He was so bored. It had been a week since he escaped Privet Drive, and aside from finding out he wasn't allowed to leave the Alley until school started, it was a better summer than last year.

Still...he had explored every shop in Diagon. Even the shop where they sell trunks. He had looked at one he really liked and bought it. Now he owned an Auror class trunk with multiple rooms, including a fully stocked kitchen. He would never again suffer from not having enough food.

So he put on a cloak and wandered around the alley. Hedwig decided to accompany him today, and was resting on his shoulders.

Suddenly she shifted, and squawked loudly.

Harry looked at the direction she was aiming. There, all by itself between two abandoned buildings, was an unusual pet shop. Hedwig seemed anxious to go there. Seeing no point not to humor her, he went in.

The bell dinged ominously.

"Um...hello?"

"Welcome, child. What sort of pet are you looking for?"

Harry looked at the person who spoke. It appeared to be a man. He was wearing Oriental robes and had long silky black hair.

"I didn't come looking for a pet. Hedwig wanted to come here, so I came in."

"Is that the name of the owl on your shoulder?" asked the man.

"She's like my big sister," said Harry, gently picking his owl off his shoulder.

"I am Count D. This is my shop."

Hedwig did an odd walk on Harry's hand, and sat on D's fist.

"There seem to be spells on her."

"Can you remove them?"

"I can, but it would be dangerous for you. Once unbound, this owl may not remember you. She could attack," advised D.

Harry looked at his beloved owl.

"What do you say girl? Do you want the spells off or not?"

Hedwig bobbed her head in answer. She wanted them off now.

"Very well. You may looked at the pets around her. But be advised, some of them are very dangerous."

"Anything more dangerous than an eighty foot basilisk or three headed dog?"

D smiled at him, and said "Not this close to the front door."

Harry grinned. As he befriended the animals out in the open, he noted a few doors that were ajar. He carefully looked into them, and saw many odd creatures. None of them appeared very threatening to him.

There in the corner though, was a terrifying beast.

Harry didn't know whether to approach it or not, but instead he stayed still and let the creature catch his scent. The beast slowly got up.

Harry didn't move as it circled him twice. Something inside told him to hold out his hand, palm down. So he did.

The creature sniffed it, and began to purr loudly. Harry gently petted it.

It was then that D returned with a beautiful woman with long silvery-white hair and white gown.

"Oh my. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What is this creature?" asked Harry, who was still petting the creature. In the light of the hallway he had a closer look at it.

It had three heads, a long tail, scales and a thick fur pelt. One head was that of a lion, one was a large dog, and the third was reminiscent of a dragon. The tail had sharp spikes and had all the markings of a poisonous snake. The feet were clawed like a bird of prey. The front half had a luxurious pelt.

"An extremely rare chimera from the East. He normally eats intruders."

"Does he have a name?" asked Harry.

Count D was startled. A normal person wouldn't have perceived such a thing. This boy had caught his interest.

"His name is Meras."

"Nice to meet you Meras," said Harry.

Meras purred louder.

"Do all animals take to you this quickly?" asked D.

"Most, but my aunt can't stand them. I can also speak snake tongue."

Count D already liked the boy.

"How would you like to meet the other animals?"

"How's Hedwig?" asked Harry.

"I'm fine Harry. Thank you for your concern."

Harry looked at the woman next to D.

"Hedwig?"

The woman smiled. Before his eyes, she returned to a familiar looking owl. She took off and landed on his shoulder, nuzzling his hair like she would an owlet.

"The wizards who captured her mother placed a spell that forced her to remain in her animal form. There were also several restriction charms, tracers and mail blocks. She is free now."

"I'm glad. I had no idea she was under a spell."

"Surprisingly, she held no resentment towards you at all. Her first question when I removed the spells was to ask where you were. I rarely see such commitment from a pet."

"I thought you sold pets here?"

"Yes, but the problem is that most people are greedy and don't follow the rules to keep their pets. Wizards are especially problematic, because when their pet turns on them for not doing as told, they attempt to kill them and get badly hurt."

"Not surprising. Most of the wizards here are bigots."

D beamed at him. He had found a child after his own heart!

"How would you like to help out around the shop?"

"Really?"

"I don't see why not. If you can tame Meras, then you should be able to handle the others. And it would be good for them to make a new friend."

"But I have to go to school. And I would only have the summers off."

D grinned wider.

"Hedwig has mentioned a new trunk with multiple rooms. I can fix one of them to transport you straight to the shop at any time."

Harry beamed at him. Finally, a chance to be normal!

"I'll bring it right over!"

For the rest of his summer he went straight to the pet shop. D was delighted to have such an able helper. Harry definitely had an affinity for the trade that Count D specialized in. His natural kindness made him welcome in the shop, and his own ability to listen served him well when it came to pairing an animal up with a new owner.

