PV A.O.

Daily Prophet in hand, Maya was sitting at the pub's tables, reading all that was happening out side of Hogwarts. It was clear that there was a revolution happening and she wanted to be a part of it. More-so, she wanted to learn more about it first-hand than from the journalist's biased perspective. There was to be another picket for S.C.A.R.A.B. sometime in the summer. She knew that she would have to go by her contract and chaperone Hogwarts' crazy summer camp, but she would request time off to have a bit of fun in the midst of such riots.

"Two Tequila shots," Maya said to the waitress who was passing by her table, eyeing her that she needed to order now. Maya couldn't think of food at the moment. Tequila seemed like the best suitable answer for nine in the evening.

When the shots came, Maya murmured words to herself and took a shot of one of the cups. It was smooth and pure. A small tickle in her throat made her cough ever so slightly from the taste. It was good, but she wasn't going to down them quickly.

Turning the page of her Daily Prophet, she saw that the news had dwindled down to nothing. There was only one part that interested her the most and she was going to make sure to be a part of it. As Maya was folding her paper, she looked up to see a familiar face. She blinked a couple of times and even squinted to make sure that her eyes were not deceiving her.

"Aleks," she whispered to herself. She did not know what to feel right now. Should she be angry with him or should she be happy to see him? What feelings were appropriate right now? Maya knew one thing, she had another shot and she was going to take it before he saw her and approached. Maya took the last tequila shot and ignored the tingle in her throat. She cleared her throat and looked at him, both hoping and not hoping for him to find her.

She was curious though... What did he do all this time? From what she remembered, he went to Hamburg, but what else? She knew his secrets and she knew he was at rock bottom the last time they saw each other. But here he was. She waited, in her red cloak, for him to approach her.

"This country is going to leave me smelling like wet dog. Does it not understand what Summer is supposed to be?" Aleks sighs as he pulls down the hood of his raincoat before discarding the garment and placing it up on one of the coatracks. He ran a hand through his messy blond locks of hair before his gaze was immediately drawn to something.

He spotted Galim almost immediately. It was rare to see someone wearing a garment so unapologetically read, especially in the usual grey and dismal environment of London. He shook his head slowly and peered down at the ground, chuckling softly. "This is ridiculous..."

He pretended like he hadn't seen her and quickly disappeared from sight, hiding in the bustling bargoers who were eager to escape the the world outside and enjoy their drinks.

He would be gone from sight for a few minutes, lost within the crowds despite his very Muggle attire clashing with the more magical fashion around him. After those few minutes though Maya would notice a hand take her remaining tequila shot as Aleks lifted it to his lips and drank it down in one swift motion. His face contorted in displeasure and he slapped his tongue against his teeth in dissatisfaction as he placed the glass down. "Your taste in drinks needs some refinement." He said as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth.

"I see you are still rocking the red look. Are you on your way to deliver a picnic basket to your grandmother's house perhaps?" He teased softly as he took a seat at her table, not waiting for an invitation. He gently ran a finger down one of the many clawmarks on his face, trying to think about what to say next.

"I would ask what you're doing in London, but I seem to remember that there's usually a camp around this season. I imagine you're chaperoning, shame for you." He smirks shortly before noticing the paper in her hands. His piercing blue eyes study the print for a few moments. "Or perhaps you have shunned your duties to go fight for a cause? I never took you for much of a rioter." He mused softly, eyes looking up again to study her face. "Though if I had to hazard a guess into the mind of the great Ms. Galim, I would propose that your interest is likely academic." He let that thought linger for a moment. As was to be expected, he refused to direct the conversation towards himself or his own activities. He clearly hadn't matured, or learned from the failings in his attitude. His rudeness and analytical nature were still on full display. Though perhaps he was just testing to see if Maya had finally lost her patience.

It seemed to not take long for the werewolf to approach her. As he was approaching, Maya was about to take another one of her tequila shots when it had been taken and shot into the mouth of her ex-colleague. Inside, he made her chuckle, but she kept her demeanor still, not giving him the satisfaction of such a joke. Her go-to was usually whisky on the rocks, but she wanted something quick and simple. Little did she know that the man she fell for would be walking into the doors of the Leaky Cauldron on one summers night.

There was only one person that understood the meaning of her cloak and astonishingly it wasn't the man in front of her. All the more reason why he would make an attack at her classic outfit. Maya knew to ignore such comment, but she couldn't help but to look into his steel blue eyes and hint that he should shut up about it now or else. Of course, with all his talk about why she was in the Leaky Cauldron, her patience was thinning.

