Chapter Six
Lunch Companion

Fred listened to Christine. He loved the sound of her voice. He told her finally half way through their meal about her grandmother's visit. " I hope this won't come as a shock to you, but I met your grandmother earlier today. Nice lady. Very talented witch I hear." Christine stopped eating. Fred smiled. " Don't look so alarmed. Many of us who live around here are. Take my brother and I. We are. Wizards that is. We put a security spell on your store after the break in. Your grandmother noticed it rite away. And when you mentioned my name to her...well we are fairly well known in the wizarding community. She was happy to know that we knew each other. I like her. And I think she likes me as well." Fred blushed. Christine looked relieved.

Fred looked at the lunch menu. " Let me treat today. Call it a combined celebration of you getting reimbursed, and our finding out that we are both from the same community." Christine looked puzzled. "Community?" she asked. Fred grinned. " Wizarding community. We are kindred spirits. Even if you yourself are not able to perform magic, the fact that you have a background of witches and wizards means a lot to me. It means I don't have to be so guarded around you for one thing." Christine nodded, finally understanding.

They looked at the menus and decided to go for the fish and chips. Fred had a beer and Christine ordered tea. They had a very agreeable lunch. In Fred's opinion it ended to quickly.

Fred looked at his watch. " Well I have to get back to the shop. George needs a break by now. I hope you will come by and visit us sometime. I enjoy talking to you. Christine smiled and assured him she would.

Fred had a happy grin on his face when he entered the store he and his brother ran. George just grinned at him and said he was going for lunch. Fred felt a pang of embarrassment. "Where are you going?" he asked. George gave him a sly look and said "Oh I'm just heading up to The Leaky Cauldron to meet with Lee Jordan and a few others." He was out the door before Fred could make any comment.

At 6:00p.m. sharp Fred and George closed up the shop. As was usual they gave each other a perfunctory salute and headed to each of their own apartments. Georges was farther out so he took the bus to get home. He liked the day bus. He said you met the most unusual characters on it. Fred thought to himself, if there are any people more unusual then them, the world must be a pretty weird place.

Fred walked to his place. It was only a few blocks away, and it gave him time to think. He wondered about Christine. She was a nice girl. It helped that she was of his community as well. Her grandmother was quite the character. He could see her and his father getting along quite well. He had a thoughtful look on his face when he unlocked the door and entered his apartment, which was just as well considering who was waiting for him in it.

Lee Jordan had been one of his best friends since his days at Hogwarts. He still was, even if he did have this annoying habit of popping in unannounced in his apartment. Today was no exception. Lee had on this maniacal grin. Fred knew he was in for a royal ribbing.

Lee smiled and winked at Fred. " So you found yourself a squib. She must be pretty for you to go after her!" Fred's face turned red from embarrassment. "She's not a squib..exactly. She can tell what's going to happen in the future. Just not her own. She has been tested, and shown to have talent." Lee patted him on the shoulder. "I know. I'm just trying to get a reaction from you. George told us all about her. Shame about her store. I heard you and George did something to prevent that from happening again though."

Fred went into details about the spell they had placed on the store to protect it in the future. Lee was impressed. A full force stunning spell would encase anyone who attempted to break the glass and enter that way. They would be unconscious for over fourteen hours before the spell would start to wear off. By that time the owners would be back and they would be in police custody.

Lee shook his head. " It truly is a shame you didn't finish out your years at Hogwarts. You would have made an excellent teacher. And I'm sure they would have offered you the post. Professor Flitwick always did say it was a shame at least. He said you were an inspiring student. He even kept some of your work as an inspiration to others."

Fred grinned. He remembered his leaving the grounds of Hogwarts, and the condition he left Hogwarts in. He had heard that Professor Flitwick had kept some of his 'work' cordoned off as an example because he was impressed by the ingenuity of it. Apparently according to Ron and the others there was even a sign posted as to who had created it and the date it was created. It was his and George's greatest accomplishment to date.

Lee stayed for about an hour and then left. He said he had a hot date with Angelina that could not be put off. Fred wished him well and gratefully sat down on his couch. He had a lot to think about. He decided he would think about things tomorrow. He made himself a egg sandwich and after eating that, prepared for bed. Tomorrow always came to soon. Within minutes he had his clothes off and his teeth brushed. He wondered how long it would take for his parents to call him.