One of the joys of writing fanfiction: you can do anything you want. In this case, I am going to completely disregard the only owls, cats or toads allowed rule. Its pretty stupid anyway. Ron owned a rat, and Hermione owned a half kneazle. Neither of their pets were part of the school list.

Chapter seven: Magical Menagerie

"Are we done with everything, Professor?" asked Elsa, reading her supplies list. "I think we've checked off everything from the list."

"McGonagall looked at her with a gleam in her eyes. "One last stop I believe. Tell me Miss Lovelace, would you like a pet?" she asked.

Elsa jerked her head up in surprise. A pet? Papa and mama did mention how they'd let Anna and me get pets once Anna turned 9… she thought. There's still a few weeks until Anna's birthday, but I'm sure papa and mama won't mind. I'll just promise to be extra responsible. Plus, I can get one for Anna as well. As an early birthday present.

The princess smiled at McGonagall. "Yes please!" she said.

McGonagall allowed the tiniest of smiles to creep up onto her face. Elsa's bright smile had a way to melt even the coldest of hearts. "Follow me then," she said, once again leading Elsa towards one of the shops.

It was a pet shop. There wasn't a lot of room inside. Cages occupied by all sorts of creatures filled the shelves and parts of the floor. Elsa saw cats, toads, owls, rats, but there were also some creatures she didn't recognize.

"Welcome to Magical Menagerie!" a jolly woman said, approaching Elsa and McGonagall. She was rather plump and had dark brown hair. A smile hung on her face. Elsa couldn't help but like this woman. She seemed very nice. "Oh Professor McGonagall! Welcome! Come to help a student pick out a pet?"

McGonagall nodded. "Miss Lovelace here wants a pet to accompany her to Hogwarts," she said.

"Nice to meet you Miss Lovelace. I'm Miss Honey," the woman said. "You're in luck. We have every type of animal imaginable here. Take your pick!"

Elsa thanked Miss Honey and began to inspect the cages one by one. She asked questions about each creature, and Miss honey happily answered every single one of them. The woman had an impressive amount of knowledge regarding magical creatures. With every new fact learned, Elsa felt herself more and more drawn into this world full of mystery and sorcery. She learnt about puffskeins, kneazles, fire cats and more. Elsa was fascinated by all the different creatures of the magical world. Who knew that there was so much to know about magic, sorcery and witchcraft?

Suddenly, a silver cage with a white fox caught her eye. The fox was a small thing, and had fur as white as snow. The end of its tail, though, slowly transitioned to a pale, icy blue hue. The fox sat patiently in the cage, like it had been waiting for Elsa its whole life.

"Who's this?" she asked, reaching into the cage and gently stroking the foxes fur. The fox purred in response, nuzzling Elsa's hand.

Miss Honey smiled. "She's an arctic fox, but for some reason this one doesn't mind heat at all. She loves the sunshine," she said. "I think she likes you."

Elsa removed her hand, and giggled when the fox looked at her expectantly, as if she was asking Elsa to stroke her some more. "I think I'll have her," Elsa decided.

Miss Honey nodded and took the fox out of the cage and into Elsa's waiting arms. The fox purred and snuggled Elsa, licking her face.

"I think I'll name you… Khione," Elsa said, looking into the deep golden eyes of the fox. McGonagall nodded approvingly. "The Greek goddess of ice and snow," she said. "A fitting name for an arctic fox."

Elsa smiled, glad that McGonagall understood her reference. While she loved reading and learning about almost anything, Greek mythology was one of her favourite topics. Elsa loved spending hours curled up on a chair in the castle library, reading about the tales of the gods and goddesses of Olympus.

"Can I get one more animal? For my sister?" asked Elsa. She beamed when McGonagall agreed. Anna was going to love her early birthday present/ She could feel it in her bones.

Looking around the shop, Elsa spotted a small, brown owl looking at her, its chest puffed out, as if saying: No need to look around anymore. I'm the one. "Hello little one," she asked, walking over.

"Ooh that's a good one," Miss Honey told Elsa. "She's a bit prideful, but don't be fooled by her tiny appearance. She's one of the strongest fliers we have. Perfect for sending mail."

