The muggles, as they called them here, seemed to have an inkling of her nature. She found board at a small inn above the pub and her hearing, which was sharper than most, picked up on the whispers of these superstitious creatures.
She bathed daily in milk, as was her tradition, and, slipping out of the bath she looked for her sari, white and black with flecks of gold embroidery, silken and translucent in form. Throwing it on, she began to make the myriad folds, tucking it into place. She had not yet met anyone she could trust in this strange land but she had met enough she could distrust, and these shady people gathered in the shadows of the alley of nightâKnockturn Alley, as it was known, and it was where she was headed today. There was business to do.
The lanes and alleys were packed to the brim with humans and creatures of all sorts. Catching glance of a calendar through a shop window, she realised that this was the eve of the Western New Year, and having to wade through the crowd was proving to be too much of a hassle. It was not that she was unfamiliar with crowds but back home she could easily slide through the gaps and the humans would even make way for her.
The sun was still out so it would be unwise for her to transform, but as soon as it set she had every mind of returning to her true form.
...
Alice Giggs was on duty today. She was on duty because she was an Auror, and this was a typically festive day, where all kinds of magical folk would pack themselves into in the small square near Gringotts for a countdown. Already the skies were abuzz with pixies, in suits of silver and light, illuminating the walkways and annoying merry-goers whenever they saw fit.
Given that there was to be a high density of people attending and that this was a well-publicised event, there was a chance that of another attack by that terrorist group that called themselves the Death Eaters. They had already struck once, just a week ago at St Mungo's, and the Ministry was taking no chances with security. Hitwitches and hitwizards patrolled up and down the alleys in uniform and on brooms, but as an Auror Alice was undercover in plainclothes.
Her fellow Auror on duty this day was Frank Longbottom, and from time to time they made small talk, as they nibbled from a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. They had been all through Hogwarts together yet never had the chance to interact much, not that Alice cared back then, for she thought Frank was of the typical Quidditch-playing ilk, physically attractive but overwhelmingly cocky and entitled, always in need of some attention.
She had to admit she was surprised on turning up for Auror training all those years ago only to be faced with the antithesis of her kind amongst the school tribes. Alice was the queen of the studious, obsessive, typically Ravenclaw bookworms, and she had with her an assorted harem of freckled, pimpled girls and boys, all cursed with some glaring physical defect or the other for which they compensated with intellect. These students were often the brunt of tasteless jokes from the sporting crowd, perhaps to mask the deep insecurity about their fleeting popularity, of the kind that would dissipate as soon as their looks or physical ability faded to leave them bereft of their sole definition of self.
During Auror training Frank Longbottom had proved his worth on several occasion so Alice could bear no grudge against him, but she was reluctant to engage him in deeper conversation. What she thought was that the more you knew about a person, the more they had you in their power, and the more you were compelled to like them.
That was not to say that she wanted for distraction, for distraction in her line of work was simply bad news and trouble all round. As the festivities were well underway, there was a sudden disruption in the corner of the square that led into Knockturn Alley. People were beginning to scream about a giant white serpent, and Alice was jolted into action. By now people had some inkling that the preferred symbol of the blood purists was the snake, curled on itself into the symbol of eternity.
Alice hadn't quite expected the Death Eaters to make such an obvious show when their previous attack was still fresh in people's minds. Security was also much tighter today so the perpetrators of today's incident had little chance of escaping. She chased down Knockturn Alley to where the crowd pointed her, and she found herself on the edge of a ring of angry humans surrounding an elderly lady wearing a white sari.
"I know she's a snake!" someone yelled from the crowd.
"I saw her transform with my very own eyes!"
"She must be with one of them!"
"She must be here to cause trouble!"
One of the Hitwitches stepped forward to approach this lady. "Ma'am, I have no choice but to place you under arrest for disturbance. Would you kindly follow me back for some questioning?"
The old lady looked around nervously. She seemed extremely distressed, and another Hitwizard stepped forward to control the situation. Believing she was about to be captured, she suddenly morphed into a large snake and slithered away at great speed.
"Halt!" a Hitwizard called out, and she quickened her attempt to escape.
Alice, who had observed all this undercover, suddenly piped up and said, "What if she doesn't speak English? Maybe she didn't mean any harm but you're scaring her off!"
"Not a chance!" one of the crowd piped up. "She looks evil and she was hanging in Knockturn Alley."
Alice sighed, put on her Auror disguise, and chased after the Hitwizards and Hitwitches who were in turn chasing down the snake.
By the time she caught up, the snake had been bound and arrested and was thrashing around wildly. She suddenly transformed back into human form, to undo the tightening knots that bound her with human fingers.
"I know what she is! You must burn the sari!" yet another person from the crowd exclaimed, and a Hitwizard instantly set her sari alight. With a howl of anguish she tried to stop the flames by rolling on the ground, but the flames, made strong with magic, consumed the white silk into a charred ash.
Alice ran to stop the flames before this snake lady got seriously injured, and, flashing a special signal to the Hitwizard in charge, requested that he let her take charge of this situation as an Auror.
All this while Frank Longbottom had gone to ensure the safety of the fleeing and panicking crowd, and when things were more settled he joined her in taking this old lady back to the Department of Law Enforcement for questioning. True to Alice's hunch, she spoke no word of English and was in all likelihood just an unfortunate magical tourist unaware of the darker connotations of her Animagus form in this foreign country.