When it Rains, it Pours -open-

[Veronica Amderius Derrick]

Veronica Derrick had determined what seemed like ages ago that whatever day she dressed in a skirt and heels and chose not to carry an umbrella to work, it was bound to rain. Today was one of those days. She had just spent an over 48 hour shift in the Magical Bugs Department of St. Mungo’s. Over all, it hadn’t been the worst 48 hours at the hospital for magical maladies, but two full days was a long time to spend trying to heal people of various magical viruses, particularly when some patients seemed to only get worse. The job of a healer was far more discouraging than rewarding most days.

Despite the cases she had left behind in her ward at St. Mungo’s, Ron was tired enough to care only about making her way back to her apartment and crashing with a cup of tea and a good book before sleeping it all off. The lifestyle wasn’t ideal by any means, but the tangible way of helping people was to Ron a necessity. She felt it the necessary payment and responsibility for being what she was.

As she stepped outside St. Mungo’s the looming clouds overhead where still just threatening to drop their load of rain; that inevitable event seemed to happen just as she started down the sidewalk. Veronica glanced upward at the sky as she felt the first drop of water hit her face only to be met with a downpour of stinging cold rain. With a sigh, she resigned herself to the fact that the normally simple and short walk to apartment was simply going to be right miserable. Already quickly on her way to being completely soaked, she shivered as she stepped into a deceptive puddle, her foot covered in freezing water.

[Anastasia Leila Mitena]

Ana had spent most of the day walking along. Looking like she knew what she was doing, like she had something to do, looking like an ordinary person with ordinary routines. She knew how to look this way, she learned it from being quiet in Hogwarts. Always remembering names and faces of others, though none knew her name. She walked wearing gray pants, and black boots, her shirt was a darker gray than her pants. She had a robe wrapped around her like a jacket, but didn't look cold. She was though, dripping wet.

Her face was dripping wet, and her eyes were half closed to keep rain out of them. Her hair, though looked like some wet rat was placed on top of her head, and called a wig. Though, her hair wasn't untidy her bangs covered up her forehead some of it running in front of her eyes. Yet, besides all this rain, the woman seemed to enjoy being out here, and seemed to be taking her time as she walked, to who knows where. Heck, even she herself didn't know.

Ana's eyes opened more, and she whipped her hand across her bangs. She stopped when she met the left side, and lowered her hand. The woman looked down at her necklace, making sure it was tucked beneath her robe, which looked a lot like a jacket in how she used it. ''Hey.'' She spoke shyly, her blue green eyes no longer half closed, they were now fixed upon Veronica. She opened her robe and took out a long dark green umbrella. It was in a larger compartment she had an always stored the umbrella in. Her wand was in a deep outer pocket, that she had made sure not to let overflow with rain. She held out the umbrella to Veronica.

[Veronica Amderius Derrick]

So focused on her task of surviving the bitter rain’s harsh onslaught, Ron didn’t notice that she was no longer alone on her journey home. She looked with disdain on her soaked robe, only briefly allowing the passing idea of wringing it out. She gave the ominous sky another glance; the dark clouds were no less pressing. The rain wasn’t about to stop anytime soon, and registering that there were, in fact, several Muggles within viewing distance, she couldn’t risk a spell-retrieval of her own umbrella, uselessly hanging, completely dry in her closet. Or, even better, apparating.

Veronica attempted to distract herself from the misery of the rain by thinking back over the last two days, which naturally blended into one since she’d spent all of them at St. Mungo’s. The first case was a very bad case of dragon pox suffered by a young girl of only seven. As St. Mungo’s was currently desperately understaffed, departments overlapped more often than not, and this case was one exception as Ron had to make her way to the Pediatrics Department of St. Mungo’s to help young Allitrya Spilling. It was one of the cases that was causing her the most concern as well. Though a cure for Dragon Pox had been created centuries earlier, Allitrya just didn’t seem to be recovering as well as she should. Slight progress on symptoms of the disease seemed to be only passing. Veronica’s fear was that after all this time, the malady had evolved a new strain of itself, a stronger variety that was cured by the standard potion. The healer was still contemplating this, picturing with regret the ill young girl when a voice brought her out of the contemplation.

