Overwhelmed was another emotion Paul thought was perfectly normal to feel, especially someone of Illa's age. Teenagers. The whole time was overwhelming, to be honest, but it wasn't a miserable time...it was what one made of it, according to Paul.

Hmm.

Paul was under no authority to criticize how parents raised their children, but Illa's words made the man purse his lips. "I see. Well. I know lots of ladies who cry...more than those times, I assure you," he said gently. "My mother--Merlin--she cries all the time!" It was where Paul got his sensitivity from, for sure. "She was a Hufflepuff..." his dear, dear mother. The Mrs. Myers. "Granted, my mother is not a very fancy lady..." which is what Milton thought Illa's family seemed like...fancy people. Sort of like Milton's family....

And the more he listened to Illa's story, the more he thought Milton's situation was very paralleled to it. Hmph. Paul took it all in, his lips pursed even more so now. Arranged marriage. Pfffft. He knew how he felt about those. But as her professor...again, he needed to be objective. "Well..I think we both know what you need to do, m'dear. Lying can only get you so far...and..." he cleared his throat. "You're dating Henric, right?" he usually kept up with the Hogwarts' couples. "I think...if you value Henric...you...your mother should probably know." he sighed a little and kicked his feet, since they were hanging down from the bridge. "It's always hard." He glanced over at her for a second. "it's always hard telling a parent you don't...want to marry who they think you should." He wouldn't indulge his entire story, but... "I have experience in that area, m'dear. And eventually...even if it's a blowout right now, or she gets mad at you right now..things will be better. How old are you?" he asked curiously. "Sixteen? Seventeen?"