Hello everyone! I'm sure you're wondering what happened to my daily updates, especially since it's for a competition and there are deadlines. Well, to tell you the truth, I was removed from Ravenclaw due to my recent case of writer's block. But now, I am fully recovered (hopefully) and on Gryffindor team, ready to rock this competition! Here we go!

House: Gryffindor

Category: Themed

Prompts: Diagon Alley

Word Count (not including AN): 509

Presenting: Fishy (Crookshanks The Detective).

Hisssss…

Crookshanks snarled at each passerby as they walked past him, creating a wide circle around the perimeter of his cage.

After a few minutes of this, people had gotten the message and stayed to their side of the room. I mean, he lived there. They were only temporary residents. Why should they be taking up his space? He was there before them.

He sat back, growing tired, and then proceeded to glare at the people who dared steal a glance at him.

But then, a red-headed boy burst into the shop, causing all eyes to snap onto him. He was closely followed by a bushy brown-haired girl and a boy with black hair, glasses, and a strange, lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

"Ron, don't be so loud," scolded the girl exasperatedly. "You're loud enough to wake the dead, for heaven's sake.

Crookshanks stood up and prowled around his cage, his narrowed eyes following the Ron-thing's every move. He sniffed the air. Something smelled… fishy.

"Here you go, Crookshanks," said the assistant wearily, poking some tuna through the bars of his cage.

Oh.

Crookshanks nibbled on the edge of the tuna, sniffing the air again. There really was something fishy out there… And it wasn't fish.

"Excuse me," said the Ron-thing as he approached the counter. "It's my rat. He's been a bit off-color ever since I brought him back from Egypt."

"Bang him on the counter," said the saleswoman, pulling out a pair of heavy black glasses.

The Ron-thing put the rat on the counter.

And that's when Crookshanks knew.

He pressed his nose against the bar of his cage. Fishy.

"… old is this rat?" asked the saleswoman, inspecting the rat closely.

"Dunno," said the Ron-thing. "Quite old. He used to belong to my brother."

"What magical powers does he have?"

"Er - none."

When the Ron-thing said this, Crookshanks' narrowed eyes became practically nonexistent. There was something strange about this whole thing, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

In five…

Four…

Three…

Two…

One.

Crookshanks leapt from his cage, landing on the Ron-thing's head, his claws digging into his scalp.

"Ahhhh!" screamed the Ron-thing. "Get this thing off of me!"

Crookshanks jumped off of the Ron-thing's head, pouncing on the rat, but he was able to scramble away before Crookshanks could reach him.

The rat ran to safety, squeaking in fear, with Crookshanks hot on his tail. People screamed as Crookshanks and the rat scrambled over their feet.

But in all the commotion, the rat was able to escape.

Crookshanks hissed in annoyance, slinking away. But before he could reach his cage, someone picked him up.

"Hi!" said the girl that had accompanied the Ron-thing, a bright smile lighting up her face. "I'm your new owner!"

This better be worth it, Crookshanks grumbled in his head as he glared at the pocket where the rat was snuggled while he laid in the bushy haired girl's arms. I'm only doing this because someone has to watch you.

His stomach rumbled.

But first, fish.