New companion
“Alright, Cater, which one do you choose? Don't keep me waiting…” Moore said as he gestured towards three animals sitting next to him at the inn.
A frog, a cat and an owl.
Those were the pets Caterpillar could choose from. Why did this school allow pets? That was something Caterpillar hadn't heard of before.
They were currently at an inn in Hogsmeade. Mr. Moore was trying to get Caterpillar to choose from three pets to take to Hogwarts.
The frog was white, likely albino, and it sat on a pedestal, blinking groggily at its surroundings. However, Caterpillar noticed that it was an unusually sizable and bulky frog. He'd never seen a frog that size, let alone that color. It must be a British thing, he figured.
The cat had long orange hair with lighter strikes in its fur. The stripes looked pleasant like flames dancing around freely. If only it was windy in the inn, then Caterpillar would see a demonstration of the cat's fur in the wind…
The owl was white snowy owl with wide owl eyes. Caterpillar had not seen these kinds of birds much at all. Moore told him that owls were used to carry messages from one person to another in the wizarding world, which wasn't a surprising revelation considering how useful the ability to fly can be.
Caterpillar looked through the three animals at least three times before glancing up at Moore, shooting him an unsure expression.
Humans often had pets. Caterpillar knew that.
But he himself wasn't a human. It would be very strange to take care of an animal in his eyes. Caterpillar didn't see himself as an animal, of course, but he sure was not a human. Perhaps the most fit description for the boy was ‘a monster’.
Upon seeing Caterpillar’s conflicted expression, Moore smirked to himself, as if he was enjoying this. “Having a hard time choosing, Cater? Just pick one, it shouldn't be too hard.” he said, the smirk remaining plastered on his face.
Caterpillar stifled a sigh, looking back at the three animals. His eyes couldn't help but to drift towards the oversized white frog…
The frog sat there on the pedestal, blinking slowly and looking like it had no idea why it was even here. Its eyes were colorless, Caterpillar noted. Likely because it was an albino frog, which Caterpillar had not seen before.
A rarity.
The white slimy overcoat of the large frog struck a familiarity in Caterpillar’s mind: right, the frog kind of looked like his human form, just without the black touches on the limbs.
Maybe…
Caterpillar pointed at the oversized and bulky frog with his blackened finger without saying anything. The implications were clear enough.
Moore raised his eyebrows in an intrigued manner. “Ah, so you want the strange toad then? Not surprising. Its strangeness kind of matches you, Cater! That's cute.” Moore chuckled as he gently picked up the oversized frog from the pedestal.
‘Toad’? Ah, good, the frog already had a name, so Caterpillar didn't have to come up with anything. Caterpillar was also going to ignore Moore’s remark.
Moore gently placed the strange frog onto Caterpillar’s open black palms. The big frog crawled onto Caterpillar’s hands and settled itself there. Caterpillar couldn’t help but to notice how the creature’s slimy skin felt as it sat on both of Caterpillar’s open hands. Since the frog was quite big in size, Caterpillar had to hold it with both of his hands, and even then the frog just barely fit.
It was a random thought, but Caterpillar had never held a frog before, let alone any specific animal, because he had never been ordered to.
A new experience.
“So…what are you planning on naming it, Cater?” Moore asked, snapping the white haired boy out of his thoughts.
Caterpillar blinked in confusion. Why would he change the frog’s name when it was already picked out?
“I’ll just keep this frog’s name as it is; Toad.” Caterpillar answered blankly, looking down at the white and oversized frog in his darkened hold.
Moore stayed quiet for a while, analyzing Caterpillar’s eerily blank expression. At this point, the man should’ve grown used to Caterpillar’s emotionless expression. “What?” Moore raised an eyebrow at the white haired boy’s words.
Caterpillar’s gaze shifted up towards the fancy man, unwavering.
Realization dawned on Moore. “Oh! My, my…you know that is a toad, not a frog, right?” the man smirked, visibly amused.
“Yes. This frog’s name is Toad.” Caterpillar shrugged, looking back at Toad.
Moore’s already-wide smirk widened even further. He then reached his hand out to pat Caterpillar’s white hair…again, without consent. “Ah, little man, have you never seen a toad before? That is what that amphibian is; not a true frog.” he explained while patting the boy’s white hair.
