July 1998
Audrey was nervous. She knew Percy was a wizard. She understood that he lived in a separate world to her own. She had met his school teachers, stayed briefly in a magic house, had met house elves, but she had never been into the wizarding world. Not properly. Certainly, not one of the large centres of commerce and she was nervous.
Percy wasn't supposed to have told her about magic. A surprisingly considerable number of people knew she knew, for something that was supposed to be a secret. They would remain uninterested in them as long as she held her end of the bargain. Which arguably was as simple as keeping her mouth shut. But it meant that she couldn't tell anyone if she was worried or having problems. Well except the Grangers, who had becoming quite dear friends despite the age difference between them. They were always willing to talk to her about her experiences and anything to do with magic, but they also spoke to her of normal things as well.
But now possibly the biggest test Audrey thought she might face was upon her. She was going with Percy to Diagon Alley to meet his sister. The meeting place was Fred and George's shop. A safe harbour in a sea of unknown. Audrey wanted to see it all, but she didn't want to draw attention to herself and be discovered for the muggle she was.
Percy looked her clothes over. Since she and Ginny were going to take the promised shopping trip to Muggle London, Audrey had dressed in comfortable trousers, flat shoes and a simple t-shirt. The weather was dry, but her compact umbrella was in her handbag because July in England couldn't be trusted to stay sunny.
"Ready?" He asked
Audrey nodded.
Percy carefully raised his wand and pointed it at her. Audrey didn't flinch, she had no fear Percy would hurt her, but she was admittedly unsure about the transfiguration of her muggle clothes to a wizarding robe. The feel of the cloth wriggling against her skin made all the hair on her body stand up, and she couldn't stop the shudder that rippled through her.
"Alright?" Percy asked.
"Yes," Audrey said when the clothes had settled against her skin again. "It felt a bit weird feeling the fabric move that's all."
"Ginny will cast the finite on you once you are both ready to leave the Alley. Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you until you leave for London?"
"No, Percy, we'll be fine. We're not going to be able to get to know each other properly with you hovering. Drop me off at Fred and George's then go and do something fun. I'll wear my ring and have my mirror on me, and I'll have my phone which I will switch on as soon as we get back into London. I'll be fine." Audrey assured him.
Percy didn't look like he was completely convinced, so Audrey smiled reassuringly. "Come on Percy it will be fine now. We'd better get a move on, or we will be late."
Percy took Audrey to the apparition spot in Diagonal Alley via side along. He walked her up the street, discreetly pointing out the landmarks. Fred and George's shop needed no introduction when he finally guided her there, and Audrey stared in delight at the many things in the window.
"Your brothers do all this?"
"Yes," Percy said. "They've been playing pranks and jokes on everyone since they were old enough to read and cobble something together."
"Oh no, they must have been terrors!"
"They were," Percy said wryly. "The rule is you never eat or drink anything George or Fred give you. Although they have promised never to prank you."
"Oh, why?"
"Well for one if you eat or drink something that they have invented I'm not sure how you might react, or if you might be allergic. The magical world has ingredients you have no way of coming into contact with so you might not know if you are allergic. If you do have a reaction or a delayed reaction a muggle hospital isn't going to be able to help you. You'd need to go to the magical one, and the twins would be in trouble because they have used magic on a muggle."
"The statute thing?"
"Yes."
"Oh well, I suppose."
"It stops being amusing," Percy advised her. "There are only so many times you can turn into a canary, or turn purple, or be unable to speak without rhyming or speaking in verse."
"They can do all of that?"
"Yes, and frequently did."
"Hmm perhaps you're right, I don't think I'll bemoan my off-limits status then. Shall we go in?"
"Of course," Percy said stepping forward to hold the door open for her.
Audrey murmured her thanks as she entered the overfull, brightly coloured, loud shop. She let Percy guide her steps as she looked around her trying to take everything in as much as possible.
"Audrey, Percy!" A familiar voice called from the rear of the shop.
Audrey turned towards the sound of one of the twins and blinked. "Hello." She eyed the brightly coloured robe that suited the man wearing it not at all but held her tongue.
George hugged her in welcome before turning her to face the shop and seeking her opinion.
"Is Ginny here?" Percy asked interrupting George.
"Haven't seen her, but she might be in the back with Fred. Follow me."
Audrey and Percy followed George around the back of the counter and through a door into a short corridor. "In here," George said cheerily.
"Oi Fred! is Ginny here?" George called out as he opened the door.
