Chapter 2

It turned out that Wendy worked at the Magical Menagerie. It was a dingy and noisy shop with a foul smell. There were cages everywhere, and the occupants varied from exotic tropical lizards and tortoises with jewel shells to boring toads and rats.

Wendy locked Laila safely in a big cage on the counter. The cat started scratching at the lock and mewing.

"I will never let her out again! Too much trouble for her own good," said Wendy, eyeing the cat.

"It's not good to keep a cat in a cage like that, it'll get bored and restless," said Sally.

Wendy gave Sally a searching look. "Do you have a pet?"

"No."

"Well they are a big responsibility. Laila here is more trouble than a dragon," said Wendy tapping Laila's cage so that a water bowl appeared inside.

Instead of drinking from it, Laila tackled it so that it flipped the water splashed everywhere.

"See what I mean?" said Wendy, exasperated.

"If you can't handle her, and no one is buying her, can I take her?" asked Sally. She rummaged through her pockets then held out a fist of sickles. She didn't notice the crumpled piece of parchment that was among the coins.

Some toads in a cage nearby started croaking loudly, and a bird somewhere started chirping and moving restlessly in its cage.

"I don't think I have enough to buy her, but I can take good care of her," added Sally ignoring the sounds.

Laila, meanwhile, had gone quite and started looking between Wendy and Sally as if knowing they were talking about her.

Wendy grinned; the small girl was growing on her. The confidence emitting from her was very intriguing."You know for a girl who ended up in Knockturn alley, you sound too confident in your abilities of taking care of Laila," said Wendy, slightly grinning.

"I just know I can," said Sally looking at Laila who was also staring back. "I think I know how she thinks."

There was a sudden loud crash. They turned towards the source, which turned out to be a strange looking purple snake, making its way down some boxes which were falling from their shelves under its weight.

"Kami! How did you get out of your cage?" Wendy strode towards the snake and picked it up quickly.

There was another loud crash, this time it was coming from the back of the shop.

"What the-?" Wendy barely reached the back door, when all the animals and creatures in the shop started making noises at once. It sounded like they were all panicking. Some were trying to escape from their cages, some birds and rats were now flying around the room in a hysterical way.

Wendy's perplexed look was now replaced with one of mixed shock and panick, "what is going on here?!" She exclaimed, staring around for a second before remembering to take out her wand.

Sally clamped her hands over her ears as the noise grew louder.

"So can I take her?!" She yelled at Wendy over the mayhem, she figured she would use Wendy's distraction to talk her into giving her the cat. After all, Sally always wanted a pet, and her mom would never buy her one.

Wendy looked as if she was coming out of a trance, "huh?! Petrificus Totalus!" She yelled, but she only managed to hit one bird with her spell. An orange snail had managed to get across the room from its tank and was now chewing the hem of Wendy's robe. "Listen, Laila is not for sale, she was my cat for a while," she said hurriedly, as she tried to yank the robe from the large snail's mouth. "Will you please help, instead of just standing there?"

Sally looked dejected, as she stuffed her coins and the parchment back into her pocket. She looked around, and spotted a rag hanging over a cage in a corner of the shop. She took it and covered the snail with it, afraid that she would burn her hands. She pulled the snail away, and heard the robes tear.

Wendy cursed under her breath as a few black rats ran across the room and out of the door.

There was another loud ban, and Wendy looked horrified, standing in her place like her legs and and arms were tied. She had no idea what was happening, and what to do.

"Can I take her now?!" Yelled Sally again, feeling like she should seize her moment. She didn't know how to help the witch as she couldn't use her wand yet. The situation was getting out of control, and Sally's concentration was running haywire with all the noise and movement. It made her feel dizzy.

Sally wasn't sure whether Wendy's jerky movement was a sign of consent or if it was just the fight with one of the huge lizards to get back into its container. Sally just took Laila's cage and headed out, lad to be out of the mayhem.

"Hello Laila! I am your new owner, Sally Williams, and we are going to Hogwarts together," she said as if formally introducing herself to a stranger.

There were now loud bangs emitting from the shop, and some people around were finally noticing. One wizard peered inside curiously before running out with a burnt fringe yelling "Help! Someone! The Menagerie is falling apart!"

Sally felt a bit guilty at leaving Wendy, but what else could she, an eleven year old do?