For Build the Burrow on TGS (Saw: Write about a witch or wizard watching a horror movie with their partner)
Beauxbatons, Barbegazi
"What is this?" Andromeda asks, frowning as she pokes the strange wooden box. She turns her attention to the bit of glass in the front, thinking how strange Muggles are. "Some sort of display case? How does it open?"
Ted laughs, though it is not an unkind sound. Andromeda is grateful for that. He could easily tease her mercilessly for her ignorance where Muggle things are concerned, but he looks amused. "It doesn't open. It's a television. That thing here is a VCR. You use it to watch tapes."
"Tapes?"
She knows what tape is, of course. But she doesn't know why someone would want to watch it.
"Videotapes," Ted clarifies, holding up a black rectangle.
Andromeda frowns, plucking it from his grip. It has writing on it. Psycho. When she flips it over, she finds two circles on the back. "What's a video?"
"Let me get some popcorn ready, and I will show you," Ted says, placing the videotape in the VCR and hitting a button. "Gotta rewind it first."
Andromeda wishes he would stop delaying. She doesn't like not knowing things. It isn't fair that Ted can leave her in suspense like this.
He disappears into the kitchen, returning minutes later with a bowl of popcorn and pressing another button before sitting down. "I get to show you your first scary movie," he says excitedly.
Andromeda keeps her eyes forward. She wants to ask more questions, but the glass changes. Pictures appear, moving and speaking. Her eyes widen, and she leans forward. "I thought Muggles didn't have magic."
"It's not magic. Just science and technology," Ted explains. "Now shh! It's starting."
…
Andromeda watches as the heroine enters the shower on the screen. The music coming from the TV sends shivers down her spine and she moves closer to her boyfriend. Muggles really are strange if they actually delight in this sort of thing.
A hand pulls back the shower curtain, and Andromeda jumps at the sudden stabbing noise. Blood flows into the water.
"They didn't do anything? This woman was just murdered!" Andromeda demands.
Ted laughs, and she wonders how he could be so heartless. He has some strange thing that allows a woman to be stabbed to death, and he finds it funny!
"Relax, Andi. The sound was them stabbing a watermelon. And that's chocolate syrup, not blood. It's not real," he explains. "It's acting."
Andromeda doesn't believe him at first. She searches his face for the betrayal, for a sign that he's not as pure and innocent as she once believed. But he looks sincere. She relaxes slightly and curls against him, her eyes on the television. "Acting," she repeats, her voice trembling.
Ted puts an arm around her, holding her close. "It's not real," he says again, kissing her forehead.
…
"Muggles like this stuff?" Andromeda asks when the movie ends.
"Some," Ted says.
"They deliberately watch movies that will scare them?"
He nods.
Andromeda shakes her head. Dating a Muggleborn was always a learning experience. Somehow, though, the more she learns, the less she understands. It only makes her want to learn more until she's as well versed in Muggle culture as she is in Pureblood traditions. "Are there more movies like that?"
"Loads," Ted says excitedly. "Do you want to watch another?"
"Are all movies scary?"
Her boyfriend shakes his head and gestures to a collection of tapes. Andromeda approaches them, running her fingers along each one, fascinated by the array of colors. Yes, Muggles are strange, but they are also fascinating.
"I have romances, comedies, romance comedies, science fiction- Ooh! I bet you'll love Star Wars!" Ted says excitedly, his face bright as he grabs tape after tape.
"Why are the stars fighting?" she asks.
Ted rolls his eyes. "Oh, Andi, I have so much to teach you," he laughs before kissing her.
"Lucky you have me for the rest of your life," she says. "Plenty of time to learn."