It was nice, Dominic supposed having two cousins so close to his age, and for him to get on well with them as well. While he found Donald to be a bit boring at times, he cared for him, and he did look up to him. Not only was he intelligent, but he was also the seeker for Ravenclaw which was awesome. The Gryffindor boy enjoyed spending time with Donnie, even if he sometimes felt that his cousin was a bit impatient with him at times.

Amy was sort of like a big sister for him. She cared about the young lion and, while she could be a bit abrasive at times, he knew that he could depend on her and that she would look out for him. The little boy could never really understand why his Hufflepuff cousin kept such a hostile persona towards some people. His badger cousin was nice really.

”It it was fun though. I I I mean she wouldn’t really hurt us or or me anyway…” he looked thoughtful for a second. Dominic was not sure if she would do something to Don. Didn’t siblings sometimes fight each other? ”I..mean…I I I am sure that she wouldn’t hurt Donald either” he couldn’t see Amy doing anything to her brother. She did love him after all. He was glad for the conversation to move onto food. For some reason, he wasn’t too sure he was doing his family any favours with how he was explaining his version of events.

”Yes, I I I do mean like that.” he nodded ”ooh ooh ooh ooh maybe you you you can come if we we we have a a picnic again, that that that would be so so much fun.” while spending time with family was great, having Henry there too, it would be even better with his best friend there. ”Your aunt sounds so so so awesome.” he said ”I I I I hope that I I I can meet her soooomedaaay” he said looking excitedly at his friend.

”Ooh ooh ooh, my my my uncle is is is an an an apothecary.” he said clasping gis hands together before realising the, ”but but but I guess that means that they would have already tried something to to to to try and calm me me me down a a bit and and failed” he sighed before shrugging a bit. The 11-year-old boy didn’t mind that much being a bit hyper. He guessed that was just who he was and people should get used to it. Why should he change his personality and himself just to suit other people or to conform to society? But a large part of him wanted acceptance and felt that being calmer was an important sign of maturity.

The youngster looked a bit confused at the cat mediation. It was something that the blond boy had not heard before and that interested him. ”I I I have not tried to to to to do cat mediation before. What what is it exactly?!?” it was a genuine interest by Dominic. Despite what he said and what he sometimes let on, the Gryffindor did enjoy learning new things. It just had to be something that interested him enough or was a bit odd. And cat medicine sounded to be weird enough for him to keep his interest. Especially since he was getting a cat, or wanted to get one anyway. It might be crucial to cat ownership and the future of catkind for him to know what cat mediation is.

Dominic looked thoughtful at the house winning comment before responding It it it depends oon on on who is is is playing. If if Gryffindor is is is not playing than I I I want the best side to to to win, if if if Gryffindor is playing then I I I suppose II I want them to to to win, maybe? But but if if if Ravenclaw are playing, even if if if they are playing Gryffindor, I I I want Ravenclaw to to to win. Because that that means that Don is is is playing well” he wondered if that made him sound like a traitor to Henry? It certainly wouldn’t be an opinion that even he would dare to voice to his souse mats, even Lizzie. She seemed to be one of those people that took quidditch seriously that Henry was warning about.

”I I I I understand” he said with a weak smile. He knew that it would be hard work getting onto the team and even harder work to be part of it. It was not like he even wanted to join the team if he was honest with himself. It was just for something for him to try and say that he did and ticked it off his list. It would probably be of surprise to no-one that Dominic did have a list of things to do at Hogwarts, Some of which would probably get him in deep trouble and a couple might even risk him being expelled. But the young lad was determined to do them all.

The 11-year-old knew that Henry and himself would never agree on pranking. He resisted rolling his eyes at the Hufflepuff when he walked about fireworks not being for pranking. What little did he knew. Fireworks would be great for pranks. Setting them off in the library, or sticking them down toilets while lit, there was many ways he could think of pranking with fireworks. None of which he felt would upset or hurt people. ”But if what?!?” he asked before he could stop himself. The Gryffindor lad really didn’t want to get into an argument with his friend over this issue, but at the same time he didn’t want to have his friend think badly of him for liking pranks. Dominic really did want Henry to, at the very least, understand his point of view. However, the youngster felt that this was not the time, nor the place, to push such an issue.

Cats felt like a much safer topic area of both of them. It was non-controversial and something that they both seemed to agree on. Cats were fantastic, and the fact that him and his butty could bound over them made their feline friends even more amazing in his opinion. ”I I I hope so. I I I am scared that that the the cats might think that I I I am too loud, or or or excitable, or or annoying or something.” the little boy confided in his friend. ”I I would be heartbroken if if if none of the the cats, or or or any of the other animals didn’t like mee” he avoided trying to sound too upset at this thought. After all, he did not want to bring the mood down. Maybe he was overthinking this. Both Amy’s cat, Lancelot, and Donald’s owl, Miles, seems comfortable around him. But was this because of his cousin’s influence? This was a theory that Dominic decided not to rule out.

The Gryffindor lad cursed himself inwardly when Henry said about asking his cousin. Dom wondered if he had been insensitive in saying that he would ask his parents first? Probably not. But Dominic could never tell these things. It had gotten him into a lot of trouble with people in the past. ”I I I think letting your cat do what he likes is is is better than forcing him to to to do things” he interjected, hoping that he wasn’t being offensive or anything ”I I I mean that cats are are independent creatures and and have a a mind of of their own after all.” He wondered if the cat he would get would get along with Gunther and Lancelot. Did Lancelot and Gunther know each other and get along? They were in the same house, but from what he would gather Amy and Henry had a run in at some point. He wondered if it was too late to ask his Hufflepuff pal about that?

When Henry replied a bit crossly the blonde haired boy was a bit taken back. Dominic didn’t mean anything by the comments. He felt an embarrassed red starting to flush across his face, feeling suddenly foolish and worrying that his friend was judging him poorly. ”Wait, You and and and Donald were talking about me behind my my my back?!?” suddenly his embarrassment gave way to shock, hurt and dismay, as it dawned on him how Henry knew this information and why his cousins had confronted him on this point.

He wondered if they laughed about him behind his back and made fun of him. It was not a pleasant thought, and he knew it would be giving into paranoia to allow himself to think that. Henry wasn’t mean, he would never make fun of him, and Donnie wasn’t that way either, he wouldn’t laugh at his cousin. Dom tried to put his mind at rest at this revelation and tried to convince himself that it wasn’t anything unpleasant at his expense. He knew his friend and cousin well enough to know it wasn't. However, Dominic still concerned by this news and wondered what other tales Henry had been telling Donald about him. 

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Slowly, the idea of getting on the nerves of a cousin was starting to sound somewhat understandable. Not completely, he far too much wished to have cousins to accept anything but one hundred percent harmony, but it didn’t appear as unnatural as he had first thought. When he was smaller, he had also tried to shock his auntie by shouting “boo” behind her back in the past, not that he had had much success. But it was an excuse to hug her, so this was a very good reason to risk annoying her a little. It was all a question of how used you were to certain situations, he got more and more convinced. If cousins were normal, it was probably easy to forget that they were invaluable.

As freaked out as he still was by Amy, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous how nonchalantly Dominic treated his family outing. He had of course his aunt and his friends and the families of his friends, but it was not exactly the same. Henry curtly shook his head. He was being silly. “Sure, I understand,” he said, managing to grin at his friend. “It’s great it was fun-” He blinked. That sounded weird how the Gryffindor seemed to differentiate between himself and his cousin. “What do you- what- why- Donald…” he asked slowly, a little lost how to word his confusion. “You’re… sure?” he then echoed his friend. “Why do you say… oh, well, never mind.” He supposed he wasn’t at the point yet where he could understand the confusing dynamics of his friend’s family.

“That’d be awesome!” he exclaimed, beaming. “I’d love to go on a picnic with you and your family.” Well, maybe not with Amy… then again, it wasn’t like she had ever been mean or done anything to him. She just wasn’t exactly as cordial as your average Hufflepuff. But as long as he was polite and didn’t get on her wrong side, he was relatively confident that he should be safe from her — which of course meant no teasing in no case. Hopefully that wasn’t a firm part of every picnic.

