"That Moody got sent on that mission along with Jameton is the best thing that's happened to us in a looong time," Marlene chirped happily, skipping through Diagon Alley. "We have this afternoon off and you don't have an excuse to not get your owl now. Merlin knows how often you would've kept postponing."

"Hey!" I talked back. "We've been pretty busy with looking for apartments, studying, my father's funeral, the order-"

"Excuses, excuses," Marlene interrupted me, clicking her tongue. "That's not a problem now, though, because we're getting one right now, finally!"

Yeah, because like the blonde had just said, we surprisingly had the afternoon off. Whenever Moody went on missions, which wasn't too rare, considering he was one of the best Aurors in the Ministry, we'd get tutored by Eliah Jameton instead. And although the plan was to always keep his and Moody's missions seperated, today they were both on a mission together, and that had been so spontaneous that they couldn't give us a stand-in for our usual teachers.

Which meant free time, so we weren't complaining!

I couldn't suppress my smile when Marlene grabbed my left hand and practically pulled me towards Magical Menagerie. She seemed to be more excited than I was.

"Look at them," Marlene stopped in front of the shop and cooed at the owls in front of it.

I looked at them, and yes, my heart melted. Especially after finding out the shape of my Patronus, I felt a special bond towards owls.

"Let's go in," I grinned and made my way inside, Marlene following me close behind.

The shop was surprisingly quiet, since there were only two other costumers. Except for the many animals on the sides of the shop, noone made a loud noise.

One employee with short bright green hair immediately approached us, happy to have something to do. "Hello Ladies, how may I help you?"

"We're looking for an owl," I said, my heart beating excitedly.

"I see," the employee said. His name tag read 'Kim'. "For letters, right? Or one for tricks and stuff?"

"For letters," I repeated, following Kim through the shop, past the many rats, toads, cats and even kneazles and crups. It was a real challenge to not squeal at the overload of cuteness.

"Alright, here we are." We stopped next to the owls. "Barn owls, Screech owls, Snowy owls, Eagle Owls, you name 'em; we've got them. Any preferences?"

I was a little overwhelmed at the many options. "Uuh.."

"Not really," Marlene answered for me, after an amused side look at me. "But something not too conspicious, so no Snowy owl, right, Freya?"

I blinked, coming back to my senses. "Er, yeah."

Kim nodded. "Alright. Maybe this Barn Owl? She's two years old and really mastered her training."

I looked at the beautiful creature in front of me. I loved her, but it didn't feel quite right.

I shook my head slightly.

"What about Eagle owls?" Kim continued to ask politely, pointing to the majestic owls.

I loved them all, but didn't quite feel like they would be for me.

"Maybe smaller ones?" I asked a little embarrassed. I didn't want to annoy the poor worker just because I was indecisive.

Kim didn't lose their cheerfulness. "So maybe a Screech owl?"

I looked at the slightly smaller birds. I saw myself in them, not being very tall as well. "Yes, I think so."

"Alright." Kim pointed at the different owls. "We've got Cassiopeia, Tiberius, Paul, Hunter, Hannah, Asklepius and Lucky. The other ones aren't really ready yet, but we can make it work if you're interested."

I'd followed Kim's hand when they'd introduced the animals. All beautiful shades of brown, auburn and grey.

My eyes got caught on one of the Grey ones. The beautiful colour of its feathers reminded me of someone. "Why is he called Asklepius?" I asked Kim, without taking my eyes off the owl. It looked back at me, the big eyes studying me attentively.

Kim smiled. "He's been through a lot, the little one. He's five already, was almost starved to death when we found him, and severely wounded. He'd probably been attacked. We didn't think he'd make it, but he did. His recovery was a long and tough journey. We didn't even know if he'd ever be able to fly again, but he really mastered his training. He showed us that recovery is always possible, even when one doesn't expect it and thinks everything is hopeless. Isn't that right, Asklepius?"

Kim stroked the owl's feathers. He hooted happily, as if he'd understood Kim's words.

Asklepius' eyes were still fixed on me, and I couldn't tear my own away either. I smiled a little. They had named him after the Greek God of healing and recovery. The owl's intense gaze almost spoke to me. 'No matter how hard life gets, you can do this. If I got through hard times, so will you.'

Wasn't a recovery exactly what I was going through, in a way? I still had a lot ahead of me, and things still often seemed as if I'd never be truly happy again.

But the sparkle in Asklepius' eyes touched something inside me. I would get through this! I'd already come so far!

My smile widened. "I think I'll take him," I said, finally tearing my eyes away from the owl and briefly looking at a grinning Marlene, before meeting the employee's gaze. "If that's alright?"

Kim nodded. "Of course it is! If you'll follow me to the counter, then everything will be set."

Kim clicked their tongue and Asklepius flew over and onto the employee's outstretched arm. "You're gonna get a home, buddy!"

Asklepius hooted again, looking back at me. He was a really intelligent owl, it seemed. He had to be, if he'd managed to pull through so many struggles.

Once we reached the counter, Kim gave me information and instructions for food and cages, while putting Asklepius into one. "Only for a little while," I smiled reassuringly, feeling a little bad for how small the cage was.

I immediately bought food and treats for him, too.

Once I finally exited Magical Menagerie, I found myself beaming. My heart felt as if it had swollen in size and I almost couldn't take my eyes off my new friend.

"He's beautiful," Marlene smiled. "Great choice."

And a great fit for me.

With him by my side, I felt as if I'd already made another step in my personal recovery.