"Yes, she is." A female voice answered.
Audrey entered the room behind George to see an athletic redhead leaning against the counter beside Fred. She was quite clearly yet another Weasley.
"Audrey?" Ginny asked as she came forward.
Audrey nodded. "Yes, Ginny?"
"Yep. Right, shall we get going? I've got a couple of things to pick up in the alley before we set off. You don't mind, do you? You could stay here and wait till I get back?"
"No, its fine I'll come with you. Percy gave me the tour, but we didn't go in any of the shops."
"You'll turn your phone on when you reach your side of London?" Percy asked keeping hold of one of Audrey's hands.
"Yes, Percy."
"You'll be careful in the Alley?"
"Yes, Percy." Audrey replied again this time with a warm smile and a roll of her eyes.
"Percy, c'mon, I'll look after her, promise. Then Audrey can return the favour when we get into London. Honestly, we'll be fine," Ginny smiled winningly at her brother.
"Yes, I am sure you will, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious."
"Right, cautious, check. Got it. From the brother who was spying on the Ministry while working with the Secret Order and then went to a fancy party with Riddle himself."
"I wasn't…"
"Yeah, right. Of course you weren't," Ginny retorted rolling her eyes. "But you know, I have spoken to Bill, Harry, Hermione and these two. I'm fairly sure it was exactly like that. Anyway, Audrey and I will be just fine. We'll be home before we turn into pumpkins." Ginny caught Audrey by the wrist and pulled her from the room and back into the chaos of the twins' shop. "Sorry for bodily removing you but once he starts worrying he can give Mum a run for her money."
"It's fine," Audrey said reclaiming her wrist. "I had a bit of a thing at the Burrow the night it all happened, and he's been cautious about my being around magical people. Frankly, I think he's got a point."
"Well, you're with me so we'll just be two witches out for a bit of shopping. I like your robe by the way."
"Oh,thanks, Percy did it. You need to cast a finite on me before we cross back into London."
"Will do," Ginny opened her arms as they walked down the street. "I wasn't really sure, but jeans seemed pretty safe?"
"You'll be fine," Audrey said. "So where are we going first?"
"Gringotts if you don't mind."
"The bank?"
"Yes. I've got some savings and Dad gave me some money to get myself something, but I need to change it into muggle money. Umm, I don't really understand how the money works. You don't mind telling me, do you?"
"No, not at all. Your money is much more confusing I assure you. Do you know what you want to get while we're out?"
"Bits and pieces, stuff for weekends at Hogwarts. Jeans, jumpers that sort of thing. Usually Mum takes us to the clothes shop that does muggle jeans and t-shirts, but my muggle-born friends always have much more interesting things than I ever see in there."
"Well, we can manage that. Do you know how much you've got to spend?"
"Umm, thirty galleons?"
"That's about … a hundred and fifty pounds I think," Audrey said mentally doing the conversion. "You will be fine with that, you're not going to be wearing designer, but high street will be fine."
"What's designer and high street?" Ginny asked as they climbed the steps to the bank.
"High street is what most people wear. Designer is more exclusive and much more expensive. If you want, I can call my friend Rose. She has been following fashion all her life. She is who I usually shop with, she's good at mixing and matching clothes and finding bargains."
"Will she mind? I mean I don't know anything about your world."
"Well, how about we have a good look around ourselves and if you think you'd like some help and are comfortable enough I can call her. "
"You wouldn't mind?"
"Not at all, I don't know if she will be free, but she won't say no if she is."
Ginny walked up to the counter where she would exchange her galleons for pounds. Stuffing the paper into her purse, she re-joined Audrey who had taken a seat on a stone bench at the edge of the room.
"Ready?" Audrey asked.
"Yes, they gave me paper. Fred said that was normal," Ginny said in a low tone.
"It is. Come on. Let's get your bits done, and we can get started."
Ginny led Audrey out into the street and made her way to the Quidditch supply shop where she bought herself a new pair of gloves. Audrey stayed close beside her, but Ginny could tell she was taking in as much as she could without being too obvious.
"Do you fly and play quidd…?" Audrey asked stumbling over the name of the sport.
"Quidditch? Yes, I do. All my brothers do, has Percy not taken you flying?"
"No," Audrey said glancing back at the broomstick hovering in the window. "I've been on the Granger's flying carpet but the brooms, there doesn't look to be much about them, you know? Are they comfortable?"
"Yes, the newer ones are. They have the best cushioning charms. The Grangers have a flying carpet? I've never seen one."
