Date: January 6, 2005
Characters: Katie Bell, Cedric Diggory
Location: Exeter
Status: Private
Summary: Cedric owes Katie dinner, at least.
Completion: Complete
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As usual, Cedric was running a bit late to pick up Katie, so he arrived at 6:10 instead of 6 sharp. )
Katie hadn't been in this area of the city yet, but Exeter was sufficiently large and she had tended to stick to the same areas. She was grateful for his foresight in bringing an umbrella; she had forgotten without being able to use magic they would be limited to getting soaked.
Although many patrons were dressed casually as well, Katie couldn't help but feel a little underdressed in her jeans due to the atmosphere of the restuarant. She felt a little self-conscious as Cedric pulled out the chair for her, both because of his manners and her manner of dress. She had half grabbed for the chair herself before he pulled it out.
Katie smiled as the hostess left, leaving two menus for them to look over. "Interesting choice of place, although I'm always glad for something different," she commented, glancing around the restaurant before she even picked up a menu. "I can't say I've ever sampled any Indian cuisine before. Did you have it often when you were living with the Indians in North America?"
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"But anyway, this is India-Indian, southeast side, down near Thailand. So it's a mix of Indian and Thai flavors -- has noodles as much as rice -- and it can be quite hot." Leaning over the table, he pointed to the little peppers next to the numbers and descriptions on her menu. "Pay attention to those. One means hot, two means really hot. Green curry will set your mouth on fire and red isn't much better. If you don't like hot, stick to something creamy and with no peppers. And if you don't like the flavor at all, we can go somewhere else. You can, well, sort of smell what it might taste like." The air was heavy with the scent of curry.
"But despite the fact it's not British at all, curry has sort of become the national food of England. I never had any myself until I was in Toronto, then they made fun of me." He giggled.
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Buffalo - there was something she had never eaten. "Sounds interesting," Katie commented; and not in a bad way really, at least she didn't think so. It was just a new experience, something she didn't experience often. Even the food in Stoatshead was more traditional to their culture. "I wouldn't mind trying that sometime - I don't think the Five Alarm will be breaking out the buffalo meat chili any time soon."
The smell was certainly unique as well, but she didn't want to leave. Katie was actually looking forward to trying something new. "I think I'll be relying on your advice a bit," she admitted, reading some of the titles of the items. "But, I've no objection to spice."
"How was your trip home?" Katie continued as she glanced over the menu, glancing gratefully up at the waiter as he filled their water glasses. From the sounds of it they would need the liquid.
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"Anyway, the trip to Toronto" -- he made himself say the city rather than 'home' -- "went well enough. My mother actually thinks some of her destroyed paintings could be salvagable in part, although in others, the magic is just gone. She'll be coming here sometime in the spring to bring back what she can fix, and to take a look at the others. She's much more sensitive than I am to what canvases might still have magic in them.
"I also went down to the Smithsonian museums in Washington, DC because the ROMM -- the Royal Ontario Museum -- is being revamped and most wasn't open. I wanted to see how they handled their displays. So it was productive, in that respect.
"Otherwise, I mostly hung out with old friends and let our house-elf try to fatten me up." He patted his stomach. "Like I need anymore fattening. If I'd stayed there much longer, I'd need a bigger waist size in trousers.
"What about you? What did you do over the holidays?"
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"Sounds like a productive trip," she commented, listening to his description. "It's a shame any of the paintings were destroyed, but at least not everything was lost. And Washington from Toronto, quite a trip just to see the museum, but I suppose that is your 'business' now."
She had to hide a smile as he mentioned his trousers. Although he was far from fat, it was obvious Cedric wasn't exactly in peak shape. But she supposed a full time job at the museum in Exeter, and a second one building his own in Stoatshead didn't leave time for much exercise.
"I just stayed in town," Katie replied. "Nothing exciting - although I did attend Christmas dinner at the Weasley's. That was....a bit of an experience."
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When she mentioned dinner at the Weasleys with hesitation, both his eyebrows went up. "Oh? What happened there? Did Percy show up?" Ron may have made peace with his brother, but Cedric wasn't sure if the rest of them had.
