12:00 in the afternoon, at Maiko's house-- it has a cozy, comfortable, homey atmosphere. Full of books and family photos-- old and new. It seems well lived in, but clean.

---

It was a blustery day, though rumor had it that the rest of the month would have much more mild temperatures appropriate for spring. As she was expecting company, Maiko had cleaned the whole house (minus several books lying around—she didn’t have enough space for all the books she owned). She had also prepared a rather large pot of beef stew, and homemade French bread rolls. A silvery tea kettle was heating up on the stove.

The large, fluffy, polar bear of a dog was sitting down by the front window, nose pressed up against the glass, prepared to greet anyone who came to the door. He was finally growing into his large paws, but was undeniably clumsy and puppy-like in body language and demeanor. Her younger brother politely declined lunch to play Halo upstairs on his x-box-- also known as a 'game boy' to his sister.

Mai suspected that Kohaku simply didn’t want to meet any more of her ‘weird wizarding friends.’ Granted, he did get a lot of exposure to Kesali, Abigail Reid, and occasionally Darian Morgan. There was no doubt in Mai’s mind that he would get hungry enough to sneak downstairs and steal a bowl of stew.

As she finished setting the table, she heard a knock on the door. Maslow barked twice, his tail was wagging so hard that his whole body was vibrating.

Mai rushed to the door, though the dog had beaten her there. “Down.” She commanded sternly, and the dog ever so enthusiastically flopped onto the floor, his tail making rhythmic thumping noises against the ground.

“You have perfect timing!” She exclaimed, opening the door. “Come in, come in!” It wasn’t polite to leave your company standing on the porch in the wind and rain. Especially if the company was the deputy-headmaster at Hogwarts.  “Would you like some tea?”

The students may have departed in droves from the castle, but some of them remained, as did Ignan for a few more days at least. With a place of his own to repair and take stock of, and work to be done for aurors on the quiet, atop of planning and preparing for upcoming examinations of his students, he was not to have much time to himself this short holiday.

But he had promised Maiko round and about at the Yule Ball, that he would come to lunch. She had been informing him that two ladies attending a ball as a couple was fine these days, and had asked him if he'd like crepes, and it had all got a bit confusing when she'd patted his face affectionately.

She'd also suggested they'd dance again, but he was hoping that wasn't dependent on the lunch, or part of it. He felt ever so slightly apprehensive about it as it was… he didn't get invited to lunch by young ladies very often, or colleagues.

Maiko had kindly informed him of the location that would be safe to apparate to, not far from her home. As he appeared out of thin air in the drizzle, a cat recoiled, shot up in the air and streaked out of the way without looking back. On identifying it was just a cat that he'd interrupted, he'd released a breath and consulted a hastily drawn sketchmap on parchment before heading in the right direction through the weather.

He'd never quite been able to comprehend Muggle houses. They were quite small, and the rooms stayed that size. Then they had their love for these cars, which he was sure must have some kind of sentience, and the Muggles liked to observe giant fish-tank like things called televisions.

Tapendra had been quite the insight, along with Johann howling with laughter at Ignan's ignorance while they'd spent time together at Christmas. He'd even made efforts to read books from the library, and try and improve his knowledge. Try… he was still rather behind on anything post 1980s.

Without too much of a search, he found the place, and reached up to batter his knuckles against the front door. Inside a dog barked, and he could dimly hear Maiko within, and lowered his head politely until she opened the door.

"You have perfect timing! Come in, come in!" Maiko looked, as ever, sprightly and enthusiastic to see him.

Not many, if anyone these days, was ever enthusiastic to see him, he reflected, trying not to look too surprised on the doorstep, before coming to his senses, and stepping inside, wondering if she might be familiar and try to greet him with a kiss - as per the continental way.

"Oh, good, hello." He heard himself say, rather automatically as he turned in the hallway to let her close the door and receive the niceties of where to hang his coat.

"Tea, would be lovely, thank you." Ignan uttered politely, going to shed his coat and clocking the dog excitedly examining his arrival. He'd never kept pets - the nearest he had was Gerda the house elf who he'd inherited since Christmas.

