November 5, 1888 — Somewhere on High Street, Hogsmeade
Eugene Scamander

Sat atop a low wall on High Street, Billie shivered and scrunched her shoulders up closer to her ears. The winds were starting to get much colder, but she held onto the stubborn belief that she could snatch up a few more outside adventures before it turned into 'I can't feel my toes' season. Presently, she had taken a break from said adventuring to people watch. It was one of her favorite pastimes, especially when she was able to eavesdrop.

Before they had wandered further down the street, the messy haired youth had attentively watched an argument between a couple who seemed to be at war. She wasn't sure she understood most of it, but it seemed an amortentia letter meant for the woman had ended up in the hands of her sister. The man sounded devastated about the sudden rift between him and his love, but the young woman was unsympathetic because him and her sister made baskets together? Whatever that meant.

Billie seemed disappointed that they departed, but she didn't remain that way for long. The child spotted a figure who had paused nearby, and she found herself staring in a rather fierce and squinty way at him, much longer than was polite. She knew him.

"'Ey!" Eugene probably heard her before he saw her since she had to slither her way around a few startled adults. "Niffler man!" She practically shouted as she came into view. Billie wasn't aware of his name, and she didn't possess enough manners to greet him properly, but she didn't notice.

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

As it were, keeping a niffler was a lot harder than Eugene had imagined. After his little escapees made their run for it this summer, he'd managed to re-home all but one, the sassy little redhead (well auburn, but he liked to think her personality came from her color) and so Ginger was still with him. She was tiny, she fit in the pocket of his trench and she was a pain in the ass. But she was cute, which mostly made up for it, even if he now had to constantly keep giving his sister's jewelry back to them after it was taken by the niffler.

As it were, he had to run off to the BBB to get some food for her, the tiny thing thankfully snoozing in his pocket and not trying to claw her way into other people's coin purses. Funny how he was thinking about it when he heard somebody call out in his direction. Finally his eyes landed on the lad who had, coincidentally, been there on the day of the niffler mishap. "Street Urchin!" He hollered back, a wide grin on his face as he meandered that way to where the chap sat. "Staying out of trouble today?" He questioned as he drew near.

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Wriggling her way off of the wall, Billie tilted her head back and grinned up at Eugene. She didn't seem to mind that he'd called her a street urchin, even if she was a bit cleaner than the last time they had crossed paths. Anyone who seemed to surround themselves with strange creatures was absolutely interesting in her book!

"'Course I am!" She called back, trying to sound convincing, even though there seemed to be a permanent mischievous glint in her eyes. "Are you?" She jabbed a small finger at him, eyes scrunched up as if she were trying to determine if he were about to tell the truth. After all, he had chased a collection of nifflers in the street not too long ago.

"Ya ain't losin' none of them cute things again, is ya?"

Billie still wasn't even sure where they had come from, and she had only learned the name for the creatures by describing them to someone else. Cute, long snout, likes shiny things.

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

This kid was a hoot! Eugene couldn't help the bark of laughter that erupted when his own question was turned back on him. Mirth clear in his eyes, Eugene had to give the kid credit, spunk seemed to come naturally to him and Eugene wasn't entirely sure he believed the kid's answer. "Trouble is my job, though technically I'm supposed to be solving it, not causing it." Working with creatures always had the potential for trouble and he hadn't actually caused it last time. Those damn nifflers were sneaky!

"Haven't lost any creatures as of late." He'd found a fair few as of late though. A couple of fire-breathing chickens, a veritable hive of billywigs, all manner of creatures people weren't supposed to keep as pets." Though I do have one of the nifflers sleeping in my pocket at this very moment." Had she not been sleeping, she would have definitely been at least poking her head out to see what was going on. Trying to train the little critter had been a bit of a nightmare, but Eugene thought they were making progress. In baby steps, but still progress. Eugene had to wonder if he would ever managed to prevent her from constantly scouring for shiny objects, finding came naturally to the little buggers, but man it left him busy!

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"It is?" She questioned, apparently taking Eugene's comment at face value. "I didn't know Trouble could be a job!" A thoughtful look drifted across her features as if she'd decided that perhaps that would be a great, future career for herself. Trouble did seem to find her, even when she didn't actively seek it out.

"That means ya is a helper, then." She concluded with a decisive nod. At least, it made sense according to her logic.

