But the man just whispered, "I see I'm causing you distress. I am sorry for that, okay. I'll see you... I'll be around, alright? If you have any issues, please don't hesitate to tell me about them. I'm here for you, too, not just the patrons and shopowners."
                              
With that, the Auror said good day and left him alone. Draco tried in vain to calm down. He needed to leave, now, though he still had a few hours of daylight left. He was shaken by the conversation with the chatty Auror. The last constable only talked to him when there was a complaint, and Draco always left immediately. Begging, thankfully, isn't a crime that he could be arrested for.
                              
Draco shoved the sandwich into his bag and picked up his stick. However, many people were in the street as it was rush hour, which made it difficult to navigate the crowd. He had to use his stick to test that the area was clear and count steps in his head. Back the one-o-eight paces he had counted this morning, then a right turn, sixty-seven paces, and twenty to the left got him to the entrance of Knockturn Alley. By now, he memorized the path through Knockturn easy enough and got to the sloping street that drained down into a small stream that eventually connected with the Thames.
                              
There was a muggle car bridge over the stream, with a low walkway under it that Draco had to crouch for. About twenty paces in, there was a small opening that he had to low crawl to get into. Inside was bigger, but he still had to crawl to his corner. Several other beggars took up residence in the crawl space as well. They were muggles, near as he could tell, who came from the other side of the bridge. Thankfully, they allowed him to stay and didn't steal his blankets or stuff when he slept. His handicap seemed to make him more enduring to them.
                              
They checked on him often, even offering him parts of their meals, if he had nothing. Murtagh, the protective one of the group, came over when his nightmares or panic attacks hit. The fact that he was young helped, too, and that he was new to this. They often tried to get him to go to a muggle shelter or to their spots on the other side.
                              
"Oio, laddie. Yeh're early taday," the Scottish one, who went by Murtagh, commented.
                              
"I got spooked. Someone gave me a sandwich, though," Draco explained.
                              
"Tha's good. Yeh sure yer okay?"
                              
"Yes, thanks."
                              
He unrolled his ratty blanket and crawled under it, clenching it close. He was not looking forward to winter, again.
                              
"' Re they messin' wit' yeh, again?" he asked.
                              
When he first found this place six months ago, it had been an accident. Some drunks had figured out he was a Death Eater when they saw his eyes, and he had barely escaped. He had darted down the sloped alley, and he found the path under the bridge. He used his stick to find the opening and crawled in, only to be ambushed by the muggles, who didn't like newcomers pushing in on their spot. They pinned him face-down to the cement floor and tied his hands around his back.
                              
"This is our place!" a few growled.
                              
I'm sorry! I was just trying to..." Draco had tried to explain, but they didn't want to hear it.
                              
"We don't let strangers squat."
                              
"Please they're...."
                              
"Wait, lads... look at his stick. Sonnie... 're yeh blind?"
                              
"Yes," he cried, and they immediately let him go with apologies. "I'm sorry for coming in, but some people were chasing me. Please, can I stay here tonight?"
                              
"Chasin' yeh?" the Scot asked.
                              
"They were drunk."
                              
"Course yeh can sta'!" he responded, and another asked, "Do yeh have a shelter you usually go to?"