loving you isn't easy.

Claire had thought about him for a really long time. She had pictured multiple different scenarios in her head of them meeting, where would it happen, how would it happen, etc. Her mother had explained what a soulmate was when she was a little girl, and ever since then she had wondered about him. Wondered what he looked like. What color were his eyes? How tall was he? What did his voice sound like? She thought about him even more when the tattoo first appeared on her arm, and never really stopped, even when he did shut her out. "I never stopped thinking about you." She said quietly.

When he took a hold of her arm, she glanced down and watched as he pushed up the sleeve of her cardigan to reveal the tattoo that had been there for a few years now. She always wondered what it was, why he had gotten it, what it meant. She shook her head in response to his words. "No, I don't." She admitted. "I always wondered why you got it, but could never figure it out for myself." She could see the internal battle that was happening within him. He was conflicted, about what she wasn't certain, but she could tell that he was, and also ashamed about whatever it was as well. "Hey, you don't have to tell me now if you don't want to...it can wait..."

---

Fred chuckled quietly, watching as she held the Pygmy Puff close to her face. "He likes you already." He said. "I reckon that I wouldn't have been able to separate you two even if I tried." He led her towards the stairs after that, glancing down at her briefly as they walked up them. "Try not to fall this time, yeah?" He teased lightly with a grin on his face. He couldn't help doing so. It was strange that he felt comfortable enough around her already to joke around and tease her with ease. She really didn't feel like a stranger to him at all. He liked that though. Even though they hardly knew each other, he was glad that he felt like he knew her so well already.

"Thank you." He said, closing the door behind them once they were both inside the apartment. He was quick to kick off his shoes before making his way into the kitchen. "Did you want something to drink? I can put the kettle on for some tea if you'd like." He offered, glancing back in the area of the front room where she was studying the photos on the walls. "It has its downsides like anything else, but it is quite nice." He said with a smile. He honestly couldn't picture not having a big family, it just seemed like a foreign concept to him. "Well, you've already met George, and I wouldn't be surprised if you met the others soon enough as well."

@ sam winchester.
Jessie stuck her tongue out at Fred when he teased her about falling down the stairs, "Listen, I don't fall up the stairs. Only down them." She defended. She loved that they were already able to joke with each other about things. They were just that comfortable already with each other. She had never felt like this before. Even with Claire, it took some time for Jessie to feel this comfortable with her, but that was just what having a soulmate was like she figured. Fred technically was her other half. They were made like two pieces of a puzzle and just fit and completed each other.

"Tea sounds great actually." She replied as she continued to look at his pictures. When he said that having a big family was nice and that she would probably end up meeting the rest of his family soon enough, instantly feeling nervous. She knew that George had said that their mom was excited to meet her, but still, it was his mom and family. That was a nerve binding experience. What if they didn't like her? She already knew that George liked her, but what if his parents didn't? What if the rest of his family hated her? Jessie didn't know if she could handle that.

---

Draco smiled widely when Claire said that she never stopped thinking about him. He truly didn't really stop thinking about her either. Whether it be trying to keep her safe, trying to keep his emotions at bay, or just wondering what she was doing or how things were going in her life. Draco always dreamed about meeting her, but he never really thought that they would be able to. With everything he went through, Draco could have sworn for the longest time that he would never get a happy ending, that nobody would ever care enough about him.

When Claire said how she wondered why he got the Dark Mark tattoo, he sighed and tried to fight back his guiltiness that was flooding through him. He wanted to tell her, he really did, but it was so hard for him to talk about the things he had done in the past, "I want to. I just can't bring myself to tell you about it right now." I'm worried that I will scare you away. He thought to himself. Draco really didn't want to lose her now that he had found her finally. She would be the only happiness in his life. The only positivity. The only light in his dark world that he had managed to get himself into when he was sixteen.

He had a really nice smile. He'd smiled before, but Claire noticed that this time was different. It actually reached his eyes. She wondered if a smile like that was a rarity for him or not. Even though she felt like she knew him already, she realized that there was still so much for her to learn about him. She had so many questions, but she knew that the answers would come with time, and she really didn't want to bombard him with anything when they had literally only just met.

