New chapter! Thanks for all the support!
x
"Of course, respected Mr. Dursley." The man called Xellos answered with narrowed eyes. "Please wait here for a moment."
What Dudley wanted was a cat. More precisely, a cat with magical creature blood.
At present, in the wizarding world, the most famous feline magical creatures known to Dudley numbered two. One was a two-tailed cat recorded in certain old bestiaries. Usually, it looked no different from an ordinary cat, but when excited, it could rapidly grow in size and possessed considerable destructive power. Its defining feature was that the end of its tail split into two.
The other was the Wampus cat of North America. Compared with the two-tailed cat, the Wampus cat was much more dangerous. It was classified XXXXX, the same danger level as dragons and basilisks. Its size and appearance were somewhat similar to an ordinary cougar or panther. It could walk upright and run faster than an arrow. It was said that its eyes had hypnosis and Legilimency-like abilities.
Some old accounts even claimed that a Wampus cat was almost impossible to kill, though Dudley had never been sure how much of that was fact and how much was folklore.
However, what Xellos had found for Dudley was clearly not either of those two.
It was still the same old point. If someone openly sold dangerous two-tailed cats and Wampus cats in England, they were probably preparing to spend the rest of their lives in Azkaban.
Very soon, Xellos carried a basket in through the side door of the pet shop and placed it in front of Dudley. Inside lay a sleeping kitten.
Xellos began introducing this kitten to Dudley.
"It has partial Kneazle blood, as well as some unknown magical creature lineage. Most importantly, it is quite intelligent. I think it should be your ideal pet."
It was a fluffy ginger kitten, already round-bellied despite its age. In terms of breed, it should actually be a red Persian longhair.
Its fur was fine, glossy, and looked very healthy.
But its face was flat, as if at some point it had charged headfirst into a wall. It also had a fat tail that fluffed up like a bottle brush.
These two traits greatly reduced the kitten's image.
Dudley did not mind, but some things still had to be asked.
"Shopkeeper Xellos, you are not selling me a cat from your shop that no one else wants, are you?"
Hearing this, Xellos's smile became somewhat strained.
"H-how could that be?"
In truth, Dudley had guessed correctly. Because of its appearance, almost no one had asked about this kitten. Even though it was very intelligent and had Kneazle blood and some unknown magical creature bloodline, it did not look good.
For a pet, compared with bloodline, wizards valued appearance more.
If Dudley had not specifically wanted a pet with magical creature blood, Xellos would not have thought of it.
"I was joking, shopkeeper. I'll take him."
Only after hearing this did Xellos let out a sigh of relief.
Dudley readily took out Galleons and paid Shopkeeper Xellos for the kitten.
"What is his name?"
"Crookshanks. You can also give him a new name. He is very intelligent. He will understand."
At this moment, the kitten seemed to be woken by the noise. Its ears twitched, and it slowly opened its eyes.
The kitten seemed to know its fate. It did not make trouble, only looked at Dudley with curiosity.
Its appearance was rather well-behaved.
If one ignored that large flat face.
'Hey, so you're my new feeder?'
A few meows sounded, but in Dudley's ears, they became another meaning.
Language of Magical Creatures.
It truly had magical creature blood.
'Seems a bit smarter than that idiot Xellos.'
Crookshanks circled Dudley once and meowed a few more times.
Xellos immediately shouted excitedly, "See, Mr. Dursley? It is greeting you. It has accepted you."
'No, I don't think it is greeting me. It is insulting you.'
Dudley completely ignored Xellos's nonsense.
'Hey, feeder, don't you think I look too bare right now? I believe I need an outfit.'
'A pair of boots, a belt, and a hat.'
Crookshanks kept meowing nonstop like a chatterbox.
Listening to Crookshanks mutter, Dudley's expression became somewhat strange.
Boots?
Puss in Boots?
Dudley seemed to think of something. He pointed at Crookshanks below and said to Xellos, "By the way, Mr. Xellos, please help me dress him up."
Crookshanks's eyes lit up.
'Aha, new feeder. It seems you still have good taste. You know I need to be dressed properly.'
A moment later.
Dudley walked out of the pet shop carrying a newly decorated flower basket. Crookshanks sat inside with a foul expression. His overall image had not changed much. He had neither boots nor a hat. Only a large red bow had been tied around him.
Since he was going to be a gift, how could he not be tied with a bow?
Dudley soon found Hermione in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, trying on robes.
"This is your birthday present."
Dudley smiled as he handed Crookshanks to Hermione.
Crookshanks meowed twice.
'All right. You are my feeder, then. I hope you are smarter than that big guy.'
Hermione looked very happy and gave Dudley a sweet smile. She did not mind Crookshanks's scruffy fur at all and immediately hugged him into her arms.
Hermione also liked kittens very much.
"What is his name?"
Hermione asked excitedly.
"Meowth."
Dudley answered without thinking.
'Too ugly. Crookshanks is better!'
Crookshanks meowed nonstop, waving his paws through the air and constantly protesting.
"Hmm... that name..."
Hermione wanted to praise it, but she truly could not find a point to praise.
"Fine, he is called Crookshanks. Actually, I think Persian is not bad either."
'Actually, Persian is acceptable.'
Crookshanks meowed this, but unfortunately, no one besides Dudley understood what he was saying.
"Dudley, I remember you can speak cat, can't you? What was he saying just now?"
Crookshanks widened his eyes and looked at Dudley in disbelief.
That gaze seemed to be saying, You can understand me?
"He said he likes the name Meowth very much," Dudley casually lied.
'You're lying!'
Crookshanks protested.
"See? He is very happy." Dudley pointed at Crookshanks, who was constantly flailing.
"Hmm. I do not think he is happy."
In the end, Crookshanks still achieved his wish and used his original name, Crookshanks.
Meowth and the like truly did not sound good.
"By the way, Dudley, there is something I want to discuss with you."
Hermione held Crookshanks in her arms, then took out a densely written timetable and looked at Dudley solemnly.
"Do you think I should choose this many subjects?"
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheDevotedReader