Tom cocked his head to the right, watching the ginger cat.
He used the word cat loosely, because he could tell that was not all that it was. That much was obvious.
Taking another bit from his taco, he leant back slightly, unable to help but keep glancing at the mass of fur, with its squashed in face.
It watched him with a curious expression, but one which clearly to Tom stated his distrust. Perhaps not to Hermione. He didn't think he'd done anything to make the young woman to distrust him outright.
Frowning at him, the cat seemed to frown right back.
"I was never a lover of cats, nor dogs," Tom admitted, smiling slightly, though it was rueful. "At the orphanage, there were a fair few who were allergic to fur, so I never had a chance to develop a fondness of pets."
Shrugging, he took a sip from his wine, a long sip that he hoped would not result in it going to his head. During the week, he'd drank a little more, an attempt to get used to the alcohol content.
"I do, however, remember a time when I found a snake in the back garden. Seeing no problem, I elected to keep it hidden in my room, where it stayed happily for a number of years, growing longer and fatter."
Smiling rather fondly at the memory of his first pet, which was later to be replaced by the basilisk, then Nagini, Tom shrugged.
"However, I must have uncharacteristically left the door open, or perhaps the draft opened it, for one night, I discovered it had disappeared. The next morning brought news that it had been discovered in the drawers of the boy next door."
He'd been angry at that. Stolen the boy's yo-yo. He'd also had a wooden yacht on his windowsill, but that had been too large.