Sometimes, nothing goes right and there is nothing to be done about it. Sometimes, people say the simplest of things, completely harmless phrases that set the largest of issues in motion. And sometimes, good things fall apart so that better things can fall together.
Of course, that is all easier said than done and easier done than recognized. And in the end, does any of it matter at all? People float in and out of other people’s lives daily, making little impact and never given a second thought. Some people stay in lives for years but never truly leave an imprint. And some people are there for a split second that changes a person life forever more.
He was never meant to be in her life for more than a moment or two and neither was ever supposed to impact the other. Somewhere, all outside plans got lost and shattered, setting the entire world on a new course on the whim of a girl in a yellow raincoat.
It was not even raining that day, it had not rained for weeks and the sky had no plans of allowing that fact to change. That did not stop her from dawning her sunshine yellow raincoat and prancing out to meet the world.
He was sitting at the bus stop, grumbling about the sun, the lack of rain, stupid Muggles who would not let him get his drivers license, even more stupid ministers who refused to let him Apperate to work, and every other topic under the sun. The bus was late, again, and he wanted to get on his way. Scanning the barren road, he did not notice the girl in the yellow raincoat approach the bus stop until she was sharing his bench.
Smiling, she swung her feet in a childlike fashion, enjoying the way her beat up black converse peaked out from under her loose jean pants. The bus could not arrive fast enough as he looked pointedly away from his new neighbor. This was not someone he wished to be associated with, but then again, no one who rode the bus was someone he wished to be seen with. Only strange Muggles rode the bus, clearly demonstrated by this girl.
The bus finally rolled into view, and that is where the boy and the girl in the yellow raincoat should have parted ways. However, the girl in the yellow raincoat changed everything the moment she turned to the boy and said,
“The world is not all doom and gloom, Derek.”
“How the hell do you know my name?” demanded the boy, glaring at the girl in shock.
“Lucky guess,” shrugged the girl. “You look like a Derek.”
With that, she jumped off the bench and hopped up the bus steps, waving to the driver before taking a seat several rows back. Derek stormed after her, enforcing the change life was taking by grabbing the seat next to her while he continued to question.
“What do you mean I look like a Derek?” he persisted. “You can’t just walk up to people and call them whatever you feel like. People have names for a reason, you know! And what if my name hadn’t been Derek? You would have looked pretty stupid then, wouldn’t you?”
“You know,” said the girl in the yellow raincoat mildly. “Life isn’t all about what you look like.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“No, I have plenty to say, but you seem rather intent on continuing your lecture, so I thought I would let you.”
“Yes, well, good!” stuttered Derek, flustered by her response. “Because I’m not done! You are the strangest person I have ever met! Why are you wearing a raincoat when it hasn’t rained in weeks and it’s not even cloudy out?”
“I like this jacket,” shrugged the girl. “It’s a fun color.”
“It’s a raincoat and it’s not raining!”
“Well spotted! This has been fun, but unfortunately, this is my stop, so I shall leave you to your own little doom and gloomy musings. Have a nice day, and remember what I told you.”
She scooted past him and made her way to the door as the bus screeched to a stop.
“Wait!’ shouted Derek. “What’s your name?”
She turned back and smiled at him. “It doesn’t matter, I’m just some girl in a yellow raincoat.”
With that, she slipped off the bus and crossed the sidewalk to a coffee shop where she disappeared. The bus pulled away as Derek stared out the window to the place where the girl had disappeared. He was so lost in his own world that it took a moment before he heard the driver yelling at him.
“Buddy!” yelled the driver for a third time.
“What?” mumbled Derek, blinking.
“The girl with the yellow raincoat,” said the driver in his rough voice. “She rides the bus every Tuesday. Nice girl, she is, but strange. I would watch out for her if I was you. Ain’t this your stop?”
“What? Oh, yes, it is.”
Derek got off without another word and walked to his office building. Two stops ago, the girl with the yellow raincoat had gotten off the bus and disappeared into one of the many coffee shops littering the city. Assuming that his car was repaired by the end of the week, he would never see her again, nor did he want to. She was different and it was uncanny, the way she had guessed his name and commented on his near silent ramblings. The way her eyes pierced his, it had been as if she was seeing into his soul while he drowned in her sky blue eyes. The bus driver was right, he would watch out for her.
Girls in yellow raincoats were not of interest to men who argued for a living, especially not undercover wizards.
The Web We Weave by Black_Beret
Chapter Notes: Enter Fred, already living amoungst the Muggles.
Enter the girl in the yellow raincoat.
Begin.