16 Jun 2023, 10:47
Unexpected Company During the Storm
"Weird. I wonder why she wants to be normal. Being different makes life more exciting."
Simon nodded. "Precisely. That's what I'm saying. But I guess not everyone are like you and me then. I guess somebody's got to be normal", he said jokingly, before quickly adding: "Not that I'm saying you're not normal, but, erh... Yeah, you get what I mean."
When he asked Madi to tickle the pear, he would at least have expected some form of hesitation or questioning. Especially from the point of view of a Muggle, tickling a pear in a painting (or tickling a pear in general) must have seemed really weird. Simon could relate, since he was moving between both of the two worlds. But Madi did not hesitate:
"Why not? I've always wanted to tickle a pear", she said with a laugh.
For all she knew, that could actually have been a joke from Simon's part. But she actually did it.
The door opened and they got a glimpse of the kitchen. It was a whole lot larger than Simon had imagined it to be and there was a whole lot more of the house-elves. It reminded him of the illustrations and depictions he had seen of Santa's workshop and the elves making toys, but these were real house-elves, doing dishes after today's dinner and preparing breakfast for tomorrow.
Simon and Madi got themselves one plate each with various food and some bread and butter, but they were asked to eat outside and leave the plates outside the painting with the pear once they were done. They went back to the stair, which was only a couple of feet away from the entrance to the Kitchen, and sat down beside each other.
"So... Now we can check 'visiting the Hogwarts kitchen' from our bucket lists", said Simon and chuckled. "What did you think of it? And what did you think of the elves?"
Interacting with @Madi McQuade
16 Jun 2023, 22:12
Unexpected Company During the Storm
"I'm not exactly what people (mainly Muggles) call normal. I don't really care." said Madi, shrugging. She had taken that Simon had tried not to offend her.
Madi didn't think she had ever been in a place as wonderful as the Hogwarts Kitchens. She found the house-elves incredible, the food was delicious, and the system of getting the food up to the Great Hall was amazing.
She had caught herself staring at the house-elves, who were starting to give her funny looks, so she looked away quickly. She didn't want to scare any of them or be asked to leave.
Her hands were itching for a pencil and her sketchbook. She wanted to draw everything here. It was how she remembered things, by drawing them. She liked it better than taking photos, because when she drew things, she could look at it and see the event or place in her perspective.
Once Madi had gotten her food, she was asked to eat outside by the house-elves. She was slightly disappointed but expected it. There wasn't any place to eat inside the Kitchen, there were house-elves everywhere preparing food.
She and Simon carried their food outside and sat on a step on a stair some feet away from the Kitchen.
"So... Now we can check 'visiting the Hogwarts kitchen' from our bucket lists", said Simon and he chuckled. "What did you think of it? And what did you think of the elves?"
"It was amazing! The house-elves were so cool, I've never seen one before besides in a book. I expected them to be a little smaller. It isn't like they weren't small, though. I wish I got to talk to one. I know they talked to us, but I never responded." Madi exclaimed. She stopped talking and took a bite of her food. Her hunger began going away. "Did you like it?" Madi asked.
Madi didn't think she had ever been in a place as wonderful as the Hogwarts Kitchens. She found the house-elves incredible, the food was delicious, and the system of getting the food up to the Great Hall was amazing.
She had caught herself staring at the house-elves, who were starting to give her funny looks, so she looked away quickly. She didn't want to scare any of them or be asked to leave.
Her hands were itching for a pencil and her sketchbook. She wanted to draw everything here. It was how she remembered things, by drawing them. She liked it better than taking photos, because when she drew things, she could look at it and see the event or place in her perspective.
Once Madi had gotten her food, she was asked to eat outside by the house-elves. She was slightly disappointed but expected it. There wasn't any place to eat inside the Kitchen, there were house-elves everywhere preparing food.
She and Simon carried their food outside and sat on a step on a stair some feet away from the Kitchen.