"Don't..." She said quietly when she saw the smile disappear and the evidence of an internal battle returning. "I don't want you to feel like you have to hold anything back from me...whatever you feel, I feel, and vice-versa." She knew that he'd been keeping his emotions in check for her benefit for a few years now, but she didn't want him to feel like he had to do that anymore. She honestly wished that he had never started doing it in the first place. They were soulmates after all, they were supposed to feel that connection. It wasn't supposed to feel like it was non-existent. She nodded in response to his words. "That's fine, tell me when you're ready. Just know that no matter what you tell me, I'm not going anywhere, I promise." She assured him with a smile.

---

Fred held his hands up as if in defense. "My apologies, love. I'll be sure to remember that before I make such an incredulous statement again." He grinned. He liked how easily conversation seemed to flow between them. He supposed it had something to do with their soulmate connection, but he liked it. He liked that they were more or less complete strangers but none of this felt awkward or strained. He was always unsure if he would really feel that connection that everyone seemed to talk about when they talked about soulmates, but he truly understood what they meant now. The connection was stronger than he ever could have possibly imagined it being.

"How do you take yours?" He asked her curiously as he put some water in the kettle and it floated over to the stove with a flick of his wand. He did use magic for some simple things, but not as often as he used to when he first came of age. He and George used to drive their mum completely up the wall, but that really wasn't the case anymore. "You're here in London with your friend, you said?" He glanced back over to her, leaning against the counter top lightly. "How long are you here for?"

@ sam winchester.
Jessie blushed when he had called her love before turning away. It had to be a thing that all American girls loved when a British guy called them love. It was just a instant blush term. When he asked her how she liked her tea, she shrugged, "Anyway is fine really. Claire gives me tea all sorts of ways at him." She replied. It wasn't often that she had tea back home, but when she did, Claire always made it for her. It was just a habit now.

Jessie nodded at his first question before she shrugged at his second, "I mean we weren't going to be out here for a very long time. I think a week or two, but now you're here, I can't go home that early anymore." She admitted with a smile. She didn't want to ever leave England now that she found out Fred was here, "I've always loved the idea of England anyway." She explained, "I have never been before now, but I had seen pictures and my parents told me stories, and I just knew that I would always love it here. Now I know why I had this hunch that England was going to be big for me."

---

Draco wondered how he had gotten so lucky so get a soulmate like Claire. She was so understanding. He had never had anyone be like that with him before, usually people expected so much out of him and were always disappointed if he didn't give them the response that they wanted. Having someone actually care about Draco was new to him, "You're so understanding." He said with a small smile, "Thank you." He added. He knew one day that he would have to tell her everything, but he didn't want their first meeting to be drowned in the darkness that consumed the majority of his childhood.

Draco moved away from Claire to finish their tea, which was by now getting cold. He flicked his wand and heated the cups of water back up again before he dipped tea bags in them and handed one cup to Claire before taking his own and leading her into the common room, "So now that we know who we are to each other and we are face to face, tell me about you. Starting with what you're doing in England." He questioned with a soft smile. He was curious what brought her his way.

Claire smiled. "You don't need to thank me." She told him. And she really meant that too. She didn't want him to thank her for being understanding. It was how she was with everyone, why would that change with her soulmate? She might have hardly knew him, but she felt like she knew him, and she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. She trusted him. She knew that he'd tell her everything that he needed to tell her in time. She wasn't going to pressure him to tell her anything until he was ready to do so.

She watched as he warmed up the two cups of water before handing her one and leading her into the common room. "I'm here with my best friend actually." She told him. "We've been planning this trip and saving up for a while now, and our parents sort of helped us pay for the remainder of it." She and Jessie had only planned on staying for two weeks at most, but she couldn't really see herself leaving so soon now that she'd found Draco. She didn't really know what she was going to do, but she'd figure something out. She'd have to give her parents a call and explain everything to them as well, she knew they'd be happy for her and understand.

---

Fred nodded as he began fixing both cups of tea. If she didn't have a preference, he'd just make hers how he normally made his own. "Not much of a tea drinker?" He asked curiously. Most people who drank tea frequently were very particular about how they drank it. That was something he had noticed anyway. He knew that drinking tea was a very stereotypical British thing, and it wasn't necessarily the drink of chose in other parts of the world. That much he knew for a fact.

