Leaky Cauldron pub, 1pm.

Never, in her many years of healing, did Vivienne Thorpe ever think that she would become tired of walking the halls of St.Mungo's hospital. And yet... as of lately, she most definitely was tired of it. Naturellement, this was a temporary feeling. A phase, a passing episode. A sickness of its own kind and she knew precisely how to cure the thing.

A short message had been carried to her old school friend, Myrni, and a meeting arranged. Drinks to catch-up on days before and to see what the former Gryffindor had been doing recently as the Arithmancy professor at Hogwarts. A teacher! It was an odd idea, that. Teaching at Hogwarts was an altogether odd idea to Vivienne... she always wondered if the professors were as plagued by schooltime memories as often as they were by the students.

"Another glass?"

The Healer looked up from her copy of Sad Cypress, glancing at the wizard behind the bar and smiling impulsively at the tanned, handsome face looking back at her. New bartender. "Oui," she replied and crossed her legs. She was sitting on a high stool, dressed plainly in a dark blue wrap dress and looking especially relaxed this afternoon.

It was a warm, almost stuffy day indoors and she was patiently waiting for her friend to arrive. A different venue might have been preferable but it was cosy and comfortable here in the Cauldron. The barhand flashed her a quick grin: "Coming right up," he said and disappeared down to the cellar. Viv's grey eyes followed his form idly, but then shifted away towards the pub entrance.

A familiar figure came through the doors, one she hadn't seen for nearly a year now. Myrni hadn't changed all that much-- still as simply dressed, effortlessly put together. Vivienne caught her friend's eye as she closed the book on her lap and waved, smile widening. It was almost instantly uplifting, to see a friendly face that had nothing to do with work.

For as long as she had been back fully in the UK, Myrni still felt that she was catching up with all of her old friends. She admitted that it had been an eventful year, but she could not avoid feeling like the proper eel for not making a better effort to fit them into her schedule.

Not even Christmas cards, she scolded herself.

Luckily, folks like Vivienne Thorpe had been forgiving and that meant an offer to meet for drinks which Myrni had happily said yes to.

She scurried into The Leaky Cauldron after spending some time at the Ministry of Magic earlier in the morning and after a quick scan around the bar, she spotted her old classmate. She waved first and made her way over to where Vivienne was sitting.

"Hello!" she chirpped a bit breathlessly as she approached the Healer. She returned the woman's smile and leaned in to give her a hug. "Oh, I can already feel this is going to be an amazing day. I'm so sorry it's taken so long to find the time." She settled into the chair next to Vivienne and flashed her another smile. "It's so good to see you."

It was a Healer's vice more than anything else but Vivienne was happy to see that Myrni appeared to be in quite good health. Pink cheeks, expected geniality. Another wine glass was set out as they greeted each other, to replace Viv's empty one, though the barhand sauntered off before she could ask him to bring something else.

They hugged briefly and she waved away the apology with a feminine gesture: "Non, don't be sorry! Life is like that. We love our work but then everything else we love must come second," her smile was wistful. Being around an old classmate reminded her so much of Hogwarts that it almost hurt, not being at school anymore.

Those were excellent times. Confusing, crazy, excellent times. "It really is good to see you too," Viv replied as she leaned back against the low back of the bar stool: "You look well. How have you-- or wait, no.  How has Hogwarts been?" With the new term just around the corner, it was easy to picture Myrni as a professor. Some times it was harder with old friends, having grown up seeing them as adolescents.

The bartender reappeared just then and the witch caught his eye, "A drink for my friend, please," Vivienne turned to the professor with a twinkle in her grey eyes: "What's your poison these days?"

Myrni sighed with a bit of relief at Viv's easy going acceptance of their "distance" most recently. But then the healer had been an individual who had as much compassion and tolerance as Myrni herself strived to have, which was easily the reason they had become fast friends.

"Well, some things do have enough means to pull us away from our work," Myrni returned, her thoughts immediately turning to Nathan and some of the interactions more recently.  He had a way of distracting her from the upcoming school year.

"But Hogwarts has been great this past year," Myrni said, pulling herself back to the conversation just as quickly as she left it. "I was considering not returning for a bit, but I soon realized that was foolish thinking. I love it too much."

When the bartender returned, Myrni turned to him with an idea for a drink in mind. "It's a little obscure," she told him seriously. "I mean, I should probably tell you how to make it since I learned about it on my Egypt trip." The man regarded her a little warily and she went on to tell him what was in a Samarian Sunset. He shrugged and headed off to make the drink.

Turning back to Viv, Myrni shrugged and after an innocent blink, she asked, "So what has been happening in the healing world these days?"

The barhands at the Leaky Cauldron, in spite of their diverse London clientele, were no doubt unaccustomed to the features of Mediterranean cocktails. Vivienne pressed her lips together into a diverted smile as the wizard left them to mix Myrni's selection, and she turned back to her friend who was now asking about 'the healing world.'

Recent memories of sitting patiently over a bubbling cauldron immediately came to mind. Sometimes it felt like her life revolved around a cauldron... but non, that was unfair. There was so much more than that. "Nothing important. Patients, cures, an occasional crisis. There was that attack at the hospital last month but we have recovered since," the Healer sipped at her wine and held the glass delicately in one hand as she leaned forward a little.

"It's all about keeping everyone calm, non?" The fourth floor in a nutshell. "Not easy but necessary. Now tell me..." Viv uncrossed her legs and met Myrni in the eye. A spark of old Ravenclaw curiousity glimmer in her grey gaze: "Why were you considering not returning to Hogwarts? Did the trip to Egypt change your mind?"

Having never been to that part of the world, Vivienne was a little curious-- naturellement. Travelling could do strange things to people; but perhaps only as strange as changing a preference in beverage.