"You are far from stupid, Miss Owens," he says, his expression shifting, his concern growing more apparent as he listens to her speak. "You are one of the brightest students of your year. It is a shame that the people here let shallow prejudices guide them, when it is so very clear that they hold no bearing."

He had, in truth, worried that Slytherin would be a poor fit for her when he'd seen where she'd been placed. The house was supposed to be for the ambitious, and yet the focus on purity had overwhelmed it, poisoning the intention behind it.

"If you'd like, I could speak to the Headmaster," he says. "The Sorting that takes place in first year is often consider irreversible, but you were not sorted. I could argue that you deserve a fair chance with the Sorting Hat to decide your place here."