[spoilers] Lucas and his tattoos

[binkie]

(23-11-2010 10:18 PM)Byatil Wrote:  Purely phatic talk then? I think perhaps Harry feels duty-bound to offer Lucas some support, but on a personal level doesn't want to face the consequences of his actions, embodied in this man stood before him.

That's the one! And, sub-textually, one of the purposes of the scene is to illustrate the limitations of smalltalk. I suspect Harry and Lucas both know, even as the words are spoken, that they will never "talk properly". This is as good as it's ever going to get.