We once again return, dear readers! This will make it Round 7! This round, it's all about Muggles. As Chaser 2, I have to write about a wizard or witch experimenting with Muggle tools or anything like that, and the chaos that ensues. My optional prompts are (object) broken torch, image of a trash dump, and "Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes." from Edsgar Dijkstra.
This is sure to be a good one, so enjoy!
Ever since he was a child, Arthur Weasley had been obsessed with Muggles. More specifically, the things they invented to get by without magic. When other boys wanted new quills or a fancy set of Wizards Chess, Arthur desperately wanted a camera. Other boys had begun dating, but all he wanted was to figure out how airplanes could actually stay afloat without magic. When other boys were asking for the latest, fastest broomstick, Arthur dreamed of a Muggle car.
It wasn't until after he had married pretty, young Molly Prewett and they had settled and had children, that he actually obtained one.
It was a fine day in late August, and he and his second son Charlie were walking around an old electronics dump, searching for anything that could be considered interesting. There were remnants of televisions, game systems, computers, and many other things that Arthur found intriguing. Charlie was also quite interested, but did not share the same enthusiasm for everything Muggle as Arthur did. Charlie thought that, at eleven years old, he was quite grown, especially because he was about to start Hogwarts with Bill. Percy couldn't have cared less about cars or anything besides his books, and Ron and Ginny were too young. The twins were more concerned with pranking Percy.
"Dad," Charlie called from nearby. "There's a book here, but I can't understand what it's saying. Can you?"
Arthur came to stand near his son, spotting the parchment. He reached for it, and as he touched it, he could tell it was paper instead of parchment. He squinted, and was just able to make out the printed sentence.
"It says," Arthur began, "'Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes.' I wonder if someone just wrote it down here or if it's a famous quote by a Muggle. If only we could find out."
"Dad… what is a computer?" Charlie asked.
Arthur froze for a moment, looking at his son wide-eyed. "Ahm… it's… it's… Well, you see, Charlie, a computer is a thing Muggles use. It's a small box, and there are words inside the box. They tell Muggles what to do."
Charlie gapped. "Really?"
"Oh, yes." Arthur nodded sagely. "Had a case with one once. A Muggle-born charmed one he owned to work without power." Arthur shook his head. "The computer started creating little ekletrical storms because of the charms."
"What's ekletrical?" Charlie frowned.
"Ekletricity is what Muggles use to power their gadgets."
Charlie nodded, and the pair continued exploring, calling each other over when they saw something interesting.
Finally, Arthur found it. The thing he'd dreamed of since childhood. The perfect car that he would be able to work on in secret.
"Dad, the thing doesn't doesn't even look like it runs, " Charlie said, examining the car as he came over. "I doubt the old owners left the keys in the ingmishun."
"Ignition, Charlie," Arthur corrected him. "That's what Muggles call it. And they also didn't always need a key." This was the part that Arthur was most excited for. He had done research and had learned how to hotwire a car, in case such an event happened.
Kneeling down by the… peidels? Anyway, he was now able to see all the wires and connectors behind the steering wheel. Arthur knew that this was tricky. If he messed with the wrong wires, the car would no longer run, or he would be… ekletrified? He knew that was bad.
Fortunately, he managed to connect the right wires, and the car began rumbling noisily. It was actually running!
A week or so later, Arthur had the car in his shed—which Molly never actually entered. He first set about cleaning it up. He used a charm he'd discovered to give it a new paint job of bright sky blue, and vanished most of the junk in the interior. When he opened the glove compartment, he discovered a broken… something. After looking it up in books, he discovered it was a torch, and that it used batteries to make light. However, it was broken beyond his ability to fix, so he set it aside, at least for the moment.
Then, he began actually studying and experimenting with the car. At first, it was just with finding out what all the buttons and levers were for. The hardest thing to figure out was how to open the engine.
That was a whole new set of challenges. The parts were all nearly rusted through, so he slowly found new pieces, until that was to his satisfaction. He figured out how to pump gas, which was a trial all its own. Arthur barely knew how to use Muggle money, and he had the feeling the young cashier girl was rolling her eyes at him when he wasn't looking.
Last, he added some magical enhancements, such as an invisibility feature, flying (which was really quite a complicated incantation), and a speed boost. The car was finally ready.
The day Arthur had been waiting for arrived. The day he would actually drive the ancient Ford Anglia, as he'd discovered it was called. Telling Molly that he had a few things to do at the Ministry was the perfect excuse to get a few hours to himself. He started the car and drove off for the first test drive.
The high street of Ottery St. Catchpole was quite narrow, Arthur barely knew how the cars made it through. Nevertheless, he did, and was soon on a road that was much quieter even than that (a car only every couple of minutes). It seemed the perfect time to test out the extra features he'd added. With excitement, Arthur got ahead of himself. He pushed all three buttons at the same time.
Bad idea.
It seemed that the flying and speed boosters had kicked in, but the invisibility must have worn away or been negated by the other two. Either way, he was now flying at one hundred and fifty kilometers an hour, and below he saw several cars, more than he'd seen on his own time on that road, and each with Muggles who had definitely seen him.
Regardless of having to suffer his wife's anger over his obsession with Muggle devices, Arthur couldn't help the wide grin that stretched across his face. He was thrilled to finally be behind the wheel of his enchanted car.
