Ackerly had decided to make the best of his weekend with his daughter. The last few days, things had gotten a little easier. At least Lucinda didn't ignore him anymore, and understood she was supposed to listen to him. It was a shame he was so scant in his daughter's life that she didn't even realize he was daddy. It had hurt him, somewhat, to realize that- but Ackerly Fox wasn't the sort to be a good dad or to let it bother him much.

His mother and father had returned from their anniversary vacation the past Wednesday, and Ackerly promptly dumped his daughter on them while he was at the office. He did pick her up on the way home, though, in attempts to prove to his ex-wife he wasn't totally incompetent. (Though it was mostly due to his father's insisting he spend time with his little girl and trying to coax him into believing it would help with Isabel. Ackerly had bought it. He still loved his ex-wife, and would do what he could to please her.)

Ackerly's parents were going to keep her this afternoon, and over night and on until Sunday evening to give him a breather. So he decided that Saturday morning to get his daughter some sweets. He still felt bad for not letting her have that sucker the man at the ministry tried to give her.

So Ackerly had dressed Lucinda in her sweater dress, adding some tights, furry boots, and a toboggan. He was at least smart enough to know you didn't take a baby out in the cold unless it was properly covered. He even had extra blankets in the stroller. After he was ready, Ackerly went by floo to Hogsmeade, coming out in the three broomsticks. Using his wand to clean himself, his daughter, and their things, he tucked her securely in the stroller and pushed her up to the sweetshop.

Once inside, Ackerly pushed her over to where the suckers were, and let her out of the stroller. He knealt down, peering her in the eyes. "You can have three lollipops," he told her, holding up three fingers. "Can you count to three, Lucy?" The toddler giggled, and then began plunging her hands into the candies- picking out far more than just three.

outfit

She had been spending more and more time around the castle lately.  Communication with Wilton had come to a standstill once more, leaving her wondering if they did actually stand a chance.  She was finding her own way, thanks to the position at Hogwarts taking her out of London and away from the safety net of her now estranged husband and family.  She thought too that she was actually doing a good job at becoming a truly independent person.

She needed to stand on her own two feet.  Certainly she had friends and people who cared about her to talk to, but she couldn’t remember the last time she had truly been forced to simply rely on her own abilities.  She was a capable, smart witch after all and there was no reason why she had to be forced to rely completely on anyone.  The past few weeks she had spent quite a bit of time alone with her thoughts, and she was starting to work through more and more of the baggage she had built up over the years.

Walking through the streets of Hogsmeade she saw a man entering Honeydukes pushing a stroller.  Normally she would have simply continued on her way, but the man looked suspiciously like one Ackerly Fox.  During her days at Hogwarts she had always had quiet a crush on him, despite her best efforts to not take notice.  The fact that he was pushing a stroller with a small child in it simply intrigued her.  He had never seemed the type for marriage and children.

"Can you count to three, Lucy?"

Anna smiled slightly.  It was indeed Ackerly, with an adorable toddler.  Seeing other people with their children given the climate of her marriage and the desire to settle down and start her own family was getting a bit easier.  Her smile wasn’t quite as forced, and it was good to see a familiar face.

“Well, Ackerly Fox…I never expected to find a familiar face in Honeydukes,” she said.  “She’s adorable.”  Resisting the urge to ask if the little one was his daughter she hoped her would filling the blanks as she waited to see if he remembered her.

Ackerly was startled to hear someone call his name, dropping one of the lollipops that his daughter had handed him- declaring that it was pink. It shattered and he cursed under his breath, knowing he would have to pay for it anyway. Luckily Lucinda didn't see, so he scooped it up and plopped it into the small shopping basket he had grabbed on his way in.

The auror let his gaze linger for a moment, appreciating that the woman was clearly very pretty- though he didn't allow himself to look ravenous, more so just... curious. Masking one's emotions was a skill that was picked up in the auror corp, which was then further mastered when attempting to hold a failing marriage together. His brows knitted together in concentration, as he attempted to remember who the lady was. It was embarrassing to run into ex-lovers (or rather, one night lovers) and not recall their names- but he could not remember ever being with her that way. Typically Ackerly's tastes in that arena called for a more ethnic looking woman.

Instead of attempting to recall the witch's name, however, he turned his attention to Lucinda. "She's my daughter," he told her. "She's two and a half, turns three..." Wait, when was Lucy's birthday? The spring, maybe? Or was it the summer? Ackerly was fairly certain it was April...ish. "Well, she turns three soon," he told her. Damnit! If he hadn't been attempting to recall that fairly important detail, Ackerly was certain he would have remembered. It was like attempting to remember who sang a song- or, in the case of his wife, who played in a movie or a television show.

Ackerly's attention was diverted whenever Lucy handed him another pink lollipop out of the bin, and he placed it gently next to the broken one. "Two more, Lucinda," he told her firmly. Ackerly might not be able to remember things well, but he did at least know how to set boundaries with his children and make sure that they knew he was the boss. It was harder with Lucy than it was with Baxter, though. At least Baxter remembered him being a father- Lucy probably never would.

"I feel like a right ar-" Ackerly stopped himself, if he said arse in front of her daughter she might repeat it- and his (ex)wife might have something to say about. "Fool," he corrected himself, "but I really just can't remember your name."