*~~bang bang! shot 'em up yeah! (ANNA/VERITY)

[Verity Bromley]

Verity was wiping down the counter after a big rush. The snow storm had kept everybody stranded in their homes and now that the weather had cooperated enough for them to head out, it seemed like they all headed to the streets of Hogsmeade to get some last minute holiday shopping done. There were still a few people at the Three Broomsticks, but it wasn’t as crazy as it was half an hour ago. She loved the big rushes. They were great for business, but she loved it when the place was so packed that she felt like she was going to lose her mind. She loved pushing through it, making sure everyone had a seat within a reasonable amount of time, and making sure the service and food was as satisfactory as it would have been if they were the only ones in the shop. You can’t win them all, but Verity had a good team that made sure the customers were happy. While she usually liked to make sure everything was in order during these big rushes by going around to each table and checking on everyone, Verity was in the kitchen helping to cook this time. Her cooking skills had improved greatly since she first opened the place, but she also had, Alice, one of the best cooks in town running it.

Verity’s hair was tied back in a ponytail and she wore an apron over her clothes. She was already beginning to feel exhausted, even though only half of the day had gone by. She finished wiping down the counter and refilled everyone’s drink for those who were still sitting at the bar. The fire crackled in the fireplace and the shop was decorating with garland and strands of light for Christmas. She loved the holidays, only this year was was afraid she was going to spend it alone. She hadn’t seen or heard from anyone in a while and she assumed they all went home for the holidays. For Verity, Hogwarts was more of a home than anything else she had and so she really had nowhere else to go. She dreaded the thought of being alone during the holidays, but she preferred it to spending them with her father.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle came into The Three Broomsticks for a quick late lunch after the main rush of shoppers had died down. She put up the sign saying she'd be back in half an hour, but really she was hoping to take much less time. Christmas time was her second busiest time of year, surpassed only by the start of term book sales. Still, it wasn't busy enough to justify paying another person a salary so she had to close momentarily to fetch something to eat. Normally she'd just snack on food in her kitchen, but her small reserve had been used up during the storm.

The short walk between the shops was enough to chill Annabelle even with her heavy cloak. As she removed the layer along with her scarf and gloves, Annabelle spotted an open chair closer to the fireplace. Hanging her garments on the rack provided, she made her way to the table. It didn't take long for her to decide on a bowl of soup for lunch, and a few sandwiches to restock her kitchen. She waved to flag down the girl tending a nearby table, remembering Verity from their encounter at the lake.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity gathered the dishes from a table after its guest had left. For a small, old man the guy certainly accumulated a large amount of dishes. She stacked the smaller plates on top one another and then stacked those on top of the larger plates. She gathered up the silverware and stray bits of trash from straw wrappers to napkins. In a short amount of time, all of the dishes and odds and ends on the table were piled onto one manageable stack. She held the stack of dishes balanced on one arm while using the other to wipe the table down and rearrange the salt and pepper shakers so it all looked neat and in order. She took a step back, admired her work, pushed the chair in with her foot, and turned toward the kitchen.

Verity saw a hand waving out of the corner of her eye and automatically turned her head to see what it was about. A grin spread across Verity’s lips as she instantly recognized who it was. She handed the stack of dishes off to one of the other servers as they passed by and made her way over to the table. “Hi.” She said excitedly. She loved it when she recognized the people who came into her store. She loved it when people she didn’t recognize came into her store as well. Business was business, but there was an added excitement when she saw people she knew. “It’s Annabelle, right?” Verity asked. She remembered the face of the girl from the time they ran into each other at the lake, but she usually wasn’t that great when it came to remembering names. “Is there anything I can get you?”

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Hi Verity, I wasn't sure if you'd remember me. It's been a while." Annabelle started with a smile. "I'll just have your soup of the day and a butterbeer for here, And then two of your turkey, and two roast beef sandwiches to go please." She had been here a couple times, but then she had been served by one of the other employees and had taken her food to go so she hadn't talked to Verity. Today she needed a few minutes break from the flow of customers and had decided that the small break wouldn't hurt her business.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity listened to the order and stored it in her memory. She had a good memory and almost all of the time, she could remember orders down to the last detail. It was when they were incredibly busy and when she had to take on a great number of tables that she wrote orders down to be safe. When business was slow and she only had a few tables, there was no need for her to write them down. "Sure, I'll go put that in." Verity said with a smile.

Verity went around to the back where she entered the order into the system, and grabbed the butterbeer. The soup was ready to come out in a matter of minutes. She grabbed the soup, poured the butterbeer, and headed back to Annabelle's table. Verity set the drink and soup on the table in front of Annabelle carefully. It all seemed so formal. "Is there anything else I can get you?" She asked.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"No I tbhink that's it as long as the sandwiches are ready when I leave. I'm restocking in case I get snowed into my shop again. Its a good thing we were only there a day and I had a few snacks or we might have gone hungry." Annabelle took a pack of crackers and put them halfway in the soup lining the edge of the bowl like she always did since she was a kid. "Were you stuck here or at shcool when the storm hit?"

[Verity Bromley]

"I was at school." Verity said. She remembered hearing about the storm, but she never thought it would turn out to be as big as it was. Still, she took extra precautions to make sure her store was protected. Any perishable food was cooked up and served the night before the storm came, with specials on whatever dish Alice came up with in an effort to use their supplies. "My cook lives close enough that she was able to check on the place a couple of times while everyone was snowed in. To make sure nothing incredibly disastrous happened, but I was stuck at school." She said with an added sigh. It was all bad that she was stuck in the castle. There were a few people there to keep her company, like Aiden, but it had gotten boring after a while. Cabin fever was about to make her go insane. "How about yourself?"