Torie headed into the kitchens, Jay's birthday was coming up and he really wanted to make him a cake but....well he had to do something too! He couldn't do both, at least he didn't think so. What would his explanation be for wanting to make two cakes? He headed for the cupboards and started getting bowls out and stuff he needed to make a cake. He hoped the house elves wouldn't mind much. Hmmm what if he....well he could do that later if one of them came to help them. He'd been there many times though and the only time he'd been close enough to a house elf was in the common room. He looked towards the door wondering when Chris was going to appear.

Moving to the fridge he went to get the eggs and butter.

Chris hopped down the stairs and practically skipped to the kitchens to bake a cake with TORIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! He missed his bestest friend in the whole wide world more than anything. Like seriously. Where had he been?!!! He had come quite close to just sitting outside of his dorm and waiting until he came out.

Spotting the fridge open he walked quietly up behind him and yelled, "BOOOOOO!" Laughing a bit like a maniac he hugged his friend tightly. "YOU ARE ALIVE!!!"

He had three eggs in his hand and butter in the other, he was going to make this cake all nice and rich like Jay liked it, and with his favourite frosting. Yep, all nice and yummy. He was about to step back and close the fridge when Chris yelled boo and he dropped the eggs in a shriek of surprise. Damn....were there more eggs? "Chris!" he exclaimed frowning over at him. He stared at his friend when he just laughed maniacally, "I....yeah?" he said looking down at the eggs smashed on the floor with a sigh. Revenge, for scaring him out of his whits? Hadn't they agreed to stop doing that after the spiders? Merlin... Now he really wanted to make two cakes...maybe three? He still wanted one for himself!

Chris' eyes widened and it was like slow motion as he watched the eggs fall and smash onto the floor. Oops. Well he hadn't meant to do that..."Torie!" He said back and looked into the fridge to see if he could find more eggs. Grabbing the whole container he put it on the counter and leaned against it watching his friend. "So...birthday cake! What kind are we making?" Hmmm....lemon...yes! "Lemon. I love lemon." Mmmm. Now he wanted a cake. "Can we make one for us?"

Her smirk was enough to know she wasn't giving anything up, the nose booping simply reinforced this by putting him in his place. Maggie 2? Zeke 1? He really should be keeping tabs. At any rate, he returned the smirk with a response of his own. "That's what I'm trying to do." Yes? He asked, because he wanted to know, apparently that wasn't enough?

It amazed him, AMAZED him, that Maggie was clueless about cakes of all things. "You can still taste the coffee," he chuckled lightly. "It's not strong coffee though, definitely not bitter." There really was no easy way to describe it, it was just sugary coffee. So...... "I'll have to get you to try it so you know what I mean." Simple as that. Perhaps that could be a second date? third? He was happy to just keep adding to the list.

...

Did he say something wrong?

Somehow he always managed to put his foot in his mouth, but he didn't understand why she was closing herself off to him now. Arms crossed was NEVER a good thing. EVER. Releasing a slow breath, his confusion clear on his face, Zeke stepped to the side and leant against the counter beside her - tempted to claim the remainder of the cake she'd set down. "It's okay, you'll just have to put up with me trying to educate you on... cake," he said casually, side bumping her gently. "Or not..." cause he wasn't about to force feed her.

... and he couldn't resist the cake, so he picked up the plate and started scoffing down the rest. Sorry Maggie.

He sighed and just shook his head, he didn't get Chris some of the time, he was way too...hyper? Too much sugar maybe? He grinned when he found a whole container of eggs, well hey they wouldn't run out of those at least. Lemon? He pulled a face "Err, well, we could make a lemon one for you. I think Jay wants chocolate, and I'm good with chocolate too..." Lemon was too....weird tasting in his opinion. "So three small cakes for each of us to get one?" he asked thinking and dividing up the ingredients in his head trying to figure out how much of each they'd need.

