Here's the next story! Enjoy!
Team: Puddlemere United
Position: Chaser One
Position Prompt: Tamagotchi
Optional Prompts: (color) mauve, (word) barbaric, (object) glitter
Word Count: 1090
Beta'ed by: JBrocks917. Thank you!
Ron Weasley was entrusted with a pet puffskein at the tender age of four, which turned out to be a very bad decision, both for the Weasleys and the creature in question.
Ron was so overjoyed to finally have a pet that he never let it go once until he got home, where he immediately ran up to his bedroom and began to pile up spare pillows and blankets to make a bed for it. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor, testing different names out loud to see which one sounded right for his new puffskein when his three year-old sister Ginny sauntered in and said, slightly stumbling over the word, "Pi-wi-geon."
"Piwigeon?"
"P-i-g-w-i-d-geon."
"Pigwidgeon?"
She nodded solemnly, pointing a pudgy finger at Ron's new puffskein.
"Pigwidgeon? Ginny, that's a —" He was interrupted by the puffskein, who had started to emit a low humming sound; according to the clerk at Magical Menagerie, this meant that the puffskein was deeply contented.
"Pigwidgeon!" Ginny said happily.
And so, Pigwidgeon the Puffskein came into existence.
After the glamour of actually having a pet wore off, Ron started to realize it wasn't all fun and games.
Of course, there were ups, such as a friend who wouldn't tease you, nag you, or make you feel stupid. A few bonuses were that Ron was sure to have a clean nose every day, as well as the fact that puffskeins ate spiders, ensuring that Ron's bedroom was kept arachnid-free.
However, were also downs. Ron was in charge of making sure Pigwidgeon was well fed, got enough fresh air, kept from drinking anything out of the toilet, and was taken on daily walks, occasionally aided by Ginny, who only added more responsibility to Ron's already full plate. The other members of his family were unable to help, being already occupied by their own tasks (or in the case of Fred and George, a better word would probably be shenanigans).
But, he still managed it, and by the time Ron turned five years old Pigwidgeon was still as healthy as could be.
But still, health can't last forever.
The first time Pigwidgeon got sick was a very fine spring morning. Ron was outside watching over Ginny as Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George played a game of Quidditch, when all of a sudden, the puffskein started to turn an alarming shade of red very rapidly.
"Ron?" asked Ginny, who was currently cradling Pigwidgeon in her arms. "Is this normal?" She held the animal up to Ron for his inspection.
"Definitely not," he decided after a moment, taking the puffskein and running inside. He was almost positive that Fred and George hadn't been able to get their hands on Pigwidgeon, so it probably couldn't have been a prank.
"Mum!" he called as he approached the kitchen, where delicious aromas were wafting out. "There's something wrong with Pig!"
"Oh dear," she said, taking her attention off of the bubbling stew on the stove. "That doesn't look so good." A quick reference to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them didn't help her diagnose Pigwidgeon, however, so she decided to make a visit to Magical Menagerie the next day, accompanied by Ron and Pig.
"Hmm," the witch at the counter mumbled, squinting at Pigwidgeon. The puffskein began to fidget under her gaze. "Probably just a common cold. Here, give it a teaspoon of this for a week" — she slid a dusty blue bottle across the counter — "and come back if there's any problems."
Mrs. Weasley thanked her and paid, and after a week Pig was good as new.
Pig's first birthday was a cause for a cake made from last night's leftovers, but he seemed happy nonetheless.
With a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' accompanied by many interruptions from Fred and George, and numerous presents to top it all off, it very well might have been the best day of Pig's life.
After almost three years with Pig, there occurred a terrible tragedy.
The twins were ten years old, almost off to Hogwarts, and their quest was to become two of the best Beaters Hogwarts had ever seen. They were truly dedicated, practicing day and night.
So it came as no surprise when the family Bludger was smashed to pieces.
And on a seemingly unrelated note, Ron was unable to find Pig, though he didn't find this too concerning at first.
The next day, at around noontime, everyone was seated at the table for lunch, when Fred and George suddenly cleared their throats and rose from their chairs.
"We have an announcement to make," said George, sounding almost ashamed.
Eyebrows went up. Since when were the twins ever embarrassed?
"Um — we — er — how do you say this — we kind of…killed Pig?" Fred winced, waiting for the explosion.
He was far from disappointed.
"YOU DID WHAT?" Ron yelled at them, standing up too.
"Well, you see," said George, sounding apologetic, "we were out last night —"
"— and as you know, the Bludger's broken," Fred continued, biting his lip.
"So we had the idea of using Pig as a Bludger."
"Except, well, you know how that absolutely brilliant plan turned out."
"We really are sorry."
Bill shook his head. "That's just barbaric."
Ron and Ginny, aided by Fred and George, dug the puffskein a little grave in the garden, and the following days saw Ron brooding and ignoring the twins, despite their (admittedly half-hearted) protests of "We needed a Bludger!" and "Puffskeins are supposed to be very durable, you know! It's not our fault, it's his! Or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, for lying to us!"
Ginny made Ron a card, reading 'I'm sorry that Pig died' in large red glittery letters along with an attempted sketch of Pig in mauve crayon.
Poor Pigwidgeon.
Four years later, Ron sat in his bedroom, trying to decide what name sounded best for the little ball of energy whizzing around his room that was the new owl Sirius Black had given him.
Ginny opened the door and stuck her head in, grinning evilly. "Pigwidgeon," she said simply.
"Ginevra Weasley, if you —" He was interrupted by a loud twittering sound, accompanied by the flutter of wings as the owl — no, Pigwidgeon II — flew over to rest on Ginny's shoulder.
Ron groaned mentally. No, not this again.
"Why, you —"
He stood up and ran after his sister, and although he could never catch her, he could hear her giggling all the way through the house.
