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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 16, 2008 0:57:28 GMT -5
Arthur smiled. It was easier, talking about his work. Although it was not a particularly powerful or respected department, he liked his job. "Well, you know, some wizards... they find muggle items and tamper with them, make them do things they're not supposed to do. Sometimes it's not so bad... like when they doctor a toaster so that it works on magic and not ekeltricity... if they're keeping it for their own use, just because they want toast... there's nothing wrong with that. But when they turn their toasters into weapons that shoot fire when you push the little lever down... well, that's against the rules."
It was the most he had said to her at once. He'd almost forgotten that he'd been nervous at all. She was still breathtakingly pretty, but he was at least finding it easier to talk to her. Knowing that she didn't think him a total prat was definitely a confidence booster.
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Post by Molly Prewett on Aug 16, 2008 1:09:52 GMT -5
(Ekeltricity made me laugh)
She laughed again, unable to stop herself. She had a picture in her head of Arthur poking at a toaster (at least she knew what it was) and it coming to life like a little, mechanical dragon and shooting fire at him. And how nonchalantly he said yeah, it's against the rules. She liked the way he talked once he got going. It was almost sort of soothing, like a habit she could fall into easily.
"No. Has anyone's toaster really shot fire?" Who would use that as a weapon anyway? Who could take a person seriously brandishing a toaster?
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 16, 2008 1:24:32 GMT -5
Arthur laughed easily. He had to admit, the idea of one turning a toaster into a fire-shooting weapon was a bit preposterous. But it had been the best example he could come up with at the time. "Well, no," he replied. "I was just using it as an example. I guess I have a bit of an overactive imagination, to think of such a thing."
He paused to take a sip from his drink, then continued on, amazed that she actually seemed interested in this subject. "No, what's more common is when, for example, they take a muggle's automobile and enchant it to drive on its own or to fly or things like that. Sometimes they do it to trick muggles... or they use it for their own purposes, but they are seen by muggles. And when muggles see flying cars, they get a bit... confused." He smiled as he thought of the flying car he had recently confiscated. He couldn't deny... he wanted one. Even if it was against the rules.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 1:36:49 GMT -5
Andi's first day as Herbology professor had gone well, but she was completely exhausted. She had almost been tempted to call off her evening out with Ted, but she wanted to see him so much that she simply couldn't. Most of the day, she'd been distracted by thoughts of him, missing the sound of his voice or his cute little-boy smile. She'd been looking forward to seeing him all day, and she was not about to miss him.
But after a full day of working with plants and children, she needed to go home and get cleaned up a bit. Since Ted had mentioned he was going to bring Arthur out for a few drinks, she assumed he wouldn't be too upset if she was a little late.
Back at the apartment, she stopped to feed Agamemnon, then took a shower.
All in all, it took her a half an hour longer than she would have liked, but when she was ready, she was satisfied with her appearance. She wore her hair down, falling straight down her back, and she dressed in a simple but stylish robe trimmed with blue satin along the sleeves, neckline, and waist.
Giving Agamemnon a quick pat on the head, she apparated out of the apartment and over to the Three Broomsticks. She smoothed her hair out one last time before she stepped inside and began to look around for Ted.
She didn't see him right away; instead her eyes fell on Arthur Weasley talking to... Molly? She broke into a smile and rushed over to them. "Molly?" she cried happily. "I haven't seen you in weeks... how have you been?"
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Post by Molly Prewett on Aug 16, 2008 1:41:17 GMT -5
Molly's mouth opened to reply to Arthur when she heard her name from behind her.
"Andi!" She said getting to her feet and hugging her friend. "You're not allowed to ever stay away for so long," she declared. She didn't like meeting her friends' boyfriends from strangers.
She hadn't forgotten Arthur, but her priorities in conversation fell now with Andi. "I've been really good," she said. "You? Oh, I'm sorry, I'm not thinking... Andi, you know Arthur, right?"
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 1:45:57 GMT -5
"I'm so sorry, Molly," Andi said, hugging her. "I didn't mean to stay away so long, but things have been kind of hectic lately. We have to get together soon and have coffee or something. I have so much to tell you!"
Andi turned and smiled at Arthur. "Yes, we've met," she said. "How are you, Arthur?" She didn't really know Arthur very well, but she knew him to be a pleasant, likable young man. And he was friends with Ted, which automatically elevated him in her eyes.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 1:47:53 GMT -5
Ted had been keeping an eye on the door, watching Andi. When she came in, he took a quick breath, stunned, as always, at how beautiful she was. It always distracted him for a minute when she came into a room.
But he was on his feet quickly, hoping to catch her before she stepped in on Arthur's potential score. It wasn't until he was up next to them that it fully processed with him that she had greeted the girl, and not Arthur.
"Wait," he said, breaking into the conversation. "You two know each other?"
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Post by Molly Prewett on Aug 16, 2008 1:49:41 GMT -5
"Darn straight you have a lot to tell me," Molly chided her, only half teasing with her friend.
She nodded at Ted's question. "Yes, we're..." tilting her head, she smiled, and finished, "we're cousins. Andromeda," she turned back to the other girl and raised her eyebrows. "I already had the pleasure of meeting your boyfriend."
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 1:53:32 GMT -5
Andi turned at the sound of Ted's voice and, refraining from launching herself into his arms, moved closer to him so that their hips were touching. "Hi, Ted," she said simply, but in a way that spoke of intimacy and closeness. "Yes, Molly and I know each other. She's one of my best friends, actually. I was hoping I'd get a chance to introduce you two soon, anyway."
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 16, 2008 2:00:33 GMT -5
It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see her.