Her eyes nearly bugged out of the sockets when Niffler Man mentioned he still seemed to have one in his possession. A pleading, hopeful, and puppy-eyed expression came over her as she looked up at him, "Ya do? Can...can...can I maybe see it or somethin'?"

She paused, only to quickly tack on, "Please!" Grown-ups loved when you used that word.

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

Nodding along with the Urchin's appraisal of his job, Eugene rather thought he nailed it. "Pretty  much, I work for the ministry and I make sure people are taking care of their magical creatures the right way." And taking them away if they didn't. Or chasing them down when the lost them, or any other host of weird situations he'd found himself in over the course of his ministry career.

He should have known mentioning the niffler to a kid would elicit a request to see Ginger, but Eugene wasn't really complaining; he was grossly fond of her after all, when she wasn't driving him to drink. "Alright, but yeh gotta watch her carefully. You saw how sneaky they are!" He said as he reached into his pocket to pull out the little bugger. He was met with a gleeful nip to his finger in which Eugene pulled it back out, yelping and shaking it as if that would really help.

"Ginger, really?" He howled, diving in again to grab her by the scruff of her neck. "You right meanie." He said as he pulled her out and held her near his face to reprimand her. "This is Ginger, Ginger this is... well I suppose I can't keep calling you Street Urchin." He probably would in his head, though.

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"If they ain't takin' care of 'em right, do ya take 'em away and make 'em pay?" And by pay, she clearly didn't mean with money. She had very little patience for people who were mean to animals, and she always tried her hardest to relocate the rats she cleared from people's houses. The pet shop in town often purchased some from her. "'Cause there's a man in Bartonburg kinda near the park who's always throwin' things at his pretty bird when he's mad. It don't say nothin' back, not even a peep, and he got it all chained up. I seen it when I was workin' for him." Sometimes, she'd go back, just to make sure the bird was doing okay.

After she'd explained, all of her attention immediately switched to Eugene and the niffler. "I'll watch real careful. That niffler ain't goin' nowheres!" At least, she didn't have anything of value on her for it to try and steal.

Unable to stop herself, Billie started to giggle when poor Eugene was nipped. His reaction was what was really funny, of course.

"Hello, Ginger!" She chirped out, cheerful as ever, gaze softening as she looked upon the niffler. "You's beaut'ful." She gushed with a wide grin on her face. Ginger really was one of the most adorable creatures she had ever laid eyes on. It also didn't help that the niffler's propensity for mischief aligned with her own, so she found the adorable thing even more interesting.

"Oh! 'M Billie, Billie Farrow." She always forgot to introduce herself before just starting to chatter away at people. "What's ya name?"

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance then Mr. Farrow, I'm Eugene Scamander." Ginger was currently contented trying to pull at the silver button on the edge of Eugene's sleeve, that would at least keep her from trying to go anywhere. They were incredibly susceptible to the accio charm as well, so at least that was his back up plan. She also seemed quite earnest for Billie's attention, the little bugger. Complaining about her was just a little facade, he actually enjoyed her immensely.

"And what's this about a bird in Bartonburg?" Billie's appraisal of his job was incredibly accurate, so naturally his interest was piqued. "Do you know what street?" Not to mention, he was not amused by any creature being mistreated.

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"Nice meetin' ya, too, Mr. Scamander!" She chirped out, pleasantly to Eugene. Billie wasn't all that fond at shaking hands, since she couldn't ever trust that someone wouldn't use the opportunity to harm her. After all, if you already have a hold on your opponent, it was more difficult for them to flee.

It seemed most, if not all, of her attention had landed back on Ginger the Adorable, and she suddenly blurted out. "Can I hold her? I won't let her get away or nothin'!" Really, she just wanted to pet the niffler, but she figured asking to hold her might be worth asking, either way.

"A street near the park. The one that has a, um..." Billie scrunched up her face in thought, trying to recall the sign she'd seen, and the letters she was currently learning. "D! At the beginnin'." She meant Duffler's Path. "It's this mean lookin' old guy who has it. I forget his name, but he's got a right temper, and one of his eyes does this." She tried to, terribly, imitate a lazy eye by moving her own eyeballs around wildly. It probably looked as if she were having some sort of fit.

