26 Chapter 25: Oz's Owl

Waking up the next day I only had one goal in mind before I needed to head off to Hogwarts. I wanted to get myself an Owl. Sadly, this was considered a luxury by Hogwarts 'Orphan Policy' so I wasn't supplied with the funds to get one from McGonagall, however with the money I had on hand anyway due to visiting Merlin's vault I was plenty able to buy an Owl for myself.

Heading downstairs into the pub I spotted the woman behind the counter again who remembered me, as she locked eyes with me, she ushered me over to the bar with a smile.

"It's nice to see you back here Oz"

"Thank you… I'm surprised you remembered me"

"I have a good memory you see, especially when it comes to customers. It helps business here"

I exchange some words with her for a bit longer before she asked if I had eaten yet. When she mentioned the wood 'food' I found the hunger set in that I was ignoring. I asked how much it would be to get some food from here however apparently meals were a part of the Orphan Policy. Such a convenient policy it was for me. Surprisingly she didn't mention the situation of me telling her to keep quiet about me being here before when McGonagall and me arrived yesterday, acting as though that didn't happen.

Sitting myself down I was soon brought over a classic English breakfast. It looked similar to the ones Nana made. I ate with speed and brought my plate to the bar thanking the woman for her hospitality. Immediately after, I waved her goodbye and headed out into Diagon Alley.

.

Walking down the alley I took my time really taking in every shop. The last few times I'd walked down this place I was on a time crunch, first with Nana needing to be healed those years back and yesterday with McGonagall waiting for me and testing me. Now however I had no rush, Hogwarts term didn't start for another 2 days so free time was abundant for me. After I got this owl I needed, I planned to shop a bit before heading back and spending the last couple days here relaxing.

With the trace now on me after taking that wand from Ollivander, I wasn't able to practice magic. When I got to school though I imagined I would be practicing basically every minute of every day when possible so it seemed like a nice idea to just dive into some books, read up and plan on what I need to practice for the year and then in two days' time head off to Hogwarts with multiple goals in mind.

Eventually I arrived at 'Eeylop's Owl Emporium'. Looking into the shop I noted that it was indeed dimly lit as explained in the books. Heading on in I looked around at the countless owls within the shop, waiting for owners. I couldn't see an owner yet or someone at the counter so I gathered they were just around the back doing something.

As I looked around the shop all the different Owls seemed to be peering back at me. The intelligence in some of their eyes was palpable as if they knew the reason for me being here. These are magical owls after all trained by a wizard, they were bound to be smarter and more intuitive than normal wild owls. Taking in the sight of all the owls I looked up at a black cage hanging from the ceiling, inside was an owl that was peering deeply at me. As I looked at this Owl I felt a strange affinity to it, all the other owls were cool but this one felt 'right'.

"Seems you've already picked what owl you want then?"

Walking out from the back was an old wizard who seemed to be the manager. On his robes were different feathers and on his hands were bite marks, presumably from the owls here. He looked at me with a smile noting I had made my decision on which owl I wanted here.

"That owl, he's a feisty one also probably one of the most unique owls here. Much like wands, owls like to pick their companions and when they noticed your age, they knew that you were going to buy one for yourself most likely and not for someone else. The ones staring at you deeply are intrigued by you and your personality. Honestly this is the first time I've seen the owls in here so interested in a child"

I took in the managers words as I revaluated my opinion on Owls here in the emporium. In the original story, Hagrid buys Harry his owl Hedwig and they seemed to bond pretty easily. Due to that I just gathered it was as simple as walking in and buying the owl you liked however it seemed there were more steps when you were coming here to buy one for yourself as the owls are literally judging you to some extent. My eyes stayed fixed on the black cage with the owl I wanted, the manager looked up at the cage again and explained further.

"That one's a Screech owl. Now on its own a screech owl isn't unique however it's the colour of his feathers that make him unique. Usually, they never get that dark however his are basically jet black. Also, if you look closely at his eyes, you can see he doesn't actually have pupils. It's like two black eyes with stars within them. I honestly thought he was blind at first however he seems to know where he's going despite these unique eyes. He's never let me get anywhere near him for a closer look though…"

The owl the manager was raving about was truly unique. I was staring at it as I just felt like he was the right choice however as the manager explained further, I started to like him more and more. The manager brought the little guy down and placed him on the counter so I could take a closer look. The feathers on the little guy were truly pure black which made him look incredibly cool in my books. Not only that, the eyes were the most mystical part. As the manager said, the eyes of the owl were like two blackish purple circles with no pupil or the usual yellow eye colour prevalent at all. Staring into this owls' eyes was literally like looking into space.

"I'll buy him"

"Hold your horses now son, as I said he's a unique one. I need to first see if he truly wants to go with you. If he does then we can arrange you purchasing him"

"Okay, how do you want to test whether he wants to go with me then?"

