Alexander, if that is your real name

 *Thwack*

"And don't let me catch you round here again, you get me?" Shouted Sadko, the owner of the Bylina craft musical instruments.
Alexander spat on the floor. Sadko had blacked his eye. But that wouldn't matter. "Get outta here." Sadko cried, kicking Alexander to the curb with a steel-toed boot. Alexander clutched his chest. It was still intact. He bolted down the street as fast as possible, before Sadko could realise what he had taken from him. A gutteral howl told him that the ruse was up.
"COME BACK HERE, BOY!"
Knowing that his chances of making it out of here with all his teeth were getting fewer by the second, Alexander sprinted down Diagon alley. Past Flourish and Blotts, past Ollivanders, it might have looked like he was running towards Gringotts, but he was headed for a more darker alleyway. A bolt of hot air flew by his ear and missed him by millimetres, causing a crack in the ground in front of him. It appears that Sadko was now slinging spells towards him. Alexander dived into a crowd of people, all discussing the recent news in the daily prophet.
"Well i must say, i don't see why they need special laws."
"I think she's just testing the waters of what she can get away with. Seeing how much people will bend to a 'hero of Hogwarts'."
"All the same it's a pretty weak move and i for one- Oh my."
Alexander had just bowled into them at top speed, knocking the group of five down like bowling pins. In the mess of tangled robes that followed, no-one noticed that the boy who had bowled into them was no longer a boy, and had shifted into the guise of a young girl, with short pink-blonde hair and a youthful, innocent face.
"Excuse me, did you see where he went?" Asked Sadko, running up to the group.
"Where did who go my good fellow?" Asked one of the gentlemen, who was trying to extricate his green hat from the folds of another's cloak.
"The boy who ran into you?"
"I'm sorry sir," Replied Alexandra in an sweet voice, "But we didn't see much of anyone before we got knocked down. He probably ran on ahead."
Sadko snarled and ran further down the street.
"Are you all right my dear?" Asked one of the gentlemen who had managed to get to his feet.
"Oh i think so sir, thank you." Alexandra made a show of patting herself down to check that she was alright, although she was actually making sure her prize hadn't been damaged. The man helped her to her feet and pulled out his wand and vanished all the dirt from her clothes.
"You be careful now." The wizard said. "Here." He pulled out a chocolate frog from his pocket and winked as he handed it to Alexandra.
Alexandra's eyes lit up.
"Thank you sir!" She said, putting the chocolate frog in her own pocket.
"You must be nearly Hogwarts age by now, mustn't you?"
"Uh... Yes sir. I should be going to hogwarts in September."
"Should be?"
"Ah... Well, you see i havn't recieved my letter yet sir."
"Well i wouldn't worry about that." Said an old witch that was wearing something around her shoulders which looked like a fishnet. "Squibs are rare and besides-" She leaned in closer to Alexandra and whispered "-I heard it from my good friend Thomas Woodcrow that the Hogwarts letters will be shipped out soon, so don't you go worrying yourself."
Alexandra hadn't expected that to be relieving to her, and it was rather like a gut punch.
"Oh, thank you."
"Well, you be safe now. Run along back to your parents now. And stay safe."
"I will sir, thank you." Replied Alexandra, waving goodbye to the group as she continued walking down the street. Walking right past a disgruntled Sadko who was fuming.

"What a nice young lady." Said the Witch with the fishnet around her shoulders.
"Indeed. I do hope she gets her Hogwarts letter."

