Like most men who were comfortable calling themselves the “good guy,” Jack had a bit of a hero complex but it wasn’t fully developed since he had enough respect for others to realize that sometimes his help was not wanted and that it wasn’t his place to offer or force it. That didn’t stop him from feeling like he wanted to save Karina, to get her back on her feet…or at least to convince her to start eating food. She had been a real woman and it was sad to see her like this as a fraction of her former self. He had no idea how he would rescue her and since he knew she was a proud woman and would probably never allow herself to be “saved,” he wasn’t even going to put too much thought into it. Though, if she assumed the knock at the door to be Leathan then perhaps he could talk to him about her situation and he could help him to help her…Or he could let her sort out her own mess. He didn’t care too much for that last option but he’d respect her wishes if she chose to be left alone.

When the dark-haired woman reached for her wand, he almost reached for his but before he so much as flinched, he realized what she was doing and caught himself. As she lit her cigarette, he watched her now exceedingly delicate features twitch and move in a way that made him glad for the smoke that blurred her figure and softened the harsh angles.

"Just peachy. It's been a dream of a life. Come join me in the forest in a few weeks and you can join in on the fun,"

Her tone was what he expected since he was smart enough to know she wasn’t about to gab about her fantastic life of binge drinking and chain-smoking. His smile wavered a bit and it took quite a bit of effort to keep the pity off his face.

 "What do you want? If you're hoping for some laughs and a trip down memory lane, I'm really not in the mood for it."

He shook his head, not terribly surprised at the rising aggression. “Now, I won’t take up much of your time,” he said, his hands coming together and his fingers intertwining,” I just wanted to ask you if you ever knew or heard of Gary AppleWhithe.” He knew before he even left the Ministry that this would be a difficult question to ask since the answer would be hidden beneath baggage and anger at his assumptions and at the place he worked for but he still had to try since it was more important to him to put an end to violence than to coddle her wounded ego. “I could say I’m askin’ cuz of your work as an Auror but we both know that’d be a lie.”