An active, character-driven Hogwarts experience set in the early 2000s. Unique items, plots, and features. Non-canon; this isn't Harry Potter's story, it's ours.
Post by Tobias Twiggs on Aug 3, 2022 17:37:00 GMT 10
Toby couldn't remember the last time he'd ventured down into the basement. It was a lot less spookier than he imagined a basement might be, perhaps that was due to the amount of Hufflepuffs passing by on their way to and from their common room.
"The kitchens should be around here somewhere" he said, casting a look over his shoulder at Joe. He didn't know if his friend had a better idea of their location, but he hadn't mentioned so Toby doubted it. He just wanted to find the kitchen and leave as quickly as possible after securing the snacks for their picnic- especially since he'd barely touched his breakfast.
Coming across a door, Toby gave it a gentle push and they emerged into the biggest kitchen that he'd ever seen. Granted, the only kitchen he'd ever spent a great deal of time in was his mother's but still- this room was huge in comparison.
And it had more... Elves?
"Hello?" Toby called out to no one in particular, wondering if any of the elves would come forward to greet them. "We were just wondering if we could have some food for a picnic, please?" would the house elves think him rude for asking such a question when they'd just prepared breakfast for the entire school?
Last Edit: Aug 5, 2022 22:08:29 GMT 10 by Lena: Fixed (per request): forgot to bold a line
Post by Jonathan King on Aug 4, 2022 2:00:08 GMT 10
There was a spring in his step as Joe walked alongside Toby down into the basement. He had only faltered when he spotted a pair of Slytherins but Seabrook wasn’t one of them.
Still, his spring only returned once the Slytherins were out of sight, his fright from getting to know his porridge more closely than ever wanting to still in his blood. He was whistling the tune of a muggle rock song, something about biting dust, which for some reason got stuck in his mind, despite the absence of radio music in the castle, which meant that he couldn’t have heard it since summer.
Joe followed Toby into the kitchens and put on a smile for the House Elves. The last time he had been here they had been very welcoming and eager to help, so he was confident this was a good plan.
“It could be anything you’d do for luch anyway, so no need to prepare anything extra.“ Joe added to Toby’s request with a head gesture which he felt was polite.
A few house elves looked over when the two unfamiliar 1st years entered, though there were mutterings and squeaks of excitement at the mention of a picnic. One elf in particular hurried over, giving him his brightest smile.
'Hello. I is Dippy,' he said, staring at his feet shyly then remembering his manners. 'You is needing food for a picnic? We is happy to help. How many people for the picnic? What sort of food is you looking for?'
His voice got a bit high at the end, out of eagerness. Meanwhile, another elf wobbled over to them, struggling to balance a picnic basket over her head. She proudly placed it in front of them, as if it was made of solid gold and could promise them years of happiness.
After dropping Charlotte near her common room, William returned back to the castle. He still had a schedule for today. He didn't remember ever coming to the Hogwarts kitchen before, but he had to come today.
Even if it was the first time he came here, he knew there should be elves working in the kitchen, not kids. He noticed two little kids talking to an elf. As he knew his manners well, he knocked on the door before entering.
After getting inside, he saw the faces of the two kids and recognized one of them. The red-haired boy was the one who shouted n top of the house table. He decided to stand away from both of them in case they started again. William had many known elves at home, but these ones were new to him.
"Can I get some raw meat for the beasts?" He asked.
Last Edit: Aug 5, 2022 23:41:00 GMT 10 by Lena: Fixed: format issue
Post by Tobias Twiggs on Aug 6, 2022 8:33:49 GMT 10
Toby smiled at Joe when his friend mentioned that they didn't need to prepare anything special for them. They didn't want to inconvenience the elves when they had to prepare lunch for the entire school- were they taking up too much of their time?
"Yeah, we don't need anything fancy" he pitched in, clasping his hands behind his back. They couldn't loiter in the kitchens for long as Ryan would be expecting them. Toby hated the idea that their best friend might think they stood him up, especially when they were only taking so long in their quest for food.
