Author Note: It's been all doom and gloom at work lately, so I just needed a pick-me-up. Enjoy, let me know what you guys think.
Mr. Weasley Meets Bill Nye the Science Guy
New York Fashion Week was in full swing. Now, Arthur Weasley did not understand Molly's fascination with Fashion Week for two reasons. 1) She rarely spent money on clothes for herself, if at all. And 2), but most importantly, Fashion Week was a purely Muggle invention. Probably it was a combination of having a Muggleborn daughter-in-law that sold her on it, or that now they had the funds to actually indulge in the habit.
Either way, Molly was fascinated by it and quite taken by the odd things Muggles chose to wear on the runway. Arthur was overjoyed that Molly finally found something Muggle to enjoy, even if it was not a Muggle custom he completely understood. Which is why, for their thirtieth anniversary, he gifted her a trip to New York with front row tickets to Fashion Week.
Molly, for her part, was absolutely thrilled. She never did regret her choice to marry for love and not money, but there were some things she missed about her old life before she married Arthur. Unlimited bank account with which to buy the latest in fashion trends was one of them. She was so young and frivolous, that spending money on clothes never was a big thing. Only after she was married, and quite poorer off, with seven additional mouths to feed, did she understand the value of what she wore and what she bought. Going to Fashion Week was like letting that young frivolous teenager out again.
The Muggles wore some strange contraptions, some with a lot of puff, suit jackets over mismatched dresses, in all manner of colors and fabrics and Arthur was laughing at her commentary.
"Oh, honestly Arthur, how can she expect to walk in that?"
"It looks like she dug it out of the rubbish bin and put it on! Imagine being seen in public in that"
"Do you think it hurt to put her in that?"
The men's fashion was just as outlandish as the women's. The idea behind the Blue Jacket Fashion Show was to put creative twists on the traditional blue blazer that Muggle men wore to work. Arthur thought the designs were quite clever, and the proceeds from the ticket sales would go to raising awareness for a Muggle illness called prostate cancer. Arthur didn't know what a prostate was or how it could contract cancer, but he was glad to pay for a ticket all the same, if only to pull someone aside at the show and ask them what it was.
His favorite was probably an older man in his sixties, with grey hair and a floral blue blazer who danced out to a funky, up-tempo song. The younger woman. on Arthur's other side had exclaimed, "I love this song!"
"What song is it?" he asked politely, wanting to keep up on Muggle cultural references.
"Juice by Lizzo! I can't believe they got Bill Nye the Science Guy to do this show!"
The song was incredibly catchy and he was delighted to see a man his age with more grey in his hair than himself, boogie down the runway with the best of them. After the show, he waited patiently in the queue to shake the man's hand.
"It's so lovely to meet you, Mr. Nye. I admired your dance down the runway. I have a son named Bill as well, I imagine he'd have enjoyed this. If you're the science guy, perhaps you can explain this prostate cancer business to me. It sounds terribly dreadful," he said enthusiastically.
"Oh Arthur, honestly…" Molly started to scold him.
Baffled, but pleased by the compliment, Bill Nye explained the disease in a succinct way. "All right, English, let's have a photo, so we can get to all the other people in line, Bill," the hired photographer said loudly, cutting in to the conversation.
Bill Nye slung an arm around Arthur Weasley's gangly shoulders, one around Molly's, and the three of them smiled wide at the lens of the camera.
Two weeks later, a letter appeared in the Muggle post. The postman, appearing baffled by the number of stamps on the envelope, handed it to Hermione. "All right, love? You might want to tell your friend how much they actually spent on this letter."
Hermione glanced at the envelope with no less than twenty stamps crammed onto it, and laughed, knowing who it was from. "I will. Thank you for letting me know."
A photograph and a letter was enclosed. She picked up the letter first.
Dear Hermione and Ron,
I hope this letter finds you well. We just returned from our trip to New York and I'm absolutely knackered. It was a wonderful experience. We toured around the city, went to Ilvermorny, visited the Ministry in New York City, and went to Times Square. Those Muggles are always so busy. I think my favorite part (and Arthur's too) was Fashion Week. They were so stylish, and even Arthur made a new friend from the runway. I think he was more delighted than I was by the end of fashion week, though I think that was because he made a pen pal. I thought you would enjoy this photo. The photographer made us two copies because Arthur wanted to keep a Muggle photo in his office. I think he's fascinated by how you don't move in them.
Lots of love,
Molly Weasley
Hermione pulled the photo apart and gaped. Her childhood idol, Bill Nye, was in a floral blue suit jacket, grinning between the Weasleys.
"Who's that?" Ron asked, oblivious.
"That's the best part of my childhood before I became a witch," Hermione said enviously. She wished she could have been there but she couldn't help but smile at how utterly delighted Arthur looked in the photo.