Meow

Reid had often slowed past the windows of the Magical Menagerie just to be able to stare into the windows at the cats, who slept or stared back. Reid had to be the responsible one, the one who didn't bring home pets, because he knew they would eventually be dressed up, overfed, and probably perish in a kitchen fire, and only he thought of these consequences.

But Pippa was pretty persistent and he had finally agreed to step inside with her. Her mother and his mother were hen-friends- a term he had coined since when they were together all they did was cluck incessantly for hours. For some reason, Pippa had always taken to Reid more than his siblings- strange, considering Reid was the forgotten middle sibling.

That did not matter, though. What mattered is that because she had taken to him, both mothers constantly bickered at him to hang out with her, make sure she was making friends, and see if she had exited her weird 'stage'. What they didn't get, that Reid did, was it was not a stage. Pippa was different. But that made her better, it did not give people a right to worry.

"Pippa, I want a cat, yes, but I really shouldn't get one," he said, glancing at her. "It's not responsible."

Excitement was running through Pippa’s veins at the speed of eight Firebolts and a freight train. It was for that reason that she was bouncing up and down beside Mr. Reid Devereux who she’d finally talked into getting a cat. Her dirty-blonde hair had long since fallen out of the up-do she’d created that morning and now it was swirling around her in the breeze that swam around Diagon Alley. They were an odd but strangely well-suited pair. Pippa, with her blinding yellow attire and Reid with his casual, effortlessly sexy look that had a few wide eyed women staring. Pippa had giggled every time though she hadn’t decided to mention why. Currently though, she was humming, her eyes sweeping across the array of felines that were on show in the window, tempting the pair; and more importantly, tempting Reid.

“We are getting you a cat, Robin, whether you like it or not!” Pippa retorted, a look of determination on her face. She pushed Reid with both hands knowing that even that was unlikely to move the elder man. “C’mon, Reid!” She whined, her banana earrings swaying as she continued to bounce beside him. “If we don’t hurry up then all of the fire-proof kitties will be gone! Come on! Let’s just go already! We have specifics! We’ll find a kitty that can deal with Calvin. It’ll have to be brave and fearless and adorable!”

Pippa squealed and took off regardless of whether Reid was going to follow her or not. He would...even if she had to Imperius him – not that she knew how to cast that curse mind you.

Bobbing into the shop, Pippa put her parasol down. She pushed her sunglasses onto her head and called out to Reid before darting towards an open pen full of kittens. She squealed again and abandoned her things beside the barrier. Pippa hooked one leg over the side and climbed into the enclosure. The kitties scarpered but they soon returned once she produced some treats – seemingly out of nowhere. Pippa kneeled down and stroked the kittens. She wanted to take them all home! Maybe if she and Reid bought lots of them then when Reid took them home...more would survive the kitchen fire. Pippa would have to give Calvin a kitty-safety lecture.

“Oh Reid they’re so cute! Can we have this one?” She asked, picking up the ginger one nearest her and putting it on her knees. She gasped and reached for another and then another and then another until all of the kitties were in her arms, each one mewing. “Is there a limit on how many animals you can have at Hogwarts?” She asked him distractedly as she nudged her nose against one of the cooler kitten noses. “I think we should buy them all! We could turn your flat into a kitten house! Calvin wouldn’t kill any of them, I promise! We will raise them to big, strong lions!” She lifted her ginger kitten up to her face and murmured, “Rawr,” before nudging her nose against his. “You’re my kitty aren’t you? Yes you are! Yes you are!” She then cuddles the ginger moggy to her chest. “I think,” she added on the spur. “You should get a cow and call her Bessie...”

Kitten-Picking Gear!

Reid felt her hands against his back as she tried to push him, but Reid was an immovable force who stood his ground- except, y'know, when faced with a bully in which he'd issue a quick 'your mother' joke before running like hell. He grinned and craned his neck, leaning back to watch her stomp her progress as she tried to push him forward but was making it nowhere.

Trouble came when she decided to lead the way and she released him, causing him to yelp, "Whoa!" and stumbled back a few steps before he caught himself in the doorframe. He quickly righted himself, the young female clerk raising an eyebrow his way. He promptly stood up rigidly, his eyes darting away from her as he inched along the wall towards Pippa.

"Pippa!" he hissed, trying not to get the clerks attention as Pippa hopped into the cat enclosure. "Pippa! Get out of there, you're not supposed to be in there. I can't get a cat, I changed my mind, I- kittens." He was temporarily calmed as kittens piled into Pippa's arm. He turned and caught sight of an older cat in a pen. "Cat." He heard a meow and saw a male clerk enter front he back room, carrying another once. "Cat."

He sighed. He had been tempted now.

Reid would have preferred an older cat- less trouble- but he was really not calling the shots here. He approached the cat enclosure and squatted next to it, gripping the top with his hands, staring at Pippa and the cats. "They are pretty cool. I'm only getting one of them, though, Pippa. That's i-" She cut him off asking about a cow. He closed his eyes and sighed. "No, Pippa. We're not getting a cow."

