Harbourside Morning

[Leah Bennet]

Leah Finch sat directly on the edge of the sea wall, one hand splayed supportively on the pavement whilst the other curled around the cone of a strawberry ice cream she had bought from the parlour up the street. The heat of the springtime sunshine sweltering across the wizarding community had compelled the young woman to shed her feet of her sandals and dip them into the invitingly cool waters of the harbour.

Today had been a treat of sorts for the doe-eyed girl. With Izaak home, no matter the circumstances, she had asked if he could babysit Jay for the day while she took some time out of the house. She loved her son, God knows that she did, but sometimes it was just a little too much. Especially one at such a difficult age. Lately it had been taking its toll on Leah.

She raised the fist that held the ice cream cone securely within it and took a large bite from the side, because ladylike licks were for the faint-hearted and she was hungry. But in doing so, a melted drop from the sweet treat fell from the cone and soaked into the cotton material of her white, summer dress. “Damnit!” She huffed in a soft whisper, her azure blue eyes wild as she licked her thumb and frantically tried to rid her dress of the pink stain on the upper chest. Naturally determined to clean the stain herself and without the assistance of a wand, Leah huffed another sigh and gave up, she be sure to soak it in some chemicals when she reached home.

 

[Keith Mercer]

[I assume this is the RP I'm meant to be joining? Sorry I took so long to get to it!!]

Keith walked with pride along Obsidian after visiting Melissa. He had wanted to do something to get out of his large empty house and visiting his ex-wife after just breaking up with his girlfriend seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. He wanted to talk about his kids. The ones he had neglected in favour of spending time with Avory. He felt horrible and wanted to know the effect of his damage from his children's Mother.

Keith had thought he was going to be a Father to another child. It was one of the best feelings in the world, but his hopes were crushed to find out it wasn't his. Avory had never been his. She had gone off with other people while with him. She had spent his money, lived luxuriously in his mansion and basked in all the glory that she stole from his pureblood name.

Frowning Keith looked out over the cool waters of the harbour that waited for him a short walk away. Letting out a sigh, Keith lost the pride in his step. He felt once more defeated, like he was used to feeling in the past few days. Walking the small distance to the harbour he stopped at the edge of the sea wall, his eyes casting out over the water. He had always found the ocean peaceful, it was the main reason he chose to live in Australia.

Keith was disturbed from his thoughts by a voice. Looking to his left and then glancing down he noticed a girl sitting on the wall with her feet dipped into the ocean. He was also aware he was blocking her sunshine from the position he was standing in. Taking a step back, he allowed the sun to hit the girl again. "Sorry, didn't realise I was blocking your sun." He said apologetically with a small smile.

 

[Leah Bennet]

Leah was aware that a shadow had fallen across her seated frame, but she had paid no mind to it while bothering with the stain that had soaked into her ivory white dress. With a frustrated frown drawn perfectly across her forehead, half because she was no longer warm and half because she had just ruined a perfectly good outfit, the doe-eyed woman gazed up at the figure, silhouetted against the sun. "Sorry, didn't realise I was blocking your sun." Leah immediately checked herself and rid her features of the irritated expression that had been so obviously etched onto it.

“Oh, it’s okay.” Leah smiled warmly, raising a hand to her forehead so that the sun’s rays weren’t filtered directly into the striking blue of her irises. “Don’t mind me but I didn’t direct it at you, you know?” She flashed the older man a dazzling grin, hoping he knew that she hadn’t been cursing him, before taking another bite from the scoop of strawberry icecream.

blahh. and yeah it is, no matter

 

[Keith Mercer]

Keith caught sight of the woman's face and found her to be extremely pretty. Her eyes being the strongest feature, someone would surely drown if they looked into them for too long. Keith nodded with a small laugh, "You're okay." He said, dismissing the explanation, bringing his left hand up to rub at the back of his head absently. He tore his eyes away from the girl and looked out over the water, his eyes scanning the expanse of cool blue. As he brought his eyes back he noticed the woman's feet in the water. "Is the water nice?" He asked as he toed off one sneaker. The girl was friendly and Keith was perfectly fine with embracing his younger side and dipping his feet in. Besides even if she didn't want his company, it was a hot day and some time alone with his thoughts and the ocean would certainly ease his pain a little.

 

[Leah Bennet]

Leah could feel her cheeks begin to grow flushed with embarrassment as she repeated her words over in her head. God, I must sound ridiculous, she thought helplessly to herself before offering the man a shy smile in light of her fumbling words as he dismissed them. She hastily laced her free hand through her loose curls and whilst the other that held the ice cream cone lifted to her mouth so that she could take another cooling bite.

"Is the water nice?" Leah swallowed her mouthful and nodded brightly at the older man, catching the removal of one of his shoes in her peripheral vision. “Beautiful. Come, sit.” She grinned warmly, patting the space beside her on the cement as she invited him to sit beside her. “I’m Leah, by the way. Leah Finch” The doe-eyed young woman continued to bubble as she swirled her feet about in the refreshingly cool water.

