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Brutus had long since decided that as a beast better left to others There was a reason he had attached hi to make her even re way to go, but Brutus remained optimistic If he couldn’t claw her into shape, no one could

He wound away fros There was always fun to be had with the red robes Initially he’d considered de a diamond-studded collar so that everyone would knoho he was but collars tended to chafe Anyithin three days everyone knew him If you wanted to remain scratch free, you either carried fishy treats or you stayed far away from Brutus – unless you were particularly dumb Some humans couldn’t be trained, no matter how hard you tried The floppy-yellow-haired one heading towards hiht noas a case in point

‘Brutus!’ Tarquin nudged his co away ‘You knohose familiar this is, of course We were childhood sweethearts but I was bit too much for her She couldn’t keep up with my pace so we decided to split up She was upset about it, of course, Cried for weeks, but it was for the best There are no hard feelings on my part I even saved her life when I saved the Order Between you and me, she’d leave Ipsissimus Winter in a heartbeat if I told her I’d take her back but I wouldn’t do that to hiuy I am’

Tarquin crouched down Brutus purred and knocked against his hands then leapt up into his arain with an overly wide s him across his eyelid Tarquin shrieked and dropped him ‘You little furry bastard!’

‘You big slimy bitch,’ Brutus answered He flicked his tail and continued on his way

He paused in front of the library, debating whether to enter The skinny, nervous one was quite adept at petting, not that you’d expect it to look at hi questions or by old books which caught his eye Brutus liked thesecond fiddle to a pile of papers Not for anyone

In the end, he continued towards the study The hted to see hi spell that would keep Brutus out – but Brutus doubted that day would be today

When he reached the man’s office, the door was closed Brutus sniffed Doors were made to be open; that was their raison d’être Fortunately this one did its job, swinging backwards so that the tall, fit female could exit

‘Thank you, Eve,’ the man said ‘Will you be round later for dinner?’

She paused at the threshold ‘Is Ivy cooking?’

There was a faint snort ‘No’

‘I could cook if I wanted to!’ Ivy yelled ‘I have a ht’

Eve slanced down ‘Hey Brutus’ She reached down and scratched him under his chin then sneaked a hand into her pocket and pulled out a crunchy biscuit She placed her finger to her lips and Brutus nodded He wasn’t an idiot; he was far et treats from others if he didn’t boast about the ones he’d already had He snaffled it surreptitiously then made his way in

Goody The conated certain areas to be y could be utilised and the Order could becos but the zones were clearly demarcated and there had been no explosions of any sort Bit by bit, even the worst of the naysayers were beginning to admit that the new blood and new ideas which Ipsissieous Brutus thoroughly agreed; he leapt onto the desk and sat down on the keyboard It was alar sound when he jumped onto it

Ivy leaned down and nudged him off He scowled ‘Bitch’ Then he immediately returned to the same spot

She sighed ‘Why can’t we have a normal conversation?’ she asked ‘I know you’re capable of it What have you been up today, Brutus?’

‘Food’

She rolled her eyes ‘Come on,’ she coaxed

Absolutely not This hy he’d avoided long sentences around her before She’d want to talk; she’d want hi and eating time You’d think that Ivy, of all people, would understand that but she didn’t truly understand what it meant to be lazy, not like a cat did It was an art form; it required dedication that even humans like Ivy weren’t capable of

The ently and focused on Ivy ‘I have a proposition for you’

Brutus perked up That sounded interesting

‘A new job’

Wait a minute