Team: HolyHead Harpies
Position: Keeper
Prompt: Magical Menagerie
Word Count: 2103
Back in Business
Charlie stared up the worn out, battered sign hanging above the shop on the North side of Diagon Alley. Magical Menagerie was, despite the impression the exterior might give, quite simply the best and most exciting shop in the street. At sixteen years old, it was the ideal place for the budding dragonologist to work. He knew he wouldn't get any hands on experience with dragons, but it was the closest he would get until he finished school.
He placed his hand on the door and pushed it open, feeling instantly at home as he was greeted by the sound of hundreds of hooting owls, cats meowing, and squeaking rats. As he glanced around at the walls which were lined with cages upon cages, he took particular notice of a cage full of fire crabs shooting flames. It was, after all, probably the closest he would come to anything remotely similar to a dragon until he completed his education. Charlie still couldn't quite wrap his head around the nonsense Professor Kettleburn had spouted about dragons being "too dangerous and unpredictable" when he had asked about the possibility of having one to study and care for instead of just doing the theory behind the creature. He huffed quietly to himself as the thought as he continued to cast his eyes around the store.
The anticipation and excitement grew within him as he approached the counter; Charlie couldn't wait until Mrs Macmillan agreed to let him have a part time job there over the summer holidays.
"Charlie, how lovely to see you," Mrs Macmillan said, greeting him when he reached the counter. "How can I help you today?"
Charlie grinned at Mrs Macmillan, hoping that he was giving her his most charming smile.
"Actually, it's more about how I can help you," he replied. "I am here to offer you my services, for the entire summer holidays, if you have any part time work on offer."
"Charlie—" she started.
"I'm a hard worker, you know I love all creatures big and small, and I will do absolutely anything you ask," Charlie rushed out, sensing the impending rejection. "Please, Mrs Macmillan."
"I'm sorry, Charlie," she said sadly. "Business has been slow recently what with that new store opening up down the road recently. If I could offer you work I would in a heartbeat; you are my favourite customer after all, but don't tell anyone that." Mrs Macmillan winked at him before carrying on. "I really am sorry."
Charlie shrugged and offered the middle-aged woman a smile, trying to disguise his disappointment as best as he could. "That's okay, Mrs Macmillan. I understand. May I come in and visit over the holidays?"
"It wouldn't feel like summer if you didn't," she answered cheerfully.
~o~o~o~
That night Charlie tossed and turned in his bed. His mind constantly playing over his conversation with Mrs Macmillan. After he had left Magical Menagerie, he had taken a walk down to the South end of Diagon Alley and, to his dismay, he had seen the appeal of the shop. It was a lot brighter, more colourful and attractive to the everyday witch or wizard—especially the children. He hadn't dared to go any closer for fear of being drawn in. Instead he chose to stare at the queue of disloyal Magical Menagerie customers, and the sign above the door.
Perry's Pets, more like Perry's Pests, Charlie had thought bitterly to himself. The idiot who owned the place was nothing more than a cocky, arrogant man who was spreading rumours about his favourite shop. Charlie had lost count of the number of people who had walked past Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour later that day discussing and exchanging 'facts' they had heard about Magical Menagerie. Facts which were completely untrue.
Charlie wished there was a way that he could help Mrs Macmillan. She had been so good to him over the years, from allowing him to come into the shop with his dad to look at and hold the creatures when he was little, to not charging him full price for owl treats. There had to be a way that he could repay her kindness before she went out of business.
Eventually, and he couldn't tell you how or when, Charlie drifted to sleep resolved to do everything and anything he could to help Mrs Macmillan, starting the very next day.
~o~o~o~
The following morning, after breakfast, Charlie bid farewell to his mother and father, telling them Mrs Macmillan had offered him some work experience at her shop. He hadn't had the heart to tell them the truth. If there was one thing he hated, above everything else, it was disappointing his parents, especially since he was absolutely going to miss out on Head Boy-ship to Jacob Goldstein II. After Bill had been offered that role in his final year at Hogwarts, he felt like it was almost expected of him to become Head Boy too.
He approached the fireplace, stepped inside and said, "The Leaky Cauldron." Charlie hoped that his best friend had received his owl the evening before and would be able to contribute to the ideas which had formed in his mind overnight. There had been a dream about dressing up as a dragon and holding a sign towards the store but he had dismissed that almost the moment he had woken up, figuring that it wouldn't be enough. He was certain that Tonks would have some fresh ideas and wouldn't be afraid to share them.
Charlie stepped out of the fireplace and immediately noticed his best friend sat in the booth closest to him. He grinned broadly as he approached her, and sat down opposite her, grateful for the butterbeer already on the table waiting for him.
Half an hour later, after much discussion and plotting, Charlie parted ways with Tonks, each of them knowing what they were going to do that day to get Magical Menagerie back in business. They both knew it wouldn't be enough to make the shop more inviting; they also had to solve the problem of Perry's Pests… and that was where Tonks and her 'evil genius' qualities came in. If anyone could direct business away from there, it was her.
