Griseldis finally earned enough money through a lot of hard work and could buy an owl for herself as her own new companion. Her family had a Mynah bird back at home in England and he was a lively fellow that loved to mimic other people’s voice. She did have a decent knowledge of how to take care of a pet bird. But an owl is completely different and might be more of a challenge. So Griseldis read a few books from the library about owls and how to care for these magnificent feathery creatures.

Revisiting the Diagon Alley made her remembering the time where Griseldis and her parents buying all the items she needed for Hogwarts and how she gained her own personal wand. Diagon Alley hasn’t changed one bit, always crowded with people. When Griseldis arrived at the pet store, she looked up at the sign with the name "Magical Menagerie" that was written on it. Memories from the past flow through her mind. It wasn’t Griseldis’s first time visiting this place, she once came here with her older cousin Henry when she was six years old. She met the old couple in that pet store before and they were very nice people, the old lady would kindly let her try some of her homemade cookies, they were delicious. Griseldis had witnessed how Henry decided to pick a Great Horned Owl as his pet and named him Sylvester, meaning “Wood” or “Forest”. At that time, she felt a bit of envy but was also happy for him that he found a new friend. And now, it was Griseldis’s turn to find hers.

Griseldis’s heart started to beat really fast due to being too excited and slightly nervous. When she entered the store the bell above rang and got the attention of an old man who was sitting at the counter. The old man with white hair slowly looked up from his newspapers, seeing it was a young student. Then he put down the newspaper on the desk and greeted her with a friendly smile, “Hello there, young lady. Please come in and take a look around. No need to be shy.”, Griseldis nodded politely at him, and it seemed that he didn’t recognize her that she was the little girl who visited here five years ago with her cousin but that didn’t matter. She walked closer to the counter and asked the shopkeeper in front of her, “Hello, Mr. Witticker. I’m here to buy an owl, can you show me the owls you have here in this store?”, Mr. Witticker chuckled, not surprised that she knew his surname because a lot of witches and wizards knew him and his wife. “Of course, come, I’ll show you the owls.”

Following the shopkeeper, Griseldis saw many other animals. Cats, Toads, Rats and a few fluffy and colorful Pygmy Puffs floating around inside a glass box. Most girls loved to have a Pygmy Puff as a pet because of their adorable appearance but Griseldis wanted an owl since she was younger, she had dreamed to have an owl just like the one Harry Potter had, a loyal and intelligent owl. “Here are the owls we have, young lady.”, Mr. Witticker said and showed her the area where all the owls were. Wow, there are so many! Griseldis thought in awe, each owl was unique. There were Indian Eagle Owls, Morepork Owls, Tawny Owls, Barred Owls, Eastern Screech Owl, Great White Owls, and Snowy Owls, the one Harry Potter had. But there was one owl that caught Griseldis's full attention, she stopped and turned to the left. There she saw a large owl with many flecks of black plumage on its white feathers standing on a perch stand, closing its eyes as if it was sleeping peacefully. Its beauty almost took away Griseldis’s breath. The owl heard her footsteps coming nearer and opened its Amber eyes.

The shopkeeper watched as she and the owl staring at each other quietly and he didn’t want to interrupt them. Griseldis didn’t know why, but she felt a connection with this one. She reached out her hand and gently caressed the white owl’s head. The owl closed its eyes again and showed that it liked it. “Well, this is a very rare sight to see, she seems to trust you.” She? So the owl is a girl. Griseldis thought and stopped caressing the owl. “This is an Arctic Owl, she just turned 3 years old this month. Usually, she doesn’t like any stranger to come near her, she even once bit a guest’s finger for touching her and we almost got in trouble for that. So I’m surprised that she is willing to let you touch her so easily.” The shopkeeper explained to Griseldis, she looked back at the Arctic Owl and she looked at her as well, fluttering her wings and made a soft set of hoots.

Everything is crystal clear now…wait…crystal…THAT’S IT!

“Mr. Witticker, I decided to buy this owl and her name will be Crystal.” Griseldis said with a bright smile on her face, she then lifted her elbow up and the owl understood what she wanted her to do. She flew from the perch stand and landed gracefully on Griseldis’s elbow. She had her robe on with long sleeves so the owl’s sharp claws wouldn’t hurt her skin. “Crystal is a fine name for her. Alright then, you still need a cage so I’ll go fetch for you. Oh, and do you have enough money to buy her? She costs 15 Galleons.”, Griseldis grinned proudly and used her free hand to take out a pouch from her pocket robe. She showed it to the Shopkeeper, “I have 15 Galleons.”, the owl on her elbow spread her wings and hooted happily. “Hahaha, alright, alright. Just wait here, I’ll go get the cage and then I would need you to fill out the forms.” Mr. Witticker shook his head and laughed, the young girl was really well-prepared.

While waiting for the Shopkeeper, Griseldis and Crystal looked at each other, “Crystal, for now on we will be like Harry and Hedwig to go on a magical journey together.”

Word Count: 1033

Congratulations on your new pet!