The manager smiles as he opened the black cage door tepidly, as if worried that the owl would go for him. It made me wary of how this owl behaved considering the manager of an owl shop was even keeping his distance…

"Put your hand in there and stroke him. If he bites or retaliates then that means he probably won't be the owl for you. If he lets you stroke him though, then he most certainly wants to be with you"

If you told me this morning when I woke up and had breakfast that this was how buying an owl would go, I would have instantly called you a liar. It felt a lot more personal this way honestly, seeing if the owls accepted you before you bought them. I understood that Harry just got his gifted from Hagrid however now I think about it Hagrid is a tamer of beasts so he probably just picked the most docile and intelligent one for Harry so the whole 'trust' part wasn't an issue.

I slowly put my hand forward and into the cage with the owl in it. It seemed to stare at me as I made my movements, simply locking with my gaze. As my hand entered the cage the owl didn't even flinch which made me start to feel as though it really was blind due to its eyes. As my hand approached underneath its chin though, I saw it lift it head up welcoming me to give a little scratch. I scratched underneath his chin and then stroked his black feathers that were incredibly soft. I wasn't no owl expert but it seemed as though this little guy really did like me as it didn't even retaliate at all, simply allowing me to stroke him. The manager looked at the black owl with a sad yet warm smile.

"Looks like you finally found the companion for you. Okay then lad, you are free to purchase him"

The manager closed the cage door which the owl stayed within. I reached into my extension pouch and brought out the coin purse inside with all my galleons. I knew this would take a chunk off my money but having an owl would be useful in the long term.

"That comes to around 70 Galleons, 4 Sickles and 22 Knuts lad. Do you have enough on you right now?"

Estimating the conversion in my head, this owl came to around £350 which seemed reasonable. Taking out the right amount I paid the manager.

"Included in your first purchase is an Owl care kit alongside food for your owl…"

The manager brought up a bag onto the counter that had a bunch of items inside, all for looking after the owl. Looking at it all I started to think whether it was going to be a tie looking after this little guy however I then remembered at Hogwarts they are looked after in The Owlery pretty well anyway so I just needed to visit him there and then when possible.

I took the bag off the managers hands and put it into my extension pouch alongside my coin purse as well.

"Any ideas what you are going to call him yet?"

The manager asked me this question as I grabbed the cage, holding it up in my hands. I looked at the owl deeply.

"Honestly… I'm not the best at naming things. I'll think about it later"

"Fair enough lad. Thank you for coming to Eeylop's owl emporium. If you need anything more in the future in regards to your owl you are always welcome back"

I gave the manager a nod as I left with my new owl in hand. Now came the difficult part of today, naming this little guy. I headed directly back to the Leaky Cauldron and up to my room. Placing the owl on my desk in my room I opened the cage door. The owl stared at me blankly for a moment with his galaxy like eyes.

"You're free to come out for a bit"

The owl after hearing my words hopped out of his cage. He stretched his wings out fully, then retracting them again before coming over to me who was sat on the bed. He hopped up next to me and then got onto my shoulder, nestling himself into my cheek.

"You're certainly acting all cute… are you doing this just because you want food"

"Hoot!"

"Of course,"

Seemed this little owl knew exactly what to do when it wanted food. I honestly now worried about sending him to Melony and Nana as I know for a fact Melony will fall for these little tricks each time as she was weak to animals acting like this. Seeing as though I had just bought him though, I decided to get some food out and feed him.

"I really need to give him a name…"

Nothing came to mind as I thought hard on the matter, I watched him eat from my palm with a happy expression whilst contemplating what he could be called. Looking back up at me after he finished eating, I stared deep into his galaxy like eyes.

"Perhaps ill name you…. Nyx"

He seemed to like the name given to him as he spread his wings out with joy. I smiled as I lifted the little guy over to his cage where he obediently hopped back in and started to fall asleep. Now I had an owl I think I needed to register him with Hogwarts… I imagine I can just ask the woman downstairs about that though as she seems to act as a liaison between Hogwarts and its orphan students who are left here before the new term.

Come to think of it… I hadn't seen any other students here yet. It made me wonder if there weren't many coming into school this year through the orphan policy. Then again if it was a normal 11-year-old they would probably buy what they need with their guider in Diagon Alley and then just stay in their room in the Leaky Cauldron tucked away until the start of the term, only going down for dinner. I always seemed to go down for breakfast instead when I was here so I probably just missed them or just didn't take notice…

It was getting late and I didn't feel that tired yet. Digging into my pouch I pulled out a few books I still needed to read, the one in my hand currently was the Newt's 'Magical beasts and where to find them'. I thought to pass the time until dinner I could just read this.

Burying my head in its pages, time passed quickly. Dinnertime came round and I went downstairs, ate and immediately headed back up to read again. Soon the night came to a close and I tucked myself into bed after a chilled-out day.

Only 1 more day until the new term at Hogwarts started.