Jack glances over and sees the older man siting alone in front of the chessboard. At first he thinks the man's playing against himself, but then he sees the pieces move.
Even after this long in Milliways, it's the sort of thing that surprises him. In this case it's enough to make him stare without realizing just what he's doing.
"Sorry, I've never seen a chess set where the pieces moved on their own before. You mean they can learn the game themselves?" he says, watching as the pieces seem to gesture to one another. As though they're figuring out who made a bad move in the game.
"Some of the old ones are still polite about taking direction from the players. But others?"
"A dear friend of mine has a set that's four hundred and some odd years old. The pieces have been played with so often in that time, they know more about strategy than most anyone who plays. They're quite argumentative."
"He doesn't play with the set at all anymore. But it makes quite an interesting conversation piece."
"Moreso if he happens to have it in a place like this, around people who aren't used to it," Jack says with a small, somewhat wry smile. "Though something that old, and a family heirloom, I'm guessing he might want to keep it safe at home."
Jack holds out his hand. "I'm Jack Bauer, by the way."
From Jack's perspective, Dumbledore's manners seem to fit his appearance pretty well, and Jack's spine straightens just a little in response as he shakes Dumbedore's hand.
"Nice to meet you too. Have you been coming in here long?" Jack asks. He's pretty sure he'd have noticed Dumbledore if they were in the bar at the same time but he's been coming in and out for a while now, and it could just come down to timing.
"That depends if you mean by the way time's passed in here, outside or both. If you're talking both, I think it's been about two years. Outside, it's not quite a year."
His smile dims briefly with his last statement, though it hadn't ever really reached his eyes to begin with.
"HAd much time gone by in here between when you first came in, and when you found it again? Though I imagine it might be hard to tell, if not."
"That's not the only thing that gets a little twisted here," Jack says with a wry chuckle.
"I guess they do have to do some renovations around here every once in a while. Makes me wonder how they decide on the decor. With access to any place or time period, it seems like there'd be too much choice."
He well remembers spending hours in Home Depot wandering around in Teri's wake as she tried to decide on paint colors and fittings when they'd bought their first house.
Even after this long in Milliways, it's the sort of thing that surprises him. In this case it's enough to make him stare without realizing just what he's doing.
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"They are quite experienced, this set," he says, nodding at the black and white pieces.
The game concluded, the pieces are gathered on either side of the board, and look for all the world as if they are going through debriefing.
"A few more decades, and they may not even need to be told what to do at all. Older sets have something of a habit of developing minds of their own."
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"Sorry, I've never seen a chess set where the pieces moved on their own before. You mean they can learn the game themselves?" he says, watching as the pieces seem to gesture to one another. As though they're figuring out who made a bad move in the game.
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"Some of the old ones are still polite about taking direction from the players. But others?"
"A dear friend of mine has a set that's four hundred and some odd years old. The pieces have been played with so often in that time, they know more about strategy than most anyone who plays. They're quite argumentative."
"He doesn't play with the set at all anymore. But it makes quite an interesting conversation piece."
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Jack holds out his hand. "I'm Jack Bauer, by the way."
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Perenelle really does do lovely work.
Dumbledore rises to shake the man's hand.
"I am Albus Dumbledore. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bauer," he says with a slight bow.
It may be the 1970s at home, but when Dumbledore was born, Victoria had still been on England's throne. It shows up in his manners.
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"Nice to meet you too. Have you been coming in here long?" Jack asks. He's pretty sure he'd have noticed Dumbledore if they were in the bar at the same time but he's been coming in and out for a while now, and it could just come down to timing.
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Dumbledore actually sounds mildly delighted by said complication.
"I stumbled onto Millways a long time ago. When I was a fourth year student at Hogwarts. It would have been 1896."
"And then my door disappeared. For decades, as it turns out. On only stumbled onto it again some weeks ago."
"It's been a pleasure to get reacquainted with it, again."
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And here he'd thought that nine months stuck outside was bad. Then again, there's more to miss in Milliways when he's in his world than vice versa.
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"Oh, fear not. I've kept quite busy in the meantime."
Even before he had a school to run.
"How long have you been visiting the End of the Universe?"
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His smile dims briefly with his last statement, though it hadn't ever really reached his eyes to begin with.
"HAd much time gone by in here between when you first came in, and when you found it again? Though I imagine it might be hard to tell, if not."
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Not to mention space.
"Time does seem to have passed, though I would be hard pressed to calculate how much. I do know that the faces I see now are not familiar."
"They seem to have painted since my fourth year."
Of course, given the traffic, Milliways would take some keeping up.
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"I guess they do have to do some renovations around here every once in a while. Makes me wonder how they decide on the decor. With access to any place or time period, it seems like there'd be too much choice."
He well remembers spending hours in Home Depot wandering around in Teri's wake as she tried to decide on paint colors and fittings when they'd bought their first house.
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The simpler one keeps things, the harder it is to go wrong, generally.
"That is biased by my own experience, of course. Milliways is not unlike the pubs I am accustomed to at home."
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"More Americans," he says.
Solemnly.
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