Charlie walked down Diagon Alley, whistling quietly to himself. He popped into various shops along the way, using what little money he had saved up to purchase items he would need to complete his task.
As soon as he reached the store, his whistling ceased almost immediately. There was little sign of life in the shop at all. The lights were off inside, and the sign on the door was flipped round to 'closed'. The only glimmer of life coming from the shop was the familiar noise of hooting owls and meowing cats.
In that moment, he realised that business had been worse than Mrs Macmillan had let on. Perry's Pests wasn't just taking customers from there, it had as good as put Mrs Macmillan out of business. Knowing that there was no time to lose, Charlie set to work on his plan hoping that it wouldn't be too late.
A few moments later, the door to the shop opened and Mrs Macmillan came outside.
"What on earth is all this racket?" she asked. "Charlie, what are you doing here?"
"Mrs Macmillan, I was thinking about your predicament all last night," Charlie replied. "I can't stand by and watch you lose everything you have worked so hard to build so I'm here to help."
The middle-aged lady offered him a smile.
"Charlie, I'm not sure there's much that can be done," she replied sadly. "Perry's Pets is here to stay. I don't want you to waste your time. How about you come inside and you can tell me all about that dragon reserve in Romania over a bottle of butterbeer?"
"I won't be wasting my time," Charlie told her. "Trust me, by the end of today you'll be back in business. Please, let me do this for you."
Mrs Macmillan hesitated before nodding her head in agreement. "Okay, I can see how much this means to you, and if there is one thing I've learnt about you since you've been coming to my shop, it's that there's no stopping you when you've got your mind set on doing something. Just, don't go doing anything which could be frowned upon."
"Don't worry, I won't," Charlie replied. "Go inside and put your feet up, and I'll get to work. Before you know it, Magical Menagerie will be the store to go to for all your creature needs once more."
Mrs Macmillan gave Charlie an uncertain smile before turning around and going back into her shop.
~o~o~o~
Two hours later, Charlie wiped his brow of sweat and stepped back to admire his work. The sign above the shop was more vibrant and colourful, the usually murky windows had a clean sheen to them, and the cobwebs were gone. Charlie felt very satisfied with his work. He would go as far as to say that he had done a great job, considering that he had done it the Muggle way because he was still underage.
He particularly felt proud of the sign. It was vivid and striking, and it didn't escape his notice that passersby were taking notice of the shop, their eyes widening as they did so almost as though they were seeing it for the very first time.
"My goodness, this shop is disgraceful," Charlie heard an outraged voice cry from just up the street. A smile crossed his face, knowing exactly who it was. "Have you seen the amount of poor creatures they have crammed in those tiny cages? They care more about their sales than they do about their welfare. And don't get me started on the cockroaches I just witnessed scuttling around in there. It's disgraceful. This would never happen at Magical Menagerie!"
"Those poor creatures!"
"Cockroaches!"
"That's disgusting!"
"I'm never going there again!"
"I'm going to demand a refund on my owl treats and then take my business elsewhere!"
"Perry's Pets should rebrand Perry's Pests!"
A well dressed, seemingly twenty something blonde came into sight, stopping people every so often 'warning' them about the perils of going to Perry's Pets.
The front door of Magical Menagerie opened once again and Mrs Macmillan came out.
"What is all the commotion?" she asked, taking in the disgruntled people on the street.
"It would seem that Perry's Pets has a very dissatisfied customer and she is telling everyone about it," Charlie answered. "And the public are listening. If I was you, I'd open up for the day."
"Do you have anything to do with this?" Mrs Macmillan asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Not at all," Charlie replied. "I've been working hard all morning on the store front. What do you think?"
Mrs Macmillan looked up at Charlie's efforts and her eyes widened in disbelief. "It's marvellous. Thank you."
"Excuse me, is the store open?" an elderly lady asked. "I need some treats for my owl and I've heard the most horrific things about Perry's Pets where I purchased my last bag from."
"Yes, yes we are," Mrs Macmillan answered as more and more people flooded towards the store. "Come inside and I'll see what I can do for you." Mrs Macmillan opened the door and let the lady inside before turning around. "Oh, and Charlie, come in bright and early tomorrow morning. I think I'll have a position for you over the summer after all. Thank you for your help today."
Charlie grinned broadly at the store owner. "Not a problem," he replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Mrs Macmillan disappeared inside the store and Charlie rushed towards Tonks, who was looking more like herself.
"How did it go, Charlie?" she asked. "Did it work?"
"It did! Mrs Macmillan offered me a job starting tomorrow," he answered, smiling broadly. "But we still have a lot of work to do if we want to make sure Perry's Pests doesn't regain their business."
"What are you thinking?" Tonks asked as they started to walk towards the soon-to-be out of business store. "Owl droppings all over the store? Creatures getting out of their cages? Winding the staff up so they come across as unreasonable and insulting?"
"How about all of them?" Charlie suggested. "That way we can cause maximum chaos."
"Charlie, it's like you read my mind," Tonks laughed, pushing open the door of Perry's Pets. "Let's do this."
Charlie nodded his head and followed Tonks inside the shop, excited to start his new job the next day.