He didn't quite see the bliss in keeping an animal companion, and saw animals as only relevant for working. Maiko's looked large enough for a child to sit upon its back, he thought as he looked up and about himself, taking in her home. Any moment now, the hound would undoubtedly break from command and seek to investigate the stranger, he only hoped it wasn't one that licked everything - he couldn't abide that.

"Thank you for the invitation, Maiko." It still seemed odd to use her first name. He addressed all the students by their surnames, and referred to other staff as Professor, or to the students with their surnames again.

"I bought a little something, for whenever, though." From within his coat - a little magic never going amiss - appeared a bottle of wine, which he extended to his host before hanging up his coat properly.

"But tea, certainly." He gestured softly with one hand to indicate he didn't mean for them to drink wine now, given it was only noon, but it was all he could think of offering for the gesture.

Maiko took his coat and hung it up on one of several empty hooks by the front door.

Rather than standing up and fully breaking the command, Maslow had scooted his body across the floor to position himself next to this strange, new guest. He sniffed Ignan’s pant leg rather enthusiastically, tail thumping against the floor at an even faster rate. The dog seemed to be under the impression that anyone who walked through the door was here to visit him. Maiko was sure that if a burglar broke into the house, her canine companion would simply love the intruder to death.

"Thank you for the invitation, Maiko."

“And thank you for being kind enough to have lunch with me!” She stood a little taller, and her expression (if it was even possible) brightened a bit more when he called her by her first name. When he pulled out the wine she did a little jump. “Oh, oh that’s so sweet—“

Mai flinched at the sound of the tea kettle screaming, alerting her that the hot water was ready. Maiko walked briskly into the kitchen, though it apparently wasn’t briskly enough.

“Mai, get your bloody tea already! I’m on skype!”  A male voice shouted from upstairs.

“Is that what you kids are calling it nowadays?!” She shouted back, the look in her eyes mildly devious.

“Dear God! How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not a drug! I’m having a chat!”

She finally moved the tea kettle off of the stove and poured hot water into two mugs. She turned to Ignan, “That’s my lovely brother. Sorry about that.” Mai paused, eyebrows furrowed together in genuine concern.  “On 'skype.' I’m not going to pretend I know what that means… It sounds dangerous.”   In fact, her house seemed relatively free of most muggle things-- all of the older photographs didn't move, but there were some newer ones that did. There was no television in the living space or computer-- no phones. All electronics were limited to Kohaku's room, as Mai had a tendency of accidentally breaking them by using magic while standing too close.

The kitchen did have a microwave, though Maiko rarely used it.
 
 Mai opened one of the cupboards, and it was crammed full of multiple boxes of tea, most of them already opened. “What kind would you like?” She pulled down a box of peppermint tea for herself. “There’s chai… Breakfast…. Jasmine, green tea. Oolong, some Earl Grey…  Red tea. Black tea, of course…” The list went on.

The voice from upstairs surprised Ignan. He hadn't realised someone else was in the house. He paused in the hallway, with the dog sniffing at his leg, the kettle singing, his colleague conducting a conversation with the anonymous male voice upstairs.

When it appeared safe, he followed her into the kitchen without saying a word, strangely reminded of the noise and yelling in the Trishna household.

"That's my lovely brother. Sorry about that."

"I see - er, heard." Ignan replied quietly, gesturing back to the kitchen doorway with one hand. He never felt quite comfortable dressed more casually, like a Muggle, so he'd opted for one of his the suits he didn't tend to use at Hogwarts - a dark brown three piece with a crisp white shirt and striped tie.

As he stopped abruptly in the kitchen, the dog bumped into the back of calf accidentally to the point he actually gave it a proper look and awarded it a tentative scratch to the top of its head in acknowledgement.

"Did you leave any tea in the shop?" He asked, corner of his mouth rising - Maiko had listed off more types of tea than he'd even consider keeping.

