Quidditch Reserve League, Season 1, Round 4: Random Number Selection

Position: Seeker

Prompt: Knockturn Alley

Word Count: 1,623

~End of Author's Notes~

Hagrid grinned as he rounded the corner of Diagon Alley; he'd just spent a lovely lunch hour helping out at the Owl Emporium. Turned out, one of the owls they'd ordered had bred true with a Manticore and he was the right man for the job. Whether on account of his capability with taking care of magical creatures or because he might be able to empathize with the children of such a vertically-diverse parent, he couldn't rightly say.

But what he could say was that what he was seeing wasn't right. A child of about the right age for Hogwarts, but dressed in the kind of clothes that screamed they'd only ever seen robes in children's stories. The lanky blonde child was loitering right on the edge, her fists clenched at her sides and her eyes darting all across Knockturn Alley.

"Right! What's going on here, then?" Hagrid asked, his voice booming above the din of foot traffic despite his best effort.

The child squealed, span around, and squealed again as she craned her head up to look at him.

"Oops, sorry about that." Hagrid chuckled. "I didn't mean you no harm, don't worry. My name's Hagrid – I work at Hogwarts – you know Hogwarts, don't you?"

The child trembled as she nodded.

"You don't happen to have a name, do you?" Hagrid asked as he held out his hand. Always good to make a friendly first impression, especially with the young ones.

"Missy," the girl answered softly, stared at his hand, then shook one of his humongous fingers. "Missy Conner."

"Nice to meet you, Missy Conner! Now, what would you be doing down here, eh? Knockturn Alley's not for the faint of heart; even I get chills sometimes." He winked.

"S-Some...witches." Missy blanched. "That's, that's not rude is it? I'd hate to be rude, but it is what the invitation said."

"Nothing wrong with a witch! Except a bad one, I suppose. But you don't look like a bad one to me. What did some witches do?" Hagrid leaned down conspiratorially. His shadow swallowed the girl.

"They stole my watch," Missy said. "It was a gift from my father and it has Sailor Moon on it. They were curious about it, so I showed it to them. And then...they took it!" Her fists clenched up at her sides again. "I ran after them as best I could, but I don't know my way around here. I did find them eventually, but...they said they threw it away in Knockturn Alley. Then they called me a Mudblood!"

"Bloody...er," Hagrid coughed. "Don't ever believe them when they call you that, Missy. It's a right nasty word and it doesn't apply to a lovely young lady like you. What say you we both go and find this watch of yours?"

Missy peered down Knockturn Alley. "...it's scary."

"Don't you worry; I'll show you just how to get by." Hagrid gestured for Missy to follow him, took a few steps, and noticed the distinct lack of child at his side. "Come on, then!" He smiled at her.

"...it's still scary," Missy protested.

"Ah, don't be like that! Just think, what would Sailor Moon do?" Hagrid asked. He guessed they were brave. At least, most of the sailors he'd met were the type with big muscle and weren't shy of smuggling a bucket of fire crabs for the right galleons.

Missy met Hagrid's eyes, took in a deep breath, and nodded. She held a hand over her hand, muttered something he couldn't quite make out over the streets, then span in place for a few seconds. She crossed her arms over her forehead, jumped in place, and saluted him. Then shuffled over to his side.

"Alright then!" Hagrid gave her a thumbs up. "The first trick to surviving in Knockturn Alley is to not be scared. Lots of scary folks here, some more just look it than others. Now, I know it's not easy, so here's a tip: If you think something's going to scare you, just close your eyes until you walk past it. Got it?"

"I think so."

"Good on you! So the next thing to keep in mind i-" Hagrid was interrupted by Missy suddenly faceplanting at his side, just barely managing to stop herself from headbutting the pavement with a couple of well-placed hands. "Missy! You alright?!" He asked as he helped her up to her feet as gently as he could. Her eyes were stuck shut.

"I scraped my knee."

"Well, your eyes were closed, that'd be why." Hagrid chuckled. "You've got to look where you're going."

"But you said to close them while I was scared!"

"Suppose I did," Hagrid grumbled. "Right, only do it for a few seconds, then. When it's something really scary, but look where you're going, too."

Missy reluctantly opened her eyes and nodded.

