Dead Flowers (Kyla, open)

[George Merryweather]

George blushed slightly at being called Romeo, but his smile didn't fade. He wasn't quite convinced that he would like London as much as she said, but he always enjoyed experiencing new things, so he was willing to give it a try. He would just look at it as an adventure... or an experiment. He knew Uncle Albert wouldn't be expecting him back for hours, so he had plenty of time to just enjoy the ride.

And the company. He'd only just met Kyla, but he felt like he'd known her a long time. She was just so open. She didn't seem to hold anything back, except for talk of her sister. But George supposed everyone had their weak spots, and apparently for Kyla, it was her sister. He knew better than to push it.

"All right, then," he said, smiling. "I'll let you lead the way. Shall we apparate there?"

[Kyla Faulkner]

"We shall. We can apparate to the Leaky Cauldron." Kyla was excited about their London adventure. For some reason, she wasn't extremely cautious about George. She was taught that she shouldn't trust so easily, but George gave no implications that he was a danger to her in any way. It just felt natural to be her usual bubbly self.

"Hold on, here we go," she said holding onto George's arm a little tighter. She loved to apparate places. Her least favorite form of transportation was Floo Powder. Ever since the time she attempted to use Floo Powder when she had a lisp as a young child caused Flooing to be the last form of transportation she would ever take.

Within a moment, they were at the Leaky Cauldron. Kyla led George toward the door so that way they could reach the streets of London. "While we're walking, if you see anything you would like to stop and look at, don't hesitate to let me know. I'll be more than happy to stop."

[George Merryweather]

George preferred apparation as well. He didn't often use it, since he rarely left the Hogsmeade area. It would have just seemed too lazy to apparate all over the same town. But on the rare occasion that he needed something from the apothecary shop in Diagon Alley, he always apparated. It was certainly better than floo powder or the Knight Bus. Uncle Albert liked taking the Knight Bus, and George thought it was because he had a death wish. George, on the other hand, suffered from motion sickness, so the Knight Bus was a bit like torture.

As they left the Leaky Cauldron and stepped out into London, George involuntarily drew in a nervous breath. It was just as crowded as he remembered, and it would take him a little while to get used to that.

But as they walked, he began to notice other things. Muggle shops, he realized, were different from wizarding shops. Most wizarding shops were dark, dimply-lit, and contained items that, though magical, were often rather dull-looking. Only the joke shop and the candy shop were different. But muggle shops... everything was so bright and colorful. George was drawn to a window filled with muggle toys, including a monkey that seemed to be banging a pair of cymbals together and a miniature train that rode around in circles on a train. "How extraordinary!" he exclaimed, looking at the train. "How does it work without... magic?" he added in a whisper.

[Kyla Faulkner]

George's excitement caused Kyla to smile. It was almost like a child at Christmas time. "Yes, muggles are extraordinary. It's a shame a lot of people don't realize that." That was also another reason Kyla did her job. She liked the muggles and was extremely fascinated with them. Plus, they were people too, they weren't that much different than wizards at all.

"They have their own magic," Kyla answered. "There are things called gears and electricity that they use to make things work." Her eyes landed on the monkey. "Take that monkey for example, there's a thing you turn on the side that makes gears turn to make the monkey move." She looked at the window for a second longer.

"Come on, we're going to go in." Kyla took George's arm again and led him into the toy store. "This used to be my favorite store in London when I was younger."

[George Merryweather]

"Fascinating," George said, leaning in closer to look at the monkey. "So it uses gears, like on a clock?"

He had learned a little about the mechanisms of clocks from his uncle, who liked to believe that he knew a little something about everything. George was quite impressed that the muggles had figured out how to create something so simple that could have such complicated results.

He was about to ask her how the train moved when Kyla took his arm and began to lead him to the door. He didn't argue, since he was actually rather excited to get a better look at the muggle toys.

[Kyla Faulkner]

"Yes, just like a clock," she answered as she pulled him inside. Kyla didn't even think about George possibly protesting. The toy store had always been her favorite and every time she and Milo would go to London, they would make a stop here.

"The trains are right over here." She led George toward the trains. "The trains have these little things that help them stay on the track. You have a switch you can use to turn the train on and off or change the direction of the train." Kyla reached over and flipped one of the switches, causing the train to take another track. "See? It's fascinating. Everything in this store if fascinating."

