The smile dropped off his face, replaced by a look so ferocious that Hermione almost stumbled back before remembering herself. "I suppose I was asking for that. But let me be very clear, Granger." The words were firm, like the hand he snaked between them, gripping the wrist of the hand holding the wand still digging into his chest. "I'll admit I was raised to think that Muggle-borns were below me, below dirt, not worth a damned thing and that, for too long, I believed that shit. I've spouted off here and towards you enough, calling you that dirty name, because it was what I was taught to do. What I was expected to do. But things change. Things have changed. It's not a philosophy I find myself able to continue subscribing to."