No one kitten was the one Pippa wanted, each one of them possessed a trait that Pip adored. She wasn’t going to go home with just one. She lifted up another cat and held it up as far as she could reach; Reid was pretty tall after all. She giggled at the cat as it flopped against her hands and she forced the little animal into Reid’s arms before he had a chance to complain. Pippa then gathered up her kitties and rose to her feet; one was even on her head. The one on her left shoulder mewed and Pippa giggled before getting out of the pen. Surprisingly, her kitties managed to keep their footing, even if they did dig their nails into her. She didn’t mind though; she didn’t mind at all.

“Look how cute they are, Robin!” She exclaimed, stroking one of her kitties behind the ear. “Never mind the cow! Look at them! They’re. So. Fluffy!” Pippa continued to giggle as she cuddled the kitties too her. Sobering a little, she bumped her hip against Reid’s and grinned. “Which one?” She prodded, excitedly. “I think I am going to get all of these!” The cat on her head gave a meow of affirmation and Pippa began to giggle again. “Think about it for a second, Reid....Calvin will adore them! And besides, I think I stumbled into the Kneazle pen so they’re bound to survive fires and general Calvin-related disasters! They’ll keep you warm at night! They’re fluffy! Buy one, Reidy....and this one and this one and this one and this one...oh – and this one!”

The kitties meowed as Pippa pointed to each one and she held one of them up eye level with Reid. “Please Reidy? Per-lease! Please, please, please! I’ll come over every day and help! I promise! School ends soon so I’ll be able to help all the time! I’ll give Calvin a talking too as well! I’ll make sure he doesn’t cook one of them by accident or something! Please Reidy!”

Reid had been unable to count how many kittens the pen contained. He got to four, and the Pippa distracted him. He got to six and realized he had counted the same calico cat three times. He got to seven and they all writhed into such a large mess of whiskers and tails and meows that he could not discern one kitten from another. This was not going to work.

Pippa shoved a kitten into Reid's hands and he held it out at arm's length. The grey kitten had blue eyes and it stared at him in an offended look. Reid grinned. The kitten almost seemed to roll its eyes as it lolled its head to watch Pippa with a bored expression. Definitely his type of kitten. He cradled it next to his chest and it immediately lept onto his own shoulder. Excited, Reid turned to point this out to Pippa.

He had trouble finding her among all the kittens, and when he did, he found she had a kitten on either shoulder and one on her head. She began to speak and he sighed. "Pippa. When you're an adult you can't just buy a dozen kittens- or however many there are in here- because I have a job, so does Calvin... And then there's Calvin. Buying more means higher rate of injured kitties."

He scooped up the grey cat on his shoulder and showed it to her. "I like this one. I will let you talk me into keeping him. But I like I said, when you're an adult.." He paused and a small smile formed on his face. Reid used to be quite the ruckus causer when he was young, but he had mostly grown out of it.. Mostly. "But you're not an adult. There's nothing stopping YOU from buying all the kittens you want and taking them to YOUR home."

Pippa was most pleased by how quickly Robin Hood had taken to his kitty. She was having a little trouble with hers but she was determined to keep all of them. How she was going to get them to Hogwarts though was another issue all together because there was no way her mother was going to keep them. Reid was her best shot and even he seemed sceptical. She’d just have to work a bit of good ol’ Pippa magic.

She blinked rapidly at him before pursing her lips and taking the black and white cat down off of her head. She held him close to her face and widened her eyes before staring at Reid. Her bottom lip trembled and one of the kitties mewed by her ear. She put the kitties in her arms on the floor before slamming her hands onto Reid’s shoulders and throwing herself onto her tip toes so she could look him in the eye.

“My mother would have a fit with her leg up if I came home with cats, Reid.” Pippa stated. “You know she would! You need to take them! They’re not going to stay here now! I’m mother cat, Reidy! You can’t have a menagerie of animals at Hogwarts! They’ll be happy with you and Calvin! They all look as if they’re part Kneazle anyway so it’ll probably be the kitties ensuring Calvin doesn’t set fire to himself! You will do this for me Reid otherwise I will beat you black and blue with my dad’s rounders bat. Don’t test me, Robin Hood!” Pippa’s serious expression broke and her face morphed back into her signature grin. She patted Reid on the cheek before reaching up and kissing the other

“C’mon!” Pippa exclaimed, leaning down to pick up her kitties. “We’ve got to go and pay! Oh, wait! We better look at food and toys! This way!” She backtracked her words before quickly running off down another aisle.

Reid sighed, trying not to look at Pippa. Very few people could resist Pippa's wishes and demands when she stuck out her bottom lip and looked up at you- and she had the added arsenal of a pile of adorable kittens mewing pathetically at Reid to. He tried to look away, but when he did, he accidentally caught the eye of the female clerk and he immediately had to look back at Pippa, who had stood and brought her gaze right up to his.

