The Forgotten Olympian |BOOK 1| PJO X HP | Alexandra Marine

Chapter 93 - Alex - Diagon Alley, Part 2

"Magical Manager?" Nico read.  

"Magical Menace?" asked Jason.

"McDonalds?" said Percy.

"Seriously?" I frowned. "It clearly says Magical- something."

"Maybe it's Magical Menagerie," Annabeth said. 

"Maybe it is," I shrugged. "Let's go buy pets!"

There wasn't much room inside. Every inch of wall was hidden by cages. It was smelly and very noisy because the occupants of these cages were all squeaking, squawking, jabbering or hissing. A pair of enormous purple toads sat gulping wetly and feasting on dead blowflies. A gigantic tortoise with a jewel-encrusted shell was glittering near the window. 

"I am not buying that," Nico said, pointing to the poisonous orange snails were oozing slowly up the side of their glass tank. 

A fat white rabbit kept changing into a silk top hat and back again with a loud popping noise. Then there were cats of every color, a noisy cage of ravens, a basket of funny custard-colored furballs that were humming loudly, and, on the counter, a vast cage of sleek black rats which were playing some sort of skipping game using their long bald tails.

A few toads looked at Percy and me very oddly. 

Two minutes later, they started to croak a little too loudly, and I heard them singing together, "Children of the Sea God!"

I rolled my eyes. "I am not buying a sea creature."

"Same," said Percy.

We walked to the counter. "Uh," started Jason. Charming.

"We're here to buy new pets," he finally said.

"Well," said the witch, "we've got all sorts here. What sort are you looking for?"

I raised an eyebrow at that question. "What?"

"Well, how useful do you want them to be?"

Again, what sort of a question is that? "Sort of useful," Annabeth said.

"Well then, I suggest owls, ravens, puffskeins or even Nifflers. All extremely loyal, no doubt. If you're looking for a more emotional support pet, you can go for cats, toads, rats or rabbits."

"That's a lot to pick from," Will said. 

 After much discussion, we finally paid for our pets and came out of the pet store.

Percy and I were carrying a Maine Coon and a Norwegian Forest Cat respectively. (Annabeth thought that they matched our sarcasm and 'the-world-revolves-around-me' vibes. I scowled at her for the next twenty minutes straight.)

Annabeth had bought herself a Great Horned Owl. (Because kid of Athena.) Jason had selected himself a snowy owl.

Nico found out that he was great with ravens, and Will was carrying two Puffskeins. Apparently, their fur had some really good potion properties or something.

"Last things last," said Percy, a sarcastic smile on his face, "a wand."

The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B. C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as we stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair. We decided not to sit on it. It looked much too fragile. Thousands of narrow boxes were piled neatly right up to the ceiling. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.