Tiberius ordered his drink, took his seat, and waited for Macmillan to direct the start of the conversation. There would be plenty of time for him to ask questions or make inquiries, and it would be telling to see what Macmillan said to begin, he thought. Skipping over the small talk was unconventional, but Tiberius was hardly going to mourn the loss of it. This directness, however, did not seem to fit well with what Tiberius knew of the man. Didn't he have political aspirations? No one could be elected Minister of Magic (which Tiberius had heard rumored was Macmillan's ultimate goal, and certainly a worthy career for his sister's future husband) if they couldn't sustain some amount of banter with people they either did not know or outright disliked. On the other hand, perhaps Macmillan had done some poking around on him before this meeting, and had heard that Tiberius had no taste for it — in which case, skipping it would have shown both shrewdness and a very decisive purpose in this meeting. He would reserve judgement on that point, he decided.

"Of course," Tiberius said mildly, pausing while the waiter arrived with their drinks until the servant was once again out of earshot. "If we had spoken two months ago I might have asked your intentions, but as things stand now I should hope they are fairly obvious."