Hyperion's smile grew wider - he'd guessed right, this man was a wizard. Looking at him, Hyperion felt the tinglings of a short, occupational name. Miller or Smith or something similar. "I think so too," he agreed with a thoughtful nod. "Plus I think the Muggle concept of magic is such an important trope to the imagination - children are raised on folk stories by the Brother's Grimm which all invariably have twisted recollections of events before the International Statute of Secrecy was introduced, and it sort of creates a different sort of imagination I think?" He chuckled quietly and nodded. "I like wizarding authors too - I mean The Phoenix and the Auger* is one of my favourite books, but there's something I really enjoy about reading Muggle prose..." He tilted his head and listened earnestly, smiling as the other man trailed off. "I know exactly what you mean, accepting the improbable is a way of life for us because the improbable isn't all that impossible in the end."
"Oh no need to apologise," he replied, his brogue breaking through even stronger than usual for a moment as he pasted on a particularly charming smile. "Apparently it's a fantastic book, the lasses at my book club all recommended it to me, said it was brilliant." He frowned for a moment as he suddenly felt the uncomfortable chill of his past maternal disapproval settle over him. He'd made some sort of social faux pas but he couldn't quite place what it was. "Oh," he said, slightly louder than he intended. "I'm such an idiot! Hyperion Montgomery at your service. I believe we work together, sort of," he said, poking his free hand out for a handshake.