[Tours] Do you believe in magic? -- Elfie

It was the awkward time between Christmas and New Year’s. The Christmas tree stood in the corner of the room, lights not plugged in, surrounded by opened gifts. Manon sat on the couch in front of the fireplace, hands tucked under her thighs. Elfie was due any moment.

She’d been thinking for a while now about what muggle things Elfie might find fascinating, what she might like as a Christmas gift. It felt a bit cheap to just toss her something commonplace, but she knew the other girl was honestly enchanted by those things, she would appreciate it. Manon had pondered curling irons and walkie-talkies, but then she had landed on this idea. She hadn’t been intending to invite Elfie to her house, but there was no other way to do it. She had to be a witness to Elfie’s first trip to the cinema.

An animated film was Manon’s choice, just for that extra dose of muggle magic that creating movement from static images was. And besides, she thought Elfie would enjoy the fairy tale. She seemed the sort. Manon herself wasn’t usually the sort, but she was willing to see just about anything to see Elfie overcome with delighted surprise.

Though Manon hoped she would be pleased, she also hoped she wouldn’t make too much of a scene. Elfie was going to have to have muggle lessons on the way over. She felt bad for having to control Elfie’s excitement and amazement, but the other girl simply couldn’t be going about like she was from another planet. Manon wasn’t sure if she could deal with stares.

She was all ready to go, wearing her hat and coat already. She didn’t want Elfie to get too sidetracked in a muggle house. Maybe afterwards there would be time for that, but films ran on a schedule and better too early than too late. Feet tapping, she waited, watching the fireplace. Any minute now.

@Elfie Marchand

Elfie Marchand was very, very excited. Very. It was the Christmas holidays of her fourth year at Beauxbatons Academie de Magique, and her most bestest best friend in the whole entire world had got her the most awesome Christmas present she could possibly get her in the entire history of the universe!

Manon Bernard was taking her to the cinema.

The Pureblood had never been to the cinema before. She'd never spent much time in the muggle world, other than to gaze in awe at technology in their shops before she was dragged out by one of her parents, embarrassed by her gawping, and worried she'd give the entire magical population away in her amazement. She'd used the internet (or rather, her house elf had used the internet while she had sat and watched) and bought muggle stuff on it, such as her shiny red toaster which she was absolutely in love with. But other than that and discussions with her friends about muggles and their stuff, the only time she'd learnt anything about the non-magical people was in Muggle Studies (her favourite lesson) at school.

On the day of the cinema, the Papillonlisse woke up early to try and pick an outfit that would make her blend in with the muggles. She had plenty of t-shirts and skirts that muggles would wear, but she wanted something inconspicuous, that would make her seem like a stereotypical muggle teenager. It had taken her a while to pick, but eventually the excited girl had put together the 'perfect' outfit. She'd donned a navy blue Coldpay t-shirt with multi-coloured words reading "We'll be glowing in the dark" across the front, along with a pair of pale flared jeans, which she was keeping up with a sparkly red belt. On her feet she wore a pair of purple jelly shoes, which she had seen a small child wearing on the beach while she was on holiday in Spain over the summer. Finally, to finish off the whole look, she was wearing an oversized, lime-green hoodie. The fourth year felt very proud of the outfit she had put together, and grinned widely at herself in the mirror as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, so it would fit inside her hood. The 15 year old had even put on a little makeup to play the part, just a bit of black eyeshadow and some bright red lipstick which she had bought in a muggle shop. She'd concealed her wand inside the pocket of her hoodie, having sewn a couple of loops onto the inside to keep it in place, and put a purse into the pocket of her jeans. In it she had a few wizarding coins - about 5 galleons in sickles and knuts - and a ten pound note which she had gazed at in awe when her dad had given it to her the night before.

She felt prepared. 