"Really? Are they not normal?"
"Outlawed in Britain. The broom makers didn't want the competition, so they said they were more likely to attract Muggle attention."
"But broomsticks? It's such a cliché."
"Is it?"
"Yes! If we pass a bookshop, I'll show you."
"Well come on then. We're going through the Leaky to get to muggle London." Ginny paused outside the pub and withdrew her wand, indicating Audrey's robe.
"Oh, wait," Audrey said quickly. "Let me take my ring off, otherwise it won't work."
Audrey slipped the ring off, and Ginny cast the finite on her. Audrey's clothes reverted to their normal state, and she put the ring back on her finger.
"Is that one of Harrys?" Ginny inquired.
Audrey glanced down at the ring. "Yes. It's the same as they made for their parents, so it protects me from more kinds of magic than the others they made for everyone else."
"Is it weird for you?" Ginny questioned.
"Is what weird?" Audrey asked looking around pointedly at the different customers of the pub as they passed through.
Ginny grinned rolling her eyes and held the door open to the street for Audrey. "Well, magic. You just found out about it existing, is it not weird?"
"A bit," Audrey admitted. "But I guess it's no different for me than anyone else who finds out that their child is magical. Percy has done as much as he can to answer my questions. I've read a lot of books on magic and Helen and John have answered all the questions I have. It's hard in that I can't tell my parents and I'm hiding it from them, my friends as well. I've never had secrets from my Mum and Dad before, or Rose, and now I have this huge one. I'm not going to say anything. I know what it would mean for Percy if I did, but it's hard sometimes. Oh, this way," Audrey indicated. "Did any of your brothers tell you about the Tube?"
"No," Ginny said warily eyeing the steps that went down in to the pavement.
"Right well, don't worry, it's simple. We'll go down the steps, you'll need to buy a ticket from the machine, and I'll show you how to do that. Then we'll go through the barriers and down some more steps, and perhaps a set of moving steps called an escalator. Then we'll get on a train that runs underground and will get us across to the part of London we need to be in."
"What?"
Audrey smiled. "So, do you find it weird? You've just found out there's this entire world you don't know anything about."
Ginny looked at Audrey in surprise and laughed. "Yeah, I see your point. Come on then. How much of what you said is what we have to do?" Ginny asked as she approached the stairs.
"All of it."
"You really have moving stairs?"
"Yes," Audrey nodded. "You'll see for yourself in a minute."
Audrey guided Ginny through buying a ticket and getting through the barriers. She guided her on to the escalator keeping up a stream of easy conversation about the twins first trip to the museum, allowing Ginny to get her bearings in the unfamiliar environment. When they reached the platform via the escalator, Audrey watched Ginny take an involuntary step back as the train rushed into the platform.
The journey on the tube was blessedly short, and when they reached street level again, Ginny cast a long look back down into the station. "And that's how you get around?"
"In London," Audrey confirmed. "Or you can take buses which are nothing like your bus, or taxis which are muggle cars."
"It's nothing like I expected," Ginny admitted. "I mean I've heard Dad talk about muggle stuff for as long as I remember but I didn't expect well, any of this."
Audrey nodded. "It is very different. When I first started seeing your brother I noticed that there were somethings he hadn't done, or heard about, or seemed to know anything about."
"Really? What did you do?" Ginny asked curiously as they made their way down the busy street.
"Well, Percy told me he worked for the government. Rose also works there, so I asked her to ask around about him. Obviously, that didn't work out so well and after a night on the sofa drinking wine and coming up with the most outlandish plans with Rose, I asked him."
"What did he say?" Ginny asked fascinated.
"He told me that he had grown up in a commune." At Ginny's puzzled look she elaborated. "It's a small closed community that often eschews modern amenities and lives a simpler life. They all work together to grow their own food and stuff. It made sense then that Percy wouldn't know what football was or have a washing machine or TV. I'll be honest, even the most outlandish ideas Rose and I came up with fell short of the truth. Right, in here. This is a department store which means it sells loads of different things from stuff you need at home like plates, dishes, bedding, TVs, kettles and fridges. It also sells clothes, lots of different clothes all under one roof which means you can work out what you like, and we can go looking in other shops for that. This is just to give you some ideas."
Ginny hauled the glass doors open and entered the cavernous space. "Wow," she said looking at the sheer volume of small stands selling perfumes and makeup.
"Unless you want any," Audrey said gesturing to the stands. "We'll head straight for the escalators."
