Forced Connections [Eden]

[Rowena Jones]

Rowena was not looking forward to her next appointment. In fact she’d rather be doing anything else. She’d take the man that had just come in with feet growing out of every orifice over what she was now being required to do. Stupid bloody auction. Stupid bloody Eden. Rowena still didn’t understand why the woman had bid on her at all. She supposed she could ask her now on their stupid bloody mandatory date.

At least they’d agreed to have it at the hospital. Rowena really didn’t want to have to go out of her way for the other woman. Losing her precious lunch break was sacrifice enough. She couldn’t help but drag her feet as she walked down the corridor to the canteen. What were they even going to talk about? Oh, maybe they didn’t have to talk. They could just sit in unpleasant silence and eat and then leave and pretend it had never happened. That sounded doable.

Rowena spotted the Eden’s blonde hair sitting by a table and took a deep breath. 90 minutes. That’s all she had to last. That kind of time flew by usually. It was be painful but over quickly. The Healer marched over and sat down next to the other woman.

“This is going to be fun…” she said by way of greeting.

[Eden Fletcher]

The day of reckoning arrived and Eden wanted to just skip it. Did she really have to use her date? Why couldn’t the dam hospital just take her money and let her go on her way? But no Albert had been instant on her having to fulfill the damn contract that she apparently signed when she shouted out 10,000 galleons. Eden wanted to hex the man. She knew a plot when she saw one. This one was stinky. He wanted her to place nice with Covington because he knew that their little war had to end if their dream of a Kameren-Covington wedding were to come true.

Eden had picked out the least paint speckled dress she owned. It was a summer dress in a turquoise that enhanced the blue in her eyes. She’d let her wild curls loose. She strolled into the cafeteria at the hospital. She waived had made it a point to say hi to Albert, mentioning her lunch. If he wanted this to happen she would damn well make sure he was aware it took place. Eden hadn’t told Max wen the little lunch date would happen. After his date with Covington he’d been distant. Hell he’d been distant since the fundraiser. Eden wanted to close that gap and if that meant making nice with his girl friend then Eden would make nice.

Eden sat down at a small table in the corner of the room. She had purposefully gotten there fifteen minutes early. She didn’t want to keep Princess Covington waiting. Eden knew how little time the woman had for a meal.

Eden had been sketching on a paper napkin waiting for her dining companion. Eden barely glanced up from sketching her cat when Rowena plopped down on the chair next to her.


This is going to be fun…” she said by way of greeting.

"I don't know about you, but I'm a barrel of laughs," Eden said dryly. Eden continued to sketch, adding the finishing touches to Snitch.

[Rowena Jones]

"I don't know about you, but I'm a barrel of laughs," Eden said dryly and Rowena snorted in disbelief.

"Yeah, I've really seen that in the many years I've known you," she said. Eden and her had rubbed each other the wrong way from the very beginning, all those years ago at Hogwarts. They had shared several classes, but moved in different social and academic circles. Really there should have been no reason for them to know of each other at all, but Fate had a funny way of pushing them into each others lives at the most annoying of times. As such, there hadn't been a year since Hogwarts that Rowena had not had to deal with Eden at some point or other.

And now of course there was Max to factor in. Rowena really really liked the Potions Master. She still hadn't quite figured out when he had changed from the most frustrating man in her existence to the most interesting man she knew, but Eden shared a flat with him so it appeared once again, the Universe was making her interact with the annoying woman and this time, providing all went well with Max, she might have to see Eden more than just a few times a year. Rowena had really hoped that chance meeting in Muggle London had been her yearly interaction but then the Auction had happened and now here they were. On a 'date'. She hadn't even gone on her date with Max yet!

Rowena sighed as she retrieved her lunch from her bag and glanced over at what Eden was doing and scowled. She could barely draw a stickman and here Eden was sketching a decent picture of a cat. Merlin she hated it when people could do things she couldn't. She would have loved to have some nice pictures of her cats. Rowena wondered whose cat that was and curiosity won out.

