บท 13: 13: Pet Cat
"Owls, cats, and toads, these are three pets that little wizards can choose."
Because he had sufficient funds, Ivan decided to buy both a cat and an owl as pets.
Owls are excellent companions for wizards, possessing a unique magic.
As long as you think of the name and appearance of the recipient, the owl can accurately deliver the letter to them, provided there is no shielding spell around the recipient.
"So beautiful."
Outside the pet shop, Hermione admired a pure white snow owl through the glass and was tempted to buy it.
However, having spent a considerable amount of galleons on books, her financial situation for her first year at school was not very promising.
"I still have plenty of galleons, you can exchange some pounds from me," Ivan offered, noticing Hermione's interest in the pets.
Despite their brief acquaintance, they had already come to regard each other as their first friend in the wizarding world.
Hermione wasn't opposed to helping each other out.
"Forget it." Hermione hesitated for a long time, then finally shook her head: "In the first year, I plan to focus more on studying. Pets might distract me." She wanted to adapt to life at Hogwarts first, then consider the issue of pets.
"Okay." Ivan walked into the Magical Menagerie.
The interior was enchanted with an Undetectable Extension Charm, making the space inside much larger than it appeared from the outside. Yet, the store was still quite crowded. The walls were lined with cages containing various creatures: venomous orange snails, large turtles adorned with gem-like shells, sleek black mice, various owls, ravens, multi-colored cats, crup tails, and shapeshifting rabbits, among others.
"Ahem." Ivan discreetly covered his nose: "The smell here is really something, ahem..."
With so many animals housed together, the air was thick with a mix of odors, challenging the olfactory senses.
Hermione frowned, looked at Ivan, and whispered in agreement, "The conditions here are really quite poor."
Fortunately, Ivan had a clear objective.
Hogwarts first-year students cannot freely choose their pets. After ruling out the owl they already have and the toad that Ivan finds very unappealing, the two young wizards headed straight to the cages filled with cats.
Ivan activated his psychic vision, which helped him better perceive the magical fluctuations emanating from the cats.
"Ivan, what do you think of this one?"
Hermione tugged at Ivan's sleeve and pointed to a cage above them.
Ivan looked up and saw a Persian long-haired cat with fluffy, soft ginger fur, bowed legs, and slightly pigeon-toed feet.
Additionally, it had a peculiar flattened face, as if it had "run into a brick wall headfirst."
Noticing Hermione's interest, the odd-looking cat immediately gazed at the young witch with its yellow eyes and shook its large, furry tail like a bottle brush, seemingly eager to win her affection.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
"Uh..."
Ivan's mouth twitched slightly. He struggled to understand the young witch's aesthetic taste.
In his view, this peculiar Persian cat was so unattractive that it was almost a disservice to the general appearance of cats.
However, Ivan did not outright refuse but instead called over a female clerk to inquire about the specific details of the cat.
The clerk informed them that the cat's name was Crookshanks and that it had been in the store for almost a year.
"It has some kneazle blood, but because it looks quite odd, customers are hesitant to buy it."
According to the clerk's prediction, Crookshanks might be difficult to sell for another year or two.
"Oh, that's too pitiful."
Hermione was genuinely fond of the large cat named Crookshanks.
Upon hearing Crookshanks' name, Ivan immediately recognized the cat's identity. It was the birthday gift Hermione would buy in her third year.
Ivan suggested that Hermione purchase it.
He made the same offer as before, proposing that Hermione exchange some pounds for galleons from him.
If Hermione felt the exchange rate was unfair, she could adjust it. For Ivan, pounds were just as useful in the Muggle world.
"Okay."
Finally, under Ivan's encouragement, Hermione decided to buy Crookshanks.
She felt a deep sympathy for Crookshanks' plight. He was so handsome, why didn't anyone like him?
To this, Ivan could only respond, "As long as you like it."
Then it was Ivan's turn. He selected a gray and white kitten from the pet cats.
The kitten appeared to be less than two months old. In terms of its lineage, it resembled Ivan's ragdoll cat from his previous life, with sapphire eyes and a magical aura that ordinary people couldn't see.
Ivan wasn't sure what these lights signified, but among the various pet cats, this one's magical power was clearly more potent.
"Excuse me, how much is this ragdoll?"
"Ragdoll?"
The female clerk wasn't familiar with ragdoll cats. Ivan explained, "It's a breed of domestic cat developed by Americans around 1970. To my knowledge, this type of cat has been in the UK for less than ten years."
"Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean, sir."
The wizarding world is largely isolated from the Muggle world, especially concerning recent changes; most wizards are not well-informed about such matters.
The female clerk explained to Ivan that the ragdoll cat he was referring to was also the offspring of a kneazle in the store, similar to Crookshanks.
A kneazle is a magical creature, and owning one typically requires approval from the Ministry of Magic.
"But this one, the ragdoll cat, is different from Crookshanks and does not inherit much kneazle blood."
The clerk continued, "If you like it, sir, I can offer it to you at a low price."
Clearly, in the clerk's view, although this cat was beautiful, its limited kneazle heritage made it less valuable than Crookshanks in terms of price.
"Well, that's it."
Ultimately, Ivan spent nearly 30 Galleons at the Magical Menagerie, 25 of which were for Crookshanks, and the little ragdoll was only 5 Galleons.
Ivan checked the gender of the ragdoll and discovered she was female.
Yuumi was the name Ivan gave to the ragdoll cat, inspired by a game he played in his previous life, Magic Cat Yuumi.
She didn't possess a magic book, but now she had a master capable of performing magic. . . .
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