Monroe was more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker but she did like to change it up from time to time. She would have travelled back to London but just wanted to take a moment to enjoy Hogsmeade during summer. It was much quieter than when school was on at Hogwarts. Sure there were no students around unless they were visiting or they lived nearby but there were hardly any staff around either. Not that the professors of Hogwarts were really the loud crowd. They were anything but it was nice to enjoy the village for a bit. This was not a place she would normally be found it and her presence in the tea shop would be even more rarer. But Monroe was not out to live by other’s expectations of her. She hadn’t when it came to major facets of her life so why would now be any different?

The blonde witch dressed in her robes for work stepped into the tea shop and put her bag down. She wasn’t sure if she should unfasten her cloak just yet. If she found a spare table then she would stay otherwise her visit to Madam Puddifoot’s would be brief. It was unlikely that people came here much, for one it was summer and people drank less tea during the warmer months and she didn’t think the place had caught onto serving iced tea. Secondly, the decor of the shop kept people away. All the frills and lace of the tablecloths and wall decorations were not Monroe’s style but she could overlook it.

She sat down and was soon met by a waitress who took her order of lady grey tea and some biscuits. When she had been younger she would easily dunk her biscuits at her house or the homemade biscuits at her grandmother’s into her tea. It was not a habit that one broke. She crossed her legs and pulled out her notepad from her bag and a quill and started to write her grocery list. It was a mundane but necessary task of being an adult. The witch didn’t cook much but she could use at least the basics around at home, it came in handy when she had overnight visitors. She looked up as she felt someone coming her way. Thinking it was the waitress with her order, she found it was someone else. Still, she smiled expectantly at them wondering if they were after her assistance or something else.
   

The good Lord gave two gifts to Affy when she was born. Magic and Tea. They were the two things that kept her going and her day from being complete and total shite When she had a rough day nothing made it better than a good cup of Earl Grey. She loved the taste and the purfume. The way that it filled the air when she took a sip. It was like it swirled around her and took in all of her senses she loved it. She loved every single bit of it. She knew that she needed to cut back now that she was pregnant and honestly it wasn’t like she had all that much. When she had been younger she would drink at least four cups a day alone She would live to one day regret it, she knew that all too well, but she was young and she only lived once.

Parker would be on her case, no doubt, wanting to read all the books and be mister super supportive, which was only going to grate her nerves even more, but he was trying and that meant so much, because it was more than anyone else had ever done. She wanted, no she needed them to calm down, both her and the child inside of her that was making her need the loo seven times in the middle of the night. Between it and her two year old she had no idea how she was going to get any peace at times.

She walked into her favorite tea shop and took in a deep breath before smiling and was headed to go order a pot of her own whens he spotted a familiar face. Stopping she smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. ”Monroe?” She was a year older than Affy, but their birthdays were only days apart, something she still found funny to this day.

Monroe liked to make her way to little magical villages around the UK from time to time. She loved London but coming up here meant she got to see what was going on in different places and she possibly ran into people she knew. It didn’t happen often but from time to time it id. It was something she oddly loved. Given that she was often so busy with work, it was like the only way the witch met people. Of course, she went out to clubs and such but she often went there with just one idea in mind. An idea, that almost always came to fruition. This was a fact she was proud of but not something she shared.

The blonde had a reputation to maintain when it came to her professional side. She continued to work tirelessly at keeping it both separate from each other. People who knew what she did for work understood why. She wasn’t sure what Eleanor would think of her if she knew how she spent her private time but that was why she decided it was best that didn’t like the two of them mix. But that was why she was careful in how she conducted herself. If not anything it would make her boss very happy. Sure, her siblings would have found it humorous

Monroe was happy to take some time out today to enjoy some time even if it meant she could complete such a monotonous task such as completely her shopping list. She hoped the tea would arrive soon so it would give her a little uplift. Once she had had it she would continue looking around Hogsmeade. She may even pop into Honeydukes to satisfy her sweet tooth. She had sometimes considered bringing in something harmless like sugar quills to work but then she knew once she.

Looking up she had tried to study the face of the woman who was heading her way. She was familiar but Monroe working in the ministry saw so many faces during the day. Oh, she was from school, yes, now she recognised her. ”Aphrodite!” she exclaimed. ”So nice to see you, it’s been ages...take a seat?” she offered moving her things so the other woman could join her if she wanted to.

The friends that she had had when she was in school had been few and far between, since then she hadn’t seen or really heard from many of them, though frankly, that was more on her. She had been busy opening the Daycare and things with Tony and Chris and then Renny coming alone. Her head had been in the sand for so long she kind of forgot what friends were that weren’t Autumn, Arleigh or Astrid. Even then, she supposed having more wasn’t a bad thing.

For a long time she had done everything in her power to not rely on other people for anything, she tried to be independent. It was part of what ended here where she was, she could have been much worse off than she was, she could have stayed with her parents, or Al could have stuck around. She shuddered to think what her life would have been like if he had stuck around. So many things would have been different, but maybe it was better this way. Maybe she was better this way? She wasn’t sure that she would be any different than she was now.

She fought the grimace when Monroe called her Aphrodite. Not everyone remembered that she hated that name, that she hated her name and she was so used to people calling her by her nickname that when she heard the full name it took her aback. The only person who really called her that these days was Ezra and even then it irritated her. But she supposed that was better than Marie.

