Sometimes // Karina

[Altair]

In the The Crumbling Crow (bar), Hogsmeade

He was making an effort.

He was out and about.

He was talking to people.

Sometimes.

At the moment he was sitting by himself, in a dark corner, staring out the window. In his hand was a mere glass of water. On the table before him, an open book.

As the others drifted, in and out, he remained a constant. A dark statue.

But he needed something new.

When he got up, the dark cloak poured down around him. His frame moved over the room in quiet strides, a long, skeletal thing. Propping his elbows on the counter, he stole a look at the selection of drinks on the other side. But his eyes wandered, and he recognised the face of the woman beside him.

"Congratulations," he said.

"On Headmistress."

He reached out a hand - he didn't think they'd been formally introduced.

"Lukas Altair. Former Hogwarts Professor," he explained.

[Karina Ivansko]

Karina's brows rose as the man near her came over to her. And congratulated her. On becoming Headmistress?

Was the business of Hogwarts really that well known? It tickled Karina pink that anybody knew who she was. Or that anybody was interested.

But it quickly was explained as the man introduced herself. "Ah. Pleasure." Karina said to the man as she accepted the handshake. "I'm glad to know that some people are still interested in the business of Hogwarts."

It then occurred to Karina that this man had been a professor. "I'll admit I never expected Anneka would retire. Hopefully I can ensure that the professor's aren't being too soft on the children."

[Altair]

He knew little about her, that was the truth of it.

He knew she was pureblood, like so many others in prestigous positions.

Their hands folded around each other, then parted.

"I'll admit I never expected Anneka would retire. Hopefully I can ensure that the professor's aren't being too soft on the children."

It was hard not to smirk at that. Altair had definitely not been known for being too soft. On the contrary, he'd tended to be unreasonably hard, and present at the Castle for entirely selfish reasons. As though he didn't really want to be around children.

Or people.

Or rules.

"There seems to have been a lot of changes there lately," he commented. Nowadays he knew almost none of them - he knew Leighton, of course, and he knew Winchester mostly by name. And, well, he knew the male Amberghast, though hardly in a friendly way. It made it hard for him to pay proper attention to what was going on.

"Drink?" he offered, casting a glance back at the shelves behind the bar.