The Last Days of Summer :: Drago/Alice/Tilly

26 August 1922
11:00am

“Do you think we really need all these books for our sixth year? I swear they just keep piling on more crap.”

Tilly said to her cousin while looking over the list for the millionth time. It didn’t seem to matter what year they were going into, there would always be a list a mile long. She skipped the section for Herbology, she had everything she would need for that class… and then some.

Alice and Tilly had been shopping for about an hour, having already replenished their parchment, quills, and being measured for their new uniforms. Next was the bookstore to find the library worth of books needed for the new term.

“While we’re here, we should stop at that little boutique. Maybe we can get Ever a new robe and slippers. Last time I was there, hers were looking a little worn. I want to look at the boots as well.” Tilly could never have enough boots. Thankful for a large trunk, Tilly brought many to school with her. Every conceivable shade of leather. Ankle length, knee length and every height in between. If you then factored in heel height, well… the girl had a problem.

Today Tilly was in a cute outfit, but not the norm for most girls in the early 20’s. She wasn’t a huge fan of the modern flapper style, instead opting for a brown and rust red plaid skirt, leather corset style belt, white long sleeve shirt rolled to her elbows with a brown vest completing the look. Her leather satchel was resting on her hip, the strap hanging across her body. Her hair was down long and wavy, with multiple braids weaving through, creating an intricate style.

Her faithful canvas bag had finally bit the dust last term, snagging on the corner of the greenhouse workbench, ripping at the seam. It wasn’t worth fixing at that point, the damage was done.

“Ready for this?” She asked Alice, looking at the entrance to the bookstore. It was BUSY. It was the last weekend before school started so all the families who procrastinated were out shopping. In just a few short days she would be back home, roaming the halls of Hogwarts, with her future husband far away in his own school.

Alice had slipped; now that Everleigh wasn’t always around, the girl was experiencing a wide array of emotions that had her feeling lost the majority of the time. She still managed to look presentable in her light blue lace dress, a small handbag hanging from her wrist. Her hair, like always, was impeccable. But inside? Inside, she was constantly at war with herself.

When her sister was around, she had the surprising comfort of that web of emotions constantly hugging her. But now her connection had been severed because of the distance and now Alice couldn’t figure out what she was actually experiencing. Headaches happened often, and she found herself mostly quiet in her thoughts.

Tilly was always level. Usually anyways, unless Dragon was a topic of discussion. That was….

She really tried not to think about that. After her trust was squashed by the man who she had trusted out of every other shitty adult in her life, nothing was stable.

And now they were days away from sixth year.

“Do you think we really need all these books for our sixth year? I swear they just keep piling on more crap.”

Alice shrugged and sighed. Everleigh should be there with them. Even though her sister hadn’t been doing very well by this time last year, at least she’d been there. Now Alice had no idea what her sister was going through. It scared her.

“While we’re here, we should stop at that little boutique. Maybe we can get Ever a new robe and slippers. Last time I was there, hers were looking a little worn. I want to look at the boots as well.”

Alice clenched her jaw shut and nodded. Quiet, quiet. That’s what she was now. She hadn’t noticed her sister’s slippers being worn-out. “She’d love new slippers,” she said, her voice soft as if she was lost in thought.

The bookstore looked like it had swallowed half of wizarding Britain. Alice took in the press of bodies, the harried parents, the younger students clutching their lists with both hands, and felt the ambient anxiety of it all settle against her skin like humidity.

“Let’s get the books first before it gets worse in there.” Alice said, brushing her anxiety off.

Around every corner there were more people. It was loud, overcrowded and hot in the bookstore. And she would bet money that someone had just eaten an onion sandwich. Tilly put her index finger under her nose to block out the smell while finding her Astronomy text.

“Ok, I think that’s the last one in this section. Lets go find the potions book and I guess the Herbology. Although, I could probably write the book at this point.” There was a thought. Her last few Herbology texts were nearly unreadable with all the things she had crossed out. The margins were full with notes and recipes for salves and teas, her Professor tutted under her breath every time she saw it.

Her arms were full to the point of aching with her books, she was regretting passing on the basket when they entered. Trying to balance all the books was like an artform.

When they passed into the potions section Tilly sighed. “I think this section is busier than the Astronomy. We’re not waiting this long next summer.” She said this ever summer, it had yet to come true.

