Escapee

The cats were all sick with a terrible feline cold and she wasn't exactly sure if nifflers could catch cat colds, but she didn't want to risk it. Plus when the Cat Clique wasn't feeling well they weren't really pleasant to be around and could be quite mean to poor little Greta. So, when Mali had to leave for work she packed up her trusty companion and brought her along to the castle. Surely no one would mind as long as Greta kept her nose clean. It was a disaster waiting to happen, as anyone who knew the Niffler knew that she couldn't behave herself if her life depended on it. The morning went well, Greta kept herself entertained by finding shiny ten pence coins she'd hidden around the hospital wing. The fat furry creature scrabbled around, checking under beds and on top of shelves while shoving the coins into her little tummy pocket.

Then a student had come by wearing a sparkly gold necklace. She treated the poor Ravenclaw's potion burn rather easily but watched in quiet horror as Greta slipped behind the third year and deftly unhooked the necklace, shoved it in her pouch and skittered away all without alerting the student that she'd been robbed. The Niffler skittered away happily and the student was sent on her way before Mali set to retrieving the jewelry. It wasn't an easy task, the witch chased the creature around the wing, knocking into trays and toppling stacks of bed sheets. Things were toppled off of shelves as Greta skittered along them, but she managed to corner the beast in one of the supply closests.

"You glorified rat!" She shouted at the creature, chucking a pillow at Greta as the furry little thing taunted her from a high corner. "You selfish, greedy little prat! Come down here right now!" It was harsh, but she'd already tried to sweet talk her out of her treasure, even offering up a handful of sickles and a highly polished spoon. There was a voice outside that distracted her just long enough to give Greta a chance for escape. The little Niffler took it, leaping from the shelf and darting out between Mali's legs. There was a surprised cry and a crash as Mali whipped around, catching a shelf full of empty vials with her shoulder and jostling several of them enough that they tumbled and shattered on the ground.

"Get. BACK. HERE!" she shouted, scampering off after Greta as the creature sprinted out of the store room, right past her visitor and towards the exit. Her eyes were low, following her thief of a pet and creating a recipe for disaster. Greta might have darted around Remus but Mali crashed into him, hard and sent them both to the ground in a mess of scones and a shattered teapot.

Mali didn't fall nearly as hard as Remus did. He was a great cushion, absorbing the brunt of the crash as she tumbled right on top of him. The impact did manage to daze her a little bit and the Niffler staged a grand escape, squeezing her rotund little body (which was laden with shiny trinkets) through the doors that were barely left open. "That bloody creature!" Remus startled her, moving underneath and Mali scrambled back off of him, freezing mid scramble at his question. "Mmm.. Maaaaybe?"

She had no idea what Hogwarts' 'bring you pet to work' policy was but she couldn't imagine that it was very generous in the department of thieving rodents. "The cats were bullying her." Remus wouldn't tell, would he? Mali theorized it was probably safe to tell him as she picked herself up off the ground. The witch dusted off her hands before reaching to help her friend to his feet. "They don't feel well so that puts them in a mood. I didn't want to leave her alone to be picked on, she's very sensitive. Usually I'd take her to my dads' if I needed a Niffler sitter but they're on holiday in Rome." Mali's words were rushed, hurrying through them as she pulled Remus up. Once he was on his feet she pulled her wand from it's pocket and took off towards the door, calling over her shoulder. "I've got to grab her before she gets too far!"

Mali barreled through the door and stopped, crossing her arms over her chest with a huff. She looked left and looked right but there was no sign of the bloody rodent anywhere. "Merlin, she's quick." the witch sulked, turning back towards the hospital wing. "I've got no idea where she's gotten off too.. Accio doesn't work on living things either, does it?" It was worth a shot. She flourished the wand, calling "Accio Selfish Prat!" but nothing came whizzing through the air too her, much to Mali's disappointment.

Old was subjective. Mali might call the man old as a way to gently tease him but there was no denying that given his age, Remus was pretty spry. He managed to mostly keep up with the frantic woman as she charged out in search of her runaway pet. She was disappointed to find the corridor completely Niffler free and empty of any clue that would at least point her in Greta's direction. A trail of shiny trinkets would have been nice but obviously too easy. She loved the little rat but the creature did have a unique way of complicating things. "I think even a flobberworm could get into trouble here." Mali remarked as she looked left and right in vain, hoping that she'd spot the fat little furball. Hogwarts had a way of making trouble for people and things to get into, the school was a breeding ground for mischief.

Cookies? Mali looked down the corridor, frowning. "You think she'd head for the Great Hall? She likes food nearly as much as she likes shiny things. "She'd have a field day in there with all the shiny goblets and forks." Her frown and irritation deepened when her pathetic attempt to summon the creature back produced no results. When Remus patted the witch's shoulder she looked back at him, tapping the tip of her wand thoughtfully (and carelessly, it wasn't exactly wise to go tapping body parts with your wand) against her cheek. "Mm.. A bracelet but I didn't get a good enough look at the thing to picture it clearly but she's bound to have a sickle or two tucked away in her pouch. I know what those look like."

Mali squared her shoulders and raised her wand, prepared to summon. "Accio Sic---You know what?" She stopped suddenly, mid-swish. "I dunno if money can be summoned." It would make stealing it awfully easy. She looked to the Defense professor expectantly, surely he would know. Before he had a chance to answer she shook her head "They'd expel us both for theft if you could." Summoning sickles in a school full of people who likely had at few of them stashed away for Hogsmeade trips would surely amount to a wave of silver zooming down the corridors.

Mali loved all creatures that weren't spiders or insects. People and Nifflers and yes, even flobberworms. She shook her head at Remus' question before tilting it thoughtfully. "I don't have any, but wouldn't they do nicely in a terrarium?" Up on one of the bookshelves in their apartment, decorated with little bonsai trees or something. "Mm.. but we use flobberworms for potion making, I'd feel so guilty using it as an ingredient with one on the shelf. That would be a little cruel, don't you think?" Mali really should live in a farm, surrounded by all manner of magical creatures. Theo liked the country, maybe finding their own place wouldn't be terrible. It wasn't really the time to entertain that idea, they had a run away Niffler to contend with.

"Even if I wasn't a Niffler that's where I would go." the witch countered with a grin as she patted her stomach. The stereotype that Hufflepuffs liked to eat was not actually a stereotype, more like a fact. The quickest way to Mali's heart was with good food and sugary sweets. She nodded along with the 'shall we' asking "Think we could stop by the kitchens for a snack while we're there?" as they set out for The Great Hall. "After we find her, of course. D'you know how to get in? I could show you if you don't. It's a carefully guarded Hufflepuff secret." Thinking about food and how hungry she actually was (breakfast felt like it was days ago instead of hours) made her think very hard about ways to solve their Niffler-less problem.

Remus saw the problem with her plan just moments before she did and the werewolf relaxes visibly when she caught on to the problem even as he flagged her down from the spell. "It'd be a shame after all the hard work you put in to keep me out of prison, wouldn't it?" The pair of them grinned at each other like loons and Mali dismissed his thoughts on Greta with a short laugh as she jogged the distance between them to fall in step with Remus. "Greta wouldn't go hungry. She'd find someone who would feel sorry for the bloody rat and throw her a biscuit or two." She nodded her agreement with Remus' theory that they would have to do it the old fashioned way, sans magic. "Right, but we're going to need a plan. She's a slippery little beast and she's fast when she's absconding with treasure. Maybe we should lure her to us, got anything shiny?"