The Novelle Diaries & The Wampus Cub

Chapter 12: An Unexpected Sight

It had been several days since Rory had become part of the Wampus cub care club, though that was its very unofficial name. Rory had made himself very useful in that time, stealing larger quantities of milk for the quickly growing cat and even a raw steak which Chirrup had begun to take an interest in. Even Rosewaine couldn't deny that having another person on the rota to feed the cub had helped a lot. Disappearing less had made their other friends a lot less suspicious that something was going on. Not having to dash about quite as much after curfew also lessened the chance of getting caught.

It was an early weekend morning with crispy, frost covered grass and as Wren walked across the lawn with chirrup in toe, she breathed in the chilled air, revelling in the mist she made as she exhaled.

Chirrup adored the crunchy grass and hopped along, pouncing at it, making it crunch under his paws. Wren giggled at the cub's antics as she headed down to the lake. Now in the blue dawn light, the waters seemed to take on a steel grey hue and as the breeze blew ripples across its surface the water seemed to fold on itself like liquid metal.

Suddenly Chirrup froze, his hawk-like yellow eyes locked onto a spot in the lake not too far from shore. Wren followed his line of sight to find a rather unexpected image. A boy. No, not any boy. Rory Ridcully was swimming in the freezing November waters, splashing and diving under the surface as if it was as warm as a bath.

As Wren approached the edge of the lake bank she called to her friend, 'Are you mad, you'll freeze to death.' Just watching him made her pull her robes tighter around her body.

Rory turned around to see the girl on the bank and waved a greeting. 'Morning Wren. Nay, a Ridcully could ne'er freeze. We were made tae swim th' shores of sky.' he laughed as he began to swim his way back to shore. As he stepped out of the water, dripping and shaking the water out of his ears, Chirrup began to jump at him excitedly, recognising him as a friend. Wren handed him a towel she had found on a boulder, she was still rather unconvinced that the boy wouldn't catch his death any minute. He took it with a grin and began to wipe the icy droplets off of his bare chest.

'Nothin' like a mornin dip tae get th' heart pumping.' He said with an exhilarated expression.

'Do you do this often?' Wren asked in a curious tone.

'Back home, aye but first time at Hogwarts. Was feelin' a smidge homesick, thought a dip in a loche would sort me out.' Rory explained as he sat down on the bank to don his clothes.

'And did it?' Wren asked dubiously.

'Aye, it's done th' trick. I'm right as rain now.' Rory grinned at her.

He was a rather strange boy in that way. He could make a joke out of anything and seemed to enjoy every element of life. Infact, Wren couldn't quite imagine him with a sad or angry expression on his face. It almost seemed like he was sunshine itself trapped in a human body and he just hadn't realised it yet. There just seemed to be an untamable joy about the boy that other people had had stamped out of them or had never had in the first place and it was infectious. You wanted to smile and laugh in Rory's presence. You wanted to throw caution to the wind and just have a good time, not caring what others thought because this boy made you feel good.

It was quite a revelation to Wren that it was even possible for Rory to feel such things as home sickness though she knew that was ridiculous. He was just a little boy at the end of the day and every child has fears and worries.

'What is your home like?' Wren asked as she sat down next to him as she watched Chirrup pawing at the shallow waters that lapped at the bank, shaking his paw free of water each time it got a little too close.

'Beautiful. Th' best o'Scotland, i'd say.' Rory replied, puffing out his chest proudly. 'The isle of Sky is all i've ever known till i came 'ere. Ne'er left th' island. Me mother and father live in a big ol' lighthouse on a cliff overlooking th' village. You can see everythin' for miles from th' top.'