A Mystery in Watercolor

england gets whimsical alleys and castles, and i get a walmart

On the second of May, 1998, Fred Weasley went missing in the final battle of the Second Wizarding War. On the eighth of May, 1998, he was officially declared deceased. His family and friends didn't want to believe it, but there was too much evidence for it. After all, the only thing that could keep Fred from his twin had to be death.

Decades later, Kayleigh Barnes moved from America to London, and hell was she hoping for a better time of it.

See, Kayleigh had learned a few things at her old school, not the least of which being that the best way to get answers was to find them herself. Because sure, the teachers said no question was stupid, but when she'd asked about who made new spells they'd looked at her like she was batshit off her rocker. She'd turned very red and sank into her seat and resolved never to do that again. Needless to say, she developed an unfortunate habit of never taking anything to adults.

Which in part lead to her family's move to London (another thing she'd had to handle single-handedly; she loved her parents but they were non-magical and she'd had to deal with school herself).

London, England posed a whole host of problems in and of itself. It was huge, and it was cramped, and it was crowded, and it was old . There was so much history tangible in the air (which wasn't necessarily a problem, but it was unsettling for a while), and the buildings and houses were so old and so small and it was weird . She was a good midwestern girl and the cramped space drove her up the wall.

And there was also the deal with her accent. It was silly, but she couldn't help being self conscious. It pegged her as American and everyone knew Americans were assholes. There wasn't anything she could do about it, though, so she just didn't talk if she didn't have to. It. . . worked. Somewhat.

One thing she did appreciate: school supplies were a lot more fun to get. Not to find, unfortunately, but she finally managed after a few hours of wandering while her parents were at work. A pub called The Leaky Cauldron was suspicious enough on its own, but when she saw all manner of people coming in and out, including families with children far too young to be drinking, even in England, she took a chance and checked it out.

The shops were so bright and strange and tilted and wonderful . It was a lot more like what she'd been expecting when she'd learned she was a witch (the shop back home was hidden in the frozen food section of a Walmart; not exactly the most magical of locations). She spent more of the day wandering the street--Diagon Alley , she heard from a family nearby--than she did finding her supplies, in no small part so she'd have an excuse to come back.

There was this cheery and colorful shop that she'd wandered into once, down the street. It was wonderful , with all its whizzing devices and colorful packaging and standing in the middle of the crowded storefloor she was struck with the impression that it extended forever above her. Of course, it couldn't; the building itself wasn't that tall. But she couldn't help the impression.

And she couldn't believe some of the products lining the shelves, all sorts of new innovations she'd never seen. Extendable Ears, Trick Wands, Weather in a Bottle! She could hardly believe her eyes. Everyone back home thought she was nuts for wanting to develop something new, and here were all sorts of products with their creation dates less than a few decades ago.

"See anything you like?"

She flinched and spun to see a man leaning against the stair railing a few feet away, smartly dressed in a tux and with strikingly ginger hair, grinning at her. Embarrassed, she ducked her head. "Just browsing."

He nodded. "Thought so."

Now that was an odd reaction.

He pushed away from the railing, sauntering over. "Weather in a Bottle, eh?" he noted. "Good choice. Planning on snowing in your living room?"