hello, sunshine (Open)

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle was glad Verity hadn't pressed. She felt a little bad about stretching the truth about her absence, but it technically was a family issue. Just because her mum and father were completely unaware didn't mean it wasn't a family issue. And family issues were so broad ranged, it could mean anything really. After justifying herself, she let the matter drop in her mind, choosing to enjoy the company of her new acquaintance.

"I haven't found out yet if I'm enrolled in the remainder of the summer courses. I guess I need to ask Chase...." Annabelle chided herself for the slip-up. It wouldn't be good to walk around calling the Deputy Headmaster by his first name, especially to a Slytherin. Regardless if Verity seemed nice, Slytherins usually protected their own, and she probably knew him personally since they'd shared a common room last year. It took Anna a bit to get her thoughts back in order and remember what she had been trying to say. "Er, Professor Firebrand that is, if... if I have a class schedule. If not, I'll have plenty of time to practice on my own before all the other students return. Are you taking summer classes?"

[Verity Bromley]

Verity giggled. “It’s weird, isn’t it?” She asked. “When I first started coming here, I saw him sometimes in the Common Room or in the corridors, but he was wearing the same robes as everyone else in our house. I must’ve had some classes with him, too.” She said although she spent her time in her classes desperately trying to make out what the professor was blabbering on about and not studying the faces of her classmates. “And now…” Verity’s voice trailed off. Now, if for some reason she got into trouble she would have to face a man, if that was even what he was, who was hardly older than she was. “It’s just weird that we were in the same class and now he’s running the school.” Verity shrugged. She had never met him personally, but she recognized his drop dead gorgeous face after passing him a few times.

“No, I haven’t been taking summer classes.” She said crinkling her nose. “It seems like an oxymoron: summer and classes.” It didn’t fit. Sumer was for relaxing, having fun, and letting go. Now that she thought about it, Verity hadn’t done nearly enough of relaxing, having fun, or letting go that summer. “I thought it would be nice to take a break and start fresh in the fall.” She said shrugging. “Besides, I bought a place last year called the Three Broomsticks. I guess the old owner just kind of up and abandoned it. It was really run down and so I’ve spent most of the summer trying to get it back on its feet.”

[Annabelle Hennessy]

That last bit got Annabelle's attention, so much that everything else they'd been talking about could wait. She turned to Verity, her pebbles momentarily forgotten. "Really? What happened to Lucretia?" It wasn't the first time that Lucretia had disappeared for a long stretch of time, but last time she'd seen her it seemed like she would be sticking around for a while. She'd been really friendly and had unexpectedly helped Anna. Well, Anna wasn't sure if help was the right word, but she'd been really supportive. It was weird to think that she'd given up her store, which meant she probably wasn't ever returning.

[Verity Bromley]

"Who?" Verity asked with a confused expression on her face. She tried to remember if she met anyone or knew of anything named Lucretia. It certainly an interesting name and Verity would remember if she had heard it before. Since she couldn't remember every hearing of a Lucretia, she just shrugged. "Whoever the old owner was..." Verity stopped in mid-sentence. Something just clicked. "Ohhh." She let out. "Was that the old owner? You knew her?" At least she assumed it was a she. Lucretia didn't seem like a masculine name.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Yeah, I knew her more by reputation for the longest time, but we'd met and talked for a while. I own the Bookstore just down the way and I've eaten there when I didn't feel like heading back to the castle." She wondered if anyone ever talked about her while she was gone. If they'd wondered what happened to her or if she'd just faded into the background without a second thought. "I wonder what ever happened to her."

[Verity Bromley]

"Oh, really?" Verity asked in interest. "I've..." She started as if she had something really witty to say. "...walked by it a few times." She ended lamely with a cringe. "Sorry, I think that came out wrong. There are a lot of places in Hogsmeade I've passed on my way in to the Three Broomsticks, but I never got a chance to go in. Usually when I go to Hogsmeade it's just to open up the shop or make my way back to the castle after closing." From what she saw on the outside, the bookstore looked nice. Verity didn't read much. She could never find staring at the words on a page interesting. She would much rather be out actually physically doing something. "There are a lot of places I want to go that are in Hogsmeade, I just never actually have. Like there's that clothing store and the nightclub..."