 

[Keith Mercer]

Keith shot the girl a wide charming grin as she offered him the space next to her. Toeing off the second sneaker, he sat and removed his socks, placing them in his shoes before rolling up his jeans slightly to place his feet into the refreshing water. His wiggled his submerged toes and glanced sideways at the girl as she introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you Leah. I'm Keith Mercer." He introduced with pride, not being able to shake off the pureblood supremacy that came with his last name. Not even after all these years. Old habits died hard he supposed. Taking the opportunity to look into the beautifully coloured eyes of the girl sitting beside him Keith concluded they were one of the nicest pair of orbs he had ever seen. "So are you from around here?" He asked absently as a means of conversation, realising he was looking at Leah for too long, so shifting his eyes away her to the expanse of ocean in front of him.

 

[Leah Bennet]

He took the seat she had offered him and Leah let a slip of a sly smile lift the corners of her lips. It had been quite some time since she had even spoken to a male in this manner before. Jay tied her down, there was no denying it. And after playing mother to Izaak for the past week or two, Leah had had little time to herself. But her brother had come around today, picked up his act and insisted that she visited Obsidian Harbour. And right now, as she bathed in the spring sunshine with a rather attractive man seated beside her, Leah made a mental note to thank him as soon as she got back.

"It's nice to meet you Leah. I'm Keith Mercer." The pride and confidence that accompanied the deep timbre of his voice did not go unnoticed by Leah. A pureblood, perhaps? Her own bloodline was “untainted”, though it wasn’t something she particularly fussed over. She never had and she never would. Her and Izaak were… Different. “The pleasure’s all mine, Mercer.” She finished cheekily, a glint of playfulness sparking behind the unfathomable blue of her eyes which she soon realised he was staring directly into. However she held her gaze with ease and didn’t even contemplate fixing it elsewhere until he refocused his own.

“I’m from Australia. So it depends, what scale are we talking on?” She answered with a smiling expression as Keith asked if she was from around the area. Becoming further intrigued by the rather light conversation, Leah swivelled her body around slightly and lifted one leg out of the water. While directing the question back at him she folded it beneath her and continued to swirl the other in the water. “What about you Keith? You a local boy?”

 

[Keith Mercer]

Keith gave the girl a sly smile when she referred the him as Mercer. It wasn't until then that he backtracked and reassessed her own name. Leah Finch. Keith was certain the last name was a pureblood one, but he also knew there were certain other Finch families that were not of pure blood. Even so, his interest in the conversation picked up and it appeared Leah's did also, if the way she turned to face him slightly was anything to go by.

Keith leaned back on his hands and turned his head to the side in interest as she confessed she was from Australia. "No, I'm an Aussie also." He grinned. "Although I practically live over here. I work up at Hogwarts so I rarely spend much time in Perth." He explained, admitting he was from Western Australia. "What's brought you over here?" He asked curiously, although keeping the distance of acquaintance.

 

[Leah Bennet]

Leah’s face brightened considerably as she heard him say that he was an Australian like herself. Technically she was originally an American, but that identity had been shed upon having Jay. “I work up at Hogwarts so I rarely spend much time in Perth." Leah crinkled her nose in playful distaste upon learning the specifics of his residence in Australia. She had a house in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney and had only travelled up and down the coastline, even then only venturing as far as Melbourne and Surfer’s Paradise. “Perth?” She asked incredulously with a cheeky spark in her wide, azure eyes. “There’s nothing to do there anyway.” Her jest was undeniable, yet it was all in good humour.

Leah took a moment to figure an answer as Keith asked her why she was over here in New Zealand. Apart from the fact that Izaak had suggested it, her reasons basically faded into a grey area. “Um, my little brother thought I needed a break, so here I am.” The young woman grinned at her new-found acquaintance before hastily remembering that Alexis attended school here, not to mention a host of other girls Izaak probably knew. “Plus, I have my connections. She threw him a playful wink and took another lick of her forever-melting ice-cream before posing another statement, all in the art of getting to know the man before her better. “So tell me about yourself Keith.”

 

[Keith Mercer]

Keith let a smile reach his face at her expression. "Yes, I know I know. Perth is one of the most boring parts of Australia, but it's not too bad." He said playfully. He liked his home there and Perth was safe. He couldn't think of a better place to raise his children. Keith nodded at her reason for being in New Zealand. He wished that Obsidian Harbour meant a break to him, but unfortunately New Zealand had now become his work place, his home in Australia being where he went to take his breaks.

He raised an eyebrow at her wink and leant back further on his hands to explain a bit about himself. "Well, what's to know?" He shifted his eyes to the waters in front of him as he spoke. "I'm 39, a Potion's Professor, I've been divorced for-" He stopped to mentally count in his head. "-about seven years, two children that attend Hogwarts and my favourite colours blue." He turned his eyes back to Leah at the last fact with a joking expression in his light blue eyes and a smile plastered on his face. "And what about yourself?" He said curiously in return.