"Where are you staying if you don't mind me asking?" He was glad that she didn't want to leave as soon as she had initially planned. He knew that she had a life back in the states, and maybe it was a little selfish of him to want her to stay longer, but she was his soulmate, and he'd only just met her today. He wanted as much time with her as he could possibly get. He nodded in response to her later words, smiling a bit. "So your parents have been before then?"

@ sam winchester.
Jessie nodded at his question, "Not usually. I'm a coffee person most of the time. Though I do like tea every now and then." She explained with a smile, "My best friend, Claire, though, she drinks tea all the time. So, I'm surprised that I haven't picked up her habits." She stated. Jessie had picked up some stuff from Claire over the years. It's impossible not to when you sleep next to someone for most of your childhood life.

Jessie shrugged, "Some hotel in London. I can't remember the exact one if I'm being totally honest." She admitted. Sometimes Jessie could be extremely forgetful. It was a wonder how she was able to pass school sometimes. When he asked about her parents, she nodded, "I believe they've been here twice. I think the first time they came they explore everything No-Maj related, and the second time they came and did the magical stuff." She recalled. Jessie and Claire had been planning the trip for so long that with the time they had the two of them were able to do both wizarding and No-Maj things while being in England.

---

Draco smiled at her, "I do." He replied. When she started telling him about why she was here, he nodded, "How long are you two staying?" He questioned. He didn't want her to be leaving tomorrow or something, he had just found her of course he didn't want her to leave. Draco knew it was selfish of him to want to keep her from her life back home, but he had pushed her away for so long and now he had found her and didn't want to let her leave.

Draco took a sip of his tea as he thought lightly about what would happen when she did end up having to leave. He knew that they wouldn't stay apart, they were soulmates after all, but he wasn't sure what would happen really. She had a life in America with friends and her family. Draco shook away his thoughts before he put all of his attention on her, not wanting to miss out on anything that she said. It was slightly weird for him, acting like this toward someone, but then again, he had changed significantly since school.

He has a really nice smile when he actually, well, smiles. Claire noticed that up until very recently he'd seemed rather straight faced. She was glad that she'd managed to get a few smiles out of him though, and she hoped that there would be more where those ones had come from as well. "We were only supposed to stay for two weeks..." I don't know if I can leave that soon anymore though... She couldn't really see herself leaving that soon anymore. Not now that she'd found him. How could she possibly do that?

She would have to leave eventually though, even if she did choose to extend her stay for a bit. She had her family and friends back home, and she really didn't know what they'd do, but they'd figure something out. They had to. They had finally found each other, how could they possibly stay apart? It just didn't seem very likely at all, but she didn't really know how they were going to resolve the issue just yet either.

---

Fred nodded in response to her words. "It isn't for everyone." He said. He knew that most people were split fifty-fifty when it came to drinking coffee or tea. Most people didn't like both equally, it was one or the other. "Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't." He punctuated his words with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "You two must be close." She had mentioned this Claire quite a few times already, and they had traveled here together, so he could only assume that they were very close. He had quite a bit to learn about Jessie still, but he knew that it would all fall into place on its own eventually.

He nodded in response to her later words. He probably wouldn't know what hotel she was talking about even if she did know the name of it. He wasn't all that familiar with Muggle London at all. He could only really think of a handful of times that he'd actually been there, and he'd never been there long enough to really get to know much about it or anything like that, let alone the name of hotels in the area. "And after hearing about their experiences here, you decided that you wanted to come yourself? They must have spoken highly of it here then." He said as he finished fixing both cups of tea and handed one to her.

@ sam winchester.
Jessie smiled and nodded at his statement, "Claire is my best friend. I've known her since my first year in school. We were in the same house and she and I had the beds next to each other." She explained, "We're basically inseparable except now, but we both spend a bunch of time at each other's houses back home. She's the sister I never got to have." She explained. She couldn't wait for Fred to meet Claire. Claire had been there when Jessie and Fred first made contact with each other.

"They really did. They had actually considered moving here before I turned eleven so I could attend Hogwarts, but for some reason they decided to move to Massachusetts instead for me to go to Ilvermorny. I guess it worked out because I met Claire, but if I would have went to Hogwarts, I could have met your earlier." She said honestly. She couldn't believe the chances of it. Basically if she hadn't gone to Ilvermorny, she would have known Fred earlier, but if she went to Hogwarts, she wouldn't have met Claire. It all worked out eventually, but it was still crazy to think about it.

