Rus runs this back in his mind once or twice, sorting it out. "Being cautious is one thing," he finally says. "But if you look for trouble, it almost always finds you."
"You can't tell me that whole thing wasn't rigged to get back at whats-her-name," Rus looks belligerent.
Rus gives a rude snort of amusement at the remark. "He and I didn't get along," he comments with a wicked smirk. "Sprout was fine I guess. Bit mad, but grubbing about in dirt is bound to have some effect. Flitwick was more than competent, I'll grant you, for someone you had to be careful not to step on." He smiles again. "I think I nearly shocked Vector into heart failure."
"And you have no idea how much I regretted that," Rus laughs. "Cats are too bony to eat mostly. Same with ferrets."
He holds up a threatening finger at Severus and takes the cheque and his beer from the waiter. He barely glances at it and pulls a wad of bills from his pocket. He peels off two and hands them over. "Keep the change," he says, quaffing the drink. He swabs his chin with a sleeve. "And my compliments to the chef. I'll be back." The waiter's eyes go wide at the sight of the bills and he stammers his thanks before hurrying off in case the mad, no, eccentric, customer changes his mind.
"Kentucky," Rus mutters crossly. "Bloody strange names they have over there." He cocks an eyebrow at Severus and, clearing a space on the tablecloth, sketches with his wand.
"The flowers are purple," he says before erasing the drawing. "Don't worry Sev, er Veris, whoever the hell you are, I won't let you down. I'll be back around dawn probably so don't wait up." He saunters away, giving the awed waitstaff a friendly wave on the way out.