"I'll have some Earl Grey for a change, if that's not too much trouble." He informed her, and glanced about the room as much as he felt he could get away with, without being impolite.

There was one of those boxes you put food in and pressed buttons, but not nearly as much tethered to walls and supplied with Muggle electricity as Tapendra's family. It was somewhat reassuring - not too far from the norm of wizard-kind.

"Have you lived here long? Amongst Muggles?" Ignan asked, making conversation, "And with your brother?" He gestured to upstairs with a finger though it didn't need illustrating.

Maslow didn’t follow them into the kitchen, though he laid down by the doorway looking as if he had been abandoned.  A lone paw stretched to rest on the tile. The dog knew he wasn’t allowed in the kitchen, which was probably for the best. Maiko had been stern and consistent with his training, and Kohaku even more so—which was for the best with such a large creature. There were plenty of slip-ups, of course—but the longer the dog had been with them, the less frequent they had become.

Ignan didn’t seem like he was scared away by the shouting, which was a good sign. A bit of normalcy didn’t throw him off.

“You look nice.” She motioned towards his suit with a peppermint teabag in hand. “I don’t think I’ve seen you wear that before.” When he commented on her rather vast collection of tea, she sniggered and placed the bag in her own cup. “I like tea, and I like variety.” Mai said simply, before glancing at the cupboard. “It’s a bit much though.” She acknowledged before grabbing the Earl Grey. “Look at you, mixing it up.” She teased, opening the box and placing a teabag into his mug.

Maiko carried the mugs to the circular kitchen table and motioned for Ignan to take a seat. She began to move about the kitchen, grabbing bowls and flatware and getting the stew served.

"Have you lived here long? Amongst Muggles? And with your brother?"

She was pleasantly surprised, as she hadn’t seen Ignan as the type to start conversation.

“I moved here in December—Aileen’s across the street. Bit of a nasty shock for her when she found out.” Though now, Aileen and Mai were quite close. “But,  my brother and I tend to live in muggle areas. He’s more comfortable that way, he’s a muggle. Squib? Squibble? I don’t even know anymore.” Her tone had gotten mildly tense, but the subject wasn’t an unwelcome one.

“I became his legal guardian when I was still a kid myself. That was—what?”  Maiko put a plate of rolls on the table, followed by two bowls of stew. “Nine, ten years ago?” She took a seat, “Kohaku was eight, I was eighteen. My grandparents were very generous— I couldn’t have done it without them. I was in school and working. When they visited, they liked to hide money around my home for me to find later. They thought they were so sneaky.” She smiled fondly. They helped as much as they could, with how far away they lived.

There was a loud crashing noise from upstairs followed by a quick, “I’m okay!”

“And that's why I worry about skype." The crashing and skyping were probably totally unrelated, but she didn't know that. "He’s surprisingly well-adjusted.” She added. The tea had steeped to a nice colour by now; Mai pulled her bag out and placed it on a saucer, “Sorry for the rambling.” Mai really hadn’t meant to go on the way she did.

“I assume, you have never lived around muggles? You don’t seem too disturbed by the microwave so you’re not in completely foreign territory.”  She motioned towards the microwave,  just in case Ignan didn’t know what it was called.

Ignan managed the hint of a genuine polite smile in response to Maiko's compliment. Thankfully the two of them moved on swiftly to continuing the humour of her tea collection and his question about the house.

"… bit of a nasty shock for her when she found out."

Ignan chuckled softly, thinking about Aileen Reid. She'd been another of the guests at the Trishna's house at Christmas.

"… sorry for the rambling." Ignan lifted a hand,

"Not at all." He told her softly. It wasn't often people rambled at him in such an easy manner. Normally his stare put them off, or he was able to shut them up on purpose as a student.

"I assume, you have never lived around muggles? …" Maiko asked and gestured to the microwave.

