Alice walked cautiously through the streets. She had mistakenly walked down Knockturn Ally when she strayed away from her brother and cousin. They had walked into  a store in Diagon Ally, and Alice had instead walked away claiming she was looking for a bathroom. Little did they know, she was going to go buy Mark a magical birthday present. But now, she was lost down Knockturn, all by taking  a wrong turn.

Oh, Alice, you genius. All because you NEEDED to buy Mark a magical gift! She wrapped her arms around herself as she continued to walk, unaware what Knockturn Ally was. All she had noticed was that the shops around her had changed from displaying smiles and sunshine, and now showed death and darkness.

She continued to walk, however, figuring it was only a rough patch of stores on Diagon. She looked up and turned her head slowly, observing everything. In her left hand, she clasped her new wand tightly, and looked down at it.

"I don't even know how to use this thing! Magic. How in the world am I supposed to use this if i get into trouble?" She said to herself, as she sat down on the sidewalk, tears forming in her eyes of fear. "What if I'm abducted? What if I never make it home? What if I never go to Hogwarts? What if," She couldn't even finish her sentence before she combusted into tears. Alice laid her wand next to her and covered her eyes with her hands. She thought back to what Mark had told her that morning, Don't walk off. I don't want to lose you. But that was exactly what she had done.

Alice reached for the ribbon that tied her hair into a ponytail, and pulled it out. Her hair had now formed a curtain around her face, something that had always made her feel better when she felt in danger. She weeped once again into her hands behind her knees which were bent.

Though it had been a busy day, it had also been a very good day for Jean-Baptiste. One of his newly acquired local contacts had recently informed him of some objects held by a shopkeeper in a darker part of London's magical quarter. He had been there a few times now, looking, talking to people, enjoying the kind of atmosphere that always grew in the shadow of more vibrant life. Knockturn Alley, it was called. He was constantly both amused and annoyed at the need British wizards had for naming things. Jean-Baptiste enjoyed a joke or a pun as any other person would, but it got tiresome at length...

His contact had been right, which was a pleasant enough surprise as it was, but when it turned out that they were matching parts of a very old religious set used for making voodoo juju, he couldn't resist! He promptly asked to buy it, and equally promptly tortured the man when he tried to get a higher price for it than the tag had said. After taking both the money back and the items, Jean-Baptiste erased the man's memory of their encounter, praised the Loa how ignorant many Europeans were of Voodoo magic, and exited the shop, putting his cane in front of him for each step.

As he strolled along a back route behind the shops he heard crying from the front side of the street, and turned to investigate. Crying in itself seemed didn't seem like an unlikely thing in this place, but the time of day and how young the voice sounded made him curious. And interested...

Turning a corner he saw a deserted street, except for a small girl sitting on the curb, her hair down around her face, wand on the ground, her entire body shaking from the sobs. Oh, how the Loa were kind, he thought, and stifled a wide grin as he walked as silently towards her as he could, aiming to approach from behind. As he was right behind her, he bent down, picked up her wand, and straightened up again.

"Mademoiselle, I would truly not advise you to put away your wand when you've been so brave as to wander these dark streets. Allow me to bring it back to your precious little hands." He gave her a slight smile hand held out her wand, leaning slightly on his cane.

She jumped from her seat and backed away from the strange man with the strange vocabulary.  Alice put her hands straight above her head and said hurriedly, with shut eyes, "PLEASE! LEAVE ME ALONE! I have no money! My family has no money! You have no reason to abduct me! I won't tell anyone about you I promise! Just please! Leave me alone!" Alice felt in such danger, her adrenaline was rushing.

Alice opened her eyes and saw him with the wand in his hand. She lowered her arms, and crossed them."You- You can keep that. I don't care. There are just people who will miss me if  I disappeared, so just don't touch me."

"Mademoiselle, I would truly not advise you to put away your wand when you've been so brave as to wander these dark streets. Allow me to bring it back to your precious little hands."

"Oh," She said quietly, feeling foolish. She began to walk towards him, her head down. "Thank you sir. And I never saw you, I promise." Her hand was outstretched. "I'll get out of here now."

It was hard not to laugh outright at seeing the little girl so incredibly scared. Now that he looked more closely he saw she couldn't be more than 11-12 years old. Ah, I've missed this....

"Oh, mais non! I've gone and upset you. haven't I?" Jean-Baptiste gave her her wand, put on his best and most sincerely hurt and sad look, even letting his arms fall down along his sides.

"This was really not my intention, mademoiselle! I just wanted to keep you a little bit safer in this dangerous place.... And here you even think I'm one of the kind of people who live here!" Jean-Baptiste acted shocked at the implication. He conjured a chair right on the sidewalk and sat down heavily.

"Oh, what use is seeing the future for others when I can't even see my own mistakes coming towards me....." He sat slumped forwards, staring at the ground right in front of the little girl.

Realizing that this man showed no threat, Alice took her wand and relaxed. He created a chair, and Alice's eyes grew wide.Soon, I'll be able to do that myself! She thought to herself.

"I'm Alice," She said as she sat down next to him. "And I think I'm lost." She sighed and looked down at her red converse. They now had become quite old and dirty. 

