Rat

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own.

. . .

Rat hid himself in a dark niche behind a winged statue, seeking out his next target. He dismissed a timid boy and his grandmother. There were two fatheads bullying a lone redhead boy who was quite red in his cheeks. Perfect. The two fatheads left the candy store, their mouths full of stick gooey candy reminding Rat of his dead cousin Dudley. He heard his own stomach growl in pain, 89th time today. Yes it was the 89th time, Rat had counted.

The two stood in front of a vendor selling fake rare edible jewels. Rat crawled out of his niche, climbing on a nearby wall using the bricks to help him up, jumping rooftop to rooftop, before finally finding a narrow alleyway close to the fatheads. He jumped down to a dumpster quietly, creeping towards his prey like an animal. He wrapped his scarf closely around his jaw so no one could see his face. He pulled out a pouch full of money from one fathead and pulled something similar from the other one. Rat raced down the alley soon after, scaling a nearby wall in five minutes flat.

He watched from above as the two's hands went into their pockets to find their money gone. They looked shocked, gob smacked before screaming out that Rat had taken their galleons. Idiots. The view of Diagon Alley from above was quite spectacular on a sunny day but on a dark gloomy day like today, it was very bleak. Already there were kids with their parents buying stuff for school. Rat wanted to school but who'd want a thief in their school let alone a killer. He knew how to read and write from Drake but he guessed that wasn't good enough.

Rat watched as people fought their way to the shops. He was very jealous of the children who had families filling the narrow street. He noticed someone making their way down the alley. It was a man. He wore black clothes, an ugly look on his face with a long hooked nose and very pale skin. Rat leaned forward to take a closer look. His dark black eyes look forward as if he wasn't afraid. He pulled back before he could fall off the ledge.

Rat hopped down to the ground. He pushed through the crowd towards the hooked nose man. Rat ran right into the man, sneaking his hand inside the man's pockets, pulling out a money pouch and a ring and then shoving them into his sleeves, out of sight. He kept his head down to prevent himself from being recognized as much as he wanted to see the man.

"Oh! I'm very sorry, sir!" Rat said with false innocence, getting up to his feet.

"As you should be!" the man barked right back. "Where are your parents?"

"At Flourish and Blotts getting my books," Rat lied smoothly. "They said it would be okay if I went down to Eeylop's to see what pet I would want for Hogwarts."

"Very well then." Rat brushed past him, racing down to Gambol and Japes Wizarding Jokes Store. He ran behind the alley behind the store using it as a shortcut to Knockturn Alley, pausing for a few moments to catch his breath. He looked at the money pouches he pocketed –each was a different color; red, blue and green - and then a beautiful ring. It was made out of white gold, the band looking vines and a diamond lily to finish it off. Very beautiful indeed, He could sell this to Lidessly, the pawn shop broker at Knockturn Alley for a pretty Knut. With the money he could get from the ring and the money he stole, he could buy clothes.

Or buy something for my injuries, he thought. He looked to the many scratches on his hands. Rat had some very nasty scars on his body. A loud grunt woke him from his thought. He snapped his head to see the black clothed man from earlier with anger twisting his face. Oh shit! Stupid Rat! A gasp left his lips. The man pulled out his wand, throwing a hex to Rat. Rat dodged it, throwing himself to the side, rolling over to a few trashcans, using that as his cover.

Rat had a little magic but it was very untrained and uncontrollable. Very uncontrollable, This man knew magic better than Rat. Rat knew Diagon Alley better than anyone. The trash cans were lifted magically off the ground suddenly, exposing Rat to the enemy. Oh Merlin! Rat's eyes drifted to a building with several windows and ledges behind the man. He darted towards the man, ducking under his arms. He jumped on a cabinet, using it as a platform to grab the second floor balcony of a nearby building. Rat dropped a black smoke ball he picked up from the jokes store trash bin to give himself a few seconds of cover. He almost smirked at the man shrouded in smoke. Rat scaled the window next to the balcony, climbing up to tiled rooftops.

He began running. Jumping over the gaps and avoiding the chimneys, he ran rooftop to rooftop. He didn't dare look back, looking back always took more time to run. Being the Diagon Alley Outlaw could get you in a spot of trouble here and there. There. The familiar towering figure of a clock tower ahead brought a look of relief to Rat. It was home. He looked down to the crowd in front where he could shake the man off. He saw a few crates he could use to jump his way down. Just as Rat turned on a corner, something struck his leg. Rat lost balance of himself, falling off the rooftop.

A short scream of surprise left his lips. His heart jumped out of his chest as fell down to a hard stone floor. A loud sickening crack was heard as his arm and leg slammed onto the ground. His head pounded onto the floor, making his sight hazy and a screaming headache attacking his brain.

Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! All Rat could think was the trouble he was about to get in. Azkaban, He was going to Azkaban. Panic seeped through, his breaths became shorter. The man in black walked toward smiling smugly at Rat's pathetic display. Bastard.

"Well, well, well. If you don't mind, I'll have my things back." He said.

He looked up, showing his face. He didn't care how ugly he looked. He fiercely glared at him, teeth bared. The man's eyed widened, his mouth opening in shock. "Can't be." The man knelt down to Rat, his hand reaching out him. Rat pulled himself away using his arm – his broken arm – and whatever he could use to drag himself away. The man gave him a look of annoyance. His hand grabbed his hair, pulling it up. The man let out a gasp.

"What!" Rat hissed at him. "Something on my face?"

THANK JORDAN CROSS FOR BEING MY BETA!

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