Information Falling Through

Whight was never proud of his charismatic skills especially since he had never seriously worked on them. He preferred to work behind the scenes have and self-pride in what he done even if someone else took the credit. Aaron was the voice and the face of who they were and Whight liked it that way. If it hadn't been for the man, their cause could hardly make a stand and their numbers would be but few.

He thought about his response to her first question. What he didn't study would be a much shorter list that only consisted of one word; nothing. He did not want to seem cocky and full of himself so he chose other words. "I enjoy studying really anything I can get my hands on. The world, both ours and theirs, is full of knowledge and it is my plan to learn as much of it as I possibly can," he said hoping he didn't sound as if he thought better of himself than anyone. He did not try and boast about all the things he knew, he would much rather people learn about his knowledge through time.

Whight relaxed a bit in knowing his instincts he had toward the witch were correct; he repressed a smile and only looked forward. He knew if she had a strange reaction to his words then it would be time to make up an excuse to leave. A Oh, sorry. I left a burner on at home sort of moment. He did not have to excuse himself though, she was what he had hoped and better yet, she held keys that he did not. "Really, a professor at the great Hogwarts?" he said trying to sound as interested as possible. "I have never been to the school but I have always wanted to visit the place. I'm interested in the literature it's library holds. I have always found Durmstrang to hold books that I never thought I would see. Maybe you could give me a tour sometime," he said sounding as genuine as he felt.

Her words still bounced through his head even though he had basically switched the topics. He wondered if Aaron had a potion master in his midst. Probably, but another alley would never hurt.

They arrived to what looked to be their destination and Whight opened the door for her, "After you." The restaurant was busy with the noises of dinning and talk and the motion of passing waiters. They were sat a table across from one another and Whight watched as she settled with her elegant posture. He did not let the man take his coat. Instead, he placed it on the back of his chair and proceeded to order a glass of water. When the waiter left he looked back to Amelia to further engage in conversation.

It was time to be straight with Amelia. He did not want to continue wasting her time with smalltalk that was getting him no where. "So I must be honest with you Ms. Lyons. Believe it or not there is a reason I have asked you to dinner. Know that it was not my intentions to deceive you, somethings just have to be done to start what is necessary to get from one point to another." Whight was smooth and continued uninterrupted. He forced himself against his will not to break eye contact so she could see how honest he was being with her. "You see, I, amongst others, know a man who is seeking a change for our world, a change old Grindelwald will never be able to put into motion. It's a change that no member of the Order or the Death Eaters could even toy with because they are too involved with their own "cause," whatever that may be.

"Our people are working for the betterment of everyone and we know a man that has a plan that will work unlike those of the past. In our world there is no hierarchy and no levels of status, just equals." Whight didn't want to say too much, she could leave with information that she wasn't worthy to have. He let his words settle for a time, but he did not want a response just yet. "So tell me, where do your allegiances lie if anywhere? As for mine, they are of the neutral kind, neither good or evil. And trust me, our conversation will not leave this table if you are under that same agreement with me"

He sat back in his chair and laid his hands in his lap waiting for her to speak.

“Interesting,” Amelia commented vaguely as Whight told her he was interested in learning extensively, both magical and muggle. Most who considered themselves an established part of the magical community did not have an appreciation or an understanding of much of anything in the muggle world. Although Amelia had learned some of what the muggles studied from books by muggle authors, her academic inquiry was focused mainly in the magical world. Her parents had never encouraged the pursuit of anything outside the wizarding world (particularly suitors, as far as her mother was concerned), so
Amelia had to confess to knowing relatively little about muggles or their studies.

The red-haired professor continued to keep stride with her new companion as the conversation progressed, though slowly, given Amelia’s lack of social graces. Her submissions to the discussion were brief, but Whight seemed to be able to hold his own, and filled many of the pauses with questions or comments that gave Amelia something to cling to as she tried not to seem too introverted.

