Adrian snorted, and fucking hell, he was the least smooth person on the planet. It was honestly a little ridiculous. "Maybe when I was playing Quidditch. Actually, not even then." He shook his head. "I think the ears and the lack of height kind of negate most of my better qualities." At best, Adrian considered himself average in the looks department. His personality wasn't much of a winner, either, though he was making some progress, at least where Angelina was concerned. He'd remembered how to joke and have fun. That left the rest of the castle's population to contend with, and he could readily admit that he hadn't made much of an effort to socialize. Being on the pitch with the students was one thing, making friends with people who'd once looked at him with distrust was another entirely. And all because of his house. Granted, early on, he hadn't done a lot to allay their suspicions. He wasn't openly derogatory or cruel, but he wasn't exactly friendly. Now that they were adults, it seemed much easier in some circles to escape the stigma attached to having been a Slytherin. It was a fact for which he was immensely grateful.
Still, he couldn't help feeling a little melancholy, even when Angelina promised that she'd come back to see him every chance she got. It wasn't that he didn't believe in the conviction in her words...more that he knew what being on a professional team could offer. They were having fun, and Adrian got the feeling that he might be changed for good when it was over, but there was a whole world outside the quarantine and every chance the healers might never clear him to play again. Meaning that if he was successful over the coming months, the job he'd taken to occupy his mind and body could become something more permanent. There were the summers to do what he pleased, of course, but it would leave him tied down in a way Angelina wasn't.
All these thoughts and others paraded through his head as he polished off his salad. The moment their bowls were clean, they disappeared from the table, replaced seconds later by the steaming main entree - nothing fancy, as he'd requested, but still emanating a delicious smell. It was a very homey meal, the complete antithesis to the rest of the evening, but he hadn't wanted to ask the elves for too much. They still had to provide for everyone else in the castle. There were roasted chicken breasts coated in various herbs, with at least four types of vegetables to choose from, in addition to some very fluffy-looking rolls. Adrian laughed.
"They do tend to go overboard, don't they?" It was mostly a rhetorical question, though the food was a (somewhat) welcome distraction. If he stared at his date for the evening any longer, he might well start drooling. His fingers already itched to toy with the strings dangling from the front of her dress. Maybe use them to tug her closer, if they were standing. Color rose into his cheeks unbidden and that was different, wasn't it? It wasn't like he didn't find her attractive, and it wasn't like he had thought about taking things further, but the blush came as a surprise.
"Honestly, I was looking forward to dinner, but at the moment I'm not sure I'll even taste it." He was looking Angelina in the eyes when he said it, so she wouldn't mistake the meaning behind the words. "Doesn't really hold a candle to the person sitting across from me." She could compliment him all she wanted; it wouldn't stop Adrian wondering what he'd done that was quite so right. So he could keep on doing it, of course.