A Phoenix from the Ashes [Verity]

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

How long had it been? Why was she back? What compelled her to revisit the place that stirred so many messed up memories. She told herself she would only be here for a few hours, maybe see familiar faces from afar, torture herself by seeing that no one needed her, it was she who needed everyone else.

The heavily cloaked figure stepped into the store that was once hers, no longer a student, but a women who tirelessly worked to support herself. A business women who didn't need mommy or daddy to support her. What had happened to her parents? Lucretia heard that her parents were either caged away in St. Mungo's or rotting away in Azkaban. Either way, it didn't matter to her.

"Firewhiskey please."

One of the waiters immediately complied, getting her the drink that she wanted. The Three Broomsticks had changed, now it suited the current owners tastes rather than her own. It was beautiful, but it was not her's anymore and even that simple thought made Lucretia freeze. Lucretia watched the current owner, her eyes following the young women.

[Verity Bromley]

When Verity had bought the place, it was a mess. She had never met the previous owner, nor did she really know anything about them or why they left. Whatever the reason was, it was obvious that they didn’t bother to care for the place after it closed. A few people had told her that the previous owner had just upped and left, but she heard other stories that told her differently. It didn’t really matter now, did it? Verity had bought the Three Broomsticks, raised it from its ashes, and restored the business, which was now thriving. She never thought in a million years that she would be able to own and operate a business of her own, much less a place like the Three Broomsticks. It was completely unexpected, but she needed money and the opportunity to buy the place rose at exactly the right moment in her life. She was down and the idea of owning the Three Broomsticks gave her hope. It didn’t turn out to be such a bad idea, after all.

One of the things Verity loved the most about working at the Three Broomsticks was all the people she got to see. There were the regulars, the people just passing by, and newcomers looking for a good hangout. With the regulars, she could just about tell who was coming in on which day and around a certain time. It took her a while to learn, but she knew all of their names. To anyone else, she was happy to learn their names as they came along. It was a lot easier for her to remember a face rather than a name to go with it. It had been a long day, but Verity was enjoying herself too much for it to pass by any quicker than it already had.

Verity turned around the instant she heard the request. Firewhiskey. It was a popular drink for this time of year. She couldn’t help but to survey the woman for a second. There was something alarming about her presence, like Verity should have known something that she obviously didn’t about the woman. She nodded as acknowledgement that she had heard the order and turned to go get it. Verity came back with the Firewhiskey and slid it over to the woman. “Is there anything else I can get you?” She asked uneasily. She had the feeling that she was being watched and it was eerie. “A bite to eat, perhaps?”

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Lucretia tilted her head to the side, this girl seemed to be doing an excellent job, she knew what she wanted from this business and she went for it.

"No I'm fine thanks."

Lucretia's eyes were fixed on the girl, she tapped her fingernails gently on the surface. Raising a hand to her hood, she pulled down the velvet hood, her fine robe shone in the light, it was obvious by her aura that she was a no nonsense women, but a women of high status.

"Although, would you care to enlighten me of your business Miss....?"

She had heard from earlier a person say the name of the owner, thanking the women, but Storm didn't bother to pay attention to it.

[Verity Bromley]

“Bromley.” Verity answered automatically. “But please, call me Verity.” She added with a smile. It brought a few painstaking memories of the parties and social gatherings she was always forced to attend alongside of her father. Verity had no idea who this woman was, but she had been in there less than five minutes and already it had caused Verity to think of her father…something she hadn’t done in months, with great success. Granted, woman may not have been entirely accurate considering she hardly looked more than a few years older than Verity was, but there was something about her. Something that ran chills up Verity’s spine, and something that made her think that she did very much deserve to be labeled as a woman.

Verity’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. What was this woman, a spy? Did her father send her to check up on his little Verity? Gawd, hadn’t she made it clear to him that she was a big girl now? That she could handle her own without any help from him? “Sure.” Verity said finally with a polite smile. She would tell her anything she wanted to know. She had nothing to hide. Her business was successful because she worked hard to make sure it was. She carried blame for the faults as well as the successes. “What would you like to know about it?”

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Storm smiled warmly, she didn't want to alarm Verity, Lucretia was just.... curious. Taking a small sip of her firewhiskey, the burning sensation warmed her up and she was able to completely shrug off the cloak, revealing the well structured outfit below.