Henry nodded, getting Dominic’s point. It made sense that his parents would already have thought of everything. It was what parents did. And yet… on the other hand… Sometimes it was easier to overlook something if you thought you already knew everything. There could be something extremely obvious that they just hadn’t thought of because it was too obvious. Things like that existed, didn’t they? “Yeah, I guess,” he said. “Still, talking about it might still be useful. You know like… there are surely other people with the same problem. Maybe there are help groups that have tips that make following classes and such stuff easier. Maybe your parents, your uncle, just never thought of it because they knew you too well. Do you know what I mean?” He crossed his fingers. Hopefully Dominic didn’t misunderstand him and think he was calling him a freak or anything mean. The Gryffindor should know better — they were friends after all! — but Henry couldn’t say with good conscience that he had infinite trust in his friend’s social confidence.

Henry cleared his throat and mentally sorted his thoughts. Cat meditation wasn’t easy to describe without the animal there as living prove. “It’s very simple,” he started. “It’s basically just lying down in the sun and… yes, that’s pretty much it. Exactly like a cat. I’ve spent hours like that with Gunther. You really should make it next to a cat. It’s very… educational.” Okay, maybe that was not the exactly appropriate word. It was just very relaxing. And in all honesty, it also led to an arm or a leg going numb, but it was one of the details he always only remembered too late. And it might actually help Dominic if his body told him that it needed some time to recover. What was good for a cat was also good for a boy. Obviously.

“Oh, you’d…” Henry was surprised. It was understandable that he wished his cousin to succeed, but siding against his own house, that was pretty strong meat. He wished Lizzy all the success in the world too, but if Gryffindor would play Hufflepuff, he’d certainly want his own house to win — and it was not just because Atha and Carin were on the team though that was an important point too. Hufflepuff was his house, his family at Hogwarts. The Quidditch cup directly affected the houses, not his auntie or, if he had them, any other family member. So it was obvious why he had to side with Hufflepuff. It wasn’t like it stopped him from wishing Lizzy to be brilliant. It was just the end result where he wanted that his own house prevailed. It was curious to hear that Dominic still put his cousin before anything else. Was the Gryffindor right? Was family always more important? Was he being a horrible and heartless person by siding with Hufflepuff as much as he did… “That’s very… nice of you.” He bit his lip. That had sounded strange. He shouldn’t have said anything at all, but now it was too late.

He hoped he hadn’t discouraged Dominic and made him feel like he wouldn’t have the necessary dedication to make it on the Quidditch team — though dedication was exactly what Dominic was lacking to be a true Quidditch player, judging from his words. Still, maybe he was mistaken. And as a rule always the best should be assumed of another person. On the other hand, wasn’t it fairer to be honest with each other. It was a dilemma. “All I know,” he said finally, “that being on the team would be very time-consuming. I’m not sure I already want to spend this much time on the pitch when there is still so much else of Hogwarts to be seen.” He grinned at his friend. They still had animals to discover together, and that might very well take years and even then without any guaranteed success.

Pressing a hand against his forehead, Henry closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe very slowly. He didn’t want a row. He wanted to spend a few fun hours with his friend. That was all. Why did the Gryffindor have to harp on about this pranking nonsense. “Nothing,” he said gruffly, refusing to look at the other boy. No, that was also no mature way to respond. He may only be twelve, but that was no excuse not to behave sensibly. “I just don’t want to talk about pranks, okay?” he said tiredly but with a conciliatory smile. “I’m sorry if I’m being stubborn. I don’t want to offend you. Or fight with you. Let’s just spend a fun afternoon together and let things be. Please. Let’s do something we both want to.” He had managed reasonably well to express himself, Henry thought. Now he only had to hope that Dominic would accept his words and change the topic. Otherwise, Henry felt like there’d be trouble.

