Magical Menagerie
Set on 9 August
ft. The Luceys

It was the first time ever since her entrance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry that she had her family with her in the Wizarding World. On this fine day, the sunlight gently peeked through soft tufts of clouds, and the lively atmosphere of bustling witches and wizards seemed to lift Dinara's spirits even more.

For once, it seemed, everything was going her way. Cecily Naylor had always been known to be an absolutely practical person, and it was without a doubt one of the values that she wished to pass down to her children. It, therefore, came as a huge surprise that the woman relented to her daughter's unending pleas for a Pygmy Puff. Sure, Dinara may have been performing well in school, but Mrs. Lucey very rarely went back on her word.

Along with Mrs. Lucey, who was currently dragging Dinara with her up front towards the Magical Menagerie, a square-jawed man whose wrinkles were starting to show was busy struggling with what seemed like an overtly inquisitive toddler running around the streets and stepping on the many robes, causing quite a scene of chaos. If one looked even further back, they'd see a handsome, well-groomed boy shyly smiling and clasping hands with a studious-looking girl.

The Lucey family was having quite the day in the Wizarding World, it would seem. Eventually, Charles Lucey managed to get little Debby under control by slinging her across his shoulder and breaking up the two lovebirds by pushing them forward. It was unusual for the two Lucey sibling to be misbehaving as much as they were today, Dinara was often the one recognised as the trouble child of the household.

A light tinkling sound resounded through the small shop as the family stepped in. They were immediately greeted by the sounds of numerous animals, and Dinara shrieked with delight as she rushed towards the Pygmy Puffs that were housed in little glass tanks. Staring intently at the Pygmy Puffs, the girl pressed a small finger against the glass in an attempt to catch one of these animals' attention. They stared back up at her for a split second, squeaked rather uselessly and rolled away to their own business.

This whole time, Cecily Naylor had been staring over Dinara's shoulder rather disapprovingly, her lips thinning into a line. While Dinara may have been easily bought over by the sheer cuteness of the littl squeaking balls, Cecily chose to march straight up to the storekeepers, her anger quickly mollified by the mild appearance of the smiling lady tending the counter.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Would you happen to have something more... Useful for my daughter over there?" A very to-the-point woman she was, Cecily Naylor. Mrs. Anita Wicker smiled kindly, eyeing the small girl who was still fawning over the little Puffs. From the corner of her peripheral vision, she watched as her husband stood guard against Debby's grabby hands which were trying to catch hold of the numerous swishing cat tails.

"Yes dearie, I would suppose that an owl be the most fitting for both you and your little darling over there." her eyes twinkled merrily, quite enjoying the fact that her husband was struggling against a toddler, of all the animals that they had to handle daily. Since your girl seems to have a thing for cute pets, I have a nice fit for her that's been with me for quite a while." Reaching behind her for one of the numerous sets of keys, she deftly found the right one and unlocked a cage that sat a little further off from the right of the shop counter. Cecily could only marvel at the shopkeeper's ability to keep track of all the different kinds of keys, and the unassuming, mild-mannered Anita Witticker had very much earned the respect of Cecily Naylor that day.

As soon as the cage had unlocked, a white blur sped out of it, zooming across the small shop with a speed that one would never imagine an owl to possess while running on feet. It knocked over quite a few things in the process, as well, scaring the wits out of all the Luceys. On the other hand, the Wittickers appeared to be quite used to this behaviour. Eventually, the white blur found it's way beside the frozen form of Dinara Lucey, hooting cheerily at her.

"Dinara, I cannot say I approve of these... Pygmy Puffs." the contempt that Cecily Naylor held for the little animals was more than obvious from her tone, though she sincerely tried her best to keep it civil. "Look, why not get this guy instead?" she smiled as she eyed the owl that was just about as large as her crouched-down daughter. Turning to whisper to Mrs. Witticker, she made sure to firmly face the direction in which her daughter was at for fear that one wrong move and the owl would just claw Dinara's hair out.

Fortunately for the Luceys, the Wittickers were extremely experienced with dealing with these animals. Placing a reassuring hand on the tensed up mother, she nodded firmly. "Don't you worry now. This particular boy has one of the sweetest temperaments ever, and he seems to have taken a liking to your young Dinara as well!" walking over to the girl, she hoisted the Great White Owl onto her forearm (with some effort), passing it over to Dinara. "Why don't you take him, dearie? I'm sure he'd be a good companion."

With some visible doubt, Dinara offered out her comparatively tiny forearm for the owl to perch upon. He was much lighter than she'd expected, though on her forearm he was large enough to be as tall as her. As soon as the owl started to preen the girl's hair, she very quickly decided that the owl was a better choice than the unresponsive pygmy puffs.

"Very well, that'll be 16 sickles. You'll love him, I daresay."

Dinara pried open her small clutch, handing over the 16 sickles that she had. The owl had already happily let himself off Dinara's forearm, it seemed as though he very much preferred to walk beside her. What an odd owl he was! Despite him costing the majority of the money that DInara had painstakingly saved up over her First Year in Hogwarts, she felt a swell of affection well up within her, and the Luceys left the shop with an extra family member that day.

Slumping back down on one of the wooden stools, Mr. Ernest Witticker let out a loud huff of relief, dabbing off the sweat from his forehead.

"Now, they were lovely I'm sure, but I'm just glad that tiny toddler is gone! Such a curious soul, she was, though very sweet of her to have blown me a kiss before leaving."

Outside, Dinara smiled at her new companion. She would eventually go on to rack her brains for inspiration for a name, and very anti-climatically name it after her favourite donut chain store.

[1182 words]

What animal do you wish to purchase? Great White Owl
What do you want to name it? Dunkin
Is this a boy or a girl? Boy
What is your pet's date of birth? 9 August 2017