He kept opening his mouth to argue the point she had just stated when she would continue on, cutting him off with a bolder tone each time. He wanted to make it clear that bringing home a bundle of kittens was completely out of the question... But the itch to play with kittens was pretty strong too. He knew Calvin would adore the kittens but could they live like that.

She kissed his cheek and he sighed, closing his eyes in exasperation. He waited a moment. "Fine. BUT if the cats get to be too much you have to help me find nice homes for them, okay?" She began to run off and he tucked his special kitten under his arm, already going through a list of video game characters for a name. Kirby. It was decided. He called after Pippa as he followed her, "And I'm not paying for all of this."

That was fair, he thought.

Pippa had won; she could see it in Reid’s face. Obviously he was going to B**** and whine and be ‘responsible’ but he could do that until Bessie and the rest of her cow friends came home – she was still taking those kittens back to his and Calvin’s flat. Pippa just hoped that Reid was aware that he’d lose all of his nine lives if he even so much as thought about re-homing her precious babies. They were hers. He could be papa-cat if he wanted to be but there would be no re-homing after this. Pippa was perfectly happy with paying for every single one though she’d let Reid think that he was paying, just to wind him up. She had a pouch of gold in her bag, certainly more than enough to pay for her kitties and everything they’d need. Pippa was in her element, striding up and down the aisles with her furry friends following her, giving their own verdicts on the toys.

“What do you think, puss?” She asked the nearest kitty before picking her up and showing her a large penthouse-type structure where all of her kitties could sleep. She looked around for Reid and spotted him coming down the aisle with his little grey kitten. It was adorable; well, both of them were. Pippa beckoned Reid towards them and readjusted the kitten in her arms. She pointed to the structure and ran her fingers across the fluffiness. She looked at Reid and smiled at him before telling him that, “This is definitely the one we’re getting.” She then added that it was, “Perfect,” and that it could, “easily fit all of the kitties in there.”

Pippa’s attention was then on the toys further down and she let out a few squeals before picking a basket up out of one of the stands and beginning to fill it. “They’re going to be so spoilt!” she exclaimed with a laugh. They were going to be spoilt but Pippa didn’t care what so ever. They were their kitties and it was good for them to be spoilt – after all, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

He sighed as Pippa began to look over the cat homes, though he knew that was the best thing to get for them, so they weren't always wandering around. She declared that it was the one for them and he pointed his wand at it. It slipped away from the other merchandise and hovered over to the counter. He glanced at Pippa, who had already flounced on.

He looked around, knowing there was more to kitten care than just toys and houses. He grabbed a litter box and set a bag of litter into it. He glanced over and saw some formula and wet cat food. He'd start them out on that, mixing the formula and the cat food together, to wean them off of formula- he was sure that they were at the age to transition them.

"You should grab a bag of dry, too," the female clerk called, looking amused. He sheepishly looked over at her. "They get big and grow up a lot quicker than you think." He grimaced and nodded, grabbing a bag of dry, trying to ignore how things would be when he had a bunch of full grown cats- he'd never get a girlfriend. He took all his stuff up to the counter and looked back at Pippa. "Hurry up, Pip."

There was so much to look at in the menagerie! Pippa knew that with each catnip pouch that was added to the basket, she was burning the gold in her bag. It was worth it though and she could soon ferry any overflow to Gringotts; the Goblins would soon sort it out. Pippa was slightly conscious of the fact that her mother would disapprove of what she was spending her pocket money on. Pippa wasn’t nearly as mortified as most teens would have been to admit she still got pocket money. She loved getting an envelope of notes in the post every Sunday because with them was a letter from her Daddy. He’d be amused by her purchases unlike her kill-joy mother who hated anything Pippa did that was considered ‘wrong’. This would be the icing on the cake really wouldn’t it? Cats had followed her home many times before but she’d never gone as far as to get one of her own. She could count about ten from where she was stood, including the ones stood on her, so she was hardly doing things by halves.

“How many scratching posts do you think we’ll need?” Pippa asked before putting two into her basket. She picked up a couple of balls and dropped them in with the rest of the things before putting some of her kitties into the basket with their new things. She then held the basket by the body and carried everything over to where Reid was stood, a few cats even following behind her. She put the basket down and lifted her kitties out before looking up at Reid, a thoughtful expression on her face.

She pursed her lips and rolled them a little before turning around and pushing her rear towards Reid. Thankfully for him, she only wanted him to go into her bag. It had slipped around during her hyperactive kitten liberation and now she needed her purse. She wiggled a little and grinned at Reid over her shoulder.

“Get my purse for me will you, Robin?” She requested with a wide grin on her face. “Then I’ll be able to pay for these beauties! What do you reckon Calvin will say?”