Hydrus walked into the Magical Menagerie.
It was a shop specializing in pets.
Pushing open the door, she was hit by a foul smell.
The owner had probably tried to mask the stench with fragrance, spraying some kind of potion into the air, but the result was even more pungent.
The shop was crowded, with all sorts of cages piled everywhere. The female owner, wearing thick, black-framed glasses, saw a customer and immediately hurried over.
"Oh, dearie, what are you looking for? I have all sorts of pets, common and uncommon!"
Hydrus scanned the shop. The magical creatures with distinct wizarding world characteristics—like orange snails, turtles with gem-encrusted shells, and transforming rabbits—were immediately passed over.
She focused her gaze directly on the owls, cats, and snakes.
"Do you want an owl? Or a snake? Cats are nice too..."
The owner's words were cut off.
Clang, clang...
Chirp, chirp...
Meow...
Woof...
The small animals in the shop suddenly rioted. All the little creatures began to charge their cage doors, trying to "jailbreak."
Those birds, snakes, turtles, lizards, and Pygmy Puffs that weren't caged immediately rushed over to Hydrus at top speed, acting affectionately.
A snowy owl landed on her left shoulder, a raven on her right. Several other birds had nowhere to land and had to circle her.
Four or five snakes slithered up her legs and coiled around her waist.
A huge pile of Pygmy Puffs swarmed over, nearly drowning her calves...
The owner covered her mouth, incredulous. "Oh, dearie, my little ones have never been this excited! I've never seen them be so affectionate with one person!"
Her voice was already loud, but it was still drowned out by the animals' cries, forcing her to cast a Sonorus on herself.
"Child, are you some kind of runaway princess?" (A pure Disney roast, pay it no mind)
Hydrus covered her ears. She knew this shop would be noisy, but she hadn't expected it to be this noisy.
She didn't want to stay a second longer. Although being swarmed by animals felt great, the chaotic, annoying, high-frequency sounds were enough to make her head explode.
Suddenly, she saw a tabby cat in the corner of the shop.
The cat sat there quietly, grooming itself, completely ignoring Hydrus's "charm."
Hydrus didn't know why animals liked her so much, nor did she want to find out.
But when something different suddenly leaped into view, she couldn't help but approach and touch it.
Hydrus—carrying large birds, coiled in snakes, dragging a pile of Pygmy Puffs, and leading a group of turtles and lizards—walked over to the tabby cat.
It was a fine-looking tabby, but it clearly had no magical animal bloodline, because Hydrus touched it and felt no magical constitution.
"Meow!"
The tabby cat swiped at Hydrus quickly, so fast that Hydrus didn't even have time to react!
And this was despite her body being comparable to a 4X magical creature!
The most interesting part was, when the cat swiped at her, it didn't extend its claws...
A soft paw pad tapped her hand, not painful or itchy at all.
It was just a false alarm.
'What is this, gentle coldness?'
"This one!"
Hydrus pointed at the tabby cat and said.
The owner asked, "What? Dearie, what did you say?"
"I! Want! This! One!"
"Oh, this little one wandered into my shop on its own. It doesn't have magical blood, but it seems to be an Eastern breed. In any case, it's quite rare around here, so I kept it."
The bespectacled owner's voice, enhanced by magic, was perfectly clear.
Hydrus nodded and asked, "How! Much!"
"3 Galleons! The cage is free!"
...
After paying, Hydrus clutched the cat cage, burst through the shop door, and fled.
The moment she left, the owner waved her wand. "Freezing Charm!"
Those little creatures that wanted to follow Hydrus in her jailbreak were controlled by the Freezing Charm.
The Magical Menagerie instantly fell silent.
Aside from the frozen pets, the little ones in the cages very consciously shut their mouths and shrank back.
Their shop-mom had never used a spell on them before, but today she had actually waved her wand at them! How scary, how scary, hiding now.
But that young lady was so nice to 'huff'!
Yet, in the end, they licked and got nothing. Instead, that aloof cat became the lucky one.
...
...
Hydrus rushed out of the shop and looked back, lingering fear in her heart. Seeing no pets chasing her, she raised a hand to wipe away the cold sweat that wasn't actually there.
"From now on, I'll call you Jinhu." Hydrus lifted the cage and met the tabby cat's gaze. Jinhu's lively eyes made her feel that this cat was intelligent.
She opened the cage door, scooped Jinhu out, and then casually tossed the cage into her sachet.
"You should be free. I won't cage you," Hydrus stroked Jinhu's back. "If you're willing to follow me, I'll be very happy. But if you run away, I won't stop you. I'll just consider it charity."
