"Well you, Hazel Ridgebit, are a very patient person. And a delightful teacher," Ernie said with a grin.
"But I do think I can add 'musical prodigy' to the list of things I will never be," he added. There was a time, perhaps, when that might have actually bothered him, for he liked to think that he was great at everything. But if nothing else, he had really gained some perspective that being good at everything wasn't actually that important.
Being a good person was.
Ernie smiled at Hazel, really appreciating her company, because she was one of the few people he could talk to about absolutely nothing of consequence. The pressure of everything, of being Head Boy, of being in the DA, of being in a war, all of that went away momentarily, and that was something he greatly needed.
"But still, I suppose it wasn't so bad. Unless you're lying to make me feel better," he teased.