The change in posture was interesting to watch, as though Weasley immediately transitioned into being on the defensive. Marcus couldn’t tell if that was because it was him or if he would have reacted that way regardless. “Plenty to do in London, I’d have thought,” he deadpanned, meeting Weasley’s gaze directly, enough to communicate that he’d caught the tone, his own posture deliberately loose-limbed and relaxed. “Nothing wrong with liking some space, if that’s why you do it.” Lifting an eyebrow, Marcus studied him. “Not much for people nowadays?”
Marcus hadn’t expected to find himself curious. “Weren’t exactly stupid at school, were you? Prefect and all that. The clever type. Why didn’t you go somewhere different, if you don’t much like it here? You could’ve gone anywhere.” Marcus knew a bit about that, after choosing Romania and freedom over the Quidditch career he’d dreamed of, thanks to all the strings that would’ve been attached to staying. But now Marcus was back of his own accord, and what did that say about him?
The question that followed was a normal one. “Like I said, just finished a shift at work,” he said with a shrug. “Apparated in from Wales. Spend my days wrangling dragons, flying and getting my hands dirty, which suits me fine.” Pausing, he added dryly, “The paperwork is a bitch when something goes wrong, though. What about you? Where are you working?”
There was, Percy supposed, a reason he chose solitary hobbies. They didn’t depend on other people, he felt safe in his own company and he could only judge himself and not have another person there to potentially do the same. “I suppose there is plenty to do,” He began, taking a steadying breath, “But I never really was the most popular person in the world to begin with.” The distinctly analytical questioning also made him feel scrutinised and while Percy had spent the last three years being scrutinised, it had never become easier to swallow.
Marcus, as Percy remembered, had been an excellent quidditch player. Which Percy had definitely been irritated by in school given their houses were opposing teams most of the time. His family were a little quidditch crazy and it was hard not to get swept up in their enjoyment of the sport, especially with Ginny being a professional player. Though sometimes, he supposed, the merits of enjoying something as a teenager could change or shift over time. “I never wanted to go anywhere, I suppose,” He began, “Though sometimes I think if I could pack up my life and run away I would, I’ve always liked travelling.” He found himself smiling at the idea.
“Wrangling dragons sounds exciting. Our Charlie wrangles dragons, he’s very good at it even if I’m not expert.” Percy had read multiple books about dragon wrangling, he knew a lot about how it was done but not a lot about actually doing it. He doubted he actually would ever want to be that close to a creature that could burn him alive, though maybe there was something to be said for an exciting level of danger. "What was it about dragonology that interestd you?" Percy didn't know Marcus well enough to make assumptions, but if he was anything at all like Charlie, Percy could make a guess. Freedom was an addictive thing.
“I still work in the Ministry.” He stated, a little flatly. He used to be proud of it, these days he was much more cautious of the inner workings. Though Percy was also aware sometimes it took someone inside the machine to dismantle it, to throw a wrench in... To move information to the right place. He closed the thought down before it opened into another unpleasant memory. “I’ve been considering a career change, maybe something research based.”