"Not often, only when I was travelling. My knowledge is somewhat out of date, much to the hilarity of the students who were staying with Tapendra last Christmas. They fully adopt the Muggle lifestyle, he, Georgiana and Cyhirae. Very odd." He shifted his weight from one foot to another, very much on his best behaviour still. Out of the Hogwarts territory and away from work duties he was a little less terse in his responses to colleagues, and Mai had never been impolite to him, which put her in a very tiny minority of the population. For all she was sweet, a small part of Ignan was highly suspicious of her motives...!

"How do you find having Muggles for neighbours, I assume Aileen's your only neighbour of our kind?"

The food was set up and ready to go, and Maiko took at seat at the table and motioned, once again, for Ignan to sit down—it seemed that he hadn’t caught it the first time. Oh well, at least he didn’t seem too put off by her rambling. Another good sign. ‘Shut your mouth’ were not words that were foreign to Maiko’s ears.  She spent most of her time listening to others, that the social, loquacious part of herself was usually suppressed. It was nice to let it out when she wasn’t in her ‘counseling mode.’

Ignan was also answering her questions, open to chatting with her.

She nodded, “My knowledge is a little outdated too, if that makes you feel better. And I was raised muggleborn!” Maiko stirred her bowl of stew, it was too hot for her to eat just yet. “There’s just so much new technology coming out these days!”

“But, if the muggle lifestyle suits them, then who are we to judge?” Mai shrugged, “It’s their lives. And it works for them.”  Then onto her neighbors.

“I haven’t met too many of them. There’s a rather crotchety octogenarian living down the street. He’s not fond of me.” She stated, “The family next door just had their first child. They don’t seem to get much sleep. We’ve had dinner a couple times, and they seem nice enough. But I’m not close to them. I don’t like making friends that I can’t be entirely honest with.” She had to hide an entire world from muggles. Her family knew, but they were very quiet about it and would much rather pretend it wasn’t there than face something strange and foreign to them.

“Kohaku’s more social with them. He has muggle friends he brings home. They usually hole up in his room with his games.” Mai paused, “It’d be nice to have more wizarding neighbors, but I appreciate the quiet.”

Mai gave Ignan a mischevious grin, "While I'm still rambling on, is there anything else you're dying to know about me?" She teased, but questions were far from unwelcome. She enjoyed any chance she could get to chat. She tried to be an open book, even if others weren't particularly interested.

Maiko indicated he should take a seat, the food set out. It appeared the as yet unseen third party was not joining them, but remaining up with… the sky, had it been? He'd forgotten.

The fact her knowledge was outdated too did make him feel better. So many of the students were from Muggle backgrounds these days, they took it all in their stride, and even the purebloods had an understanding to a point from their classmates over the years. Ignan very much felt he was an old dog, these were new tricks and it took a while longer to understand.

As his colleague reeled off descriptions of her neighbours, the Professor couldn't help but imagine that one day a neighbour in Godric's Hollow would probably describe him as a 'crotchety octagenarian living down the street'.

He was about to think of another question to continue this most polite line of query when she rather trumped him with one of her own.

"Dying to know?" He asked, spoon stopping dead in his hand as he looked up from the stew in surprise. That would suggest he had an overactive imagination, a huge curiosity. His brow furrowed a moment, naturally everything he would have thought to ask on the way immediately flew from his mind.

His eyes studied the wall beyond her head as he tried to retrieve them.
"I've always wondered how you do it, if I'm honest I suppose," the Professor began a little awkwardly, "I mean, sit and listen to them in the castle. Teenagers have the most mundane and banal thoughts on life and are incredibly self-centered. I'm possibly the least sympathetic person in the castle, yet I get the odd one. But you willingly listen to that drivel." His expression was rather less scathing than his words would suggest, and more of admiration. Even so, he couldn't help but feel he'd just put his foot in his mouth.

"I'm sorry, I don't admit to being particularly curious of my colleagues, so your question took me a little by surprise." He admitted before taking a sip of the stew and falling silent to listen as he ate. Whereas she was letting it cool a little, Ignan had become somewhat accomplished at eating dinners before they'd cooled, owing to busy evenings and a timetable of discipline for several hundred students at Hogwarts.

