The Grand Tour (Cat/Indigo/Jory)

Cat reassured the parents that all of their questions would be answered by the end of the tour. For now, he was going to show them the path to the school, and tell them where the important things were located. "The path between Valfirid and the school is completely submerged at high tide, so that enforces curfew. You can't apparate on the island. You'll be able to see the entry hall up here soon." Panicky parents drove him crazy, but he'd been volunteered for the tours today and it was extra Galleons in his pocket.

"You can see the Bell Tower from here, just above those trees..."

"Is it okay to have dogs on campus?" Jory asked. He couldn't imagine not having Astra with him, he'd grown very used to her company. "I know freshmen have to live on campus, but I'd like to keep my dog with me." He supposed that if he really had to he could let his family take her, but he would prefer not to. After a glance toward Indigo, he also wondered what the visitation policies were, though that could wait until the parents were gone.

Indigo managed to catch Jory's eyes on him, and he flushed slightly before looking determinedly back to the path just ahead. Whether by coincidence or not, his mind went the same way. Would Jory end up with a roommate? Would the dog excuse him from living in dorms? Why was he thinking about why he kind of hoped Jory would have his own place? His parents were right there.

"Valfirdu's pretty liberal when it comes to pets," Cat said, turning onto a cobbled walk. "You can't have anything dangerous, dogs need leashed in most places, and certain birds need tethered, but anything they'd allow at Hogwarts should be allowed here. There are areas you'll want to keep pets away from, we have spaces set off for animagi and magical creatures. What kind of dog do you have?" He glanced back at the kid in question.

"An Australian Shepherd, she's young still, but she's already pretty well trained," Jory said. "Do you have to have room mates and stuff? The schools I went to had like five people in a room, having a dog probably wouldn't have been a good idea there." Of course, he wanted to know for other reasons, as well. He had gotten quite used to his privacy.

"It'll cost more to get your own room, but it's doable," Cat said. "It's typically two to a room, but there's enough space that you shouldn't have a problem. And you only need to stay in the school your first year. After that you can live off-campus."

Well, Jory was managing to save the majority of the money he got from Hogwarts and he could always get a part time job while he was here. Surely he could manage getting his own room. "Are you a student?" he asked. "I met someone that goes here, but he didn't talk much about the school." A student would have a different viewpoint than a professor or staff member would have.

"I am," Cat said. "I got my Bachelor's in Transfiguration with the first class at Valfirdu and am now working on my Master's. You could say I'm a test subject. I'm also teaching the Animagus class, so that and research are basically what I do." During school hours, but he wouldn't mention the rest with parents around.

He showed them the main entrance and pointed out the corridors which led to important places, but kept a fairly straight path toward the Chancellor's office. There he dropped off the parents so they could ask all their inane questions and have them answered by someone else.

"So that leaves us," he said, turning back to his charges. "I'm sure there's a lot more you want to know. Especially you," he added, looking pointedly at the kid in the slacks. "You guys can call me Cat. It's not just a clever nickname. My animagus form is a leopard and my last name's Catalyst. It just works."

Catalyst. Any relief Indigo might have felt a moment before was squashed. He'd finally gotten rid of his parents and he was hanging out with Castiel's older brother. Or was he? Catalyst couldn't be a common last name, but this guy looked nothing like Castiel. Still, the thoughts kept Indigo quiet that much longer.

"Oh, that's really cool," Jory said, interest lighting his eyes. "I've never met an animagus. I'm just Jory, I don't have any cool nicknames." He couldn't think of what a nickname might be even if he decided he wanted one. The last name was familiar, but he didn't know the new students well enough to immediately make the connection.

"You'll meet a lot of people around here," Cat assured them. He gave a brief motion of his head to suggest they head down the corridor. "There are a lot of adventurous types at VU," he said. "But who else is going to attend a wizarding university? People who are open-minded and curious. There are some who just don't want to work and still have their parents' money to spend, but those are the minority." For the moment, Cat was excluding himself. No, he didn't want to go out and get a real job, but he worked.

"Does he talk?" he added, gesturing at Indigo. "You guys friends? I'm just asking because I wouldn't want to go on a tour with someone I hated."

"Yeah, we're friends. And yeah, he talks. Sometimes," Jory said, then teasingly nudged Indigo with his elbow. "He can be a lot of fun when he wants to be." He grinned over at Indigo and his eyes sparkled as they walked with Cat. Maybe the wait wouldn't be too bad, though he still wished they didn't have to wait.

Indigo blushed furiously, but his lips wanted to quirk all the same. He had the sudden desire to grab Jory's hand and denied himself even the risk of doing so by jamming his hands into his pockets. That reminded him of his new toy. "Do you know if Muggle stuff works around here?" he managed to ask. He fingered the smooth edges of his new phone, trying to avoid the screen.

He does talk! Cat resisted saying as much, but was glad for whatever had finally opened the kid up. As for his question, he only hoped he could give a satisfactory answer. "I think they do, but I'm not entirely sure," he started. "I know they work all right in Valfirid, they'll definitely work in Owlton. If you've got something on you, go ahead and try it."

Indigo slid out his HTC and tried to remember how he'd turned it on the last time. He found the side button and the screen lit up. It wanted to flicker, but he'd bet that in a pinch he could use it. He wondered if he could get online...