"Being a detective never suited you, Ostrowski," she said, barking back at all of his ideas from the paper she was holding to the time of year it was and why she was in London. It was true that there was a summer camp happening sometime soon, as tradition. But none were the reasons as to why she was in the pub. There were just moments that she needed to unwind with drinks. In the past, she would have Caradoc Browne, the Hufflepuff Head and colleague, drink with her. Tonight, she had wanted to be alone-- like that was feasible.

As always, there was something about Aleksander that caught Maya's attention. Little did she know that he had an intimidation feat about him for being a werewolf, but most commonly, it was because Maya had fallen for the man who sat before her. Hard. And while they shared mutual consent for each other, he up and left never to return until one day when he was at his lowest moment, only to leave again. She wasn't going to open her heart so easily this time.

"Come to mark your territory in London and go back to Hamburg for the year or so?" she asked, her red lips shaped like a smirk at her dog joke.

The waitress had come back, seeing that there was a new addition to the table. "I'd like your strongest tequila," she said to the waitress who nodded and looked at Aleksander waiting for his order.

And shut up he did about her cloak, she may have even noted the briefest hint of regret in his eyes once he had made the joke, but it was fleeting. Blunt and ill-mannered as he was, even he knew when a line was not to be crossed. Not that he would voice his apologies out loud.

"That much is true." He nodded. "I very much doubt I would look good in tweed, and I hear pipes are expensive nowadays." He smirked at her comments about his potential career in crime-solving. "I have only ever been good at one thing, and I wouldn't even consider it to be potions." He spoke softly, his voice almost a dull murmur. That was forever the peculiar thing about conversations with Aleks every word seemed to be disguising a hidden layer of sadness.

"Yes actually, I've already made a start by pissing on this establishment. Welcome to my new pub." He chuckled gently, fingers softly carressing his scars once again. His usual tell for when he was thinking deeply about something.

"I won't be returning to Hamburg anytime soon. You know me Galim, I don't sit still." He drummed his fingers on the table, wondering if he should say more, but he seemed to hold his tongue for the moment.

His gaze was drawn to the waitress whom had appeared at their table. Through his heightened senses he could smell an increase in adrenaline, not major, but enough to be a notable fear response. He looked over to Galim as she ordered, rolling his eyes softly at her choice of drink. "At least get the salt and lime this time, if you must wound me in such a way." He joked. "I'll have a chocolate hazelnut daquiri." He ordered, theorising that his peculiar choice of drink would put the waitress at ease somewhat.

When the woman left he turned his attention back to his former colleague. "I hope you can cover my tab. I haven't converted my currency yet. I hope Euros to Pounds are still decent."

Potions. That was how they met: he was the Potions Master of Hogwarts and she was the muggle studies teacher who liked to dabble in potions as a nostalgic past time. They met through potions and, realistically, became close after the terrible incident in the basement where all professors had been a part of trying to fit what was hiding in the hidden halls of Hogwarts.

Aleksander was always good at finding pity. Perhaps that was what Maya was drawn towards. She wanted to help him and be there for him and bring him up from the ground. In all, he was always like a sad puppy looking out the front window, wondering when their owner was to return.

"Oh?" she was surprised to hear that he was not going back to Hamburg which he had left twice to go to. "Where will you be?" she asked, interested to see if it would be near or far from her. Though Maya had made sure to to be so forthcoming with the question as she was obviously wanting to keep her distance-- both mind and heart.

The waitress had taken both of their order and made her way to the bartender. The drink that Aleksander had ordered was one that she had never heard of and wondered if the Leaky Cauldron would have that in stock. The drink sounded more muggle than it would have been magic. She wondered if it was a common drink in Hamburg.

"I see nothing has changed," she said, agreeing to covering for him and his drinks. Maya had been saving up more than the average person her age and was fine covering a few drinks between the two of them.

The question still burned in her mind and heart. WHY? Why was he here? What did he want? What did he need? Why did their paths cross every time he came back from who-knows-where? Her heart was racing when thinking of all these questions. She had so much curiosity to his presence.

"Ostrowski--," Maya was interrupted by the waitress bringing them both back their drinks from the bartender. Maya looked at her shot of tequila in a larger shot glass that had salt around the rim and a lime casually hanging at its edge. It seemed that the waitress listened to Aleksander and his additions to her drink.