She brought her head up and smiled. "But you just said you can see the future!" She leaped up from her seat and looked at him. "I've always wanted my future told to me! Can you tell me my future? Please?" The small child brought her hands together as though she was praying and repeated, "Please" quietly under her breath.

"Are you sure I don't scare you anymore?" Jean-Baptiste faked becoming more happy.

"That's wonderful! Ah, you want to know what the future holds for you, my sweet? Oh, for heaven's sake, get up off the ground, mon cherie! It's so filthy!" He conjured another chair opposite him and gestured towards it for her.

"Now, I can perhaps help you to see the future, but you have to very, very sure. Not everyone can handle knowing what is coming..." Jean-Baptiste smiled enigmatically, but was sniggering on the inside.

"Are you sure I don't scare you anymore?" Alice looked up at him. "I'm positive. I don't know. You just seem like someone to be trusted." Being unusually trusting was something Alice did best.  She was odd girl, always trusted those who she met spontaneously.

"That's wonderful! Ah, you want to know what the future holds for you, my sweet? Oh, for heaven's sake, get up off the ground, mon cherie! It's so filthy!" She abruptly stood up and sat in the chair he had created. "Thank you," She said kindly. "And yes. I do want to know my future, I think I can handle it!" She was smiling now, so happy to have a new friend.

"Now, I can perhaps help you to see the future, but you have to very, very sure. Not everyone can handle knowing what is coming..." "Yes yes," She stated, proudly. "I can handle it. I promise." Alice sat there and looked forward, not staring at anything. She turned her head towards him and asked curiously, "What's your name?"

Heeled boots clicked on the cobblestone as Lexus made her way back home. The gentle summer breeze still managed to wind it's way through the darkened alley, almost mockingly. The simple dress she wore swished around her as she walked,  the low back showing off the many claw and bite marks that announced her affliction. Her gold and silver hair fell over her shoulders in gentle waves that bounced as she walked. Walking down Diagon she was likely to turn a few heads but here in Knockturn she would easily be overlooked if there was anyone to be looking - even with the bag she was carrying. The burlap sack held at her waist was soaked in crimson and with every few steps a drop would fall to the cobblestone indicating how fresh the meat inside was.

Lexus turned a corner in the winding alley, taking a short cut to get to her small apartment above her potion shop. It wasn't a path she normally took but hearing the young voice floating down the alley she was suddenly glad she did. Overall Lexus wasn't a bad person, she just always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time but the world didn't see her that way and it was more than likely the little girl wouldn't either. Afterall it was obvious just by looking at her that she was a werewolf, and if the girl was too young to be able to see that, the blood stained bag she was carrying didn't exactly make her look like the most welcoming person.

"I'd say his name is Trouble," Lexus gave Jean-Baptiste a charming smile that showed her teeth were slightly sharper than the average witch's, "Then again that could be said about anyone you'd find down here." She turned her attention back to the little girl, her golden eyes glowing ever so slightly in the low light of the alley, "Shouldn't you be shopping for school supplies elsewhere, darlin'?"

"I'd say his name is Trouble, then again that could be said about anyone you'd find down here." Alice laughed without looking up, however when she did, Her eyes went wide in fear and she let out a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream. Noticing Lexus's sharp teeth and glowing eyes, Alice noticed immediately why she looked the way she was- She was a werewolf and Alice was sure of it.

She had researched werewolves extensively as soon as she had found out Lexi was turned. She always believed if you took the fear out of fear of something, then all you had left was something. And "somethings" were never scary. But the research had not helped. She read about extreme cases in which people would turn into terrible beasts that some attributes would show when not turned. Alice was scared when she discovered this and worried about Lexi, and so, when she went to talk to Mark about it, knowing he would make it better, he told her that this had never actually happened, and would not happen to Lexi. He had told a white lie to her in order to save her from the nightmares she would have if she actually knew the truth.

Because of the day she had had so far, all feelings and fears were exaggerated greatly, and this was no different. Alice thought that this was what would happen to all werewolves, now realizing that Mark had lied. She jumped from her chair and ran towards the wall that had been a few feet behind the two chairs. She placed her hands on the wall and began feeling about trying to find a way away. "A- a dead end? Why a dead end? There can't be a dead end! I can't die this way! Give me a way out!" Alice looked back at Lexus and saw the pouch dangling at her waist, stained blood red. Her eyes grew bigger than before. She was beginning to cry quite loudly as she sunk down against the wall, her hands covering her eyes. "Wake up Alice! Mark said they don't exist! That's what happens in nightmares! The -The mind. It creates your fears! That's not Lexi. Alice! That's not Lexi! Notice the wrong thing in this dream! It's how you wake up! Wake up Alice! Wake up! Lexi is okay! SHE IS OKAY ALICE!" She was rocking now back and forth and her hands were gripped on her scalp. Her eyes were glued shut and her legs were at sharp 30 degree angles. "Lexi is alright, Lexi is alright. It's a figure of your imagination! THEN WHY AM I NOT WAKING UP??" Alice looked as though she was losing her mind, and at the time, she felt like that was true.