Sea and Serpent (PJO/HP)

Chapter 8. NOT an owl and a rare core

“What’s Quidditch, Hagrid?”

“Blimey, I keep forgettin’ how little yeh know – not knowin’ about Quidditch!”

“Don’t make us feel worse,” Harry added in with a groan. He shoved his face with ice cream in what Amaryllis assumed was disappointment. For what? She didn’t know. There was no expectations on them because it wasn’t their fault they hadn’t grown up like they should have. That was where ‘you-know-who’ as Hagrid called him came in. She didn’t understand why a name was so fearful to say. It wasn’t as if his name would magically make him appear. The dark wizard, Voldemort, that had murdered their parents because of something no one wanted to tell them.

Even that was absurd to her. They had a right to know.

“Sorta hard ter explain the rules.”

“And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?”

Amaryllis licked her butterscotch ice cream, tuning back into whatever Hagrid and Harry were talking about. She zoned out as they talked Quidditch, some broom flying game that made her quickly lose interest. If the Gringotts carts were similar, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. Keeping her feet planted on the ground sounded like a solid plan to her. For the rest of her existence, preferably.

They had already gotten their parchment and ink. Buying an ink that changed color because Harry became fascinated with it and headed to a store called Flourish and Botts to buy their books.

“School houses. There’s four, and everyone says Hufflepuff’s are a lot o’ doffers—”

“I bet I’m Hufflepuff,” Harry said nonchalantly.

Amaryllis guessed her brother didn’t really mean it, but Hagrid didn’t seem to pick up on that.

“Better than Slytherin. No good comes from that house. You-know-who came from that house.”

Amaryllis shot back a question to Hagrid. She didn’t mean to sound harsh, yet she felt it wasn’t right to call every single person a bad apple from one person that turned evil. “How does that make every person in one house evil?”

Hagrid sputtered, not seeming to know how to respond.

Amaryllis cast her gaze down to the stone brick streets. “Forget it.”

“Uh, um, well. How about we get yeh an animal? I never did get yeh yer birthday gifts.”

Harry and Hagrid kept the conversation up, though it had become halfhearted after her question. Hagrid wasn’t as happy as when they first arrived and she felt horrible for being the one to bring the atmosphere down. It just didn’t sit right with her. That blond boy may have had the qualities Hagrid spoke about, but just because he was rude and had views that looked down on others, did that make him downright evil? A murderer who sought to eradicate the world of those who were not pure-bloods? She guessed only time would tell, but until then, she wouldn’t judge that person.

“What yeh both want? An owl? Cats make me sneeze and toads went outta fashion years ago.”

“Uh,” Amaryllis raised her hand, staring at Hagrid sheepishly. “Can I get a cat? Preferably if they like me. Just that me and owls, we don’t get along.”

Harry chuckled from beside Hagrid who stared between them. “Owl not liking yeh? That’s a first. I don’t see why not, but if yeh don’t mind, I won’t be near it.”

“That’s alright, Hagrid. No hard feelings.”

“Alright, go on now.”

Amaryllis shot her brother a look as they headed into the store. The moment she stepped in, the side with owls began to screech, flapping their wings in the cages, rattling them from where they either hung or laid against the shelves. She quickly parted to a different section of the store, leaving Harry to the owls as she made her way down where the cats were. She didn’t know what she was looking for. A specific color? A size? Gender? None seemed to matter, and yet she kept passing by multiple cats that stared back at her, wandering if they’d get chosen.