"Ah, Gryffindor, perhaps one day you'll surprise your self with how brave you really are," he nods in agreement with himself and does finally touch on her hand, a light pat of encouragement before it dips into the pocket of his robes.
Her compliment has his grin stretching wider and he feels a heat rising in his cheeks. It's not often he is called brilliant, as people that know him tend to call him other things. Weird, odd, off his nut, strange, crazy... he likes brilliant, it's nice for a change.
"I was," he chuckles. "Much to the dismay of my family. All Slytherin for those who did go to Hogwarts, but not me. I know so much because I read too much, I'm a sucker for the written word and terribly curious," he admits.
They're nearly to the end of Memorial Alley when she says that and he leads them toward the park there.
"It makes perfect sense. That's a very noble creature, would you care to sit for a bit?"