Tom is fine with conversation partners who don’t speak as much as others might. That’s another skill he’s learned through the years at Milliways - the different ways to engage different kinds of people.

“When we first met, we compared our magical systems, and, I fear, you discovered that there were some, erm, jarring differences that I had no idea existed.”

He’s not going to say the d-word. He’s still horrified about that whole misunderstanding.

“I did want to make sure you knew I wasn’t intentionally a heinous representative of a terrible culture. The Wizarding world has plenty of flaws, mind you, but I was appalled to know that, well. It’s difficult to reconcile what is normal between worlds, and I thank you for your patience.”