“Well, the school itself is great,” Amelia replied to the man’s question, blushing slightly, “But as to my teaching, you would have to consult my students or superiors to get an accurate reading. The library, however, is surely as extensive as you have heard rumor of, though its comparison to that of Durmstrang I could not say, never having been there myself. I assume, from your knowledge, that you are a graduate of the school?”

Amelia had intentionally avoided the proposition that she give him a tour sometime, for several reasons. First, she still didn’t have a good read on Whight or what exactly he was after. Second, Grindelwald’s regime would likely have a heart attack if she let in an unauthorized party, and she had been trying very hard not to rock the boat. And finally, Amelia rarely signed herself up for future social interaction, even with people she liked. And she didn’t know yet how she felt about Whight. Confused, mostly, and a bit curious.

Antoinette herself would have been impressed with Whight’s manners as he held open the door when they arrived at Murphy’s, and Amelia inclined her head in the perfect portrait of a young lady as she slipped into the much warmer restaurant. It had begun to snow outside, so Amelia shook a few flakes from her hair as she went in, and followed the host’s lead to the table. She took the seat offered to her by the host, shrugging out of her jacket and, after seeing Whight keep his coat, decided it would be most polite to follow his lead, and she kept hers as well. Her companion took charge of ordering water for the pair of them, so Amelia remained silent as the waiter disappeared to fulfill this request.

The silence did not last long, though, because Whight wasted no time after the waiter was gone to launch into what turned out to be a very long, very intimidating line of thought. When he started with ‘I need to be honest with you’, Amelia immediately froze in her chair, though her wand hand instinctively reached toward the jacket pocket with her wand in it. Amelia was quick to panic, and her first thought was that she had been taken her under false pretenses, and that she should have gone with her gut when it told her not to go to dinner with this stranger.

Your gut always tells you not to spend any time with anyone, Amelia’s subconscious interjected, trying to calm her down as Whight continued speaking, not drawing his wand or making any sudden movements that would indicate Amelia needed to defend herself. Taking a deep breath, Amelia tried hard to concentrate on what the man was saying, but it was a lot to take in all at once. He mentioned Grindelwald, but not in the respectful tone that everyone at Hogwarts did nowadays. His explanation of this ‘new plan’ was vague, at best, and Amelia was highly skeptical, though she remained quiet while he finished and posed a series of questions Amelia considered very forward, as he had known her for all of 20 minutes.

“I have no alliances except to myself and to my family,” Amelia said cautiously, though without hint of uncertainty. Amelia had never allowed herself to get too carried away with any specific force, though she had several times over the course of her Hogwarts career taken orders from various Headmasters with their own agendas. Her role as Prefect, then as Imperium Squad Member, and finally as Head Girl had meant she needed to be able to take orders, though she had never been fully entangled in any of the biggest players (Order, Death Eaters, Potters Army, what have you).

“And as to this… plan, you are suggesting,” Amelia said guardedly, looking carefully around to check that they were out of earshot of other patrons, “Everyone believes their plan will work when they enact it. Otherwise, they would never enact it in the first place. And there is no such thing as a society without strata. It is inevitable that some will fall above and some below. Whether it is enacted by a government or happens as a result of other forces, equality cannot exist among humans. We aren’t designed for it,” Amelia concluded, looking carefully at Whight across the table. She had no way of knowing this man wasn’t just some hired hand of Grindelwald’s, looking for an excuse to make an example of her for the rest of staff. He could be Death Eater, Order, Ministry, or just some guy trying to stir up trouble. Amelia was far too guarded an individual to believe a line about the conversation not leaving the table. She wasn’t about to say anything that would come back to bite her in the ass.

As she was regarding the man across the table, their waiter returned with the water and menus, which Amelia immediately made her point of interest. This conversation was dangerous, and depending on how adamant Whight was about pushing it, she might need to break her mother’s precious rules and leave without finishing her meal.