"This is rather lovely, I must say." He complimented her stew a little later, only delaying the inevitable reversal of the question.

"While it is a pleasure to listen to 'ramble' as you put it," Ignan spoke gently, "I feel I must also offer the same question to you."

While waiting for her stew to cool, Maiko tore a piece off of her roll and popped it in her mouth. Ignan had always fascinated her—as did most people. Honestly, she didn’t know how she’d managed to convince him to dance with her, and then come to her home for lunch. Granted, these things didn’t exactly happen quickly—she took her time. Treating him with kindness, even when she disagreed with some of his more curt, rude behaviors. He seemed like a man of pride who expected as much out of himself as he did out of anyone else.. Although he was professional, curt, and (usually) stern, Maiko was sure there was more to him. Humans were, by nature, both complex and painfully simple.

She had no hidden agenda—she didn’t want to psychoanalyze him, or diagnose him with some sort of mental disorder. That was not her job. She was not his counselor, she was not his therapist, but she was his coworker. Her only motivation? To get to know him.  Maiko’s insatiable curiosity had set in at a young age, and encouraged by her parents until it became a rather large part of her identity.

“How do I do it?” Mai repeated back, raising her eyebrows. “You are not the first to wonder that.” She took a bite of her stew, thinking about her answer. “As easy as it is for me to talk, it’s even easier for me to listen.  It’s second nature. All I’m doing is listening talk about their problems, and talking to them about it. My job isn’t to solve their problems for them, but to help them figure out how to do it themselves.”

She stirred her stew around before taking another bite, “I can’t be unattached. Not completely. They’ll sense that I don’t empathize or care. The key is to be genuine, and that means I have to open myself up to caring about them. But, I can’t care so much that I feel I need to take responsibility for their situations. I have to be as objective as possible, while trying to understand things from their perspective.”

“But, the most important part—the part that keeps me from getting burned out… Is that when I leave my office, that is where my job stays. I do not take my work home with me.”  She looked at Ignan, considering his words. Mai took no offense to them, though she did not take her job lightly. It was a job that many people would not be willing to do, nor would it be a good fit for those interested in it.

 “I do willingly listen to that drivel—not just because it’s my job, but because I enjoy making a difference to these students. Sometimes they need an adult to talk to, one who will keep things confidential.” With the exception of a couple things: if the student was a danger  to his/herself or to others.

"This is rather lovely, I must say."

Mai straightened her pose and positively beamed. “Thank you! It seemed to suit the weather we have today.” It was rather dreary out,  and the more fragile trees were bowing over in the wind.

And now, now it was her turn.

“Oh, oh—there’s so much I want to ask you!” She admitted, “I mean—I always want to ask people questions. You just happen to be on that list. Curiosity is one of my fatal flaws.”

Mai cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows at him, “You, kind sir, have just opened Pandora’s Box.” She teased, but then her smile faltered as she wondered if references to Greek mythology were lost on him.

“Err- anyway. First question: Do you have a family? They don’t have to be blood, either. Close friends are the family you actually get to choose.” 

The way she prefixed things with 'first question' made Ignan suspect that she'd been a while considering and not asking these in the months they'd worked together. Either that or she was asking the combined curiosity of more than one person.

"Yes, I have family," Ignan confirmed with a nod, "most of them are spread over Europe, but a couple of cousins are here in Britain too." To elaborate would mean they'd be there all afternoon. He didn't keep in frequent touch with a good proportion of them, and those he did were often more trouble than they were worth.

"Though yes, if you consider close friends, then I was unusually adopted by the Trishnas in the past year. Not only are… were we good friends, I happened to have met Tapendra's mother many years ago." He explained, absentmindedly pushing his stew around his plate for a moment.

"Never married." He clarified, ceasing to chase his dinner around and shifting himself gently on the chair.

"All wizarding families are a stones-throw away in blood to others though, even these days." He raised his eyebrows. "However small they feel." He tilted his head in her direction and giving the hint of a smile.

"Did that match your prediction?" He asked, sharing in her curiosity for a moment. "Do you feel you have a wizarding family of close friends yourself?"

