Consuming Shadows

Chapter 6

"Once more, please?"

Hermione hid a smile behind her hand, but obliged him. "Hermione." She said, slowly and clearly.

Hadrian nodded and took his time to draw the name out. "Her-my-uh-nee?" He still sounded unsure of his pronunciation, but he was getting better. While Hadrian's accent was not as thick as others, her name was ludicrously hard to wrap his tongue around.

Hermione grinned at him in delight, "That's it, now just say it faster."

"Hermione?"

She tipped her head back and laughed lightly, thoroughly amused. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even think how difficult it would be for you to say." She watched as he shrugged, a small upwards tilt to his mouth.

"You can hardly help it; you did not name yourself. I am just glad that I won't be butchering your name in the future."

A thrill went through her at the thought that he would want to spend time with her again – that she had not somehow scared him away. She bashfully brushed a strand of curly hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. It had only been a few moments since they had officially introduced themselves and Hermione did not want their conversation to end just yet.

It felt wonderful to speak to someone who did not either already know her, or had some preconceived ideas about her because of her circumstances.

And Hadrian was a charming conversationalist. She could tell he was well educated simply from how he spoke, and his interest in Ancient Runes was just another indicator of his intelligence. This was hardly a subject you could just breeze your way through with minimal effort or skill.

"May I ask you something?" Hermione blinked at the somewhat abrupt question, but nodded nonetheless. Hadrian had a strange look on his face, a mix between confused, intrigued and regretful. It immediately made her wary.

"You said your last name was Granger, yes?" Hermione pressed her lips together, seeing where this line of questioning was going and feeling her opinion of this boy rapidly deteriorating. Hadrian paused, his head cocked to the side as he studied her; and Hermione was not oblivious to the almost clinical gleam to his bright eyes. It was a tad unnerving, and made her slightly uncomfortable.

When she remained silent, the boy continued. "You are a muggleborn."

He certainly did not dance around the subject. Hermione jutted her chin out defensively, unable to help falling back to old habits whenever her blood status came up in a conversation.

She had faced this prejudice all her life, and had learned the hard way that if she wanted any respect in this world she had to constantly prove her worth; to prove that she was just as, if not more talented then the pureblooded children.

She had fostered a gentle hope that the foreign students would not have a similar mindset, that they would not hear her status and sneer. She knew that France, specifically, was rather accepting of all blood statuses, with only the particularly ancient houses still clinging to these old views.

The fact that Hadrian was even inquiring about her blood status proved her wrong. They were all alike.

"I am." She said strongly, almost daring him to show her scorn. In a flash, his intense interest fell away to something more – worried? His eyes widened and his hands shot up pacifyingly.

"I meant no offence." He rushed out, sounding sincere and gazing at her pleadingly with his beautiful green eyes. Hermione blinked in surprise, the change in his attitude so sudden she could not tell if it was just a mask he had put on to calm her, or if he truly felt this concern.