The fun of being underage (Open)

His parents really should know better.

Aldan, occasionally named Danny, rolled his eyes as he strolled through the Leaky Cauldron, a bag of galleons in one pocket, and his dad's wand in the other. The reason he loved cargo shorts really was obvious, since you could hide so much in them.

He paid for a butterbeer and settled into one of the seats, glad for the day without some sort of meeting to another pureblood or talk of politics. His parents rather were ignorant in Danny's needs. He'd need to educate them eventually.

Aldan was debated whether to go into the muggle world or Diagon Alley when a shadow loomed over him and he peered up.

"Any reason you want to stand over me like a serial killer?" He drawled.

Sophia had idly allowed her Occlumency shield to slip, thereby causing her to catch the projection of the person nearest her. It was a boy.

"Well, I can't say any have referred to me as the murdering type," she responded lightly, her brogue light. "Though, I have been known to offer advice even when it's not exactly desired."

He looked at her closely for a second before shrugging childishly, fiddling with the butterbeer he had. An idea struck him and he glanced back at her, "Not a murdering type you say? Want to help me meet a muggle hobo?"

He probably shouldn't go off with random strangers but technically he was the one inviting her out with him. He was bored, honestly, and what was more fun than a hobo from the muggle world? He'd never actually met one but muggles tended to fascinate him plenty.

She gave a soft laugh. "A muggle hobo? Ah, but laddie," Sophia crouched down to be eye-level with the boy, "do you really think you ought to go into the muggle world with a stolen wand? I imagine your father won't be well pleased with you."

Aldan felt quite short as she knelt down to be at his level. He hoped he grew soon, else he'd suffer adult leaning over to him like he was some toddler. He was 10, thanks.

"How'd you know it's not my wand?" he asked suspiciously, unsure how she figured out it was his dad's. "What dad doesn't know won't hurt him. Seriously, they're at some fancy party and they don't care that I'm gone. I have all the time in the world. If I didn't then I don't deserve to be Aldan Chaos."

He always did like his last name, it made him think it was quite fitting with everything he caused and he grinned at some of his memories.

"So want to come or no?" he asked her.

"A girl's got to have her secrets, now, doesn't she?" she grinned impishly. Sophia's gaze grew only faintly sympathetic. How lonely it must be to feel that one's parents didn't care about them.

Her eyes widened in surprise and it took her a moment to respond. "'Chaos'?" she echoed, his planned excursion into the muggle world forgotten. "Yeh donnae have a brother, do you, perchance?"

"Secrets always get exposed in the end," he told her seriously before shrugging and looking down with a frown. He wondered if he slid a little more down the seat would he be able to touch the floor? Maybe not. He opted to swing them a little, since he was fully sitting with his back to the chair.

He didn't know why she had to look at him like that. Sure his last name was great and hilarious, but really now... Oh. Aldan actually had two older brothers, though he knew absolutely nothing about either one, seeing as he was supposedly a decade or so younger than both. He didn't care to find out.

"I suppose I might, but if I do I wasn't informed about one," he told her with a shrug. He hopped off the chair and glanced back at her, "So you in for the hobo searching or do I have to use my dad's wand to find one myself?"

"That, they usually do," Sophia agreed.

She stood as he did, lightly put a hand on his shoulder so he could shrug it off if he chose to. The woman studied the boy's features closely, and now that she was looking, she could see the resemblance. He was related to Asric, she was certain of it.

"Asric," she said, "and his twin. Arenae they yer brothers?"

She seemed stuck on this whole Chaos last name tidbit, he noticed. Aldan gave her a slightly annoyed look before quickly erasing the look from his face. He honestly didn't know, nor did he care much. It wasn't like he'd ever met his parents.

"Asric? I could make fun of that name if I ever heard of it before," he told her with a grin, "He some kind of lion?" He wondered if they were his brothers but, he honestly couldn't bring himself to care at all. "I don't know if they're my brothers. I've never met those two before."

He sulked at her, seeing that she seemed to be purposely keeping him from his hobo hunting.

Sophia sighed quietly. "Fair enough," she said finally.

"Hobo seeking, then? I suppose I can accompany you," the woman decided. She didn't wish to leave such a young boy alone, anyway, related to Asric or not. "Particularly since I doubt 'Point Me, Muggle Hobo' will prove much good. In fact, it'd probably be best if we endeavor to blend in. Some muggles aren't very friendly towards magic people, you know.

"Shall we head out?"

"Awesome!" he cheered as he lit up at the prospect of someone joining him on his adventure for once. Being somewhat of the only kid around, he grew up doing crazy things alone and so a person joining was always a good thing.

"You never know. If we knew a hobo's name that'd work," he argued as he took hold of the woman's hand and walked forward towards the muggle world area. He'd already chosen his cargo shorts and a black shirt, which looked very muggle in his opinion, though he supposed the flying gryffin might not be muggle, since it was flying all over his shirt.

"Let's go!" he said happily.

The woman smiled at the boy's enthusiasm, her heart warming as the boy took her hand. She longed for a child of her own - had for a few years, though she had been single all that time. Perhaps, someday, she and Ric would have children, if they stayed together that long.

She laughed. "Well, if we knew his name, we wouldn't need to go meet him, would we?" she asked.

"Just a moment," she said. Taking out her wand, she murmured a quick spell to halt the gryffin on his shirt in mid-flight. "I'll put it back to rights when we return," she promised.

