"Time off is only special when you actually need it, not when you're languishing away doing nothing." At least, that's what Hermione's always assumed, since she's never really done much in the way of languishing. Even her time off is spent reading, or going to museums, or doing some sort of general learning.

At Ruby's response, Hermione's eyes widen in surprise. "Someone from home? Really? I haven't heard of that actually happening!" She isn't sure if that would be such a good development, since no one wants their friends stuck somewhere against their will, but at least it means those friends aren't left fretting over them back home.

"I've been... making do. Mostly I've been up here, reading what I can to find out as much about Thedas as possible. I've been finding that talking to people actually helps a bit more, though. Some of these books are so painfully obvious about how biased they are."