Ghhhhh.  Ghhhhhhhhh - ghhooood chhhhhhhahhhhhp?

"Mm-hm! You did a good job. You're learning to talk."

Ghhhhood tch - tchtchtchtchtch.  Tchahhh - zhhh - djhhhh!  Jjjjjjjjjjjop!  Jjjjjob.

"Yeah! Goooood joooob."

Ghhoodt jahhhb.

Cleo continues to attempt to teach Cora English. It isn't going too great till she ropes in Professor Dumbledore, who will obligingly say things like "My name is Professor Dumbledore" and "your name is Cleo".

!!!

!!!!!!!!!!

It has heard a lot of mediocresounds, and it very smartly understood a lot about them, like "Cleo" and "thewindow" and "sponge", that these were noises that corresponded to things.  That was already pretty neat of the foods.

This is MUCH more interesting.

It can tell there's something important about noises that sound like 'or', it's in "your" and "Professor" and "Dumbledore" and "Cora", but it can't really tell what those have in common.  It actually thought that "Professor" and "Dumbledore" were separate names (isn't it so exciting, now, that it knows that the name for names is names) for the bigger food and the Unpleasantness but now that it understands so very much it's clear that it's just the food.

Hm.

Mhhhaaaaai nayyymz Khhhhhhhhohhhra.  It points at the Unpleasantness.  Whhhhhhat's iiohhhhhr nnnnames?

"- Professor, she wants your Patronus's name!!" gasps Cleo.

"...I confess, I have not had occasion to provide one." He considers for a moment. "I'll call it Willow."

"Professor Dumbledore's patronus is named Willow!"

Actually apparently it has never understood anything even once.  That was not the pattern of noises it expected.  Iieah, ghhood tchahb, it says anyways, higher-pitched than it normally talks, because it's pretty sure that's the right pattern.  Or at least might be.

Well, they can keep working on it. Cleo will try demonstrating stuff, like "Cleo is standing! I am standing!" and "Cleo is sitting!"

It doesn't do either of those things, but it can float higher and lower!  Khhlio ihhzzzzdand ihhhhn, aaaai ammm sssssssihhh-ihhn.

"Huh, maybe you don't bend like that. I am clapping!" Clap clap. "Professor Dumbledore is not clapping. Willow is not clapping."

Clap clap clap clap.  Oooouuu - ouuu - wwwwwilllohhhh, thhhhhwwwinnnndohhhh?  Thhhhe wwihhhhhhllohhhhh?

"Willow's not a the. Willow is a Patronus. Willow is sitting on Professor Dumbledore." And so on in this vein.

It (Cora? Cora!) learns the names for so many things.  It does not learn for sure whether Willows and windows sound the same because both of them stop touching from happening, but probably they do.  Most things that sound the same are related, it thinks.

After it learns the word 'touching' it makes a happy noise without any name pieces, its best impression of a goodsound.  - And then it occurs to it that maybe it can get the Cleo (or just Cleo, it seems like?) to tell it the name for goodsounds if it tries hard enough??  It attempts EVEN HARDER.

"Are you trying to sing? Is Cora singing, Cora?"

Aiiiiiii - wait, can it make (or, well, attempt) good- and mediocresounds at the same time‽‽  Foods do . . .  Iiiiiiiiammss sssssssssingggginnggg?  Cleohh sss - ssssinggingg Cleeeeo ssingginggggg?

"Sure, I can sing! Um... Mary had a little lamb, little lamb..."

Cleeeo ihhsssssinggginggggggg!!  Ghhhuuuut sh - ghhut jjjab!!

Cleo giggles and finishes the song and takes a little bow.

Cleoooosssinging?  - It copies the bow in case that's important.

Sure, she can do London Bridge.

Cora will keep trying to say 'good job' and 'Cleo singing' until this no longer produces the result of Cleo singing.  And will then switch to Brhhhhuhfffesssssohhhr Duhhhmuhhhldhhhhhhor Whhhhhhillohsssssinging?

"Willow can't sing, silly. Professor Dumbledore can you?"

Professor Dumbledore will oblige with a rendition of the school song to the tune of a randomly chosen Schubert.

Can Professor Dumbledore be persuaded to sing more times as well?