As if she couldn't stick to one topic of conversation, she suddenly asked, "Does ya have any more creatures 'sides Ginger?"

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

"Actually that would be helpful, do hold on tight though." So far Ginger had proved to be quite tolerant of being petted and squeezed, his nieces and nephews doing just that when he'd seen them last. However he wanted to write down Billie's tip so he could follow up on that. Passing her over, he managed to keep his button on his sleeve, and took out a little journal to make note of her description of the street and person.

"So the street near the park that starts with D," Had to be Duffler or Dodge. He lived on Knightsway, but rarely spent a lot of time walking the neighborhood, though apparently should start. "What color was the house? I live over that way, I'll check it out, thanks for the tip." He eyed Ginger carefully, though she was quite content to be lavished in attention from somebody that was not him. Even though Billie didn't seem to have anything shiny on his person, which was a good thing, Ginger hadn't started looking either.

Eugene chuckled at Billie's question as he waited for an answer to his own. "I have an owl, who was my pet from school, but that's it." He worked with creatures all day, he didn't need to go home to more. "Plus Ging is enough."  

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Although Billie looked about to jump out of her skin in excitement, she took Ginger into her arms with a certain gentleness that most didn't realize she had. She wasn't one to squeeze creatures until their eyes popped. While Eugene found his journal, Billie had already set about attentively gushing over how wonderful Ginger was, likely stroking the little niffler's ego.

She cradled her in her arms and pet her little stomach with a delighted look on her face. Now, she most definitely wanted a niffler as a pet. Or, at least, she hoped to be Eugene's friend so she could see Ginger all the time.

"I think it was gray...but I knows the door was blue 'cause I thought it was a real nice color, and there ain't many people who have that kinda blue doors." Maybe that would prove to be a bit more helpful. She wasn't always the most reliable about details as her memory was sketchy and distracted, at best, but she tended to remember things when it counted.

"Oh! I love owls." She piped up, immediately. "How come ya keeped Ginger then if ya don't have lotsa pets? 'Cause ya loved her? If I did what ya did, I'd have a seventy hundred pets, I think."

She paused and then straightened up proudly, "I have a cat! Mr. Ollivander gived him to me. His name is Soot. I ain't never had a cat of my own 'afore. Jus' the weird lookin' one with the weird tail was my friend, but I think she's someone's. Even though she finded me and helped me when I was lost."

She was babbling, but animals were her absolute favorite subject, and the sheer excitement about being able to hold Ginger had made her more animated than usual. She took a breath, giving poor Eugene enough time to think, not to mention respond.

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

Nodding along at the additional information Billie had for him, Eugene made sure to jot it down in his notebook, a smile curling his lips upwards as both Ginger and Billie seemed to be enjoying one another's company immensely. If he needed a niffler-sitter, he knew who he was calling on. "You know, that's a good question," Eugene chuckled in response. "I suppose it's because I work so much. I don't have a lot of time to take care of them." Some creatures required specific, extensive care that he couldn't provide like a responsible owner should.

"My owl is pretty independent, doesn't require much from me and Ginger, well, Ginger lives in this pocket." He laughed now, pointing to the pocket on the outside of his coat that was magically enhanced inside to house the little menace. "And I kept her because her siblings all found homes and she did not, so I figured I would take her before she landed somewhere less favorable." Creatures who hung around too long at the ministry ended up in places they likely didn't belong, despite their best efforts. It wasn't as if they could keep every confiscated creature that came through. Thankfully the zoo in Irvingly accepted quite a few of the more exotic ones.

When Billie started in on his pet cat, Eugene couldn't help but to smile fondly. The kid did seem to enjoy animals, and was good with them apparently, as evidenced by the niffler in his hands. Ginger didn't sit still for just anybody. "Cat's a good place to start if you haven't had a pet before, pretty self-sufficient, but still cuddly." Eugene wasn't a huge fan, but he had a bad experience with family one as a child, so that was likely. "Soot, huh? Black cat?" Frankly though, he did always enjoy hearing why people named their pets what they did.

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The kid seemed to understand Eugene's reasoning against having many pets. After all, she was pretty sure most grown-ups worked incessantly and forgot how to stop and have fun. Though, Eugene seemed like the type to at least enjoy himself while working, so, perhaps, he wasn't as bad off as most.

