The Creature Shop is canonically known as the Magical Menagerie. It is the primary pet shop located in Diagon Alley, serving wizards and witches in search of magical or mundane animal companions and supplies. It is distinct from the more specialised Eeylops Owl Emporium, which deals exclusively in owls. 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 creatures, including squeaking, squawking, and hissing, combined with a strong, unpleasant smell. The establishment sells a wide variety of animals, including:
A helpful witch wearing heavy black spectacles runs the counter, offering advice on creature care and selling animal-related products such as Rat Tonic.
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.
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 creatures, with a sales counter located within the crowded space.