When she finished speaking Whight immediately noticed that she said nothing in reference to his desire to visit Hogwarts. It bothered him slightly but he would never betray it. He honestly wanted access to the books that were hidden within. He knew he could copy as many of them as he wanted into his journal. It would be a quick process; 15 minutes could gain him volumes of knowledge. He let her avoidance be dismissed as they continued on.

"Yes I am," he said in response to whether or not he was a graduate. "I still try to continue learning as much as I did every day on my own as I did while in school. Knowledge has given me a great advantage in many scenarios,' he said not trying to impress her but just trying to be himself.

------

This was all part of the game for Whight. He knew he would have to be forward and that was basically his first test on an individual. He knew his offers and what they had planned was farfetched to those not involved, so he threw what he could about their cause out for bait so he could get a reaction and a good read on many things. Whight knew if those he tried to recruit where completely thrown off balance by the basics of his offer were clearly not cut out for their line of work.

Whight was ready to leave after he made his proposal if Amelia's response was not to his liking. He had done it before, left people standing in the middle of parks, sitting at a table with half eaten food, and at times he never even acknowledged a person when they showed up for a meeting that he had invited them to. Whight knew exactly what they were looking for; strong willed, change seeking, free thinking, powerful individuals. He could take a look and anyone and instantly know if they were comprised of half his list; books weren't the only things he studied.

He sat listening to what he had heard many times. Of course there was always someone to lead the cause and who was the orchestrator, but he believed they were different. Having worked with Aaron and Silvyr for some time now and Whight saw that the amount of work that each of them did was about the same.Though most of their individual work was done doing very different things, Whight saw that everyone did the work they did because they were the best at it when compared to everyone else within the cause.

He could sense the skepticism in her words and she had every right to say everything she said; Whight liked this. This meant that he had a chance to convince her and that she knew the weight of his words. She would be foolish to blindly accept anything from a complete stranger, but he knew that often times there was a waiting period for those to give him a final answer, in which cases he was always sure to make himself available to them.

The waiter had arrived with the requested waters. "Do you need another minute to look your menu's over?" he asked.
"I know what I would like. As for the lovely lady, I know not," he said with a smile looking from the waiter back to Amelia. He knew he had not taken the first look at the menu that lay before him, but it was not the food he was interested in. He planned to order the soup of the day, whatever it may be. Whether or not he ate any of it would depend on how long their conversation continued.

Whight waited for the waiter to leave after her response and then he continued with what he knew were crucial words if he had any hope in gaining an alley. "There will always be one more than one person to lead a charge, otherwise there would be no sort of organization and measures would surely fail, but that does not make them any greater than the one they stand next to. A killing curse would kill me just as easily as it would you or anyone in this restaurant, and I don't say that to strike fear into you but to hopefully show you that those who take the lead in our cause can fall as easily as anyone else and they know that. It is foolish to think you are greater than anyone. Once you do that, enemies are created and there are those who want you dead; which is where Gridelwald has failed. It may take time and great planning, but in this world, anything is possible when the proper thought is put into plan.

"Think. How can you have the support of everyone when there are those who fear you? There are those who fight fear and fight those who believe themselves better than others. They may be more "powerful," but eventually they will fall as those before them have. Like I said, it is just a matter of time and planning. no matter how powerful someone may be, they can always be brought down by the numbers"

Whight took a drink of water but made no indication that he was done speaking. There was still much more to say and he hadn't yet given the proper response to her skepticism.

He placed the glass back on the table and continued eye contact. "It's a matter of your own skill that can give you the upper hand on anyone. In the end aren't we all responsible for our own fates? No one said you had to stay and fight when you could have ran from a duel. No one said you had to run to the rescue of a follow companion on the battle field where they were still under fire," he said mixing a little muggle talk into the conversation. "No one tells you the choices to make, everyone is responsible for themselves. People put themselves in situations and scenarios that they know can kill them in the end and they knowingly give someone power over themselves, and that is their mistake.