Caterpillar wanted to swat Moore’s hand away, but since his hands were preoccupied with holding Toad, he couldn’t. Instead, he resorted to taking a step back to avert further touch from Moore.
“This is a frog.” he further claimed while Toad sat peacefully in his black hands.
Moore sighed, deciding to leave the topic behind without pushing further since he was clearly getting nowhere. He let his hands fall to his hips as he looked Caterpillar over, scrutinizing how Toad looked in the boy’s hands.
After a few seconds, Moore gave a subtle nod. “Right. A toad is a great choice. Now…” he sighed, pulling out a pocket watch and briefly scanning it with his eyes. “Since the semester starts in a few weeks, we have plenty of time to buy you all the things you need to start wizarding school.”
Caterpillar sighed as well, looking into Toad’s wide and colorless eyes. They seemed to reflect his soulless expression in the candlelit room of the inn. Caterpillar couldn’t believe he was actually forced into doing this…attending a school while his companions in another world could potentially be in trouble.
“I don’t suppose you have any money, do you?” Moore tilted his head, breaking the newfound silence in the room.
Caterpillar let out a thoughtful hum before looking at a random wall. What was this world’s currency? He recalled the two million credit coupons he’d gotten through the Game of the Rich in the Fortress of Meropide. That was a large sum. He wondered if they could somehow get transferred to this new world’s currency.
“Ah, of course. I knew it; you don’t have money since you’re just a kid…and an orphan.” Moore sighed, misinterpreting Caterpillar’s silence, as per usual.
Caterpillar glared at Moore in silence.
“Don’t worry your little head over it, Cater! Hogwarts can fund your school related things. Though, the money will only suffice for the absolute essentials. You will also get a hand-me-down uniform. This is because the school has a budget and would rather not spend excess money when it’s not necessary.” Moore explained, turning to the ginger cat and white owl in an effort to take the remaining animals away.
Caterpillar was about to open his mouth to remind the man that he really did not need to go to school, but he stopped himself once seeing Moore guide the snowy owl back into its bird cage. Caterpillar instinctively looked away, holding onto Toad a little tighter and pulling it closer to his chest. Toad made a low grumble to this movement, but didn’t protest.
Just something about a creature in a cage…didn’t sit right with him.
Caterpillar inhaled deeply through his nose and closed his eyes, trying to pull himself out of his line of thought. He supposed he was going to have to get used to it.
A black, long robe topped with a hood. Long dark pants and a blouse under the black robes. The Hogwarts uniform. Strange thing, but it made him actually blend in with everyone else. The long sleeves and pants covered the black marks on his limbs, which was also good. Now it just looked like he was wearing black gloves, even though his hands were bare.
“Do a little spin for me, Cater.” Moore instructed, sitting on a stool.
Moore had taken Caterpillar back to Diagon Alley in London. Safe to say that Caterpillar was not very fond of transportation in this world, but he didn’t comment on it out loud. The ‘express train’ they’d taken felt too stuffy. Not too different, but a smaller version of the chambers of Meropide.
Currently, Caterpillar was testing out a hand-me-down uniform that was handed to him by Moore at what Caterpillar assumed to be a tailor. He’d just come out of the changing booth, showing Moore how the size looked like on him. It felt strange wearing something different for a change…
Toad croaked on a stool beside Mr. Moore, licking its eyeball. Perhaps the albino frog didn’t particularly enjoy Caterpillar’s new look, which was fine.
Caterpillar did a slow spin, just like Moore had instructed. The robe was pretty long, and it flowed at the boy’s movements. Almost like a dress would. Caterpillar was definitely not used to this sensation.
“Hm…a bit big, but you’ll grow into it.” Moore mumbled with a hand under his chin in a thoughtful manner as he looked the boy over with his eyes while sitting on the stool.
Caterpillar knew full well that he was in fact not going to grow into it because he wasn’t a growing child.
“I doubt that will happen because-”
“Ah, I’m already imagining what your house colors will look like on you.” Moore cut Caterpillar off with a smirk as he raised his hands up to his eyes, making a shape that Caterpillar assumed was mimicking a Kamera. Perhaps this world also had Kameras.
