Time for some fun! (tag: Fred)

Claudia had agreed to go out and enjoy some of the rides and things with Fred after they had finished eating. He seemed like the fun sort, so what did she have to lose? It wasn't like she had that many friends here anyway. The only people she really knew were her siblings, Dominique and now Dominique's family. And she was always up for a little bit of fun. She pulled her coat on over her thin torso as she looked at the backpack she had been carrying. It was over half full of random sweets she had gotten at the booths, but she decided to leave them behind. She didn't want to risk crushing everything on the rides!

So, she left the backpack in the tent and bundled up in her jacket before looking around for Fred. He had mentioned something about hoping that he could find his own clothes before going out. She wondered how that was working for him as she waited, picking at her nails a bit. She was excited to check out all of the rides but she wasn't going to rush.

@Fred Weasley II

Wedging his trapper hat onto his head, the look was back to normal. Aunt Fleur had got rid of his T-shirt due to the numerous holes in it, but a quick trip back to his own tent got him a fresh one. At least he no longer smelt of musty gunpowder and damp wood...

He counted himself pretty lucky that a top girl like Claudia had agreed to hang around with him. Fred had a track record of hanging around the really pretty girls, and they encouraged it, only to an extent that they used him. Still - he didn’t feel Claudia was that type. She was a nice girl, adventurous, and might go looking for trouble every once in a while.

Finding her waiting by the main carnival site, Fred tapped her on her left shoulder, but came around at her right. The classic misdirection. “Oi. Let’s get goin’!” Grinning, he started to walk out to the bustle of activity. “I saw somethin’ about a shootin’ range, but I dunno if that was just made up. Why’d wizards be shootin’ guns?”

@Claudia Morais

Claudia was trying not to worry about what her future might be like now that the bomb had been dropped back in the Weasley tent. Maybe she shouldn't have hung around when it was really a family thing. At least then she would have had a chance to actually talk to Dominique and not have everything just announced in one big rush. But things had happened as they had happened and there wasn't anything to be done about it.

And she also knew that worrying about her future would get her nowhere right now. She had agreed to go out and have some fun at the festival with Fred and she planned to do just that. She firmly decided that she wasn't going to think about what tomorrow would bring. She was just going to enjoy herself. The couple of glasses of champagne at least helped with that.

She was waiting for Fred when someone tapped her on the shoulder. Of course, she turned to see who it was and that was when Fred popped over to the other side and made his presence known. She laughed. "I know some of the little street carnivals we used to go to had little booths where you shot fake ducks and the more you hit the more points you got! Bet I could get more than you if there's something like that here!" She issued the challenge. She always liked a little friendly competition. Who didn't? It was all in good fun.

@Fred Weasley II

Fred clicked his finger at her, pointing triumphantly.

"That's the thing," He said, "I wondered why they were callin' in duck shootin'. Thought we'd be killin' actual ducks or somethin'."

He sniffed casually, apparently unperturbed by the idea of killing ducks. He'd shot quite a few birds, so why not a duck?

"Right. Let's find that then. 'Cause hah - sorry love - but I'm gonna smash ya at that," He said smugly, batting his eyelids. Cute that she thought she'd win, though.

As they walked out into the main hubbub of the stalls and rides, Fred kept an eye out for something that remotely resembled this duck shooting thing. Not discussing what happened in the tent was a bit of an elephant in the room, and he probably wouldn't get away with it. He'd noticed she'd looked pretty put out by Dominique's news.

"If ya don't get work now, could always see if somethin' is open at Hogwarts. Could use a hand gettin' rid of some of the creatures we get hangin' around in the forest." He could talk to Voclain. She'd taken a chance on him after all.

@Claudia Morais

Claudia shook her head, rolling her eyes playfully as she elbowed Fred. "Of course they're not shooting actual ducks! People would be protesting and throwing a fit everywhere!" Could you imagine them bringing a bunch of live ducks to a festival just for people to shoot? It would just be asking for trouble. No, a fake duck shooting game with fake weapons was much safer in a situation such as this. "Dream on, Freddie." She said with a laugh. That was one thing about Fred, no matter how the rug had been swept out from under him, he always seemed to be able to make her laugh. He was a good friend to have. Maybe he was a little different, but she thought he was hilarious.

Silence fell between them as they walked and she knew that the chaos of the tent wasn't going to be able to be completely ignored. She didn't even realize that she had let her apprehension of what was to come show all over her face. She was usually much better at hiding her emotions. Usually. She sighed then offered him a small smile. "Thanks, I might look into that if I can't figure anything else out." She shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat to keep them warm as they continued walking. "But then I'd take away all your fun because you'd have no pesky critters to get rid of yourself." She tried again to turn the somewhat somber mood into something more upbeat.

@Fred Weasley II

Fred smirked. He appreciated the banter. As he left Hogwarts during fifth year, a lot of his friends drifted from him. They all continued with Hogwarts, while he sat around his Dad's shop trying to see how many chocolates he could shove into his mouth at once. It was good to have newer connections and not hold onto the past too much.

"Ah, I dunno, I'd like a companion," He said, nudging her. "We could get drunk and play chicken with the willow."

Wait. She might not know what the willow was.

"Huge bloody enchanted tree at Hogwarts - lashes anyone who gets too close." He filled her in. "Don't worry though, I only once got a serious injury from it." Winking, he found the stall in the distance.

Whooping, he grabbed her hand and pulled her alongside him at a run. "Right! Two to play, mate. Don't go easy on her either just 'cause she's pretty." This was much better than being in that damn tent.

@Claudia Morais

Claudia didn't really know much about Fred, she didn't know about his past or anything like that. She didn't care either. He seemed like a fun person and he always seemed keen to keep up with the banter between them and she appreciated that. She barely knew anyone here, so she knew that she needed friends anyway. She was an incredibly social person usually. She raised a brow when he mentioned the willow. Of course, she hadn't gone to Hogwarts, so she had no idea what that was. He must have caught her look, though, as he quickly explained.

"Sounds like fun. Maybe I'll just have to sneak onto school grounds sometime just for that purpose!" It did sound surprisingly fun to her. She loved a good game of chicken and playing it drunk with an animated tree sounded even more exciting. "Think you could smuggle me in?" She asked, about half-seriously. It would be fun.

Then he grabbed her hand and took off towards the stall. She hurried after him, dodging people that would be unfortunate enough to get too close to their path as he dragged her along. She was laughing when they made it to the booth. "Oh, come on, Freddie! Don't go making excuses for why you lose already!" Like anyone would really take it easy on her because she was pretty. "He just knows he's got no chance." She told the person running the booth before batting her eyelashes 'innocently' at Fred.

@Fred Weasley II