Looking to the side, Veronica noticed the young woman walking the sidewalk near her, the source of the voice she had heard. “Hey,” she replied back simply, thinking briefly that the other only intended a quick greeting in passing until she saw her reach into her robe. Ron reached for her wand inside her own robe on instinct; her life had prepared her for such an encounter. The healer was caught off-guard by the umbrella that was offered instead. “Oh,” she added, her tone so soft it was barely audible. “Thanks, but I’m alright.” Most people came to learn quickly that Veronica Derrick was extremely stubborn when it came to being self-sufficient. She wasn’t about to accept the offer of an umbrella, particularly from someone who was equally as wet from the rain.

[Anastasia Leila Mitena]

Ana had noticed the woman went to reach for her wand, and let it be, when she realized that Ana was just getting out the umbrella. ''It is all right, I don't mind being wet, I sorta of enjoy it-but you though, don't seem as fit.'' Ana's voice was quiet, rushed even, as if her act of kindness was not something she often did-or liked doing. Ana always tried hard-but whether or not it worked, was always different.

Ana didn't like skirts- and she never wore one. Well-maybe once or twice in Hogwarts, maybe. But she made a point of never wearing them now-and especially not a dress. She only whore a dress once-and as soon as she could she had taken it off. Seeing Veronica wearing a skirt, made her relive this hatred, and new that high-heels weren't the best thing to wear, especially when you couldn't apparate with muggles all about. Not, that Ana had anything against Muggles. She just found them around when she needed them the least.

Ana, at that time, was also just wandering around, just wandering marking in her mind the less muggle populated streets so she could use the alleyways and such, if need be. But, now that she though about it, she hadn't had any sort of job for a while. She wouldn't mind working at St. Mungos, but something inside her told her that she wouldn't be able to stand being in there, see others like herself- a werewolf- a rare case but she doubted she was the only one. She also wouldn't be able to stomach some other things. And the training-she bet, wasn't going to help her. If, there was-training, that is. Ana wasn't sure.

[Veronica Amderius Derrick]

Failing to see it early enough, Ron stepped into another puddle, promising to herself that from now on she was going to wear pants and real shoes with her robe to work. Of course, she knew she’d forget about this determination soon enough, but just thought made her feel better, if only slightly. Her attention returned to her new acquaintance when the umbrella was offered again. This time Veronica accepted. Despite the fact that she was already quite wet, the umbrella couldn’t hurt. “Must be nice to like the rain,” she added, the hint of a smile tugging at her lips.

Opening up the umbrella and holding it up, Veronica immediate felt better. She knew it was simply psychological, as the rain was still relentless. “Thank you,” she said gratefully the other woman, who was clearly better prepared for the less than ideal weather. ”I should know by now not to leave my apartment with one these things.” Though shy, she wasn’t rude, and she felt that at least a bit of conversation was in order for the person who’d shared the umbrella. Feeling she should at the least introduce herself, Ron added, “My name’s Veronica. Veronica Derrick.” Though she could have been wrong, the healer sensed that this new acquaintance was kind - she had, after all, given up her umbrella to a stranger. ”Where are you headed?”

[Anastasia Leila Mitena]

Ana nodded slowly. ''Anastasia, Mitena. Is my name.''Ana said, ''But some call me Ana, or Lei for my middle name.'' Ana never really lied, and she almost never gave out her full middle name-she never knew why, though. It seemed to keep her secretive. ''Learning the many alleyways and streets, which ones have less-'' She saw none in earshot, so she spoke at normal- yet slightly fearful tone, ''Muggles around. That, and I just walk around. Not really anywhere.'' Ana looked up at the clouds, and then back down in front of her. 'Veronica.' Ana thought, 'Derrick' She'd remember that name, easily along with many others. She had forgotten some from her first through third year at Hogwarts, but her somewhat friends (the ones she talked with), and her enemies were burned within her mind. Veronica, now entered her mind, pushing out a name from her third year.

