Magical Hogwarts

Life was fantastic! Pixie had finally finished her fifth year, and while she was sure she hadn't passed all her owls, she felt good about arithmancy and was fairly confident she'd passed charms as well. As for the rest...well, she'd just have to wait and see. In stark contrast to the careless girl of a few years earlier though, she was hoping she'd at least done enough to be able to return for her NEWTs.

The best part of all though was that her parents had agreed she could attend the artistic flying camp again! She'd been to the previous one, just for a week, and absolutely loved it despite being an absolute beginner. While she only had a regular broom she'd kept up her efforts to practise a couple of the basic moved and turns she'd been taught, and was eager to return and learn something new. First though, a shopping expedition was in order. Pixie had grown a couple of inches in recent months and thus she needed mundane things such as clothes and shoes, but also it was her seventeenth birthday in a couple of weeks so she was picking out some early presents.

Perhaps unwisely, her father had decided she was old enough to be allowed to head off alone. Pixie had started her solo expedition as an almost-adult by purchasing an enormous ice-cream which she had enjoyed, completely oblivious to the irony that this was her first 'adult' purchase and equally oblivious to the fact it had dripped down her jeans. Then she had been attracted by a display of arithmancy books in a second-hand shop window (Pixie! Books!) and had bought one that interested her despite her embarrassment at realising that the shop belonged to Professor Dickinson's father. Naturally she hadn't admitted her name, so he wouldn't ask her about it in September when she went back to school.

Pixie walked down the street, her new book tucked into her shoulder bag, and then she stopped. Right across the street was the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Of course, she'd been told in the past she wasn't to even think about going there, but now she was on her own...and practically an adult... she felt in her back pocket for the reassurance of her wand and crossed the street in a sort of guilty scuttle. She paused for just a second before she stepped under the sign and felt a thrill of excitement that she was doing something so forbidden.

Not that the street looked as impressive as Diagon at first glance, though. The windows were dingier, the streets dirtier and the people...well, more dangerous. Maybe this hadn't been such a great plan after all. Pixie was wondering if she could just turn and walk out without anyone spotting her when she noticed a young woman just a few years older than herself. This one looked - if not friendly, then at least not quite as scary. In a brilliant display of idiocy, she decided to follow her. Just out of curiosity, for a minute or two...

@Deirdre Coltrane

Deirdre was rather pleased with herself. Everything was going quite well for her, all things considered. She was bonding with the man she had learned was her father, she was doing well at the apothecary, and earned some extra money with her party potions and the job as a private investigator. She was, so to speak, busy as a bee.

Now that summer had arrived and the Hogwarts students were home for the holidays, Deirdre hoped she could recruit some students to sell potions for her, but that would probably have to wait until August. She assumed that once the letters arrived and everyone had their list of school supplies they’d need, London would be filled with young witches and wizards she could approach.

Today she wasn’t working at the apothecary and her job with Mrs. Robbins wasn’t until later. So she had some time to walk through Knockturn Alley and try to interest people in her potions and the newest addition to her merchandise - poisons.

She noticed the girl that followed her immediately. The girl seemed out of place and did not look like someone who belonged in Knockturn Alley. In fact, she might still be a schoolgirl. It was interesting, but Deirdre didn’t want to talk to the girl at once.

In fact, she didn’t want to let the girl know that she had discovered her at once and so she just walked down the alley. Then she stepped into a narrow and deserted alleyway. When she heard steps behind her, she spun around, facing the girl.

“Tell me, why are you following me?” she asked, looking at the girl with an impassive expression. Maybe she had heard of her potions and wanted to buy something or maybe she just didn’t know what she was doing. Either way, Deirdre was cautious. She needed to know if this was maybe a trap or if this was just a silly school girl who was testing her own courage by coming to Knockturn Alley. Surely, she was a Gryffindor, Deirdre thought. A faint hint of a smile tugging on her lips.

The young woman seemed to check something in her bag before walking down the street. Pixie felt braver now that she had a purpose, and followed furtively at a safe distance, thinking that she was being nonchalant and wouldn't be noticed. When the woman stopped and looked briefly in a shop window, Pixie looked into a different shop window, which was unfortunate, because it seemed to be offering some really revolting potions ingredients. Body parts, to be precise. Body parts that...looked like they hadn't been cleaned. Eww.

She was glad when the woman moved away and she could follow again, though she hesitated at the entrance to a dingy alleyway. Pixie didn't consider herself to be scared of anything, but just occasionally she displayed just enough of a sense of preservation to keep herself from getting into a sticky situation. Unfortunately, this was not one such occasion and she reminded herself that she had her wand and was perfectly capable of defending herself if necessary. Besides, this was Knockturn Alley - nobody would care if she did a little underage magic here, would they?