"Yes, there are leaders in our cause, but they know their place. They know that without the support of the entire group, they would be nothing. They are the leaders because they have designed the cause and know what must be done for it to become a reality. But, they answer to the group as much as every other member. Everyone keeps everyone in check because when you don't follow through with what you were suppose to accomplish then it hurts us all. We are all striving for one goal. This goal being, an equal society. You will be given a chance to continue what you love to do in life and only be called upon when it is time to put what we believe in into motion."

Whight knew what he said would not settle quickly. He said a lot, more than usual, but he wanted her around.

When the waiter arrived with the menus, Amelia made a point of directing her focus on the laminated sheets, but to speak the truth, she wasn’t really reading any of it. She just needed another place to put her eyes, other than across the table at Whight. He had put her on the spot, a position she hated being in, and to make matters even more complicated, he had put her on the spot regarding something she had been successfully avoiding for the last five years. Yes, she had known it was going on, but it had never been her fight. She had never been personally invested in any of it, because as long as she kept her head down and got good grades, she managed to please everyone she had direct contact with.

The waiter inquired as to whether or not they were done with their menus, after what seemed like a very short time with it in her hands, but when Whight ordered, Amelia knew she had to do the same; politeness was ingrained into her so thoroughly that it rose to the surface despite the situation she found herself in.

“I’ll have the Caesar salad,” Amelia said, ordering from memory. She had been here many times before on so many of her mother’s failed attempts at arranging dates for her, so she knew what they served, “And I’ll stick with water, thank you.”

The waiter nodded in response to Amelia’s order, and did the same when Whight ordered the soup of the day. He had to be disappointed with the anticipated amount of the bill, considering they had ordered no more than soup and salad, but he did a pretty good job of hiding it. Then, as soon as the server disappeared to go put in their orders, Whight started talking again, and Amelia had to resist the urge to let her curly-haired head fall to the table. He was really not getting this ‘I’d rather just leave well enough alone’ vibe that she was sending.

He was going on now about how there were multiple leaders in his organization, though what exact organization that was he had failed to say. Then came a bit about a killing curse working just as well on his boss as it would on him or her, which Amelia thought should have been very obvious, but perhaps, as Whight indicated, this was not so clear to those with positions of power. She had to admit, the history books did tell of tyrants and leaders – both muggle and magical – that had believed themselves invincible. But to Amelia, that was completely illogical, and any leader who couldn’t think logically couldn’t accomplish much of anything.

And then… Whight mentioned Grindelwald again, and Amelia’s panic rose higher. As if having this type of political discussion in public were not enough, Whight was doing nothing to disguise their topic of conversation. Amelia was having trouble concentrating on the next part of what Whight was saying - not that she wanted to be listening to this at all, but if she was here, she may as well get something out of it – because she had to constantly be checking over her shoulder and behind Whight for people who might catch her in this conversation, so, as discreetly as possible, Amelia removed her wand from her jacket pocket and cast an imaging and muffling spell around their table. Now, if anyone were to look over, they would see the same pair of people, but instead of hearing or seeing the conversation that was happening, they would see yet another lovey-dovey couple in Murphy’s, holding hands while sharing a bottle of wine. It would fool anyone except those who knew her well, and… that was a short list.

As Amelia slipped her wand back into her pocket, Whight was setting his water glass back down, but he didn’t wait for her to give a response to what he had said thus far. At this point, Amelia was no longer expecting him to let her talk at all. As suspected, Whight carried on about his cause for a good five minutes more before he stopped long enough for Amelia to even chance trying to formulate a response. She didn’t want to waste her time if there was still more speech left in him.

“You raise some… valid, points,” Amelia said cautiously, not wanting to start her response with an attack. And she wasn’t being dishonest. Whight’s analysis of power structures and how they work were not inherently flawed; it was more the fact that he was trying to recruit a total stranger for his cause that was throwing Amelia off, and she was annoyed that the stranger happened to be her. She just wanted to keep to herself, do her job, and make her parents proud. What Whight was asking would defy almost all of those.