“Here, lets divided and conquer. You grab the potions book and I’ll get our Herbology. Meet back here.”

Tilly darted off to the Herbology section, finding their books quickly. Then taking another minute to grab a few for herself. Now her arms were shaking, but thankfully they were done. Taking the two corners back to where they separated, Tilly sighed when she saw Alice. “Ok, lets head upfront, We’ll be in line for hours at this rate.”

The potions section was, if anything, absolutely louder than any other part of the bookstore. Alice tucked herself against the shelf and meticulously skimmed the titles for the one that was on her list. Because of the chaos, she had to recite the titles to herself in a soft voice so she didn’t get distracted by anything around her.

Finally, she spotted the one that she and her cousin needed wedged behind some other titles that she didn’t recognize. Once she had moved the other books out of the way, Alice added two potions tomes to her small stack of texts she was carrying.

As she turned to go, she past the Charms section and saw something that stopped her in her tracks; it was a battered green book, a mid-level book on charms theory, the kind that was passed down through families until the binding finally gave out. A girl about fourteen was holding it while her mother searched the shelf above her, looking faintly bored in the way younger students did before Hogwarts reminded them what boredom actually was.

That book was one that, she remembered, Everleigh would be using this coming term. She frowned, and stood still for a moment longer than she had intended to.

Her sister should be there with a list. Somewhere in the bookstore, openly complaining about how uncomfortable the store was, and the strange smells from so many bodies in an enclosed space.

Alice sighed, blinking after a moment when the woman scolded her daughter for being in the way. Would Everleigh ever experience fourth year? At this point, she had no clue.

Finally, she shifted her stack and made her way back to Tilly.

“Ok, let's head upfront, We’ll be in line for hours at this rate.”

Alice pulled the frown from her face, replacing it with something more neutral. “Front of the store…” she repeated, falling into step beside her cousin. “Right. Let’s go.” The thought of being stuck in line for hours was quite horrible. She prayed Tilly was overexaggerating, though her own thoughts had drifted back to the book she’d seen.

Ok, so maybe the line wouldn’t take an hour, but looking at the que, she knew it would take some time. Tilly and Alice got into line with the rest of London and waited their turn. She wanted to talk to Alice about Everleigh, but it was hard. Ever wasn’t in a good way and it tore Alice up that there was nothing she could do.

There was nothing anyone could do at this point. The healers were trying their best, but it would take time to unravel the mess that was her mind. Instead of causing Alice more pain, Tilly found something else to discuss.

“Did I tell you that Gramps got an owl from the wicked witch? Apparently she was pleased to hear about my meeting with the Zdravkova’s. I swear she has a spy.”

It had been two weeks since Oleg and Dragomire had come to their home in Sweden for tea. While the parts that involved Oleg were more than stressful, Tilly actually found Drago pleasant to be around. There was a quiet strength that oozed off the man. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she didn’t hate him.

Far from it…

Which was honestly really annoying. “You want to know what makes me mad? He’s actually really nice, but because granny wants us together I want to hate him. If this all happens. If I actually marry this stranger, she wins. I can’t let that woman win Alice.”

Her mind had been made up. There would be no marriage.

The problem was whenever he was in her presence she forgot her plan entirely. He would give her that small smirk, or his brown eyes would twinkle when their eyes met. Yes, twinkle! It was impossible to hate him.

SHE MUST ENDURE!

They finally made it to the cashier, where they promptly handed over more money than should be allowed. “This is highway robbery. Books shouldn’t be so expensive.” Tilly said, taking the bag with her personal books. Their class books were being delivered by owl, so her arms didn’t fall off.

“Come on, let's go get food before we faint or die of starvation. And it’s too hot, we may need ice cream as well.” She said with a smile.

Just as Tilly turned, with a bright smile on her face, she ran into a brick wall… No, not a wall…

The bag of books fell from her arms, her purchases scattering around their feet. Tilly went to apologize to the man that was now preventing her from falling on her ass, but her mind went completely blank.

“Sorry, hi. Wow. You're hot. WAIT. That was supposed to be a question. Are you hot? I’m hot. That… came out wrong. What are you doing here?” Tilly asked the last question while her hands hid her face, red tinting her cheeks in embarrassment. He literally brought out the crazy in her.