"Err no, but maybe we can come back? We have glamour for make-up, but perfume might be interesting."
Audrey nodded leading the way weaving between the stalls to the escalators.
"More moving stairs. Are these common?"
"Most shops that are on more than one floor have them," Audrey said.
"We don't have them," Ginny mused. "I mean the stairs move but it's the whole thing, not the steps. You still have to climb them."
"Don't you live in a tower in this castle of yours?"
"Yeah, seven flights of stairs to the common room, then a flight of stairs for every year you've been at Hogwarts to get to your dormitory."
"That sounds utterly horrendous!" Audrey exclaimed aghast.
"It can be, especially if we've had a wet practice."
"I suppose it keeps you fit."
They walked into the women's wear, and Ginny shot an incredulous look at Audrey. "All of this in one shop?"
"Well yes, I mean, this is one of a handful of department stores, there's probably three or four on this street alone. Then there are the shops that are dedicated to selling one thing, such as just women's clothing, or just jeans, or shoes or handbags, books, music and films."
"Ok, ok," Ginny said holding up a hand. "I want to see all that. Do we have time?"
"No, not really, but we can certainly do a lot more window shopping. Music and films won't do you any good, as you need electric to play them so we can skip those. Books travel anywhere so we can have a look around there if you like, and you're supposed to be looking at clothes now so go on. Then we can narrow down our next choices better."
Ginny set off into the racks with Audrey trailing behind. After twenty minutes and a quick consultation about sizes, Ginny had found some things to try on. Audrey sat outside the changing rooms and sent a text to Percy assuring him they were fine and so far, no disaster had befallen them. She then sent a message to Rose to see if she was busy.
Ginny came out of the changing room with only a couple of t-shirts in her hand.
"Those then?" Audrey asked
"Yes. Can we get them and go somewhere else? I'd like to try using the money."
Audrey agreed and led the way to the cash desk. "I sent Rose a message to see if she was free."
"You did? How?"
Audrey looked surprised. "You don't…? Right sorry, I forgot. Percy has one, so I just assumed. I sent her a text on my mobile."
"Mobile?" Ginny asked.
Audrey checked how fast the staff were dealing with customers before she pulled out her phone. "Yes. This is a mobile phone, you can use it to call people or send them short text messages." Audrey flicked through the menus and showed Ginny the messages she had in her inbox. "It's like a very short letter."
"And you get the messages if you have one of those?" Ginny said.
"Yes, Percy and I each have one. They don't work in the Ministry, if you use magic on it, it will break, so Percy keeps his switched off while he's at work or out in the Alley. He's trying to fix it, so it works in a magical environment."
"That's really clever. Loads better than having to wait for an owl or a floo call."
"That's the idea," Audrey said nudging Ginny towards the free cash desk. "She'll scan your items and then tell you how much to pay." Audrey murmured quietly.
Ginny nodded to indicate she'd heard and handed over the clothes to the assistant. When the two t-shirts were rung up Ginny handed over the largest number of the paper money she could see in her purse and hoped that it would cover her.
Audrey smothered a grin at handing over a fifty-pound note for eight pounds worth of t-shirts but smiled politely at the assistant as the change and receipt were handed over. Ginny collected her carrier bag and followed Audrey out of the store.
"Did I do that wrong? She gave me a weird look."
"No, you didn't do it wrong, but fifty-pound notes are uncommon. We use the twenties, tens and fives more. The amount you needed to pay was only eight pounds so a tenner would have done."
"Do I have any of those?" Ginny asked proffering the purse.
Audrey stepped out of the flow of foot traffic and took Ginny's purse. "Yes, see the fifty-pound notes are the red ones, the twenties are purple, the tens are orange and the fives are blue. The round gold coins are single pounds."
"So, I shouldn't try to pay with the fifty ones?"
"No, you can, just try and do it when the total is nearer to fifty than ten."
Ginny nodded. "This is harder than I thought it would be."
"You're doing fine. Now, where next?"
"Well, more clothes. I've still not found any jeans, but before I forget, do you know where I can buy a rubber duck?"
"Why do you want a rubber duck?" Audrey asked bemused.
"Dad," Ginny said. "He's got this thing about them. He asks everyone if they know what one is for."
"Oh. They don't really have a purpose, they are decorative. I guess at best they are toys for young children to play with in the bath to make having a bath fun. They don't do anything other than float."
"Really?" Ginny said with a grin of delight,
"Yeah, why?"