Elsa's eyebrows creased together, wondering why on earth would an owl be sending mail. Miss Honey chuckled at her bewildered expression, then explained that witches and wizards sometimes used owls to send mail since the birds had a great sense of direction.

Professor McGonagall also explained that Hogwarts had an owlery where students could borrow owls to send messages, which made Elsa smile. She would be able to keep in touch with Anna easily.

The princess looked at the owl again, who looked back at her pointedly. It flapped its wings and hooted loudly. Pick me! Pick me! I'm the best owl around here, it seemed to say.

"I think she's going to be perfect for Anna," Elsa said. "I'll take her."

Miss Honey nodded and handed the owl cage to Elsa. She also put Khione back into her cage and handed that cage over to Elsa as well. "Will you be fine carrying everything?" she asked worriedly. She sounded a little bit like a mother fussing over her child.

Elsa nodded. "I'll be fine," she reassured. "This is our last place, right Professor McGonagall?" "You are correct," Professor McGonagall said. "You'll be heading home after this."

Elsa paid for her purchases and left the shop with the professor. However, instead of lifting her wand like she had expected the professor to do, McGonagall led Elsa to yet another shop instead.

When Elsa asked McGonagall why she wasn't just waving her wand to take them back to the castle, McGonagall shook her head. "We won't be apparating this time," explained McGonagall. "I still have business to attend to. I'll be teaching you how to use floo powder. You'll have to know how to use it when you need to travel to the train station for school"

Stepping inside the shop, Elsa's eyes grew wide. The shop was not a shop at all, but instead, a room full of burning fireplaces. There was a dish of glittery green powder next to each fireplace. The smell of smoke was thick in the air.

McGonagall gently steered Elsa towards one of the fireplaces, then handed her a small bag. When Elsa opened it, she saw the same kind of glittery green powder in the dishes.

"Floo powder," McGonagall said, as if sensing Elsa's confusion. "You'll be using this to travel to King's Cross Station to catch your train to Hogwarts."

Handing Elsa a small piece of paper, McGonagall continued, "Here's your train ticket. Do not lose it, or you won't be able to ride the train. Train leaves at 11 o'clock sharp."

The professor took a step backwards. "Now, all you have to do is take a handful of floo powder, throw it into the fire, then say your destination out loud. In your case, it would be Arendelle castle. You can even mention a specific room if you want to appear in a more specific place," she said. "But do be careful when saying the name. If it's not clear enough, you don't know where you'll end up."

Elsa paled a little when she heard the last part. She made a mental note to speak as loudly as she can when using the powder, not wanting to appear in the middle of nowhere. Nodding, she tucked the ticket into her bottomless bag. Hopefully she'll be able to find it again later. Looking around, Elsa was relieved to see that there was no one in the room. Thankfully no one will have to hear her say her destination out loud. She didn't think that her identity could stay a secret if someone heard her say "Arendelle Castle" out loud.

Putting her cages down, Elsa reached towards the dish of floo powder, then hesitated and looked back. She stepped towards Professor McGonagall and gave her a big hug. The professor stiffened at the gesture, before finally softening and returning the hug.

"Thank you Professor," said Elsa. "For showing me around today." McGonagall smiled. "Just doing my job, Miss Lovelace," she said. "Now you must be on your way. Your parents are waiting. And I have to write another letter to Harry Potter. God knows what that boy is doing, not answering a single one of his letters…" Professor Mcgonagall muttered the last part.

Elsa tilted her head in confusion, but decided to let the muttering slide. She had a feeling that she'll find out more about this "Harry Potter" person soon enough.

Elsa stepped back in front of the fireplace and threw some floo powder into the fire, which went from golden yellow to green. Picking up the cages, Elsa took a deep breath before stepping into the flames. Miraculously, it didn't burn at all.

"Goodbye Professor McGonagall," she said. "See you again soon!"

McGonagall waved her arm to wave back, then swished her wand and disappeared out of sight.

Elsa closed her eyes. "Arendelle Castle, Princess Anna's room!" she said, loud and clear. The flames around her grew, and Elsa felt herself being transported away to somewhere else, far far away…