WIth that pleasant thought in her head she turned into the alleyway, noticing immediately that the buildings sloped slightly, making it seem darker still. The ground looked to be slightly damp, as if sunlight never penetrated and got a chance to evaporate the rainfall or...whatever that dampness was underfoot. If it wasn't rain, and now she thought of it, there hadn't been rain at home for at least a couple of weeks, Pixie didn't want to know what it was. She was still thinking this when the young woman turned and confronted her.

Pixie startled, her face guilty though she concealed it quickly. "I was..." she began, and then hesitated. You looked like the least scary person here definitely wasn't a good answer, even if it was a truthful one.  And while she was great at coming up with excuses, Pixie wasn't the sort of person who lied easily. She racked her brains as she tried to think of a suitable reason, and then gasped, as if she had realised she'd made a mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry! I thought you were my cousin!" she said. Her face helpfully blushed at the lie, hopefully making it look like she was simply embarrassed.

Deirdre observed the girl, hiding a satisfied smirk. She loved how people acted when they were caught in the act of doing something shameful or forbidden. They squirmed, blushed, stuttered, tried to make up lies that were easy to discover as such. It was a great feeling to have the upper hand. Deirdre enjoyed watching the girl’s struggles.

“Yes,” she said sweetly, “I’m sure I look just like your cousin.”

Surely that girl was a Gryffindor. Deirdre felt that her reaction proved it. It was not like Deirdre didn’t like Gryffindors. Boys from that house had been the most fun to hang out with and they made great study subjects. However, Deirdre clearly had prejudices when it came to this house.

“Now tell me why you were really following me,” Deirdre said, stepping a little closer to the girl, her hand disappearing in the pocket of her robes, making it clear that she was reaching for her wand. She did not intend to hex the girl, although it might actually be fun to do so and a little punishment would do the obnoxious student right. However, the Slytherin graduate just wanted to play a little, intimidate her and, ultimately, see if she could use her for her own goals.

Pixie was impulsive and thoughtless, but she did have some sense of self-preservation, and she knew she'd made a mistake. It would have been far more sensible to have simple walked down the street, looked in a few shop windows, and then she could have turned and left again. Actually, it would have been more sensible not to give in to her initial curiosity and not to have visited Knockturn Alley at all, but she was here now, and she wasn't about to show that she was intimidated.

"I've got a lot of cousins..." she insisted, which was completely true, and while this girl didn't look much like any of them, she wasn't to know that. Though actually, she did look kind of familiar. Pixie had no idea who she was, but she got the sense that this girl had probably left Hogwarts while Pixie herself was in her first or second year. That made her feel a little braver.

"I was... well. I wasn't exactly following you, I just figured Knockturn Alley looked interesting and I sort of accidentally walked in the same direction you were..." she trailed off, because the girl was clearly reaching for her wand. Pixie's eyes followed her movements and she swallowed hard. Okay. She was really out of her depth now.

"I guess...I've got to duel you now or something?" she asked, clearly looking uncomfortable at the prospect.

Deirdre merely stared at the younger girl, her expression not giving away if she was mad or amused. The girl had many cousins, right, Deirdre thought as she patiently waited for the true reason why the girl followed her.

“Has nobody ever told you that Knockturn Alley isn’t the right place for students of Hogwarts?”

While Deirdre had kept an entirely neutral expression until now and had tried her best to seem intimidating, a smile curved her lips when the girl said that she guessed that they’d have to duel each other now.

“Well,” Deirdre said, “we could indeed duel each other if you’re eager to get back to school with some nice antlers…” she paused, taking in the appearance of the girl some more. She still needed more insiders at Hogwarts and this girl didn’t really look like an obvious choice for her which was probably good.

“Alternatively you could work for me and earn some money for yourself. Your choice.”

Has nobody ever told you..?

Those were words Pixie was all too familiar with. In recent years from professors and prefects, and before that from aunts, uncles, neighbours, frustrated daycare assistants... She offered a wry half-smile (because it didn't look like she was about to get hexed immediately) and shrugged one shoulder.

"Ye-es" she admitted "but I'm practically of age and..." here a touch of inadvisable bravado gripped her and she added "besides, did you always do exactly what everyone told you, when you were at school?"

Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned she was nearly seventeen. If this girl thought she was still a kid she might have stood a better chance of walking out of here. But still... Pixie wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing and while breaking an actual law made her feel uncomfortable, a veiled threat did absolutely nothing.

"I think I'd look pretty cool with antlers" she said with a grin "Can you imagine the attention I'd get walking back into the Great Hall looking like that?" Really, the offer of earning money was an enticing one. Pixie's allowance didn't stretch nearly so far as it used to, and a few extra sickles to buy butterbeer and trick wands would be very welcome. She tilted her head slightly to one side and pursed her lips. "What did you have in mind?"

If it was something illegal she would just take the antlers and get out of here.

“Well,” Deirdre said sweetly, “this is not about me and I daresay I was far better at not getting caught.”

Definitely a Gryffindor. Deirdre stared at the girl, tempted to roll her eyes because she was so cocky. She almost regretted having mentioned the job offer. With this girl’s ‘help’ she could hardly run a secret business at Hogwarts. She might get caught on the very first attempt at selling potions. She had to be careful with her.

