It's a tricky situation, one that Hermione doesn't know how to properly navigate. She wishes Remus were here, because Remus always seemed to know just what to say in situations like these. But there's little sense in wishing for the impossible, so she tries to push him and his kind smile out of her mind and focus exclusively on Ruby.

"You want things to be easy," Hermione notes simply. "But life isn't about sticking to what's easy. It's about moving forward with what's right, no matter how difficult it is. Terrible things might have happened to you, but you'd had no control over them. Now you do, and you know the truth, and it's your responsibility to learn from the past and do what you can not to slide backwards. Besides... Dark magic might seem appealing at first, but it often comes at a price far too steep for most people to pay. It's best you're not involved in that."