"That's great! Thanks so much!"
"What for?" Audrey asked completely confused.
"I'm going to tell him," Ginny declared gleefully. "I'm going to be the person who knows what rubber ducks are for. This is going to be great, I'm going to be trading on this for years! I cannot believe Percy didn't tell him."
"Well, they haven't exactly been speaking recently," Audrey pointed out. "In fact, they weren't speaking before Percy moved to his flat, so I don't suppose it's come up just yet."
"Well, it will be too late," Ginny grinned. "Do you know where I can get one from?"
"Yeah, I think so, follow me," Audrey said.
Audrey took Ginny to the nearest shop she thought had a good chance of selling a rubber duck. It didn't have any so with a little bit more thought she turned back to her companion. "Are you up for a bit of a stroll? The only other place I can think you'll find one is Hamley's, but it's going to be a fifteen-minute walk, or we can jump on the tube and shave off maybe five?"
"Walking is fine. What is Hamley's?"
"It's a toy shop, a muggle toy shop. Entering it is a bit like walking into your brother's shop for the first time. "
"Well, now I have to see it," Ginny declared.
Audrey nodded and led the way. "We can grab some lunch afterwards…" she trailed off as her phone beeped. Pulling it out Audrey read the message. "Rose can meet us. Do you want to meet her before or after lunch?"
"I don't mind if she joins us for lunch," Ginny said. "Umm, exactly where are we going for lunch?"
"Oh, err, how do you feel about Italian?"
"Never had it."
"Not even pizza?"
"No… what is pizza?"
Audrey blinked. "What is…. Right, sorry, I shouldn't do that."
"It's alright," Ginny replied with a rueful smile. "I mean I can only imagine you do the same thing about magic stuff."
"Well yes, it's just easy to forget you're new to this as well."
Ginny shrugged unbothered, so far today had been more than interesting enough to make her want to do it again. She only hoped she could persuade Audrey to join her. She certainly wasn't comfortable venturing out alone. "So, what is pizza?"
"Sort of a large round thin flat bread with tomato sauce and cheese on top cooked in an oven. That's the basic then depending on taste other things can be added."
Ginny nodded. "Sounds interesting, I'm game. There will be other things if I don't like it?"
"Yes, of course, I'll let Rose know to join us."
Hamley's had the same effect on Ginny Audrey was sure the twins shop had on her. They found a variety of rubber ducks and Ginny proudly bought one. Audrey was still mystified why anyone would think a rubber duck was interesting but let it go. After an hour of wandering around the toy shop and persuading Ginny not to buy the twins a chemistry set just to see what they would do with it, and settle instead for a box of magic tricks, they emerged out on to the street blinking in the sudden daylight.
"I am going to buy them one of those chemistry sets," Ginny with a wicked smile. "It would be amazing. Christmas presents sorted for life. And those tiny little bricks they built into that, dino-saur did you say it was?"
Audrey nodded. "Lego, most kids get Lego of some description."
"We've got to come back," Ginny said. "Have you shown it to Fred and George yet?"
"Hamley's? No."
"So, I'm the only one that knows?"
Audrey laughed at the sibling rivalry. "There is more than one toy shop, it's just that this is the biggest."
Ginny pondered that as they stopped outside a glass-fronted restaurant. "Well, I'm going to keep it a secret as long as I can. Is this where we're eating?"
"Yes," Audrey said leading the way inside. "Rose is already here, there, look towards the left by the window."
Ginny looked over to see a pretty woman about Audrey's age waving at them. They made their way over to the table and introductions were made.
"Ginny, is that short for something?" Rose asked.
"Ginevra," Ginny said. "But I really prefer Ginny."
Rose nodded. "Well at least you can do something about yours. Both Audrey and I are stuck, and I swear the number of bad Shakespeare quotes gets old fast."
Ginny nodded, not having a clue what Rose was talking about and hoped that her ignorance wouldn't show. She picked up the menu and browsed it as Audrey and Rose caught up quickly.
"So," Rose began. "You're out shopping. I take it this is the first step in reconciliation? Does that mean Percy's side of the church won't be completely bereft? Because I'm still game for hiring a bunch of hunks to sit there and look pretty."
"Yes, we're out shopping and yes Percy is making inroads with his family. As for the wedding it's not even on the radar yet." Audrey answered absently as she browsed the menu.
"Why not?" Ginny asked as a waiter approached to take drinks orders.
