The Wizard and the No-Mag
A/N: Hey hey!! So I know this is way overdue but thank you so much for waiting. I hope you don't mind but I made (Y/N) and engineering student at University because I thought it would make it easier for her to explain technology to Fred since she'd probably then have more of an idea about how that stuff works (also I have no idea what the course entails so if I've made any mistakes on the subject please forgive me). Again, I'm so sorry it's taken this long but thank you so much for your patience @kpopgirlbtssvt Anyway please enjoy :) [[bonus points to anyone who picks up the quote I twisted from one of my favourite movies]]
Masterlist Series Masterlist
•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•
(Y/N) was walking through London, looking a little lost. Scratch that - she was lost. She had only been in England for a day and decided to go exploring (what a great idea that was), only she didn't have a map and she had no internet or data on her phone to find out where she was, which resulted in having to ask for directions. However, it would be more helpful if she knew where exactly she wanted to go. She rounded the corner of a building and found herself colliding with a slim get surprisingly muscular body.
"Oh-crap-I'm-so-sorry-I-wasn't-looking-where-I-was-going--" Said the person, holding her shoulders to steady her.
--"No no, it's fine, I really should've been paying attention." She replied, looking up to the stranger. He had a head of messy ginger hair sticking out in every direction, freckles dotted over his nose and cheeks and decorated his face, but his best feature was by far his honey-brown eyes. (Y/N) just couldn’t help but stare at the intricate patterns around his pupils that looked so bright up close.
Only now did she realise the very little distance between them. Taking a step back to compose herself, (Y/N) straightened herself out and cleared her throat. She looked back up to him to see he was already staring at her – with wide, unblinking eyes, and shallow, barely noticeable breaths.
“Um… are you okay?” she asked warily; she didn’t know what to do in this sort of situation (it's not like she had a British hand-book of awkward moments).
He seemed to snap out of whatever kind of trance he was in, “O-oh! Yeah yeah I’m fine. I’m okay – I’m fine… er… ar-are you… uh… are you okay?”
She smiled at his stuttering; it was actually quite cute. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little lost.”
There was a silence between them, as if neither one really wanted to leave but didn’t know what to say, people who passed by them gave rude or enstranged looks – but they simply ignored it.
The man fixed his posture and carefully put out his hand. “I’m – er – Fred Weasley, by the way.” He introduced with a shy smile.
‘What a strange name’, she thought. She took his hand in hers and returned the action, “(Y/N) (Y/L/N).”
“(Y/N),” he repeated, trying out how her name felt on his lips, “well, (Y/N), since your lost and all, do you – er – would you want me to help you with getting… um… un-lost?”
“Well,” she laughed, “I’m not really sure where I wanna go.”
“Perfect! Does that mean I get to show you around? I’m a great tour guide, y’know?” fred beamed at her answer, clearly seeing his opportunity.
“Really? Are you sure? I wouldn’t wanna bother you.”
“It’s no bother,” Fred insisted politely, “really, it’d be my pleasure.”
•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•
Fred showed her around London a bit, obviously he didn’t show her everywhere – London is a pretty big city after all.
He took her to a nearby park after a couple of hours of touring around. It was a surprisingly nice day out – when (Y/N) was back home, she’d heard that England was always cold and rainy (which, according to Fred, wasn’t too far from the truth) – so they strolled around and got to know each other a little.
“So, where exactly are you from?” Fred questioned; it was pretty obvious from her accent that she wasn’t Brittish.
“(Y/S) [Your State], America.”
“Right,” he nodded, “yeah, I thought that but usually when I think someone’s American they end up being Canadian.”
“Well, people do sometimes end up being Canadian.” (Y/N) joked.
“So how come you’re in England?”
“Well, I’m starting a three-year engineering course at a University here. I could’ve stayed at home, but I wanted a change of scenery; do something new and out of my comfort zone, y’know?”
Fred nodded, “Oh cool, so I guess you’re gonna be stuck here for a while then.”
They roamed around for a little longer; the sky had turned a colourful mixture of vibrant orange and red, and the street lights had started to turn on.
“It’s getting a little late, should I – uh… walk you home?” Fred inquired, honestly though, he wouldn’t want her to walk home alone at night. Especially in mid-London; it just wouldn’t be safe for her.
(Y/N) nodded. “Yeah, okay. If we can find it that is.” She told him the address and followed him. She was a little surprised at how well he knew his way around; he explained that he likes to explore whenever he’s free.