---

Draco frowned lightly before he smiled again, realizing that the two of them still had a lot of time together. He was still selfish to want to spend as much time with her as possible, "So tell me more about you. We might be soulmates, but I still hardly know you." He said and took a sip from his tea. It was hard to think of Claire as a stranger. She was Draco's soulmate after all, but he didn't know anything about it.

He thought about what things would have been like if he hadn't pushed her away when they were younger. Would they have met up? Or would they still have met when they did? Fate had a way of straying from it's original path. He knew that things had turned out the way they had and they couldn't change them now, but it still made him wonder.

Claire was going to have to talk to Jessie. She knew that her friend would understand why she needed to stay longer once she explained everything to her. She was almost certain that her parents would understand as well. "Well, I'm from Westchester County in New York. It's relatively close to New York City, so I've always considered the city to be home as well. My parents and younger sister still live there, but my brother lives in Boston with his wife and my niece. I attended Ilvermorny for school. That's where I met my best friend, Jessie. She's who I'm here in London with now actually. We were in the same house at school, and shared a room there. She's like a sister to me." She paused to take a sip of her tea. "Please tell me if I start talking too much. If I'm given free reign, I kind of just start rambling." She let out a quiet laugh.

She found that talking to Draco was pretty easy. It was strange considering they had only just met, but she felt even more comfortable with him than she did with Jessie. And that was saying something considering Jessie was her best friend and all. She supposed it had something to do with the whole soulmate connection, but she couldn't be too sure. It made sense based off of everything she had heard from other people about soulmates.

---

Fred smiled as he listened to her talk about her friendship with Claire. He could tell that they were close without her even telling him so, it was all in how she acted and the expression on her face as she spoke of her friend, but he wanted to know more about her and the people in her life, so he had posed the question. "That's nice. I don't think that everyone can say that they have close friendships like that." He said, sipping his tea. "Tell me more about Ilvermorny, I've heard of it, but I don't know nearly as much about it as I do other wizarding schools on this side of the pond." It sounded similar to Hogwarts in some respects, but he was sure that it had its own unique qualities as well.

"Why do you reckon they changed their mind?" He asked her curiously. Part of him wondered how much sooner they would have met if she had attended Hogwarts. He didn't know if she was younger than him or not, and by how much if she was, but he knew that they would have met sooner if she had attended Hogwarts as well. "We definitely would have met sooner, but as you said you wouldn't have met your friend. It's all seemed to work out though, even if we did meet later than we potentially could have." he smiled.

@ sam winchester.
Jessie shrugged at Fred's question, "It's basically just like Hogwarts only in America. We have four houses, Thunderbird, Horned Serpent, Pukwedgie, and Wampus. Claire and I were both sorted into Thunderbird. The castle is in Massachusetts. Ilvermorny started out only as a small cottage for very few students, including the founders two sons, but by the eighteenth century had become a castle. There is a bunch of other stuff that had happened, but I learned about it in my first year so I don't remember the full specifics. Though it's been said that most witches and wizards who attend Ilvermorny are very skilled with a wand." Jessie explained with a huff. It had been a long time since she had to explain Ilvermorny to anyone.

"My mom always said that it never felt right. She said that New York was our home and most of our family was around there, but I think there was something else that drove them to not want to move over here, but I was never told what it was." She responded. When he said how it all worked out anyway, she nodded, "Fate has a funny way of not straying from it's original path." She stated. She didn't know what things would have been like if she would have met Fred earlier, but she knew that she would be a different person without Claire.

---

Draco listened intently to Claire as she talked about herself. He laughed lightly when she spoke about her rambling, "Love, you could talk all day and it still wouldn't be too much." He said honestly, "Please keep talking. Tell me about your family and your friend Jessie." He stated. He wanted to know as much as he could about her. She seemed so interesting, and he had only just met her. He took a sip from his cup as she spoke. Draco could already tell that he could sit there for hours and listen to her talk and he would never get bored.

It was kind of weird for him to think something like that seeing as he had never really been like that with anyone before. Usually he could only tolerate someone for a few minutes before he would get bored and leave the conversation. With Claire, it was completely different. Though, of course, she was his soulmate, so it was kind of given that he would feel differently towards her than anybody else he came in contact with.

