It was Friday evening, and Anna was off, this being the weekend she didn't have to be on call. Unlike most professions, hospitals had to be open 7 days a week, for obvious reasons. As a trainee, Anna had little say over when she worked, and as such had spent the last weekend at St. Mungo's, twiddling her thumbs and reading a book. Typically on a night off, Anna would have been in her flat, curled up with Malificent and watching a movie or listening to music.

However Anna had decided (with some advice from Maggie and her mother), to get out of her flat and get to know a bit more of London. So she'd done her hair up, put on just a pinch of makeup, and gone to Diagon Alley to peruse some of the stores. She'd wandered around for several hours, reading books, admiring broomsticks and eating ice cream. It was starting to get dark and the stores were all closing, so Anna had decided to have a drink at the Leaky Cauldron.

It wasn't the nicest of places, but it would do. Anna sipped her wine, an order which had gotten her an odd look from the bartender, and looked around at the people who milled at tables, talking in low voices and most getting drunker with every passing minute.

For better or worse, Jacoba was now a relatively familiar face at the Leaky though she now actually found herself in the pub less often than she had before.  Up until two weeks ago, she passed through the pub almost twice a day as she waited for someone magically-capable to go through the wall between the pub and Diagon.  She was dependent on others to get through the wall.  Luckily, being a squib, Tilly was quite understanding of any unfortunate delays. 

But, since the first of the month, Jacoba's need to linger in the pub had decreased significantly since she'd taken up full time residence in the alley.  Now, Jacoba only came to the pub when she needed or wanted to make her way into the muggle world. 

Like she had today.  With Sasha getting back to London the following afternoon, Jacoba took off early from work to meet with the family's lawyers and to force herself to venture out to Rickmansworth to meet with Wilhelm and make sure everything was in order with the house.  She still avoided going to her parents' house, if at all possible but Wilhelm had been willing to meet her at a coffee shop.  And, access to her mother's car made any trip out to the country worth taking advantage of.

It was near dinner time when Jacoba slipped back into the Leaky.  The place was pretty busy but there was one table with a young woman sitting alone.  Jacoba approached the table and offered a friendly grin.  "Most everywhere else is taken.  Do you mind if I join you?"  Her German accent was thick and prominent. 

Anna rested her chin in her hand for a moment, just listening to the sound of all the people around her. She'd always enjoyed British accents, and it gave her immense pleasure to listen to so many. She sat like that for several minutes, ignoring the few odd glances she received, because for the most part people didn't notice her.

She glanced up, startled out of her thoughts when she heard a voice. She lifted her head off her hand to see a tall brunette standing beside her, wearing a bright smile. "Oh-Oh, no, please, have a seat. Sorry, I guess I'm a little tired." Anna gestured with a hand for Jacoba to have a seat, noting with curiosity that she had a strong accent.
"I'm Anna." She introduced herself, extending her hand. "Not to be rude, but where are you from?"