Buying a Pet

I had money, so I could do whatever I wanted! I spoke for myself.

Then came the apothecary. The smell was absolutely awful, even more sour and pungent than Old Altar Pickled Cabbage! It was filthy, selling tails, tongues, feathers, bird heads, potions, hay... Harry quickly picked out ten times the required amount of standard potion ingredients and fled.

Damn, was this even a place for people?

At last, they had nearly finished buying everything on the list. Only a wand and a pet remained.

They first came to an Owl Emporium. Seeing so many owls staring intently at him, Harry was startled. Then he noticed a black cage several times larger than the others.

He asked the shop owner what it was.

The owner replied, "Owls are the noblest and most popular of pets. Not only can they deliver letters and parcels for wizards, but they can understand human language and are very intelligent. But I think owls will eventually be phased out. So I caught a young eagle from the Snow Mountain and raised it, hoping to see whether it would be popular."

Harry could not help looking at the Pet Shop owner in a new light. Wizards with such business sense and a talent for innovation were rare.

"And how did that turn out?"

The owner said, "My face hurts a little."

Harry said, "(⊙⊙)..."

"Does it have some drawback?"

"Yes, one enormous drawback!" the owner said weakly.

Then forget it. Harry was somewhat disappointed. When he heard it was an eagle, he had been genuinely excited, because among owls, he only found a few of them fairly attractive. (Luo Bei: So... it was about whether they looked good...?)

But eagles? There was no question about it—they were the embodiment of handsome majesty. In an age when everyone used owls, he would use an eagle. Wouldn't that instantly raise his status by several levels?

What a pity...

"What drawback does it have?" Harry asked casually, already picking out an owl.

"Expensive!!" the owner said succinctly.

Harry nearly spat out blood.

Then he walked back to the eagle cage and said disdainfully, "Expensive? I'm so poor that all I have left is money!! Open it up and let me have a look... If I'm satisfied, you'll be richly rewarded!"

The owner wore a conflicted expression. "Do I need to say that this humble concubine cannot comply?"

With a swish, the black cloth was lifted. An eagle crouched inside, its gaze sharp and fierce. It truly deserved to be called the King of the Sky. It stood as high as Harry's thigh, with a white neck and a dark body, radiating an imposing aura.

Harry's eyes lit up, and drool ran from his mouth. (Luo Bei: Is he getting ready to eat it?)

"I'll take it," Harry said calmly.

"What, what..." The owner clearly had not recovered from his shock.

Then tears streamed down his aged face. He had displayed this eagle for two days. Lots of people had looked at it, but every one of them backed down upon hearing the price. He had long since given up hope.

Ignoring his tear-streaked face, Harry asked, "How many Galleons?"

The owner carefully watched Harry's expression and said, "Well, this eagle is the first postal eagle in the wizarding world. It has about three times the lifespan of an ordinary owl, it's highly intelligent, it's handsome, it..."

Harry's face darkened. "Enough already. Just tell me the price!"

The owner smiled awkwardly and tested the waters. "I can see that you have extraordinary bones, unmatched talent, a full forehead and a square jaw. You are truly a dragon and phoenix among men, so..."

"Uh, no. So I've decided to give you the supreme discounted price: one percent off!" the owner declared firmly, looking utterly righteous.

"Go die," Harry said speechlessly.

"Don't be like that! Final offer—two percent off, three percent off. Fine, seeing how sincere you are, no more bargaining: four percent off." The owner talked a blue streak.

Harry stared hard at the owner, confirming that he had no Chinese people bloodline. That only made him more confused.

Why didn't you say, "Not 998, not 898, only 799"?

"Lowest price: seventy-five Galleons!" The owner trembled all over as though someone had cut off a piece of his flesh.

No wonder nobody bought it. An owl only cost around ten to fifteen Galleons, but this eagle cost seven times as much. Other than someone stupid with too much money, who would buy it?

A sevenfold difference! For example, you could originally have had seven stunningly beautiful girlfriends, but now you could only have one! Get it? (Luo Bei: What a powerful example!)

Harry counted out seventy Galleons from his pouch and tossed them to the owner. Then he had Hagrid carry the birdcage as they left.

The shop owner hurriedly put away the Galleons, afraid Harry might regret it.

Harry bought two giant ice creams at a snack shop and gave one to Hagrid. Curious, he asked, "I spent so much money on a pet. Why didn't you stop me?"

Hagrid took a lick, instantly removing a third of it, and mumbled, "That eagle's a very rare breed."

Harry understood immediately. Whenever animals were involved, Hagrid's intelligence generally dropped below zero.

There was proof of this:

For a Dragon Egg, Hagrid had told a stranger how to deal with a Three-Headed Dog. Though... Hagrid had been drunk at the time.

When Harry passed another Pet Shop and heard the adorable "meow, meow" of cats coming from inside, he could not move another step. Harry loved cute animals like cats. Was there anyone who did not like cats?

But... the school only allowed one pet. (Luo Bei: See Chapter 3.)

A toad, a cat, or an owl. One of the three. Most people would choose an owl.

But Harry felt that this had already lost the meaning of having a pet, because an owl did not really count as a pet—it was an assistant. Didn't that make the chance to bring a pet practically meaningless?

Not knowing what to do, Harry still had Hagrid, didn't he?

Harry raised his head and asked, "Hagrid, I want to bring two pets to Hogwarts. Is there any way?"

Hagrid did not immediately say no. Instead, he thought about it. (Luo Bei: Terrifying. Hagrid could actually think. Hagrid silently suffered emotional damage nearby.)

He answered, "Ordinary people naturally can't, but you're an exception."

Harry thought, See? This is the advantage of being handsome! (Luo Bei: Coughing up blood...)

"You can write a letter to Headmaster Dumbledore. I don't think he'll refuse." Hagrid's eyes blinked beneath his tangled hair.

"Great." Cat People were really adorable.

Then Harry entered the Pet Shop that sold cats, but Hagrid did not go in because he hated the sound of cats meowing.

Hagrid clearly loved animals. He even thought giant spiders and Three-Headed Dogs were cute, yet he disliked genuinely adorable cats. How strange. Did he have some kind of psychological trauma involving cats?

It seemed... Professor McGonagall's Animagus form was a cat. Could it be... Harry thought darkly.

Outside, Hagrid suddenly sneezed. "It's summer. Could I have caught a cold?"

Before long, Harry came out holding a cardboard box in his arms. Inside was a pure white cat. Its watery sky-blue eyes were like the heavens, like the sea. From time to time, it gave an adorable "meow," stretched out its little paws, licked them, and smoothed the fur on its head.

Too cute, wasn't it!!!

This snow-white cat was the cutest one. As for the price, well, you only needed to know that it had the word "most" in it!

Luo Bei: I really like cats. When I read the original work, Hagrid didn't buy Harry a cat because he disliked cats, and it truly broke my heart. Besides, I feel that owls really can't be considered pets. They can't stay by your side all the time, and they aren't cute.

So I added this setting where Harry had a Cat Person.

While writing this book, I looked up a lot of information. I had to sort out the relationships and make sure certain years were not wrong. There were many hidden details to watch out for, and I had to distinguish between the original work and the films. The plot could not become a complete mess, I could not toss in melodramatic stuff like Sharingan, Dou Qi, or Divine Beasts, and I could not distort the characters' personalities. It was difficult.

Also: in the previous chapter, I said Malfoy's mother was an Oscar-winning actress because she used Oscar-level acting to deceive Voldemort. That part was interesting; you can check it out.

And also: I didn't make up the owl prices. J.K. Rowling established them in an interview.