"That's nice, dear. Just be careful," Artie cautioned, repeating her previous question, "Will that be all for you?" A young man buying fluffy gifts for his girlfriend? How nice. Sorting through something behind her counter, Artemis looked up with a warm smile at the pair. "Uh, actually there aren't really pygmy puff accessories.." Artie trailed off for a moment, "Just the carrier and pygmy itself." Watching the younger pair, Artie supressed a small laugh. They were rather adorable, and in a way reminded her of her younger brother and one of his friends back when they had been just a little bit younger than these two, she thought. Nodding slightly at the boy's question, Artie started to answer, "I don't see why not. I've never fed them any myself, but it's rare to come across a finicky puff. Feed it what you like, so long as it's not sugary or harmful." And of course, Artie fully expected that they'd know what fell under the 'harmful' category. Unedible things, mostily. Bones, those were no good either. A small laugh escaped the half-Greek woman at the young girl's question, her smile growing with slight amusement. "Can they bite? Yes. Do they bite? No. I've never experienced a pygmy puff biting; they're very low maintence and generally, very happy critters. I would imagine, though, if sat on or thrown or nearly squished - they would attempt to bite out of defense or alarm. But they don't have very sharp teeth, so it's not likely to hurt you. At most, he or she may try to nib at you out of affection."

Leaning against the counter, Artie brushed a stray dark strand from her face, adding, "And that will be exactly 1 galleon. Do either of you have any more questions?" she prompted, more than happy to continue telling them whatever it was they wanted to know.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat?! Seriously?!

How many times had Cricket asked about the biting thing AND how many times had Treyen explained that the little puff ball didn't bite?!

Millions!

Or...maybe not millions, but close enough.

Eyebrow raised.



The eyebrow returned to its place as soon as the lady started to answer his question. Mmmmm, interesting. So, Pretzel could eat pretzels, amazing.

"I see, thank you," he said with a smile on his pretty face. Cricket's question was very much answered, with an extra amount of details for her not to ask any more of those. And if she did, he'll tell her exactly what the lady told them. His memory was being wonderful lately.

He looked away when Cricket was told that the little creature didn't bite, nor did it have teeth sharp enough to cause any harm. Just like he'd told her, because there was no way that Treyen Lockhart would buy something that could harm Cricket.

The boy searched for the golden coin in his pocket and placed it on the counter, "I think, that's it, right?" he didn't mean the amount, he knew what a galleon was, but he truly meant was...'I have no further questions, we're free to go, right?'...but he didn't say that, he just eyed Cricket to see if she had a question.

She probably had tons of those.

Harper made sure to listen very very carefully to all the woman had to say. Pretzels? Seriously? She was gonna have to stock up on those, because there was no way she would have a pygmy puff called Pretzel and not have it eat them! But, wait...nothing sugary? What would happen if they had something sugary? Would they start whizzing around, turn rampage and in the chaos, turn to BITING?

Oh. No. The nice kind patient (and did I say nice?) lady said they did not bite. But, she had heard the word 'generally' somewhere in there, so there was still hope a possibility. She would try her hardest not to sit on it. Poor little Pretzel, being squished by a human. :'(

When the nicest lady in the whole wide world asked if they had any more questions, Harper opened her mouth, planning on the 'sugary' question, when she noticed Treyen eyeing her after laying the money down on the counter.

Ahem. She pretended to yawn and shake her head no. "N-n-noooo, that'll be it, yep yep." NO, that was NOT it, but she didn't want to be bit by Treyen himself, soooo...

She gave Queen Kindness of the Universe her best smile. This woman must have the best job, looking at pygmy puffs in all their puffiness all day.

"Thank youuuu!" she said, to both Treyen and the lady with a case of radiant niceness. "It's so cute." she added.

It was!

Diagon had quieted down considerably, as it always did when summers came to an end. It was now October and fall was in the air, leaves of yellows and reds and deep plums littering the streets here and there as they fell from their trees. Soon enough, winter would be on it's way. Artemis couldn't wait for the snow.

Absently, the shopkeeper stared out of the front window until her rather large furry companion, Jinx, strolled by. Her tail wagging happily in the air, Artie shifted her weight from one foot to the other and gave the dog a pat. "Suppose I should start restocking," She said, more so to herself than to the one year old labrador retriever.

Jinx trotted after her owner, disappearing into the back room with Artemis to collect boxes.

Millicent was sure that Artie wouldn't want her back in the following summer, not to mention that she'd probably rather restock on her own. She made a lousy assistant in her mind - clearly Wizarding retail was not the career path for her. Propping her elbow on the counter, she leaned onto her hand as she gazed idly outside for a moment at the graying October skies.

