"Aww, poor Elio."

"He's not that old. I think he's more pessimistic than I am. Though he has more experience, so..."

"He's not lying about how optimistic he is for political reasons, is he?" Karen wonders facetiously.

"Technically possible, I suppose! Reassure the older wizards that you're not so much of a radical as to dream of succeeding at your own ambitions! If so he was lying very well."

"Does nobody ever get by you?"

"I'm sure people get small things by me. Important ones never that I've known of but I might not have known. Michael thinks he could probably lie to me once. I don't know if he has a specific strategy in mind or is just assuming that since I haven't seen him lie he might get away with it the first time."

"Is that how it works, needing an example?"

"Not usually. Usually when I meet someone I just get a very strong sense of what they want and then I run from that. But examples help."

"The only person where I feel like I have a sense of that is Aaron and that is because he complains if anybody gives him any other things."

"Not, like, for Christmas. Like, are they nervous, do they care what I think of them, are they just hoping the interaction goes smoothly, do they want to feel successful and important, do they want to have skipped the awkwardness and reached a point where they can trust me, is there something they're burning to talk about..."

"Wow. ...can I have examples?"

"We could go out people-watching. Do you care to?"

"Sure, that sounds fun, but I meant more what do you think people I already know want."

"I've known them for longer and they mostly don't want secret things, there's not much to show off there... Miranda likes that Minor has a bit of a beard now? Michael is very vaguely melancholy because as usual they wrote Rebecca's parents with an update on the children and as usual they didn't hear back and he wants them to come beg their daughter for forgiveness and they're not really the type. Catherine wants another cupcake, my mother wants us all to stay well away from mysterious disappearing assemblies..."

"I do not really understand the appeal of beards but possibly that is for reasons."

"I think it's for reasons. Good beards play up the jawline, and people who have their wires that-and-such like jawlines. Minor doesn't even realize it's the beard, I wonder if she'll think to tell him."

"He doesn't realize it's the beard - he noticed something though?"

"I think he feels vaguely warm and fuzzy about the way she's been looking at him and would maybe have gotten somewhere with introspection if she hadn't dangled a language in front of him and distracted him thoroughly."

"Aww."

"As it stands he won't surface for a week which is possibly for the best, they're not married yet. I think Aaron missed seeing you all and will miss you again when you head off; Ravenclaw was good for him. He is good for the trade of international shipping but it's not at all obvious it's good for him. Theodore feels at loose ends at these kind of things and has not-very-seriously contemplated visiting nunnaries."

"I'm given to understand nunneries are usually a long shot."

"I'd suggest alternatives but I don't actually know if it's a good idea for him to be picking up Muggles."

"Aaron says he'll probably marry a Muggle, is there a critical mass at which point the Muggle-marrying really has to stop or is the damage mostly done?"

"I guess James and Samuel might have no chance with a really conservative family instead of a rather slim one." Sigh. 

"Does that bother them?"