It seemed that Harry didn't know he could see auras. It was a rare gift.

Harry was coming down from the room when he heard a familiar pair arguing. He grinned.

Fred and George spotted him before he saw them. They nabbed him with a smirk.

"Hullo Gred and Forge. Mind if I prank them?"

The twins snickered and let him go. And watched on as he snuck up behind the two and poked them in the side.

Which caused both of them to yelp before whocking him in the head.

Once he learned they had been looking for him, he decided to humor them.

"I was helping out at a pet shop," was all he would say.

Hermione wanted a pet herself. She was tired of not having a proper familiar. Her parents had given her a little extra so she could buy one.

"So 'Mione, what kind of pet are you looking for?" asked Harry.

"I don't know. Maybe something like Hedwig? Definitely not a rat or a snake though..."

"Maybe the Count can help. He has a lot of pets around his shop, and some never get bought."

"What kind of pets does he sell?" asked Hermione, interested.

"Any kind you can think of, and some you've never even heard of," said Harry promptly.

"You sure know a lot about this place Harry," said Ron suspiciously.

"I've been helping around the shop for the past two weeks. It's a lot of fun."

"Since when do you need to work?" asked Ron.

"I don't need to. It's just that I was really bored waiting for school to start up. Besides, it's not like I'm actually getting paid to help."

"Why wouldn't they pay you?" asked Ron.

"Ron, please tell me you're joking," said Hermione. Even she could guess why they worked out that arrangement.

"Huh?"

"It's called Child Labor Laws. To sum it up, anyone under fifteen is not allowed to legally work for pay. I'm sure even the magical community has something like that set up."

Ron looked completely lost.

Harry looked to Hermione, and she shook her head.

"Admit defeat. Even if we spell it out for him, I doubt he would get the concept without a thorough explanation of history."

"And that would put him to sleep faster than if we stunned him... You're right," said Harry.

Ron looked between the two of them with suspicion.

Since Ron wanted something for his rat, Harry showed him where the pet shop was.

"We'll meet you at the bookstore," said Hermione.

"Hello, welcome to... Who is this charming young lady Harry?"

"This is my friend Hermione. She's wanting to buy a proper familiar."

"Would you like to match her up with one?"

"I figured you would have better luck with it," shrugged Harry.

Count D knew the real reason. Harry was too close to the girl to judge properly. It was a wise decision.

Hermione looked at all the regular pets, such as the cats and dogs, but her heart wasn't in any of them. Then she felt a pull towards the back.

Count D escorted her into the back room, where she heard the sound of feathers.

"Hello Count. Is this a new master?" asked a woman with silvery-white hair and an oriental outfit.

"Greetings Lady Hikari. This is a young lady looking for a companion."

Hermione followed Lady Hikari into the corners of the room. A single black raven looked at her and cawed.

"It seems he is taken with you," said Hikari.

"What is he?"

"A night raven. Very rare, but reliable. Legend has it that those who have a Night Raven will never be lonely again, and will be protected even in the darkness of hell," said Hikari. Count D made a face behind her.

"How much?"

Count D smiled.

"I believe you friend Harry has already helped to buy him," said Count D.

Hermione gave him a knowing look, and he elaborated.

"What I meant was that Harry has been such a help around here that you can have him at a discount," said D.

That relaxed her. She hated charity.

"If you follow me we can sign the contract and you can be on your way," said D.

Hermione left with Harry and Hedwig. Inside the cage was the raven, which she named Hades. It was an interesting choice for a name.

"So does that make you Persephone?" joked Harry.

Ron was bored waiting, and when he saw them he looked annoyed.

"I've been waiting forever!" he whined.

Harry discreetly looked at his watch. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes since they left him. Was he really that impatient?

"Honestly Ron, you could stand to learn some patience!" said Hermione exasperated.

Harry was bored on the train. While he had bought an interesting book on magical animals (he planned to share it with Hagrid later) the ride just couldn't compete with D's shop. There he experienced something new or interesting every day.

Ron just couldn't see the appeal of working without pay. Let alone in a place he thought was full of squalling animals. While Harry pointed out that his owl was extremely well behaved, as was Hades, Ron pointed out that they were well trained.

Harry gave it up as a bad job. It was then he wondered why he was even friends with someone as crude and impatient as Ron.

Hermione had been wondering that too. Ron was too ignorant about things that were obvious to everyone else. He was so petty, always trying to outdo his brothers. And his jealousy towards those with fame or money only made it worse.

Why am I friends with someone that callous? They thought.

Remus Lupin was not as oblivious as they thought. He was actually half awake. And while he listened to them chatter about their summers (Harry winning the most interesting) he noted with horror that the two birds were shooting him some odd looks.