Cats were something Henry was always enthusiastic about, but after the almost-fight with his friend, he felt like bouncing up and down and grinning broadly enough to fill the whole alley. Between trees and cats, a conversation could always be saved from disaster. “That’s why we’ll look at them,” he said, nodding as if he wanted to shake his head off. “The two of you will sense immediately whether you’re made for one another. And don’t worry about getting on your cat’s nerves. If a cat’s annoyed, they’ll just go away. And if they really want their quiet, they might scratch you a little. Nothing that your mum couldn’t heal in a second. It’s their way of saying ‘Go away’, nothing personal.” He waved away his friend’s concern. “Of course they’ll like you!” he exclaimed, still a little more loudly than he normally would. “You’re great with animals, they’ll sense that. Question is, whether the perfect cat will be there or whether we’ll have to go to other shops to find the perfect match. Because this is an important decision! And we should take our time. But it will be so much much fun!”

Henry blinked a couple of times, too distracted by the thought of Gunther to immediately get what his friend was saying. But then he blushed. “Yes, right.” He smiled sheepishly. “That’s exactly how cats are. I guess Gunther is above average patient. He’s so great! But, yes, I didn’t bring him like I said. Cats are very fond of places they know though I think Gunther is okay as long as I am around — or Auntie. But he wouldn’t like being here. I probably shouldn’t always make him come with me… then again, he is very clever-” Henry stopped himself. He had talked enough about his own cat. By now, Dominic probably knew his eulogies by heart. “What I wanted to say is… I agree. Very independent. You understand cats. You and your cat, you’ll get along perfectly. It’s going to be great!” There could be no question that a cat would solve all — or at least most — of Dominic’s problems. After all, cats were always the answer.

“Are you… okay?” Henry asked worriedly when his friend didn’t show the enthusiasm that Henry considered appropriate for something as important as buying a cat. He had only told him that he had been talking with his cousin. That couldn’t be a bad thing, could it? Henry had thought Dominic truly liked his cousins despite sometimes complaining. So why was it so bad that he had talked to Donald? Was he not supposed to? Did Dominic think he was the only one who had the right to speak with him? What Dominic then exclaimed was certainly nothing Henry had expected. “Wh- no!” he exclaimed. “We were just talking to each other. Because you told me so much about him. So when I saw him in the corridor, I said hi. And he told me a lot of stuff, about stars and aliens and a lot of things. But I of course said I know him because I’m friends with you. So I had to talk about you, otherwise he wouldn’t know why I’d be there, right?” Henry helplessly scratched his head. He hadn’t done anything wrong, had he? He so wished that Dominic would stop to stare at him this bitterly. “And I told him about some stuff you told me about. I mean, like, you said he told you, like, about the carrots. And things. So I knew he’s very clever from what you said and just wanted to… talk to him myself. I didn’t know you didn’t want me to. I thought that’d be okay. I didn’t mean for it to be a secret or anything. I thought you already knew. It’s not like we were saying anything bad about you. Just… we both know you, so we’d sometimes mention you. Like I now mentioned Donald. That’s a normal thing to do. To talk about people not there but you and I know. There’s nothing bad about it.” Henry felt like he was saying too much and if anything losing sight of the point he was trying to make. “I didn’t mean no harm,” he added at last. “Sorry.” He offered the other boy his hand.

Dominic watched Henry slightly curiously as he reacted to how Dom interacted with his cousins. Sure, it was a risk winding up older students, but he knew that he was safe. They were all family after all and, in the end, it was all good fun and playful. Maybe it was difficult for someone who didn’t have that kind of family dynamic to understand it, but he felt that it was normal, not that it mattered to the Gryffindor if it wasn’t

He noted the Hufflepuff’s reaction and thought that he should clarify. ” Well, I I I meant that I I I don’t know what she is like with Donald when I am not around, you you know? Don’t siblings sometimes fight each other? and and I think that that she would easily beat up Don in in a fight” he felt that he could probably easily beat up Donnie in a fight too, but Dominic wasn’t about to say that to Henry, he felt that his friend would think less of him for that. ” But I am sure that they don’t either. I mean, from what I I Know of the pair of of of them they both care for each other a a lot.” that was also true. Even he could see that. He just hoped that he had explained himself better to the Hufflepuff. He didn’t want his year mate to think his family weird or anything.