“You know,” Deirdre said, taking her time to continue. “I don’t think you have the talents I need, after all. Maybe I was too quick to make a job offer. You don't really seem mature enough to work for me. Such a shame, really.” She sighed.

“Since the antlers seem to excite you way too much, I think the pimple jinx might be more effective to teach you a lesson.” Deirdre offered a fake smile and twirled her wand between her fingers, ready to use it any second now.

Pixie actually grinned and let out a small laugh at that, because although this was a pretty serious situation, there was no denying that she could learn a few things about not being caught in the middle of a trick. The problem was though, once a couple of professors (or aunts, or daycare assistants) had you down as a troublemaker, then anything that happened automatically landed on your shoulders, and the professors were watching all the time for something to happen. And once you'd reached that point, if you were going to be blamed for every trick that happened you might as well have some fun.

This girl though... former Slytherin or Ravenclaw, most likely a Slytherin, Pixie guessed. Ravenclaws wouldn't bother to threaten, they wouldn't even have bothered to have a conversation in the first place. They would have just pointed the fastest way out of Knockturn Alley and had done with it. This girl was still talking to her though, as if mulling something over in her own head. That meant that Pixie - well, she didn't exactly have the upper hand, but she still held the girl's interest. And that meant there was a good chance she could get out of here unscathed. Or at least without antlers.

"Okay, no problem. I'm starting my NEWTS next year anyway, so I'm probably not the right person for your job - whatever it is" she said agreeably...

Oh.

"Pimples would definitely suck" she agreed, still using the same cheerful tone. But the girl hadn't yet attempted a curse, and Pixie was fairly sure she could block most things effectively by now (admittedly she was thinking of most things her fellow students could cast, not adult-level hexes). She dropped her hand and slowly but openly got a grip on her own wand. She wasn't trying to hide it; on the contrary, she wanted the other girl to see. Because, Knockturn Alley or not, she didn't think this girl would want to duel openly with an underage student.

“Yes,” Deirdre said, “you’re not the right person for the job.” The girl was right. She definitely wasn’t the right one for the job she had to offer. Deirdre wasn’t that desperate that she’d pick someone like this kid. She’d look out for someone younger and cleverer. Someone who wouldn’t get caught on the first day trying to sell her potions.

Deirdre smiled at the girl as she noticed that she was grabbing her wand, ready to fight. That was kinda cute. Wand magic wasn’t exactly Deirdre’s strongest suit, but she felt confident that she could still beat a school student. However, that wasn’t what she was going to attempt now.

“Right, you’ve been holding me up for long enough now.” Deirdre said, cutting the conversation short. “I recommend you find your way out of Knockturn Alley before you come across someone less patient than me who actually does you harm.”

Deirdre offered another fake smile and put her hand with the wand back into the pocket of her robes, signalling the girl that way that she was not going to hex her now, but still remaining on guard in case that girl had a death wish and wanted to send a spell towards her first.

“The way out is that way,” Deirdre said, pointing with her free hand behind Pixie.

[out]

Although she couldn't help but feel curious about what job offer she was turning down, Pixie did have a very small, fledgling sense of self-preservation that was telling her she didn't need to know. And while she had appeared unconcerned at the prospect of getting hexed, it would be embarrassing and awkward if she had to explain to her Dad how she'd suddenly sprouted pimples or antlers. He'd have to go to St Mungos with her, and she'd have to admit where she'd been and she wouldn't get as much freedom next time... Cause and effect was a fairly new concept for Pixie, but getting out of here unscathed (and naturally, with a thrillingly embellished tale to tell her younger housemates) felt like the best option.

The girl noticed she was holding her wand, and seemed to make a decision, basically telling her to go away. Pixie wasn't fooled. She could tell that the girl didn't want to duel in public, and she privately congratulated herself for standing up to a threat. The fact she had walked brazenly into Diagon Alley in the first place and caused the whole situation passed her by, of course. As the girl put her own wand away, Pixie mirrored her movements, smiling as well.

"Thanks. It's been nice to meet you. I hope you find a suitable employee soon" she said, her mind racing. She would have liked to turn away and stroll towards the exit as if she hadn't a care in the world, but she wasn't entirely convinced that she wouldn't be hit by a hex from behind if she did that. The alternative would be literally backing away though, and that would look cowardly as well as run the risk of backing into someone less...balanced than this girl was.

Okay. She could do this. Pixie took her hand off her wand and deliberately relaxed, still smiling. "Bye!" she said, as if this was something she did every day. Then she turned and walked away, a little faster than she would have liked but she couldn't quite bring herself to stroll calmly. A few moments later and she was back in Diagon Alley. Pixie let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She turned and looked back, but the girl was already gone.

Suddenly she felt very proud of herself. She'd been down Knockturn Alley and survived! She'd pretended to be an adult for long enough today. Pixie decided to reward herself with a visit to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

[out]