuckles. “Ah, I see. Well, perhaps the right one hasn’t found you yet.” He says lightheartedly, glancing down at her. His glasses glint in a mysterious way as he begins to walk, motioning for her to follow. If it had been in literally any other place, her mind would be screaming ‘Stranger Danger!’ right about now, but considering they’re in a busy public place and he’s only leading her a bit further down a busy corridor, she decides that he’s probably just helping.
It didn't take long for them to stop in another section, which held cages of owls. When Corrine looks around to check, she sees that most of the owls are entirely disinterested, either busy nipping at their feathers or hooting to each other. The man suddenly comes to a stop, and she stops just enough to stop herself from bumping into him. Leaning to the side, she peeks at what made him stop.
The one simple way to describe the way the owl in front of her is. . angry. Not just angry, actually, it looks furious. Based on the way its cage is isolated from the rest of its peers, it must also act furious, Corrine concludes. When the taller man walks closer, seemingly to open the cage and reach for it, the owl opens its wings to appear larger, letting out a shrill shriek.
Real angry, Corrine thinks to herself again, feeling nervous. And yet, the man seems unaffected, only shaking his head in amusement. “Oh, shush it, you. Be nice to the little lady.”
At that, the owl lets out a wary hiss as its large eyes finally make contact with Corrine’s.
Simultaneously, the two of them freeze, sizing each other up. Although the small girl had seen it from a distance, she’s now being handed the owl by the man, who she looks up to unsurely to ask if this was a good idea.
The man only nods with a grin, gingerly dropping the fussy owl onto her raised arm. It’s still unsurprisingly heavy for such a small owl, causing her arm to dip slightly due to the weight. However, Corrine recovers relatively quickly, making sure to keep her arm raised with a bit more effort.
To Corrine’s surprise, the owl no longer fusses now that it’s perching on her arm. Even more miraculously, it’s not flying off in an attempt to escape, just continuing to stare at her. This seems to satisfy the man who lets out a victorious chuckle. “Finally found somebody who you deemed worthy, then.”
He turns to the small girl, grinning. “This, my dear, is an Eastern Screech Owl. He’s been in our care since he hatched from his egg, and if you couldn’t already tell,” he motions to the owl on her arm, which seems to snap out of its stupor to narrow its eyes at him, “He has quite the spicy demeanor. We’ve been trying to find him a home for a while, but no matter who we introduce him to, he just loses his mind.”
Corrine glances at the owl. Losing his mind? He seems pretty calm now, she thinks to herself in confusion, which the man seems to catch onto. “Surprising, right?” He chuckles. “Well, you’re the only one he’s reacted to like this. I don’t dare assume that you’re willing to take him on the spot, considering he does have a history of aggression, but. . . if you’d like him, he’s all yours.”
As the man spoke, the girl locked eyes with the owl, mesmerized. Despite his furious behavior from earlier, she can’t help but think he’s a beautiful owl. She can already feel her heart softening at the fact that, maybe. . . just maybe, it’s her he had been waiting for.
Taking her silence as rejection, the man hums. “Well, I suppose it had been worth a shot—”
Corrine shakes her head firmly, glancing up at him. “I’ll take him, sir.” Pleasantly surprised, the man—who she still doesn’t know the name of—pauses before he could continue. “Very well,” he smiles, nodding in approval. “I’ll process the payment for him myself. What would you like to name him?”
Embarrassed as to how unprepared she is for this pet in the first place, she averts her eyes. “..Caramel.”
The man snorts.
“Caramel it is.”
The owl lets out a low, resigned whistle, as if accepting his fate as Caramel now and forevermore.
"In every life, through every door. . . I hope to meet y0u again."