Ana's pants were slightly wet, as she had made sure to semi-absently mindivly step into the puddles. Even as an adult, she loved to do that. Rain, it seemed, also calmed her, like now. But she made sure that she'd need to get back to the wooden half mansion half regular black house that was actually her parents'. Bloodmoon would be happy to see her-but besides that, she would have nothing else to do-one of the bad things about not having a job, even with being a member of the Order-you got bored. ''I might try to find another job..'' She said, not completely towards Veronica, but somewhat. Ana's shyness would die down after a minute, and though her shyness had often gotten the best of her, she had days when the shyness could be pushed aside, for a minute or so.

[Veronica Amderius Derrick]

“Most people call me Ron,”[/b] Veronica admitted, deciding that if this new acquaintance felt comfortable enough to share her nicknames, she could as well. It was the truth as well - the very few people over the years who had even known who she was had nearly invariably referred to her by the short form of her name. “Anastasia,” she added thoughtfully, partly in contemplation, partly for the purposes of memory. “That’s a lovely name.” She wasn’t surprised that the name was unfamiliar. Besides the fact that there seemed to be so many more people in London these days - wizards, witches, and Muggles - and with the apparent age difference between the two, it wasn’t likely that they would have known each other had they been together at Hogwarts. Age differences were rather solid barriers at the school, and even had the age difference between Ron and Ana allowed them to attend at the same time, it wasn’t at all likely they would have known each other.

Of course, Veronica had found that age differences had far less important as years passed - larger gaps between friends and companions were definitely acceptable and Veronica knew she could use a few friends. It wasn’t that she wasn’t friendly, not that she necessarily wanted to be alone. Really, meeting people wasn’t a bad thing to her at all, it was just that she knew better the dangers of forming bonds came in more than one form.

Veronica was at first surprised when Ana said that she had been checking out the streets of London, but then realized that it was actually not a terribly bad idea. With all the chaos of the present-day city - new Ministry regulations and officers, the mass escape from Azkaban - it couldn’t hurt at all to be prepared. Ron made a mental note to consider doing the same during her space time. When it wasn’t raining.

The healer was not phased by Ana’s mentioning that she was looking for a job. There were still quite a few wizarding families around that could easily afford to live comfortably without having an actual job. The Derricks weren’t one of those families, but Veronica couldn’t imagine not having her position and work at St. Mungo’s. “What do you do with your time?” The question was more a rhetorical muse than a question posed for Ana, though voiced aloud. Ron quickly realized how probing the question could have been. ”Sorry, I shouldn’t have-” She knew the apology was weak, and struggled for something else to say to cover it. ”They are looking for some more help, at St. Mungo’s, if you’re interested. There’s just a bit of training...” Ron’s voice trailed off as she realized that he may have once again overstepped her bounds with a new acquaintance by promoting her place of work.

[Anastasia Leila Mitena]

''Thanks.'' Ana replied. The rain wasn't letting up, but she seemed to no longer pay attention to it. It seemed more like that her thoughts were clouding out her surroundings. Ana, never really had any one at Hogwarts. She never went to a dance-and if she did she was the first to leave, never talked to anyone though, now that she thought about it, there was that one adventure she had with Sasha a Ravenclaw and Harley a Gryffindor. But it seemed so distant she didn't remember them much. She did have a few student-half friends, that she talked to from time to time. She had plenty more enemies than friends though, and their names burned within her mind. Names she wished she could forget.

''No, it's alright. I don't do much- I haven't had a job in a few months, though my parents left me wealth, I really don't want any of it. Most of it is muggle money anyways.'' She paused, when Ron mentioned St. Mungos. ''I've never been sure how good I'd be there. Guess it would depend on what department I'd be in-but I'm a little squeamish depending on the incident. I don't mind training though, it would give me something to do.'' Ana's gray pants were even more wet, it seemed. Her brown hair seemed to be darker-and wetter-than before, along with the graying ends of it. Ana placed her hands in her pockets now. She checked to make sure her wand was still within the deep pocket, and it was.'Could I really work at St. Mungos? I'd probably last only two seconds if I tried anyhting else.' Ana sighed to herself, she remembered how she wanted to work with dragons, and how her father had forced her out of it, along with becoming an Auror. Instead, he tried to get her to join the Deatheaters. Ana felt that it was better with him gone to the shadows of the earth, doing evil deeds, and yet. Ana moved her hand out of her pocket, keeping her wand within it, and she pulled out the amber dragon necklace she had tucked away in her shirt.

