Errand Chilling With Cookies PV Nico Closed

Twintails with marineblue ribbons, a loose black sweater, a marineblue plaid skirt, black overknee socks and marine blue mary janes - That was Nico's look for today. The ribbons were Pips idea, he has such a good sense of fashion and colours. Or so she believed.

Swiftly skipping up the stairs from deep within the Slytherin Quarters, the young dhampir set course for the Great Hall. Some event was going on there which was all about baking and decorating. Mainly decorating. Baking was a job for the local House Elves. A Prefect of Gryffindor who goes by the name Griseldis, planned it out. Nico wasn't sure who she was. Sure, she had seen her before during Prefect meetings but she never really.. talked with her. Decorating pastries was a good idea, nonetheless. The flyers had been put up in all parts of the castle - attending the event would even give students a chance to win some points for the House Cup. And... even some extra pocketchange.

Reaching the top of the slightly mossy staircase, she continued her rather cheerfull stride to the entrance of the Great Hall. Holy Moly, it smelled so good. The sweet scent of cookiedough lingered in the air, guiding the redhead right to the doorstep. Memories of her dad baking in the kitchen made her heart flutter ever so happily. She'd run up to him and try to climb him like a tree. It was incredible really - he never fell over even though he was rather skinny. Dad was muscular, yet you couldn't tell at first glance. Looking over his shoulders, she'd watch her father knead the dough, dotting it with chocolat chips.

"These aren't for eating, fatty, read the darn event sheet!"

D-Dad... How could you say that?

Actually, it wasn't her dad who yelled at her - it was one of the House Elves, yelling at a rather large boy sitting at one of the long tables. Scanning the room, she noticed that there were several groups joining in on this event. Nico smiled softly. Glad to see students so enthusiasticly pouring frosting over a set of muffins. But wait... He called the boy fat? That's kind of uncalled for... and mean. After the boy House Elf finished scolding the Ravenclaw boy, she noticed how his face turned grim. Oh... It's Oliver. Oliver.. Hart? The rather awkward boy from the train trip. It's been a long time since she saw him. What has he been up to? Did he make any good friends?... Oh.. right..he knew Erin too. She's.. probably a very good friend too. Her skills in battle Quidditch were pretty impressive...

Taking a deep breath, Nico figured it wouldn't hurt to have a casual chat with Oliver. Their time together on the train was pleasant if you'd forget the awkward buttcrack flashing and the sweatiness of his hands. Keeping her chin up, she carefully approached him. Sitting next to him might be a bit too much, so the front it is. 'O-Oliver? Oliver Hart, right? Remember me?' The look on his face was close to the likes of a beaten up puppy. 'Are you okey? I see you came to participate in the errand aswell? It's been a while since I've.. done one of these, t-to be honest, hah...' When one House Elf stopped by with a plate full of 'naked' cookies, she warmly smiled at him. 'S-Sorry, can we get this batch?' The House Elf nodded, slightly nervous and charmed by the dhampirs natural charm. 'Thank you.' Nico wasn't that fond of House Elves. She didn't hate them. That wasn't the issue. She just didn't know what to think of it. House Elves. And since she wasn't sure why it was rather unsetteling to her, she decided to always treat them with care. Some of them did seem to enjoy whatever they were doing - that warmed her heart, and put her mind at ease, atleast.

'So! How about... we do some fancy decorating. I used to help out with my dad at home. He has a very... good feeling for baking. Gosh... I miss him.' For a second, her ice blue hues stared gloomy at a chocolate chip sugar cookie. It would be a few more months before she could visit home. Maybe sending an owl in the meantime wasn't such a bad idea. 'A-Anyway. We can ehm... start with a base. I'll show you.'

With her pale fingers, she'd hold a cookie in place - holding a tube of blue frosting in her other hand - slowely letting creating a solid circle. 'Perfect... and then...' Next, she picked up two chocolat chips, dotting them horizontal, parallel from one another. 'Now we got eyes. See?' Flashing Oliver a bright smile, slightly tilting the cookie towards him. 'Now for the finishing touch...' Picking up some white chocolate chips, she put them in a slightly curved row, as if they were a set of teeth. 'Oh... I..I was hoping to turn it into a shark but... instead I turned it into the Sesamestreets Cookiemonster... But more... monster like. With teeth..' Was she doing this right? Just a moment ago she felt so determined to show off her cookie decorating skills... Maybe she actually wasn't that good... NO!She'd give it another try. 'O-Okey, maybe this wasn't a good start. But just like making pancakes... the first one will always be the worst.' There you go. Don't give in. Gently putting the cookiemonstrousity cookie on a different plate - Nico started with a clean slate cookie. This time she'd turn it into something more simple. 'You don't always have to create a creature, you can also write things! I-It's not that easy and takes alot of practice but- Let's see if I still got it.' Picking up another frosting tube, she made the base a black colour. Waiting for it to dry, she'd then switch to a white frosting tube. Holding the tube in her hands, her tongue slightly peeking from between her lips, she'd focus on writing her own name in elegant letters. For the finishing touch, she'd use a chocolate chip as the dot of her 'I'.