Leaping down the stairs of her house, the French witch skipped happily into the living room, where the fireplace that connected to the floo system that they had in their house was, a present for her friend clutched tightly in her hand. She grabbed a handful of floo powder with her free hand, and shouting goodbye to her mum (her dad had already left for work), threw it down. As she stepped into the fireplace and shouted the name of the house she was going to, Tatienne Marchand walked into the room to say goodbye to her daughter, but a shocked look passed across her face when she saw the black-haired girl. She started to say something - Elfie presumed it was to compliment her on how well she had put together an outfit that would blend in with the muggle world - but her daughter never heard it as she was consumed by the green flames before the sound reached her ears and materialised in the fireplace of Manon Bernard.

"Manon!" Elfie squealed as she saw her dorm-mate ready and waiting in front of fireplace, launching herself at the other girl and pulling her into a tight hug. A wide smile was stretched across her face as she stepped back, unable to hide her excitement "Look at my muggle clothes!" She squealed again, pulling up her hoodie so that the muggleborn could see her Coldplay t-shirt, and lifting up a foot so the jelly shoes were revealed. "What do you think?" She asked, jiggling up and down on the spot in her excitement.

Elfie bounded out of the fireplace, tracking ash on the hearth, and hugged her tightly. Manon had smiled as soon as she heard the sound, but as the green flames faded, Elfie pulled back,  and she got a good look at the other girl’s outfit, her eyebrows raised. “You look…” she began. Elfie was clearly very proud of her muggle clothing and Manon didn’t want to insult her. But at the same time, she didn’t want to attract any extra attention. She was sure just Elfie at the movies would be enough to get some stares. “Muggles aren’t all color-blind, you know,” she said, holding back her laughter. “Come in, do you want to borrow something of mine?” She hoped Elfie would take it as an opportunity to have a look at authentic muggle fashion rather than saying that her own outfit wasn’t good enough.

“So how was your holiday?” she asked as they went upstairs, Elfie’s jelly shoes squeaking with each step. “Mine was good,” she said. “My sister came home. I think my parents miss us when we’re both gone all year now.” They arrived at her bedroom door. Manon was embarrassed for a second: her room was still decorated the way it had been when she was a child, all dollhouses and butterflies; she was away too much to really care. But then she figured Elfie was the person least likely to judge her. She opened the door to let her in.

“I think you should wear a different coat,” said Manon, businesslike, as she opened her closet. “Bright colors like that will attract a lot of attention, you see, and you’re trying to blend in with the muggles.” She tossed a navy peacoat on the bed. “And maybe a different shirt too,” she said, as Elfie pulled her hoodie over her head to reveal the bright t-shirt. “Here,” she said, handing her a blue and white peasant top. “This’ll go with your jeans, I think. They’re okay.” She stared into her closet, her back to Elfie as she changed. “And I think your feet might get cold,” she said. “But I don’t really know if there’s anything we can do about that. I don’t think you’ll fit into my shoes.”

Manon turned back around, and smiled a little. Elfie actually looked quite cute. “My dad’s driving us,” she said. “We should probably get in the car soon; we don’t want to be late.”

Elfie was slightly confused as to why she had to borrow some of Manon's clothes, but at the invite to go exploring in a muggle house she couldn't say no. Happily the Pureblood skipped up the stairs, stopping every few seconds to admire one thing or another, to her dorm-mates bedroom. Oh, it was amazing! There was a dolls house and butterflies and wow she loved it so much! Wide eyed, the witch danced around the room, only tripping over her flares three times, inspecting anything and everything as she did so, in complete amazement. Much of it was fairly similar to stuff in her own house, but that was something that interested her just as much as the different stuff. She'd never known that lots of muggle things were similar to magic things! Maybe it was because Manon was a witch so they had some magical stuff in their muggle house... she'd have to keep looking to find out! The naïve girl didn't think about the fact she might be coming off as nosy.

"Oh, my holidays have been good, but not as good as this! My mum has just got back from a trip to Austria to see her friend, who has the same name as m- OH! This is cool!" She gasped, peering through the windows of the dollhouse to try and see inside. She knew it probably opened somehow but she didn't know how - although the 15 year old did have a dollshouse of her own at home, you had to say "Open" to it for it to open, and she doubted a muggle dollshouse did that. Unless Manon had charmed it to do that? The artist was just about to try it out when her attention was brought to the bed, where Manon had laid out some different clothes of hers for the witch to put on. She looked at them closely, her head cocked to one side as she contemplated them.

