"Pardon me miss. Mind if I sit here? The rest of the cafe is full."
"Go ahead," said the young woman not looking up from her work. Half of the table was taken up with textbooks, sheets of notes and an open Powerbook. As she furrowed her brow concentrating on her calculations she heard someone slide into the seat across from her. She pushed back thick black hair as she looked over her notes. Her table companion had placed several files on his half of the table and she could hear him flipping between papers and the scratch of his writing. After she had finished her problem and double checked her work she straightened up to take a drink of her cappuccino.
The first thing she noticed was the man's hair. How could she not. His hair was a vibrant red, almost orange. It was thick and curly but kept neat. He was neatly dressed his clothes reflecting that of some kind of cubicle dweller. They fit him well and were of good quality but not designer. He had his sleeves rolled up revealing pale, freckled skin. The man paused in his writing to reach near the edge of his files and dip his pen in a small vial. Is that an inkwell, thought the woman. How eccentric.
"Excuse me," she said suddenly. The man stopped writing and looked up at her. Behind his horn rimmed glasses were the bluest eyes she had ever seen. He was handsome in a boyish way. The woman couldn't help but feel there was something sad about him. "Would you mind watching my things for a moment?" she asked. The man's eyes scanned her things with a mildly surprised look.
"Oh, of course," he said.
"Thanks. I'll be back in a sec," she said standing up and heading towards the back of the cafe. Odd, thought the man looking over the woman's belongings. He could tell she was a university student by the books and notes scattered around. He glanced over and saw what he knew the muggles called a laptop sitting on the table. Those are expensive, he mused. And then he saw something sitting on the bench next to where the woman was sitting. Her purse. The man furrowed his brow at this then returned his gaze to her papers strewn across the table. They were filled with detailed drawings and calculations. He had never seen writing like it but the method reminded him of Arithmancy. His hand was reaching for a paper when a voice startled him.
"Thanks for that. Cappuccino goes right through me."
The man gave a start and looked at the woman who was gracious enough to share a table with him. She was of medium height and average build. Her clothes were simple and comfortable. She had thick, dark hair that was haphazardly pulled back. She had a pretty face. Then the man met her eyes behind her horn rimmed glasses. They were dark and questioning. The kind of eyes that sought and found answers.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," the man said shaking his head. "Uh, just, why did you do it?"
"Pardon?" she asked retaking her seat.
"Why did you get up and trust me to watch over your things? I mean, your computer and purse are just there. I could have taken off with them."
The woman smiled at the young man. He seemed so sincere. "You look trustworthy," she said plainly.
"Looks can be deceiving," he deadpanned.
"Well, you proved me right didn't you," she responded.
"I'm sorry," the man said. "It's just people don't trust anymore. I'm touched," he said with a smile. "I'm Percy Weasley," he said extending his hand. "Thank you for sharing your table with me and trusting me with your things."
She took his hand saying, "Audrey Potter. Nice to meet you." The man's mouth fell open and he stared at the young woman. He was still holding her hand in his warm one when she said, "Percy?"
The man shook his head and let go of her hand. "I'm sorry. How terribly rude. It's just my brother-in-law's surname is Potter. It shouldn't have surprised me I suppose. Potter is not an entirely uncommon surname."
"More common than Weasley," Audrey said with a smile. She was surprised when the man gave a small laugh.
"If you knew the size of my family you would think it's plenty common," the redhead said. Percy glanced around the room. "Unusually busy in here today," he said trying to shift to small talk.
"Yes. It is rather. I take it you're a regular then? I'd think I'd remember you if you were," the woman said.
"Ah, yes. The Weasley hair," Percy said pulling some of his hair down in his fingers and then letting it go. He continued, "I like to stop by after work. It's on the way to my flat. I can have a cup of tea and not worry about any coworkers dropping in. Lets me plan for my next work day and unwind a little."
"That would explain it then. I'm usually in earlier in the afternoon. I'm stuck on this problem though."
"Yes, I noticed your notes while you were gone. I'm curious what you're working on. I've never seen calculations like that before," Percy said looking over the woman's papers.
"Oh, um, it's not very interesting really. Only total geeks like me get excited about physics."
"Physics?" asked Percy with a curious look.
"Yes, I'm studying for my PhD at Queen Mary and I'm having problems with my thesis. I'm just so frustrated. I mean I shouldn't be because the Theory of Everything is like complex. I mean, really, if I could figure it out I'd get the Nobel Prize. I'd be a regular Einstein," the woman named Audry rattled off.
"Einstein?"
"Yeah. You know? The Theory of Relativity. E=mc2?" she asked. Percy gave her a blank look. "You don't know who Einstein was?" she asked gobsmacked.
"Erm, sorry no," the redhead said sheepishly. "But I'd like to learn."
Audrey gave a sweet smile. She loved explaining to people how the universe worked. "Okay," she said grabbing up her mechanical pencil and a blank piece of paper. "There are four interactions, or forces, that can be used to describe all physical phenomena in the universe and predict its behavior. They are strong nuclear, weak nuclear, electromagnetic and gravitation. Einstein postulated that gravity. . ."
". . .I think you just melted my mind," Percy finally said after an hour sitting back in his seat and wiping his face. How do muggles do it? he thought amazed.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bore you," Audrey said flapping her hands and making to pick up the five pages of notes she had written while trying to explain physics to the Gryffindor.
"No!" Percy said while his hand shot out grabbing the black haired woman's hand. "It's just really a lot to take in. Could I keep those?" he asked while looking down to the notes in her hand. Percy realized with a shock that he was still holding her hand. He quickly pulled his hand away.
"Oh. Okay," Audrey said. She put the papers in sequential order, tapped them on the table to square them up and placed them in front of Percy. The redhead picked them up and looked at the first page with a serious look. "Well! I think I should go Percy. Lots to do tomorrow," Audrey said with a flustered air as she started to pick up her things.
"Oh, of course," Percy said standing up, "Thanks for sharing your table with me and introducing me to physics. Maybe you could tell me more sometime?"
"Sure," the dark eyed woman said picking up her bag. "Bye," she said quietly before hurrying out the door into the night. Percy frowned. This woman was an enigma to him. She was perfectly willing to share a table with a stranger and trust him with her things but then became shy and reserved after talking for an hour. What is this physics and who was that woman?
Audrey rushed from the cafe completely embarrassed. You are such a loser! she thought. A cute boy sits at your table and you give him a physics lecture! Oh my god! No wonder you've never had a date. Audrey started across the dark street and chanced a glance back at the cafe. She stopped in her tracks. The thin redhead named Percy with the curly hair and glasses was staring at her empty seat. He chewed on his lower lip before looking at the notes in his hands. After flipping through the pages he looked up with searching eyes.
Audrey knew he couldn't see from the lighted cafe out into the dark street. She gave a small smile, committed Percy's image to memory, turned and set off for her late night class.