Caterpillar stifled a sigh, but he also couldn’t help but to feel slightly curious at the man’s words. “‘House’?”
“Hogwarts’ housing system? Gee, how much did they keep from you, little French boy?” Moore chuckled. “Hogwarts students are separated into four houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. You will surely hear more once you get settled into the school.”
Caterpillar hummed quietly as he glanced down at his black robes. Judging by Moore’s words, they were likely going to change color depending on the assigned house…just like the Traveler’s glowy parts depending on the element they used.
Caterpillar decided not to push more answers out of Moore for the time being.
Moore cleared his throat. “Alright, so, we have a lot of shopping to do today!” he said, standing up from the stool and pulling out some sort of list from his coat pocket.
Caterpillar walked over to the stool beside Moore’s, and picked Toad up gently. He then placed the oversized frog on his head. The long sleeves of the robe he was still wearing were slightly rolled up by the movement, revealing his faded black arms, but only Moore was there to witness.
Caterpillar had figured it’d be easier to transport Toad from place to place in his white hair, since it blended in nicely thanks to the color of its skin paired with Caterpillar’s white hair. Plus, thanks to Caterpillar not actually being human, he didn’t move his head around much, which meant that Toad was likely never going to fall unless there was some sort of attack.
But Caterpillar was not going to let his guard down.
Not here.
“So, a wand, a bunch of school books…most would also get some school supplies, but since you’re on the school’s funds, you’ll have to do with just those.” Moore mumbled as he read through the list.
Caterpillar stepped closer and snatched the list from the man’s hands, having to go on his tippy toes as he did so thanks to the lengthy height difference between them.
“Hey- that’s bad manners, little kid.” Moore huffed, trying to get the list back from Caterpillar, but failing, since Caterpillar quickly stepped out of arm's length.
“Please excuse me. But if you’re making me go shopping, it’d be nice to actually read what I’m searching for.” Caterpillar said as he glanced at the list in his black hands.
The letters on it swirled in Caterpillar’s eyes. Not literally, but they were incomprehensible for a few seconds. Caterpillar couldn’t understand it… It was strange, because earlier he’d been able to read a map in this world just fine, so what was the matter now? Was the translation spell Moore had cast on him starting to fade?
Caterpillar glanced up at Moore with asking, yet blank, eyes.
“What?” Moore sighed, raising an eyebrow at the white haired boy. He felt like multiple sets of eyes were peering at him, which creeped him out. That was until he noticed that the other set was Toad’s eyes, which he hadn’t noticed was sitting on Caterpillar’s head now.
Caterpillar placed a finger on the list. “An impossible read.”
“My handwriting is not that bad, little kid.” Moore smirked. Then, he seemed to realize: “Oh! I need to cast something more long-term.” he said as he pulled out his long wand, swishing it around slightly and pointing it towards Caterpillar, which was an intriguing sight.
After he was done, Caterpillar turned his gaze towards the list in his small hands once again. The letters on it, which were previously nonsense, were starting to form into words and sentences the boy actually understood. This world’s magic was really interesting, he noted.
‘Wand from Ollivander’s - something cheap please, nothing extraordinary’
‘School books from Flourish and Blotts. Books for this semester listed below:’ Caterpillar read through the list carefully. He had no idea what these places had in store for him, but he did spot the names of them while he had walked through Diagon Alley with Moore and Toad earlier before arriving at the tailor place.
Caterpillar looked up at Moore with his usual empty eyes. “Will you lend me the needed money?” he asked. He didn’t really care for monetary values, but humans used it to trade, so no arguing against it.
“I don’t think I trust a mere ten year old little child with the school’s funds. I will hold on to them and accompany you on your shopping journey. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it, Cater?” Moore smirked, leaning slightly down as he looked at Cater in the eyes. It was evident now; the man was trying to gain Caterpillar’s trust.
The white haired boy could only sigh and fold the list into the pocket of his new and already worn-out robe. That was fine. He could tune out this man while he walked from place to place.
Toad let out a small but surprisingly deep croak while still perching itself on Caterpillar’s white hair. Was it out of excitement? If Toad was somehow similar to Caterpillar, likely not. He was frankly not looking forward to this at all.