'T-There.. you go.' Wiping her forhead with the back of her hand, her gaze would move to Olivers. Would he feel encouraged enough to try some for himself? Or.. did she scare him..?

Wordcount : 1060/1000

Word Count: 1000+857/1000

@Nico Shymane

Oliver sat on the bench, often staring at the floor for a long period of time. He hadn't noticed Nico enter the hall or even approach him.

'O-Oliver? Oliver Hart, right? Remember me? Are you okey? I see you came to participate in the errand aswell? It's been a while since I've.. done one of these, t-to be honest, hah...'

Oliver looked up, his eyes a tinge red and very watery. He strained his frown into a more neutral expression. Nodding in response, he let out a murmur that sounded like a "yes", replying to all three questions. He watched as Nico got some cookies off a House Elf and he instinctively rose up an inch just to get a whiff of them. As she moved to place them down, his head followed. He looked down at the cookies. They were so close, so warm and so fresh.

'So! How about... we do some fancy decorating. I used to help out with my dad at home. He has a very... good feeling for baking. Gosh... I miss him. A-Anyway. We can ehm... start with a base. I'll show you.'

Oliver smiled, he missed his dad too. Their relationship was pretty stiff, they'd made cookies together but it has dad had a way of making everything feel like a chore. Everything was a job and every job needed to get done. Nonetheless, to Oliver, his home experience of making cookies was perfect. The thought of other students also missing family members resonated with Oliver, enjoying being able to relate with other kids. Since it's not very common for him.
Oliver had made cookies before but never painted them with icing. This for Oliver was a whole new experience. He watched Nico closely, his eyes locked onto her hands pouring out the blue frosting. Oliver's sorrow was soothing away, forgetting about his disappointment.

'Now we got eyes. See?'

As Nico looked up at him with a smile, Oliver did a bigger smile back. When she looked back at the cookie, he made a confused face at himself. That was the first time he could recall ever receiving a smile he could return. Although a mundane social interaction for most, this was a monumental achievement in Oliver's social life. He returned to smiling once he figured what had actually just happened.

'Oh... I..I was hoping to turn it into a shark but... instead I turned it into the Sesamestreets Cookiemonster... But more... monster like. With teeth..'

Oliver didn't recognize the monster, but shook his head. "N-no, it's really good, it looks like a shark. Sincerely!" He smiled, looking at it closer before nodding to show confirmation with what he just said. He was lying.

Oliver watched her do the second cookie closely, just as focused as with the first. When she did the little chocolate drop, he smiled in amazement. "Wow, it's excellent!" he beamed, uncrossing his arms to give a small clap. Only then did he look down at his t-shirt and his eyes widened. "Oh cheeseburgers! Wait! I do know the Cookiemonster! He's on this muggle t-shirt I got over winter! I- AHAHA, I never knew what it was!" Oliver was wearing a light grey t-shirt with a print of the Cookiemonster on the torso. His arms were over it this whole time that Nico wouldn't have ever seen the full image. Oliver looked at the cookie and then his shirt and reeled back his head in a huge, booming, snorty laughter. His chin wobbled furiously as the comedy of the coincidence seized upon him.

Once Oliver had calmed down, wiped a tear from his eye, he commenced his own cookie. He was now extremely enjoying this event. He reached into his hoody sleeve, notably zipped open so that his t-shirt was visible. Inside the sleeve was Oliver's custom wand holder. A Hart craft he made over the summer with his father, allowing for quick access to his wand. Taking out his wand, Oliver cast scourgify on his left hand. "Uh, Nico?" he remembered her name without strain," would you mind casting scourgify on my right hand? I don't want to mess it up beside the cookies," Oliver told, holding out his right hand for her. It had slight dark patches from where his hand pressed the floor, but overall wasn't gross in appearance.

Once cleaned, Oliver took a cookie. He drew quite often so he was sure of his ability to art a cookie. Taking the yellow icing, he made a circle, and then with the orange, he begun to do triangles on the edges. Oliver's tongue when focused fully stuck out, leaning in closer with each triangle added. After a moment, he had a sun! It was very simple but looked like what he initially set out.
"It's a sun!" Oliver grinned, holding the cookie up for Nico to see. He placed the cookie down before freezing up. His eyes zoned out and he begun to deeply stare at the cookie. His hand gripped the rim again and begun to raise it. His mouth fully opened, preparing to engulf the entire cookie.