(Ah sorry Draco's is so short, my mind stopped thinking of things to write)

Claire loved hearing him laugh almost as much as she loved seeing him smile. She smiled at his words and sipped her tea before continuing on. "Well, as I said before, my brother lives in Boston with his family. I don't see them as often as I would like to now that I'm not in school, but they come back home to New York every holiday. My sister's still at Ilvermorny, she'll be finished this year though, and then everyone will have finished their schooling since it's just the three of us." She was always closer to her brother than she was to her sister for some reason. She never really knew why, but she was, and she hated not getting to see him too often anymore. It made the holidays all the more enjoyable though.

"My dad works for MACUSA, and my mom actually doesn't work in the wizarding world." She continued. It sometimes surprised people when she told them that, but it was never something she thought too much about herself. With her grandparents on both sides being No-Majs, it sort of made sense that at least one of them would choose not to work in the wizarding world.

---

Fred listened as she told him about her school. He was curious about what Ilvermorny was like. He knew more about Durmstrang and Beuxbaton's than he did the American wizarding school. "And what does being in Thunderbird say about you and Claire?" He asked her curiously. If it was just like Hogwarts, then there would be characteristics of the individuals within each house. He wondered if any of them were similar to the ones at Hogwarts. It sounded similar enough to Hogwarts, so he wouldn't be all that surprised if there were other similarities that she hadn't mentioned in her description of the school.

"Well, you met Claire because of their decision, regardless of their reasoning behind it, so I'm sure you're happy about that." He did wish that he could have met her sooner, but he could tell that her friend was important to her, so he was happy that she'd had the opportunity to meet her because her parents had decided to stay in America. "Yeah, I suppose it does." He smiled at her later words. "So, tell me, what have you seen of London so far since you've gotten here. Both Muggle and non-muggle."

@ sam winchester.
Jessie smiled and instantly got proud of the house she was sorted into, "Thunderbirds are the soul of a wizard or witch and we favor adventure." She replied with a huge grin. There, of course, were more characteristics, but those two were the two that everyone knew the most. Jessie didn't think she could have been any prouder than to be sorted into Thunderbird. She couldn't have seen herself being in any other house besides Thunderbird. Of course the Thunderbird also just happened to be one of her favorite magical creatures, after a bowtruckle, and it was just a coincidence that she was sorted into the house named after the creature.

"Well for No-Maj I did the typical touristy stuff. Saw Big Ben, rode the London Eye. I just walked around really, very excited about the city. For wizarding I went to Diagon Alley and that was really it. We haven't been here very long and wanted to do the No-Maj stuff first. Though, in Diagon Alley I went into a lot of stores, ending up in your joke shop obviously." She explained, "I had wandered into a bookstore that I could have stayed in forever. I had found my favorite book, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and almost bought it, just to have a copy with me on the trip seeing as I left my copy at home.

---

Draco nodded at her words. It was clear to see that she was close with her brother. Draco wondered what it was like to have siblings. He had always been curious seeing as he was an only child. Draco had always been curious about how he would have turned out if he had a sibling or two. It never helped while in school seeing any of the Weasley children because of them being such a huge family. He wondered sometimes if his parents would have been more loving and caring if they had more children instead of just Draco.

Draco's eyebrows shot up when Claire said that her mother worked in the muggle world, "What does she do then?" He asked her curiously. In school, the thought of anything muggle related would have disgusted him, which is why he often didn't pay attention during Muggle Studies in school, but he had changed that since then and often explored the muggle community, to see what it was like. He found that most muggles weren't very different from him besides the fact that they didn't have magic. It made him truly realize how stuck up he had been before.

Claire couldn't imagine growing up without any siblings. She was extremely close with her brother, and even though she wasn't super close with her sister, she was glad to have her around. She supposed that she'd still have Jessie even if she didn't have Brianna and Andrew, but she was still glad that she had both of her siblings around. "She teaches at a No-Maj university in our county. After she and my dad got married and had my brother and I, she decided to go back to school so that she could do so." She didn't know the full details of how her mother had made it possible for herself to attend a No-Maj university to obtain her degree without having a high school diploma, she was pretty sure there had been some magical forgery involved, but her mother was great at what she did now, and that was all that mattered.