*

Alexandra ducked round a corner and quickly changed herself, to have long straight black hair and a more narrow face. If any of the witches or wizards glanced back at her, they would assume they had just lost her in the crowd. Alexandra made her way into Knockturn Alley, pushing her way past Greta the fingernail seller, or Tomkin who eyed each witch and wizard passing with a one-eyed glare. She arrived at what could conservatively be considered her home. A shop that sold all kinds of 'misplaced' artifacts. Artifacts which were often misplaced by Alexandra's hands. All manner of trinkets lined the walls, most of which had been pilfered by Alexandra herself. There were jewelled rings that had belonged to all manner of important witches and wizards, a dragon horn gavel, which Alexandra had taken from the pocket of a senior member of the Wizengamot, And a silver dagger which had belonged to a witch that had claimed to be a vampire hunter. What Alexandra had taken today, a small enamelled brooch which depicted a moving engraving of a Bogatyr, would likely not be sold for half a year at least, to give the item time to 'cool off' as William Northall, the proprietor of the shop called it.
"Ah, hello Alex." Someone called from inside the shop. From behind the curtains came a tall, black-haired man, with a large forked beard and charcoal robes. "What have you brought me today?"
"Just this, Mr. Northall." replied Alexandra, holding out the brooch.
Mr. Northall took the brooch from her and examined it under wandlight. He tapped it a few times with his wand before pronouncing it to be genuine. "Excellent, absolutely excellent my dear. This will fetch for a high price." He glanced over at Alexandra and appraised her for a moment. "You know, in your current disguise you could almost be my daughter." He remarked. Alexandra felt herself blush, and Mr. Northall ruffled her hair affectionately.
Looking over the brooch once again he said, "I'll give you, I think, 60 galleons for this. I'll add it to your credit."
Alexandra grinned.
"I just put a roast in the oven." Mr. Northall said. "With what you've got for me today you're definitely welcome to some."
"Thank you. Um. Mr. Northall?"
"What is it my dear?"
"Could I have a bath?"
"Of course. Just ask Sengin to draw it for you."
Sengin was Mr. Northall's long suffering house-elf. Wiry and ancient, he nevertheless had a soft spot for Alex, who in turn had a soft sport for him. On her way upstairs, Alexandra became Alexander once more, with short spiky black hair and grey eyes.
"Ah, many hellos to you master Alex." Wheezed Sengin, who was polishing a set of metal chess pieces.
"Good evening Sengin." replied Alexander. "Could you draw a bath for me?"
"At once, Master Alex." and he got off his little stool and walked to the bathroom, with Alexander following behind him. The bath was a small copper tub which was situated in the attic of the shop and looked over the rooftops of London. Sengin clicked his fingers, and it filled to the brim with warm water.
"Thank you, Sengin." Said Alexander, and he bowed and left, leaving Alexander to undress and relax in the bath.
Alexander was always relaxed in the bath. He found it was where he could change the most easily, and amused himself by thinking up new disguises for himself. Sometimes he would change his face to something stupid, like a old man with boils and pustules the size of eggs. He had gotten a good laugh from it, seeing the reaction of poor Sengin, who had nearly had a heart attack, but had been painful to move his face and so he had reverted back. Today he was thinking of trying to copy the faces of some of the boys and girls he had seen walking around with their parents. It took only a couple of tries before he recognised his face in the mirror. A brown-haired boy with wide sparkling blue eyes and thin lips. He stared at this face for a moment, and he suddenly felt wistful. This boy, with his wizarding parents, was assured a place at Hogwarts. Was assured a future. As Alexander stared into the blue eyes of the boy before him, he wondered if he was ever going to get the chance to go to Hogwarts. Alexander shook his head. He assuaged his feelings by changing into the exact opposite of what he had seen. A blonde haired, brown eyed girl with freckles now stared back at her. Suddenly feeling like the bath was ruined, Alexandra got out, dried herself and pulled on some fresh clothes that Sengin had left for her.
Over dinner, Alexandra asked Mr. Northall about whether or not she would be able to go to Hogwarts. Mr. Northall looked at her for a moment, then said "If your letter arrives, of course you can."
So that was it. As Alexandra stared into the fireplace, with a roaring blue flame in the grate, she wondered what it was all to come down to.
"I had a tipoff." Said Mr. Northall, sitting down next to her and unfurling a diagram. "The minister for magic is going to be receiving a gift from the Moroccan Representative for Magical Affairs. It's a gift of, and don't laugh now, 32 Araby Fighting Weasels."
"What?" Alexandra snorted. "Araby fighting weasels. What ever for?"
"Well that's tied up in a lot of international politics which I don't quite understand, but the short answer is that in a few days time the Moroccan Representative for Magical Affairs is going to be arriving, but the gift of weasels is going to be arriving tomorrow, at the Magical Menagerie, who are going to look after them until the Representative arrives. Apparently they don't like floo powder or something. But anyway, that gives us a small window of opportunity in which to snatch the fighting weasels from under the noses of the ministry of magic itself. It'll be a great embarrassment to the ministry and very profitable for us. What do you say?"
"Are you seriously going to look after 32 Araby fighting weasels for however long it takes for you to sell them?"
"Oh but that's the brilliant bit. I've already got a buyer."
"Who?"
"Oh, some old pure-blood family. Didn't say too much and i didn't ask. So this is the plan..."