"But I bought my hoodie from a muggle shop! One of the weirdly-pale people in the window with no eyes or lips who was really good at standing really still was wearing one just like it. How do they stand so still? But I suppose it is quite bright..." She relented, pulling off the hoodie and looking at her t-shirt, which her dad had bought her from England last time he'd been there, knowing her obsession with muggle stuff. Manon had got a different t-shirt out for her too and she quickly swapped them over, happy that she still got to keep her jelly shoes. She loved her jelly shoes very much, and she was planning on taking them to school with her next term.

"Thank you for the coat and shirt, by the way! And I love your room so much!" She said, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"A CAR?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" The Papillonlisse gasped, stopping dead and gaping open-mouthed at the brunette before she'd even managed to finish her sentence. "We're going in a car?! Ooooooooh yippee! Thank you thank you SO MUCH" She beamed, tackling Manon into a tight hug again. This was the best day ever in her entire life!

"Oh, I got you a present too! It's not as good as this present, this is the best present ever, but I hope you like it..." She trailed off, handing Manon the package she had been clutching in her hand. It was wrapped in pink spotty wrapping paper and she'd stuck one of those awesome muggle bow things that weren't bows but were really cool on the top to make it look pretty, with a card stuck to the top.

Manon felt just awful when she saw the look on Elfie's face. She wanted to try to explain again, but she knew she would fall into the trap she so often did, treating the other girl like a child. It was easy. Elfie was so bright and innocent, and Manon thought that she herself might be a naturally condescending person. She had to keep her instincts in check. Thankfully, Elfie seemed distracted by her dollhouse. There were plenty of muggle things about to cheer her up if she got offended. They could go make toast if they had to.

As she began to lay out clothes, Elfie deflated again. Manon bit her lip. “Some muggles wear things like that,” she said. “I—oh, you mean mannequins.” She found herself giggling. “They’re not real people, they’re just statues, sort of, that shops have so you can see how clothes look.” She felt better explaining something to the pureblood girl. That was what she was good for, knowing about the muggle world.

When she mentioned the car, Elfie just about burst with excitement and wrapped her in another hug. Manon laughed. She loved the feeling of doing something right, and any disappointment seemed to be forgotten. “Yeah,” she said. “That’s how muggles get places, mostly. We’re going too far away to walk—oh!” She blinked as Elfie produced a present. Manon hadn’t expected her to bring anything for her, though she wasn’t sure why. Perhaps a trip to the movies just didn’t feel like a real present to her, so she didn’t feel like she deserved one in return. She took it, read the excited words in the card, and carefully untaped the wrapping paper.

It was a blank sketchbook and a tin of colored pencils. Manon felt her heart swell. It was like Elfie’s way of believing in her, in her art. “Thank you so much,” she said sincerely. “I love it. Er—shall we go?”

"Oh, they're statues! That's why they were so still." Elfie nodded happily. It made a lot more sense than muggles standing very still for hours on end, at least. It would seem very stupid to a muggle that the Papillonlisse didn't know what a mannequin was, but in most wizarding shops they had models that were enchanted to move rather than stay still. As a young child the girl had loved to sit and watch them parade back and forth in expensive dress shops wearing pretty clothes, and to be honest, as an older girl she hadn't grown out of that.

The fourth year was so excited to be driving a car, well, sitting in a car that was being driven, that she completely forgot all about the disappointment about her clothes. She'd never been in a car herself, she'd only ever seen them drive past her house, chugging along and puffing out thick grey smoke. It was going to be amazing! She would say that it was going to be magical, but magical was exactly what it wasn't, which was the best thing about it. It was... muggical! She liked that word... giggling a bit to herself, the Pureblood said the word over in her head. She decided that it was going to be the word that she would describe anything with that was amazing, and muggle. Which was good, because most things muggle were amazing! Like her jelly shoes.

