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[He doesn't interrupt her passionate words about herself. It's hard enough to get her to talk about anything personal sometimes.

But the same could be said about himself.]

I am not so different in that respect. My group of friends has always been confined to Noctis and those around him. It wasn't until we arrived here that I actually considered the idea that associating with those not attached to Noctis in some way wouldn't impede my duties.

So, you see, I am not so quick to judge a person on their past unless they keep me from assisting Noctis or are in his way.

And you have, if anything, done nothing but offer to listen to me and help me learn about our situation here. I see no reason to stop our friendship because of what you had to do in a situation I have no right to judge you on.

[Because, let's be real, he would have done the same thing. Although, he would have tried to persuade Noctis not to do anything dangerous in the first place, but Noctis was easy for him to read and not known to be cruel to those in his employ. Just annoying sometimes.]

[ Hermione doesn't know what to do with herself, and she wonders what she should say even as her eyes dart down and she closes her eyes. ]

No. I don't want to do anything to upset you, or Noctis. I want people to be happy here. I don't think that's too much to ask. I know it's not the best place to be with everything that's happening and all the things that happen to us, but there's good, too, isn't there? I mean... We've met so many wonderful people.

[ Bowing her head again, Hermione breathes out. ]

Seeing my memories play out like that... Ignis, I... I wasn't happy. I wasn't comfortable. I didn't want anyone to know those awful things about me, but... But if you're okay with knowing them then I can be okay, in the end.

Then you and I are in agreement. I only wish for others to be as happy as they can without stopping others. But that means you as well. Aside from those from my own world, you are one of the few that I consider...a friend.

[He pauses because he does consider her a friend, but the word feels inadequate. Not quite....everything. However, he's not going to sit here and examine his every motivation with a fine-toothed comb either. Not yet.]

I will be honest and say that seeing them wasn't easy for me, but I think that you having them viewed by others is probably harder. [He huffs out a breath.] It's not as if I wanted everyone to paw through my own memories either.

You're my friend too, Ignis. I'm sorry that things haven't been... Easy lately. I... [ It's hard. It feels like her throat is closing up and her stomach is in knots. ] It's not easy to talk about the things that happened to me there, because it's better to pretend that everything is fine.

[ It's so hard, she thinks, and she bows her head, feeling herself get smaller and smaller. ]

I didn't want to go digging around. I tried my best not to. I'm sorry if I was too nosey, or if I poked my nose where I shouldn't have. [ She does look up again, finally, though. ] Is... Was there anything else you wanted to know?

While I understand the appeal of pretending that everything is fine, I fear that I'm far too practical to be able to engage in that. Things are awkward between us because we've seen things about the other that we weren't really given much choice about.

I appreciate the chance to get to know you better, and vice versa, but the lack of consent makes this fairly uncomfortable for us both.

[His words sort of sum up the problem they've found themselves in, but then there's more to it than that.]

I would like to know more about the world where you're originally from if that's not too much to ask. None of...what I saw focused on that.

No. I appreciate that. It's happened to me before - nightmares on the network, and shared memories in a big, green mountain. I suppose I should be used to the feeling, but it's not something you get used to. It's something you get over.

[ Sharing parts of herself with other people - it's not just something she's comfortable with anymore. She had given so much of herself away, time and time again, and she's not sure how to undo the knots in her stomach anymore.

At least Ignis gives her an out, and she nods her head. It's easier to focus on the home she's lost forever than the one she's left behind; it's nostalgic rather than sad. ]

I'm from a country called Britain, on my own version of Earth. I went to school at a place called Hogwarts, and I fought in a war to make sure that hundreds of innocent people didn't die. That's where... [ She glances down at her wrist; the bleeding scar she had hated. ] It wasn't all bad, but it wasn't all good, either.

[It's not as if it's something he's going to stop being curious about, but tact dictates that pushing her further would only be a hindrance to their relationship, whatever that might be.]

What was this school like? I only know second-hand from Noctis and Prompto, since I was privately tutored as a child.

[Get a little and give a little. That's how this is supposed to work, right?]

I'm not really sure you could call my school anything normal, so it might not be a good comparison.

[ It was a magical school, after all, and Hermione settles herself down and makes herself a little more comfortable. ]

Students go there from ages eleven to seventeen and study how to use their magic, different spells, techniques and areas of study. There were classes like Herbology and Potions that used planets to create other magical things and then things like Transfiguration and Charms that was the practical use of spells and your wand to make things happen.

It doesn't sound anything like the school that Noctis and Prompto attended, that's true, but it does sound fascinating. Eos is not a planet where everyday citizens can access magic so an entire school dedicated to the study of such seems as if it would be an interesting experience.

[The fact that he can use magic is a different story.]

What do children do before the age of eleven for education? How do they learn the basics?

It was a school devoted to learning magic, so I think it worked in a way completely different from everyone else's. It was wonderful all the same, though, and I don't think I'll ever forget the things that I learned there.

[ But, ah. How to put this... Politely, she thinks. ]

That depended on your background. If you had magical parents you might have been homeschooled and taught a little bit about magical theory, but if you didn't, like me, you might have gone to a non-magical school.

Hm. I imagine that would cause a disparity between those from non-magical families and those from magical homes.

How do non-magical people feel about those who do have the ability to use magic living among them?

You have no idea.

[ His question almost makes her laugh, though, and she has to stop herself, worrying her lip between her teeth. ]

Most people without magic don't realise that it's real. If you're from a non-magical family they might know, but the majority of the population has no idea that witches and wizards are real. [ Her fingers press into her wrist awkwardly. ] It's the other way that's been the problem - the magical dealing with people from non-magical families.

