A kneazle's purpose

Capítulo 1 sem título

A few weeks had passed since Eleazar and Philip had got notice of Miriam's death. Eleazar kept himself busy, desperately studying his wife's research, as if he could find a way to bring her back. He was so absorbed in it that he rarely ate, and looked like he didn't sleep in a long time. He looked like he had aged 10 years in that short amount of time.

Philip found comfort in his books, but he worried about Eleazar. He could see what his father figure was going through, despite not talking to him about it.

He heard him cry at night, in his room, when he thought Philip couldn't hear him. It broke his heart, but the boy didn't know how he could help, if at all.

One day, Philip had an idea, but he didn't know how Eleazar would react. In the Daily Prophet there was an ad about a beast sanctuary, mainly kneazles.

"Have you seen this?" Philip asked Eleazar, showing him the ad.
"No, what is it?" Eleazar replied, picking up the newspaper. "A beast sanctuary?"
"Can we adopt a beast?" Philip asked. "A kneazle would be helpful, they are known for being good support beasts." He put a hand on Eleazar's shoulder. "I know it is probably too soon, but I truly think it would help."

Eleazar was reticent to the idea. It did seem like they were moving too fast, but he could also see why it would be good to have a kneazle around.
"It wouldn't hurt to at least have a look." Eleazar said, noticing the boy's reaction. "Do you want to go tomorrow?"
"Yes, please." Philip couldn't contain a smile.

The following day, Philip and Eleazar went to the beast sanctuary. It was a big place, full of beasts and busy with wizards and witches. Most of them cared for the animals, but there were a few who had had the same idea of adopting one.

There were a lot of kneazles in big enclosures, and the two of them stopped to look at them.
They were looking at the beasts for a bit, Eleazar even pet a few curious kittens, when Philip noticed something.
"I think we are being watched." he said, unable to shake off the feeling.
"Are we?" Eleazar hadn't noticed it, for he was petting a kneazle kitten.

"What do we do now?" Philip asked.
"We wait and see if any of them chooses us." Eleazar said, a soft smile on his face.

After a while, a white kneazle approached them, tail up, letting them pet her and purring.
"Seems like she found us." Eleazar winked at Philip.

The kneazle was big, with soft white fur and yellow eyes, which were now fixated on Eleazar. She rubbed against his legs.

"Look, she likes you!" Philip grinned.

Eleazar scratched her between the ears and was rewarded with a loud purr.

"She won me over, I have to admit." Eleazar said smiling.
They do look alike, Philip thought. Seems like the old saying about animals looking like their humans isn't wrong, after all.

On the way back home, they took a magical carriage, for it would be dangerous to get on a muggle coach with a magical beast. In the carriage, the kneazle was laying between the two of them, purring as they pet her.

"What do you want to name her?" Eleazar asked.
"I was thinking Snowball because she looks like one. A very fluffy snowball." Philip said looking at her.

"Seems like she's Snowball now."

Eleazar struggled to fall asleep that night, the nightmares consuming him. Fortunately, Snowball jumped on his bed and headbutted him until she could curl up with him, purring until both fell asleep. Later, when Philip passed in front of his room, he saw the two of them peacefully sleeping, and went to bed with a smile on his face.