Knockturn Alley and the Thief

"Good morning, Ticky."

John reached down and picked up the cat rubbing against his legs, his face full of contentment at the fluffy creature.

The cat named Ticky meowed, and three more cats came running out.

They gathered around John's feet, and he took out the canned cat food he had brought.

Tom wagged his tail in displeasure and paced in circles. John had promised to take him for a walk, only to stop here and feed cats instead.

An old woman approached slowly, leaning on a walking stick. John spotted her and greeted her. "Good morning, Mrs. Figg."

Arabella Figg smiled when she saw John. No one knew that this seemingly unremarkable old woman was actually a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

She was a Squib, and Dumbledore had asked her to watch over Harry.

Six months ago, another person had been added to Mrs. Figg's watch list.

It was John Wick, who now stood before her.

Dumbledore had visited her personally. He wanted to learn more about this student.

Mrs. Figg had a very good impression of John, because the boy always came to look after her cats.

His love of fluffy creatures rivaled Dumbledore's love of sweets. That was also what had finally convinced Dumbledore to make John the temporary keeper of the Philosopher's Stone.

Unaware that he might owe the old woman a word of thanks, John gave each of the four cats a rub.

Cats out here really are better. They don't suddenly turn into older catgirls.

After indulging his love of fluffy creatures, John was about to leave when he sensed that someone was watching him.

Watching me?

His first thought was a Death Eater, but he quickly dismissed it.

The Death Eater he had encountered last time had been searching for Nicolas Flamel. He doubted one would come all this way just to watch him.

He was not Harry Potter, the Chosen One. He had no value to the Death Eaters as a surveillance target.

He stood up, his expression unchanged. Tom stopped circling, and after saying goodbye to Mrs. Figg, John set off jogging with him.

Gone?

Once he left Privet Drive, John realized that the sensation of being watched had vanished.

He was puzzled, but when he got up for his morning run the following day, he felt that gaze again.

This time, John got a clear look. It was someone wrapped up from head to toe as though he had a skin disease.

After John jogged out of Privet Drive, the man did not follow.

Could he be watching Harry?

Since Harry had already left, John thought that was unlikely too.

His suspicions kept growing. On his third day's run, something fell out of John's pocket.

The bundled-up man saw it gleaming in the sunlight, and his eyes lit up with greed.

He immediately jogged over and picked it up.

It was a Galleon, and his face broke into a delighted grin.

"There's always a bit of good luck to be had."

He pocketed the Galleon and did not follow John to keep watching him.

That evening, John left home under a Disillusionment Charm.

He held a sheet of parchment, though it was not the Marauder's Map.

There was only a simple arrow on the parchment, and it kept changing direction as John moved.

Eventually, John entered a house.

The house was pitifully bare. There was nothing inside except a fireplace and a pitched tent.

John approached the fireplace. It was connected to the Floo Network.

"Let me guess. Diagon Alley."

He grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and called out the name of Diagon Alley.

Green flames swallowed him, and a moment later, he appeared in another fireplace.

Some soot had clung to his nose. John wiped it off, stepped out, and found himself inside a shop in Diagon Alley.

"Even if I can't find that fellow, I can still have a look around."

With a thought, John cast another Disillusionment Charm on himself and walked outside.

Diagon Alley was less crowded at night. He held the tracking map he had made himself.

Following its arrow, he found that the people around him grew even fewer.

Everyone nearby wore cloaks that concealed their figures, and some were trading things.

From their secretive manner, the goods probably were not legal.

Knockturn Alley?

Without realizing it, John had reached Knockturn Alley.

It lay right beside Diagon Alley, yet it was an entirely different place.

Illegal dealings were everywhere here, and the man who had been watching John was in the middle of a transaction.

"You're too greedy! Do you know how much trouble I went to getting this?"

The man had changed into a cloak and was yelling at a shopkeeper inside a shop.

The shopkeeper merely glanced at him and said mockingly, "How much trouble? This is just a little Sneakoscope. Mundungus Fletcher, the things you steal are getting worse and worse."