“We are responsible for our own fates, at least to a certain degree, and we all make our own choices. But you speak as though the only choice worth making is one that will align me with your cause. You mentioned that people put themselves in situations that they know can kill them – and moreover, claimed it was their mistake. But it seems to me that you are asking me to do just that. As of right now, no one I know of wants to kill me, but I have the distinct feeling that will change if I sign up for what you are asking me to do.”

But you did it once before, Amelia’s subconscious cut in, that nagging voice that always got in her way when she actually found the words she needed. When you tried to save Simon.

And there it was. The reminder of the time she had gotten involved in all of this, tried to insert herself into the Battle of Hogwarts in order to protect her fellow students, and what had she done? She had failed. Failed to come up with the best plan, failed to defend against a crazed Death Eater, failed to save Simon. It was a memory she had buried, and a big part of why this conversation was so difficult to have with Whight. Why had she agreed to go into battle then? What was different? And was it the lesson she had learned there that was keeping her from getting involved now, or was it that that day had so fundamentally changed her that she was no longer the person who could willingly sign on with forces that were engaged in the war that had brought about that battle?

“You talk a lot about your cause and what it stands for, how it is better than any of the others that are campaigning around these days. No, they haven’t approached me, but I’m not deaf, and I’m not blind. Being generally invisible has its perks, and it means you get to hear a lot of gossip and see a lot of events that people wouldn’t say or do if they thought you were someone to worry about. I know that the Death Eaters and the forces that oppose them aren’t happy with what Grindelwald has been doing, and I know that a lot of general public agrees with them. But there are others who think he is just what the healer ordered.”

“But for all your talk – and there has been a lot of it, Mr. Linstrum – you still haven’t stated what exactly you want from me. What role would I play when I was ‘called upon’ as you call it? Would I be standing in line to get into a scenario that I know can kill me – and how is that any different than the mistake you described earlier? What can you possibly want with a woman you met no more than an hour ago?”

Her resistance only made Whight want her more. She continued to prove that she was exactly someone they needed. She was going to possibly be the hardest member he had ever tried to recruit and if he failed, well it was her lose. He knew she was not going to be so willing to join some random cause that a stranger had to offer. The first thing he had to do now was divert her thoughts on the "stranger" talk.

"I work very hard at what I do. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I fail. I would not be seeking members for our cause if I did not have the skills to do so. I know very few people and even fewer because I did not attend Hogwarts, so I use my own judgement. I don't see people as strangers or as someone I'll never know, I try to see them for who they are and what they are capable of. I know what kind of individuals we need and when I see someone that has that potential I go for it. Sometimes I don't see it right away so I put a little more time into the subject which is why we here in this restaurant," he said continuing to be as polite and considerate as he could. It was difficult by now but still he remained as smooth and confident with his words as has been from the beginning. "Just by this very conversation I can tell a lot about you: not easily persuaded, free-thinking, intelligent, analytical, strong-willed, and the list goes on."

This was definitely a challenge for him as it was every time he tried. He would much rather be sitting in his study read a book in silence, but that would not get him to where he wanted to be. He had changed since joining their cause and it had been time to do just that. Vast amounts had been learned, his art had nearly been mastered and he fully accepted what he had become. Now it was time to become something greater, something that was necessary for him to fulfill his parent's dream.

Whight usually played off the fact that everyone wanted to matter in the world, but this woman seemed like she was perfectly happy with the life she led. Still he had to try, Aaron would accept nothing less.

"Where do you want to be when the world begins to turn onto new paths? Continuing to play behind the scenes with a simple existence like many others, or do you want to be a part of the change?" He worked hard not to sound condescending or in a way that she would take offense. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure what you do for a living is great and you love every bit of it otherwise you would pursue something else, but what if you could do both, that is doing what you love and being a part of the change? This is what I'm offering."

The conversation was getting to the point where Whight had little more to offer, so he enjoyed the questions that came, it showed she did have a bit of interest inside her. "Your purpose would be to help promote our cause and make it happen when the time comes. The finer details of what that means can only be given to those who join. How you will be used, I do not know, that's not my job. It is only my job to find those who have the capability to do what we need done.

