Jacoba liked to go to Starbucks if, for no other reason, than to order a plain medium-sized drip coffee.  It always humored Jacoba that such an order could confuse a barista.  And, at nine o'clock in the morning, Jacoba needed straight drip coffee with no thrills.  If not a straight shot of espresso. 

She'd never been a morning person.  But, this morning, business forced her to be out and about earlier than she would have chosen.  She was meeting Sasha at the stables in a little bit to help him pack and get things ready to move back home.  That afternoon would be spent gathering his things from Dreogan's house.  Hopefully, they'd get enough done today that Jacoba could leave as much of the unloading side of things to Wilhelm. 

All in all, unadulterated coffee was a must. 

And, it was still early - early enough that the morning rush hadn't passed, yet.  A premium on seating seemed to be the unspoken Starbucks motto.  There were only a handful of singleton tables.  When one ruled out those engrossed in conversations with their phones or ear pieces, the seating choice was quite limited.  Jacoba chose the seat by the window - if the person proved unentertaining, then, at least, there was always people watching. 

"Do you mind if I squat?" Jacoba asked as she approached the table.  "Appears seats are prime real estate here." 

Tapendra looked up; he'd been staring at his plate and book, scones and all, and trying not to fall asleep on them. His jacket lay folded over the back of the chair, his hat shoved forward to cover his eyes. He'd been lucky to get a window seat; they were rare enough he'd jumped at it almost for novelty's sake. Not that he normally sat down at coffee houses, anyway.

He'd brought a book to the lesson - one hastily shoved into his coat the night before. He hadn't expected to go anywhere other than the lesson and hospital; otherwise he might have re-thought his choice. Thankfully he had an alternate cover; the standard covers to Dolly's first Slither Girl's book was...interesting, especially the moving version.

He'd always told himself he only read the damn things to try and understand Georgiana better, but he had more of them than she did, now. Damn.

The notebook and papers he'd spread on the table along with the book and plate weren't related to his reading; he'd just been grading some of the homework Sasha and he had exchanged when he'd taken to reading to keep himself awake until his caffeine hit.

The woman's voice was unexpected; he blinked and looked up, having to shove his hat up to see more of her than her waist and coffee.

"What? Uh," he took a second to get her meaning. "Sit. Right. No, I don't mind - go ahead -" he hastily shuffled his things out of the way.

Either, the fellow was being polite and not turning her away because doing so would seem rude or, like her, he wasn't exactly a morning person.  But, generally, Jacoba found that if someone was trying to discourage table cohabitation, they usually attempted to spread their papers wider rather than collected them out of the way.  At least, that was her brother's usual tactic. 

"Thanks," she offered, finally decided she didn't care if he was being honest of not.  If he actually didn't want her to sit there, it was his own fault for lying.  "Seems they lost my reservation yet again," she tagged on with a nod towards the counter as she lowered herself into the free seat by the window. 

It was when she was turning away from the counter that she noticed the man's book.  And the title.  And, eventually, placed why the title sounded so familiar. 

So, the man across from her was a wizard.  Or, at least, knew of the wizarding world.  Presumably.  Let's face it, if a copy of one of those things ended up in a used bookshop, it wouldn't be the average muggle's first assumption that this was a book from some secret magic-laden society.  No.  They'd just assume there was a new smutty fantasy author. 

So, it wasn't an entirely safe assumption that the man was familiar with wizarding London.  It was safe to assume he was a grown man reading smut. 

"Let me guess," Jacoba offered with a good-natured grin.  She nodded a chin in the book's direction.  "You're a sociology buff who's working on a paper on the trends of young adult literature."

"Sociology - what? No, I-" He looked at the book, back to Jacoba, to the book - and turned bright red, shoving it hurriedly into his coat, trying and failing to come up with an excuse. In his flusher he didn't even begin t0 think she knew what the books were; just that he'd caught reading fluff with sex in it-

That didn't help the flush and he resorted to honesty. "I - I needed a book that didn't take much brain power to read," he said sheepishly. "And it was on top of the pile this morning," he added, which was the same tactic he used to get dressed.

"Besides," he added quickly, trying to get himself in order. "If I was studying trends properly, I'd be researching that Twilight nonsense. Or vampire fiction in general, really, it's gotten very popular..."

His bashfulness was amusing and just a tad bit familiar.  Not that she'd ever met this man.  Which was probably to his benefit.  Had she known him better, she'd have taken full advantage of the situation.  And, would have pointed out that the fact that that book simply on the top of his pile that morning was probably not the best defense to use in this situation. 

She was sure the bright, amused grin that met that comment conveyed that quite well enough, though.  Unless, of course, he was as clueless about subtly as the one he reminded her of was. 