[And, yet, he has a greater idea than she knows. He hasn't addressed just why the Empire was after Lucis. He's not sure he's ready to do so yet.]

How is it that magical people keep their presence hidden? I can't see that anything they do would be foolproof. There are some incidents surely.

[He notices the way she seems to fuss with her own wrists and has to resist the temptation to stop her from doing so. She is a grown woman and he isn't entitled to take many liberties with her person.]

What sort of trouble have you seen? You mentioned a war from your home world. Is that part of it?

[She's not the type to casually mention something like that he's not likely to miss the threads that need to be connected.]

[ Hermione doesn't want to talk about the bad and awful things, but she knows they're a part of her life now. She can't just undo them. ]

It's just part of the law. People don't think magic is real so they're prepared to shrug things off as tricks of the light or what we might call fake magic. It's just easier than trying to believe that it might exist.

[ Breathing out, Hermione shakes her head, closing her eyes. ]

It was a huge part of it. There was a wizard, called Voldemort - [ and the name sounds a little strangled on her lips ] - who decided that anyone born from muggles deserved to die. Lots of people agreed with him, and we went to war because of it. He wanted to be the best, the strongest, the only one, and... He wasn't.

I suppose if you've grown up in a world with no magic, it would be easy to dismiss it as trickery.

[But what a sad, small world that must be. Even if it's one Hermione comes from.]

So, this man was prejudiced against those from what? I've never heard of that word, muggle.

[Alien boyfriend is alien, remember?]

Exactly. When I was little I thought all the things I was doing was just coincidence or a trick of my mind - I never really considered that it was magic.

[ It is very small, but it got much, much larger as she got older, and not always in the best of ways. ]

Muggle means people without magic. So anyone who had parents that weren't magic, or a single parent that wasn't from a magical family. He preferred... Purebloods.

And he was the instigator behind the war you fought, I take it. [She hasn't come out and said it, not really, but it's not that hard to par se what she's saying.]

So, this Voldemort character hated something that couldn't be controlled? He sounds pleasant.

[He sounds a great deal like Ardyn, if Ignis is honest. And that's a train of thought that has him frowning more than he will admit to.]

I'm sorry if I'm making you relieve things from your past that you don't wish to revisit. If there's anything you'd like to ask me about what you saw, I will answer you as truthfully as possible.

[He's just not sure she'll like the answers.]

He was the leader of the other side, yes. That's who we were fighting.

[ But Voldemort not being pleasant is the funniest thing, and her nose wrinkles as she fights back her laughter. ]

It's how he was raised, I suppose, and... He couldn't feel love. I mean that he was literally incapable of feeling it, so that might have contributed.

[ Settling down, she leans back and breathes out before she turns her head back to look at him. ]

I don't mind, really. I'm not sure what I ought to ask, really. I... It just seemed a little bit lonely.

[He smiles briefly as she wrinkles her nose. It's a tell of amusement for her, something she has very little of. And though it doesn't last, he is pleased that she found some enjoyment out of it.

He can't speak about Voldemort. Hermione would be the expert in that matter but he'd rather not press her about it either.]

Hm, I suppose I could see how that would be the case. I'm not exactly the most social of men when I don't have to be. I have always considered myself lucky that those I have to be around are people that I enjoy spending time with, so I haven't really reached out beyond that.

Besides, I didn't have the same opportunity to make friends in school while being privately tutored.

No, I can appreciate that. I only had three really good friends when I was at school. Things were a little bit broader in the Drabwurld, but there were a lot more people and a lot more things to do to interact with one another.

[ Life or death situations have a way of bringing people together, after all, and Hermione had learned that time after time after time.

It does make her think, though, and she shifts, turning to look at Ignis properly. ]

I know how you met Noctis, since you're supposed to be helping him, but how did you meet Prompto and Gladiolus?

[He finds himself just looking at Hermione before answering her question.]

Gladiolus' family, the Amicitias, have served the kings of Lucis for several generations. Gladio is Noctis' shield as much as I am his tactician. We both grew up and trained in the palace for our positions in the Crownsguard. Prompto, on the other hand, came from a rather normal family and met Noctis in school, where they became friends.

Sadly, one doesn't merely befriend the crown prince. After graduation, Prompto went through some training and joined the Crownsguard too.

[ She listens properly, tilting her head and watching. ]

I see. So you all came together to make sure that Noctis was taken care of and safe?

[ It makes sense, she supposes; they have something that binds them, or rather someone, and she thinks that it's marvellous. It makes her soften, and she settles down properly. ]

So you're all trained, then?

I suppose you an say that. For a while it was difficult for Gladio to come to terms with serving Noctis when we were younger. Eventually, he came to terms with it and it helped us grow closer as a group.

[What he doesn't know yet...]

We're all trained in different things, yes. Gladio is very much like a bodyguard, I am a tactician, and Prompto is... well, he uses ranged weapons and takes pictures of our journey. He doesn't have enough experience as Gladio or I, but he certainly makes up for it with enthusiasm.

I think I can definitely see that in Prompto. He seems incredibly excitable, but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

[ Sometimes that's what a group needs - someone to help keep them together when things are getting harder and harder. She knows that from experience, dozens of times over, and it makes her feel ridiculously nostalgic despite her youth. ]

I don't think his lack of experience makes him any less good at what he does, though, does it?

No, his cheerful disposition [Forced though it is at times] is definitely a nice contrast with my own somewhat serious nature.

[They all share a bond with Noctis, and that is what has drawn them together as a group, but it's their own efforts that have made them a cohesive unit.]

What Prompto suffers from is a crippling low opinion of himself. If he had more confidence, he could "keep up" with the rest of us. He still feels as if he has to earn his place among our group, but he is the only that feels that way.

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