"I've thought about doing the same thing actually. Not to become a professor though, I'm not really sure what I'd want to study, but I've considered it." She sipped her tea. When she wasn't at Ilvermorny, she was at home. Because her grandparents were No-Majs on both sides of her family, her parents chose to live in a No-Maj neighborhood. That was why she was so interested in seeing the No-Maj areas in London. Sure, she wanted to see the wizarding bits as well, but places like Parliament, and Kensington Gardens, and the Tower of London interested her more. "But enough about me, I feel like I've rambled enough tonight, tell me about you."

---

Fred could feel the sense of pride she felt when she spoke of her house. He'd been just as proud to be in Gryffindor, so he knew the feeling very well. "So each house represents a different part of a witch or wizard? That's a bit different from Hogwarts then." He said before sipping his tea. He chuckled slightly when he saw the grin on her face as she mentioned how Thunderbirds craved adventure. "I'm assuming that you and your friend plan on going on a few adventures while you're here then, hm?" He asked, punctuating his words with a raised eyebrow.

He chuckled once more when she put an emphasis on the word No-Maj. He definitely could never see himself referring to Muggles as such, though he supposed she felt the same way about referring to them as No-Majs. It was funny how there were slight differences in wizarding terminology just as there were with Muggle terminology between the two countries. It made sense though. Brits had words for certain things that Americans didn't and vice-versa. "With how fondly you speak of that book, I'm surprised that you didn't end up buying it. Have you been to the Leaky Cauldron yet for a butterbeer or some fire whiskey?"

@ sam winchester.
Jessie nodded at his question, "Thunderbird is soul. Wampus is body. Horned Serpent is mind. And Pukwedgie is heart." She explained with a smile. When he asked about her and Claire going on adventures, "I think the trip in itself was an adventure because neither of us have ever been here before, I think her adventure came tonight when she decided to explore more of No-Maj London by herself and I came to wizard London by myself, but we were always two that could get into an adventure rather quickly."

She laughed lightly at Fred's words, "Believe me, I would have. We have two copies of it at home. One my parents bought some time ago for me for school. Then the one I saved up all my money to buy and I keep in near mint condition. It's first edition. It's my prized possession." She admitted with a shy smile. She realized she must have sounded like a huge dork saying that, but it was true. Fantastic Beasts was her favorite book and Newt Scamander was her favorite author, "I didn't get the chance, but I saw it and wanted to go in. Then somehow found myself in a joke shop." She teased.

---

Draco nodded as she spoke about what her mother did in the muggle world. He had a hard time thinking about a wizard working in the muggle world, but knew that sometimes they did end up doing just that, "Well that's nice." He said as he sipped his tea. He knew that it probably took a lot for some witches and wizards to be in the muggle world, depending on if they were raised in it or not. To be able to be in that world and have to remember that you can't use magic in front of the people that you're with. It was just a struggle for Draco to sometimes do things the muggle way in his own home, he couldn't imagine having to do it every day.

He raised his eyebrows once more when she said that she had considered doing the same thing as her mother. He had never really been around anyone that was as fascinated with the muggle world as she seemed to be, and that was particularly because of the family he was in and the people he had surrounded himself with in school. None of them were very into muggles in school, his parents still feeling the relative same about the subject even now. Draco had managed to grow out of that phase and he wasn't as biased against them anymore, "Well I went to Hogwarts. I was sorted into Slytherin house. I'm an only child...I don't really know what else to say." He said with a nervous laugh.

Claire knew that there weren't many witches or wizards who chose to live in the No-Maj world instead of the wizarding world. She also knew that very few chose to work in the No-Maj world instead of the wizarding world, but she'd more or less grown up in it, and No-Majs fascinated her beyond belief. That was why she'd decided to go out and see some more of No-Maj London on her own tonight. She wanted to see everything that she could possibly see while she was here. "Yeah, it's a bit unorthodox I guess, but she loves what she does, and I think that's the most important thing." She said, punctuating her words with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

She sipped her tea and listened as he told her a bit about himself. "Tell me about your family, friends, whatever you want." She said. She supposed she was a bit more open about things than he was, and she wasn't going to make him tell her his whole life story or anything like that, but she would like to get to know him better if she could. Although she felt like she'd known him for a very long time, he was still virtually a complete stranger to him, and any information he gave her would slowly begin to change that.