Instead, she took pity on him.  "We all indulge in smut."  She gave the small amount of sugar in the bottom of her cup a quick stir before taking a sip of the coffee.  "Well, most do.  You remind me of someone who, I'm sure, doesn't.  Have you read ... many of those books?"  And, no, Jacoba wasn't just investigating whether or not this fellow was a fan of such reading material.  If he'd read more than one book in that series, chances were slim he was a muggle that had just come across it in a used bookshop. 

She wrinkled her nose at the mention of Twilight.  "Just a new cheap rendition of an old theme.  Adolescent girls," and middle-aged men, apparently, "have fantasized about forbidden love forever.  Romeo and Juliet.  Summer of My German Soldier.  Vampires are only popular right now because elves and pirates have become too mainstream to properly piss off parents anymore."

Damn. The bright smile was hard for him to read, but his snap judgement was that she'd seen right through him. He did a good job of not looking sulky at that. Being easy to read was extremely annoying sometimes.

"No...not everyone does," he agreed offhandedly, knowing if he ever saw Ignan pick up and read a Slither Girls novel he might die. And not just because Ignan would strangle him to keep him silent. He looked to the pocket of his coat and flushed yet again before he answered.

"My wife used to read them," he said finally, which was true, though he'd ended up liking them far more than Judy had. "And we know the author, so you're kind of - yes, I've read them all." He gave up skirting around the issue. "It's a guilty pleasure. There's only four," he added quickly, as if that'd help.

"No, you're right," Jacoba conceded with a nod.  "Not everyone does.  My brother doesn't, I'm sure.  Though, to be honest, he probably should.  Could probably benefit from it."  It would be her brother, of course, that could actually find some educational value in such books.  "Oh, well."

So, this man knew the author?  That was about as close to a confession as she could have imagined.  Perhaps it wasn't impossible - Jacoba couldn't remember the woman's name - but, at any rate, it wasn't impossible for the author to have acquaintances who were muggles.  Just, unlikely.  Since, Jacoba assumed, giving them copies to read out amidst the general public was an obvious violation of the whole secrecy thing.  Of which, Jacoba had become quite well acquainted with. 

"There are worse guilty pleasures to have," Jacoba admitted with a shrug.  "At least it won't get you arrested."  Which, perhaps, was a sign the conversation should probably move elsewhere.  "Sorry about that," she added for good measure.  "I'm really not judging you, just so you know.  I was really more trying to suss out why you knew those books and if that meant ... you know?"  She arched an eyebrow. 

"It could get me arrested," he said, mostly to himself. Secrecy act, and all that. It wasn't like the muggles would get it if they did read the damn things - they'd just say they were badly written. World not properly explained, and all that - relying on knowledge the reader couldn't have.

"Um, no problem," he said, sipping his own coffee - well, not quite coffee. There were far too many chunks of chocolate, ice, cocoa and whipped cream for it to really be deemed coffee anymore, but it had sugar and caffeine and tasted good so....he didn't care.

"That I know...?" He took a moment to catch on. "Oh. Ah - that I know who she really is?" he asked, trying to give himself some leeway to back out quickly should she turn out not  tomean wizards.

"How so?"  Jacoba asked before giving the question more thought.  It was lost on her how reading that book could be criminal in nature. 

Let's face it.  Jacoba was still very much a newcomer to this whole wizarding world stuff.  She was, therefore, still very much a virgin when it came to speaking of the subject in a subtle and suggestive manner.  She blinked at the man across the table, momentarily confused.  "I thought you said you knew who she was," Jacoba said, slowly.  She pursed her lips; trying to divert the conversation, somehow, had only proven to make it more awkward. 

"So..."  She said.  She'd never managed to derail a random conversation quite this much.  Might as well resort to the tried and true basics.  "Name's Jacoba," she offered, extending a hand across the table.  "Are you from London?" she tagged on.  Hopefully, this wouldn't prove confusing as well.

"For being something of a sappy twit, perhaps?" he suggested jokingly, when she seemed confused as to what he meant. Probably not a wizard, then.

"Yes, well...she's got a lot of rumors going around the writing circles about her," he said. "I thought since you knew the book you might know...of her reputation. It's not a very friendly one."

She seemed content to change the direction of the conversation, and he happily complied, perking up into a much sunnier attitude when she wasn't throwing him off his feet ever few seconds. "No, actually - I'm just here on business. I live in Cambridge - I work for the University." He smiled brightly, taking her hand. "Tapendra. What about you? Travelling?"

"That's illegal now, too?"  Jacoba sighed in jest, pretending to be legitimately perturbed about that notion.  "Scheiße  I'm screwed."  She took a sip of her cup of coffee. 

Jacoba shook her head, confirming she didn't know much about the author's rumors.  "Admittedly, I've never read them.  And, don't know much about her.  I've seen them in the window of the bookstore but I don't do much window shopping in that part of town."  That part of town being Diagon.  She worked there, she found her way to and from the record shop but she generally avoided lingering there.  Especially out on the street. 