Her technique worked. Oliver started to smile and interact with her. Nico felt relieved. He even gave her a small applause. The dhampir couldn't help but blush. She wasn't used to this direct way of complimenting whichever she did. It felt nice to be appreciated, she thought.

At first Oliver had no idea who the Cookiemonster was. The redhead felt abit stupid mentioning the creature. She wasn't sure if he was a Muggleborn or a Pureblood. She couldn't just assume that everyone knew what Sesamestreet was. But then again, she could always show them and let get to know the show. Suddenly the Ravenclaw realised something. Of course he knew who the Cookiemonster was. It was right on his shirt that he happened to wear that day. What a coincidence. As he rolled into a laughing fit, Nico wasn't sure how to respond. So... she just giggled with him. 'Oh! That's pretty cool. What are the odds, haha.'

That apparantly encouraged him to finally start decorating his own cookies. Nico carefully put hers aside to give him some more room.

"Uh, Nico? Would you mind casting scourgify on my right hand? I don't want to mess it up beside the cookies.''

She blinked a few times. 'I-...I sadly didn't do my homework for that spell yet.' She muttered embarassed. She was a Prefect, shouldn't she do her homework accordingly to be a rolemodel to other students, especially Slytherin ones? She sighed and tried it the old fashioned muggle way. She kindly asked a House Elf if they could bring a washcloth and a towel with some soap. The House Elf nodded and dissapeared out of sight for a moment. When her returned, she thanked him kindly. Even though they were meant to do these chores, Nico couldn't help but be polite. It never hurt to thank someone.
Gently holding Olivers hand, she washed his hand squeaky clean. '... Even better than with the scouring charm.' A grin sliding upon her face, feeling rather proud of herself.

Oliver eagerly started to decorate one of the cookies. His fingers weren't as slender but he had the precision of a master. After fiddling with some yellow icing, he picked it up, proudly showing off his masterpiece. "It's a sun!"

Nico felt slightly charmed by his enthusiasm and nodded in agreement. 'Yes! It looks really good! Now put them wi-' Nico wanted to ask him to place the cookie next to the other ones that were finished decortating, but Oliver seemed to be fixated on his own creation. His sausage like fingers gently raising it to his mouth. 'What- NO!' As quick as she was, she slapped his hand, making sure the delicious pastry fell back on the table. 'No! These aren't for eating. Not for us atleast.' Her pale fingers carried the victimised cookie on the plate next to hers. 'These are for the new professor. We need to make them feel welcome. That's what I heard this was for, atleast.'

@Nico Shymane

Oliver dropped the cookie, yelping as the sharp slap shook his hand. We whimpered and looked up at Nico, rubbing his little, red hand. He looked her in the eyes as his own filled with tears before he wriggled his way around on the seat. He looked at her again one last time, through her eyes and into her soul. Then he begun to walk away. Cowering over his injured hand, he attempted to escape the hall. He couldn't quite place what had just happened. He had went against the rules he clearly read and was told by the house elf. Yet to be slapped? Outrageous.

As quickly as Oliver could, which was less than a brisk walk, Oliver hurried from the hall. Nico had been so nice to him, she even cleaned his hand... It wasn't a place for Oliver anyway. He was trying to get fit and not eat so much. It was torturous in there for the boy. Wiping tears off his round cheeks, Oliver looked back at Nico, his tiny whimpers fading out to just lower lip wobbling. He faced the exit soon after and left to hurry back to his room. Where he would inevitably cry.

[Oliver attempts to leave]

@Oliver Hart

Woops. Did she hit him too hard? It was but a gentle slap ton the wrist though... Nico panicked slightly, afraid he'd despise her for this. Ugh, good job, Nico. As soon as you start to feel comfortable with someone, you go too far...

The guilt inside of her worsened when she watched Oliver skidadle to the entrance of the Great Hall. For a small, large boy, he was rather fast. 'W-Wait! I'm sorry!' The dhampir pushed herself onto her feet, nearly tripping over the bench she was sitting on just now. Quickly recollecting her balance, she chased after him. He was fast but not that fast. Well... He actually just speed walked out of the Hall... 'O-Oliver!'
Finally catching up with him, running in front of him, trying to stop him from running any further. Kind of out of breath, she rest her hand in the center of her chest, trying to control her breathing.

'I-I'm sorry! D-Don't go! It was wrong of me to slap your wrist but that was the only fast way I-I knew to stop you from eating that cookie...' It rarely happened that she'd chase someone down. They both hadn't interacted much before, but Nico really saw the potential of a friend in him. He was abit awkward but she could see he had a heart of gold. A boy with his own set of interests and ways to have fun. And even if they had some awkward conversations please don't mention the buttcrack flash, they were rather pleasant and interesting. She knew he liked to draw, just like her. And now they were decorating cookies together! Too bad that they couldn't eat them...

'J-Just don't.. don't just run away, okey?'