A/N: Here's the next chapter! I know it's still rather short, but there wasn't all that much to write about...

Chapter 10
Into the Magical Menagerie

Upon entering the shop, Ed was instantly bombarded by an assortment of loud shrieks, meows, hoots and a number of other unidentifiable sounds. The smell in the air was overwhelming; a mixture of animal food, wet fur and what they left behind afterwards. The shop was cramped, full to the brim with cages containing a variety of animals; from cats to peculiar lizard-like creatures. Nervously, Ed continued to follow Harry, unaware that he had stopped and consequently walking into him.

"Right, here we are!" Harry declared, stating the obvious. "I know there are tons of awesome animals here, but you're only allowed either an owl, a cat or a toad at Hogwarts." He pulled a face. "It's the rules." Ed pulled a face back but, as usual, said nothing. Wandering around, he stared in awe at the assortment of creatures before him; bundles of kittens, fighting each other playfully; a tank full of lizards (salamanders, as he later found out), flames licking at the corners of their mouths and spiders, resting in the centre of large webs, enticing flies to their deaths.

It was amazing, to put it simply.

He was brought abruptly back to reality by a sharp nudge as Harry elbowed him, reminding him of the reason that they were there. Looking around, he searched for an animal that would stay by his side no matter what. An owl, cat or toad… Not much choice, really.

Approaching one of the tanks full of the latter, he was instantly repulsed by the giant warts oozing off their backs. Looking at the label, he saw that they were simply called 'Slimy Toads', and that they originated from some island that he had never heard of. Turning his nose up at them, he instead went looking around the shop for an owl finding, surprisingly, only one. It was old, and stared evilly as he approached, hooting in discontentment. He jumped slightly as someone put a hand on his shoulder.

"If you want to get an owl, we'd better go to Eeeylops Owl Emporium; that's were I got Hedwig from." Harry said simply, before adding, "They specialise in 'em." Ed shook his head lightly; he hadn't finished looking yet.

Wandering over to the far corner of the cramped room, he came across yet another cage of playful kittens; this one next to a cage of sleek black rats that, for some reason, seemed to be playing skipping rope with their tails. Staring at the kittens, he felt an old memory resurface in the depths of his mind…

"Please can we keep her?"

"Please!"

They looked at their mother, eyes pleading. In Edward's hands he clutched a small tabby kitten, wet from the rain in which they had found it meowing pitifully. She shook her head simply.

""I'm sorry boys. We just can't take care of a cat."

"Please!" this was Alphonse. He'd always loved cats; a lot more than Edward ever had. He begged her to let them keep the kitten, but her answer remained the same. Edward just stood there silently before, furiously, grabbing the kitten from Alphonse's hands and storming out of the front door.

"Make sure that he finds someone to take good care of her." Trisha told her youngest son, hugging him as she saw the tears streaming down his face. Angrily, he ran after his brother.

"Why do you always do this? You always give in! You ALWAYS – "

"Shut up, Al." The young boy looked at his brother in shock. Edward never spoke to him like that. The golden-haired boy noticed the expression on his younger brother's face.

"I'm not taking her back to the village. We're gonna take care of her, no matter what Mum says…"

The younger boy smiled.

Staring at the many kittens bounding happily up and down the cage, Ed couldn't help but smile faintly at the memory of his brother's face.

Alphonse loves kittens…

He made up his mind.

Harry approached the blonde-haired youth who, for the past ten minutes or so, had been staring at the cage full of kittens.

"So," he said, making Ed jump, "I take it's you've decided?" The boy nodded slightly. "Which one?" Nervously, he pointed to one of the far corners of the cage, where a small black kitten was sitting quietly by itself. Harry nodded in approval. "Better than Hermione's choice in cats," he said mildly, remembering what had happened when she'd bought Crookshanks. He went over to inform the shop assistant of Ed's choice.

Opening the cage and navigating his way past multiple kittens (who started playing with his arm), the shop assistant grabbed the little black one and handed it to Ed, leading them to the counter to pay. Shocked, Harry realised that, close up, the kitten was actually an extremely dark tabby. Ed didn't look surprised at all.

He must have really good eyesight…

Paying, they exited the shop. Happy for its freedom, the kitten curled up on her new owner, purring loudly. Harry kept hold of the bag containing the kitten's food and other requirements, noticing a look on Ed's face that he had never truly seen before.

A contented happiness.

Glancing at a clock, he realised that they were running late. Cursing silently beneath his breath, they quickly made their way back to the arranged meeting point, and where everybody was waiting for them.

A/N: Next chapter, Ed's journey on the Hogwarts Express!