We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands

[Sirius Black]

The lift arrived at last and the doors slid open. Sirius led the group inside, then pressed the button for the lobby. "We need to stand off to the side a little, so that we won't be in the way if someone decides to get on when we reach the lobby," he told them as he inched sideways slowly, trying not to lose them.

[Kris Lupin]

Kris bit her lower lip as she moved with Sirius and the others, she hated being slow, she was worried that her father might have already agreed to the deal. She glanced at Sirius she wasn't mad at him, she just didn't think she could trust him. She looked down before Sirius could see her looking at him.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius looked over at Kris, wishing he could talk to her.He knew now was not the time, with Remus and James and Peter all there, but he was desperate to clear the air and somehow make it up to her. But as the lift reached the lobby and the doors slid open, he forced himself to focus on the moment at hand. A gnarly-looking old wizard stepped onto the elevator, just barely avoiding running into them. Sirius moved forward quickly, and hoped the others were able to keep up with him as he moved.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus followed Sirius, checking quickly over his shoulder to make sure Peter and James were OK. They hadn't said much in a while, but he was glad they were there. Even the doubts he'd had about Peter were gone. If he'd gone to so much trouble to help with the rescue, he must be an OK kid. He hoped it was the beginning of a good friendship.

As Sirius led them out of the inn and onto Knockturn Alley, however, his nervousness returned. He had no idea how they were going to find his dad and the crazy woman, or how they would stop her from doing whatever she had planned.

[Kris Lupin]

Kris had to keep herself from running through the alley as she felt that having to be sneaky was costing her time to get to her father. She hated having to sneak past people because sneaking was slow, but she knew they had to be careful.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius kept walking along slowly, edging his way along the edge of the alley. It was pretty deserted, since it was starting to get a little brighter in Knockturn Alley. It was still dark and shadowy, but occasional beams of light streaked down through the small space between the buildings. It would be a little brighter by the time it reached noon, when the sun would be directly overhead, but then the brightness would begin to fade quickly.

They passed an old wizard passed out drunk in the middle of the street; he must have just finished his drinking a little while ago, since he had not been there when they passed through before. A couple of crones past by, cackling amongst themselves, and stepped over the drunk wizard. One of them stepped on him, but he seemed not to notice.

"Maybe he's dead!" shrieked the first crone, laughing.
"Suits him right!" said the second.

Their laughter continued to echo through the alley, long after they had passed. Sirius shuddered and kept moving. They passed the pub, where a lecherous old wizard was hassling a scantily-clad barmaid. They were just about past them when abruptly, the barmaid decided she'd had enough. She shoved the old wizard with surprising strength, knocking him backwards and right into the 5 kids huddling under the invisibility cloak...

[Kris Lupin]

When the man was pushed into them Kris grabbed Sirius' hand, she was scared and it had hurt when he ran into them. She could see the sorta shocked look on the woman's face as he seemed to hit something not there. She glanced at Sirius wondering what they were suppose to do.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius felt Kris's hand grab his as the man hit them, then began to stumble drunkenly around. He tried to grab at something that, to any other observers, wasn't actually there. Except that it was. He pulled the invisibility cloak off of them accidentally, revealing 5 children crouching in the middle of the alleyway.

Sirius's eyes widened. "RUN!" he yelled to the others. He yanked the invisibility cloak from the old wizard's hand, which wasn't hard to do. With his other hand, he clung to Kris and took off at a run.

[Kris Lupin]

Kris ran with Sirius, she hoped Remus and the others were behind them. She didn't dare look back as she knew when you look over your shoulder while running you slow down. She tried to listen for their footsteps but her heart was pounding in her ears that she couldn't hear a thing.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius kept running, glad that the light of day was getting closer and closer. He ahd no idea if the others were behind him, or if anyone was chasing them... the important thing now was to get out as quickly as possible. Finally, they reached the end of the alleyway and emerged into the bright morning sunlight of Diagon Alley. He turned to Kris. "Are you OK?"

[Kris Lupin]

Kris nodded then hugged him, she wasn't mad at him, she just didn't know if she could trust him. She let go of him and said, "I have to find my dad." Without another word she took off up Diagon Alley looking around for her father, she hoped it wasn't too late. She didn't care if the others followed her or not all she cared right then about was finding her father.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius was relieved when she hugged him. Maybe she wasn't so angry with him after all. But when she walked away, he stared after her in confusion. What the...? Kris, where are you going?" He looked back to see if the others were out of the alley yet... he didn't want to leave anyone behind.

[Remus Lupin]

Remus ran up just behind them, panting heavily. "That was close..." he gasped. He stood there for a minute, bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Where's Kris going?"

[Kris Lupin]

Kris got close to the ice cream parlor and looked over the people, she saw her father with Norah. How was she going to get her father's attention without getting Norah's? She bit her lower lip and looked around for a way to do that.

[Sirius Black]

Sirius waved in the direction where Kris had run. "She went that way to find your dad. Go on, go after her, I'll make sure James and Pete get out. We'll catch up with you later, OK? Just go find her."

((OOC: Kris and Remus, you can move to the thread with Norah and Rupert in the Ice Cream Shop. That part of the action will continue there.))

[Remus Lupin]

Remus, having caught his breath already, nodded quickly. "OK, thanks. We'll see you later." He hurried after Kris as quickly as he could. He only hoped he could catch up with her. Why couldn't she have waited for him before taking off? This was something they should do together... she would have been just as frustrated if he'd taken off without her.

[James Potter]

James sped off running after the cloak was pulled off the five of them. Luckily Sirius pulled it away. The drunken wizards cackled and one of them even pulled out a wand. James reached for his. "Run Peter! Just go," he said nearly shouting at the boy. Peter ran off the way Sirius, Kris, and Remus did. James carefully took steps backwards watching around him. He wasn't sure what the drunken one would do. The man tripped over himself and hit the ground. James gave a small chuckle and started to run towards Sirius. "Hey man," he said running up to him and Pete. "Let's get away from here, fast before the drunks come out here."

[Sirius Black]

Sirius sighed with relief when James and Peter came running out of the alley. "I was just about to go down after you!" he said. "Remus and Kris went on ahead to look for their father." He pointed off in the direction where they had gone. "I think they went that way... Do you think we can help, or should we just stay back?"

[James Potter]

"Aw man, you wouldn't have to come after us," replied James. "We can take care of ourselves around a couple drunks, right Pete?" He gave a grin, but then let it fade. "Maybe we should just follow. Not get involved you know, but keep an eye out. We could use the Invisibility Cloak again just to check on them. We wouldn't want Ms. Crazy Lady to go after them would we? We could keep our distance. How's that sound?"