Hermione blinked, wondering if she'd just heard the punchline of a joke that had fallen a little flat. But that didn't seem to be the case, so she offered a brief, uncertain smile before focusing on the bit that still made a little bit of sense.

"So I've heard. Some people aren't exactly fond of non-natives who can do magic, apparently. But there has to be a way to set things right; there's no reason for so many mages to suffer or for non-mages to live in fear."