As if he could sense what she was feeling, and perhaps he could because of his decades of experience, the soft-spoken wizard placed a gentle hand on her knee. Without saying a word to draw even more attention to what she knew he'd just seen, he simply patted her knee. Tears bubbled up out of her, gushing out of her at an intensity that threatened to take her breath away. Mr. Akingbade patted her knee one final time and withdrew his touch. Hermione covered her face with her hands, ashamed that she'd been unable to keep her emotions under control.