Chris got to work early to check on her animals. Star had decided that this so-called 'work' would be dreadfully boring and left to roam Dragonside Street. Chris always felt a sense of loss when the tiny dragon left, but at least she had her pets to look forward to.

What she loved, more than anything in the world, was animals. That was the reason she worked in a Menagerie. She was capable of caring for all her animals as well. More so than many people in the wizarding world. Because of her skills, she was allowed a small room in the back of the Menagerie, and the Ministry called on her when they wanted someone to work on small pet projects in Magizoology that they couldn't bother their regular employees with.

She walked through the back door and was greeted with such an array of animal noises none had heard its like since Noah's Arc. Six Clabberts, one Crup, two Diricawls, one silenced Fwooper, two Jarvies, one Jobberknoll, eight Kneazles, twelve Mokes, one Murtlap, eighteen Plimpies, two Puffskeins, nine Salamanders, one Streeler, and four Bundimuns were in an assortment of cages, perches, and tanks, each magically adapted to the creature's needs. An Erkling in the corner, that she had for research purposes only, cackled at her.

"Shut up, you" she murmured, walking over to her bright green Fwooper. She stroked her head. "Hey, Margarita. How's life?" the bird nuzzled her head against Chris' hand.

"Is that you, Morgan?" a voice from the main store barked.

Chris rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mr. Anderson."

"Get out here, girl! We've got a mob of first years wanting pets for school!"

"Let me feed the animals first, then I'll be right there!"

"Screw your animals, Morgan, get out here now!"

Chris opened the door a crack and poked her head out. "Mr. Anderson, I say this with the utmost respect, but bite me. I've got sixty some hungry animals in here, and if I don't feed them soon, they'll get loud. So unless you want all your customers scared off by the racket they'll surely make, you'll let me feed them."

A vein bulged on her boss's forehead. He shoved his choppy black hair out of his eyes and glared at her for a few moments.

"Go to hell, bastard, I'm fucking starved! Feed me damn it!"

Chris grinned at her younger Jarvey. "I think you should let me feed them, before Mimic gets more- talkative."

Mr. Anderson glared through the door to where he imagined the Jarvies would be. (he was about two yards off.) "Ten minutes, you hear? That's all you got! Ten!"

Chris closed the door before he chose to rant on about 'uncooperative employees'. "So, who's hungry?" A chorus of squawks, splashes, barks, flashes, and very rude words (thrown her way by the Jarvies) greeted her words.

She grinned again and began to slowly work her way around the room, stopping to talk to each of her animals, minding her language around Mimic and Lil' Echo. She was just about to change out of her funeral attire and into her work robes when a letter arrived.

Miss Morgan,
The Ministry of Magic requests your involvement on an ongoing research project that, due to a sudden outbreak of violent Kelpies, our regular employees could not continue. If you accept, the Ministry will send you two subdued Nogtails in hopes that you may discover how it is that the previously mentioned demon brings blight to a farm. We will, of course, be sending you three albino bloodhound as well, in case the Nogtails escape. We expect your reply no later than noon tomorrow. Also, the male Re'em that you requested is at the breeding ranch, waiting to be introduced to the female. We at the Ministry would like to wish you good luck at breeding them. Remember- noon tomorrow.
-Eleanor Rodriguez Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures
.

"Nogtails, huh?" Chris muttered, stroking Athena. "I've never handled a demon before. Sounds fun, do you think?"

The falcon looked at her in disgust and flew off to join the Jobberknoll, Fay. Chris laughed. "Are you that against them? Well, I suggest you stay away from them."

Athena called out in alarm. Chris understood her perfectly. After all, the two had been inseparable for eight years now, ever since Lisa moved them to America. And after that little potion explosion in second year, well, Athena seemed to know exactly what Chris said. "Yep. That means that I'm accepting. Go steal some parchment form Anderson's desk, would you?" She stared at the girl for a moment before letting out a call of defeat and flying off, returning in a few moments with everything needed to write a letter.

"Morgan! Its been fifteen minutes! Get out here of you're fired!"

"Hold on, Mr. Anderson! I'm just writing a letter to the Ministry!" Hastily, she scribbled a few lines accepting the offer and thanking them for the Re'em. Rolling in up she offered it to her female Diricawls (neither she nor her mate had a cage, seeing as it wouldn't hold them). "Could you take this to the Ministry for me, Ursula?"