"Anything there is to know, how it was before, how you renovated it."

It was so different, Lucretia wondered how this girl turned it from the terrible state she left it in, to the beauty it was in now. Lucretia was not really interested in anything this girl had to say, she just wanted to get to know the girl think about something other than her past here... and perhaps not think about the people that she knew that still roamed these streets.

"How you balance school with work?"

Storm had barely managed it, but this girl seemed to be doing real well with it.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity’s head shot up. It was a fair question. In fact, it was a tale she told several times to those who were curious enough to ask her. It was the second question that kind of caught her off guard. “Well, I mean, when I first bought the place it was kind of a mess.” She said. She thought it was best not to go into great detail about that part. In all honestly, the place was filthy. It had obviously not been cared for in months and it almost looked like neighborhood kids didn’t mind sneaking in and making themselves at home. “I had some help in fixing it up, though. The furniture and stuff wasn’t in bad condition. The bar counter needed replacing, but mostly the place just needed a nice scrub down. “ She said, pausing to take in a breath of air. “If you ask me, the person who owned it before me didn’t a pretty good job at keeping it up.” Even with the work it needed, the place was probably still a head cleaner that that other place, The Hog’s Head was at the time.

If Verity was being at all honest with herself, she hadn’t been managing school as well as the Three Broomsticks. In fact, she hadn’t passed her NEWTs last term probably due to her lack of concentration. She preferred being behind the bar serving her customers than sitting in a classroom wasting her day away. “I manage my classes well enough,” Verity said. She passed, even if it was just barely, and that was all she really cared about. She was a bright girl who lacked motivation. “I’m not taking terribly advanced classes. Just enough to get me through.” Verity eyes the woman again. She was about to go mad with curiosity, but she didn’t think it was really her place to pry into the woman’s life. Still, one little question wouldn’t hurt, would it? “Were you a student at Hogwarts?” She asked.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

It was her turn to be caught off guard. Memories rushed into her mind, the good the bad and the ugly. Yes, Hogwarts held some of her fondest memories, but it was also home to memories she never wanted to revisit. It was also home to the man betrayals she made. Michael, Chase.... Two people she wished she could go back in time and change things. Be a better friend to Michael and maybe she shouldn't have pulled away from Chase.... but it seemed like the best option. With herself not around, peoples lives were smoother.

"I was, not too long ago. I'm sure there are people at Hogwarts who I may have known."

There were a lot of people. There was Chase, who was now a Headmaster, Michael a professor, Dru the librarian and Emilian was still somewhere in Hogsmeade.

"But that chapter is over."

Now she was independent, the one to have taken over her fathers business and made it even better than it ever was.

"I'm Lucretia Seyrrou by the way."

Storm prayed this girl wouldn't recognize the name, she had avoided all forms of gossip for a while, she didn't want to go back to having her name on the paper.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. But that chapter was over. She was sensing some kind of deep, dark, hidden past, but maybe that was due in part to the fact that she loved a good bit of juicy gossip. Still, it was obvious that the subject had been closed. At least for now. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lucretia.” Verity said. She did love meeting new people. It was what happened after the initial meeting that decided whether she could really tolerate them or not. Anyone who was supported her business, though, she deemed tolerable. She had few friendships at Hogwarts. In fact, she seemed to have ruined all but one.

“Is this your first time in here?” Verity asked. Lots of people from Hogwarts came to the Three Broomsticks on their trips to Hogsmeade, but she knew some preferred to just stay in the castle. She wasn’t sure how long the Three Broomsticks had been closed before she bought it. Maybe it wasn’t even around when Lucretia was at Hogwarts.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Lucretia smiled, she debated whether or not to reveal herself as the former owner of the Three Broomsticks. After some conflict, she finally decided she would.

"Well the previous owner of this place was me. I would assume that means I've been here quite a bit."

Storm wasn't offended at all by what Verity said, in fact she knew she had completely treated this place like garbage. At first, the place was beautiful, she renovated it well and even had a booming business. But when she became a mentally unstable mess, she had completely forgot about her duty as the owner and it thus became the dump she left it in. Storm still smiled warmly to Verity.

Ironically her whole business was about buying stores, renovating them and selling or renting them out.

