======Creature Shop======
=====Location Information=====
  * **Type:** [[Shop]] (Magical Pet Shop)
  * **Location:** [[Diagon Alley]], [[London]], [[England]]
  * **Owner/Residents:** An unnamed [[witch]] with heavy black spectacles works as the shop assistant and animal care advisor. The owner is unknown.
  * **Key Features:** A very noisy, smelly, and cramped space with cages stacked from floor to ceiling.
=====Description and History=====
The Creature Shop is canonically known as the **[[Magical Menagerie]]**. It is the primary pet shop located in [[Diagon Alley]], serving [[wizard]]s and [[witch]]es in search of magical or mundane animal companions and supplies. It is distinct from the more specialised [[Eeylops Owl Emporium]], which deals exclusively in [[owl]]s.
The shop's interior is described as cramped, with every inch of wall space covered by cages. The atmosphere is a cacophony of sounds from the various [[creature]]s, including squeaking, squawking, and hissing, combined with a strong, unpleasant smell. The establishment sells a wide variety of animals, including:
  * Enormous purple [[Toad]]s.
  * A cage of sleek black [[Rat]]s that were using their long, bald tails to skip ([[Rope-Skipping Rats]]).
  * A basket of fluffy white [[Rabbit]]s that could morph into a silk top [[hat]] and back again.
  * [[Cat]]s of every conceivable colour.
  * A large cage of noisy [[Raven]]s.
  * A cage of what appeared to be puppies with forked tails.
  * Poisonous orange [[Snail]]s, identified by the shop assistant as [[Streeler]]s, whose shells pulsated with changing colours as they moved.
A helpful [[witch]] wearing heavy black spectacles runs the counter, offering advice on [[creature]] care and selling animal-related products such as [[Rat Tonic]].
=====Role in the Story=====
The [[Magical Menagerie]] plays a key role in //Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban//. It is here that [[Hermione Granger]], after initially intending to buy an [[owl]] with her birthday money, instead purchases her intelligent, part-[[Kneazle]] cat, [[Crookshanks]].
This purchase is a pivotal moment, as [[Crookshanks]] immediately displays his intelligence and animosity towards [[Ron Weasley]]'s pet [[rat]], [[Scabbers]]. This antagonism, rooted in [[Crookshanks]]' ability to sense that [[Scabbers]] was not a true [[rat]] but the [[Animagus]] [[Peter Pettigrew]] in hiding, establishes a major source of conflict between Ron and Hermione throughout the school year. During the same visit, Ron seeks advice for [[Scabbers]]'s poor health and purchases [[Rat Tonic]] from the shop assistant, highlighting the [[rat]]'s supposed frailty, which was in fact due to the stress of [[Pettigrew]]'s long concealment.
=====Known Areas Within=====
The only area of the shop depicted in the novels is the main sales floor. This single room serves as both the retail space and the housing for all the [[creature]]s, with a sales counter located within the crowded space.
=====Behind the Scenes=====
  * The shop's proper name, **[[Magical Menagerie]]**, is confirmed on the [[Wizarding World]] website (Pottermore).
  * The [[Magical Menagerie]] appears in the film adaptation of //Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban//, where [[Hermione Granger]] is shown purchasing [[Crookshanks]]. (film)
  * In the PC version of the //Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets// video game, the player can visit the [[Magical Menagerie]] to purchase items. (video game)