The afternoon had passed pleasantly enough. Horace had been savoring a mug of sweetened Perspicaci-Tea from one of his favorite Diagon Alley cafés, observing the other customers in between bites of a pair of Pumpkin Pasties. As he exited the shop, he saw a gang of mostly teenaged boys ahead. The largest, who was also at the front of the pack, was fiddling with the inside pocket of his robe. As stealthily as someone with hands the size of bread loaves could manage, the teen pulled out an Insta-Ice charm and casually dropped it on the cobblestones behind him. It landed just ahead of one of his taller and more-pimpled flunkies, who flailed wildly as his foot hit the suddenly slippery patch.
Horace sucked in a horrified breath as the no longer entirely vertical lad waved his hands in an almost comical manner, trying to right himself without causing injury. After a moment the acne-ridden wizard regained his balance without falling. The leader pointed and snickered at his lieutenant's acrobatic antics. The others followed suit and joined, but none so noisily or boisterously as a beanpole of a Black boy on the outskirts of the group. The victim's cheeks had flushed crimson in embarrassment. He glanced at the source of his torment, but he decided against challenging the boss. Instead, looking for a weaker opponent against whom to vent his anger, he turned to the scrawny lad who appeared quite a bit younger than the rest.
"You find something funny, Cackle Dolt?" fumed the red-faced henchman, using what appeared to be some kind of nasty nickname.
The skinny youth's braying stopped abruptly, but he still sported a wide grin. "You're not hurt, mate," he cheered. "And that was exceptional!" He waved his dark brown arms in a fair imitation of his now-angry compatriot's movements. "I would have wiped out for sure but you looked like a fantastic dancer!"
The still-blushing bruiser advanced on the leaner lad, menacingly brandishing his wand. "I'm going to wipe that smile off of your face," the bully thundered. The threat accomplished that goal immediately, as the younger boy's face fell, but that didn't seem to slow the impending assault. Nor did the young man in charge appear at all inclined to intervene, instead folding his arms across his chest and looking as if he were watching a Quidditch match.
Before he fully grasped what he was doing, Horace bounded towards the group, arranging his face in a patently fake cheerful fashion. "Now there, friend, that's no way to treat the one who saved you from finishing tail over teakettle!" The assailant paused to stare at Horace, who quickly added, "Why, this chum of yours just violated the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery to cast Arresto Momentum for you!" The chum in question, who had done no such thing, stared at Horace open-mouthed.
The thwarted attacker protested, "He doesn't even have a wand yet!"
"Of course not," replied Horace, thinking quickly as he started to perspire, "but he was so worried for you he was able to cast it wordlessly! I saw the whole thing and it was quite impressive, let me tell you."
"We've wasted enough time here," the chief suddenly bellowed. "Let's get going."
The goon put his wand away while glaring at Horace and the young Black man. "Yes, let's leave these children and move on," he added. The pack sauntered away, abandoning their former companion with Horace.
The smile returned to the young man's face as he turned toward Horace. "That was some quick thinking, wagging your silver tongue like that!"
"I was glad to help," Horace responded. "But if I may be so bold, those friends of yours don't seem very, well, friendly."
"Oh, I just met them today," answered the lad. "They seemed interesting so I thought I'd tag along. Sometimes my luck doesn't hold out, you know?"
The shy Horace couldn't imagine attaching himself to a group of strangers, but it wasn't as if the happy chap in front of him was a stranger any longer. He stuck out his hand in greeting and said, "By the way, Horace Slughorn's the name."
The boy returned a firm handshake, beaming, "And my name is-"