Not Alone (Hyacinth/Jory)

[Jory Addison]

Jory stepped off the Knight Bus, suddenly very glad he was legally allowed to apparate when he wanted to. The only reason he'd taken the Bus was because of Hyacinth, but he really didn't mind too much. "It's just so weird having my own place, you know?" he was saying as they approached the Leaky Cauldron, which they had to go through before getting into Diagon Alley. "You're going to have to start coming by to visit, it'd be cool." He shoved his hands in the pockets of his thick coat once they were in the dingy pub and walked quickly, unwilling to stay in the building longer than necessary.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

"It is strange," Hyacinth said. "I can not imagine!" He shared his bedroom at home with two brothers, and the dorm room had several others in it. He couldn't handle the kind of quiet that came with being truly alone.

"It is okay that I visit?" he asked, giving one last glance at Muggle London. "Other professors will not laugh at you?" He gave a small smile at the gentle tease.

[Jory Addison]

"Let them laugh!" Jory said, grinning. He really doubted that the professors would care at all, and he had the feeling that they might be a bit more lenient with him considering he wasn't a full professor. On their way through the building, he glanced toward the bar, but the owner was nowhere to be found. That relaxed him a bit further. "I'll get a fun pet today, maybe, and Rem can play with it." After some thought, he'd decided that a pet would be a great addition to his home.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth nodded, and a tiny squeak of a mew sounded from his hood as though Rem agreed. "Remiel likes to meet animals," Hyacinth said, then added, "If they are not too big. There was a grey cat in Hogsmeade who was not as friendly. It was a strange fight."

[Jory Addison]

"If I get something big, I'll make sure she approves, first," Jory said. He thought he might know whose cat it was that had met Hyacinth's tiny cat in Hogsmeade, but he preferred not to think of that particular person. Or his big fluffy cuddly cat. Once at the wall to Diagon Alley, he pulled out his wand. "I'm thinking something small, though. I don't know what."

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Remiel dug her tiny claws into the back of Hyacinth's coat, completely unseen. He didn't realize she was moving until he felt her slight weight as she climbed up to his shoulder. Then he looked aside at her. "You like Dog, yes?" he asked her. She gave a purr that was big for her size. "And cats? Birds?" she butted against his jaw, and her fluffy little tail wrapped around the back of his neck. "She is small, but maybe she likes birds too much."

[Jory Addison]

Jory chuckled and lifted his shoulders. The movement brought his scarf up just enough to cover his ears as they were met with a short gust of chilly air coming from Diagon Alley. He reached over and gave the kitten's ears a short scratch. "I don't think I've ever met a cat that didn't like birds. I'm kind of surprised she gets along with Dog so well, though." He would be less surprised for the cat to think the little fluff ball was a toy.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

"Remiel does not hunt," Hyacinth said. He'd seen other cats slink along the ground and crouch, tail hardly flicking before they pounced. Rem was more likely to topple over than successfully catch anything, not that she'd had much chance with the outdoors so cold. "When it is warm she will maybe hunt a caterpillar." He loved the kitten, but had been working so hard on school that he'd had little opportunity to learn about cats, aside from what she taught him.

[Jory Addison]

"Maybe, she might learn from her friends, though," Jory said. Animals tended to do that, as far as he knew. "Or maybe she'll just take after you and be a pacifist kitty." Little Remiel out trying to stop other cats from fighting or attacking things. The thought brought a smile to Jory's face. He took a deep breath of the cool air, glad to be in the hustle and bustle of the busy street.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth's brows drew together. "What is pacifist?" he asked. It didn't occur to him that it was anything other than something nice, coming from Jory, but he didn't know that he'd ever heard that word. He wished for a moment that he'd brought his book bag with him. He had an English/French dictionary inside that he used now and then, especially when going over his notes from class.

[Jory Addison]

"It's like...doesn't like fighting," Jory said. "A pacifist will want everyone to get along and be friends, more or less." He was sure there was more to it than that, but as long as Hyacinth got the basics of it it didn't matter if there was some extra fourth meaning of some kind. Hyacinth might just be the most pacifistic person he knew.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth nodded and tried to commit that to memory. He had no arguments. He didn't like fighting, and it would be good if everyone got along. He reached up to pull Remiel just under his coat to protect her from the cold. She'd gotten noticeably bigger, but still seemed tiny and delicate. Luckily, she loved the attention and was happiest when curled up someplace warm.

"Some people like fighting?" he asked Jory. "It is strange to think someone wants people to not be friends."

[Jory Addison]

"There are people who think fighting might fix stuff faster or better or whatever than not fighting. Sometimes I think you have to fight. I mean, you can't normally just say hey Mr. Death Eater please don't attack that muggle and expect them to listen," Jory said. Either extreme, fighting all the time or not fighting all the time, was probably bad.

[Hyacinth Duprel]

Hyacinth's brows drew together, but he nodded as he absorbed that. It made sense, as distasteful as it might sound. He didn't understand war, but he guessed that he could understand protecting someone or something. "There are not Death Eaters now," he said hopefully. "Defense Professor was Death Eater, but he does not fight." And yet, was he really a good example? Hyacinth still had yet to fully figure out what he thought about all that.

[Jory Addison]

"I think there are still Death Eaters," Jory said. "Maybe not as dangerous as they used to be, they kind of hide and stuff. There's always going to be bad wizards. Michael's a good guy, I've heard he's super good with his wand, I'm really glad he's on our side." The man could be intimidating enough when he was frustrated over a misbehaving student, Jory didn't want to imagine what Michael had been like during his Death Eater days.