Hey everyone! This story was brought to you by Media Studies: #Hogwarts assignment, Insane Prompt List, Ultimate Battle Competition, Meet Cute Marathon, and Wacky Wandmakers on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Also for Link Maker on Monthly Challenges for All.
Media Studies: #Hogwarts assignment: Task 13 (Extra Credit) - Write about a pureblood witch/wizard using a modern cell phone.
Insane Prompt List: 418. (romantic pairing) Andromeda/Alice
Ultimate Battle Competition: Shamrock Socks Prince 1,500 words, searching for something
Meet Cute Marathon: Prompt 16 - A was traveling on the subway when the lights flickered. Then they went out. Gasps of surprise were heard echoing in the dark, replaced by a screeching of the breaks, letting everyone know that the subway was coming to a halt. From beside him/her, B instinctively reached out and fumbled for A's hand in the dark; solidarity among strangers against the unknown.
Wacky Wandmakers: Spruce Wood Wand (emotion) frightened, and Thestral Tail Hair Core (location) Muggle London
Link Maker: Meet Cutes, 1,588 words
Warning for a bit of out of character but that's about it. Word count is 1,588 words. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter of The Cutest Meetings Subway Disaster.
Alice Prewett was used to the hustle and bustle of everyday life in Muggle London. It was one of her favorite things about the city. The one thing that separated it from the little town she grew up in.
"Good morning, Miss Prewett," the grey-haired man behind the turnstile at the subway station said as she approached him. "How have you been this morning? Still seeing that nice young man you've been telling me about? Fred? Francis?"
"Frank," Alice supplied as she paid for her subway ticket, "and no. We broke up weeks ago. I thought I'd told you, Al."
"Must have slipped my mind, Alice. You'll find someone you're meant to be with, you mark me. A nice girl like you won't stay single long."
"You always know what to say to make me feel, Al. Thank you!"
"You're welcome. You have a nice rest of your day, Alice."
"You too, Al," she called back as she raced to get on the subway. She knew that if she wasn't right on the car in time they'd pull off without. Not that she'd mind. Al was always enjoyable to talk to but after the day she'd just had at work, all she wanted to do was go home and forget about everything.
Looking around for an empty seat, she found one in front of rich looking caramel-haired beauty. The sort that didn't look like they rode the subway that often. The woman sat straight as board as though if she actually allowed herself to relax she might be attacked at any minute.
"Hello," Alice said, in a friendly greeting to the woman, who looked shocked to be addressed by a stranger.
"Hello," the woman said, in the tone of voice that Alice was most familiar with. A tone she'd heard most her life being a Pureblood witch. She watched as the woman tensely looked out the window. She could see the fear in the brown eyes and wondered what this woman had to be afraid of.
The subway car jerked forward as they began to move again. Alice had been riding the subway since her and her ex-boyfriend Frank had been assigned to London offices of the Department for Magical Law Enforcement. She was used to the jerky motion and clamber to find a seat that was going on around. So used to it that it gave her time to try and puzzle out the motivation of the woman behind her.
Alice was so lost in her thoughts she almost didn't catch the slight flickering of the lights in the subway car. It was slight enough that anyone not watching for it wouldn't have noticed. Alice waved it off as nothing. The lights flickered sometimes when the weather was too warm, or there was too much snow.
But then the lights started to flicker for longer periods of time. She could see that most of the people around weren't that concerned but as an Auror she was trained to be on alert for anything that could go wrong. This definitely fell under that preview.
A few minutes later, the lights went out all together, casting them into pitch blackness. A few gasps of surprise were heard from nearby. The sound of the subways brakes screeching to a halt was heard. Of course, they had to stop. Couldn't very well risk running off the track or not seeing the signal for a track change.
Alice heard the woman behind her talking to someone. That was impossible though. The woman had been alone and no one was behind her.
"Tell Dora I'm sorry and I'll be a bit late picking her up tonight, Ted," the woman's voice said, the polished Pureblood tone more pronounced than before. "It's not like I planned for the subway to break down." A man's voice could be heard on the other end of the phone. He seemed to be yelling at this poor woman. "You really think I don't want to see my own child. Do you really think I'm that horrible of a mother, Ted?"
