Not through carelessness, she says. Fantastic. Because Hermione isn't already thinking of the myriad of ways in which all this could go disastrously wrong. She'd never had much of an imagination and she really wishes her mind hadn't decided to develop one now.

So the conversation with Inessa is a welcome distraction, even if Hermione had never much liked hearing about the Circles. But at least Inessa's experience hadn't sounded as terrible as some had. "That's the only way to really control magic, after all," she murmurs. "I've seen what happens when people try an advanced spell without being ready for it. Sometimes it just goes awry, other times... well, not everyone can be so lucky." Poor Crabbe, even if he had been attempting to hurt her and her friends with that spell.