"I'm glad you like it!" The 15 year old beamed at her friend when she thanked her for the present, bouncing over to her and wrapping her in a tight hug. Obviously it could never live up to this muggical present, but she wanted to give Manon something anyway. She didn't give presents to people because they gave her presents, after all. She gave them because she loved making people happy! Also it was Christmas. A grin seemed to be permanently plastered on her face as she stepped away from her friend and looked around the room one last time before they were ready to leave.

"Yup! Let's go!" The musician beamed.

After setting her gift carefully on her night table, Manon headed back downstairs, looking back to make sure Elfie was on her heels. She figured it was still a possibility she might wander off. But though Elfie lagged a little looking at the photographs on the stairwell wall, they made it down and out the front door. Manon smiled at the look on Elfie’s face when the car came into view. “Ta-da,” she said. To tell the truth their family car was a little old and dented, but It ran without magic, so she thought it would be impressive enough.

“Come on,” she said, “ we’re riding in the back.” Manon slid into the backseat of the car. “That’s my dad,” she added shortly. If she could have done this without parental involvement she would have, but she couldn’t drive yet. She just hoped he didn’t try to talk to Elfie, didn’t embarrass her.

Once they were settled in the car, they were on their way. Manon looked out the window, not sure what to say to Elfie. It was always easier to let her do the talking. Buildings went by, and she watched Elfie look out the window too, fondly. She was glad she could do something so simple that made her so happy. She loved that look on her face.

And they were there.

She hadn’t really thought through how overstimulating the theater could be, with all the lights and the popcorn and posters and things to see. As she bought the tickets she prayed Elfie would look normal, blend in. She didn’t love that excitement as much when they were trying to be muggles.

Manon lead the way down the stairs and through the house, and while Elfie tried to keep up with her she couldn't help but lag behind slightly as she gazed at all the photos on the wall. It was weird that they weren't moving to the witch who had grown up with magic all her life, but she supposed it was kind of soothing, as they were just there. They didn't wander off or decide to move away from the position they were in when the photo was taken, and they didn't talk back to you or get grumpy and shout very loudly while you were trying to sleep if you've forgotten to dust them for a few months.

Soon enough they were out the front door, and the Papillonlisse stopped dead and stared wide eyed at the car in front of her. It was amazing! She ran on nimble feet over to inspect it, bending down to scrutinise the wheels and standing on her tippy-toes to look along the roof, her eyes wide in amazement and awe. It was the best thing ever! Her mouth was wide open like a goldfish when she turned to her friend, who announced they were sitting in the back seat. The pianist clapped her hands together and slid onto the seat after Manon, grinning at the man in the front, who was introduced as her dad.

"Bonjour Monsieur Bernard!" She beamed at the man, before watching carefully as Manon plugged her seatbelt on, and then tried to replicate it. Having never used a seatbelt before she didn't know what to do, and made a bit of a mess of it, first trying to plug the belt into the wrong socket and then twisting it around a bit, but after a minute or two she was sorted and they were off. The black-haired girl had her nose glued to the window as buildings flashed by, keeping up a stream of chatter as they went.

"Wow! This is so amazing! Look, we're going so fast! I bet you couldn't go this fast on a broom without falling off - well, I couldn't go any fast on a broom without falling off, but people in general! And we're very safe too because we're in a big metal box and have these straps over us to stop us falling out of the window if it's open- can I open my window? Please? is it this button? OH IT MOVES DOWN! This is amazing Manon, thank you ever so much! And thank you so much too Monsieur Bernard! This is the best Christmas present ever! We're going so fast! That car was going really fast too and we were so close! This is AMAZING! Oh I do like cars. What's that light? Is that the cinema? Ooooh it's so big and snazzy! What are we doing now? Do we need to get out? Oh, we're parking? That sounds cool - do we need to go to a park? Oh, wait, we're very close to these other cars. Will I bash them with my door when I open it? That's bad isn't it, if I damage them? Will their owners be angry? I'll do it carefully. There we go! We're here!"