"As for your security..." Whight was careful not to seem desperate, "I will personally look out for your well-being. I know that it seems like an empty promise considering you barely know me, but if you accept, gaining your trust will become priority number one for me. I realize I must give a little to get any." It was a bold statement, one that he knew could only be proven a very long time from now, but he meant it and he let his facial expression show no less. "Yes you will be in more danger if you join any cause, that's just part of it, anyone would be naive to think otherwise. But we look out for our members as blood siblings would look out for one another. So whatever trouble may be headed your way, you will have the comfort of knowing that you have all of us there to back you in the fullest, but know we would also never put you in a situation that would directly get you killed if that is your wish."

He knew there conversation by be coming to it's breaking point so Whight said, "I know I'm saying a lot of things that you probably believe are foolish and farfetched, and if you wish to talk no more about these matters then I understand. We can finish our meal in peace and be on our way to lead the lives we would have as if we had never met."

He half expected her to want to be done with the matter. With all he had said little interest was showed, but it could have been a front for all he knew. The waiter arrived with their soup and salad and Whight watched Amelia to see if she was waiting from another reason to look away from him again.

((I am really, really sorry this took so long to post. It was the first week of classes, and my first week back at my two jobs, and I got really swamped. Please accept my most sincere apologies.))

Whight was not going to give up. Amelia had realized this on a superficial level earlier, but she thought surely he would run out of words sooner or later. He had already spoken more in this conversation than she had in the entirety of her first three years at Hogwarts, so certainly there had to be an end to all of this, right?

Wrong.

His explanation for why he had chosen to pursue her had a lot to do with his gut instinct, which Amelia placed little to no faith in. Amelia was empirical to the bone, and every time she had challenged that to go with her feelings or her instincts, she had regretted what ensued. Apparently Whight had a lot more trust in his split-second perceptions, and seemed to be gathering steam as he went. Instead of all her protests making him back off, he seemed even more adamant about convincing her. He rattled off a list of what he had learned about her in the course of their conversation, and for a moment Amelia felt a twinge of pride and was distracted from her ‘I’m not listening to this crazed man’ mentality, but after a second she snapped out of it with the help of her subconscious.

“Anyone could tell those things about me from a few minutes’ observation. No conversation required,” Amelia muttered defensively, though her interruption didn’t even phase her dinner companion. He simply pressed forward as though she hadn’t spoken at all.

At least now when he continued, he was at least outlining more of what he wanted from her. He began vaguely again, and Amelia made an attempt to interrupt him, but was distracted by the approach of their waiter, and needed to hold her tongue long enough to undo the distraction spell. Without blinking, the waiter delivered their meals and, with a polite smile, dismissed himself just before Amelia reinstated the safeguard.

Undetered even by the potential for filling his stomach, Whight pressed on, still skirting the issue of what exactly she would be doing. This was frustrating to Amelia, who was already annoyed that she couldn’t be eating because Whight wasn’t (not polite, you know), but she had to admit his policy had some sense to it. In fact, it was one of a very limited list of sensible things Whight had done so far this evening. Not telling her the entirety of the plan or her role until she agreed to join was a good defensive tactic. If he spilled and she bolted, he would have created a huge liability.

“I get it, you can’t give me the blueprints until you know I’m not going to bring them to the competition,” Amelia said, looking her dinner companion directly in the eye. She was conceding on this point, and wouldn’t ask again for a more detailed description of her role. Whight wasn’t going to give it, and she didn’t need another three minutes worth of skirting dialogue in response to the same question. Moving on.

“As for your promises of my security, you’ll forgive me if I don’t find them altogether reassuring. It is flattering to think that you and your brethren cause fighters would be willing to put yourselves in harm’s way to defend me, but seeing as I don’t even know who the rest of ‘us’ is, nor do they know me, I know you won’t be surprised when I say my fears aren’t completely quelled,” Amelia said matter-of-factly. Whight talked a big game, but earning Amelia’s trust was literally impossible. No one had ever done it completely, and those who had broken the surface had always screwed up bad enough to ensure that the next soldier to make an attempt would have it twice as hard.

