Diagon Alley
May 3, 2019
PHAEDRA

“How’s this one, Cleo?”

While many of her peers had to get acquainted with a brand new animal, Phaedra was lucky in that she did not. Her four-legged friend came into her life four years prior—as a mere kitten aged fourteen weeks old. The cat was an early ninth birthday gift; Phaedra begged her parents for another cat after the natural passing of her previous, named Klaus. Her parents eventually obliged, and ever since, she and the spotted feline were near inseparable at home. She always felt that the animal understood her when no one else would.

The cat’s ears twitched as Phaedra squeaked the pink, toy mouse in her hand. Cleo brought her equally pink nose to it and sniffed it for a second before losing interest. Then, the cat’s rear-end wiggled as she turned and looked back at the shelf behind them, her head tilting upward to stare at a wooden cage’s contents.

Dropping her hand, Phaedra raised both eyebrows. “You don’t like it?” she asked quizzically, her gaze wandering to follow Cleo’s. There was something moving near the top of the large cage and Phaedra saw the flash of a long, hairless tail pop into view. A rat had apparently made itself comfortable on a hammock, oblivious to the feline attention it was drawing to itself. Phaedra smiled and put the toy she had away. “Aww, you want a real one to play with, huh? We can’t do that, silly girl. I can only have you for now.”

Gently, she lifted a protesting Cleo off of the ground by putting a hand underneath her belly. “Excuse me, madam,” Phaedra called to an older woman passing by once the cat rested comfortably over her shoulder.  She was small but friendly looking. “How much for... that one?” The Ravenclaw pointed to a dome-shaped toy with a thin piece attached to it. It had a magical enchantment that made it spin a feather toy in circles. It was definitely more valuable than a boring old felt mouse, but Phaedra had saved some money. The splurge would be worth it, in her eyes, to keep her cat entertained while she was away in classes.

The woman’s name was Anita Witticker. She and her husband ran the store. Phaedra could see the smile-lines around her eyes and mouth as she circled around a shelf to stand beside her. The woman took a short look at where Phaedra was pointing, and without delay, responded confidently; “Ah, that’s a popular one. It’ll be three galleons.”

“I’ll take it.” The shopkeeper nodded and graciously moved in close to take the toy off of the shelf for Phaedra.

“Will that be all? If so, I’ll ring you up, dearie." The white-haired woman grinned at the cat, taking it upon herself to scratch Cleo behind the ear. "Hello, beautiful,” she cooed.

Phaedra didn’t mind this, and she too smoothed a hand through the silver fur. She paused for a moment before remembering what she had initially come here for. With her free hand, she took several cans of wet food from a nearby shelf, holding them against her chest to avoid dropping them. She had almost forgotten— food came and went by so quickly and Cleopatra was quite the stickler. “I’ve found everything she needed now,” Phaedra said cheerfully, following the woman to the counter. “Thank you, Mrs. Witticker, was it?”

What animal do you wish to purchase? : Egyptian Mau
What do you want to name it? Cleopatra
Is this a boy or a girl? Female
What is your pet's date of birth? May 2015
Word Count: 565