It felt as if she were trying to be purposely opaque now, because he couldn’t quite piece together what practical academia meant – and that was probably her point, because she was determined to be contrary and annoying. “Are you sure that’s not an oxymoron?” Nick said dubiously (and because he could not say I didn’t think Aurors could read).
“What kind of practical academia do you mean?” he challenged, both to try and catch her out and because he was determined to know now, and could not walk away without comprehending her. (Something banal like offensive hexes, perhaps, because she had no unrelated hobbies from her career? And astronomy could be practical! To some people. Besides, just because he didn’t make any real use of it didn’t mean the knowledge was any less valuable!)
“What kind of practical academia do you mean?” he challenged, both to try and catch her out and because he was determined to know now, and could not walk away without comprehending her. (Something banal like offensive hexes, perhaps, because she had no unrelated hobbies from her career? And astronomy could be practical! To some people. Besides, just because he didn’t make any real use of it didn’t mean the knowledge was any less valuable!)