Adopted by the Trishnas. That sounded positively adorable. Though, Mai wasn’t too surprised—Storm had mentioned being at Tapendra’s for Christmas.

She was pleased at how well this lunch was going—they were getting to know each other—and Kohaku hadn’t managed to insult Ignan yet. There was still time, they hadn’t even been in the same room together yet.

"All wizarding families are a stones-throw away in blood to others though, even these days."

Mai chucked,  “Truer words have never been spoken.” Her cousin (or something like it) was married to Aileen’s brother. That had been an even weirder coincidence for her than the whole neighbor bit.

“I didn’t have  predictions regarding you. I was surprised that you knew Professor Trishna’s mother!” Mai admitted, “Anything I thought of was in humor.” And not shared with anyone in case it somehow got back to him. No. Maiko felt that some of her theories were best left to herself (like Ignan being an avid fan of the muggle band, Green Day or being raised on an Alpaca farm.)

She paused when her original question was focused back on her, the way they tended to do in natural conversation. “Well.” Mai thought for a second, “There are plenty of people I am close to, but my friends and I tend to go long periods without talking, and then we pick up where we left off. Like Milo—“ The most recent groundskeeper, “And Dolly St. James.  Darian Morgan. More recently, Nightingale Kesali.” Mai took a bite of her stew and swallowed before continuing, “My friends are all from different social groups, so I imagine throwing them all together in my house would be a disaster.”
 
“I’d say that Aileen and Abby are the closest to wizarding family I have right now.  I used to be close to the Trumbles but~” Mai shrugged, “Life happens. And it’s okay.”  She scooped up a piece of potato from her stew and pushed it around absentmindedly. "It's not difficult for me to get along with people, it's a matter of keeping them around that's tough."

She heard some heavy footsteps come down the stairs and some shuffling in the living room, though Kohaku didn't decide to make an appearance just yet.

"… more recently, Nightingale Kesali." Ignan tried his best to not reflect his difficulties with Gale reflect in his expression, but his lined face defied him.

"… it's a matter of keeping them around that's tough."

"Mm." He agreed, having taken the time Maiko was speaking to eat more lunch, so his mouth was full. If she fed he friends, he was sure she'd never be rid of them, Maiko was a very good cook. His practical cooking skills were just for necessity than any great joy or culinary skill. Thank goodness for house elves.

"I knew of the Trumbles, years ago. When Zel Trumble was but knee high - his father specifically. Not so much in recent years, I am perhaps one of those who fit your description of people drifting away. I invest little in friendships. You may call me an old fool." He inclined his head to Maiko, hearing that there was now someone in the next room, wondering if they were about to be interrupted.

"Not to say I don't appreciate your invitation, and such. Just that I acknowledge my shortcomings." Best not to ask why she felt the need to invite him, was she implying she wanted to acquire him as a proper friend? More? No, surely not.

"You certainly do run in different circles, Dolly St James, she's an author isn't she? I believe I met her briefly at the Yule Ball? Were you at Hogwarts together, or has that been a more recent acquaintance?" He had a feeling Tapendra knew Dolly St. James too, and she'd certainly been a looker from what Ignan could remember.

"Everyone seems to have gone to school together at Hogwarts, from a foreigner's perspective…" Ignan explained with a small shrug.

Maiko was very aware of Storm and Gale’s difficulties with each other. She wished so har that they’d look past it and move on, but relationships will never that simple. She couldn’t force two people to get along perfectly. She thought it best not to comment on it.

She let out a small laugh, “You knew the Trumbles? Small world.” Maiko remembered Garrett mentioning that his father had attended Durmstrang. Perhaps that was how Storm met them. “I was engaged to Zel’s older brother, years ago. You  may have received an invitation.” Mai wasn’t sure about that, it had been such a long time ago she couldn’t remember who all had been invited.

“Obviously, it didn’t work out.” Mai shrugged. It didn’t bother her anymore, but even two years ago, that thought would have been marked with sadness. She was no longer grieving the relationship—or what could’ve been. And she was happier for it.

