Arthur would have liked to say that the first time he had spotted Errol, the owl had been resting magnificently on a perch in Eeylops. That was what he had always imagined his owl to be: a magnificent specimen that was the envy of everyone who saw him.
He'd dreamt of the day he would go to buy a family owl with Molly since fifth year. That an owl would float down towards them, settling on a nearby perch, and hoot regally to garner their attention.
A sudden thud against his head, and a haphazard wing across his eyes were all the warning Arthur got before the owl was asleep with his beak pressed into his skull. Molly giggled softly at his side, and the storekeeper rushed towards them, red-faced and apologetic.
"He does that a lot," the shopkeeper muttered, carefully removing the bird from Arthur's hair. "He's a good owl, really, but he was involved in an accident with his last owner, a Potion Master, and hasn't been the same since."
The owl bolted upright as soon as the wizard's hands began stroking his feathers and peered at Arthur as Molly dragged him to look at the other owls. Arthur thought the look held a hint of betrayal, and he turned away, determined not to look at the owl again.
It was Molly who kept turning back to look at the odd owl every few minutes, no matter the rich brown barn owl that craned its neck towards them, nor the beautiful white owl that seemed determined to proudly ignore them.
"I know what you're thinking, Molly, but we have to get an owl that's functional," Arthur whispered.
"He's functional! He'll only take a little longer to deliver our post, and be a little more clumsy, but that doesn't mean he's less of an owl than any of the others!" Molly's arms were crossed now, and Arthur knew he wasn't going to win this battle.
He'd tried it several times before with no success. Molly was the hard-headed woman he had fallen in love with, and Arthur knew he gave into her requests more often than he probably should, but if Molly said they would manage; they would manage.
Even if Lucius had a good laugh at Arthur's expense. If he could train the owl to do so, Arthur would train the bird to fall asleep on Lucius's hair as often as possible – and Arthur thought he may send letters to Lucius for that purpose alone.
Arthur held Molly's eye for a moment longer, before relenting with a heavy sigh.
"What would you like to name him?"
Molly smiled widely at Arthur's question, and pulled Arthur along with her towards the front of the store, where the shopkeeper was still keeping an eye on the owl.
"Errol. Because he just took a roll and landed on your head for us to notice him." Molly snickered at Arthur's slack-jawed expression.
"I feel like the entire family is going to know the story by the next family gathering," Arthur whined, dragging his feet towards the shopkeeper to inform the wizard of their ridiculous decision.
The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – Emu up a gum tree: Write about Pigwidgeon or Errol being selected by the Weasleys