Well she ought to pack up her bags ... perhaps move out of the city and into the country. Perhaps do a lot of things. Jump off a bridge and make it seem like an accident? Wail to Katrina? Tell her father she was interested in his broom making business; which was a complete lie?

Yea, there were a lot of things she could do. But none of them helped her figure out her future any better. Hearing a voice, she looked up as her boss headed off into the back room to being restocking, apparently. With a sigh, Millie followed. While she was still receiving a paycheck, she may as well pretend like she earned it, right?

Daisy wandered over to the counter, holding her new, fat purple pygmy puff, Stevie.
'Hi' she said, thumping Stevie on the counter 'Listen, can you do this quickly please, I need to be somewhere right now' Daisy emptied the money on the counter and drummed her fingers impatiently.

Gretchen was all smiles, standing behind the counter of the joke shop. It was officially summer vacation for most, if not all, children and although she wasn't very experienced in the type of shop she was currently running, the young woman was still excited.

"Hello." Watching the child drop an especially round and rather chubby pygmy puff on the counter and then fish out some coins, Gretchen raised an eyebrow at the girl's impatience. Since when did children have such busy schedules? "Will that be all for you, then?" She asked, while accepting a single galleon.

'Yeah, for now thanks, I'll probably be back tommorow but I really need to go' she said breathlessly. 'and, um, will he get on with my cat?' She quickly held up a cat that looked suspicoulsy like a very small tiger, which stared at the pygmy puff.

Oakey walked up to the counter with Renesmee right next to him, with his hands full of Extendable Ears he dropped them right on the counter. It wasn't until then that he realized he had grabbed 12 bags of them. What was he going to do with 24 Ears? It didn't bother him for long. Oakey really liked the idea of these and if he could he would have grabbed another dozen. He looked up from the Ears and gave the clerk a huge grin

Selina walked up to the front counter with all of her "supplies" in hand. Out of all of the school shopping that was required Selina felt that WWW was a number one priority. To return to school without the essentials would be a crime.

Collecting all of her things Selina placed her items on the counter. In the pile of tricks and treats were two skiving snackboxes, dungbombs, itchy box, and a set of extendable ears. Selina was excited for the new term to begin. Oh yes, very excited.

Skip, skip, skippity, skip-skip. Kaylee arrived at the front desk holding the pigmy puff and it's cage. She had been squealing the whole way there, and was most likely scaring away the customers, but she was happyyyyyy. "Hullo! I'd like to buy Inky here." She indicated the pink pigmy puff. "And this silver cage as well." She grinned happily at the shopkeeper, hardly restraining herself from shouting 'best day ever!' Because that wasn't proper, and she knew somewhat how to behave.

Jeanne was finished looking around. She was now ready to buy the purple pygmy puff. The pygmy puff really looked so adorable that every time Jeanne saw it move, she smiles.

She put the cage with the pygmy puff inside at the counter as she took her money. "How much will this be" she asked the shop owner.

Ahh. The child really did have a busy schedule. Gretchen thought it was likely the girl's parents were waiting for her outside, or finishing up some shopping in another area of Diagon Alley and had instructed her to meet them at a certain time.

"Actually, I think that question should be reversed. How will your cat treat your pygmy puff," Gretchen said, eyes on the beautifully colored feline the child held up. She offered the girl an assuring smile. "Pygmy puffs are non-violent and non-aggressive.. really, they have no way of defending themselves, no arms or legs, sharp teeth or claws." They rolled. Gretchen knew that much, but that wasn't to say a lot.
Smiling to the young pair of children that stepped up together, a look of surprise crossed Gretchen's face. It didn't seem unusual to her for kids to come with armfuls of gadgets and even though she had only started working here recently, it was the first time a child had come up with an armful of the same product. "I see we have a future spy on our hands," The young woman remarked playfully with a laugh, gathering the extendable ears into a bag as she calculated the price. "If that's all, your total comes to 24 galleons love."
"Hello!" Gretchen greeted brightly as one child left and another came forward, emptying her arms of the treats and toys she wished to buy. "Enjoying your summer vacation so far?" She asked, collecting a bag in one hand and began to fill it while adding the prices together. "That's 5 galleons and 4 sickles, Miss."
With the shop being overtaken with excited, happy, bubbly children it didn't concern Gretchen when a squeal met her ears so much as it surprised her. Brown eyes looking up and toward the sound as it approached, a smile soon found it's way back. "Inky? What a lovely name you've picked out!" Gretchen remarked. "Pygmy puffs are 1 galleon, and the cage goes with it."
Gretchen hadn't known the pygmy puffs were so popular, but it seemed they were indeed. She smiled sweetly to the next young girl - this one being a quieter one, mind you - as she set her new pet down in it's cage. "Hello love! Pygmy puffs are 1 galleon each."

