Finally he'd be getting a pet. At now 13 years of age Edric felt ready for the responsibility that came with owning his own companion. He'd helped caring for a herd of hippogriffs for years, but of course there was a difference between helping his parents care for the herd - who didn't need much more immediate care than feeding and the occasional human who stopped them from getting too wild in their mock fights - and having an animal that was solely his. He'd need to feed them, to play with them, to keep them company, to look out for their health.

So he was maybe a bit nervous when he walked into the store with the sign "Magical Menagerie". They'd been here before with the the whole family when Adair had gotten Boudica, but Edric could barely remember that. He'd been what, six? There had been many cats to pick from, thought he'd never forget how, tiny red kitten that she'd been, Boudica had straight up jumped on his brother and curled up in his lap.

That's what he wanted too, a companion. The only problem was of course that Edric had no idea what kind of animal to look for. The hippogriffs would take anything for food that was hand-sized or smaller - as Harry had had to learn when he'd pleaded for a rat - so rodents, frogs and Pygmy Puffs were out of the question. A cat like Adair, then? Or an owl like Harry had now?

"How can I help you, young man?" The shopkeeper, a friendly-looking man with white hair and a bit of a belly, had obviously noticed that he needed help.

"I'm looking for a pet," he replied and felt monumentally stupid a second later. Of course he wanted a pet, this was a pet store. Edric's cheeks turned red and he cleared his throat to cover up his embarrassment. "Either a cat or an owl, I haven't decided yet."

"I see," the man answered and looked him over carefully, frowning. Then a smile replaced his look of concentration and he motioned for Edric to follow him into one of the side rooms of the shop. It was filled with cages of different forms and sizes holding various species of owls. The room smelled of feathers. Soft hooting came form multiple cages. "An owl might be something for you boy, you look like a flier. What's your name?"

He was so perplexed that the man had guessed him right that he stuttered with his answer. "E- Edric Banes, Sir."

"How about this one, Edric?" The man - he should have asked about his name, it was the polite thing do - lifted a smaller cage off a counter. Inside it was a small, dark brown owl with yellow eyes and white spots on its face and belly. It tilted its head to the side when Edric studied it, but made no sound. "She's a beauty. Morepork Owl from New Zealand, only half a year old."

The owl was pretty, he had to admit that, but Edric didn't feel a connection to her at all. Was he overthinking this? Should he just pick an animal he thought looked good?

"You don't like her?"

Edric rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He'd been figured out. "She's a very pretty owl, but... uh... I don't think she's for me. Maybe, I don't know, one who is more... talkative?"

The shopkeeper laughed. "One who communicates, huh? Sure, Mr. Banes. Don't worry, we'll find you an owl that fits you."

They walked over to the other side of the room, where a few medium sized owl were sitting beside each other on a perch, making different noises to each other that reminded Edric of the sounds the herd used to communicate among themselves. It shouldn't have surprised him, hippogriffs were bird-like after all, but- a deep hoot caught his attention. He blinked, confused, but there the sound was again.

Turning his head he searched for the origin of the noise and found it in a bird perched high up, just beneath the ceiling. It was a huge owl, maybe the biggest inside the shop.

Without thinking he approached the bird, stopping just a few feet away from it and staring up into a pair of watchful orange eyes. "Hey," he greeted it and the owl replied with another set of deep hoots. Bu-whooh, bu-whooh.

It had a light brown, almost yellow plumage with black stripes and a lighter face and belly. Dark tufts at the end of its ears moved up and down when it hooted again, eyes still on Edric. He smiled back at it and suddenly the bird jumped down from its perch. 

Before he could more than squeal and raise his arms in alarm, the giant bird had landed on his shoulder. Edric staggered, the weight of the owl putting him off balance for a second. When he'd caught himself he turned his head, slowly, carefully, and looked into orange eyes once more, this time only inches from his face. The owl hooted again.

"Oh, he likes you," the shopkeeper exclaimed happily.

"He's amazing," he heard his own voice whisper from far away, eyes still fixed on the animal.

"Indian Eagle Owl. Just over six years old. 21 inches high, 64 ounces in weight, wingspan of about 55 inches. I've had him for a few years now, never seen him take to anyone like that."

"I want him," Edric said, slowly turning his head back to the shopkeeper, careful in his movement to not upset the owl. Bu-whooh. Did he just agree? Bu-whooh. He took that as a yes.

"Wonderful, a good choice," the man answered. "You'll need a cage for him of course, I think we have one that will fit him somewhere in the back. Anita, I have a young man here..." He headed back to the main room, obviously looking for the woman Edric had seen talking to another customer when he'd entered the shop.

Edric followed him slowly, cautious to not upset the owl still sitting on his shoulder. He was so huge.

He shot the owl a look from the corner of his eye. "Do you have a name? Should I give you one?"

The owl spread his wings in answer, nearly knocking Edric over the head with the right one. Bu-whooh. He stumbled in surprise, but managed to catch himself on the door frame in time to prevent getting a close-up of the wooden floor.

"I guess that's a yes to a name."

What was a good name for an owl? Harry had named his owl Hunt, but Edric thought that was a pretty boring name. An awesome animal needed an awesome name, something special, not plain like William, or Shaw or Jasper - the other names his brother had considered. No, his owl was huge and cool, he needed a name that was... legendary. He'd be a knight, a grand warrior from the old tales.

"Gawain? No," he mumbled to himself. But the Round Table was good, those had been the most renown knights, the best of them all. "How about... Galahad?"

Bu-whooh. This time he was prepared and evaded a wing to the face by tilting his head to the other side.

"Galahad, yes, you're Galahad."

With a grin on his lips he made his way over the counter, where the shopkeeper had already placed a cage that was big enough for his new companion.

Word count: 1251 words
What animal do you wish to purchase? Indian Eagle Owl
What do you want to name it? Galahad
Is this a boy or a girl? boy
What is your pet's date of birth? 23rd of March, 2013