Maya made sure that the drink did not side track her thoughts. "Why are you here?" she asked, straightforward and blunt as she was. There was truly a part of her that wanted to scream at him and tell him how much he hurt her-- twice. But she grabbed the front strings of her cloak and played with them, waiting for an answer from the estranged beast.

"Here..." He answered flatly. "Well not 'here' specifially. London, for a week or so. After that it will be up to Edinburgh. Who knows where else from there? Perhaps Australia for the Summer, I hear it is warm there." He shrugs. "I think the far more interesting question is why does it matter to you?" He asked her curiously, his gaze meeting her own. "I have done little to endear myself to you. I have been obtuse, rude, stubborn and let us not forget non-commital." He noted. "So why would a fine witch like yourself, a perfect combination of wits and beauty be concerned with the whereabouts of a drifter like myself? Do not tell me that still no strapping wizard has yet come to sweep you off your feet?" He teases softly.

He could see she was about to ask more when their drinks arrived. He eyed his closely for a few moments as the waitress set it down. He didn't voice his gratitude but did nod softly in the woman's direction to indicate he was thankful for his drink. He didn't look at Maya for a few moments, not until she spoke again.

"Oddly enough I came to this pub to drink." He replied sarcastically, hoping to get her choler rising, to maybe get the Muggle Studies professor to bark at him as he could imagine she was desperately restraining herself at this very moment.

What was it with women always falling for the bad boys? The amount of sass and sarcasm that spewed from Aleksander's mouth made Maya angrier by the minute. It seemed that she did not hide enough of her thoughts and feelings behind her "poker face" attempts. Ignoring the rudeness in his voice, she only heard that he wouldn't be staying in one place. He was going to leave for the third time... But this time, she wasn't going to open herself up to him. Not at all.

As Aleksander spoke, Maya eyed her drink. She did not wait for any "cheers". She took the shot glass and took her shot. Second one of the night. This one had tasted different than the others. Much smoother and pure, and this time, it did not tickle her throat like the first one did. She wondered what the strength was of this liquor as it had made her feel numb moments after. Not physically, but rather mentally-- perhaps it was her also not caring for what may occur next.

It could be that she was in his presence, but it was a sore subject to talk about someone sweeping her off her feet. She had many attempts and none had seemed to work. She chased after Solomon Lear prior to Aleksander with no leads, and even had an attempt with Marcus Iwasaki with him not interested in her. She felt like her days were numbered and that's how it was going to be.

"If that were the case, I wouldn't be drinking in a pub alone, now would I?" she rhetorically asked, sharing with him that she was perfectly single and living through it the best she could at her age. Maya had felt like an old maid-- at least in her home town she would be called one. In her culture, most men her age would already be married and starting a family. "But of course, it's none of your concern," she said, looking straight at him. She couldn't help but to look at the scratches that were often being touched by his fingers on his face. It added a lot of character to him and made him look older than what he was.

The drink was buzzing in her mind. Maya had a difficult time controlling her emotions and actions. The minute he said why he was here in this pub, she felt like a nerve was hit and one that wasn't pleasant. Filter was off.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, or maybe it was her inner anger, but Maya felt heat rising from her back to the tip of her head. She slowly took off her signature red cloak by opening the front and let it lay across the back of her chair. Underneath was a form-fitting figure dressed in a black outfit-- yoga pants and a tank top to go with it. She felt cooler by the minute.

Maya motioned to the waitress to come back to their table. She asked for two more drinks of tequila and the waitress nodded, heading back to the bartender.

There was silence. She wanted to speak, but did not have the courage to do so. She felt intimidated by his presence. The waitress came back with her two drinks and with no time to waste, Maya took one of the shot glasses and took another shot of tequila. This time, there was no taste nor tickle. Maya held her composure.

"It seems that I am just some chew toy for you to play with on occasion. Do I really mean nothing to you, Aleks?" she asked, her chocolate brown eyes were at first staring at the table, but slowly made their way to his soft, light blue eyes. "Do you really not know why it matters to me?" she paused, looking for some sign of understanding and compassion. But alas, he was a man who was stubborn, rude, and noncommittal. "I loved you."

Maya looked at him for a couple seconds and then looked back down. The second shot of the latest series of tequila was staring back at her. She had said too much. Maya opened up, and it was too late to close the door. Maya began to reach for the shot glass in response to her stupidity.