”GREAT!” he exclaimed excitedly when Henry said he would love to come to a picnic with him at some point. That would be really exciting. Maybe he would even get to see that Amy was not all that bad after all. Not once you get to know her. His oldest cousin and friend were both in the same house, and Henry knew her. The Hufflepuff girl had been known to have a bit of a short-temper at times, was easily annoyed and could be seen as intimidating and a bit aloof. But deep down, Dominic felt that she was alright. But, they were family. Maybe she was meaner to people who weren’t related to her?

” We have things like pumpkin pies, vegetarian quiche, salad, omelettes, jacket potatoes, cakes, and of of of course meat-based products for the the the non-vegetarians” Dominic wondered how Henry’s vegetarianism was going? Dom had tried his very best to stick with it, but he had occasionally lapsed and felt guilty about it afterwards. It was still a struggle to get used to not eating meat, but the 11-year-old was still trying to make an effort.

” How is is the vegetarian diet going with with you? Are you still doing it?” it was something that they had both agreed to do, and the Gryffindor really hoped that his butty was still trying his best with it. However, if he had failed in doing that Dominic wouldn’t hold it against him. The youngster supposed that it wasn’t really his place to tell Henry, or anyone else for that matter, how to live their lives. While it was something that they both had agreed to do together, it wasn’t something that he wanted to hold his mate to if he didn’t want to do it. ”You don’t have to worry if if you have stopped by the way, that is cool too” he said trying to re-assuring his Hufflepuff that he would not think any less of him if he had stopped.

As Henry persisted with the conversation about the Gryffindor’s lack of concentration, Dominic found himself growing more and more uncomfortable. While he initially was interested in having help for his hyperactiveness and energy, the way that his friend was talking about it made him feel less and less comfortable. He knew that there was no malice meant in Henry’s words, and that was probably what saved him from going off at him. The Hufflepuff’s heart was in the right place and the Welsh lad appreciated that. ” I I I guess…maybe that is is something for me to to think about closer to to school” he hoped that his friend would take the hint and move on.

It was a relief when the topic moved on to the much more interesting idea of cat meditation. As he had it described it sounded like a curious idea, even by Dominic’s own outlandish standards. It sounded a bit like sunbathing to him. ” I I I might try that…it sounds like it it would be an an interesting thing to to try out anyway.” he said frowning a bit ”Although maybe a a a bit boring. I mean is that all that that you do is is just lie around in the the sun? What if it it is raining or or snowing?!? Oooh ooh ooh do you lie around in the the snow and and let it all cover you?!?” that did sound like a plan, perhaps he could make the snow stick to him, and he could pretend to be a snowman to trick people? He decided against suggesting this to Henry given his disdain for pranks.

Dominic raised an eyebrow when Henry did not finish his “oh, you’d” comment. He wondered what his friend was going to say to that remark. The Gryffindor really did wonder to Henry thought that he was being a bit traitorous for supporting Ravenclaw? Loyalty was an important Hufflepuff trait, wasn’t it? He wondered if his admission had somehow offended Henry’s house sensibilities. The Gryffindor’s eyebrow raised even higher, in a more quizzical fashion when Henry said that supporting his own cousin was very nice of Dom.

”umm…thanks?” he said, feeling unsure how to respond to that remark. The blond-haired youngster didn’t want his friend to feel too badly and quickly tried to think of something else to say about that matter “ I mean, I do support Gryffindor in in any other situation of of course. I just want Donald to do well in in Ravenclaw. I even wear a a Ravenclaw scarf and and wave a Ravenclaw banner when he is is playing. I don’t think that my my fellow Gryffindor housemates like that very much though.” he mused briefly if this was a contributing factor in having some dislike from his fellow Gryffindors? House loyalty did seem to be very important to people. ”I am not even sure that that that Liz likes me doing it too much either” he added with a slight shrug.

