Setting Up Shop (Open)

[Verity Bromley]

Verity stood outside of the Three Broomsticks. It wasn’t completely run down, but it wasn’t in perfect condition either. She had been told that the previous owner sold it a few months ago and no one had been in it since. With a little bit of painting and touching up, it would be perfect. It already was perfect. It was hers.

Verity placed the key in the door knob. She had to turn it forcefully in order to open the door. The door creaked when she opened it. Also, when she opened the door, a cloud of dust escaped from the place and a few critters scurried off into the streets of Hogsmeade. Verity stood back. She wasn’t used to dust and unwelcome creatures. At home, her “family” had house elves to make sure she never did have to get used to any cooking, cleaning, chores.

As she took a step into the place, the floorboards creaked beneath her. She stepped slowly as if something might jump out at her any moment. Verity held her wand in front of her. “Lumos!” She whispered, lighting the tip of her wand. She turned the lights on after she found the switch. Chairs were beaten up and falling apart and stacked on top of tables that looked like they were about to fall over at any moment. The bar had a huge crack down the middle of it and most of the stools were missing. Verity put the light on her wand out and surveyed the damage. Where would she begin? What did she need? Was this a mistake?

[jamie]

Jamie decided to take a spin down to Hogsmeade. It had been a couple of weeks since he had gone and he had nothing better to do. He was just about to head into the Candy Shop when he noticed that the lights at the Three Broomsticks were on. That was odd. He heard that the owner shut it down a few months ago and disappeared. Curiosity got the best of him and he peeked inside. Jamie immediately started coughing from all the dust that filled the air. "Hello?" He called.

Jamie took a couple of steps inside the place, trying to be quiet. It wasn't working well considering the floorboards creaked and moaned under his feet. When he got to the main dining area and bar, Jamie's eyes fell on the back of a familiar person. Her brown curls were unmistakable to him and her distinct figure gave her away. "Verity?" He said, shocked. "What are you doing here?"

[Verity Bromley]

Verity didn't hear the voice the first time it called out. She was also too absorbed in how much work she had to accomplish on her own in order to get the place up and running. She didn't know how to fix things, clean things, cook things. What was she doing?

She turned around, startled, when the deep voice called out her name. She held her wand tightly in her hand as she turned around. Had someone been hiding in there? "Oh, Jamie, thank god!" She said letting out a relieved sigh. It wasn't something she'd ever thought she'd hear herself say. "You scared me!" Verity was still trying to catch her breath. She hated when people sneaked up behind her.

She blinked. "What are you doing here?" It seemed like the more appropriate question in this scenario. Did he follow her to Hogsmeade from Hogwarts? "I happen to own this fine establishment." Verity said proudly. It wasn't much to be proud of...yet. She was about ready to go back to her castle and curl up and hide under her sheets. That way she could ignore the fact that she spent a great sum of her money on buying a place she had no idea to run!

[jamie]

Fine establishment? It looked more like a dump to Jamie. He was surprised to hear that Verity, of all people, was the new owner. She didn't seem like the kind of person who ran her own bar, or ever had to for that matter. Her question seemed more like an accusation. "I was just walking by and I saw the lights on." He said, shrugging. It was the truth, she could take it or leave it. "So you're going to run this place?" He asked. "On your own?" It seemed like a lot for one person to run by themselves, let alone a person who also still goes to school.

[Verity Bromley]

On your own? Verity’s eyes turned cold. “I don’t need anyone’s help.” She said stubbornly, even if she was in over her head. To prove a point, she used her wand to summon an old, rusty toolbox that was hiding in the back of the kitchen. She stared at it for a moment, disgusted. She moved her hand towards the toolbox, and then pulled it away before she actually touched it. Instead, she grabbed her wand and touched it to the cracked counter. She muttered a charm to fix it, but Charms were never her strong point and the spell failed miserably.

[jamie]

Jamie watched Verity try to pull the place together, amused at first. His amusement disappeared when he watched her struggle. That old, rusty toolbox was filled with useless tools that were more likely to give you an infection that help you fix anything. It was obvious that her wand work wasn’t exactly up to par. “Hold on,” Jamie said. “I’ll be right back.” He knew a good place to get some things that could help them with repairs. Being one of many children, Jamie was used to having to fix things around the house. Before she could protest, Jamie tucked out of the shop and headed down the street to a nearby hardware store.