"Next thing is, if someone tries to scare you, you scare them right back! Let them know you're not to be messed with." Hagrid glanced down at Missy. "Think you can do that?"

"I don't...I don't know how to do that," Missy said. "I'm big for my age, but..." She peered around her, at the darkened windows, at the shadowy alleys, at the looming buildings and the hundreds of eyes that seemed to follow their every move. "There aren't many twelve-year-olds here."

"Twelve? This can't be your first year if you're twelve."

Missy pursed her lips for a few seconds and mumbled: "Almost twelve."

"Right, well, it's not that hard. I'll show you." Hagrid looked over the crowd, who, as always, were parting to give him some room. Who was there he could menace a little without taking them taking it too hard?

There was the perfect target; a short man with bandy legs, ginger hair, and a conspicuous sack under one arm.

"Mundungus Fletcher!" Hagrid bellowed and puffed up his chest. "What do you think you're doing?!" Missy jumped at the same time as Mundungus Fletcher, who took one look at the rapidly-approaching half-giant and scuttled around the nearest corner as fast as his little legs could carry him. "See?" he grinned at Missy, whose shoulders were still shaking. "Easy as that. Why don't you give it a try?"

"I don't think that's a very good idea..." Missy frowned.

"Go on, don't worry, I'm here if it doesn't work, aren't I?"

Missy nodded slowly, took a look over their surroundings, and chose a target.

"Hello! You with the black robe! Yes, by the potion store! You smell! And your bottom is too big!" Missy half-yelled, her voice faltering every few words.

The man who turned around had a hook-like nose, greasy black hair, and eyes as dark as his robes.

"...are you talking to me, young woman?" Snape asked with the faintest raise of an eyebrow.

Missy closed her eyes tight.

"Oh, sorry about that, Professor!" Hagrid laughed. As long as he did that, Snape probably wasn't going to be too upset, although he did have a reputation for a cold temper at faculty meetings. "She's one of mine."

"I rather doubt that."

"Eh? Oh, good one, good one." Hagrid pointed at Snape. "Nah, she got picked on by some other witches and they took one of her things, so I'm helping her find it."

"I see." Snape narrowed his eyes at Hagrid. "You couldn't have gone searching for it yourself, or perhaps asked a more experienced wizard for their help?"

"I suppose I could've, yeah, but the poor girl was scared and I didn't want to leave her alone. Besides, you don't need to be a wizard to find a watch."

"Child," Snape glanced at Missy. "Describe this watch."

When she didn't say anything, Hagrid gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"I-It's blue, and it says Sailor Moon on the strap, and it has silver metal bits, and a picture of Sailor Moon doing this." She quickly, shakily performed the same salute she'd shown Hagrid earlier. "Between the numbers, and she's on the strap doing this, and this too, but they're different pictures." She performed another two poses. "And it has stars on it."

Snape's eyes were a void as he listened to that description. Nonetheless, he reached into his robe, retrieved his wand, and gave it a flick. Two seconds later, something came zipping over the heads of the crowd and settled neatly in his hand.

"Take it and begone," Snape said as he held out the watch.

Missy's eyes lit up as soon as she laid eyes on the watch. She carefully took it from Snape's hand, wrapped it around her wrist, and clutched her hands to her chest.

"Thank you, Snape-senpai!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I-Um. Nothing." Missy glanced up at Hagrid. "C-Can you take me back now please?"

"I certainly can. Thanks for your help, Professor!" Hagrid gave Snape a hearty pat on the back. "You're alright, you know?"

Snape ignored that comment as the pair departed back to the corner of Diagon Alley.

"Sorry I didn't end up much help," Hagrid said as they arrived. "Professor Snape's a bit more of a thinker than I am. Of course, I don't have a wand either, and I don't know that spell..."

Missy bit her bottom lip, then reached out and touched Hagrid's giant hand.

"You were very helpful. I wouldn't have found my watch at all if you hadn't shown me. You're a very helpful man and it's nice and...um..." She glanced at her watch. "Believe in yourself and nothing can stop you!"

"You're right." Hagrid nodded. "You're right! And don't go forgetting that next time you're scared, alright?"

"I won't," Missy vowed. She turned to leave, then paused and gave Hagrid that salute.

Hagrid happily saluted back.