“I swear I’m not usually this insane. Drago, hello, do you remember Alice?” Of all the people she could literally run into, why did it have to be him. And why did he have to smell so damn good. It would probably be weird if she stuck her nose in his shirt and inhaled deeply. It was a mix, woodsy, warm in a way, hints of cedar.

She WOULD NOT SWOON.

Damn it!

“Did I tell you that Gramps got an owl from the wicked witch? Apparently she was pleased to hear about my meeting with the Zdravkova’s. I swear she has a spy.”

Alice nodded slightly, lost in thought. She was used to being there with the people who needed her. When Tilly’s trip to Sweden had been brought up, and the invitation extended to her, she wanted to accept. But couldn’t because she had a routine to maintain with her sister. She couldn’t miss a visit with her for fear it might completely undo any miniscule amount of help she’d been given so far.

“You want to know what makes me mad? He’s actually really nice, but because granny wants us together I want to hate him. If this all happens. If I actually marry this stranger, she wins. I can’t let that woman win Alice.”

She had listened to Tilly talk about Drago since that visit and she knew the shape of things; no matter how insistent Matilda was that she didn’t approve, it was clear that the woman had won after all. Alice had yet to tell her cousin what she already knew from what she felt come off her in waves anytime his name was mentioned.

Alice kept to herself just how fond of Drago Tilly had become.

Reaching for her bag, she smiled politely to the shopkeeper and tucked her receipt inside. She’d only gotten a couple of fiction novels for herself and a new journal while they were standing in line for Ever, so her bag wasn’t as full as Tilly’s. As she turned, she heard the sound of her cousin hitting a wall. Well, not a wall. And certainly not a stranger.

The moment Alice’s eyes landed on the tall man, and she felt Tilly’s emotions go haywire, she knew who this was. Inside, she sighed. Outside, she took a breath and set her expression into something warm and appropriate. She smiled pleasantly and then picked up one of her cousin’s books while she stumbled over herself verbally.

The flush and embarrassment she was picking up from Tilly felt like something second-hand and warm. She set it to the side and turned on her etiquette training. “Hello. Alice Ravenstone. It’s very nice to meet you,” she said.

And she meant it. Probably because of how Tilly was feeling.

While Wiosna and Serik were still getting their robes tailored with mother, Drago had decided to go ahead and tackle the list of requested books for all three of them. The store was packed already, it didn't need another woman and two more children in there as well. He barely managed to move, his mother and sister would downright have a meltdown.

It took a good while, collecting texts for three different years for too many subjects. People blocked every other shelf, standing in the middle of the aisle as though they didn't have anything better to do. Given his frame, it wasn't easy work to wedge in between the gaps either. The amount of 'excuse me'-s and 'pardon'-s he grumbled every second step stacked higher than the tower of books following him around.

Drago sent the texts back with one of their house elves the moment he got done paying, called in for no more than half a minute, gone with a plop a second later.

Tugging the lists back into the inside pocket of his jacket, he made for the exit.

And got promptly ran into.

His arm wrapped around her waist on instinct, barely in time, catching his future wife he hadn't expected to see so soon, and not like that, with one arm while the hand of the other was still half buried in his jacket.

“Sorry, hi. Wow. You're hot. WAIT. That was supposed to be a question. Are you hot? I’m hot. That… came out wrong. What are you doing here?”

A tingle of amusement rippled into his chest, breaking through his hardened shell of composure, and he cracked a smile. "Very hot. I heard they sell books here," he quipped lightly, setting her back on her feet.

Releasing his grip on her, Drago noted it all — the embarrassment, the rambling. Finding he enjoyed it. How she seemed to lose all sense of vocabulary. The way the blush crept into her cheeks.

For a beat he didn't quite notice she hadn't been alone.

“I swear I’m not usually this insane. Drago, hello, do you remember Alice?”

His gaze darted over, shoulders pulling back, the serious neutrality returning to his features like a wall rebuilding itself. Facing Alice he bowed with a polite dip of his head. "I remember. It is nice seeing you again, Miss Ravenstone. I hope you have been well."

Before any of the girls could bend to pick up the scattered books, Drago let them zoom into a neat pile with a flick of his wand, shuffling until they fit into the bag she had dropped in the same collision. It came to hover next to Matilda, ready to be plucked from the air.

"I apologize for knocking you over, Matilda. Are you doing a shopping trip?" His tone was even, light and measured as he looked from one to the other. A polite conversation with his betrothed and her cousin.