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Oh no hard feelings. It's actually been closed all year while I've been gone. I've had a house elf from the castle that I hired to dust once a month, but no one else has been there. Besides, I know reading isn't for everyone. One of my best friends hasn't ever spent a knut in my store other then on textbooks." Anna began making a mental list of all the things she needed to do to open the store in time for the fall textbook rush. It was the one time of year that her shop made a huge profit and if she missed it she'd be scraping by to make ends meet.

It was a relief to know that the clothing shop was still there, but after having just heard that the three broomsticks had changed hands she didn't want to assume..... "Do you know if Markise Sterling still owns the clothing shop? I thought he might be moving back across the pond once he graduated." She hadn't known Lucretia, but Markise should have been around until at least May so Verity might have ran into him at least once or twice. She really should have written him, or stopped by again to try and talk to him, alone. But life had been so complicated when she'd left, and Markise had had his hands full with his own issue that it hadn't seemed right to burden him with her own. She'd wanted to talk to him so often while she was in London, but hadn't gotten up the courage. She'd have to change that within the next few days and see where she stood with him.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity shrug her shoulders. “I think so.” She said. “I mean, the name sounds familiar And someone had told me…” Her voice trailed off as she tried to remember who had told her about that Markise and when she even had the conversation. She knew it had something to do about the fashion show she and Willow had sort-of discussed. Then, she remembered she was in the corridors rocking out hard to the air piano. “Dare, I think his name was. What an odd name. He told me I should really go check out that guy Markise’s stuff.” She remembered vague details about that conversation, but Verity didn’t exactly have the best memory. “Come to think of it, I really should.” She needed to make time to go to Hogsmeade early one day and not go automatically into the Three Broomsticks.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle laughed at Verity's comment about Dare's name. She liked Dare despite the complicated history of just how she knew him. "Dare's not his given name, just a shortened nickname." She smiled as she remembered that she'd met him on two separate occasions and had received different names both times before learning that he was actually Dare. If he'd referred to the clothing shop at Markise's still, then chances are he'd kept it.

"Markise has a remarkable sense of style, you won't be disappointed. We used to joke that when I become a famous wizard he would refuse to let me dress in anything but his designs." She smiled wistfully at the happy memory, missing him all that much more. Anna looked away, resuming her pebble throwing as she picked through trying to find another skipping rock.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity nodded. “That’s what I heard.” She said thoughtfully. She forgot all about the supposed fashion show she was going to put on. She didn’t have nearly enough sketches yet and she would have to go into London to check out their fabric. If necessary, she would make a trip to Milan or France. It would give her a good excuse to get some more shopping in, if nothing else.

Verity picked up a stone that was lying on the ground next to her. She had never skipped stones before, but it looked like Annabelle was having a lot of fun. Besides, it couldn’t be that hard, could it? It wasn’t like there was anything complicated about throwing a rock across the water. Verity lifted her arm and heaved the rock across the water with as much effort as she could muster in the early morning. Pathetically, the rock hit the surface with a plop! and sunk to the bottom along with all her hopes and dreams of becoming a professional stone-skipper.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"You have to find a flat stone. Then you toss it sideways, like a Frisbee, see." Annabelle demonstrated the movement buy tossing a stone and watching it skip three times before disappearing under the surface of the water. The activity was calming, giving herself something to focus on other than her thoughts. There were so many other things she wondered about, but it seemed that Verity didn't know much about the people Annabelle had associated with.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity searched the area around her for an ideal stone. Her fingers brushed over the various stones, searching out the perfect one. She guess she could try again. Maybe that was her problem, she gave up too easily on things. She thought she was getting better at that, considering she had fought for two of the biggest things in her life right now. She stuck with the Three Broomsticks even though she didn't know a bloody thing about running a business. She worked hard to make this thing, relationship, with Leo work even after she screwed it up. Maybe skipping stones wasn't as big of a thing, but it was suddenly something important to her, something she needed to stick with. Verity plucked a stone from the ground and threw it like a frisbee in the water. It skipped twice before sinking in, an improvement. She looked up at Annabelle and beamed, proud of her small accomplishment.

((OOC: SORRY it took so long!!! I haven't been able to think lately))`