---

"That's interesting. How are you all sorted into your houses? We have a hat that tells us." Fred told her, chuckling slightly. There were definitely some distinct similarities between the two schools, however there were also some distinct, notable differences as well. It was funny how the two schools could be so similar but also so different at the same time. Sometimes things just worked out that way though. "Is she more interested in the muggle world than you are then?" He asked her curiously when she told him how she and her friend had split up and gone to different parts of London that night.

He smiled as he listened to her talk about Fantastic Beasts. It was clear that it was something she loved and was truly passionate about. "Have you ever had the opportunity to meet Newt Scamander?" He asked her curiously. "My younger brother Ron has a friend whose soulmate happens to be Scamander's grandson. I never had the opportunity to meet him myself, but I know he's paid a visit to Hogwarts on a few different occasions, some of which were when I was still in attendance at the school." He chuckled slightly when she mentioned visiting his shop instead of the Leaky Cauldron. "Well, I for one am glad you chose to pay a visit to a joke shop instead, but you definitely need to try a butterbeer at least once while you're here."

@ sam winchester.
Jessie smiled at Fred's words, "A hat? That's so cool." She said excitedly, "When we get to the school each first year student has to step on this Gordian Knot that's in the middle of this hall and we have each of the four mascots facing us and when we step on the knot a mascot will react if they want you in their house. In some cases if you're picked by more than one house, you get to decide which one you want to be in, but it's very rare for that to happen." She explained. The biggest case that had happened was when former President of MACUSA Seraphina Picquery was picked by all four houses. At least that was the biggest case that Jessie could remember.

She shook her head at his question, "Oh gosh no. I would love to though. I think I might die of being star-struck though." She admitted with a grin. When he said that he knew someone whose soulmate was Newt's grandson, and that he was in the same place as Newt at the same time, she grinned widely, "You're very lucky. What I would give to even be in the same place as him. I would probably die." She giggled, "Maybe you can take me for one before I leave."

---

Draco nodded, "That's definitely the most important thing. As long as she's happy and loves what she does for a living." He said. He knew that there were jobs even in the wizarding world that when someone went to their jobs, they just hated it. Draco had always loved to see people who loved doing their jobs. When she specified on what she wanted him to talk about. He shrugged and laughed lightly, "Uhhh my parents are both from England and are both wizards. As I said, I'm an only child."

"Umm...in school I played Quidditch on my house team." He said, "I had very few friends while in school. I was quite an ass really." He admitted and frowned. He knew that there was more that he needed to tell her, but he didn't want to overload her on their first night of meeting. There was so much of his past that he didn't know how she would react to. He didn't want to scare her with the things that he had done.

Claire nodded. "Exactly. I think what really influenced her decision was the fact that my grandmother was a teacher for almost forty years at a No-Maj elementary school in our county. People who choose to become educators always seem to have that one teacher, whether it's a family member or not, who leads them to making that decision." She said. She was glad that her mother was happy doing what she was doing. There were so many people out there who hated their jobs, whether they were No-Majs or witches and wizards. "You can't tell me the same thing twice, now you have to tell me something else about you." She said with a laugh when he told her that he was an only child again.

"What position did you play?" She asked him curiously as she sipped her tea. She was never really a Quidditch player herself, her brother was the athletic one in the family, but she did enjoy watching the games. Living in an area that was primarily housed by No-Majs meant that she didn't have the luxury that some of her friends had. Her summer afternoons and evenings weren't spent out in the backyard playing Quidditch. Her brother would kick around the soccer ball with some of his No-Maj friends, but she always preferred sitting out on the back porch with a good book anyway. "You were a snobby rich kid, weren't you?" She teased lightly.

---

Fred smiled. "Yeah, it is." He said before listening as she explained how sorting into houses worked at Ilvermorny. This seemed to be another way that the two schools differed. "The mascot chooses who they want in their house? That's brilliant! There have been a few times at Hogwarts when someone has been able to choose which house they end up in. My brother's best mate, Harry, he's the last person I've heard of who has done so though." He sipped his tea before continuing on. "Has anyone ever been chosen by all four houses?" He asked her curiously.