She had gotten it as a birthday present, from her father. She never knew, how to unlock the memories it had within it, and she also knew that it was impossible for her to slip off again, the thing was a dark magic sort of item, but it had done nothing to Ana. Then, Ana remembered the scariest moment of her life, before Hogwarts, when she was bitten by that werewolf. How she would have been hurt worse, if her father had not jumped and knocked the werewolf away, leaving Ana to get away as the two werewolves fault. She held the dragon necklace tighter.

'It was him though, who almost killed me in my 5th year, and then in my 7th, when I fought him as a werewolf, and wounded him. I never saw him again. Torn between love, and hate for him.' She closed her eyes and let the necklace go, banishing the thoughts of her wicked father for later. The dragon necklace was now clearly viewable. No longer tucked under her shirt.

[Veronica Amderius Derrick]

Inspired by Ana's lack of rejection of the idea of working at St. Mungo's, Veronica needed no further encouragement to continue talking about it. Her job and, more importantly, the people she was able to help, were one of the few topics that could make her seem almost overly talkative, far from the rather shy, quiet person she tended to be. "It's a really great place to work," she said, her attitude raising despite the still-falling rain. "All of the staff - well, most of the staff - are wonderful to work with, as are the patients. And we're really low on help right now." For whatever reason, likely several, St. Mungo's was indeed currently thinly staffed, and though Ron little minded the additional hours, she wasn't against doing a bit of recruiting of people she thought would be a good fit. And although she had just met Ana, Ron had a strong sense that her new acquaintance would be a great asset to the St. Mungo's team, as well as a pleasant personality to work with.

"There are plenty of departments that are less - tramatic," Ron added, wanting to quickly respond to Ana's concerns. "We don't have that many serious patients right now." While the statement was true for the moment, over the past few months, weeks even, the number of critical patients had been higher than usual, and Veronica sensed with dread that it would only increase. Shaking those negative thoughts, Ron turned back to her new friend. "Perhaps something like pediatrics would suit?"

Ron noticed as they continued to walk that Ana seemed to be more than a bit preoccupied with a strange-looking charm on the end of a necklace. Though she certainly didn't want to pry, after a few moments of silently observing, she couldn't help making a comment. "That's an interesting necklace," she finally said. It looked vaguely like something connected with the Dark Arts, a realization that caught her by surprise, though she currently be sure since she was far from being an expert in such things. Her comment was neutral, she hoped, and though she regretted now saying anything, Ron knew Ana could choose to explain or not.

[Anastasia Leila Mitena]

"I might very well look into joining the staff. I really would like something to do. Maybe, pediatrics would, I promise I'll look into it." She smiled, kindly, it really wasn't like Ana to break promises. It was still raining, and Ana, still ignoring it, and now, realized that Ron had seen her looking at the necklace.

"Oh, thanks, my dad gave it to me when I was about nine-as a birthday present." She said, calmly. "It's probably some dark magic item I dare say." she said that in a hushed voice. "I can't take it off, and the dragon inside it-it holds memories, though I have no way of getting to them. It doesn't do anything to me though." She said, looking at the necklace, before letting it hang. Ana's boots and pants, were dripping wet, and so was her black coat. She did not touch the umbrella she had, though. Nor did she pull the hood up on her coat. Her gray pants, looked almost black, now.