He couldn't be expected to study on an empty stomach.
"Hi Dippy, it's nice to meet you" he grinned down at the elf. Casting a glance towards Joe, he wondered if the other boy had any solid suggestions for snacks to have at the picnic.
"Three. Our friend Ryan is waiting for us" he bounced on his feet at the mention of their absent friend. He was so excited to bring him the food, it felt like he hadn't seen him in ages. Even if they had to study, it would be worth it to sit and eat with his friends.
Another voice disrupted their conversation, and Toby turned to see who had entered the room without him noticing. It was an older student, his green robes indicative of his place in Slytherin. Toby fixed the older student with a cold glare, he should wait his turn before interrupting. Apparently all Slytherin's were rude and thoughtless in their actions.
Last Edit: Aug 8, 2022 0:29:35 GMT 10 by Lena: Forgot to bold a line
Post by Jonathan King on Aug 6, 2022 17:26:02 GMT 10
"Hi Dippy!", Joe echoed and his smile grew wider and more fondly at the second elf balancing a picnic basket on her head. "And hi, what is your name?"
Joe quite liked these house elves, they were eager and helpful and welcoming and he felt valued by them. He hoped they also felt valued by him as well. They should feel the most valued of all, they were the ones preparing all this delicious and wonderful food every day.
Joe nodded at the mention of Ryan, yet thought a bit on the question about what kind of food. It was hard to think of something not fancy, yet special enough to make the elves feel valued in their work, as he supposed they took some pride in it.
"What would you recommend, Dippy?", he asked. "We would like something that we don't need cutlery for and that doesn't cause much of a mess. Something savory and perhaps some fruit with that?"
Joe turned at the voice of the older boy and gave him a wary look before he recognized him as Charlotties brother, he had seen him in the Greenhouse before. Back then he had been calm and harmless, but that had been before their match against Slytherin. Joe had to remind himself that not the whole house was after him now, just because he had scored a few goals.
Last Edit: Aug 6, 2022 17:28:14 GMT 10 by Jonathan King: forgot william lol whoops
Dippy gasped, confused for a moment who to direct his attention to as William entered the kitchen and made a request also. He hadn't waited his turn, but wasn't outright rude either, so the poor house-elf had to figure out how to handle this.
Luckily, another elf saw the situation and hurried to take over the picnic stuff.
'Thank you, Pakby,' Dippy said. 'You is much better at picnics.'
With a puff of relief, he went to retrieve a piece of raw meat for William. Wrapping it in protective paper, he handed it off to the Slytherin with a proud smile.
While Pakby started gathering various picnic-friendly snacks and small sandwiches, the elf spoken to by Joe had to cover her mouth to contain her shy shrieks to being spoken to -- and so nicely. When he asked her, the elf completely forgot her name, where she was from, and her second favourite colour.
'Sorbey,' she squeaked. 'I is Sorbey?' The elf posed it as a question, to which Pakby nodded before hurrying off to find something fruity.
Dippy turned at his name, but decided to let Pakby handle it in case William needed something else -- so he just stared at the Slytherin, awaiting anything else. He hoped the other boys wouldn't think him rude for it, but he was not particularly good about dividing up his focus or requests despite being the general assistance elf.
'Your picnic is ready,' said Pakby, as he and Sorbey made a joint effort to lift the basket. They could have easily used magic, but wanted to dramatically present it to the 1st years. 'Is you needing anything else?'
'Napkins,' Sorbey suddenly yelled, dashing to grab a whole stack -- and individually placed them into Joe's hands, which implied Tobias would be the one taking the basket.
William didn't need to look at them to know that both the first-years were staring at him. He tried to keep his face towards the confused elf. He had seen many confused elves in his house only, so it wasn't something new. Many elves get confused when asked for something other than routine.
The elf was quick to wrap a slice of meat and presented it proudly. "Thanks," William said. He knew he should stay in manners, even in front of servants. And especially in front of some ill-mannered students present in the kitchen. He hoped Charlotte would stay away from them, especially the shouting one.
