Fishful Thinking PET Solo Finished

Saturnalia stared longingly in through the windows of the Magical Menagerie, admiring a majestic eagle owl and watching as someone came out with a huge grin on their face and a small, pink, round, furry creature on his shoulder.

"Mum, may I please go take a look?" she asked, trying to hide the excitement in her voice. Her mother was busy admiring a pair of earrings for one of the peddlers.

[color=#a141D35]"Saturnalia, wouldn't these just be darling?"[/color] Asteria asked, holding them up for her to see. They were star-themed, just like every other article of clothing she owned— and like every other item she bought for Saturnalia. She wasn't particularly a fan of the fact that her wardrobe had a theme- but she would never tell her mother that.

"Hm, perhaps these ones?" she held up another pair.

"Mu-um?" she asked again, looking towards the Menagerie. If she didn't respond again, she wouldn't push it... but she was really curious to see what kinds of animals the wizarding world had to offer.

"Oh- yes, alright. Only for a moment, though. We still have to go to Madam Malkin's to get you fitted for your school robes- oh, and your wand, too!"

"Yes, Mum. Thank you!" She did her best to control her excitement as she pushed open the doors, the madly of various animal songs filling her ears.

She first wandered over to a pile of puppies with two tails- "crups", the sign read. She'd have reached out to pet them if not for the sign instructing her otherwise. She then saw the pink creatures the boy had left with.

"Pygmy puffs," one of the store workers said, noticing her looking. "They come in pink or purple, though I've heard rumors that someone's bread a blue one. Doubt we'd ever have those here, though. You looking for a pet to take with you to Hogwarts?"

Saturnalia froze a little, not sure what to respond. A quick glance at the door told her that her mother was still engrossed in the artisan's jewelry, so she turned back to the worker and gave a nod.

"Cool!" she said, walking over to one side of the store, where a few kittens played around in small pens. "Cats are always a great option- pretty intuitive to take care of, and fairly cuddly, too."

Saturnalia bent down to take a closer look, but one of them hissed at her.

"Maybe not that one," the shop worker said, leading her instead over to a wall full of tanks as Saturnalia looked back at the owl she had been admiring through the window earlier.

"Toads are also traditional. They're especially great if you're a singer."

Saturnalia was not, nor was she really interested in a toad. And yet, the moment that she looked, she was mesmerized.

"With a toad, you can join the choir. They usually perform at special feasts and such."

Saturnalia would normally be drinking in as much information as she could get, but instead, she found herself staring at a green toad— a common toad, so it was labelled. She had never envisioned herself wanting a toad, but she was, surprisingly enough, hooked.

The bell jingled as the door swung open to reveal her mother, who instantly took notice of Saturnalia's gaze... and at the toad.

"Looking at pets?" she asked her daughter. "Hm. I had a black cat when I was your age, to take to Hogwarts. Named him Copernicus. Maybe we can see about getting you a furry friend to take to Hogwarts. Or a slimy one, as it seems to be. Not today, though. I'll have to talk to your father when we pick your brother up."

Saturnalia couldn't help but feel a little crushed. Her dad never allowed anything, and he most certainly wouldn't allow a pet, always saying no when she asked as a kid. She hadn't asked again since her parents' divorce, not daring to take that risk. She was hoping that now, with her going off to magic boarding school, it might be different, but it seemed it would be anything but.

She didn't let her disappointment show, but mothers always knew somehow, no matter how she tried to hide her emotions.

"Cheer up, Lia. Let's go get you fitted for your robes, then maybe we get some ice cream? Florean's was always the best place... it's been years since I've been. I wonder if they still have Butterbeer floats."

⋆｡°✩°｡⋆
the next day...

"Lia! I think we forgot something from your list! We'll have to head back to Diagon Alley." her mother called up the stairs. "Jupiter! Grab your shoes!"

Saturnalia sighed, closing her book and slipping her shoes on. She had fun yesterday, but she couldn't stop thinking about the toad. Even the weird redhead girl at Florean's with the weird purple thing (she thought it might also have been a pygmy puff... but really, she wasn't sure) couldn't get her mind off it. She loathed that she would have to pass by the Menagerie again.

So the family traveled back to Diagon Alley, taking what Saturnalia's mother called "The Floo Network" in their fireplace and then appearing in a different one. It was strange, and she struggled to understand it- and to understand why her mother had never told them anything about it. She never talked about her childhood or her time in school, never about before meeting her dad, not until the divorce, anyway, and then never about magic, not until the day Saturnalia's letter showed up in the mail. Now, it was like something had unlocked, and she was discovering all sorts of new things about her life and her mother's life.

Saturnalia expected to have to go back to Madam Malkin's to try on robes for another hour, or back to... what was the store called? Flourish & Motts? where they had to get all sorts of school supplies, so that was likely where they were headed again, even though Saturnalia had a perfectly good set of pens and several unused notebooks that she could use instead of "parchment" and "ink".

What shocked her most, though, was her mother leading them to the same windows she had been staring into yesterday.

"Really, mum?!" Saturnalia asked, allowing some excitement to show on her face for once. She eagerly pulled the door open and rushed over to the wall of tanks, going back to the toad she had gazed so longingly at the other day.

"Look, Jupiter, isn't he so cool?" Saturnalia pointed the toad out to her brother when he came by her side.

"Woah, a lizard!" he said instead, in typical 9-year-old-boy fashion.

She smiled at the toad in its enclosure. She had already been dreaming up names and activities for them to do together. She would have to get a book on their natural habitats and recreate a terrarium based on that. Perhaps the library would have a book on it she could borrow before she headed off to school.

Her mother walked up beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, about the toad, Saturnalia..."

Her face fell, every ounce of excitement she had once felt draining out. She didn't even have to let the disappointment on her face show for it to be apparent. There would be no toad for her, she already knew.

"I spoke with your father last night, and he agreed that you could have a pet. However, we thought it be best that you learn some responsibility for one first. Just something easy for you to learn while you get settled at school. Something like..." she looked around for a moment, before smiling as she landed on one of the other tanks. "...a fish. This one looks nice, doesn't it, Lia?"

"Yes, mum," she said, resigned. Asteria smiled before motioning the worker over to get the fish for them.

"What will you name him?" she encouraged as the goldfish was put into a little travel bag.

"You should call him Titan!" Jupiter said, a lot more excited about the fish than she was.

"That's a... unique name for a fish," their mother started.

"Titan," Saturnalia agreed, siding with her brother.

"Titan it is," Asteria said, not arguing with the combined stubbornness of her two children. "Why don't you pick out a few things for its bowl?"

And so, Saturnalia walked out of the Menagerie, not with a toad in tow, but with a bag of rocks, a fake green plant, and a goldfish named Titan.