Yes, she knew that's what he was trying to do. But it didn't work that way. Maggie just continued to smirk at him. "Well, I won't just tell you how to impress me. Where's the fun in that?" She reached up again to tug on his hair softly. Maggie liked this game. Mhm.

So, essentially it tasted like coffee but with LOTS of sugar?

Yup. She highly doubted she was ever going to eat that. It sounded...well, it didn't sound like something she was supposed to eat. "Maybe." Maybe she would try it. Somehow it was hard to say no to Zeke. Which was...a little confusing, to be honest. "You'll have to bring me some of your mom's coffee cream then." Or wait, had he said she only BOUGHT the cake? Well, either way, he could still bring her some to try, right?

The moment he moved back to stand next to her, Maggie sort of regretted her reaction. It hadn't been that bad. Also now he knew that he'd annoyed her with something. Which was bad. Usually. She didn't want people to like KNOW what bothered her. Like, properly bothered her. She glanced over at him, relaxing a little and lowering her arms to fold her hands in front of her. See? Not upset. Nope.

Educate her on cake?

"I can't wait." She was being sarcastic, clearly, but also smiling a little. Totally fine, yes.

[spoiler=Ilia The Voice of Reason XD] She knew she should have owl them, especially Ullr, as soon as her father gave her the Okay for Hogwarts. She missed them too. "I'm gonna send them one for Christmas." And she should probably attach an AWESOME Christmas gift for Ullr for bribing. And pink and glittery stuffs for Freyr. "That's true." Nod. Nod. Nod. "So what's new with you? Any interesting thing happen lately?" Any new crush? New boyfriend perhaps? Ahem.

That's true. He just soooooo....UGH! Okay. How did Ilia managed to be SO wise again? "That's very wise of you but he just got this face that practically said 'Hex me please!' " Well, he has a nice face but his attitude was just screaming Not Very Hufflepuff-y.

If she put it that way. "That kinda makes sense." Ship her to Beauxbatons? "What's wrong with Beauxbatons? I heard its lovely there." Scenery wise.

"You're welcome!" Nod.

Mate getting killed? Sounds like a very cliche story. WAIT. HOLD UP. REWIND. Did she just said Henric? "You don't mean Hufflepuff Henric?" That one? Nah. Probably different one. Few people named Henric, so Ilia probably revering to another Henric. "Basilisks? Really? That's very clever."

She still wasn't buying into it? Wasn't going to meet him half way? "So you want to see me make a fool of myself?" he questioned, grinning because it was all he could do. He would be foolish, there was no doubting that, and it appeared that trial and error was the only way he was going to find out what Maggie liked. His list was slowly growing. "I'm sure I'll figure something out."

And he really did need to figure things out. He'd never heard of ANYONE that was so averse to eating cake. Maggie's 'maybe' surprising him still. What she said next though, had him laughing. Laughing. Shaking his head, he continued, "Don't accept anything my mum cooks, she doesn't do food... ever, I'll see if I can have some sent over from the bakery down the road from where we lived though, they were great." Which made him wonder if it would be accessible from his new neighbourhood. It was doubtful, but something to look into.

With the last of the cake in his mouth, he was quite content. His contentedness increased also when Maggie loosened up somewhat. Her defensive stance was dropping, and as he was done with the plate, he placed it back down on the counter. Hands wiped clean, he decided to be bold and took her hand in his again, giving it a gentle squeeze. Her sarcasm was evident, but there was something else to the words she spoke, perhaps she would look forward to it? "Me either, I'm a growing boy, cake is great," he joked.

What? No. Never.

Maggie giggled lightly. "No. I want you to make an effort." Obviously. That was a prerequisite for her even considering the whole....dating thing. Well, not dating because they were now? Or at least they were going ON a date? Did that mean they were dating? Or only AFTER they'd actually gone on the date? Somehow all this terminology was confusing. "We'll see." She was saying that a lot, huh?

