A New Place (open)

[Maverick Callahan]

Maverick had gotten sick and tired of being in the middle of London surrounded by those effing muggles all over the place. Besides, the city was just a little too....liberal for his tastes. At least here he was around other wizards and witches all the time, and he could do something other than tats when he got bored or whatever. He still loved his work, but London had been crazy, it was good to loosen his hours a little.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity had gotten sick of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and the people in both. There were the students who were still trying to hold on to that last sliver of summer, the students that threw themselves into their studies and denounced any form of a social life, the students that were in denial about the start of the term, and the busybodies. Verity fell into that group of students who were in denial about the start of the new term. She longed for those long summer days, the cool summer nights, the sweet freedom.

The Three Broomsticks had become her haven. It was the place she escaped to when the thought of school became too much to think about. She had employed enough help that she didn’t have to be there every night. It gave her more time to focus on her studies, but it also made her realize how much she loved being there. The customers were friendly and they always had good stories. The regulars had become less like customers and more like family. They were surprisingly easy to talk to and they always knew what to say to make things better.

As much as Verity loved the Three Broomsticks, it was nice to go out to other places. It was nice to see new faces. The Leaky Cauldron was a nice change of scenery and as much as she heard about it, she had never actually been. As she placed her hand on the door and gave it a nice push open, she wondered if she should have checked with Jory or Celyn to see if they wanted to join her. It was getting dark outside and she wasn’t used to being in Diagon Alley alone at night, let alone a strange place like the Leaky Cauldron. Sure she had her wand, but her Defensive spells weren’t all that strong. The best she would be able to do was distract anyone who tried to attack her for a few seconds and attempt to escape. Not that she was planning on getting attacked or anything.

Despite the lowering temperatures, Verity was in dark purple skinny jeans, her black leather boots, and a black lace-trimmed camisole that came up enough to expose her tattoo. Her boots hit the ground with a soft clack with each step. She reached the bar and claimed one of the stools as her own. There was a nice crowd there already and she felt a twinge of jealousy as she wondered why it wasn’t usually that crowded at the Three Broomsticks. She reminded herself she wasn’t anywhere near the Three Broomsticks and that the Leaky Cauldron hosted an entirely different crowd. One that she might not want to see at the Three Broomsticks.

Verity decided what she wanted most was a drink. It had been ages since she had actually had one and she was old enough now. When she was working, she didn’t drink. When she was at school, she only drank a little at a party, not that she had been to many of those recently either. It was time to let go again. She looked around for a bartender who could help her, but the place was packed.

[Maverick Callahan]

Maverick was glad for the crowd, and not the least glad for the couple waitresses he had been able to hire to help out. This place was going to be great, and since he was the owner no one cared if he had a couple. He was hovering behind the counter people watching when his eyes caught on a familiar face that brought a grin to his lips. "Certainly didn't expect to see you here," he called out when she was close enough to hear.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity whipped her head around. She had heard a voice, but she couldn’t be certain if the voice was addressing her or not. She didn’t like that feeling, not knowing if someone was talking to her or not. When she was able to match the voice with a face, shock flickered across her face before her lips eased into grin. “Hey, stranger.” She said, her heart rate picking up at the excitement of seeing him again. She wasn’t sure if she was more surprised to see him in person outside of the tattoo shop or if she was more surprised to see him behind the counter. “What are you doing here?” She asked, although the answer seemed obvious. She was too shocked to actually form any kind of educated conversation.

[Maverick Callahan]

"I got tired of the city life and bought the place," Maverick said, leaning on his forearms against the counter. So technically he was still in the city, but he didn't care about technicalities, and at least this way he didn't have to deal with muggles all the times. "What about you? You're looking good." He didn't try to keep his eyes under control, besides, the girl was dressed to impress.