His face betrayed no emotion as he listened to her intently. His gaze never wavering from her own. He wanted to show her that he had no fear of what she needed to say to him, that he wasn't going to turn away and pretend he couldn't hear her. It was a side of her he had never before seen, and it was beautiful.

Only when she finished did he turn his eye back to his drink, swirling it around gently before drinking it all down in one gulp. He gently placed the glass back on the table, letting the silence hang for a few seconds more. "Feels better now, does it not?" He began, pausing for a moment to let his words sink in. "Sober thoughts spewing out from lips loosened by alcohol. The truth of them stings at first, until you feel the pleasantness that comes with the weight being gone from your chest."

"Honesty is liberating Maya." He spoke her name for the first time, like she had spoken his. It would sound almost unnatural emerging from his lips. He was a man who rarely got close enough to anyone to get on a first name basis, and yet here he was speaking her name plainly and without a hint of mockery.

"I suppose I thought I was doing you a service, pretending that drifting away from you again and again was of no concern to me. I theorised that my uncaring nature would eventually wake you up to my lack of suitability as a romantic interest." He spoke solemnly. "Even as every goodbye hurt me more and more, and I couldn't figure out why."

He looked at his empty glass for a moment. "I suppose it is my ego and hubris that caused me to believe love could be simplified in such a way, so easily, so mathematical." He trailed his fingers down the largest of the scars on his face as his gaze moved across her own porcelain features.

"I loved you as well, Maya Galim. Still do, in fact." He finally admitted. "You terrify me in all the greatest of ways." He smiled softly, a brief, honest smile. "And though it hurts, I am glad yor love for me is spoken in the past tense...I could not bear to think of you suffering a life with a monster like myself." His eyes gazed into her own intently, the beginnings of misty tears beginning to form. "You deserve more than I could hope to be."

Hearing her first name slip from his lips made her heart skip a beat. Never had she heard him say her first name or her name in full. It was always her surname that he referred to Maya as and now it had been different. The door to her heart was slowly opening.

She was confused. He loved her. Still loved her. And yet, he was thinking that being away from her was a service for them both. Surely he lacked common sense in the romance department if that was what he thought would be the good for them both. Granted, he never thought of himself as normal or someone worth connecting with. Aleksander thought of himself as a monster due to his canine curse.

She couldn't help but to match his soft smile. She terrified him... How much he terrified her. There was always a feeling she had when around him, but often times she ignored it because love was blinded by other feelings.

"There will always be a part of me that will, Ostrowski, but a part of me doesn't want to get hurt by you again."

He was no monster-- Maya was certain of that. Maya had seen true monsters in her life. She had battled monsters who killed women, men and children for their own power. She had seen what humanity can do to each other in the muggle world. Aleksander was far from being monstrous.

"I choose what I deserve," she began, "you don't get to determine what I need. I know what I need, and I know what I want," she finished, her chocolate brown eyes not tearing away from his gaze, hinting at him her desire. One thing about Maya, alcohol or not, was that she was always very straight forward. It was a cultural ability and also a personality trait that was trained to perfection by means of war. There was never beating around the bush when one needed something. You had to share it bluntly to get a point across quickly.

"I did my best to never fantasise. To never dream of life with you, because every time I did the nightmare would take over. Where I had forgotten my medication, and the full moon struck, and I wound up taking your life." He spoke solemnly.

"You are stubborn..." He sighs and shakes his head. "Exactly like me..." He broke eye contact with her, looking away in shame. "And you are the first person I have trusted since I was fourteen years old." He bit his tongue to try and prevent tears as he recalled a painful memory.

"But even desp-..." He took a moment to stop himself from crying in front of her. Despite and truly irregardless of my...condition. I know what I am, extremely damaged goods, well past their use-by date, probably rotten from when they hit the shelves. I think my last therapist described me as 'Misanthropic, Anti-Social, Argumentative and incredibly annoying. I think there was also something about inattentive but I wasn't listening." He joked, trying to distract himself from his own painful feelings.

"I never meant to break your heart. I had thought the feelings were mine alone, and whenever I returned to your life, it was only that I wished to see you again." He took a deep breath. "I will not hurt you again. I will re-arrange my plans so that this will be the last you see of me." If she allowed him, he would take her hand and kiss it softly. "Thank you for the drink, Maya Galim."