When Diggory came home, they found Danielle crouched in a corner of their living room, muttering softly to herself.
"Danielle," they asked hesitantly, "why are you talking to the bookcase?"
Danielle yelped in surprise and jumped up to face Diggory, the little green buds on her rosenbrace suddenly blooming into big, pink blossoms as if trying to cover something behind her legs. "Diggory! Hi! I wasn't expecting you!"
Diggory blinked. "I live here."
"I know!" Danielle chuckled nervously. "I know you do, you just… surprised me."
"Would you like me to leave?"
"No! No, of course not." Danielle ran her hands through her hair. "Fuck, I'm sorry, Diggory. This is absolutely not going the way I planned it. Let me try again." She stepped aside to reveal a dark grey ball of fluff curled up on a blanket behind her. "Diggory, this is our new cat, Willy. Willy, this is Diggory."
Diggory stared at the cat. He was staring right back at them with eyes that glowed golden in the dim light of the living room.
"Riot found him all alone in the rain. No idea where he came from, but he needs someone to take good care of him, so…" Danielle carefully picked up the cat and held him out to Diggory. "Congrats on becoming a cat parent!"
"Me?" Diggory looked from Danielle to the cat, then back to Danielle again. "Why me?"
Danielle smiled and placed her hand on Diggory's. "I know you miss Nimbus," she said quietly. "And did you think I didn't notice that you immediately go look for Cat every time we visit Shelby?"
Diggory stared at their hands.
"I thought it might be nice for you to have someone else to cuddle with while I'm at work."
"I do like cuddling," Diggory agreed. They reluctantly held out their hand for the cat to sniff—and to their surprise, he immediately headbutted it, seeming not to care at all about their cold skin and sharp claws, and meowed at Diggory until they finally began to stroke his fluffy dark grey fur. Then, he curled up in their lap and began to purr loudly, satisfied.
Danielle grinned. "I'll let you two get acquainted. Call me if you need anything."
"Hello, little cat. My name is Diggory Graves," Diggory said after Danielle had left the room. The cat blinked slowly at them with his big, golden eyes. "Welcome home."