"White wine?" Rose asked the table in general. Audrey nodded sending a questioning look at Ginny. Ginny raised one shoulder, what she knew about wine wizarding or muggle could be written on a sickle.
"White wine then. Pino Grigio and a jug of water for the table," Audrey confirmed. The waiter smiled at Rose and wrote down what Audrey said barely glancing at her.
"As for the wedding, we want to live together which means one of the flats must go. Mine is linked to the shop so while the rent is next to nothing it's also the smaller of the two. And Percy wants a garden in the future, which means a house. Which in turn means saving up for a deposit and then the cost of the wedding on top? It's just going to take a while to get all that money together."
"So, who is moving out?"
"We haven't decided. Like I said, mine is cheaper, but Percy's has more space. If we end up living there for a few years, more space would be preferable, but cheaper rent means more savings."
"We can still go dress shopping though, can't we?" Rose asked in a wheedling tone. "You're my best friend, and I absolutely should be allowed to go dress shopping with you."
"I have a dress," Audrey said.
The waiter returned with the wine, and the conversation broke off as the three women decided ton what to eat. Ginny chose to order her first pizza.
"You already have a dress?" Ginny asked once the waiter had departed and the wine was poured.
"Yes," Audrey confirmed.
"It was her Mum's dress, and her grandmas, and her great grandma's." Rose clarified. "It's a tradition which is lovely, but we are going to go dress shopping. I want to see you in a meringue!"
"Thanks," Audrey said drily.
"You know your Mum wants to go too, and Ginny will as well, so that's three against one."
"We can go and look but closer to the time," Audrey conceded. "Which is to say when we have an approximate date, I am not going this year."
"Spoilsport," Rose muttered playfully pulling a face.
Lunch past pleasantly. Ginny enjoyed the pizza and the glass of wine. Clearly Rose and Audrey had forgotten that she wasn't yet of age, but Ginny was far too enamoured by the feeling of having a proper grown-up girly lunch to mention it and decided one glass of wine wouldn't hurt.
Having discussed what Ginny wanted from her clothes, Rose cheerfully led the way out of the restaurant throwing a wink at the waiter who had attentively served them.
Audrey stepped closer to Ginny to murmur. "Just let her do her thing. Anything you don't like, say. She won't be offended, but it's quicker just to follow where she leads.
There followed to Ginny, a whirlwind of shops. Some big, some small, but in each one Rose found something that Ginny truly liked. By the time they had to separate Ginny had more clothes than she thought she would have found and spent less money than she had anticipated.
Audrey and Ginny made their way back to Percy's flat as neither could be bothered with the trek across London to re-enter Diagon Alley. Audrey let them both in and took Ginny's shoes and coat before leading the way to the sofa and dropping on to it.
"Give me a minute, and I'll put the kettle on," she said closing her eyes as the ache in her feet overtook her.
"I'll do it," Ginny offered.
Audrey cracked an eye open. "Don't take this the wrong way, but do you know how? You can't use magic on the kettle, it's electric, it will break."
"I can't use magic at all," Ginny said. "I'm still underage, but I can probably work out a kettle. How hard can it be?"
"Push the tab down that sticks out under the handle," Audrey advised.
Ginny made her way into the kitchen and examined the kettle. Cautiously she did as Audrey advised, and a light went on inside it. "It's lit up," she called back to Audrey nervously.
"Then it's on," Audrey replied. "Cups are to your left, and the teapot and tea are over the sink. Milk is in the fridge. The big white thing in the corner."
Ginny entered the room with the tea things sat on a tray. The milk was in a jug and the teapot was steaming. "See," Ginny said proudly
Audrey gently laughed. "Yes, you have managed a British staple. Welcome to the world of muggles."
"Thanks for today," Ginny said. "I like Rose."
"She's great, exhausting but great," Audrey agreed.
"Could we maybe do this again?" Ginny asked shyly. "I had fun, and well I don't have many friends I can go out for a day shopping and lunch with. Six brothers aren't exactly the best shopping partners either. The wizarding world is small, and yours is so big and different."
"Sure," Audrey said. "I think we can probably sort something out. I do work some Saturdays, but if you want to do it again before you go back to school, we could get together again."
"Thanks. You're good for him you know."
"Percy?"
"Yeah. He speaks to the twins now rather than just rolling his eyes and acting like they are just annoying little brothers. He wasn't as relaxed or happy before. I mean he's my bossy older brother, so it's not like I paid loads of attention, but he just seems, happy."
"Well, I'm glad," Audrey said. "He makes me happy too."