"Then you and I are on the same page," Minali said simply, her eyes wandering about the room.

She wasn't sure of how much time had past since he first sat down, but since then more people had entered the pub. They were mainly adults ranging from various ages, Minali could tell. They were all going about their nights, having conversations with whomever they came with, or sat by themselves quietly. Minali didn't want to disturb them with her piercing gaze, so she looked back over at Luka.

But as soon as she her eyes found his, they immediately switched to something else. They seemed end up on his elbow, which wasn't much better. Slowly they made their way up his arm, but she had to stop her gazing because, down that path, they would end up at his eyes again.

For some, unexplainable reason, Minali was beginning to feel nervous around this man.

Minali's heart nearly sunk when he asked her if she were married or not. Frankly, Minali didn't know what to say. Her eyes were glued to his shoulder, the lids barely blinking and her pupils beginning to dilate. What should she say to that? Minali knew the obvious answer, but a lump formed in her throat and she felt as though the temperature had dropped in a matter of seconds. It was something Minali tried not to think about, but it had resurfaced and she didn't know how to handle it.

It wasn't long ago when she last saw August. He had been on his way to work, but he never came home. The last thing he told her was that he loved her. Minali had never heard his voice again after that day, and it was the leading cause that turned her heart into a cold stone. A cold, icy, hard stone that was yearning to break through and beat again. It was also what fueled her hatred for Muggles and Muggle-borns: Minali wasn't sure if she could ever be cured of that.

But she decided to answer him honestly without giving away too much detail just yet.

She cleared her throat and looked at him. "No, I'm not. Why do you ask?"

Once the thoughts of August had gone away, a new question had come up. Why did he want to know? Maybe he was just trying to make friendly conversation. Maybe he wanted to go out and kill her spouse, if she had one. Or maybe he wanted another male friend to hang around. If it were any of those reasons, he was out of luck. August had been dead and there was no getting him back.

At his words she nodded. Minali continued to stay silent afterwards, not making any eye contact with him. She could tell that he didn't mean to upset her or make her feel uneasy. But he had, and it was hard to get rid of those feelings, especially when in an informal setting. On a normal day, if any sort of thoughts like those appeared in her head, she didn't have a choice: she had to get rid of them and begin her work. As good as she was at being stoic, it was a little difficult when she didn't have to be. Minali decided to treat this as one of those days, though, and push the thoughts away as best she could.

"I'm sure your wife would be jealous to see us, then. Do I guess correctly?" Minali said raising an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest.

She wanted to know his martial status as he had, but she didn't want to just ask him. So, she rephrased it a bit and assumed he had a wife already. Finally, she was able to look him in the eye, and that's where they remained.

So he wasn't married.

"We're more alike than we probably think," Minali began, unfolding her arms and leaning into the table, "you're unsociable, and so am I. We both work at the same school, and we're both unmarried. Perhaps it was fate that you and I should cross paths for more than a moment."

Minali leaned back in her chair, placing her hands into her lap once more. Who knew what would become of them? So far, Luka proved to be an acceptable person. He wasn't irritating, wasn't too irrational, and wasn't too pushy. From what she could tell, he was a respectable man who probably had a lot going for him. With that in mind, gaining this man's trust was something on Minali's to-do list.

It was then that she began to wonder what side he was on. Did he follow the Dark Lord? Or had he been an Order member? In a way Minali hoped he had been the former, but she probably would have known him. Him staying neutral on the whole matter would be fine too, but as long as he wasn't with the Order, any stance he took was fine by her.

"Perhaps the stars have allowed us to meet, Mr. Crncevic."

"Oh? And why is that?" Minali questioned him, raising an eyebrow.

Most people didn't think this way, especially the students. People often found her intimidating, to say the least. And they had every reason to think that; it was Minali's goal to gain respect from people, even if it meant scaring it out of them. She wanted everyone to know she was not someone to mess with and it was better to be on her good side than on the bad. Because once you were on the bad side of her, it was hard to cross back over.

It wasn't that she wasn't happy to meet Luka, though. As she had thought earlier, he was a kind man who didn't seem bothersome at all. He didn't ask too many unwanted questions and wasn't a stuck-up snob either. He had a nice balance to his personality, from what Minali could tell, and she admired his composure. Maybe she would start to talk to him more around the castle, if she ever saw him. Minali doubted that, though, as most of her time was spent on the top floor while his was spent on the bottom. But who knew? Maybe it was fate that they should meet again someday.

At least Minali hoped so.