“But despite that…” Amelia said after a moment’s hesitation, relying on what she knew to be her completely remedial social skills to make this transition clear but definite, “I have heard what you have said, and I will consider it. That is in no way a promise to join your cause, but you can be assured that I will give it the attention I believe it deserves, and when and if I come to a decision that requires your attention, I will contact you.”

“Provided, you give me a way to do so,” Amelia added as an afterthought, realizing she would not have the slightest idea of how to find Whight after they parted ways tonight.

There. That ought to placate him… for a while.

“Now can we eat our dinner like two people who aren’t plotting to overhaul society?” Amelia asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She was hungry and tired of this line of conversation. She had said all she was going to say on the subject, and if Whight decided he would like to leave now, then so be it. At least she would no longer have to worry about waiting for her dinner guest to begin eating before she could dig into the salad that was sitting in front of her.

(Sorry for the delay. I'm in a bit of the same situation as you. Classes took a hold of me and, well you know...)

Whight knew he had taken Amelia as far as she was going to let him. He gave it his best try and probably one of his better attempts at that. He did not know whether he had succeeded for failed with his little endeavor, but she knew no more than what he would tell to anyone he came across that showed potential.

At her final words he looked blankly into her eyes, but only for a moment. He then looked down and quickly surveyed his dish, grabbed his spoon and began eating as if the conversation had never taken place. He continued with typical small talk to simply repeal the sense of awkwardness. He asked how her salad was and also commented on how delicious is own food tasted.

At the end of their meal Whight payed and tipped their waiter and made their way to the door. Before reentering the cold streets, Whight handed Amelia his card. "And this is for you," he said. "Please do not hesitate to contact me. Even if you decide to decline my offer I believe I would much like to become more than a business acquaintance to you." He smiled, adjusted his coat, and held the door once again for her.

Some higher power had to be looking down and favoring Amelia right now – it was about time – because, without a single argument, Whight finally let go of the idea of persuading Amelia to join his cause right this instant. Instead, when she gave him her ‘I’ll think about it’ answer, it took him only a few seconds of looking hard at her (and Amelia, with effort, stayed still through those seconds), to give a nod and proceed to find his soup much more interesting than Amelia.

Which was just fine by her.

The rest of the dinner was casual, if not forcibly so, but at least he wasn’t bombarding her anymore. Too bad she hadn’t thought of asking him to wait for an answer earlier in this conversation. It would have saved both herself and Whight a lot of time and trouble. But with things being the way they were, the pair of them ate their dinner in relative silence, only breaking to ask mundane, run of the mill questions that Antoinette would have highly approved of, and Amelia was thankful for because she already had prepared answers.

When the check came, Amelia reached for it, but was beat by Whight, who insisted with a single look that he was going to be paying. Amelia conceded, and after everything was taken care of, the pair of them slipped back into their coats and moved toward the front door, where Whight held the door open for her like a true gentleman.

If he hadn’t been trying to recruit her for project Grindelwald, Amelia might even have been interested in him. But too late for that now.

But maybe Amelia was the only one who had realized that, because as Whight extended his card to her and Amelia’s fingers closed around it, he mentioned becoming more than business acquaintances, which made Amelia hesitate slightly. She didn’t know what he had meant by that, nor did she know how to ask for clarification without seeming socially incompetent. Instead, she decided on taking the card and removing herself from the situation.

“Thank you, I will do that,” the young professor said, slightly rushed because she was feeling nervous about what Whight had just said, “And thank you for dinner, as well. I wish you luck in your endeavors,” she added, and with a polite nod in his direction, Amelia stepped out of the door and moved down the road far enough that she could turn on the spot and apparate back the gates of Hogwarts. But although she wasn’t physically in the situation with Whight anymore, it was safe to say she’d be thinking about their conversation a lot over the next few days.