[George Merryweather]

George followed her, letting her lead him while he looked all around him. There were dolls that talked, little automobiles that seemed to drive around with the help of a little controlling box, and toys that glowed in the dark. So many things that he never would have guessed would be possible without the use of magic. And yet, somehow, the effect was more magical than actual magic.

Leaning close to the toy train, he watched it as it went around the track. When Kyla flipped the switch, causing it to move to another track, he let out an astonished gasp. "It's marvelous!" he said, not caring if the muggles thought he was weird. "I've never seen anything like it."

[Kyla Faulkner]

Kyla was enjoying George's amazement at the train. "Exactly," she said with a smile as her eyes followed the train. "There's nothing like this where we live. That's why I love this place. It seems to be a lot simpler here in most ways." Muggles would always be Kyla's favorite. She loved to hear them talk about their lives while she was in the coffee shops. Things seemed a lot simpler here than they did in the wizarding world. Muggles did not have an up and coming powerful wizard forming in their world, however Kyla knew that their worlds would end up colliding more so than they already did very soon. Muggles seemed so innocent and pure, like small children. They didn't understand the wizarding world or how bad it was becoming. They had no idea what was really going to happen.

Of course, Kyla knew that muggles were not all innocent and pure because they also fought each other. They were violent toward each other as well. That was what made muggles and wizards not so different from each other. It was a shame that others didn't really see that.

[George Merryweather]

George was, admittedly, rather sheltered when it came to muggles. Actually, he was rather sheltered when it came to most things. And yet he was fascinated by the world around him. Maybe it was time to get out there and experience more of it.

He was still watching the little train as it made its way around the track. "No... we don't have anything like this. Chess pieces that move on their own, but they use magic. This uses... what do they call it? Electronicity? Does it run on batteries, or one of those things that plug into the wall?"

[Kyla Faulkner]

"Batteries," she said with a smile. She watched the train again and then looked to George. "There are a few things that use electricity around in the toy store. It's pretty amazing." Kyla smiled softly. They even have these little monkey things that will clap if you wind them up. The gears on the inside to move."

She looked around the toy store. "There are even snow globes that play music if you wind them up. Coming through London whenever it's Christmas time is probably the best time to come through here if you like this sort of thing. There are so many things to see then and play with."

[George Merryweather]

"Fascinating... simply fascinating!" George marveled, leaning in closer to the train. "And such craftsmanship... it looks like a real miniature train. I almost expect to see tiny little people waving at me from inside."

In that moment, George decided that he wanted to know more about muggles. He had kind of been living in a bubble... just spending all of his time in the shop or in the greenhouse, and rarely ever getting out and seeing the world. Now he realized that was probably not a good thing. He was missing out on so many things!

"Thank you for bringing me here," he said brightly, looking up at Kyla. "I never knew how magical the muggle world could be."

[Kyla Faulkner]

Kyla smiled brightly. "You're welcome. The muggle world is just as fascinating as the wizarding world. Not a lot of wizards discover that." That was one reason Kyla liked her job. She was able to travel the world. She could see and discover things that not many others did.

"Would you care to go for a cup of coffee? I would actually like to know a lot about what you do. If you would share with me, I could see if I could answer a little more about the muggle world for you."

[George Merryweather]

George was still kneeling on the floor, watching the tiny train as it rolled around the track in a circle. Strange how he found something that didn't run on magic to be more magical than anything in the wizarding world. But magic, George had always felt, made people lazy. If you didn't have to work for something, you couldn't appreciate it was much. And since George was always better at more practical forms of magic, like potions and herbology, he had a lot more in common with muggles than with most wizards. Maybe studying them would provide some interesting insights.

Then she was asking him something, and it didn't register with him right away. He looked up at her as the meaning of her words began to sink in. She was asking him out for coffee. He'd had coffee before; in fact, his uncle used to be addicted to it. He always said that brewing the perfect cup of coffee was rather like brewing a good potion... it was a science, and you had to work at it, to perfect it. Ever since, George had set out to brew the perfect cup of coffee.

"I'd love to," he said. "I have so many questions..."