Upon entering the Magical Menagerie, Ron was immediately drawn to all sorts of adorable little animals, looking around with a mixture of confusion and delight on his face.
"Good day, Mrs. Ethel, it's been a long time!"
Levi took the initiative to greet Mrs. Ethel, a regular customer.
Good day, little Levi! And this magical purple kitten, and this adorable little Owl!
It's been two years, and you've grown so tall! Time really flies!
Time had added two wrinkles to Mrs. Ethel's face, but she remained as kind and gentle as ever.
"We're all little wizards, of course we grow up fast, but you haven't aged at all!"
Levi smiled and offered compliments, then inquired about the animal care tips he had left behind—were they useful?
"Of course it works! If it weren't for your secret technique, I wouldn't be able to handle these Hustle little guys! A bunch of troublemakers!"
Mrs. Ethel chuckled and asked Hermione, Ron, and the other young wizards why they had come, inquiring whether any of their pets were sick and needed special care.
"No, Mrs. Ethel, I want a new pet!"
"My former pet, it... he... he died of old age!"
Ron gritted his teeth and expressed his desire for a new pet, conveying his "best wishes" to Peter Pettigrew!
"That's right, Ron's pet died a horrible death!"
Harry echoed Ron's words, gritting his teeth as he spoke:
"But this isn't Ron's fault, and we hope to give Ron a new pet so he can start a new life!"
Harry Potter certainly thought so; the things that happened last school year went by too fast!
He had just learned from the newspaper that Sirius Black had escaped from prison, and he had just made up his mind to take revenge himself.
Levi then directly reported it, which also made Harry Potter realize who the real culprit was who caused his parents' deaths!
But just as he shifted his hatred, his godfather Sirius was reunited with him amidst everyone's blessings!
The intense hatred and the ecstatic joy of reunion intertwined, making neither emotion as strong as the other!
Compared to the hurt he suffered upon learning the truth, Ron, who spent every day with Peter Pettigrew, was the one who was hurt the most!
Just putting himself in Ron's shoes gave Harry Potter goosebumps!
"Oh, I see! You're a Weasley family, right? I'm sorry to hear that..."
Mrs. Ethel began using a fixed phrase in English, then changed the subject, speaking in a friendly tone:
"Then take your time to choose, Ron. Surely one of these cuties will want to be your new friend!"
Upon hearing Mrs. Ethel's words, Ron immediately looked expectantly at the small animals in the shop, while Levi and the others patiently waited for Ron to make his selection.
The Magical Menagerie doesn't sell Fantastic Beasts from the Wizarding World; however, most of the pets sold here have Fantastic Beasts lineage, are exceptionally intelligent, and some even possess some kind of magical ability.
Looking around, the shop is filled with all kinds of cats of different colors and sizes, as well as dogs of various sizes, all full of Hustle.
The Hoothoot cooed and tilted their heads to examine them; the Uproar ravens and the adorable Pygmy Puff; toads of all sizes, motionless and listless; even a magical rabbit that could suddenly turn into a hat; and a mouse that hopped around like a jump rope with its tail...
Wait! There are rats here!
Ron couldn't help but shudder, as if he'd been electrocuted, and averted his gaze from the rat!
He hates rats and mice the most! They're even more annoying than spiders!
With that thought in mind, Ron immediately turned his attention to those lazy and adorable cats!
Compared to mice, Ron suddenly found these Fluffy cats, who were natural predators of mice, incredibly cute!
He's decided: his new pet will be a cat!
But before choosing a cat, Ron had one more question to ask Mrs. Ethel:
"Mrs. Ethel, which of your cats did you raise from kittens to adulthood?"
I mean, you raised him yourself!
"I want a cat that has been raised from a kitten. Such cats are more affectionate, and they must be very pitiful that they haven't been sold yet. I want to take care of such a cat!"
Ron said half-jokingly, though he did feel pity, but more than anything, he was afraid of getting hurt once and being wary of even a rope.
In his opinion, those cats that Mrs. Sel had raised from kittens couldn't possibly be Animagus forms of other wizards!
Although Ron knew that there weren't that many illegal Animagus in the Wizarding World, and he didn't have the luck to encounter another one.
But there was no way around it; Ron just felt uncomfortable and wanted to choose a cat that had been raised from a kitten!
Ideally, it should be someone who is extremely good at catching mice!
Mrs. Ethel was delighted to hear Ron's words; it was rare to find a young wizard who loved small animals so much. She immediately introduced him herself:
"I've raised very few cats myself, and even fewer kittens that haven't yet found their own owners!"
"There is indeed one cat left that hasn't found an owner who likes it yet, but you might not like it!"
As Mrs. Ethel spoke, she pointed with Ron to a large, strangely shaped cat, and Levi and the others looked in the direction Mrs. Ethel was pointing.
On the cat tree lay a large, ginger-yellow cat with a flat face, as if it had just bumped its head against a wall. It had bowed legs and a bushy tail like a bottle brush. It was scrutinizing Ron and the others with its yellow, lamp-like eyes.
"This cat... it's kind of adorably ugly!"
Before Ron could even offer his opinion, Hermione, a seasoned cat lover, couldn't help but smile and comment.
"It seems you like it very much," Mrs. Ethel said to Hermione with a smile, and then introduced it:
"This cat may look a bit strange, but that's because it has the blood of a Fantastic Beasts Kneazle, giving it extremely high intelligence and the ability to orient itself. In particular, thanks to the keen senses of its Kneazle lineage, it can identify bad people and Foresight disguises!"
As if sensing that this strangely-looking big cat would meet its owner today, Mrs. Ethel introduced it with extra enthusiasm, saying many good things about the cat.
Sure enough, Ron's eyes lit up when he heard Mrs. Ethel say that! He had been tricked by Peter Pettigrew so badly!
Just as Hermione had said, when Ron looked at the big cat again, he suddenly found it to be adorably ugly and quite amusing!
And this cat, just like him, was left unattended in the Magical Menagerie, much like he was ignored in the Weasley family, which immediately evoked a sense of shared misfortune.
"Mrs. Ethel, what's its name?"
Ron stared intently at the adorably ugly big cat, already having made up his mind that this was the one!
"His name is Crookshanks, and he's a very smart and brave boy, just like a little lion!"
Mrs. Ethel replied with a smile, already guessing that Crookshanks had met its true master today.