"I would ask why that was your first instinct, but I'm not sure I want to know the details of a world where things eat babies." Granted, his father had been devoted to a man who killed babies, but that was slightly different from eating them. Not worse, just different. "If it's any consolation, you are still there living your life so no one is missing you and you're not missing anything. Try not to think about it too much, and it'll be fine."
Theo hesitated, debating how much he wanted to tell this total stranger about the reasons behind his self-imposed exile over the past month. "A very complicated spell that is proving more difficult than I thought it would, given the lack of resources from home here. I'm fairly close to achieving what I want, however. Just a bit more research is needed." That was true enough; he'd missed his window last month for the Animagus transformation, but he had just a couple more weeks with the Mandrake leaf to contend with and then he'd have almost everything in place.
"And it's transfiguration, not transfigings," he said, though with a hint of amusement at the mispronunciation. "It's a very complicated spell, with many complex steps. It's been a good distraction for me."