Maybe it's time to resign himself to the questioning. Professor Rammsteiner doesn't seem very interested in making him feel sorry, so he won't.

The question is met with another shrug. "I read about it." Yes, he's a bookworm. "Then I taught myself."

It wasn't any great feat, no more than teaching himself that hex was. Magic had always come naturally to him. It also happens to be his only interest. Natural talent (or maybe unnatural? He knows his parents and neighbours thought that way) coupled with intensive study ensured that very little challenged him, and what did challenge him, he tackled with grim determination until he succeeded.

He wants to know everything. He knows that's impossible now, after all that had happened, but he still wants to know as much as he can.