"Very hot. I heard they sell books here," Matilda died of embarrassment, putting her hands on her cheeks and blowing out a breath.

Wait…

Did he call her hot? Or himself? Was he saying the store was hot? Would it be inappropriate to ask for clarification? Probably. UGH!

"I remember. It is nice seeing you again, Miss Ravenstone. I hope you have been well." Yes, that was great. Talk to Alice.

With a flick of his wand, all of Matilda’s scattered belongings were back in the bag and floating in front of her. Oh yeah, Magic…. SHE WAS LOSING IT.

"I apologize for knocking you over, Matilda. Are you doing a shopping trip?" Staring up at Drago, Matilda just looked at him, there was that smile again. He probably was laughing at her internally, for being a complete basketcase.

Wait… Shoot… He asked a question.

“Yes, shopping. We’re doing that, clearly going very well.” ‘For the love of all things holy. Just put me out of my misery,’ she thought to herself. Turning to Alice she whispered, “I think I’m having a heart attack. Am I having a heart attack? Arrhythmia is a thing right? My heart is going to beat out of my chest?” Turning back to Drago, attempting to look composed.

It did not work. At all.

“Can we go outside?” she blurted. “Let’s go outside." She didn’t wait for an answer, because of course she didn’t. Grabbing Alice and nudging her forward, Tilly reached out without thinking and caught Drago’s hand, pulling him along through the crowd and out into the street.

It wasn’t until they were outside, the fresh air hitting her face, that it registered, she was still holding his hand. Her fingers stilled. Her hand, so small compared to his, was completely dwarfed. And then, a sharp, electric hum shot up her arm, settling somewhere in her chest.

Tilly froze, then dropped his hand like it had burned her. “Sorry!” she blurted quickly, rubbing her palm against her skirt like that would somehow fix it. “So, are you buying books for school? Do they even sell books for Durmstrang here?” Sure, changing the subject and ignoring the last few minutes was exactly what she needed to do. No one would notice, nope. Not at all.

---

Powerplay approved

Drago bowed and dipped his head. Properly trained.

"I remember. It is nice seeing you again, Miss Ravenstone. I hope you have been well."

She smiled slightly and nodded in response.

"I apologize for knocking you over, Matilda. Are you doing a shopping trip?"

A flash of chaos and nervousness hit Alice when she looked back at Tilly. It made her almost unrecognizable. Once Everleigh was taken away, she had refocused her energy on Matilda. And now…

Her cousin was speaking rapidly, and she directed the three of them outside. Alice was nudged first, and then she felt a shift again. When they were outside, she turned and looked – her cousin had grabbed the boy’s hand.

Oh… she thought to herself.

Tilly let go of the boy’s hand after a moment, but the feeling was already there. She could feel it almost as if he’d touched her own hand.

She smoothed her skirt absentmindedly, standing off to the side quietly while her cousin stumbled. She didn’t need to look at Matilda to know the shape of what was happening. She could feel it – warm, chaotic, terrified – radiating off the redhead in waves.

Alice kept her eyes on the street for a moment and let it pass through her. Tilly would be fine. More than fine, probably, though she’d never admit it. And what she was picking up from the boy was genuine.

They would both be fine.

That was good. She was glad for that. She really was.

So instead of participating actively in the conversation, Alice stood and settled into herself and waited for someone to need something from her.

A small part of her thought no one would. They had each other.

For all the education and training Drago had gone through on maintaining composure and control, he thought he might have never had to fight this hard to keep it up before.

Always securely contained, the things he thought and felt beneath his hardened mask of control never showed. Not on his face, not in a change of posture, no shift in demeanour. He had learned it the hard way, remaining non-reactive and seemingly unaffected. There were few who managed to sink under his skin.

But the longer Matilda was losing her mind, the harder it got to keep the amused smile off his face.

From one second to the next, both him and Alice were herded outside the store by the redhead.

Matilda took him by the hand, pulling him along, and he let her. They squeezed through the crowd, then through the door, and finally onto the street. Her hand felt small in his, a strange sensation, even though he'd held it before while dancing. And yet this was different in a more intimate kind of way, so casual.

The split second before she dropped his hand, Drago felt something lurch violently, from his stomach and down into his guts. When her touch disappeared, his hands did behind his back, neatly folded as always, the hand she had held flexing before balling into a fist.