"So... Now we can check 'visiting the Hogwarts kitchen' from our bucket lists", said Simon and he chuckled. "What did you think of it? And what did you think of the elves?"
"It was amazing! The house-elves were so cool, I've never seen one before besides in a book. I expected them to be a little smaller. It isn't like they weren't small, though. I wish I got to talk to one. I know they talked to us, but I never responded." Madi exclaimed. She stopped talking and took a bite of her food. Her hunger began going away. "Did you like it?" Madi asked.
16 Jun 2023, 23:23
Unexpected Company During the Storm
"I'm not exactly what people (mainly Muggles) call normal. I don't really care."
Simon did not say anything, but thought it was a good sign that Madison was not considered 'normal' among the Muggles. In his opinion, those people were usually the most interesting, kind and tolerant. He admired people who were willing or brave enough to walk their own paths and not be too bound by others. At least, that was what he was trying to do himself.
He could also relate to the feeling of being 'not normal' among the Muggles, but that feeling had followed him to Hogwarts as well. Simon was very pleased with being sorted into Ravenclaw, and he would not change his house if he could, but he still wondered from time to time whether he had been sorted into the right house.
As they were sitting and eating on the step in the stair, Simon smiled as he listened to Madi's excitement over the house-elves. He had seen a couple of them before when meeting his father's colleagues, but he still thought it was a cool experience to see how the elves worked 'behind the scenes'.
Madi stopped and took a bite. "Did you like it?", she asked.
Simon swallowed and looked into his plate. "Oh, yes, it was delicious. Although, that roasted chicken was even better when it was served right from the oven", he said and took another bite. "Oh... You were asking about the Kitchen, weren't you?" Simon started laughing. "The Kitchen was super cool. It's just a shame that the house-elves don't get more appreciation for their hard work! I think Professor Lear should at least let them all in to the Great Hall one day and let us give them a round of applause or something. Or we could have like a House-elves Appreciation Day... Don't you think? And how was the food?"
Interacting with @Madi McQuade
17 Jun 2023, 20:39
Unexpected Company During the Storm
"The chicken was pretty good." Madi laughed. "Yeah, it is weird how the house-elves don't get much appreciation. I mean, almost everyone knows they prepare all the food, right? But no one ever mentions them." Madi bit into her food again. "I don't think the house-elves would like a House-Elf Appreciation Day much. I'm not sure they're that fond of attention. But I think during dinner or lunch or something, we could bring them in to the Great Hall and they could eat the meal they prepared so they could really see their hard work pay off." Madi said. "And the food was really good. You were right, it's better when it's fresh out of the oven. Not that it's not good in the first place." Madi walked over and placed her plate by the painting with the pear. She was a fast eater and always had been.
She went to sit back in her spot and wait for Simon to finish. She didn't want it to look like she was pressuring him, so she tried to make it look like she wasn't rushing him, although she wasn't quite sure how to do that.
Once Simon finished eating, she waited for him to put his food by the pear painting.
"Do you know what time it is? I'm sure we'll have to be back in the common room soon. Curfew's eight, right?" although Madi had never broken the curfew, she wished it was later than eight. Right before eight, she would have to go back to the common room, which was much nosier than the peaceful environment of the library, and it would be harder for her to focus on whatever she was reading.
Interacting with: @Simon Tilia
17 Jun 2023, 21:27
Unexpected Company During the Storm
It was good to see Madi with an appetite. At least he felt better now that he knew that she had eaten. Simon could not imagine what it would be like to go to bed hungry only because you had missed dinner. Although it was not his problem, he had felt worried and bothered when Madi had told him that she often missed dinner. He would make sure to keep an eye out for Madi in the future and invite her to follow them to dinner.
".... I don't think the house-elves would like a House-Elf Appreciation Day much. I'm not sure they're that fond of attention."
"Hmm, I guess you have a point there", said Simon and nodded.
