"Sorry, Adelaide, I'm late."
When Albus Dumbledore's slightly weary figure hurried to the front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, there were already three empty bowls on the table in front of Adelaide—she had already finished three portions of delicious strawberry peanut butter ice cream.
She smiled and rushed toward Dumbledore. "It's okay, Mr. Dumbledore, the strawberry peanut butter ice cream was great... and you at least made it in time to accompany me to pick out a pet."
"My generous Miss Grindelwald, in that case, let me give you a cute little pet as an enrollment gift."
After saying that, Dumbledore gave Adelaide a playful wink.
"Wow, I actually ran into Dumbledore!"
They hadn't walked very far before an exclamation came from the crowd, drawing everyone's attention to Dumbledore.
"(｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ Hi~ Professor Dumbledore!"
"Good day, Headmaster Dumbledore!"
Due to Dumbledore's high status and widespread influence in the Wizarding World, people constantly greeted him warmly as they walked along.
Some were flushed with excitement and spoke incoherently; others bowed respectfully to show their reverence for the great Wizard.
Although such frequent interactions were a bit overwhelming, fortunately, Dumbledore was long accustomed to such scenes and handled them with ease.
He exchanged pleasantries with passersby while carefully shielding Adelaide as they navigated through the bustling and lively Diagon Alley.
After some effort, the two finally squeezed through the crowd and arrived at the entrance of the Magical Menagerie on the south side of Diagon Alley.
Regarding her first pet, Adelaide had actually already made up her mind.
She secretly swore that even if there were only one toad left in the world, she would absolutely never take it home to raise as a pet.
In contrast, cats and Owls were both quite good choices, especially Owls—not only were they well-behaved, cute, and pettable, but they could also help deliver letters. Just thinking about it felt great!
However, Dumbledore had a different opinion. He scanned the pet shop, and his gaze seemed to be drawn by an invisible magnetic force, locking firmly onto a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo that had just reached adulthood.
"My goodness, this little fellow is truly charming."
Dumbledore whispered involuntarily, his face showing an irrepressible fondness.
He reached out, attempting to gently stroke the snow-white parrot, but the seemingly docile and well-behaved bird mercilessly opened its sharp beak and gave Dumbledore's finger a hard peck.
Facing such a sudden attack, Dumbledore didn't show the slightest bit of anger; instead, as if he had encountered something extremely amusing, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Adelaide, come and look at this little fellow. Isn't it particularly delightful?"
Dumbledore laughed while turning his head to call Adelaide over to admire the lively parrot.
Hearing him, Adelaide walked over quickly. She stared intently at the white parrot, which stood with its chest puffed out and a face full of pride, and an unusual sense of familiarity welled up in her heart.
Upon closer inspection, she felt more and more that this parrot, whether it was its extremely exaggerated hairstyle or those clever, playful eyes, bore a striking resemblance to her Great-Granduncle, Gellert Grindelwald!
Well, they were both white-haired, too.
Hiss~ Dumbledore, I didn't expect you to be this kind of person!
Usually acting so cold at St Mungos, but your heart is still full of a certain someone... Adelaide made up her mind that when she went to St Mungos next Sunday, she would find a way to secretly leak the news of the parrot to her Great-Granduncle.
There's hope for chasing your wife; please keep working hard!
Adelaide quickly snapped out of her thoughts. She pulled out her acceptance letter and pointed to the words on it, saying, "But look, the letter clearly states'students may bring an Owl OR a cat OR a toad' as a pet to school. It doesn't mention that one can bring a parrot..."
Hearing this, Dumbledore explained with a smile, "Dear Adelaide, actually, this rule is not inflexible. We have many students in the school now who keep Puffskeins, and some even bring spiders and rats—Hogwarts does not forbid students from bringing non-dangerous pets. In fact, as long as you don't bring a dragon to Hogwarts, it's fine."
Seeing Dumbledore's strong interest in the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, the shop assistant looked as if he had seen a literal lifesaver. He hurried over with a face full of eager smiles and began to promote it with all his might:
"Mr. Dumbledore, you truly have a great eye! These Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are much smarter than those common Owls; they can even understand English! In Australia, many Wizards like to keep them for delivering letters. Furthermore, they have very long lifespans. For instance, this little cutie in front of us is only four years old, and normally it can live for another 76 years—if you're willing to give it regular Age-Inducing Potions after it turns 40, its lifespan can even extend to 120 years!"
When mentioning longevity, the shop assistant was secretly lamenting in his heart, only hoping to quickly get this "little ancestor" who caused him a massive headache off his hands.
This Sulphur-crested Cockatoo was simply too rowdy, had an incredibly large appetite, and most fatally, it particularly loved using its sharp beak to tease other creatures, turning the shop upside down.
The shop assistant secretly resolved that he would absolutely never stock such a difficult-to-serve parrot again.
On the side, after hearing the assistant's introduction, Adelaide quickly calculated in her head: a normal Owl costs two Galleons but only lives for a short dozen or so years; if she spent 6 Galleons to buy this Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, she would get a messenger who could deliver letters for her for seventy consecutive years.
Thinking about it this way, the deal seemed very cost-effective... She carefully reached her hand toward the white parrot's back and gently touched it with her finger—the bird actually didn't peck her!
The white parrot only slightly tilted its head, gave her a glance, and then went back to being immersed in grooming its snow-white feathers as if nothing had happened.
Seeing this scene, the shop assistant standing nearby couldn't help but widen his eyes and cry out in shock, "Oh my! This is simply incredible! Normally, this parrot doesn't let anyone touch it. You truly have a wonderful fate with it... 5 Galleons! For only 5 Galleons, this cute little fellow is yours!"
Hearing the price quoted by the assistant, Adelaide immediately chose to buy this extraordinary parrot and gave it a special name—Haskui.
Dumbledore paid the money with a chuckle and set off on the way home with Adelaide and Haskui.
Adelaide held Haskui in her hands, gently stroking its flawless white feathers, but her thoughts involuntarily drifted to that famous white Owl in the original timeline.
As if possessed, Adelaide brought her face close to Haskui's ear and asked in a low whisper, "Dear Haskui, are you willing to block an Avada Kedavra for me?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Haskui, who had been quietly enjoying the stroking, suddenly froze. Its large, round eyes stared at Adelaide in confusion for a long while, as if completely unable to understand what its new owner was saying.
Then, as if snapping back to its senses, it shook its head frantically and kept letting out a series of chirping protests from its beak.
Are you crazy?!
Using a parrot to block a Killing Curse?
Doesn't a parrot's life matter?
How is this owner even more insane than me!
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