The man called Mundungus Fletcher was the one who had been watching John. Furious, he slammed the door on his way out.

But he still did not dare vent his anger by robbing Borgin and Burkes Antique Shop.

He had no choice but to leave.

As he headed outside, Mundungus planned to visit the Leaky Cauldron to drown his sorrows and see whether he could find a gullible mark to make some money off.

"What a rotten day. Dumbledore told me to keep a closer eye on that boy, and now I don't even have time to steal anything. Harry Potter, fair enough, but what's so special about this kid?" Mundungus grumbled under his breath.

He would rather spend that surveillance time making more money.

Before he could put his plan into action, he felt a wand press against his lower back as he passed through a narrow lane in Knockturn Alley.

"Don't move. Unless you want a hole in your stomach, in which case, forget I said anything."

Mundungus's legs trembled with fright. "Easy now," he said shakily. "I've still got a few Galleons on me. You can take them."

He silently cursed his rotten luck. Someone was robbing a crook.

He tried to seize a chance to escape with his wand, but before he could reach it, it was pulled from his waist.

A physical disarming.

Now he was completely helpless. Mundungus did not dare move.

John led him into a corner of the lane and threatened him in a low voice. "Looks like you're not being very cooperative."

Mundungus gave an awkward chuckle. "No, not at all. I'm just a little too frightened."

"Heh." John did not believe a word of it. He deliberately deepened his voice so Mundungus would not recognize him.

By now, John also knew who had sent the man to watch him. To his surprise, it was Dumbledore.

After thinking it over, he decided it was probably for his protection.

John had encountered a Death Eater in France. Perhaps that was why the man assigned to watch over and protect Harry had been told to keep an eye on him as well.

John's guess was largely correct. He was no longer who he had once been. He had inherited Nicolas Flamel's legacy of knowledge.

Leaving aside his future potential, Nicolas Flamel's experimental notes alone were enough to drive certain ill-intentioned people mad with desire.

Now that he knew the man was not a Death Eater, John had no intention of disposing of him.

Then an idea struck him. Perhaps he could use this man to do business in Knockturn Alley.

Just as Mundungus began to think he might end up dead in the street that night, John said, "Want to make some money, Mundungus Fletcher?"

"Make money?" Mundungus had never expected to meet a robber who paid his victims.

He could not figure out what the man meant, but he knew he would probably suffer if he refused.

"I have a few items I need you to sell for me. Once they're sold, we'll split the proceeds twenty-eighty."

Although not all of John's items were capable of causing harm, some had been made during his research into dark magic.

Shops in Diagon Alley would not buy such things. They could only be sold in Knockturn Alley.

"All you need to say is yes or no. I won't force you." Despite John's words, his wand was digging painfully into Mundungus's back.

Mundungus nodded frantically, almost hard enough to shake his head off.

John smiled and took several dangerous items out of the small bag he carried.

"In three days, I want to see gleaming Galleons."

With those words, John removed his wand from Mundungus's back.

Mundungus breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly picked up his confiscated wand.

He looked at the items, and his eyes immediately gleamed with greed. Even his earlier fear vanished.

"Such exquisite things. That old fellow Borgin will definitely be interested."

He glanced around, then hurriedly tucked the items carefully inside his clothes.

John saw all of this. He had not left, but watched as Mundungus turned and went back into Borgin and Burkes Antique Shop.

When he emerged again, he was carrying a substantial number of Galleons.

He hesitated for a while, then divided the Galleons into two portions, thinking he might be able to hide a little from one of them.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he felt that familiar, painful jab at his waist again.

Terrified, he hurriedly put the money down.

Twenty percent was taken from the money he had set down, and John's voice rang out. "I told you, twenty-eighty. If you want to keep doing this, use this to contact me."

John tossed out a sheet of parchment. After a moment's hesitation, Mundungus picked it up.

He stood frozen there for a long time, afraid to move. Only after he was finally sure John had left did relief at surviving the ordeal show on his face.

Looking at the Galleons, which were worth more than what he made from stealing, he sank into thought.