Thea entered the shop shyly, not knowing what to do. Was she just going to go up to a counter and ask for a pet? Well, that was certainly not an option, as she didn't even know what animal companion to help her on a journey through Hogwarts she wanted. Having a pet was a long-time dream of hers, and while Cookie was an amazing family dog, she wanted a pet to help her through her Magical school life as well... and Hogwarts didn't seem to allow dogs.

She looked around, and fortunately, no clerk was there to demand immediate purchase. Getting permission to get her own pet cat, toad or rat was hard and took her the entirety of her first year, so she was not going to have it ruined. But for now, there was no one there and she had all the time in the world to decide which pet she wanted to take home. The Hufflepuff knew one thing - it was going to be a boy, and she was going to name him, whoever he turned out to be, Bu.

Thea looked around and felt slightly overwhelmed by the amount of smaller or bigger eyes watching her. The animals, however mostly in cages or just... generally far away from the tiny girl, she didn't want her eyes clawed out by angering some poor owl. She cautiously approached the toads first, as they seemed the least harmful of all the animals.

Toads were always really something, weren't they? They were probably the second most common "familiar" you'd see a witch have, at least in the fairy tales Thea knew. Toads and cats. And maybe crows. But while the Hufflepuff had nothing against the creatures, she knew they just weren't for her. They were impressive in some weird sense, but not exactly what she - or her parents - wanted to see being brought home.

She moved onto the owls and had to have her head up as she looked up at the majestic birds. She could almost imagine having an owl on her arm already, looking majestic. Looking tough, like someone you don't want to mess with. Looking royal. And with that, she moved away. "Tough," or "Majestic", or "Royal" were not adjectives she'd use to describe herself. Cats were a definite no, so she walked past the adorable fluffs with a heavy heart. She loved them, but Cookie for sure didn't. And maybe her dad had an allergy, but she didn't want her new feline friend to end up mauled by the family dog.

So there was her last choice. Rats. She knelt to look at the cages lower, and with all honesty, she admitted to herself - a rat would fit her. Small, and hopefully quiet, it was exactly what she'd hoped for. The Hufflepuff would also almost swear that one of her more distant cousins had one and it was so adorable. One of them decided to approach Thea, and her heart was immediately stolen by the little guy.

The girl turned around and looked at the clerk who seemed so bored out of his mind like he was watching Thea make her decision for longer than he should've. "Uh..." she stuttered, but the clerk seemingly read her mind, got up, and helped her get everything she needed for the rat. "Thank you," she whispered, putting the galleons she'd managed to save up on the counter, but she was completely occupied with the pet.

Bu.

Word Count: 585

What animal do you wish to purchase? Grey Rat
What do you want to name it? Bu
Is this a boy or a girl? Boy
What is your pet's date of birth? 6th of December, 2019