OK, maybe it was. But he had been enjoying talking with Molly so much that when Andromeda burst in with all her energy and enthusiasm, Arthur felt himself immediately fading into the background. He'd often thought of her as a force of nature, powerful and unstoppable. He liked her; it was almost impossible not to. But with her here, would Molly continue to tolerate his presence? Would he even be noticed at all?
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Post by Molly Prewett on Aug 16, 2008 2:10:07 GMT -5
"Soon," Molly repeated, shaking her head. "I'm very disappointed, Andi," she teased. Actually, honestly, she was a little upset, but it wasn't with Andromeda. She knew her friend was busy being, what else, an Auror. There was something dark brewing and everyone was a part of it except for her. She was losing her brothers and now her best friend to it, and she felt herself fading into the background in the big picture, much like Arthur felt now.
"You look great, Andi," she said, smiling again. She didn't know what else to say. Now wasn't the time to catch up with her, as she was obviously there for Ted, and she didn't know either of the boys well enough to really talk to Andi in front of them. "Well... I hear you two have a date to be going on. We'll have to do that coffee thing, Andi. You owe me now."
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 2:19:52 GMT -5
Andi smiled as she looked between Molly and Arthur. She could sense a little chemistry there, or was it just wishful thinking? Molly deserved a nice guy, and there wasn't anyone nicer than Arthur. She glanced up at Ted, who probably knew more about what was going on than she did.
"Yeah, Ted and I have plans," she replied. "But I promise you, I'm going to owl you before the week is out, and we'll go out for that coffee, OK? I really want to talk to you about stuff."
She turned to Arthur again. "It's good seeing you again, Arthur. Take care."
Then she took Ted's hand and looked up at him as she subtly moved away from the budding couple. "OK, where are we going?"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 3:21:13 GMT -5
"You have no idea who weird the last five minutes were to me," he told her, looking over his shoulder at Arthur and Molly, after he had said goodbye to them. He had thought they could just stay here, since he assumed she'd be tired, but that plan went out the window. He wasn't going to do anything to butt in on Arthur's time.
"Remember when you said you wanted to see a muggle movie in the theater? With popcorn?" he asked, thinking on the fly.
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Post by Molly Prewett on Aug 16, 2008 3:23:19 GMT -5
Molly said her goodbyes, telling Andi she had better make good on her promise to owl her, before she turned back to Arthur. "I'm really sorry," she said. "I haven't seen her in ages, is all. Where were we?"
She honestly tried to remember what they were talking about... toasters... right! Arthur's job. She held up her hand in the middle of taking a sip of her drink, to stop him in case he was going to remind her. "No, I remember. Flying cars, right?"
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 11:02:56 GMT -5
Andi was a bit distracted as she watched Molly and Arthur talking, but she looked up at Ted at the mention of a movie. "Oh, could we?" she asked, her eyes lighting up. It seemed like the perfect thing to do after an exhausting day at work. Not that anything wouldn't have been perfect with him.
"But you must tell me about... that," she said, nodding toward Molly and Arthur. "How did it start? Do you think it's going well? They look really adorable together."
So adorable that it was almost enough to distract her from the fact that he was standing so close and smelled so incredible. Almost.
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 16, 2008 11:13:36 GMT -5
Arthur felt himself let out a sigh of relief when Ted and Andi moved away, leaving him alone with Molly again. He had feared that their return would ruin what little momentum he had going in his conversation with Molly. Luckily, however, they both had the good sense and courtesy to step back and go on their own way.
Trying to focus back on the conversation, he nodded. "Yes... flying cars..." he began slowly. "I confiscated one of those just last week. I've spent most of the week examining it... the muggles really did build a very complicated machine! I've been trying to figure out how it works, and I just can't... I took the whole thing apart and, for the life of me, can't figure out how to put it back together!"
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Post by Ted Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 13:07:42 GMT -5
Ted smiled, and though he was loathe to do it, he stepped away from her, instantly missing thru closeness, and opened the door to usher her out.
"I don't know. We walked in, she was here, he spilled his drink all over her... And himself, and there there are." what kind of details did she want? They were talking. He was a guy after all, and all of the intricacies and nuances that girls obsessed over simply escaped him.
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Post by Molly Prewett on Aug 16, 2008 16:00:20 GMT -5
Molly tilted her head to the sid, regarding him. "Isn't there a spell or something that you can use to put it back together?" Or maybe that wasn't the goal, she realized, and smiled. "Or you want to know *how* it goes back together, is that it?"
Arthur's friend was gone... and Arthur was still here. Granted, Andi had taken Ted away. If Ted had left on his own and asked Arthur to join him, she had no doubt he would have. But he was still interested in talking to her, and that alone made her smile. It was also cute to her how enthused he was about his job and those flying cars.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Aug 16, 2008 23:58:14 GMT -5
Andi sighed and shook her head. Men. So typical for them to miss the really important things in the story. But she knew better than to try and drag information out of him... it would be completely useless.
"Well, they seem to be getting on pretty well," Andi assessed, taking one last look back at them. "I think I saw a little spark there. I definitely felt like I was intruding on something." Smiling, she took his hand. "Oh, I hope they get together... we could go on double dates! Wouldn't that be fun?"
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Post by Arthur Weasley on Aug 17, 2008 2:21:56 GMT -5
"Oh, of course, we could use a spell to put it back together, I suppose," Arthur said thoughtfully. "But it wouldn't get us any closer to figuring out how it works. Really, muggles are so clever to think of such things! it's really quite fascinating."
He glanced over and saw that Andromeda and Ted were still lingering near the door, and he felt a tad self-conscious. "Molly, what do you say we get a table, instead of sitting at the bar? It might be a little more comfortable, and I won't have the bartender watching me suspiciously as if I'm going to upend my glass a second time." He laughed easily, amazed at how quickly it had taken him to become more comfortable talking to her.
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