"Ohhh. Yeah, some animals like a lotta attention. My cat wants ya attention all the time and sits on stuff ya is s'posed to be doin' when ya ain't givin' him attention." She assumed most other creatures were probably that way.

Standing on tiptoe, she squinted at the pocket Eugene indicated and grinned widely at the niffler, speaking with her as if she were another human. "Ya get to go on lotsa adventures livin' in a place like that!" And it was probably warm, too. She cuddled Ginger some more, being sure to give her an abundance of love before she had to go back to her pocket home. After about half a second, she let out a gasp, "Wait, have ya seen dragons?!" The question was posed to both Eugene and Ginger.

"Less favorable?" Billie's brows furrowed, trying to figure out what he exactly meant. "Y'mean with a bad person? Or...Or..." She covered up Ginger's head with the crook of her arm and whispered, loudly, "Or all chopped up or somethin'?" When she'd finished her question, she uncovered the little niffler, no longer worried she would have to hear something so unpleasant.

When Eugene asked after her cat, she perked up again and bobbed her head up and down. "Uhuh! A black one. He looks like a big puff a soot, or like one of them things ya use to clean ya chimney. An' he gets dirty all the time."

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

Eugene followed along with the choppy flow of the conversation, but he expected no less from a kid who was cuddling a niffler. His own nieces and nephews could certainly give him a run for his money if he wasn't paying attention.

"Yes on the adventures, yes I have seen dragons, Ginger has not." The laugh that bubbled up was easy and clearly amused. Kids always thought of the biggest creature they could. "Thankfully not often, they're pretty nasty to deal with, there's a whole squad of people trained for that." Big, burly MacFusty men raised from birth to harness and snuggle dragons right out of the womb. Or something like that. They were the ones who dealt with that for the ministry at least.

Billie's questions about what happened to animals that they couldn't properly home was harder to answer and Eugene wavered on how to go about it for a minute. "Ah, well, sometimes we can send them to the zoo in Irvingly, that's fine. Sometimes breeders will take them. We see a lot of things come through the office each day, re-homing each and every one of them can be tricky. We never give them away to somebody we don't trust though." At least he didn't and he assumed his colleagues practiced the same kind of morality in the same situation!

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"Wouldn't want Ginger all gobbled up by one of 'em, anyways!" She commented, hugging the adorable niffler almost protectively, but her eyes were round with interest. She didn't know about too many magical creatures, yet, but dragons were something that she'd heard of even in the muggle world. "Ohhh. Is they mean then? I wanna see one jus' once." And, any creature, really. The man at the book shop let her browse sometimes and flip through the ones with illustrations. There was one that included a beautiful sketch of a dragon that always drove her imagination wild.

"What's a zoo?" She blurted out, confused. Having come from a small, muggle village not too far from Hogsmeade she hadn't exactly been exposed to anything even related to a zoo. Unless you counted the Thompson household that had more children than you could count.

"Ya could trust me! I'll take one of them creatures if ya can't find of 'em a home." She offered, pleading eyes peering up at Eugene. If it was up to her, she would take in every single one of them. Well, the nice ones, anyways. However. she was fairly certain Gideon probably wouldn't want his shop crawling with animals. Especially without her asking.

  

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MJ, yet again working her magic.  <3 <3 Thank you

Watching Billie with Ginger, Eugene couldn't help but to smile fondly, knowing the scamp was probably more trustworthy than some of the people he worked with. "I think Ginger can take care of herself," She had a nip to her when she was in a poor mood. Plus they were quick little buggers. "Though dragons are really best viewed at a great distance." He never got closer than he had to, that was for sure. Not that he'd dealt with them too much himself.

The zoo question had Eugene tilting his head comically, almost like a creature, but honestly, the kid had no idea what a zoo was? "A zoo is like a sanctuary for animals who can't go back to their natural habitats for whatever reason. There's one in Irvingly. They have all kinds of things, winged tigers, mooncalves, an erumpet, but also elephants and the like." It was quite the project. "There's an aviary full of birds that can disappear and reappear whenever they want, and little ones that zoom around fast as lightening." Snidgets were no laughing matter either, they could be mean little suckers!

"I will certainly keep that in mind the next time I have a critter in need of a home." Eugene chuckle, though had no idea if that would ever pan out, he didn't doubt Billie's willingness.

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