Entry tags:

!open

WHO: Ron Weasley and OPEN.
WHAT: Escalators? What in the HELL?
WHEN: Late afternoon.
WHERE: Shopping center.
RATING: TBD.
STATUS: In progress.

Unlike Harry, Ron didn't know how to get on in the Muggle world. He was a wizard, for Merlin's sake. He couldn't ruddy well wander into the nearest shop and ask for a place of employment - Ron didn't have experience, he didn't know how to use half the Muggle devices available, and the things that most people discussed around here (WHAT was swine flu?!) usually made little to no sense to him. It was a disheartening thing for the young wizard, who only seemed to want to do nothing more at this point than return to Harry and Hermione, apologize profusely for abandoning them, and resume with the search for those blasted horcruxes. Even if, yes, that meant that he had to live the rest of his days off of soggy mushroom soup and...and even that bark and moss combination that Hermione had tried to persuade him to have a go at the week before he took off. Ron's nose wrinkled slightly at the thought.

...or maybe he'd starve to death. That was okay too.

To his dismay, Ron was incapable of returning. There wasn't a Portkey available for him to take back home and Ron couldn't Apparate there - he would know, he had tried. Ginger hair fell into his eyes as Ron flopped down onto a bench and leaned forward. He planted his chin into his hands and his elbows onto his knees, dully taking on the task of watching various figures wander past him. Adults, children, mothers, fathers. They all came and went the same to him, each figure a passing blur as he stared out across the sea of crowds within the shopping center he was planted in.

Ron didn't even know what he was doing here. He didn't have any money to spend, he barely would have known how to spend it if he did have any, and throwing himself out in the middle of nowhere like this only made him seem like some sort of rebellious loner who didn't want company in the first place. He had wandered out earlier that afternoon, having found nothing but boredom within the confines of his flat, and he had somehow gone from street to street to here. Huffing out a breath, solely with nothing more than the intention to blow his bangs out of his face, Ron rose from his seat and moved in with the current of the crowd. He figured he'd find his way out to the streets again if he followed them through, then he'd be able to head back 'home.' Maybe from there he could find Harry. Quidditch seemed like an awfully tempting idea at the moment.

Rather than ending up on the streets, however, Ron soon found himself being pushed toward a staircase. He casually wandered toward it, but immediately planted his feet to the ground and halted when he saw what the stairs were doing. A few people wandering in behind him grunted in irritation at the abrupt stop on his part, but Ron didn't even spare them a glance. He was far too busy staring out at the set of stairs that seemed to be carrying each person who stepped on it upward without it's inhabitants bothering to even move at all. What was going on? It wasn't anything like the stairs at Hogwarts, and yet...so fascinatingly similar at the same time. Ron inched his way closer, stepping partially out of the way to watch others in passing ride their way upward.

"That's brilliant," he exclaimed, causing a few people to stare at him as though he were incredibly stupid. Ron broke out into a grin and made a move for the stairs. Stretching a leg out, he tentatively pushed one foot onto a metal step while the other remained firmly pressed to the ground. His body began to split in two directions - the leg on the moving stair rose upward, while his opposite half leaned to the side. Ron made a desperate grab for the first solid object he could get his hands on, eyes widening in surprise as his earthbound half began to slowly drag itself toward the next available step. No, no, no. He didn't like this at all.