Kaylee hopped on her toes excited, Inky was PERFECT, she could hardly believe that her dad was allowing to get her a pygmy puff. "OH! Thank you sooo much!" She grinned widely at Gretchen and deposited the money on the counter. "I thought long and hard for the name before coming here." She chuckled a little bit and then was on her way, a happy little eleven year old with a pygmy puff to match her hair.

Oakey handed the lady 24 galleons. Him a spy, Oakey silently laughed at that remark. If he was a spy. He wouldn't last very long, his bad luck wouldn't allow it.

'Thanks, bye' she replied breathlessly, looking at her watch and running out of the shop, before she realised her puff was still on the counter and went back to fetch it.

"You're so very welcome." Gretchen's expression warmed even more at the girl's excitement. She was awfully cute! Hehe. "Have a good day, dear child." She called after the girl, depositing the galleon the till.
Accepting the money in one hand, Gretchen offered the boy his bag with her other. "There you go! Have a good day."
And nearly as soon as the girl came, she was leaving. But oh wait- "Miss" Gretchen called, watching the child return quickly. "You forgot your pygmy puff." This time making sure to hand it to her, the young woman gave her a wave. "Have a good day."

Jeanne smiled and took the money on her left pocket. "1 galleon it is." she beamed with delight having a new purple friend. She was very excited to take it home and play with it.

"Thank you." she said

Luna looked at the pigmys

''Exuse me how much for a pigmy''

Kate walked into the store with her hands on her hips. She had long curly brown hair and was wearing jeans with a black belt. She was a grown woman in the imploy of the Ministry. She slapped a pack of Stink Pellets down on the counter. She said "Tell me,why do you sell these things?" She remembered how those brats snuck some down her pants.

Jade walked up to the counter carrying a Pygmy Puff. She stroked its fluffy fur as she waited for the line to move.

Melina was sooooooo excited to get her very own pygmy puffs! She'd only wanted one since she first saw one when she was four. She had chosen two puffs (one lavender and one bubblegum pink); they had been rolling around together playfully and they looked like good friends. Melina didn't want to separate them.

She brought her two puffs (who were already straining at the doors of their carriers to get out and play with each other) along with one tube of Guaranteed 10-second pimple vanisher and one bag of Glow-O-Oh-No candies to the counter.

Doing a tiny happy dance, she grinned at the shopkeeper. "I'm all set! May I please purchase these?

"Oh, I almost forgot- why can't we feed them sugary things? And, um, how can I tell if mine are girls, boys, or one of each?"

"You are welcome, Miss. Enjoy your pygmy puff and have a nice day!" Accepting the gold coin, Gretchen bid the young girl a cheerful farewell before turning her attention to the next child in line.
Following the young child's gaze in the direction of the WonderWitch section, Gretchen's brown eyes came to rest on the girl as she answered. "1 galleon, love."
Gretchen had only been working in the shop for a short amount of time but this was the first she had seen an adult come in. It was refreshing, if not different. "Well, this is a joke shop and I would imagine those are a popular purchase for practical jokers." The young Witch said offhand, a cheerful note in her voice. "By the way, that'll be 1 galleon, Miss."
"Come up, what can I do for you?" Gretchen asked, waving another waiting child up to the front counter.
"Of course you may!" Gretchen said, smiling happily at the adorably excited young girl as she got a bag out for the extra items that weren't breathing and caged.

Putting the candies and pimple vanisher into the bag, Gretchen took a moment to consider the girl's questions. "Well, it's really not good to give any animals sugar. Not sure why, but it probably has to do with them being different from us; their stomachs probably can't handle it. As for identifying them, I think the males are usually a teeny tiny bit bigger than the females."

"And your total comes to 3 galleons and 14 sickles, love." She added, setting her bag next to the pair of pygmy puff carriers.

Wow- she was the nicest shopkeeper EVER! Melina could almost feel the warmth flowing out of the sweet woman. She obviously loved her job.

She looked at her two puffs. "Oh, ok. These were definitely smaller than many of the others, so I must have gotten girls. Brilliant! Oh, Merlin's polka-dot socks- do you think they'll be in any danger from my parakeet?" she asked fearfully, just remembering her other pet. Oh, please say no, they'll be fine, she thought to herself.

"Thank you so very much!" she exclaimed as she handed over 4 Galleons

Kate scowled. "I am NOT buying these.I will find out what other things you are selling that should be banned." And with that she turned to leave.