"Aye," Sophia agreed as she followed him through the door out to muggle London, "Let's."

"Touche," he conceded at her words of common sense. He nodded his consent at the stilling of his gryffin before tugging on her hand a little impatiently. If they didn't leave now the muggle hobos might go find their bridges and boxes and hide!

He was happy that they finally left the Leaky Cauldron and debated where to head towards now that he was in the muggle world. He'd been outside the Wizarding world only in secret, so he hadn't been able to discover everything he wanted to.

"If I was a muggle hobo, where would I hide?" he mused aloud.

Sophia couldn't help but find Aldan's demeanor endearing. He really was an adorable lad, though, she knew better than to tell him so aloud.

"Well, now, I don't know as hobos hide during the day," she said, instead. "I hear that some ask for donations on street corners, sometimes, or muggles sometimes have places to give them nice, hot meals. I suppose we could just look about and see if we have any luck. What do you think?"

"They hide during the day?" he asked her, intrigued. There wasn't anything he could read about hobos, seeing as he lived with pureblood parents who would no doubt chuck him off a bridge if they discovered his estranged fascination with muggles. He was glad he had the woman to go with him now.

"Oh," he said thoughtfully. "So they're freeloaders basically?" He wondered if they were grimy and disfigured, like he'd overheard a friend down the street describe on his trip to America once. Would a Hobo look like a houseelf?

"Should we look at nightfall instead since they hide in the day? Or we could find an alleyway. I think they live in those," he told her absently as he glanced around, wondering what a hobo would even look like now that he realized these small missing facts.

"Och, I meant that I don't think they hide during the day," Sophia corrected kindly.

The woman tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. "Well, they're poor," she told the boy. "They don't have money of their own, so they must rely on the generosity of others.

"I wouldn't say we need to wait until nightfall, but an alley might be a good place to start looking." Sophia smiled down at Aldan. He seemed so very inquisitive; he really did appear to be a bright lad. How could anyone be anything but attentive to such an endearing child?

"So, freeloaders," he repeated as he heard her explanation of the relying bit. That was how he saw it anyway, he was positive he'd heard the real terms for them somewhere but he really didn't want to think right now.

Aldan spotted a side alleyway off the corner of some shaddy looking pub. He grinned and contemplated trying one of those beers they had in there, even though he was clearly about a decade younger than the muggle drinking age. Hmm...

"What do I call you?" Aldan asked all of a sudden, glancing up at the woman he'd basically dragged into his adventure. He was already walking, his hand pulling on hers, towards the alleyway as he asked.

"Och, how rude of me," Sophia remarked. "My name is Sophia. I apologize for having not said so earlier." She followed without protest, confident she could handle anything that might crop up if necessary. She spotted the alleyway the boy was likely heading for.

"Glad to meet you," Aldan told her lightly as he heard her name. Sophia. There were roughly three Sophias in the thousands of heritage books his dad made him read, one being a Sophia Wyse, a Sophia Haze, and a Sophia Maxine. He wondered if he could figure out her last name. After all, the element of surprise was always on his side when no one suspected he had a photographic memory.

"It's all good," he said at her apology. Aldan turned his attention back to the alleyway and peered into the closely formed area. It smelled musty and damp, making him wrinkle his nose in utter disgust. There were several dumpsters back here and Aldan was revolted already.

"People live in these sort of places?" the pureblood boy asked, having never gone near an alleyway even in his adventures.

Sophia gazed down at the boy, tightening her grip on his hand just a bit. "Some people have nowhere else to go," she said quietly. She looked down the alleyway, herself. From her standpoint, she could spot signs of recent habitation. People had been sleeping here.

"See, lad, there are some who must live off the generosity of others, but that generosity only extends so far," Sophia told him. "There are some places where the poor and homeless can sleep, but such shelters can only take in so many."

He felt Sophia tightening her hold on his hand, but it was only for a few seconds so Aldan put it at the back of his mind. Aldan frowned at her explanation of why they lived in these dank alleyways. Merlin, it was appalling.

"Why don't they just go work?" he muttered to her, offended that someone would even let themselves reach this state. Wanting to see and actually seeing this sort of thing was very different, he realized. He still had a little desire to meet a muggle hobo, but was finding himself unsure if he should continue forward.

"It's hard to say. Sometimes, they simply can't get a job - perhaps because no one will hire them, or maybe that they're unable to work," Sophia said. "It's not a life people generally choose, Aldan."

"Well they can still..." Aldan trailed off, trying to think of a way these people could be made at fault. He deflated some and nodded, wrinkling his nose at the alleyway and turning towards Sophia so he didn't look at it. This wasn't the grandest adventure he'd ever been on, now that he thought about it.

"I think I want to go home now," he mumbled to her, feeling somewhat disappointed that they weren't what he expected.

"That may be wise," Sophia said, smiling kindly at the boy. She started back towards the Leaky Cauldron. "Shall I accompany you all the way home, lad, or can you manage your way from the pub?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks Sophia," Aldan said and offered her a rare smile in appreciation for coming with him. He seldom had company on his adventures after all. Bidding goodbye to the woman, he wondered if he'd meet with her again eventually. He ran towards the Leaky Cauldron with thoughts whirling in his head.

Shaking his head, he called out the Chaos manor and disappeared into the floo.