"No books here for Durmstrang, no," he replied evenly, forcefully pulling himself back together. "Is not a popular language here, Russian." And despite it all, he couldn't help the miniscule twinkle dancing behind his eyes as they looked down at Matilda.

With a small smile he addressed both girls. "Do you need to go to any other shop? I would be happy to accompany." His family could wait, he supposed. This was more important, he was sure both his mother and father would agree on that sentiment.

"Do you need to go to any other shop? I would be happy to accompany."

Matilda stared at him for a beat longer than normal. The smile transformed his face. It wasn't a an expression she had seen often on his handso…. Nope. Not going there. That would be questioned and pondered with ice cream with Alice at a later time.

Her breathing had returned to normal, heart rate back to acceptable levels. Medical intervention was no longer needed.

Looking at Alice, gauging her reaction, Matilda wasn't sure what to say. There was always more shopping to do, but having Drago accompanying them was not on her bingo card.

Seeing the apothecary a few doors down, Matilda nodded her head and cleared her throat. "Sure, if you'd like. We still need to refill our potion kits, so the apothecary is next."

Pulling Alice close with linked arms, Matilda squeezing her cousin in a silent, what the fuuuuck do I do?

The trio started walking, awkward silence enveloping them the farther they went. Dodging shoppers and families eager for the upcoming school term to begin. When they reached the apothecary Matilda was less flustered, but still nervous with their new shopping partner. It wasn’t the type of nerves that screamed DANGER DANGER, ABORT. Which was something she didn’t quite understand. Hate should be oozing off of her. Disdain. Maybe some unbridled seething in his presence, but no, instead he got flustered Tilly who lost all sense of sanity when he looked at her with those brown eyes, with the tiniest flecks of gold if you looked just right.

She had looked.

It was a mistake.

As the door opened, a bell rang announcing their entrance. This shop was less busy than most, thankfully. The shop worker looked up from her station and smiled warmly. "Tilly my darling! We've missed you."

A bright smile fell over her face, happy to see Judy. As the short, portly grey haired witch came out from behind the counter, she gave Tilly a hug before turning to Alice and Drago. Judy gave Alice a warm hug as well, "Alice, darling. How are you?"

Poor Alice, guilty by association. Having come in multiple times and hanging out while Tilly shops. Then Judy turns her attention on Dragomire, her eyes assessing. "And who's this with my girls?" Judy's voice took on a motherly tone full of questions and thinly veiled glares of doubt.

Tilly chuckled, leaning against her favorite shop keeper. "Judy, I'd like to introduce you to Dragomire Zdravkova. Newly moved to England and a.... ummm.... family friend." She spoke with a question in the introduction.

"Family friend huh. Alrighty then." Her eyes going from the top of his head to the tips of his toes, not believing a thing the red head said. "Tilly, I have things for you to see. Come through to the back."

One reason Tilly loved this shop was Judy always sourced the best and rarest ingredients for her potion supplies. There were plants in the shop that cost more than her allowance for six months combined.

Following Judy to the back, Tilly began having a serious and scientific conversation about a rare plant brought in from South Africa. As she spoke, her entire demeanor changed. No longer the flustered smitten teen, now in her element as the budding herbalist. They talked about food, fertilizer, soil additives, ph levels, pests and feeding schedules. More than once Tilly brought up something that Judy wrote down. Even at 16, Tilly knew her stuff.

The next plant Judy brought over made Tilly gasp in excitement. Stepping back, she pulled a hair tie out of her bag and haphazardly tossed her hair into a messy bun.

The second plant, while beautiful and ornate, looked lifeless. Tilly looked at it with appraising eyes, lightly touching the leaves and soft velvety flowers. Not bothering with gloves, she dug her fingers into the dirt, then shut her eyes and breathed. After two quick seconds, she opened her eyes and shifted to the side. Suddenly woozy, she caught herself before falling. Quickly, she pulled her fingers free from the dirt, shook her head to clear the dizziness and looked at Judy, one of the only people to know about her plant empath powers.

"Have you tried upping the phosphorus levels in the soil? That should help with the leaf development and discoloration. And if we can get the pH to 6.0-7.0 the growth should improve greatly."

Judy smiled, walking up to Tilly, taking her face in hand. “Thank you Poppet, I don’t know what I would do without you. Now go, get the supplies you need. I’ll be at the register if you have any questions, but I know you won’t.”