The Diricawl nodded and disappeared in a puff of feathers, the letter in her beak.

The door opened as Chris was donning her work robes. Tommy, a boy who had just turned sixteen and had chosen the Menagerie as the place for his first summer job, entered. He was awkwardly tall with large hands and feet. His light brown hair hung limp, covering much of his eyes and acne covered forehead. He also seemed to be cursed with clumsiness.

"Chris! Mr. Anderson is really, really mad. He says-" the Erkling cackled at him. He paled and, instead of walking in a straight line to get to Chris, went in a large arc, to stay as far away from the creature as humanly possible. "-says he's really gonna fire you this time. Says he's gonna chuck all your animals out on the street."

Chris sighed and pulled her long hair out of the robe it had been caught under as she put it on. "All right, all right. Lets not get drastic now." she strode confidently across the room and past the Erkling with Tommy in tail.

"There you are!" Mr. Anderson yelled, "Morgan! Help those kids over by the owls. Graniul- clean out those Streeler cages!" Tommy groaned and slowly walked over to the cages, tripping over his robe along the way.

Chris shook her head and walked over to the corner by the window, devoted to owls. A group of seven first years had gathered there and were staring at the birds in wonder. "Hey. You guys want one?"

A plump girl with red pigtails nodded. "Mm-hmm. But only he can afford one." She pointed to a boy, tall for eleven, with long black hair and a complexion that hinted Indian ancestry. (A/N: I'm sorry if I offended anyone by using that instead of Native American, but I hate being politically correct, seeing as I'm not a politician, and I'd rather use the word Indian. Sorry again if I offended you, its not a direct shot in the back or anything.)

Chris looked at him. "So, which one do you want?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Which one is best?"

"Well, I like them all. Most people prefer the snowy though- that's the white one over there on that high perch. But if you-" there was a yelp across the room. Tommy was over by the Streeler cages, cradling his hand. Chris frowned. "Excuse me." she quickly went over to her co-worker. "What's wrong?"

Tommy's eyes had slightly glazed over. "I just- went to pick her up, and she dropped that ooze on my hand."

"That's because you scared him. Tommy, you can't just go in there all gung ho and he-man. Just because he's an animal doesn't mean you don't have to respect him. You just have to be gentle. Here. Watch."

She put her hand in the glass cage and began to stroke the colorful shell. It changed from dark red to bright yellow as she did. She tipped his side onto one of her hands and, still stroking him with the other, lifted him slowly from one cage to another.

"There, you see? It's that simple." She patted his shoulder, "Now you get to clean the tank."

Tommy, however, wasn't preparing to clean. He was looking at her in wonder.

She shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"You're so good with animals, but with people, I'm gonna be real frank with you, you suck. Why?"

Chris considered the answer as she watched a few rats play jump rope with their tails. "I guess it's because people are flawed. Imperfect. They're evil and deceiving and do things only for their own gain or pleasure. They don't care if what they do hurts someone else, so long as they enjoy whatever they do. Animals though, they can't help but be what they are. They act how they were created to and never do things simply to hurt of be spiteful. They're just so much- purer that people."

What Tommy said next wasn't something that you'd expect a fumbling sixteen year old with zits all over his face to say. In fact, it wasn't something that you'd expect anyone but a therapist, and a damn good one at that, to say. But the lanky young man standing next to Chris said it, and when he did so, it probably wasn't to be wise, or to sound smart. He probably said it only because that's what was in his sixteen year old brain at the time.

He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. "I hope that whoever made you see humanity in such a way is punished. I hope that- someday- you might be able to look past whatever hurt you and see the good in people. 'Cuz there's a lot of it, Chris. The world's not just the rotting hellhole that you seem to see. I hope that someday you realize that."

A/N: ok, I thought it only fitting to end the chapter on that note. Its short, yes, but that truly is some good advice, and its advice I just couldn't follow with more story. And for any of you people out there without Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, just click the little next page button and you'll be able to figure out what all the animals I mentioned were. (except rats and owls- I hope you know what they are already.)

Author's Advice for the Chapter: if you see a dancing hippo, get on the first rocket ship outta here, cuz it's a sign of the Apocalypse.