บท 109: The Unidentifiable Pet
"I guess it's... well, the Ministry's owl," Anthony said. "You know, that agency abbreviated as M.o.M."
His students had agreed on a set of pronouns and code words during their trip, and Anthony needed to follow their way of speaking.
He looked at the owl, wondering who he should report this to.
"Are you sure, Professor?" Fred leaned on the glass to watch the bird. "Doesn't that mean it has no owner now?"
"Why?" Anthony asked, puzzled.
"Ankle bracelets," George explained. "Unlike private owls or the school owls that start with H, M.o.M. owls all wear anklets." His eyes sparkled as he raised his head, "Professor, can we adopt it?"
When Anthony brought his students to the pet rescue center, he hadn't expected to encounter a Ministry of Magic owl—or its skeletal cat nemesis—here, nor did he anticipate that the Weasley twins would be the first to ask him about adopting it.
"I'll go back and do some research," Anthony said thoughtfully. "Let me think about it... By the way, even if it can be adopted, you'll need to make sure no other classmates want it. If that's the case, come to me after you've worked it out, okay?"
The Weasley twins confidently set off to find their classmates. Anthony watched as they randomly grabbed a classmate, pointed at the eager owl, and said something, to which the classmate nodded blankly. The twins exchanged smiles before running into the crowd, hugging several classmates, and pointing at the owl...
Anthony turned to Ms. Howard. He needed to find a reason why it would be okay and appropriate for them to adopt a "wild animal."
…
With their gleaming eyes, familiar gestures when they saw the animal, and a strange affinity for the raptor, Anthony's talented students managed to persuade Ms. Howard to extend the scheduled half-hour interaction to a full hour.
The student who had impulsively wanted to get a dog had just finished cleaning himself and stepped into the kennel when he was immediately surrounded by eager dogs.
As soon as he tentatively extended his hand to the nearest dog, all the dogs flocked around him. They wagged their tails enthusiastically, leaned on him, and nuzzled his chest and arms. Even before he opened the dog food, his hands were already wet from being licked.
"Oh my God!" he exclaimed, laughing as he tried to pet each one. Finally, his hands weren't enough. He gently pushed an enthusiastic dog's head aside, touched the wand tucked into his jeans, and shouted to his friends who were watching from outside, "Come in, you lot! Help!"
His friends received an equally warm welcome upon entering the kennel. The dogs seemed tireless, eagerly crowding around them, barking with excitement. It wasn't until the Weasley twins rolled up their sleeves and dove into the pile of wagging tails with the same wild energy that the scene finally reached a semblance of balance.
...
The cat on the other side wasn't much better. Midgen made a mistake—she crouched down.
These squealing furballs immediately began tugging at her trouser legs, trying to climb onto her knees, or hooked onto the hem of her clothes, attempting to scale her body. She maintained her crouch, unsure of what to do, until a majestic white cat gracefully jumped onto her lap and rubbed its head against her chin.
Midgen reached out to stroke its head. The cat immediately responded by rubbing its face against her hand and glaring fiercely at the little tabby cat attempting to climb onto her shoes.
The lower-status cat retreated and rolled on the ground, trying to attract Midgen's attention. An adventurous kitten tried to rub against her back, but the white cat extended its claws and swiped at it without mercy, nearly scratching Midgen in the process. Then it turned back around and resumed its affectionate behavior, purring softly at her.
A kitten meowed and tried to approach again, but was promptly chased away by the large white cat beside it.
To Anthony's surprise, Midgen almost burst into tears.
With tears in her eyes, she looked at Anthony, who was standing outside, and cried, "Professor! Professor Anthony!"
"Come on out," Anthony said, stepping in and gently taking her elbow to help her stand up. As he walked in, all the cats scattered, even the beautiful white cat on Midgen's lap jumped down to harass other students.
Yes, the white cat was indeed very jealous.
Anthony led her outside and asked, "What's wrong?" He glanced around and saw that most of the students were enjoying themselves.
Midgen said sadly, "I... I can only keep one cat. I can't take them all."
As Anthony looked down at Midgen, Ms. Howard, who was standing by the door, nodded understandingly and said softly, "It's not your fault, dear. If you end up adopting one, I'm sure that cat's life will be much happier. But don't feel guilty about not adopting the others, and don't feel guilty about choosing one over the rest."
She continued, "They won't live a hard life because of you. You don't need to feel responsible for their futures. Your classmates have done a wonderful job and shown great maturity." With a kind smile, she took out a bottle of soda, opened it, and handed it to Midgen. "Here, have something to drink. I'm happy for your future cat, and I believe you'll be a great owner. You may be new to this, but you'll be a good owner."
Midgen was stunned for a few seconds, then rushed forward and hugged the Muggle woman tightly. Anthony quickly took the soda from Ms. Howard's hand to prevent any spills.
"What kind of cat do you like?" Ms. Howard asked softly, patting Midgen on the back.
"I'm not sure," Midgen replied. "At first, I just wanted a cat that would like me, but..." She paused to think, "I want a cat like Professor Anthony's."
"Oh, you don't want that," Anthony said immediately. With his cat's temperament and feistiness, probably only a Necromancer would be unaffected.
But he had a vague idea of what kind of cat Midgen wanted. He asked Ms. Howard, "Can we take a look at the animals outside the interactive area?"
Ms. Howard looked at him in surprise, hesitated, then nodded. She called a volunteer over and asked him to lead them to the back.
The animals in the interactive area were generally healthy and beautiful, the ones most likely to be adopted. In a large area behind the rescue center, there were faint barks, snorts, and other strange noises. Anthony knew this was where the animals that were harder to rehome lived.
They were either bad-tempered or disabled, bearing too many scars from their past. It didn't take a third eye to see that adopting one of these animals would require far more energy and patience than usual, with no guaranteed sense of accomplishment.
But for wizards, with the help of potions, disabilities were not always permanent. Perhaps Midgen could find a grumpy cat here—one that, despite its rough demeanor, would come to rely on her completely.
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