Even before going to Care of Magical Creatures today, I'd thought about getting a pygmy puff, so meeting Nuage during the lesson was really interesting. Honestly, I'm curious if I can convince Professor Williamson to keep it, but at least making sure I take good care of the little pygmy puff is a good first step. I'm not letting hate potion get anywhere near it, though. Bad experiences, and I'm already rather attached. Of course, there's the matter of my cat, too, so that was the first task I wanted to make sure I got done. Nuage didn't seem hungry yet or anything, so it seemed like good timing to introduce the two. I still remember what happened last term when I got my tiger during the Charms final, after all, and I didn't want a replay. Nuage isn't quite as resilient as a charmed metal tiger after all, so Lyra's claws might do damage.

Anyway, for the most part Lyra hasn't left my dorm this term, so that was the place I was going to look first. Plus, that way Nuage could see where it is going to be staying for a while, so it worked in more than one way. The puff seemed happy, humming the entire climb up to the Ravenclaw common room while perched on my shoulder, but things got more worrisome once we arrived and I verified that my kitty in fact was on my bed. I didn't think anything would happen while I was there to supervise, but Nuage didn't know that. The humming raised in pitch, almost sounding panicked, as soon as puff eyes met cat eyes, but I tried reassuring it that nothing would happen. Of course, I didn't exactly know that, but Lyra's usually pretty good at listening to me. All she did was sort of smell Nuage, look at me, and then return to her sleep. I petted Nuage a little, calming it down again, but in any case I think everything is going to be alright.

happy family?

I can't neglect my studies, even if I'm also supposed to be learning more about Nuage and how to care for it. Eventually I'll need to figure out if it's a girl, but right now History of Magic comes first. I'm fairly certain it is, anyhow, but I'll really investigate later. In any case, I'd thought about leaving Nuage in the dorm with Lyra, as I'm fairly certain my cat won't hurt it. That wouldn't be really caring for it, though, so I decided to bring Nuage to the library with me. Besides, if it's really (sort of) my pygmy puff, it should get used to me reading and studying. I do still have exams to worry about, even if NEWTs aren't until next term. At least it seems to like riding around on my shoulder, as the humming doesn't seem to stop. That makes me happy, even if sometimes it reminds me of what was said last term when we studied the hate potion in Potions. When Professor Lafay said pygmy puffs will love you as soon as you pet them, and had offered them to test the potions on.

Anyway, I got to the library with Nuage safely, then went into the shelves to look for a specific book, pygmy puff still on my shoulder and humming. Amusingly, I think it knew that we're supposed to stay quiet in the library, though, because the humming got quieter as soon as we were inside the stacks. I found the book, and ended up just sitting on the floor to read it, puff still on my shoulder. It seemed like that wasn't enough, though, as soon I found it sneaking down my arm and then it sat directly on top of the library book so I couldn't see the page I was reading. Apparently Nuage has a bit of a dust allergy, too, because it sneezed as soon as it settled on the book. That's interesting to know, as I didn't know pygmy puffs could have allergies, but anyway, I made a deal with it. That it would let me study for a while and then I would play, and it actually seemed to listen, even though it crawled back into my lap as soon as I picked the book back up. Another note: Pygmy puffs know how to compromise.

library time

After I decided I'd had enough studying for the day, I realized that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. Plus, Nuage hadn't eaten either, and after making it sneeze with library books and not paying any attention other than petting it while I read, feeding it would be as good an idea as feeding myself. Especially as so far the only food I'd seen Nuage eat was some of Lyra's cat food, therefore figuring out more that it liked would come in useful. Plus, maybe I could once and for all decide if it is a girl. I'd thought it was, but between worrying about my cat getting along with the pygmy puff and then studying, I had sort of forgotten to really investigate. Food first, though, so after returning the puff to its perch on my shoulder, we headed down to the Great Hall.

Once I got to the Ravenclaw table, Nuage moved to the table as I got food for myself. Then, I started going over what I knew about pygmy puffs, and my own specifically. The color, the fur length... I couldn't quite use tongue length as a signifier, as I hadn't really seen Nuage's tongue yet, but that quickly got remedied. Apparently pygmy puffs like mashed potatoes, as Nuage rolled right onto my plate, into the middle of the mashed potatoes I'd served myself, and started licking. I wasn't about to eat them myself after that, so I let her continue licking while I finished the rest of my food. (Yes, by then I was pretty certain that Nuage is a girl puff) But, after that, it was time to head back upstairs. At least potatoes aren't very messy, as for the most part I could just flick her fur clean with my hand as I fished her out, but I'll probably need to give her a bath soon. For now, though, I think it's time for more homework, and then bed.

more discoveries?

I'd thought I'd gotten all the mashed potatoes off of Nuage, but it seemed I'd been mistaken. I wouldn't have thought pale lavender could hide mashed potato, but apparently it can. In any case, I woke up to find Nuage trying to snake her tongue around to eat little bits of dried up potato, and that was not alright with me. Pygmy puffs might be fine with eating old food, snot, any of that, but I didn't want Nuage doing that. Instead, I decided she needed a bath. I've never given a pygmy puff a bath before, but I have given Lyra a bath. Hopefully Nuage wouldn't be quite as upset by it as my cat always is. I guess I'd find out, because I wasn't about to continue letting her eat old food off her own fur.

Taking Lyra's shampoo with me on my trek to the bathroom, everything seemed perfectly alright until I tried putting Nuage in the sink, which I'd already filled with a few inches of water. she tried climbing up my arm, but on a second try, I got her into the water. She wasn't exactly happy, though, and I had to keep her from trying another escape attempt while I retrieved the shampoo bottle. She seemed to like once I started rubbing shampoo into her fur though, as she started humming again. Maybe she just thought I was petting her. I don't really know, but after that things went fine. I rinsed the bubbles out, getting the icky food particles out along with them, then dried and brushed her until she was all sparkly clean and pretty again. I'm definitely going to try and not let her get into my food again, anyway, but at least bathtime wasn't as difficult as I'd expected.

scrub-a-dub-dub

A week definitely isn't enough. I feel like I understand Nuage more, and she understands me, but I still wish I'd be able to keep her. We got through adventures with food (I still won't let her near mashed potatoes if I have some on my plate. Although I'll feed her little bits of them.), bathtime, stress with worrying if Lyra will accept her... All of it has gone perfectly fine, but I feel like I could understand so much more if I got to keep her for longer. In any case, today was another day for us to just explore, get some exercise. I'd hoped to find more people with their pygmy puffs, so Nuage could socialize with her kind again, but it seemed like everyone was in hiding. Nuage didn't care, happy and humming on my shoulder like always. I think she really likes it there. I don't know if she likes curling up behind my hair or what, but she's usually humming when I have her on my shoulder. There's something she really likes about being there.

Anyway, I was going to head outside, get some fresh air and let Nuage get some too, but I stopped at the hourglasses for a moment. I showed Nuage which one was Ravenclaw's, and just kind of talked to her a bit, mostly about how I still think we can manage to win the House Cup. I think she understood me, too, because the humming changed for a moment. It was almost like she was reassuring me, letting me know she believed that it was possible too. I'm not sure, but at least that's what it seemed like. The humming went back to normal after the moment was finished, in any case, and we headed outside for a walk. At least I know she's happy with me for now, and maybe for longer. Even if she has to stay with the others in the sanctuary for a bit, which will be good since that means pygmy puff time. I'll always remember her, and I hope we'll be able to find each other always.

puff-based dialogue