After taking the meat, he was about to leave when he heard about the picnic. It wasn't like he expected them to do something useful on a free day.
Kassia had never been to the kitchens before. She wasn't particularly interested in how the food was made, and quite frankly, she was afraid of seeing how the house elves were treated. The stories she had heard from some of her pureblood classmates abusing their personal house elves was painful enough. However, today it was unavoidable.
She entered the kitchens, ears and nose assaulted by clattering dishes, hissing steam, and an array of scents. Except for all the magic, it was rather like the kitchen at her father's club. Kassia was unsure if there was a head house elf or how this was supposed to work, so she stood in a very obvious place and folded her hands, waiting patiently.
Post by Tobias Twiggs on Aug 9, 2022 8:38:51 GMT 10
The elves were all very welcoming, something Toby appreciated considering the awful time he'd recently been having. He wondered if house elves were capable of being mean at all, if you offended them would they withhold food from you at meal times?
Toby was practically jumping with excitement when one of the elves announced that their picnic was ready and he eagerly took the basket from them, though made sure that he didn't snatch.
Anxiously glancing at Joe as if expecting his friend to launch into a long conversation with the elves, he began to walk towards the door.
"Come on, Ryan is probably waiting for us!" he urged his friend "Thank you so much for the picnic!" he called over his shoulder before retreating out of the kitchens.
Post by Jonathan King on Aug 9, 2022 14:41:58 GMT 10
Dippy had gone to help the Slytherin boy but another elf took his place. He and Sorbet (which Joe found was a great name for an elf working in a kitchen) were still helping him and Toby and Joe made sure to say his thank yous.
He could feel his smile spread into a grin once Toby had the picnic basket and after bidding the elves goodbye he quickly followed his best friend out, eventhough he was fumbling to not lose the napkins Sorbet had individually placed into his hands. He also made sure to keep his distance to the older Slytherin girl, not trusting her one bit, she was very likely a friend of Seabrook‘s after all!
The house-elves beamed at the younger students, then hurried back to work on preparations for dinner. Dippy approached the older Slytherin girl, giving her a shy smile -- having gained a confidence boost from his interaction with the others.
'Hello. I'm Dippy,' he said, convinced they hadn't met before. 'You is needing something? I is here to help.'
Post by Lindsey Bryce on Aug 11, 2022 22:14:47 GMT 10
Lindsey was still excited about the whole ancient plant thing, so she was looking at her sketch in detail before she came into the kitchen. It was a beautiful plant, if terrifying at the same time. She really hoped whatever Reena was doing wouldn't get her hurt, but she was curious too.
After a few moments, she went into the kitchen and realized she wasn't the only Slytherin. The fifth year, Kassia was also there and she tilted her head slightly before she walked up to the same House-elf, a smile on her face, waiting to be greeted. She didn't want to interrupt them.
Kassia watched the two first-years leave, recognizing them from breakfast the other day. They gave her a wide berth, and she couldn't blame them. Slytherins all looked the same, she had heard. She half-considered giving a spooky smile like she did to Jaxen Ashworth, but figured they deserved a break from persecution. It was a holiday, after all.
A house elf approached her. Kassia was not used to addressing someone so much shorter than she was. She regarded the poorly made shift he was wearing- that they all were. Surely Hogwarts could afford them some decent clothing? At least this one seemed happy, not cowed or bullied.
"Good afternoon, sir. I need some meat to bring to Hagrid. It's for magical creatures, so I don't think cooking is necessary."
Kassia saw Lindsey Bryce approach, who waited patiently nearby. Kassia tilted her head at her in greeting, remembering how she herself had butted into the staff room earlier. Evidently, Bryce had a patience that she lacked.
Having already complete this sort of request for William a moment earlier, Dippy was confident as he hurried to fetch some raw meat for Kassia. He wrapped it safely, then handed it off to her with a shy smile.
'Is you needing meat too?' Dippy asked Lindsey, spotting her. 'Or is you needing something else? I is here to help.'
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