hh_mirror | flowers and kittens and nothing exploding ((closed, Rory and A))

"Oh, no. That's what happened the first time I travelled anywhere with him - he took me and Amy to sixteenth-century Venice as sort of a wedding present, and we ended up having to stop alien fish people taking over the planet. He has a knack for turning up when there's trouble."

A paused to take that in; time travel and alien fish people were a little out of the ordinary even for Hogwarts, but not enough to be hard to swallow.

"And make the trouble go away, or make it worse?"

"Make it go away," Rory assured him. "And sometimes bring it back just to warn it not to mess with him again. ...that one's another long story."

The first part, at least, brought to mind Kusuryuri-sensei's other calling. "Someone who fixes things, then." He refilled his glass, looking peaceful and content. "I, the, I know people here who do that. Fix things."

Rory nodded. He'd almost finished his own limeade, by now. "Good people to know. Is that, people like Professor Kurama and Professor -" It took him a few seconds to remember the other name, and he wasn't sure he'd got it right. "...Kusuriyuri?"

It was impressive, really, that he'd remembered at all, even if he was uncertain with the pronunciation.

"Yes, and other people as well." He held up the pitcher towards Rory, silently offering a refill. "I have learned some ways of fixing things since I have been here that I, it, it, it wasn't what I was being trained for."

Rory offered his glass. "What were you being -?" He shook his head. "No, sorry, I said I wouldn't ask, didn't I?"

Pouring another portion, A shook his own head. "It, you, it's fine to ask. I was being trained to replace the world's finest detective." Not a trace of pride in his words, but no detectable bitterness, either. "I was, I, I wasn't well suited to it."

He took another cookie, one of the pink ones.

It was at this time that a still miffed catified Wishbone came trotting up to them. That new boy made Wishbone made. He turned into a cat, for crying out loud. What more proof do you need that magic's real?

Now all he wanted was a bit of catnip and cuddles with a friend. A could provide both! Hence him being outside.

He jumped on the table with a hmph!, glaring at the castle.

"That -" Rory began, not sure what he meant to say - he had a better idea now of what A had meant, before, and it got worse the more he thought about it. And then he was interrupted by the appearance of another cat. A cat who made an oddly human-sounding noise while jumping up on the table. He blinked. "Oh, hello there."

"Wishbone!" A smiled, recognizing his canine friend's feline form. "I think Schrodinger is trying to climb the railings. The new strain of catnip seems to be stronger than I expected." He pointed to the flaky fish flecked with green herb remaining in the dish on the floor, beside a peacefully lolling Einstein.

Hmph! Wishbone ate a bit of the fish, finding it a bit tasty. Then he wound himself around both their legs, demanding pettings. Stupid new person didn't believe me when I said magic was real. I turned into a cat didn't I? And then he called me a bloodbender! I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound nice!

Okay, talking cat-slash-shapeshifter. That barely registered on the scale of weirdness, any more. "It'll probably take him a bit of getting used to," he said, tentatively scratching Wishbone behind an ear as he twined round Rory's legs. "...I'm Rory, by the way. Hi."

"Maybe that is a sort of magic where he is from? It was still a rude thing to say." He leant to dole out some of the required pettins as well, just as Schrodinger noticed her friend and raced over to greet him.

Yes. Yes it is. He giggled as Schrodinger tackled him and proceeded to clean his face. Hi Schrodinger!

Rory nodded. He didn't have any more idea of what a bloodbender was than Wishbone or A, but it didn't sound pleasant. "Yeah, he shouldn't go calling you names, whatever it is."

"Was, was he mean, or just rude?" A was mildly alarmed; people who were cruel to Wishbone were likely to be people to look out for.

Oblivious to A's concern, Schrodinger gnawed on Wishbone's ear, trying to induce him to wrestle.

He was just being rude. I tied him up before he could hurt me. Wishbone flopped on his back to play with Schrodinger and finally noticed Rory.

Oh! Hi! I'm Wishbone!

"Hi. I'm Rory," Rory said, assuming Wishbone hadn't caught that the first time. He gave a little wave. "I'm sort of new. Nice to meet you."

Not wanting to interfere with their meeting, A sipped his drink, and gave Einstein a scritch behind the ears, not wanting him to feel left out.

At least you believe magic's real. Hey! he said as Schrodinger pounced. I'm gonna get you! And he gave chase.

Rory couldn't help laughing. "Trust me, it's not the weirdest thing I've had to believe lately."

"If you can't cope with weird, you will have a difficult time here," A said, watching Schrodinger and Wishbone play. "And some of the weird things here are good things."

Wishbone laughed as they play-tussled. I feel bouncy again, A! he said, closing his eyes as he stretched.

"And it's amazing how much it turns out you can cope with, when you have to," Rory said, still smiling as he watched the cats.

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