[WHO]Fred Weasley Dick McNutt [WHAT] Fred decided to take his new PJs (polyjuice form) out for a test run. No one suspects he's really Fred Weasley in disguise. He stopped by St. Mungo's to see if he could spy a bit on Katie Bell, and then headed back to magical London. [WHEN] 4 February 2005 [WHERE] Cornerstone Café in Diagon Alley [RATING] PG-13 [STATUS] Complete // Closed
The past few days had been a bit of a blur. Fred & George managed to meet up with former housemate Katie Bell whom, they suspected, was dating a random bird. Naturally the twins were intrigued. But by the time the girls left that night, there were more questions than answers. Fred had established that Katie wasn't a lesbian, and as far as he could tell, neither was her flatmate. They were both acting highly suspicious though. Kate was reluctant to tell the twins about some facets of her life, and that was concerning to say the least. Back in their Hogwarts days, she rarely hid things from them. As much as not knowing the truth irritated him, Fred was able to forget about it for the most part. He could tell, however, that it had put George in a funk. Neither could deny it. She was hiding something huge from them. It was suspicious enough to make Fred curious as to whether or not she had switched over to the dark side. This wasn't acceptable, especially considering the twins had every intention of recruiting Katie to the Wizarding Underground.
Someone had to get to the bottom of this, and since George was still feeling slightly sheepish for having incorrectly assumed what was going on in Kate's life, Fred took up the task. He was pretty vague when he left the shop in George's care for the afternoon, only telling his twin that he had to stop by Gringott's and a few other places of minor significance. It was likely George anticipated more behind his twin's motives, but Fred didn't give him much of an opportunity to stop him. He was in his polyjuice form, fully ready to walk out by the time he'd dropped that bomb on his other half.
A bit of apparating and brisk walking eventually led him to a seemingy abandoned building in muggle London. He took a quick glance behind him to find he was alone in the run down alley, so he proceeded to explain to the dummy in the window why he was there before being allowed entry. St. Mungo's Hospital. He knew Katie worked there, so what better place to go for answers?
Fred strutted up to the welcome witch, tapping his open hand on the assistance bell several times before the disgruntled old lady swiped it. "A little eager, are we?" she remarked in a snobbish, posh accent.
"Katie Bell. Which floor does she work on?" he asked abruptly, only smiling broadly after she'd given him a look of heightened curiosity.
"I'm sorry, sir. We can't legally give out that information."
Disgruntled, Fred scratched the back of his black hair, looking rather perplexed to say the least. It wasn't entirely a show to be honest; he knew he had to get some information, and this was the only place he could think to look. But did he have to hurt himself to make that happen? Just after he'd decided on faking insanity, another witch walked up in Healer robes. "Oi, Viv. I just wanted to give you the new floor assignments for the day. 7 South is heavy on patients this afternoon, so we sent a few care partners up there. Isolde Davies, Meryl Lambert, Katie Bell, Juliana ..."
At this point Fred darted for the lift. Maybe someone would be able to help him on 7 South. Surely they knew something about her. The welcome witch shot out of her seat frantically, calling for security. This was no good! How could he get any valuable information while being trailed? Turning around to face her again, Fred hushed her with his hands while trying to explain himself. "Look, I'm sorry love! It's just I..." What? You what? "I need to figure out where Katie's been." Vague but partially to the point.
The Healer looked rather confused, but took a stab in the dark. "Bell? What do you need with her?"
The welcome witch warded off the security that approached, turning her attentions back to Katie's coworker. "I already told him that information is confidential. I..."
"What interest do you have in Katie? Is something wrong? Is it Sebastien?" The Healer cut in, not realizing she was giving Fred exactly what he'd come in looking for. Information!
"Yeah! Yeah, that's it. It's Sebastien... He's..."
"Oh my God. Laurence, go fetch Katie straight away. Tell her she's needed at the welcome desk."
Shit! She was working earlier than he'd anticipated. "No, Laurence!" Fred called after him, but the bloke had already been a great enough distance away that he couldn't hear him. The two ladies standing before him now looked extremely confused, and Fred could do nothing more than cover his mouth with his hand as his thoughts raced for another solution. "Look, Sebastien... Ugh." He was at a loss.
Fred hurried back out of St. Mungo's, leaving two very suspicious hospital personnel behind him. He couldn't think of what to do apart from getting the hell out of muggle London. Apparating back to Diagon Alley, he found the misty overcast day had taken the plunge to torrential downpour. "Bugger!" Fred mumbled, a bit peeved by the turn of events. He pulled his jumper over his head and ducked inside the nearest building--Cornerstone Café. All his trip had earned him was a name. A bloke for sure. His name was Sebastien. But who was he? Clearly he was someone important because he was the first one the witch thought of with concern. Was he Katie's connection to this other secret life? Was this Sebastien fellow the one working for the other team? Maybe a boyfriend Katie was too afraid to discuss with them? Trust that Fred would get to the bottom of it! He'd make George come along next time, and they would find out.
For now, though, he forced himself to think food. Why waste a perfectly good trip to the café?