Ugh. Did she really have to have sounded like such a sap in her previous statement? Aileen immediately regretted it upon his reaction, despite perhaps enjoying the attention regardless. Still, she'd have to watch her mouth for a while, now, as she couldn't be found saying such nice things to him too often. It would just lead him to believe that she was a squishy little Hufflepuff like him. Which, really, she wasn't.
"The more effort put forth, the bigger the reward," Aileen replied, with a shrug. It was something her Mum had said a lot when she growing up, an encouragement for her to work hard at things. Personally, she thought it was true. The harder you had to work for something, the more likely you were to feel accomplished when you got what you wanted. It made sense. "Though, there's always the chance you're working hard with no hope of a reward." She grinned a little, always happy to add a little doubt while giving hope.