An approving eye considered the boy's earnest chewing, and the urchin bit her lip before she forgot where they were. The urge to giggle and share more of her bounty was threatening to overtake her, and she could have easily let it. Let the coppers climb up and find them, fat and happy on their catch from the buffet. For just one afternoon of sweet satisfaction, getting hauled off to the town jail might have almost been worth it.
Almost. Charley stood up beside the boy, an electric grin on her face. Being up on these roofs was freeing, bringing out the daring side of her. She had mastered them instead of plodding through classwork or learning the meaningless magic of a world that wasn't all that different from her own sometimes. What a few people had, she was happy to take part of for herself.
Even if that meant a wild chase through and above the streets of Hogsmeade.
Charley sized up the gap between the buildings. It wasn't so impossible as the boy's skeptical face might have declared. She would have told him how silly he was being, too, if they weren't trying to stay quiet until the last moment. He was taller than her, anyway, and with longer legs, if she could make it then so could he.
The urchin swallowed the last of her sausage, her eyes on the next rooftop as she licked her greasy lips clean. The savory taste clung to them, fuel for her coiling muscles as she bent low and ready. Then she sprung up, the alley cat leaping from the low prowl above her prey. A clatter rang out under her feet as Charley ran, but it didn't matter now if the coppers heard her. It was too late to stop the urchin from going. She launched herself off the edge, flying to the freedom of the next rooftop.
Her roll took her halfway down the shingled slop before Charley could slow to a stop, but then she was up and dusting herself off. Angling away from the peak had worked, barring a bruise or two, but now she had to clamber back up to it. From there, the urchin could see the way, through the maze-like pattern of Hogsmeade's winding streets, to the center of it all. High Street would be the easiest place to lose the coppers, and into the slums below its broad avenue.
High on success, she turned back to beckon for the boy to follow and faster now. He could even lead, once he understood where they were going, all that mattered now was getting there and ahead of the coppers.
Almost. Charley stood up beside the boy, an electric grin on her face. Being up on these roofs was freeing, bringing out the daring side of her. She had mastered them instead of plodding through classwork or learning the meaningless magic of a world that wasn't all that different from her own sometimes. What a few people had, she was happy to take part of for herself.
Even if that meant a wild chase through and above the streets of Hogsmeade.
Charley sized up the gap between the buildings. It wasn't so impossible as the boy's skeptical face might have declared. She would have told him how silly he was being, too, if they weren't trying to stay quiet until the last moment. He was taller than her, anyway, and with longer legs, if she could make it then so could he.
The urchin swallowed the last of her sausage, her eyes on the next rooftop as she licked her greasy lips clean. The savory taste clung to them, fuel for her coiling muscles as she bent low and ready. Then she sprung up, the alley cat leaping from the low prowl above her prey. A clatter rang out under her feet as Charley ran, but it didn't matter now if the coppers heard her. It was too late to stop the urchin from going. She launched herself off the edge, flying to the freedom of the next rooftop.
Her roll took her halfway down the shingled slop before Charley could slow to a stop, but then she was up and dusting herself off. Angling away from the peak had worked, barring a bruise or two, but now she had to clamber back up to it. From there, the urchin could see the way, through the maze-like pattern of Hogsmeade's winding streets, to the center of it all. High Street would be the easiest place to lose the coppers, and into the slums below its broad avenue.
High on success, she turned back to beckon for the boy to follow and faster now. He could even lead, once he understood where they were going, all that mattered now was getting there and ahead of the coppers.
![[Image: bZbZdaH.png]](https://i.imgur.com/bZbZdaH.png)