Ana's hair, was growing wetter as well. 'So much for taking a shower tonight.' she thought with a laugh. Her eyes, didn't seem fearful about the information she had just told Veronica. Even if she told others-others that could hurt Ana, she knew it wouldn't be the first time, and defiantly not the last. Ana looked at the sky again. "No wonder no one is around." She said, seeing no one walking along the sidewalks, carrying newspapers or umbrellas. "Its pouring badly out, not to mention-" She heard thunder in the distance. "That, hate thunder." She said, not surprised, but not expecting that. She put her hold now over her head, and heard thunder again.

[Veronica Amderius Derrick]

Ron glanced over at the other as Ana promised to check into working at St. Mungo's. "You don't have to," she said quickly, hoping the girl didn't think her strange for so adamantly supporting work at a hospital of all places, and also hoping that she didn't feel like she was being forced into by Ron, despite the smile she gave. Ron stopped on her walk to face Ana, hoping to show how adamantly she didn't want Ana to be trapped into it. "It was just a suggestion, I thought that maybe...well, I work there-" Veronica paused for a sigh, the words were coming out quicker than she could really control them; she got flustered so easily, one of the many reasons she didn't talk that much. "Of course, I've already told you that," she added. Now she's really going to think I'm quite dull. "I can only talk about St. Mungo's because it's the only place I've had a real job for any amount of time. You shouldn't work there just because I said so, I'm sure there are many other places that would love to have you."

The healer stopped there - she'd said enough, too much, actually, and she really didn't want to get any nearer in the conversation to talking about herself. The comment on the necklace was not only a show of interest in a new acquaintance, but a timely deflection. Ron gave a silent but sigh as she awaited for the other's response; she was quite surprised - not at the answer she received, necessarily, but at the ease in which she shared. Her eyes widened in surprise, and despite her generally concerned nature, she couldn't help posing the curious question, first. Part of being a Ravenclaw, she supposed. "It holds memories?" Ron repeated, maintaining Ana's hushed tone, fascinated by the idea as she gave the odd piece of jewelry a second glance, armed with that new knowledge. Apparently her assumptions about it from the offset were correct.

"That must be horrible - not being able to remember. Did he know what it did? Your father, I mean." Ron didn't mean to pry at all, and as the final words left her, she realized she could be stepping into very forbidden territory. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry I asked that," Ron said, backing away as though it were part of her punishment for overstepping those imaginary bounds. "I really shouldn't have even asked about it. It was none of my business." Paranoid perhaps, but the thought that Ana had felt forced into sharing that potentially difficult bit of information had Ron quite anxious. "Please, just forget I said anything about it." Despite what it may have seemed, she was not all worried about the consequences of Ana's admission; she'd already seen enough in her years as well. But the thought that this kind and friendly girl would already dislike her was something she didn't want to live with. Ana had even shared her umbrella with her!

[Anastasia Leila Mitena]

"You'd think that, Ron. But, there aren't many places that would want me working for them," Ana said remembering why she couldn't have a normal life, or a normal job. All because she was bitten by a werewolf. All because her father didn't save her in time, though he eventually did. She heard thunder again, and held her hood down so to try to muffle out the noise and to keep the hood from blowing off. 'Hate this thunder.' She thought, still walking with Ron. Ana had a feeling Ron thought she was talking to much, but Ana didn't mind she was better when listening then when talking.

"Yes, it does." Ana said, and she continued, "Theres times when I can't remember things, happens rarely but still it does happen. When those times come the Dragon's Eye flicks open. Maybe it moves around in there I've never paid attention to it, but it also collects important memories." She kept it as plain as could be, as sane as it could sound. She didn't want anyone to know of her werewolf blood. Not unless, they found out on their own, of course.

"No, its fine, its fine." Ana said in Ron's defense. "My father doesn't deserve any sympathy, none at all." Though Ana had times when she felt bad for her father-she also hated him deeply. Oh so deeply she hated him. Her mind always told her though, that she never could really, truly hate her own father. He had cared for her after all. "You really aren't doing anything wrong, Ron. To get me to act defensive, you'd have to travel way into my memories, and only certain ones set me off. Asking me about my father is not one of them." Ana made a warm smile to show she wasn't lying. Now some lightning flashed behind them, Ana spun around just to see it fade, "Darn Lightning." She said now turning back again.