She smiled at the other blonde and nodded her head. ”Thank you. I’m doing alright. Kids driving me crazy!” She said with a laugh, not indicating or separating that she meant at the daycare. This pregnancy was already making her grumpy as all get out. Ordering some tea and cakes she smiled happily. She was already a fat kid and she wasn’t even six weeks in. Great.

Monroe was regular consumer of coffee but from time to time she could appreciate the finer, more delicate things in life. At she felt tea was more delicate in comparison. She knew that some people took time to create amazing flavours and blends. At times he just lived a more hectic, sleep deprived life and coffee was just effective for her. But seeing that she was coming to Hogsmeade today, she thought she could take the time to visit the tea shop. She just wanted for relax. THe visit to the school had gone well but she had some time up her sleeve before she went back to London. Lady Bulstrode wouldn’t have a problem with her simply going to enjoy a cup of tea. She was not skiving off work. Instead she was just making her shopping a list. A really mundane task but a necessary where, at least for Monroe.

The Blonde witch had hardly changed since school, she had become more open but she still looked the same. It made her easily recognisable to people she had gone to school with and she didn't mind catching up with people she had gone to school with. She enjoyed learning what her former classmates had been up to and seeing where they were now. It was much easier than talking to her parents at least.

She really wasn’t sure if she would ever talk to them again. They had caused her so much pain but she now had her siblings and her friends to fill her life with. There was also her list of lovers which she wasn’t against spending time with them either but she needed some stable people one life and her friends and family brought her that. She thought she would spend time with her older sister on weekend she was free. They could probably hang out and make cocktails together and just share laughs for the rest of the night. It would be a fun time

Aphrodite Layton was not someone that Monroe had really spoken to at school even if they had been in the same house. They had even shared a dorm but that didnt’ necessarily make them best friends. But still Monroe realised her mistake in calling the other blonde witch by her full name and smiled at her apologetically as she took a seat. ”Oh yes? I heard you had had a child. My very late congratulations now, a son right? Sorry I’ve got a few things on my mind all work related. How old is the little one now?” she asked. Monroe did like children, she simply didn’t spend much time around them. Only time would tell if she would have her own some day. It would be after she was done with her studies and maybe if she had a career change but there was no plans for that at the moment.

Words: 483

the leaves say so much
_{so have a cup of tea with me}

Blondes in the same house and same dorm had to be friends, it was something that everyone assumed and it was something that drove Affy insane. She didn’t like a lot of people and she was picky about the company that she kept. She had one reason or another really, but a lot of it had had to do with her two best friends, Chris and Tony. She hated them now, but there was nothing that she could do about i t now. There was no going back and changing the life that she had had, there was no stepping from this path that she had been set upon. Were there times when she wished she could have stopped things and just ended it all, yeah, but she was better off now. She was smarter, stronger, more lethal when it came to what she did and didn’t allow in her life.

Affy was a strong woman who had just had enough of everyone’s shit and really the hardest part was not showing her ass when people started getting on her nerves. Her pregnancy was going smoothly thus far but honestly, the other did too; but then the blood pressure spikes had come so she was worried that things were not going to continue to be good for long. She was sort of hoping that things would just go good for once and that she could have some mother fucking peace, but that was life, was it not?

She motioned for the other witch to sit down so she didn’t have to struggle with her neck still and took a sip of her tea. ”Rennzo is three now. He’s such a precious thing. “ She said with a small smile, unable to believe that her little boy was so old already, Monroe she knew was not someone that she was going to be best friends with but it was nice to have someone to talk to who wasn’t constantly in her business. Acquaintances could be good friends too.

@monroe | OUTFIT | 337

Monroe was hardly a solitary person. She had many friends and at times she had many loves. She was not about to turn down company at any time. She knew that loneliness lead to other problems and she frankly had enough to deal with as it was. For the most part though, she liked to keep her chin up and remain in a positive frame of mind. Given what she had witnessed in recent times, she knew that it was only going to get better. She hoped at least. The witch had seen things her mind couldn’t unsee nor erase but she knew those events were rare and for the most part everything was well.

The ministry was looking up at least. It was in a stable state at the moment and that was what she liked to see. Monroe had to believe that the people in charge knew what they were doing and in which direction they were heading. Otherwise all their efforts to this point would be pointless. Monroe knew it was wrong for her to hold so much faith in a group of people who had visibly done so much wrong but the woman knew them and a little closer since she had spent so much time with Eleanor and with other death eaters who would frequent her office.

Knowing Affy from her days at Hogwarts, she had seen the girl grow up and when she had learned she had become a mother, she had been surprised but then again, she had seen Affy as a caring and nurturing girl from a young age. Monroe didn’t see herself becoming a mum for some time yet, she would need to be in a stable relationship before that and to date, she had’t been in one more did she desire one.

It was nice to run into the other woman here, she was glad she had come here when it hadn’t been too busy. She purposely avoided Hogsmeade when the students were here because knew first had how bad that was for any adult that was around. The only adults that benefited from a Hogsmeade weekend was the shopkeepers. ”Three? My goodness, soon I’ll be seeing him on Peverell’s student list” she smiled. Working in the education department, most student lists did go by her desk from time to time or most of the institutions in the UK.