I fear I got Arthur rather OOC. Oh dear... A little shout-out to awesome bronies out there! Written for the Golden Snitch forum. Prompt: "Friendship is magic." Words: 760+
Arthur Weasley loved Muggle phrases and quotes. They had such lovely inspiring ones that the wizards didn't have. Often times he would use them on his daughter-in-law, Hermione or Harry and they found them to be amusing as well. Arthur thought to himself: that surely they would be inspired by this new one that some kind fellow had told him on his way to work. His boss had been impressed. Arthur hadn't had a vacation in several years!
To begin his story, he had been walking to work and spotted a young man walking along the sidewalk. From the neat dull coloured jacket he was wearing, Arthur could tell that the man was obviously a Muggle.
Which would make sense. This was Muggle London.
A muggle walking down the sidewalk wearing a dull jacket wasn't what caught Arthur's attention though. It was the colourful magic t-shirt that he was wearing underneath the jacket that atttracted his eyes.
Instantly, Arthur was pushing through the crowds. "Excuse me!"
Several people gave him odd looks which he responded with a kind smile. It would be terrible if they thought he was some madman.
The young man had stopped and was staring at him in confusion.
Arthur tried to calm his breath. Goodness, he hadn't darted forward that fast since that older lady with that contraption...what was...a walker? - had caught his eyes a few months back. Amazing these muggles.
Arthur gestured to the man's shirt, "Pardon me, sir. But what are those creatures on your shirt?"
The man looked bewilded, "Just some characters from... a show."
Ah. He nodded. He knew this show business. Telly and such.
"I'm sorry for frightening you," Arthur appologized, "They caught my attention by being magical looking and such." He was rambling quite bit, "I've never seen a unicorn that colour before, then again I was only lucky enough to find one unicorn during my school days."
He laughed heartily. The good old days.
"Um..."
Arthur pushed his face up to the purple creature on the shirt. "Are those wings? Fascinating!"
"Her name is Twilight Sparkle." The man said reluctantly as if having an excitable middle-age gentleman becoming enthralled by his cartoon t-shirt was an every day occurence.
Arthur absorbed this information quickly and nodded, "And the pink one?"
"...Pinkie Pie."
Arthur knew that telly and shows were very popular in London. Sometimes he would just take the long route to his work so he could pass by this lovely shop that had dozens of the glass boxes blinking out news reports.
He stiffened. Was it possible that unicorns and magical creatures were starting to make their appearance in the Muggle world again? Granted, he hadn't seen creatures this odd roam even in the wizard world. On closer examination, their eyes were also rather large. That seemed a bit...different.
Another small marking grabbed his attention and he gasped in outrage, "They have been branded!"
How could the muggles?! On the cheerful pink one's back flank, there was obviously a brand of balloons seared into her flesh. Arthur felt sick at the thought.
"Huh..." The young man looked down, "Oh! No, no. It's a cutie mark."
"Pardon?"
The man looked at him desperately, "It isn't real. Just fictional, sir!"
Fictional... Oh! It was that kind of show. Arthur felt relieved. "I see! My goodness, that was terrifying to imagine." He smiled, "So you are a fan of this fictional show?"
He puffed out his chest and declared proudly, "Yep. A brony, in fact."
Arthur blinked. "Oh yes. My wife, Molly bakes wonderful brownies." He looked concerned, "Are you alright?" Arthur was pretty sure it wasn't normal for a muggle to call oneself a 'brownie' but maybe it was one of those so-called fads?
The man shook his head, "No. Brony. Google it when you get home." The young fellow was looking more relaxed now that Arthur wasn't quite so obsessed with his shirt.
Arthur made a mental note to ask Hermione about 'bronies' and then what was the function of a 'google'.
He took a glance at his watch and frowned. He was going to be late for work! "I'm sorry to trouble you, young man. I must get going now."
"Um...no, it's fine." He smiled weakly, "Friendship is magic, after all."
Arthur's eyes lit up as though it was Christmas and he hurried forward to hug the poor un-suspecting muggle, "You wonderful muggles!"
"Um...sir..."
Arthur frowned. Oh.
He was going to be late.
"Weasley! Why are you late?!"
"Sir, I can explain."
"Well?"
"Friendship is magic, sir."
"..."
"Sir?"
"Take a vacation, Weasley."