Madi eventually placed her plate outside the entrance to the Kitchen, and when Simon had finished he did the same. Eating in the Great Hall together with the students and the teachers, under the countless floating candles and with the crackling fireplace in the background, was of course a highlight of the day. But there was something with eating together in the basement at the bottom of a staircase. When he thought about it, he even enjoyed this moment more than the dinner earlier in the Great Hall. Why exactly was hard to pinpoint.
"Do you know what time it is? I'm sure we'll have to be back in the common room soon. Curfew's eight, right?"
Simon checked his wristwatch. "Blimey! It's only ten minutes left! We have to hurry", he said. "Are you ready?"
Interacting with @Madi McQuade
18 Jun 2023, 17:35
Unexpected Company During the Storm
"Blimey! It's only ten minutes left! We have to hurry. Are you ready?" Simon stood up. Madi did too, and they began walking.
"Yep." said Madi, and they started to the Ravenclaw common room together, climbing staircase after staircase. Madi had always been annoyed that her common room was so far from the library. It meant she had to leave the library sooner.
Madi really wanted to run, but didn't think it would be worth it if she did. It would be yet another thing she could get in trouble for. In the past, whenever she was hurrying to get somewhere, the easiest thing to do was run there. But that wasn't the case here.
They climbed more staircases. It was exhausting, because when Madi climbed them after a night in the library, she went much slower, because she was busy admiring all the staircases and all the paintings around.
She felt relieved when she saw the door to the common room.
"Did we make it in time?" Madi asked, opening the door to the common room and stepping inside. It was very full, most students had gotten inside. There were always a few who arrived a couple minutes after the curfew.
Interacting with: @Simon Tilia
18 Jun 2023, 20:44
Unexpected Company During the Storm
His heart was pounding heavily in his chest when they finally reached the top of the spiral staircase in the Ravenclaw tower, standing in front of the door with the talking bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
"What gets wet while drying?", asked the knocker.
"Hmm... A towel?", suggested Simon, panting.
The door opened. It seemed like even the knocker to the common room had got lazier and lazier by the weeks. He doubted that it was he who had got smarter with all these home works that seemed to slow his mind in the end of the day.
"Did we make it in time?", asked Madi as she opened the door before him and entered the common room.
Simon looked at his wristwatch and laughed nervously. "You're not gonna believe this, but it's precisely 8 o'clock. On the minute. Let's not gamble like this again, or we're gonna get ourselves a warning, if not from Professor Iwasaki then at least from the Prefects." (There were in fact some nasty looks from the Prefects present in the common room; being the last one back before curfew was never a good thing in the Ravenclaw house).
"Okay", said Simon, slowing in beside Madi. "Speaking of towels, I think I'm gonna take a bath before bedtime... I think I need it after our sprint up all those stairs." He did not really want to leave Madi, though, but did not want to bother her anymore either, as he was not sure whether his company had actually been wanted or not. "I'm glad I bumped into you... well, quite literally... and that you wanted to visit the Kitchen with me. I had a good time tonight. And it seems like we managed to ride out the storm together. It have finally stopped now."
Interacting with @Madi McQuade
19 Jun 2023, 00:17
Unexpected Company During the Storm
"Wow, that made me nervous. I guess all it takes to get my heart pounding is to put me eight floors below my common room and we only have ten minutes to get back up to it." Madi gave a small laugh as they stood in front of the entry to the Ravenclaw common room..
"We're lucky we made it in time. I do not want to get a warning from the Prefects. They're already glaring at us like we personally offended them or something. And getting one from Professor Iwasaki would be even worse." Madi watched the Prefects simultaneously turn their heads to look at Madi and Simon as they entered. They weren't late, but being close to late was something the people in Ravenclaw disapproved of. Well, most people.
"Climbing all those stairs was pretty exhausting. Glad I bumped into you, too. I had a nice time. And thanks for taking me to the Kitchen, I may now have an obsession with house-elves. " Madi smiled. She walked over to an empty armchair in the corner of the common room and remembered she had left her books behind in the library. She resisted the temptation to go back to the library to retrieve them.
Interacting with: @Simon Tilia