[Verity Bromley]

Verity’s eyes grew wide and all of the color in her face drained. She wasn’t quite sure how to react to that little bit of news. Should she apologize? Should she offer her another drink? Share a story of a similar experience they may have had about running the same exact business? She gave off a kind of nervous laugh before composing herself once again. If there was one thing Verity had been taught at the various prestigious schools she’s attended, it was how to maintain composure when it was the hardest. To put on a show for the world to see that told a completely different story of what was actually real. “Ah, well then, it really is a pleasure, isn’t it?” She said with a smile. Verity assessed her glass. She gestured to one of her servers to bring her two more. She didn’t normally drink on the clock, but what was the harm in having one little drink with a customer? “You did a nice job with the place. It could’ve been completely ruined, but for the most part it was fully functional.” She added.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Storm laughed a bit, the girl was obviously embarrassed and was doing her best to compose herself.

"Do not worry about sparing my feelings, I already know I did such a terrible job. I'm just proud my successor is someone who cares about this place. I have some fond memories in here."

Sometimes, this place had served as a safe haven for her and others it was a gathering place for herself and her friends. Then there was the one time with....

Storm refused to go there, that was a stupid mistake that she was long over and had completely moved on from. Still, being here brought back so many memories.

"The pleasure is all mine though."

Storm, took another sip of her fire whiskey, she crossed her legs gesturing to the young women in front of her.

"So how long have you had this place?"

[Verity Bromley]

Verity had to think about that question. It felt like she had been running the Three Broomsticks for years, but considering the fact that she hadn’t even been at Hogwarts for a year, that couldn’t be right. “About nine months now.” She decided. So much had happened in the past nine months that it seemed like years had passed. So many of her own memories were made there, not that she could exactly say that she regretted any of them, but it felt like home. “How long did you have it?” Verity had bought the place with money she earned. She had built it back up into something and made a name for it once again. She generated a business that did well enough to support her and her team of employees. Somehow, she still didn’t feel right calling it hers in front of this woman. The place had an unwritten past that she had no idea about.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Storm couldn't quite remember exactly how long, but she knew more than a year by a bit.

"A little over a year."

She amended, Lucretia had loved this place, but apparently not enough to maintain even after her somewhat mental breakdown. Storm smiled, trying to hide the nostalgic look that was present in her eyes.

"Yes well, this place is quite special. Somehow it has a way to bring people together."

It was the main thing that made Storm love The Three Broomsticks so much. Watching as couples and large groups of friends come in. The loud chatter, the booming laughs and the general aura of the place. It was always a comforting feeling. Storm ran a hand through her dark black locks, eyes trailing around the room focusing on the details of the place that she had long forgotten.

"How do you like it?"

[Verity Bromley]

“Yeah, it does.” Verity realized. When she first re-opened it, people trickled in, but once people knew it was open again there wasn’t much Verity had to do. People came in on their own. They met friends, dates, co-workers, and anyone else they could meet for coffee or drinks there. It was a family friendly place, for the most part. Sometimes the bar was crowded, but Verity never let it get out of hand. People respected her space and she let them stay. If they stepped out of line, she threw them out on their ass. Nonetheless, there was a wall that separated a part of the dining room from the bar so people could still eat in peace.

“I love it.” Verity breathed. What she hated was not being there. She hated sitting in class wondering what was going on down at her shop. It was a good distraction. A good distraction for why she hadn’t heard from Leo, although maybe she was partially avoiding him. Why she hadn’t seen Celyn in forever, or from the fact that she was really doing rather poorly in her classes. The Three Broomsticks was a distraction she had fallen in love with. “I didn’t think I would at first. It was just a job, you know?” Verity said. “But now I can’t imagine not being here.”

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Storm felt like the person who took over right after her was well worth it. In fact she was happy that Verity took such good care of the place. Had she returned to find it in the same state as before, she would wallow in more depressing thoughts.

"Well I'm impressed."

Storm herself was curious though as to how this girl had the funding to get the place. It then dawned on her that the way this girl carried herself was the answer. Pureblood she probably had funding from her parents to buy the place. Lucretia herself bought the place from inherited money.

"I'm curious, how were you able to make this purchase, if I'm not being too bold to ask of course."

She respectfully bowed her head, in case this girl would be offended by the question.