Now why was he laughing? Maggie tried to look amused too, waiting for him to explain. Was it something she'd said? Done? Why was she feeling a little nervous? Only it turned out that he wasn't laughing AT her or anything. Good. "Right. Well, I don't really see your mom offering me food anytime soon so I think I'm safe." Like. Where would they even meet? She grinned though at his next suggestion. "Okay. I might try the coffee cream then. Maybe." She paused to smirk at him. "If you can...convince me to." Heh.

Maggie didn't mind the hand holding. She glanced down at their hands for a moment, then up at his face again. Yeah. Totally chill she was. "Just make sure you don't get fat." From all that cake. She was kidding obviously but even reached over with her other hand to lightly pat his belly.

Couldn't be dating a fat kid after all.

She really liked games, didn't she? "You think I won't?" Make an effort? Because he would, beyond bending over backwards to the point where he might break his back. Impressing her playfully was all part of the fun he was told this dating thing was about, but if this would be work, he might rethink how much he wanted to be around her. So far though, it wasn't 'work'... not at all. Granted, he wasn't sure how well he was doing, considering he'd left her in the dungeons and all. Zeke Browne was LUCKY to have a date.

Still, he remained good humoured. "Thankfully, so you'll be fine," he replied quicker than he had planned to. But really, he didn't want Maggie meeting her... there were all sorts of things that could go wrong. There was no need for that. No need for it at all. It pleased him that she was open to trying it though, because as weird as it was that they were having such a drawn out conversation about cake, it was one of his favourite things. So it was perfectly appropriate. What he didn't expect, was to told to convince her. She needed convincing? "I can definitely manage that," he grinned, moving to stand directly in front of her, one hand on the counter behind her, the other still holding her hand.

"You have two choices, agree to eat the cake - and promise, or be stuck down here until I get bored of holding you hostage?"

Was she convinced now? Motivated even? Because he most certainly was.

As for making sure he didn't get fat, he did work out, he didn't have abs... yet, but it was on his list of things to achieve by the end of the term. At any rate, his muscles, as lean as they were, were present. He wasn't pudgy or anything. "I burn it off," was all he needed to say on that matter.

Yes. As long as she was the one making the rules, Maggie liked games.

No. He better be making an effort. With a smirk on her lips Maggie leaned in to be able to whisper in his ear (see? SHE could do that too!), "I think you'd miss out if you didn't." Because she was a catch, obviously. But he knew that already, right? Only the thing was, she wasn't caught just yet so that's where the effort came in. Grinning, she pulled back again and gave him an amused look.

Maggie noted how quick he was to assure her that she wasn't going to meet his mom anytime soon. Interesting. Not that she minded. But she'd definitely noticed. Lips curling into yet another amused smirk she raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh really?" He was confident he could convince her to try it? The fact that she was now sort of trapped between him and the counter earned him a look. Really? That was his plan?

.....because it was working.

"You'd never get bored of holding me hostage." She replied, looking up at his face, still smirking. Yes, what she'd just said had NOT been the point and it did NOT really work in her favor but she'd felt the need to say it anyway. Because he wouldn't get bored. So that would mean they'd be stuck down here forever.

Or until she agreed to try the coffee cream. Which was she let go of his hand to hold both of them up in defeat. "Okay. You win." Not in general but like, this...game or whatever. This round. If he got that cake he loved so much she would try it. It was just a bite. No one would know.

As for his reassurance that he wouldn't put on weight, Maggie just nodded approvingly. Good.

When these two are together you can bet on some side soreness from all of the laughing. AJ was cracking up just as much as her boyfriend was. How could you not? Plus, laughing was contagious. Once you got a case of the cackles, you were done for. The lion was in such a good mood too, and there were about to eat a delicious pizza. What more could you ask for?

Not this argument again, she thought with a smile on her face. It was funny looking back on their younger selves and thinking about the conversations they used to have. Honestly, they were much different from the ones they had today. Kids at heart, the two of them. "I'm pretty sure when you are on my level of awesomeness you can't possibly add anything to it." In other words, she didn't get any more awesome just because of him and his awesomeness. Got it? How could you not? It totally made sense.