The last thing the eleven-year-old wanted to do was to get into a severe fight with his friend that he had not seen in a while. Henry might have been being a bit annoying in Dominic’s opinion, but it wasn’t something that it was worth an argument over and he really wanted to see his friend. His question just slipped out.

Still, the other boy’s reaction bothered the Welsh wizard a bit. Of course, it was okay if they both did something that they both wanted to do, Dominic wanted that to. It wasn’t him, after all, that suggested that they go to a joke shop And he didn’t entirely agree with Henry’s rationale for suggesting going to one either. But he would drop it. ”Yes, I I want to to do something that we we both want to t to do too. I I don’t want to to get into an an an argument either. I I wasn’t trying to to push for it or or anything.” his stutter was a bit worse due to his concern about falling out with his friend. However, Henry’s smile re-assured him that they were still cool and he returned the smile to let his friend know that there were no hard feelings. At least not from his side.

It was a relief when the conversation moved onto cats, it was something that they could unify over, and it was something that would hopefully help bond their relationship even closer than it already was. When his friend said that the two of them would sense if they made for each other something twigged with the 11-year-old ”Oooh ooh ooh you mean like it it it is the wand that that chooses the the wizard sort of thing?” that seemed to make sense.

”I know that cats might scratch me, Amy’s cat has scratched me before. It it wasn’t anything bad, I I I think he was being overly playful” he said with a small, sheepish smile. A bright shade of red flushed his face when Henry said that the cat could like him because he was good with animals ”Aww thanks” he sound rather embarrassed. ”I I I am sure that we will find the the the right cat here.” the youngster said trying to feel confident. He really wanted to get a cat.

”Do you think that that our cats will be friends?!? Ooh ooh ooh are are Gunther and Lancelot, Amy’s cat, friends?!?” he decided to ask the question anyway. Henry seemed like such an expert on cats ”I I think it is sensible to to leave Gunther at home if if that is what makes him feel comfortable.” it was a sensible thing for Henry to do, and the Hufflepuff would know his own cat the best. ”But I I am sure he enjoys coming with you as well. You clearly love him and and care about him and he he clearly loves you back too” he said smiling at his mate.

”Besides I am sure we can pick out a a a cool cat for me ourselves. After all we we are both intelligent, right?” he didn’t see why they couldn’t pick a cat by themselves without Gunther’s or anyone else’s aid. ”I mean I I need to to tell my parents. I I think m-my parents would kill me if if I turned up with a a a cat out of the blue in any case”he wondered if his cat would actually be blue? Perhaps he could dye it? Then again that did seem to be a bit cruel. But he didn’t want to get a cat, only to have to give it back afterwards, getting his parents permission seemed like the best way to avoid that scenario.

It upset Dominic to think about his friend talking behind his back to his cousins. Not because he didn’t want Henry talking to his cousins, he was happy that they were friends, but because he didn’t want Henry telling them something that they would then tell his parents and get him into trouble, or for his cousins to think less of him. Despite him sometimes complaining about Amy and Donnie, he looked up to both of them and valued both of them. He didn’t want them to think badly of him.

However, he listened to his friend’s explanation, nodding along as he did so to indicate he was paying attention and trying to understand his points. He sighed a bit when Henry apologised and offered his hand. Dominic took it ”I I I know that you didn’t mean any harm. I was a a bit surprised about it that is is is all. I I I don’t mind you talking to to to Donald or or or Amy. But there are some things that that I I would rather that they didn’t know about me you see. I mean I don’t want them to be be told if I say or do something naughty and and it gets back to my parents from them and and and I get into trouble…” he thought that was reasonable enough. Henry wasn’t a grass in any case, at least Dominic didn’t think he was.

”..a-and more importantly, I don’t want them to to to hear something that I say that that makes them think that that that I I am stupid or or or they end up thinking less of of me or or or something. I am glad you are friends with them…or with Donald anyway…” he recalled Henry didn’t seem too keen on Amy ”…and I I I get that you might talk about me sometimes with them especially if if you are concerned about me, but just…please be careful about what you you tell them.” he gave his friend a small smile, trying to show that he was not angry with him.  

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