Fred was terrified for a moment that this was the sort of desperate hugging that came with crying, and he winced a little and patted her back as she crushed him the way he was fairly sure he was supposed to do.
She wasn't splotchy or wet when she let him go, though, and the pillow and insult set him more at ease. He smiled as it hit him, then shrugged again. "Never said I wasn't. I'm also sort of brilliant, though."