Her bowl was nearly empty by now, with only a few bits of carrot and meat left.

“Dolly is an author. We knew each other at Hogwarts, and remained friends after graduating. She came over for Christmas.”

She spotted some movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head to face the doorway. Kohaku leaned against the doorframe, squinting his eyes at the back of Ignan’s head.

“Mai, you didn’t tell me that your grandfather was in town!” He commented, entering the room. “He’s lost weight.” 

“…..Did you just—are you serious? Are you joking with me, right now?” Mai pointed her spoon at him accusingly, “He looks nothing like grandpère!”

“Oh.” Kohaku picked up a roll and leaned against the counter. “Right then.  Do I have to worry about my cellphone while he’s around or--”

“Ignan—this is my sweet, pain-in-the-neck brother, Kohaku. Kohaku, this is Professor Storm. We work together.” Maiko interjected.

Kohaku faced Ignan and put on the most sympathetic look he could, "Oh-- oh. That must be awful, my condolences. She hasn't tried to find you a girlfriend or make you dance, has she? Because she will." He lowered his voice to a stage whisper, "And it always ends badly."

Ignan was surprised to find out about Maiko's relation to the Trumbles.

"… you may have received an invitation." The Professor shook his head gently,
"Not to my memory, but I wasn't easily reached for a number of years." He looked to Maiko to continue.

Just as has perhaps been suspected, or inferred, Maiko's brother strayed into the kitchen to discover who the visitor was. It wasn't the first time he'd been implied as someone's grandfather - the white hair was enough.

"Ignan - this is my sweet, pain-in-the-neck brother, Kohaku. Kohaku, this is Professor Storm. We work together."

Much as he had found it a little rude for Kohaku to refer to him in such a way while referring to a muggle item. He didn't recognise the exact word, but 'phone' he understood enough from Tapendra once explaining the concept to him.

"Kohaku." Ignan greeted with a nod of his head, still seated at the table, deciding not to get up and formally shake hands as the tone had been so informal in greeting.

"… she hasn't tried to find you a girlfriend or make you dance, has she? Because she will. And it always ends badly."

"Well," Ignan replied, and glanced to Maiko, "If you consider a lunch invitation to be a bad ending, then you much live a very fortunate existence," he gestured with a hand to the food.

"Unless, you meant a bad ending for yourself? I mean, it would only take a spell or two to have you agreeing the benefits of parchment and quill over those machines that write your letters for you, whatever they're called." His tone and expression indicated no joke, though he was truthfully only putting the wind up Maiko's brother. His Hogwarts colleague would recognise it as such.

"Finished talking to the sky?" He asked, referring to his earlier exclamation to Maiko regarding the kettle.

Kohaku took a bite out of his roll, scrutinizing Ignan. “You’re pretty normal for a wizard.” He nodded at Maiko approvingly, “I like him. He and our neighbors are my favorites.” He said as-a-matter-of-factly.  “But, nothing you can say will ever convince me that a quill is better than a pen.”

He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a simple black ballpoint pen. “Have you written with these before?” He remembered when Maiko had first showed him a magic quill. Apparently some of them were pretty useful—they could write whatever you said, or they’d correct your spelling and grammar for you. It was eerie and weird, still, part of him was jealous that Maiko got access to a world he could never be a part of.

"Finished talking to the sky?"

Why was it so hard for Mai’s friends to learn the proper terms for things?

“Sky with a P. Skype. Skyyyypuh.” He enunciated, rather condescendingly though that was not his intention. “It’s like a phone, with video. So we can see each other while we talk when we’re far away. We do it through our computers.” 

Kohaku gave Mai a nod of approval, “The roll is good.”  His sister did not look pleased, but not as embarrassed as he would have liked. “Can I sit?” He motioned towards the empty chair, and barely waited for a nod from his sister before sitting.

“You have an accent.” He stated.

“Don’t we all?” Mai cut in, before giving her guest what Kohaku knew was an apologetic look.