____________________________________________________________

Date: August 14^th, 2026

Time: 12:30 P.M

Location: Magical Menagerie, Diagon Alley

Dialogues:

Reducio

• Josh
• Mum
• Dad

Josh and his parents were walking down Diagon Alley preparing to leave, having bought all of his school supplies for his second year at Hogwarts. As they walked, Josh glanced into the windows of the shops they passed, looking at new items each store had. They passed Magical Menagarie, and he looked inside the shop window to see owls, cats, ferrets and many other animals inside. Looking at the animals made Josh remember how much he wanted a pet for himself. During his first year at Hogwarts, many of his peers and classmates had their own pets, and being around all these animals made his desire for a pet grow. He was unsure if his parents would ever let him get one though, because they already had two dogs at home. "Hey mum, dad? Do you think I could get one more thing before we leave?" His parents exchanged a curious glance as if they knew whatever he was going to ask, they would disapprove of it. "Like what? We already have all your school supplies." He avoided eye contact with both of them. "Uhm... Well I was hoping I could get a pet for school?" He looked at them, and both of their eyes were narrowed. "No, absolutely not." He looked at his mother for support as she usually was always on his side, but she crossed her arms and shook her head. "But why not?" He whined, his voice now slightly louder and higher pitched. "We already have Dexter and Steve at home, we don't need any more pets." His mother spoke in a stern voice. "That's different! Dexter and Steve are Nanna and Grandpa's pets. I can't take them to Hogwarts. Almost everyone at Hogwarts has their own pet, please let me get one!" They both sighed exhaustedly. "That's beside the point. You're still too young to have a pet." It was evident in her voice that she was not in the mood to argue, but Josh tested his luck anyways. "I'm already 12, and I'll be 13 next month... Hang on, it's my birthday next month. What if you get me a pet for my birthday?" He spoke excitedly, and his parents now exchanged desperate glances. "Wouldn't you rather get a cell phone? Or more books? Or maybe even those things you say cost money on your video games?" He shook his head, and spoke in a pleading voice. "Please mum and dad? You don't even have to get me anything for Christmas if you get me a pet. Plus pets can be useful, like I could use an owl to write you letters more frequently at Hogwarts, and you'll be able to write back." After a few moments, his mother spoke reluctantly. "Alright then, you can get an owl..." Josh didn't even care that there were so many people around, he cheered loudly. "But you're going to be responsible for it. Don't expect us to feed it and clean up after it." He hugged both of his parents, and spoke excitedly. "Thank you! I promise, I'll take such good care of them, and besides, they'll be at Hogwarts with me most of the year." He rushed into Magical Menagerie, and looked at all the many animals on display. He didn't even bother asking the shopkeeper for help, for an owl had already caught his attention. It was a Great Horned Owl, it had sharp yellow eyes, long feather tufts that looked like horns, and a black beak. Josh carefully put his hand through the bars of the cage it was inside of, and gently stroked it's head. It reacted by gently nibbling his finger, and Josh knew for sure that this was the owl for him. He looked at his parents who had just caught up with him. "This is the one. He's perfect." He smiled at the owl, who was now nibbling under it's wing. His father went over to pay the shopkeeper for the owl, and Josh left the shop with a cage containing a new pet owl in his hands. Josh was still admiring the owl as they walked towards the direction of the leaky cauldron, when he realized he still needed to name him. "You still need a name. I think I'll call you... Columbus. Like the explorer!" He decided to name his owl after the historical muggle explorer, Christopher Columbus, to honor both his passion for history and his muggle origins.

**OOC Note - Because this is forward dated to August 14^th, my owl will not appear in any RPs until August unless they are also forward dated**