Ezra looked down at the older witch who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and who, upon second glance, had a newt tangled in her greying hair, and politely shook his head. Magical Menagerie had been his first stop every time he visited Diagon Alley, and today was no exception. He pushed his rough fingers through the bars of cage that held something that could have easily been mistaken for a pile of chestnut hair had it not been wheezing and spluttering in its sleep. It broke the boy's heart to see this cat still here. Ezra first came across him two years ago while searching for a book on bowtruckles he had first found in the Hogwarts library, which he had been unable to find anywhere else. The kitten Ezra fell in love with that day hardly resembled the snoring fluffball in front of him now. He scratched what he presumed to be the cat's ears, and a soft purr made its way through the wheezing. The sad, sleepy cat must have rarely seen the outside of this shop Ezra reasoned. As he glanced through the dirty window out onto the alley, he saw Heath Weasely, a good friend of his. He attempted to catch Heath's eye through the window, and was about to step outside to greet him when a tiny, sharp claw scratched at his finger. Obviously the cat didn't feel he was being given enough attention. He quickly started rubbing under the cat's chin and, with his other hand, reached into his pocket and fished out what little money he had. He knew he had enough for school essentials, but had put 3 galleons aside for a new set of brass scales, as his were bent in several places. He turned to the older witch.