They stopped at a tall building near a main road; the traffic wasn’t as bad as it was in the day, but Fred still took her hand and ran across with her.
Obviously, (Y/N) invited him inside – it might not really be a great idea to invite a stranger inside your apartment, but she felt they had gotten to know each other pretty well, besides, it was the least she could do for him after today. The walk up to her door was silent, but not uncomfortable. The elevator wasn’t working, so they had to climb five flights of stairs, and by the time they’d reached her apartment they had to stop for a moment to catch their breaths.
Unlocking her door, (Y/N) stepped aside and let Fred in. the door lead to a kitchen space with a small island table, to the left was a small living-room with a window looking out to the streets bellow, and to the right were three open doors: a bedroom, a bathroom, and a small storage closet. The rooms were quite plain: there were no blinds or drapes, the kitchen cupboards were empty, and the walls were bare. Different sizes of boxes were stacked up everywhere; lining the walls, taking up space and chairs – all labelled for different things.
(Y/N) closed the door and rushed to make some room and move some boxes. “Sorry about the mess,” she said, “I’ve just moved in today so I haven’t had a chance to put anything away yet.” She explained while lifting a large cardboard box labelled ‘Kitchen ‘ in black marker.
Fred laughed and shook his head, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “No need to worry, my place isn’t much better and I’ve been living there for years.” (Y/N) giggled at his response – which was a wonderful sound, in Fred’s opinion.
She opened the box and pulled out two mismatched mugs, putting them on the table.” I don’t have a lot in right now, but I did pick up some coffee and stuff – oh, and some ‘real Brittish tea’, apparently it’s different to how it is in the U.S. You want anything?” she asked, filling up the kettle and opening a box labelled ‘Tetley’s’.
Fred took a seat at the island, staring intently at the kettle and the wires coming from it. “Oh… y-yeah. I’ll have some tea if you’re making it.”
(Y/N) nodded and put the bags of tea in the mugs as the kettle clicks, and filled the cups with boiling hot water. She of course added sugar after Fred told her how many, and the milk, then handed them over – taking a seat next to him.
It was quiet for a moment, before Fred spoke up. “So… um… h-how does the kettle work… exactly?” He wasn’t sure if he should know this or not (she, of couse, thinks he’s a muggle like her).
(Y/N) paused for a moment and looked towards the kettle. “Er… well, the plug in the wall transfers electricity through the wire, then that heats up some metal in the plate thing under the kettle. Then that heats up the water, and when it starts boiling the switch flicks up and it stops the electricity. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s how it works.” She looked back at Fred to see him staring at the kettle, a mixed look of fascination and confusion crossing his face – she laughed at it; he looked so adorable in his child-like wonder. “Don’t you have a kettle at home?”
Taking a big gulp of tea – probably downing about half of the cup – Fred turned back to her, racking his brain for a believable excuse. “Well—er—yeah but… y’see, um—my parents’ house is really old-fashioned and they don’t have electricity – it’s a family house y’see. And… when I moved out, I got an old place too – so I don’t really know how this stuff works.” It wasn’t a complete lie, he just left out all the magic and wizards and stuff. "We heat ours over the fireplace."
“Oh?” (Y/N) was honestly quite shocked by this: now-a-days everyone has all kinds of technology, and Fred didn’t even know about the modern kettle! “Well that’s… unusual. But in a good way! It’s actually kinda… refreshing, I guess.”
They finished their drinks, enjoying more small-talk in the mean time, discussing everything amd anything that came to mind.
Eventually, they noticed the time was getting on for eleven, and Fred put down his empty mug and sighed. “I really should, I’ve got work in the morning and my brother won’t be too pleased if I’m half-asleep the whole time.” He looked at (Y/N) with disappointment; he seemed reluctant to go, but stood up anyway.
(Y/N) nodded and took the cups over to the sink, then faced him again. “Yeah, yeah of course. I should probably get to bed too… if I can find which box it’s in, that is.” She laughed awkwardly.
“Well… I-I’d… uh… I’d like to see you again though… sometime. Maybe I can… y’know, show you some more of the city tomorrow? Say… er... five-ish?” He stuttered as he nervously fidgeted with his fingers.
Smiling, (Y/N) nodded her response a little too eagerly. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
Fred beamed at her and ran a hand through his messy hair. “Right, yeah – cool. O-okay. I’ll meet you here then.”
“Okay. I’ll see ya later then.”
•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•*•