*

The next morning Alexander found himself in the guise of a cabin boy. The weasels would be arriving by boat, and a they would be carried by a small cabin boy a short distance from the boat to a wizard driving one of the muggle automobiles that was specifically designed for carrying large things. In the middle of the night the two had apparated onto the boat, something which was very difficult to do without anyone spotting you, and Alexander had quickly changed himself to look like the cabin boy, before switching clothes with him and taking his place on the ship. Mr. Northall had disapparated with the cabin boy and would be keeping him safe until the job was over.
The cabin bell rang and Alexander presumed this was the wake up call as everyone else was getting up. In truth he hadn't been sleeping, only pretending to as he wanted to be alert for the job. Faking a yawn, he followed the rest of the crew. It was never not surprising to Alexander how little people paid attention to him. It was almost like a paradox. The more people recognised him, the less they paid attention to him.
"Oi, Toby."
Alexander quickly looked around and assumed that the person he was impersonating was Toby. "Yessir?" He said, in a rough approximation of officiality.
"Don't be cheeky. Go down the cargo and bring up those weasels. They've been hit with a sleeping draft, but be careful."
"Understood sir."
Alexander made his way down to the cargo hold and looked for the weasels. He didn't want to go opening all the crates, so looked for the one with the star on the side. Mr. Northall had told him that the symbol for the Moroccan wizards was the star, and that would likely be the box which was carrying the weasels.
He located the crate and placed it on the dolly, a muggle device for carrying heavy objects. The reason they could get away with this, Mr. Northall had explained, was that they had to look like muggles for a short distance. That meant a small opportunity to be lost in the transit between two destinations in a place that was foreign to wizards.
Alexander felt the ship moor and waited for the cargo hold to open.
He could feel the eyes of the crew on himself as he walked out the loading bay with the dolly and crate. He wished he could have some kind of distraction to change, but that wouldn't work here. The crate was too noticeable, and there were no such convenient distractions anyhow.
He was getting closer to the pre-arranged spot where Mr. Northall was waiting. It was closer. Closer. He was almost right on top of it now.
A small cloud of white smoke suddenly erupted around Alexander as one of the nearby crane creaked and toppled into the water, causing a massive outcry from the nearby dockworkers. Mr. Northall grabbed the crate and ran down the winding alleyways, with Alexander following closely behind. They ran for at least several minutes, until finally Mr. Northall seemed happy with the distance they had gained. He grabbed the top of the crate, and, ignoring Alexander telling him that they were under a sleeping potion and could be awoken with enough disturbance, ripped the lid off.
He stared at the inside of the crate for a solid minute, before shouting "These aren't weasels!" He turned to Alexander who was currently changing into a dark haired Alexandra. "Don't change now, idiot. Were there other crates on the ship?"
"Uh... none with a star on."
"Oh none with a star on! Oh that's all right then! It's not like we've just risked Azkaban for a bunch of comatose ferrets!" As he was shouting he picked one up out of the box and threw it at Alexander, which hit him in the face. Alexander picked the ferret up off the floor and held it in his hands, feeling it's small body in under his fingers." There were sudden shouting and footfall noises as people were getting closer. Alexander heard a crack and looked around, but Mr. Northall was gone. In a last act of desperation, he changed into an innocent looking blonde haired girl, and although that brought him some relief, when the wizards rounded the corner they immediately shot a stunning spell and Alexandra and she fell into unconsciousness.