"Work for the University?  As in ... you're a professor?" Jacoba asked, tentatively.  "What of, if you don't mind me asking.  I hear Cambridge is a good school; I sometimes ponder going back but that might be out of my league." 

Not surprisingly, this Tapendra (interesting name), returned the question.  Though she should have been better prepared for it, the question gave her reason to pause.  Really, what was doing here?  For as muggle as she was, that sure was a hard question to answer to a muggle.  "Despite the accent, I actually grew up in London.  Or, rather, north of the city.  Went to primary school in Oxford but went back to the mainland after that.  My family's still back here, though, so I came to visit." And, had ended up staying.  "It's kind of a long, strange, complicated story.  But, the end result is I seem to be here for longer than I was expecting."

"According to my wife, yes," he said, hoping to turn his mutter to a joke. "She might try to arrest you, too." Somehow joking about her as if she was still alive was easy. He might need to tell his therapist about that, some day.

She'd seen the books in a store window...that had to mean wizard. "I usually get mine from Florish & Blott's," he said, casually. "It's a nice shop - good with discounts and stocking what you need. Not a good alternative in Cambridge."

Pulling off a chunk of scone, he quickly chewed and swallowed  it; her question of Cambridge made him blush, wondering if she was sending him up. "Not a full Professor, not yet. I work in Astronomy - I assist with and teach some of the Physics courses, and work with the theorists," he said. "The science section is good. It's expensive, though...but yes. If you wanted to further your education, it's a good place to do it - Oxford might be better for more social focuses."

He smiled again. "Ah, sorry - I've gotten used to the accent meaning traveler," he explained.

"Is that so?"  There was just enough playfulness in Jacoba's voice to perhaps betray her real thoughts behind the statement.  Again, had she known the man better, she'd have been more forthcoming with her somewhat off color humor. 

So, the man was from the wizarding world.  Jacoba grinned across the table at him.  "I've actually never been in it," Jacoba admitted with a shrug.  "Haven't had a chance.  But, I walk by it all the time on my way to work.  I'd love to get in there."  She suspected the Ministry was alright if she didn't shop at Flourish and Blotts.  Who knew what secrets she might learn in there.  It could be the undoing of the wizarding world as they knew it.

"Oh, wow."  Jacoba quickly shook her head.  "So ... science-y."  Which meant most of it would go straight over her head.  "I never was very good with it.  Did languages in secondary school and modern european history at the University.  My brother was the science geek.  Scored at Level 6 on his Stage 2 SATs," she added, proudly.  Sure, it was dorky.  But, she had seven years to make up for lost time as the dorky, proud big sister.  "I never quite got it, though."  She also hadn't tried very hard.  "Cambridge might be good but University of Munich's free," she pointed out with a slight grin.  "And, I think my advisor would have me back there.  If I wanted to go.  Who knows, though." 

"Well, my citizenship is with Germany so, technically, I guess I am a tourist."  And, the Ministry thought her a tourist regardless of where she came from.  "So, you're mostly right.  I guess I'm a traveler who's stopped here for an indefinite length of time."

She glanced down to take a sip when she glanced up, the two bits of information finally connecting in her head.  "Wait," she said, leaning across the table so she could whisper.  "You're ... you're a wizard but you teach at Cambridge?"

So she was a wizard, then. Thank Merlin for that! He didn't have any issues talking to muggles but it made it a lot easier to talk and relax.

"Very science-y," he said with a smile. "Don't worry. Most people aren't good at it. I'm one of those crazy people who enjoys mathematics..." He was working his way through a scone still. "Lonely hobby, lemme tell you."

Travelers who'd stayed on longer than they thought...sounded like Georg and Ignan and half the peole he knew with a German accent.

She leaned towards him and his instinctively leaned back a bit, cheeks coloring. "Um. Yes, actually." He cleared his throat. "I'm not the only one, but...actually....currently, I teach at Hogwarts." He smiled. "Forgive the lie? I only just started, so it's...not 100% untruthful...but I really do teach Astronomy! At both places..." He quickly drank more of his coffee.

Jacoba chuckled and quickly shook her head.  "Yeah.  Naw.  I'm not worried.  And, I somewhat gathered that," she said, in reference to the lonely hobby part.  She'd observed that in the science-y people in her own life. 

"I had noticed that the science geeks spent most of their free time in the lab where the languages and history folks were out in the beer gardens getting drunk and debating foolish concepts.  I'll take beer gardens over chem labs any day." 

She'd started to nod, but then froze when Tapendra elaborated.  "Wait-" she said, her eyes widening.  "You ... you teach at Hogwarts?  Astronomy?  Is there more than one-"  Jacoba lifted her hand to her mouth as the context clues started to fall into place.  Sasha had been meeting his professors at the stable that morning; they were close to the stables.  It was the most logical explanation.  "You're the one that does all the physics at the wizarding school, aren't you?" she asked, grinning broadly.  "Small world."