He chuckled slightly when she said that she'd be extremely starstruck if she had the opportunity to meet Newt Scamander. "I've never had the opportunity to meet him myself, but he's an upstanding bloke from what I've heard. Was good friends with Dumbledore, that's why he visited Hogwarts quite a bit." He told her, frowning slightly at the mention of the old headmaster. So many good people had been lost in that war. He smiled slightly when she mentioned him taking her to get a Butterbeer some time. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you might be asking me out on a date, love." He grinned.

@ sam winchester.
Jessie smiled at how excited Fred seemed to get over Ilvermorny. When he asked about the mascots all picking a student, she nodded, "The biggest one that I can remember is the former President of MACUSA, Seraphina Picquery. She ended up picking Horned Serpent, but I also learned all of that in my first year, so I've kind of forgotten a lot of it." She explained. When he spoke about Newt, Jessie pretended to swoon, "From what I've heard he's like the sweetest person on the face of the planet." Jessie stated, practically quoting an article she had read about him one time. Her face turned a bright shade of red when he suggested she was asking him out on a date, "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I just figured that since you know so much about wizarding London that you would be willing to take me." She grinned at him.

---

Draco nodded at her words. He had definitely heard something like that somewhere before. When she said he couldn't tell her the same thing twice, he laughed and shrugged, "There isn't much to tell, love." He said and scratched the back of his neck lightly, "I was a seeker." He replied when she asked his position on the Quidditch team. He laughed lightly when she asked if he was a snobby rich kid, "If you were to ask me then, I would say no I wasn't. Ask other people and they would definitely say yes. Ask me now and I would agree with those people. I was definitely a snobby rich prat, above all else." He admitted.

Claire laughed. "Come on, there has to be something else you can tell me about yourself." She said, unable to help smiling when he called her 'love'. She knew that it was a British thing, but it still caused a frenzy of butterflies to form in her stomach. "My brother was a beater, I was normally just a spectator. He's always been the athletic one." She said before taking another sip of her tea. The smile on her face widened a bit when she got him to laugh again. Something told her that he hadn't laughed this much in a really long time, and she was happy to be the person who got him laughing and smiling. She always wanted to be that person now. "You definitely don't come off that way now, although I do have to say that I didn't see very many people dressed as nicely as you are walking around London today." She teased lightly.

---

Fred nodded. "You normally learn a lot in your first year of school, I think. Some things aren't actually true, of course. George and I used to tell our younger brother and sister, Ron and Ginny, the most absurd stories." He chuckled lightly and shook his head as he thought back on all of the things he and George had told the two the summer before each of them started at Hogwarts. Their mum used to want to wring their necks for getting the two into a tizzy over everything. She still wanted to do so now sometimes, truth be told. He chuckled once more when she pretended to swoon at the mention of Newt Scamander yet again. "I've never met the bloke myself, like I said, but I'm sure whoever said that is probably right." He said before grinning widely when he noticed the blush form on her cheeks after his teasing comment. "I'm just teasing, love. I can show you around one day this week if you'd like, and Butterbeer will definitely be thrown in there somewhere."

@ sam winchester.
Jessie giggled lightly at his words about him and George tormenting their younger siblings. Jessie and Claire sometimes tormented Claire's younger sister, Brianna, about things at Ilvermorny. Despite the fact that she wasn't Jessie's sister, Brianna often got treated as Jessie's younger sister, which then meant lots of tormenting from the older girl. She perked up at the statement of Fred showing her around and the two of them getting a Butterbeer together, "I think that sounds awesome. I would love to have someone who knows everything about wizarding London to give me a tour, and I think it would be even better if it was you instead of someone else." She admitted with a smile. Of course she would love it if Fred showed her around and gave her the ins and outs of everything around, he was her soulmate after all, and spending more time with him meant that she would get to grow closer to him.

---

Draco shrugged at her words with a laugh, "Ummm I fought in a war at the ripe age of seventeen." He said. Draco wasn't going to get into much detail about everything about the war, but he figured it was enough that he could talk about his past and make sure that he didn't scare her away. When she spoke about her brother, he nodded with a grin, "I'm sure he loved having you there to spectate though." He stated honestly. He would have loved to have someone in the stands that he would have been able to play for. Of course, his father was there to watch, but it was mainly to make sure that Draco didn't screw up. He laughed at her later words and looked down at his clothing, "Yeah that's the one thing I haven't been able to shake yet. I've been wearing nice clothing since I was able to fit into the suits that my father and mother got for me." He admitted.