*

Alexandra woke to find herself lying on a bed in a small room behind some bars. She had not changed in her sleep, and was still the same blonde haired girl that she had changed into. She wanted to change again, but felt that It was currently in her best interests to stay who she was for now. Surprisingly, she found that she was still holding the ferret which Mr. Northall had thrown at her. She looked down at it. It wasn't dead, she could feel it's heartbeat, but it appeared to be in a very deep sleep.
"We couldn't get it out of your grasp, so we thought it'd probably be best to wait until you were awake before taking it from you." said a voice from outside the bars. Alexandra looked up. She was staring into the face of a young, very young, man with dark hair, green eyes, and round glasses. "Hi. I'm Harry Potter, a Junior Auror for the ministry. Who are you?"
"Wittan Hargrave." replied Alexandra automatically. She had always been good at coming up with fake names for herself.
"Well, Wittan, I'm curious to know why the crew reported you as a short haired boy, and yet you turn up in his clothes a long haired girl."
"Maybe they had bad eyesight."
Harry smiled and stared into her eyes, taking in every feature of her face. "You see Wittan, i think you're a metamorphmagus, and a thief. It's ingenious really. No-one would ever be able to catch you, so long as you managed to loose sight of them, or rather, they loose sight of you. But I also think you're young. Either your powers haven't fully developed or you haven't got the hang of using them yet, I don't know, but either way you're young. You might even be Hogwarts age, though I don't think you attend the school. Where's your wand? We weren't able to find one on you."
Alexandra hung her head. She didn't want to say that she didn't have a wand, although she didn't want to admit it. Again the issue of Hogwarts had been brought up and she felt her stomach knot. She wanted to change so badly but knew she shouldn't.
"I imagine you're mostly a pickpocket," said Harry, dropping the subject of her wand, "do you you steal things for your parents? Where are your parents anyway?"
At last Alexandra spoke. "I dunno. I think they're dead."

Harry did not say anything, but waved his wand and the bars melted and Harry walked through them, with the bars reforming afterwards. "Where do you live?" He asked gently.
"I- I can't say." said Alexandra, feeling her eyes start to well up.
"Why not?" Asked Harry.
"Because if i tell you, you'll arrest him and I'll have nowhere to stay." Alexandra cried.
"Okay. Okay, i get it. I have an idea, but it might take some time to work it out."
For the rest of the day and night, Alexandra saw Harry writing furiously on bits of paper which he either sent out with an owl or as a flying paper aeroplane. He would occasionally take a break and offer her some food, like biscuits or sandwiches. It was when he was giving her the sandwiches that Alexandra showed Harry her metamorphmagus abilites. He acted like it was a sure thing anyway, so Alexandra didn't see the harm in showing him.
"You've got a lot more fine control than the other metamorphmagus i knew." He said. "Although i never did see her transform much unless it was for a joke at the dinner table."
He also introduced her to the other witches and wizards that came through his office. Another junior Auror with flame like red hair came through, which Harry introduced as Ron Weasley. Alexandra recognised the names of Harry and Ron, they were famous after all, but she didn't' have the reverence for them that she knew others had. She had always grown up hearing about them from her neighbours, all of whom hissed their names as powerful wizards who abused their power. But they didn't seem like they were abusing their power at all to her. She was even let out of her cell and allowed to eat lunch with Harry and Ron, where she made both Ron and Harry laugh by copying Ron's flame-like hair colour, but arranging her hair like a beehive.
The next day Harry arrived with a deal.
"It's simple. If you attend Hogwarts, and behave yourself under the supervision of the headmaster, then all charges will be dropped. We'll even wipe your criminal record, which will mean that you'll be able to get any job you want, even become minister of magic if you so desired. If you refuse, you'll be tried by the Wizengamot and probably serve a three months sentence in Azkaban. At minimum."
"But what about-"
"We'll also promise to not follow you or look into where you go until you attend Hogwarts, leaving you guardian safe whilst you attend Hogwarts."
Alexander had to think about it, although there really wasn't too much to think about. He at least had to make the air of thinking about it. But there was one thing he was curious about.
"Why are you doing this? For me, of all people."
Harry paused to consider before he said his answer. "I suppose it's because you remind me of myself a bit. I'm also an orphan and I never knew my parents, and I also know what it's like to grow up with, what you might call less sympathetic guardians. I know what i might have become if it wasn't for Hogwarts and my friends, and i don't want you to go down that path."
"All right." Said Alexander. "I accept."
"Good." Harry picked up a heavy letter on his desk. "Now, all we need is a name for this." He handed Alexander the letter. It was unaddressed.
"I usually go by either Alexander or Alexandra."
"What about a surname?"
"I've never really had one." It was a slight lie. He had once called himself Alexander Northall, but he thought that he shouldn't use that name at all if he could help it.
"Well why don't you come up with one then. A new one."
Alexander's mind went blank. He was usually good at thinking bogus names for himself, but this wasn't going to be a bogus name. He looked around for some inspiration. Eventually his eyes landed on some of the straw which had come from the ferret box. "Ferret." He said. "I'll be Alex Ferret."
"I like it." Said Harry, waving his wand and the name Alexander Ferret appeared on the parchment in emerald green ink. "Now there is one more thing I need to do before i can technically give you this." Harry said.
"What's that?"
"Well, given how you've used your abilities in the past, Professor McGonagall said the only way she'll accept you as a student is with a way to identify you."
"And what does that mean?"
"It means I'll give you a... mark. It'll be painless and invisible, unless someone casts the right spell, then it'll start glowing. "
"Fine."
Harry grabbed Alexander's arm and rolled his sleeve down. He placed his wand tip to Alexander's forearm and a small star glowed briefly upon his skin before fading. After that was done, Harry gave Alexander a biscuit and took him back to the leaky cauldron, where he made good on his promise to leave Alexander alone and disapparated back to the ministry, or so it appeared. Alexander didn't go back to Northall's straight away. He headed back to one of his old haunts and settled down behind some of the dustbins in a tucked away and forgotten corner of Knockturn alley. Pulling some old rags around himself to keep warm, he opened his Hogwarts letter.