"Thank you ever so much for driving us here Monsieur Bernard, I like your car very much, it's the best car I've ever been in!" The 15 year old said sincerely to her friends dad as she got out of the car. In truth it was also the worst car she'd ever been in as she'd only ever been in one car, but she had loved it all the same. It was only the beginning of her trip to the cinema and she was already having so much fun! She was beginning to doubt if the film could be as good as the journey here.

The French girl followed Manon into the big building with the words "Cinéma" written in big flashing lights above the door and gazed around the atrium in awe. There were metal boxes in the corner and if you put coins in you got chocolate bars out! And there were lots of muggles all over the place, buying tickets and going into the "screens" and running about the place. Checking that her dorm-mate was still in the line for tickets, Elfie jumped over to the popcorn machine and bought two boxes of popcorn, one toffee popcorn and one salted, for them to enjoy. She hadn't know what size to get and so had hastily ordered a large box, and was quite shocked when she saw how big the large boxes were. That was a lot of popcorn!

"Thank you ever so much!" The excitable girl said to the worker manning the machine as she skipped back over to her friend, two heaped striped boxes of popcorn in her hands. The fourth year was very grateful she'd remembered to bring some muggle money so she could treat her friend. The machine where the popcorn had been so cool - there was lots of popcorn all in the bottom and other kernels were popping up and down and flying all over the glass box they were captured in! She wondered if there was a popcorn machine anywhere in the chateau, or in Chatoeil.

"I hope you like popcorn." The happy girl smiled as she met her friend, who had just bought the tickets. She still couldn't get over the amazingness of the building and so her head whipped back and forth as she tried to look at everything all at once, her corkscrew hair flipping in her face as she did so. She wasn't really the best and blending in.

"I thought they didn't have moving pictures in the muggle world?" The recorder player asked, nodding (nodding rather than gesturing as her hands were full) at one of the screens playing trailers for films and earning a funny look from a stressed looking woman with three hyper kids who walked past them at that moment.

Elfie kept up a constant stream of chatter as the buildings went by. Manon was grateful, it gave her something to listen to, to smile at. She laughed as Elfie opened the window, the rushing air drowning out her words. She watched the other girl’s curls bounce in the wind, her amazed face, lips parted and dark eyes wide. Her coat lapels blew into her face.

The girl almost looked like a proper muggle, but something about it was weird. Manon didn’t like having to restrain that magical part of her. She didn’t like taking away part of what made Elfie Elfie.

But her classmate seemed to be having fun, so she let it go.

“I’ll get the tickets,” she said as they entered the cinema. She didn’t want Elfie to have to deal with muggle money. “You can just—“ but when she turned back, Elfie was gone. Oh, hell. Manon made to get out of line but a family queued up behind her in the roped off area. She spotted Elfie by the popcorn, and hoped she would be fine until the tickets were bought. Perhaps she ought to have more faith in Elfie, she thought. She was fifteen years old and sensible enough—well, mostly. She could handle being on her own for a few moments.

Tickets in hand, Manon met Elfie, who was carrying massive amounts of popcorn in her small arms. “I—I do like popcorn,” she said, hoping her mother wouldn’t be too bothered about her ruining her dinner. “We’re going down this hall,” she said, and lead Elfie toward the theater.

“That’s a video,” she replied. “Like a film, but shorter, they play them on screens out here to show you what’s coming soon.” As the passersby shot them a funny look, she put an arm around Elfie, unsure exactly why as soon as she did it. It was protective, she thought. She just didn’t want people judging Elfie. She didn’t want her friend to be thought silly or stupid or mad.

They entered the theater and chose seats in the back middle, setting the precarious popcorns down on the floor. “The back is the best place to sit,” advised Manon. “You see the best.” There were few people in the room and previews weren’t yet playing, they were early. Manon sat beside Elfie, her hands in her lap, unsure how to pass the time.