[Verity Bromley]

"You own the Leaky Cauldron?" Verity repeated. It was...different, but not necessarily bad. She wondered for a moment if that meant he sold his other shop. She really hoped not. "Impressive." Verity cheeks brightened a little at his compliment, she was a sucker for compliments. She leaned forward slightly, giving him a little more to look at. "I'm supposed to meet a friend here." She said, scanning the place for her imaginary friend. "Maybe he's running late..." Verity could have chosen any other excuse for her presence, but it was a game and she wanted to test her limits. To see how far she could go to get the reaction she wanted.

[Maverick Callahan]

"Well you know, if you're ready for another tat, I still do that," Maverick said, anything to maybe get her alone again. He didn't particularly care if he left the place to the employees for a little while. "What kind of drongo would be late for a date with you?" No one in their right mind would blow off a night with her, even just a friend.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity’s lips pressed into a smile. So what if there wasn’t really a date? She had gotten the reaction she wanted. Verity sat up a little straighter and pushed her long, brunette curls behind her nearly bare shoulder. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind starting without him.” She said shrugging. “Care to join me?” She asked, her amethyst eyes widening growing wide.

[Maverick Callahan]

Maverick grinned and his eyes sparkled at the offer. "I would say I'm working, but hell, I own the place." He could do whatever he wanted, and if that meant spending time with this lovely sheila he was more than happy to be the owner. "You're on the house," he said, giving her a wink before he waved his arm behind him at the choices.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity’s eyes focused on his beautiful eyes. He winked at her she couldn’t help but to feel excitement bubbling up, not that she let it show that such a simple gesture had any effect on her whatsoever. Her eyes trailed down his chiseled body and lingered on that nice ass of his. She brought her eyes up once again to meet his and without even bothering to glance at the selection behind the bar, she responded: “I’ll have what you’re having.”

[Maverick Callahan]

Maverick chuckled at that. "I don't think you'd like what I'm having," he said. He was a simple guy when it came to drinks, crack open a bottle and have at it. In his experience the girls weren't very fond of that until they were already feeling pretty good. "Let me give you something you can handle." He grinned and raised an eyebrow at that before turning to get her something.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity arched a brow. She took his comment as a challenge. She sat back, partly for dramatic effect and partly because the old man next to her was getting more than an eyeful down her shirt, and pressed her lips together. “I can handle it.” She said, adding in a wink. She wasn’t the girl who drank nothing but the fruity little cocktails, not that she didn’t like those fruity little cocktails, but she could handle more. After the first couple of sips, it went down a lot smoother.

[Maverick Callahan]

Maverick smirked and shook his head, "I'll give you something good." He wasn't one of those vodka or whiskey guys, he liked his drinks dark and with head, and he couldn't quite imagine Verity having anything like that. He didn't think he would like seeing a girl start off with something like that, anyway. It wasn't like he was used to classy broads, but it could be nice every now and then.

[Verity Bromley]

As he wandered off to grab the drinks, Verity let her eyes trail over his body before lingering on his beautifully toned ass. Not bad. It didn’t take long for her to get bored, however, and there was a strikingly handsome man who had just taken a seat at the bar a couple of stools down. Verity caught his eye. Her flashed her a dazzling smile and checked to see if her lovely bartender was still fixing the drinks before returning his smile with one of her own. A strand of her hair twirled around her finger absent-mindedly and he moved to a stool closer to her. Verity looked away, an expression of disinterest on her face. She had forgotten how easy it was to keep more than her hair wrapped around her finger. Verity smirked. The man had been nothing but a test, a reassurance that she still had it, but he wasn't what she was looking for tonight.

[Maverick Callahan]

Maverick came back and set a drink down for Verity before popping the cap off of his own against a metal piece at the bottom of the bar. The cap fell into a wastebin with a light clink on top of the many other caps that had accumulated over the day. He raised up his drink for a toast before taking a long drink. "So, got any plans other than your....date?" he asked, an eyebrow raising in question before he smirked and took another drink.