Written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition
Position: Seeker
Prompt: Write about getting a pet for the first time and it turning out to be different than expected
Growing up, there had always been a wish for a family dog. She knew that that would never happen as her mother was allergic to dogs but still hoped that one day, she would be able to have a dog. Of course, that would have to wait until such a time as she no longer lived with her parents. Which she could handle, she was a patient person. Most of the time.
There would always be a bit of sadness in her that she had never gotten a dog when young but her parents had sat her down once when she had decided to throw a rather large tantrum about the lack of dog in the house. It had been explained to her that a dog would not be possible and her dreams had slowly faded into the background. Still, Lily Evans believed that she would one day have the dog she desired.
That was until she met a boy called Severus Snape who told her all about the magical world that she was apparently a part of. For witches and wizards, it was normal to have either a cat, owl or toad. Lily was rather annoyed at the inclusion of cat but not dog. She didn't particularly want a cat but also had no idea of what she would do with a toad. An owl was interesting but how exactly would she care for it? So, it was decided that she would have a cat. A cat was an acceptable animal in a muggle neighbourhood, after all. Thus making it easier to hide the fact that one of the Evans' daughters was not entirely normal.
Diagon Alley was rather crowded on the day they went to collect school things for Lily. It was there that the animal they had decided on changed in a rather dramatic fashion. Lily had been looking over the different cats that were available for purchase and had reached the point where she was debating over two of them.
They were both adorable and she liked the playful manner in which they moved around the display case they were in. According to the salesperson, the cats were also more intelligent than normal cats, which was a bonus. She had just been about to pick one up when an owl swooped down at her and placed itself on her shoulder.
Lily froze when the owl situated itself on her person, arms still extended to pick up a cat. The owl didn't seem to mind, merely stayed where it was and hooted softly in a satisfied sort of manner. Her parents and sister all looked warily at the bird on her shoulder while the shopperson grinned happily.
"Ah. I see young Felix has taken a liking to you."
Lily turned her eyes to look at him, still frozen, "Felix?"
The man nodded, "He's one of our more difficult customers, never seems to agree with anyone who thinks to purchase him."'
"What does that mean for me?"
The owl - Felix - nudged his head against hers and hooted softly again. The man shrugged apologetically, "I'm afraid it seems as though you have been claimed by dear Felix here. And I do believe he's rather possessive. He most likely won't allow you to have another animal that could possibly draw your attention away from him."
"But what do I do with an owl?"
"You send letters, of course!" The man was shocked that the young girl in front of him didn't see the use of owls. "If you didn't have your own owl, you'd have to pay to use one of the Post Owls. I assure you, it's much easier to just have your own owl."
Her father cleared his throat then, "That's all very well but we live in a place full of those who are unaware of magic's existence. An owl is rather conspicuous, how are we expected to hide the fact that Lily has an owl for a pet?"
"All of our owls come with a slight notice-me-not charm embedded in their feathers. It means that the muggles won't pay any attention to Felix here, their eyes will just skip over him."
Lily thought it over, slowly straightening up and bringing her hands out of the cat enclosure. She thought about what an owl would mean. The man was right, it would be incredibly convenient to be able to send letters to anyone. And she was already quite attached to the bird on her shoulder that kept butting her head and hooting.
He seemed to know that she was unsettled and wanted to make her feel better. An owl wasn't a cat or a dog but it was on the list of accepted animals for Hogwarts. If what the man said was correct, she didn't have much of a choice anyway. Felix had decided he liked her and that was enough for him to decide he would go with her and belong to her. Though she had a feeling that he wouldn't be much of a kept pet, he was more likely to be a free spirit.
So long as he was around when she wanted him though, she could handle him flying off for some time. "How do I care for him?" She asked the man, her decision made.
He fell into a lecturing mode, giving her a speech she was sure he had given many others. "The most important thing is to give him his freedom. Owls do not handle being cooped up well. Look after his feathers and make sure that he rests enough between postal deliveries. You can't ask him to carry heavy packages without either lightening the package or giving him a boost of strength.
"He will like to have treats every so often which we stock here," he showed her a bin of owl treats. "If you treat him right, he'll become your best friend. Don't worry about him flying away, he'll want to hunt for his own food sometimes and he will always fly back to you. He likes you, he's formed a bond with you and that means that he'll always know where you are."
He continued on, telling her all the little things about owl care and she nodded to everything he said, taking it all in. She may have once wanted a dog, settled on a cat and then been selected by an owl but that didn't mean she wasn't going to care for the owl as best she could. In fact, she might even care for him more. He had chosen her not the other way round, she would have to show him that he had made the right choice.
That day, Lily Evans returned home with an owl on her shoulder. In a few years, she would get her desired dog in the form of her friend Sirius Black who managed to become a dog animagus. Until then, she had Felix and she was perfectly happy with that.