Turning, she walked back towards Alice and Drago, smiling at how at home she felt in the shop. The smell of herbs and earth calming her frazzled mind. “Well, shall we get what we need Alice? Do you need anything?” She asked, turning to Drago, guards still down, feeling more like herself than she had in ages.

Alice had never been loud and boisterous. That just wasn’t how she was raised. Demure. Serious. Quiet. Her quietness had gotten louder lately though. Now that she didn’t know what to do with herself since Everleigh was gone, she found herself mostly in her brain about…. Well, everything. Quietly observing how life was now.

Her grandfather had yet to fully mend what he had broken between the two of them, though she knew deep down that he was doing the best he could. While she told herself that, she just could not move past it.

Truly, she was mostly afraid of being next.

Alice wasn’t a stupid little girl. Matilda’s betrothal had opened her eyes to a world she had known was coming, but hadn’t realized it’d be so soon.

Being distracted with the fallout with her parents had really messed her up. There was no news on that front at all.

Alice allowed herself to be pulled along by her cousin, their arms linked, in the direction of the apothecary. She’d walked these steps frequently. Her stomach churned though slightly at the thought of Judy, the shop worker, potentially working that day. She loved the woman, but the amount of eagerness she brought was quite exhausting.

When they crossed the threshold into the small shop, she felt herself relax a little. She was nowhere near as passionate about this place as her cousin was, but she relaxed when her cousin did. And then Judy appeared and greeted them.

"Alice, darling. How are you?"

“Okay,” Alice responded, grateful for the hug to be over.

"And who's this with my girls?"

Alice glanced over at her cousin’s easy dismissal of the question, then watched as she was pulled away. Leaving Alice and Dragon there.

She glanced up at the giant, seeing his eyes on Matilda. Alice felt the somewhat odd but familiar feeling of her cousin’s plant instincts. “She really is part plant,” she commented loud enough for him to hear, but not directly to him.

Alice had never really clicked with plants. Herbology was not her favorite subject and she enjoyed pretty plants, but didn’t care much about them past that. She was hoping to work at St. Mungo’s, but definitely not as an apothecary.

“Well, shall we get what we need Alice? Do you need anything?”

What did they even need? What would Dragon need? Alice felt very unlike herself, she realized, as she felt the stability her cousin was experiencing. Would she ever feel like herself again?

Drago could feel the hesitation in Matilda's words but it didn't shake his resolve. If exposure therapy was what she needed, he'd give it gladly.

And if that meant going to the apothecary as their third wheel, Drago didn't mind that either. Unshaken, he fell into step beside them, following the short way down the road.

As they entered they were immediately swarmed by a witch. Drago stood by as she hugged both Matilda and Alice as though they were old friends, withstanding her assessing eyes when they at last turned on him.

"Judy, I'd like to introduce you to Dragomir Zdravkova. Newly moved to England and a.... ummm.... family friend."

Wordlessly he glanced at Matilda. Family friend. Before he had the chance to correct that far-off statement the witch named Judy was already waving his betrothed along, towards the back of the shop, leaving him and Alice alone.

His eyes remained fixed to Matilda anyway, silently observing, hands behind his back. It was like it had been in her garden in Sweden. The longer she was surrounded by plants and greenery, the more natural and relaxed she appeared. It was fascinating, a little. He'd never held much care for plants or herbs, nothing that exceeded the necessary knowledge of handling potion ingredients.

“She really is part plant.”

Drago hummed without looking around, gaze following as Matilda almost sank to the floor. What the hell was she doing over there? Her eagerness was equal parts endearing and peculiar — no girl he had ever met had cared so much for something so dirty.

When she returned at last, her face and posture had completely transformed, at ease in a way he hadn't seen before. For a moment he just looked at her, taking it in, face unmoved. Until finally — "No." He pulled himself together. "I have done the potion shopping. I will have to leave you to it, my mother will be waiting." All of a sudden the room felt just a bit too small, too crowded.

Not waiting for protest he was sure wouldn't come, Drago inclined his head towards Judy. "It was pleasure meeting you." Before nodding at Alice, "It was pleasure seeing you again." Until finally turning to face Matilda. He couldn't help the smallest of smirks to sneak onto his lips.

"I am looking forward to our next run-in."