She, Hydrus "Rich-Woman" Lestrange, had plenty of money now! She was no longer the little pauper who searched the garden all afternoon for three Galleons.
She placed Jinhu on the ground and walked toward Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
The tabby cat shook its head, then began to follow closely behind Hydrus with elegant steps.
Hydrus walked a few steps, then turned her head. Seeing Jinhu following her, she was overjoyed. She kept walking, turning back to make faces at it.
Jinhu suddenly stopped and covered its eyes with one front paw.
Hydrus didn't know why. She was wondering about it when,
Thud.
She bumped into someone.
"I'm sorry!"
She didn't even see who the person was before she bowed deeply in apology. After all, she hadn't been looking where she was going; the fault was definitely hers.
"Hehehe, not watching where you're going is not a good habit."
The old voice was full of wisdom, powerful yet kind.
Hydrus looked up. A tall, thin old wizard stood before her.
He had flowing silver hair, and a beard of the same color that nearly reached his stomach.
He had bright blue eyes that seemed able to see through everything in the world.
If it were just that, Hydrus wouldn't have been able to tell who it was. After all, there were many old wizards who looked like that; for example, the white wizard Gandalf had this look.
But that long, crooked hook nose completely exposed his identity.
This was Albus Dumbledore!
The White Wizard she had been trying so hard to avoid.
"You're quite strong, child," Dumbledore said. "You hurt me."
"I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
Hydrus apologized again. She wanted to end this awful encounter quickly and slip away.
"Oh, my ribs might be broken... An apology alone won't be enough."
Dumbledore clutched his ribs with one hand and held out the other in a gesture of asking for money.
Hydrus was completely shocked.
The greatest white wizard, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot,
Was... hustling her?
"Alright, sir," Hydrus lowered her head in dismay. This was truly an unexpected disaster. "What kind of compensation do you want?"
Seeing the little girl's pained expression, as if she were cutting off her own flesh, Dumbledore's mood brightened immensely. He laughed heartily. "The ice cream parlor is right ahead. You wouldn't mind compensating me with a box of ice cream, would you, child?"
'Thank goodness, thank goodness!'
Hearing it was just a box of ice cream, Hydrus immediately relaxed. "Alright, I can afford a box of ice cream."
One minute later.
One old, one young, sat on a bench outside the ice cream parlor.
The delicious ice cream couldn't relax Hydrus, because the old man opposite her was staring at her intently.
"Child, why aren't you in school?"
Faced with Dumbledore's question, Hydrus answered without thinking, "I'm a Squib."
"A Squib, eh..." the old man stroked his long beard. "Being a Squib must be difficult. Are your family good to you?"
Hydrus paused, considering her words carefully before replying, "I've left home. I'm living with a Muggle now."
Speaking of which, Hydrus remembered she was supposed to bring ice cream back for Rick. She quickly shouted into the shop, "Proprietor! Two more boxes of ice cream, one vanilla, and one lavender Earl Grey! To go!"
"I can see you really like ice cream," Dumbledore said. "But eating too many sweets is bad for your teeth."
'On this matter, you are the least qualified person to talk!' Hydrus complained fiercely in her heart.
She explained aloud, "This is for my brother at home. He's the Muggle I live with. He hasn't tried wizarding ice cream yet!"
"A brother, you say?"
A small smile touched Dumbledore's lips.
The gaze he fixed on Hydrus softened considerably.
Before long, both of their ice creams were finished. Hydrus stood up hurriedly. "I'm still very sorry for bumping into you, but if you don't have anything else, may I go?"
"Of course, child. Thank you for the treat."
Dumbledore also stood up.
They looked at each other. The round table between them was like a chasm, separating the two.
Dumbledore spoke: "Even as a Squib, you must hold onto hope. Perhaps one day, you might just become a remarkable wizard."
Hydrus curtsied slightly. "Thank you for your blessing. It's getting late, I must be going. Goodbye, sir."
"Goodbye, child. I greatly look forward to our next meeting."
"Oh, and by the way, I'm such an old fool. I forgot to ask your name."
Hydrus froze.
This old bee didn't play by the rules. Why ask for her name now?
'Hydrus Lestrange is wanted, so I can't say that name...
Audrey Astley's current identity is a Muggle, so I can't say that name...
She was currently wearing Hermione Granger's face, but as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore surely had access to the Book of Admittance. He probably already knew a girl named Hermione Granger would be enrolling in the future, so using Hermione's name was risky...
I'll just have to make one up.'
"Poppy," Hydrus said. "My name is Poppy. Poppy Graham."
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]