It was then that Alice saw the small device in the woman's hand. It was one of those ones that would be hard to notice if you weren't looking for it. But Alice had been looking for it, and spotted the black device pressed against the woman's ear.
"Ted, I wish that you wouldn't talk ill of me in front of Dora," she said, the sound of tears present in her voice. "I would never do that to you. Is it too much to expect you to return the favor?"
Alice looked around herself searching for some way off of this tin can. She'd never been trapped like this before. She'd only ever experience the lights going out on the subway once and that was for a few seconds. Looking at her watch in the darkness she could see that it was now going on a half hour since the lights had gone out.
"Don't worry, Dora, I'll be there as soon as I can," the woman was saying over the cell phone pressed to her ear. She must have seen the panic on Alice's face because Alice felt a searching hand brush against her own in the darkness. The finger finally finding Alice's and lacing through her own. "Mummy loves you, Dora."
Alice heard a little voice answer on the other end of the line. She couldn't make out what was said but she knew that it had made the woman behind her happy. The huge smile on the caramel-haired woman's face made a smile stretch across Alice's own features.
"I don't usually just grab people's hands on the subway," the woman said nervously to Alice. "It's just you seemed so frightened and I thought knowing that someone else was here would help you. I would hope someone would do that for my daughter if she was in the same situation as we are."
"I'm Alice," Alice stated plainly. "I understand exactly what you mean."
"I'm Andromeda. It's very nice to meet you, Alice."
Andromeda was more down to earth than Alice would have originally thought upon just hearing the woman's voice. She'd been part of a Pureblood family that had disowned her when she up married her ex-husband Ted Tonks. Her and Ted had a daughter named Nymphadora, who hated her name. Hence the talking about someone named Dora. She had been on her way to pick up Dora from her father's house when the subway had broken down. That was part of the custody agreement. Andromeda got custody of Dora while Ted got visitation rights.
"Is he a good father?" Alice asked, as she watched Andromeda watch her phone. "He takes care of his responsibilities to Dora, right?"
Andromeda nodded, brown eyes full of sorrow. "He takes great care of Dora. He loves Dora more than I think he ever really loved me."
"That can't be true. You guys both loved each other at one point in time, right?"
"That's a good way to look at it," Andromeda said as her phone started ringing again. "It's Ted. I've got to take this."
Alice nodded and gave the woman some privacy. She made it a point to keep her hand firmly in Andromeda's. Solidarity after all. She could tell whatever Ted was saying was making Andromeda very upset. She really wanted to give Ted a piece of her mind but knew that as an Auror she could get in big trouble for that.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the conductor's voice came over the loudspeaker, "a transformer has blown and we are working as hard as we can to get this problem fixed. We are sorry for any inconvenience this is having and hope to be under way in a few minutes. Thank you for your patience."
Alice doesn't know how much longer it is after the conductors message that the lights blink on and off a couple of times. But she does know that she saw it. She looks around the subway car to see people broken out of their thoughts and conversation. Then the sounds of the subways usual hum went through the air. The car jerk forward once more and they were moving.
"That wasn't so," Andromeda said, smiling at Alice. "Do you have a cell phone?"
Alice shook her head. "I don't. It's…" She didn't know what to say here. She would sound like a horrible person if she gave the reason of it being Muggle technology and something she didn't know how to use. But that in and of itself was the truth.
"Don't worry. I was much the same way when Ted first introduced me to Muggle technology," she whispered. "Maybe someone you know could show you how to use a phone?"
Alice nodded. Her roommate and best friend, Lily, was a Muggleborn and knew all about Muggle technology. She would definitely be able to show Alice the ropes of it.
"Here's my number then. I hope you will consider using and keeping in touch."
"I most certainly will," Alice said, looking up as her destination came into view. "This is my stop. Talk to you later."
"Talk to you later," she heard Andromeda say as she exited the subway and made her way up to street level.
Alice knew one thing was for sure as soon as she got home she was going to ask Lily to teach her to use the phone. She wanted to talk to Andromeda again very soon.
I hope you all enjoyed Subway Disaster as much as I enjoyed writing it.