[Verity Bromley]

“Wait—! “ Verity started, but he was already gone. Where was he going? Whatever, she didn’t even care if he came back at all. Verity pulled a chair down from one of the tables. She brushed it off and sat on it, but when she sat on it the legs gave out and she fell to the floor with a short gasp. While she was on the floor, she noticed a rat scurry around in the shadows. Verity jumped up and grabbed her wand. Pointing it at the rat, she panicked and screamed “Petrificus totalus!” It wasn’t the best spell to use, but it was the only one that popped into her mind at the time.

[jamie]

Jamie returned a half hour later with a few bags. He'd gotten a few basic tools to replace the once in the toolbox, some nice cold bottles of water for the both of them, a bag of chips for Verity, and a bouquet of light pink tulips. He handed a bottle of water and the bag of chips to Verity. "You look like you need to eat," He commented on how pale her skin was and how skinny she had gotten. He also handed her the flowers. "For you," He offered holding them out for her. He had passed them on his way back and couldn't forget how beautiful they were. His eyes caught something in the shadows. It looked like a rat, but it wasn't moving. He bent down next to the creature. "Verity, what did you do?" He asked with a chuckle. The rat was frozen mid-step. Jamie picked up the rat by the tail and threw out the back door. He returned with a huge grin on his face. "It's taken care of." He announced.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity crinkled her nose. “You touched it.” She said disgustedly. She put the food and drink he gave her on top of the cracked counter. She was neither hungry nor thirsty and she definitely didn’t need anyone telling her when she needed to eat. She held the flowers for a moment in her hand. They were beautiful and she was flattered that he thought to give them to her, though she’d never admit it. Was this the same person who had drunkenly tried to seduce her and then had tried again, only that time sober? For once she didn’t feel like ripping out his throat.

[jamie]

Jamie laughed. She was such a girl. He walked over to the chair that was now broken into pieces. He tapped his wand to it and the pieces flew back together. The wood on the chair, however, was still rotting. In fact, that was the problem with all of the chairs and tables. "Have you considered just ordering new chairs and tables? These ones won't last a week." He stood up straight. Jamie couldn't see how the tables were still standing with the weight of the chairs on top of them.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity hadn’t considered anything when she bought the Three Broomsticks. She hadn’t considered that she had no idea how to run such a place, how to cook, clean, please customers…you know, the usual things a person should know how to do when running a Bar and restaurant. “Um, no I haven’t.” She said thoughtfully. “But I can, it’s not a problem.” She still had access to her father’s Gringotts account and she planned on taking full advantage of that fact. Verity walked behind the bar and into a small storage room. She rummaged around in there for a few minutes before she reappeared holding a dusty vase. She pointed her wand at the vase and filled it up with water. Verity held the fresh bouquet of flowers Jamie had given her up to her nose and took in the sweet scent. She smiled and placed the flowers in the vase.

[jamie]

Jamie nodded. "I think that would be the best option." He said. He walked over to the counter and examined it. There was a lot of damage, but it was fixable. He grabbed some of his tools and his wand. Jamie detached the top part of the bar from the base completely and lowered it to the ground with his wand. He then began to cock the cracked part of the base. While that was setting, he used his wand to even out the surface of the base and make it smooth. He watched as she placed the flowers in a vase. "Do you like them?" He asked smiling.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity watched Jamie take the top off of the bar. She was horrified at first, but calmed down when she realized that the base was actually beautiful. It looked like it was wooden, but when she ran her hand across it it felt harder than wood. Someone had hand carved figures into whatever the material was. It was well preserved with no signs of damage or rotting besides the crack. The top of the bar, however, was disgusting. It was stained with alcohol and crumbling. Her eyes floated over to the flowers. Yes, they were beautiful and she loved them. “They’re alright.” She answered coolly. She eyed him playfully. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

[jamie]

Don’t flatter yourself. A grin spread across Jamie’s lips and he rolled his eyes. Despite her cool response, he could tell that she secretly enjoyed them. Otherwise, they probably would have been thrown onto the ground by then. Jamie glanced at the crack, it still needed at the very least a few hours to settle. He stepped on the top part of the bar that he had taken off of the base and set on the floor and walked over it to where Verity was standing. “What next?” He asked.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity glanced at a nearby sink. “You’ve done enough already, you don’t have to.” She said. She hadn’t turned on the water yet and wasn’t sure what would happen if she did, but she could always hire someone to fix the plumbing if she needed to. Jamie had already spent enough time there as it was. He probably had something better to do. After all, he hadn’t planned on spending the day fixing up her shop, had he?