Before she could reply, the waitress had arrived, half startling Cedric. "Oh -- er, did you have a chance to look at the menu?" he asked Katie. To the waitress, he said, "I want the Lamb Tikka, please." Then back to Katie, "You can ask about the dishes if you're not sure what's in one."
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"No, Percy didn't come," Katie replied as the waitress left, taking their menus with her. "But the rest of the family was there." She was only peripherally aware of the situation with the uptight Weasley brother, and she had never pressed the issue with George. "As well as friends of the family and the like. My discomfort was more on a personal level." And that wasn't even counting Avery's presence.
She hesitated, not knowing a lot about Cedric's past relationships, but figured he had been in some relationship at some point in his life. Not many would be as inexperienced as she was. "It's just awkward, you know, meeting the family of someone you are seeing. I was nervous beyond belief when I met George's mom."
"But," Katie continued, leaning back in her chair, "I'm prone to overreact like that I suppose. I'm noticing that more now."
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"In any case, yeah, I can imagine that meeting the whole Weasley clan -- at once -- wouldn't be an easy thing, especially if you have come from a small family. Molly's a dear, but a bit ... overwhelming?" He grinned. "Did it go all right, though? Otherwise, I mean? Meeting them and such?"
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Mrs.Weasley had made her a Christmas stocking for Merlin's sake - Katie was still rather disconcerted over that. "I wasn't meeting everyone for the first time of course, so that helped."
Katie set her glass down, grabbing a piece of the bread from the basket. She broke of a piece, popping it in her mouth as she contemplated. The Weasley's, despite the mutual blood heritage, were a far cry from her own family. She had expected that though, and their easy affection for one of their own had been what had intimidated her from the outset as well. She didn't think they would be the type to hide behind aloofness and, well, passive agressiveness, if they were upset.
That, she was used to.
"The things we put ourselves through for other people," Katie continued wryly. Not that that was akin to something life-altering, but it had felt like it. "But enough about my self-induced stress," she added, embarassed to have talked about it so much. She sounded like a bit of a wimp.
She was going to blather on excitedly about the movie theater she had been to the other day, but Cedric was so familiar with muggle culture she didn't doubt he would think her enthusiasm crazy. "You must be excited about coming home to a fully functional building for your museum," Katie settled on a topic he could ramble about if he wanted.
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She seemed to want to change the subject, so he let her.
"I was thrilled to find the musuem done, actually. My next step at this point is, I think, going to the Ministry to let them know exactly what's up. I didn't do that until I had something a bit further along. They've got enough to be going on with, but I want to start making knowledge of the museum more public, and I don't want whoever's left at the Ministry finding out about it that way. That wouldn't be politic.
"After that, I plan to organize a 'public painting.' It won't, mind, be all the painting, so if you're still on for that, I'll still need your help. But I thought it might be ... a way to create some public enthusiasm, and maybe get a few donations, to open the museum to let anybody who wants paint a bit of the wall. I'll have to plan it carefully to avoid it turning into a complete mess, but I like the idea.
"My mother, of course, thinks I've lost my mind, but she's a bit ... controlling." He laughed. That was the understatement of the evening.
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"The community painting sounds like a fun idea," she added, "but almost like more work for you. Depending on how things go, you're going to have spend time fixing things afterwards if you want it to look good. But yeah, if you need a hand beyond what you get done that way, me and my wand and brush are willing."
"Your mother thinks you've lost your mind?" Katie repeated curiously. "Would that be your grandiose idea for the museum, or your community painting plans? Or," she added with a bit of a grin, "something else all together?"
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"A public painting will be more work, I'm sure of it, but important. And yes, that's what my mother thinks I'm barmy about. She said the same thing you did -- I'll just have to redo much of it, or all of it, to make it look decent. But I know that going in, and it's not really the point. I just want to get people in the door to see the place, and let them paint a little so that later, they'll feel more as if it's theirs.
"Mum ... she'd usually prefer to avoid rubbing elbows too much with the hoi polloi." He grinned. "She's a bit of a princess sometimes, although it's less about birth for her than ... intelligence? She doesn't have a great deal of confidence people's common sense, I suppose." It was one of his mother's more Slytherin-ish qualities that he disliked. "But I'm glad you're still set to help with the actual painting."
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