NOIR - [Fred Weasley]

24. Luck of the Irish

✻ When he realises most serpents like him.

Green. Everything around them was green.

Except for the occasional cow.

Lizl was driving down the long winding road in Ireland, acres of land spread around them in all directions. They had followed Scamander's directions down to the very last detail, but all they had come up with was grass.

"We're lost." Fred hummed for the third time from the passenger seat, his fingers never ceasing the soft drumming against the dashboard.

"We're not lost. We're just... wandering around."

"Wandering around? Love, we passed this cow at least three times." Fred chuckled and pointed outside the window.

Lizl huffed and stopped the vehicle. They had been driving for hours, and still no sign of the infamous safe house the letters had promised.

"This doesn't make any sense. I followed the instructions perfectly."

"Maybe it's not supposed to make sense." Fred suggested.

"Huh?"

"You followed Scamander's instructions, down to the very last detail. We're exactly where he wanted August to be."

"So? I don't see a lab, or a house for that matter. I don't even see a shed."

"Maybe you're not looking hard enough. Follow me." Fred instructed.

Lizl stared at him as he took off his seatbelt and exited the vehicle. When she realised he was determined to walk straight through the large field beside them, she rushed to join him.

"Why did we get out of the car?"

Fred chuckled and kept walking, past the cow, and straight towards the middle of the greenery.

"Because the car, while an excellent invention, is a muggle vehicle. Newt Scamander however, is a wizard."

"Wizards can use muggle inventions." Lizl argued, cursing silently whenever her boots stepped on a puddle.

"Not ones that have been hiding their probably illegal sanctuary filled with fantastic beasts in the middle of nowhere."

"Okay. So, what do you suggest?"

Fred abruptly stopped and looked around, studying the terrain.

"You know what happens when a muggle approaches Hogwarts?" He asked, his eyes turning to meet Lizl's.

"They see ruins. To them, it's an abandoned old castle."

"Exactly. At first glance, it's not something they'd ever want to approach. Come here." He instructed, and Lizl begrudgingly let him guide her in his arms.

Fred spun the girl around, so her back was against his chest, and he angled her towards where their destination should've been.

"Everything looks ordinary — it's meant to. But if one is patient enough, they can see behind the magic." He explained, his hands keeping a firm hold of her shoulders.

"Okay, so what am I doing?"

"Seeing behind the magic."

Lizl looked around the field, but nothing stuck around. It all looked... empty.

"Do you see anything?" She asked.

"I'm not the one with magical eyes that can see through walls." Fred argued, one of his hands running against her spine. "Lilith darling, why don't you give us a hand? Or a tail, whatever's easiest."