To Mr/Miss Alexander/Alexandra Ferret. 

You have been accepted at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, provided certain conditions are met. These conditions will be explained to you by the representative of the Auror Office, Harry James Potter. 
Enclosed is a list of your school supplies that you will need for the coming year
Alexandra skimmed the rest of the letter and looked down the list of school supplies. Those would not be easy to come by, especially the wand. She had credit with Mr. Northall, but he rarely had school books in stock, had she had never seen such things as wands or school robes there. She would likely have to go the second-hand shops after asking Mr. Northall for some money from her credit, something which he was reluctant to do at the best of times. But to her surprise, he was perfectly okay with it when she explained the situation to him the next day. He congratulated her on getting such a good offer to stay out of Azkaban. He even offered to find her a wand to use, free of charge, and gave her ten whole galleons from her credit to purchase school supplies. She spend an interesting next few days wondering around Knockturn alley and even wandering into Diagon alley occasionally. By the end of her shopping spree, she had gotten almost all the required items. The only thin she was missing was a wand, which Mr. Northall was still working on precuring, and a pet, although Mr. Northall pointed out this wasn't essential and a massive expense.
Eventually, on August 31st, Mr. Northall returned with Alexander's wand.
"Ebony and Demiguise hair core. Eight and three-quarter inches. Highly flexible. It should work quite well for you. Give it a go."
Alexander swung the wand around elegantly, and the air seemed to shimmer before him, like a heat haze except there was no heat.
"Oh bravo." Said Mr. Nothall. "Well done."
"Excellent, young master." said Sengin.
That night they had a small feast to celebrate. It was nothing particularly fancy, for Mr. Northall was and always will be frugal in nature, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Eventually they got to talking about Mr. Northall's time at Hogwarts."
"Ah when i was at Hogwarts i had only one obession."
"What was that."
"Merlin's tomb."
"You tried to find it?"
"Oh yes. I was young and thought i could do anything. But alas, i never found it. Perhaps you'll fare better?"
"Oh i hope so. Imagine all the treasure that would be in there."
"Oh indeed. Enough to set someone up for life."
They finished their meal and Alexander got to bed, eagerly awaiting the morning and the start of his life at Hogwarts.