"Cute cat. Yours?" she said before taking a bite of her sandwich and feigning indifference.

[Eden Fletcher]

(Eden is actually a year a head in school but they would have had some classes together (combo grades) because of the magical flux stuff that happened which meant that students couldn't use magic without it going haywire so during her first year they did theory instead of practical stuff)

"I don't know about you, but I'm a barrel of laughs," Eden said dryly and Rowena snorted in disbelief.

"Yeah, I've really seen that in the many years I've known you," she said.

Eden just shrugged a shoulder as she continued to sketch. "Maybe you weren't looking at the real me," Eden said as she focused on the shading of Snitch's ear. Eden knew she shouldn't rattle Rowena's cage but she just couldn't help it. Some people just had to poke the sleeping dragon. The impulse was just too strong. As Eden sketched she glanced up through her lashes. She kept drawing so she could sneak glances at the woman who was the object of her best friend's attention. Eden didn't know what Max suddenly saw in Rowena. It was hard for Eden to see the woman as anything other than the annoying pest she had been in school.

The more details Eden added to her drawing the angrier Rowena seemed to become. Her posture was so stiff, Eden thought she might snap in half. Her face was so contorted in a scowl it was almost a weapon. Good thing looks couldn't kill. Eden would have been skinned alive five minutes ago. Was the woman actually mad that Eden was drawing? Alright maybe it was rude to be drawing at the dinner table when she should be trying to have a conversation. But did Rowena really want Eden's full attention? Eden remembered Rowena always getting angry when someone could do something that she couldn't. It was one of the reasons why Eden found her so annoying. It was draining being around someone who got pissy because someone could do something better. No wonder Rowena was always in a snit, wherever she went there would be someone doing something better than her. It was just life. Rowena was loads better than most people at a lot of things. The least she could do was not be mad that someone could do one thing better than her. Really the woman was nuts.

"Cute cat. Yours?"

"Yes. Her name is Snitch. Do you have cats?" Eden asked putting her pen down. Cats was a safe subject. Eden shouldn't lecture Rowena on proper behavior. "You could give me a picture of one of your cats and I could make a painting or something," Eden offered trying to be nice. She doubted Rowena would accept the peace offering Eden was holding out but she could report back to Max that she tried to play nice.

[Rowena Jones]

(Fixed the year thing - Thanks!)

"Yes. Her name is Snitch. Do you have cats?"

Rowena nodded."Two. Maine Coons. Pumpkin and Spice," she said. She could talk about her cats for days, but really, she was already counting down the minutes until she could leave. Maybe she could fake a medical emergency... surely even Milton couldn't protest against that...

"You could give me a picture of one of your cats and I could make a painting or something," Eden offered and Rowena started, not expecting that. They might have to spend time together at some point because of Max, but did they really need to find other reasons to interact? Plus, she didn't really want something of Eden's in her home. Her house was hers, where she could be herself away from the pressures of work, where there was no expectancy of being the best she could be. It was just Rowena, two very large cats and a fuck ton of books.

There had been a time when it had been more than that, full of trinkets, of someone else's mementos, where the shelves of books had been cleared for Quidditch memorabilia and photos of large groups of friends and family. It hadn't felt like her home, which is why she hadn't spent much time in it. Now the simplicity, the open spaces, everything purely hers, she enjoyed being there again. As much as a picture of her cats would have been nice, if she did eventually go down that route, it wouldn't be one of Eden's. But she supposed she had to find a nicer way of saying that... for Max's sake.

"Urm, thanks for the offer? Maybe, uh, sometime in the future?" she eventually said, but it still sounded pretty obvious she meant that as a hard no. Then again, who even knew if Max and her were going to work out? Eden would quite probably run and tell Max that his new crush had been mean and refused her generous offer and therefore really, he shouldn't date her. Rowena really wouldn't put it past the other witch.

"So uh, don't suppose Max told you anything about where he's taking me for our date?" she asked. Wouldn't hurt to remind Eden that Max did actually want to try being with her.