Truthfully, Dorian was completely relieved that his cousin was enjoying her time in Hogsmeade and her trips out to London. He knew he absolutely hated when he first arrived here all those years ago, before he started at Hogwarts; he was still little, but even then he had attachments to his old home and didn't feel well adjusted to Great Britain until a little after making new connections at school. “I hope they do. Keep all the riff-raff out. Warding spells do wonders, but it’s good to know you can breathe easy around your entire community,” he mused, referring to his distrust for muggles. He chuckled at the mention of their baby cousin, then he nods, “Aunt Beatrice just doesn’t want you getting ideas. Personally, I think you’re more interesting when your head is full of nonsense like feminism.” He smirked at Elise, then winked, knowing his words would rile her up.

Once they were seated at the desserterie, he couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow as she expressed her worry that she was being a burden on his parents. Dorian didn't think he could recall a time when Elise wasn't the picture of confidence, which when paired with his arrogance, could be quite a perfect storm for their family. But, that was nice about their relationship with each other; they could be honest and true. “I promise, Elise, if they change their minds about having you around and I know of it, I will tell you as soon as I am able. But I doubt you have anything to worry about. My mother loves you and my father will deny it to the day he dies, but she tends to have more say in things like this than he does,” Dorian grinned at her, hoping to cheer her up.

The cheer, however, seemed to dwindle down rather quickly since he stumbled upon a controversial subject without meaning to. Dorian had an inkling that there was more to her leaving Bellerose than what the adults were saying, but he didn't know it was something serious enough that would make her uncomfortable to talk about. “Elise, wait…” his eyes followed her as she just got up and retrieved their ice cream; that’s how he knew there was something more to this - she would never do that. His cousin was a lady, she would expect him to go get their ice cream while she sat and waited, it was completely out of character for her, which must mean he upset her enough that she had to excuse herself. His mouth went dry and when she returned he didn't have time to apologize for upsetting her or really say anything because she went right on telling him he was wrong and it was as simple as not fitting in, only to smack him in the face with the mention of today's tragic news.

“I…what?” It wasn't often he was rendered speechless but he felt like she just hit him with a stunning spell and it threw him for a loop. He awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to compose himself, his hand gently touching the metal of the spoon in his ice cream - the cold keeping him grounded. “Well, not really, sort of. Miss Bixby was in the year above me and she was in a different house… we had some classes together, but we weren’t friends. I don’t think I ever spoke to her outside of class, honestly,” Dorian still felt a sense of sadness, though, to hear of her passing, not because he knew her, but because she was so young and it made him face his own mortality and it made him feel a little more protective of his younger brother and cousins. “Elise, look, I won’t press it if you don’t want to talk about what happened at Bellerose, but you don’t have to bring up… today was supposed to be fun, okay?” Dorian’s smile was weak, “Do you like your ice cream? Sundaes are a new kind.”