AJ shrugged. "You know, just in case." And now she really wanted to spit out chunks of cheese like a spit wad. She couldn't help it that her imagination ran wild. She had zero control over that. "I'm ready to get it cooking." Her mouth had been watering this entire time, but now her belly decided to join the party too by sounding like a dying whale. Nice.

"Good thing too because your poor little bald head is going to need it." AJ snorted. "Oh, is that why? I just figure you had some decorations in there keeping your brain from being lonely." hahahaha, me toooo

.... Merlin.

Between the smirking, and the leaning in, Zeke was already forgetting what words were, but then she had to whisper in his ear like that?! Miss out? No, he wouldn't be missing out, because he wasn't stupid enough to not put in effort. Effort would be had. "I think you would too," he countered, head tilted to the side a little, though he wasn't nearly as close to her ear as she had been to his.

Though he'd never had much luck with convincing others to do things, there being a few exceptions to that rule, Zeke was sure Maggie could be persuaded. He was confident in that much. "Really," he assured her.

She did find a flaw in his grand plan, but it wasn't a flaw that impacted him... it was a disadvantage to her. "I don't doubt that," he confirmed, grinning boyishly. The only way he could see that not being the case, was if Maggie started biting him again, or slapping him, or hexing him... but it didn't rate on his list of 'things likely to happen any time soon'. Perhaps he was foolish.

When she dropped his hand only to raise hers in mock defeat, he quirked an eyebrow at her. He won? Just like that? Was this a trap? Was there a catch? He was happy to carry on believing there wasn't, that he'd actually won. "Good, it's a date then." Or really, ANOTHER date then. See what he did there? She was welcome to kiss him again if it pleased her. He really didn't mind.

Oh, she would be missing out too?

Maggie smirked, holding still for a moment before leaning back again and giving him an amused look. In that moment she actually believed him too. "Well then, you better make sure that date is a success. So neither of us will be...missing out." As much as she was enjoying this there WAS a possibility of that date going badly. Well, not BADLY but like...not well enough for her to say yes to that other question he'd asked her.

Yup. Still not gonna say that (or think) that word.

At least he agreed with her. And to be honest, being 'held hostage' by him didn't sound THAT bad. Maybe not necessarily in the kitchen but just a general observation. There were a lot of things that would be worse. So really, it wasn't a threat or a way to get her to do things. Which didn't stop her from giving in right now, though. She had to let him win occasionally. Otherwise this relationship was a little too one-sided.

A date? Maggie grinned, lowering her hands to lightly tap her fingers against Zeke's chest. "Another one?" Look at him, having so many date-ideas.

Chocolate...bah. Chocolate was just so...boring. Yup boring. Tor wasn't boring...well maybe he was now. Tor the bore. HA that rhymed. "A whole cake for me? That'll work." Nodding he went to look for chocolate. Would be funny if they didn't have any. Then he gets even more boring vanilla cake. "Why don't you just get the house elves to make it?" Not that he was complaining because cooking was his new hobby.

Finding the chocolate he sighed. So much for not having any. He walked back over and moved Torie out of the way who was just standing there thinking. "I got this," he said dividing up the ingredients on his own into three separate piles. He pushed one of the piles over to him. "I'll make mine and yours. You can make your brothers." Teamwork right? Besides at least he would know that the ones HE made would be edible.

CHRISTMAS.

What a WONDERFUL time to be alive.

Also presents. Presents were the number one reason why Christmas was the number one time to be alive. And this year, Zander had an extra name added onto the bottom of his list: Toddles. Yes, Zander liked ALL the House Elves, but there was one he was closer to...

T'was a strange friendship built upon being arch enemies. But alas, they were friends now. Or at least, Zander hoped. So here he was. Big present wrapped up and everything.

..."Oi, any house elves around?" 'Cause surely that'd be enough to get their attention.

Okay, so this wasn't well thought out. Oops.

Haha. "Obviously you don't know this dude very well because he could top whatever level of awesomeness you're on by a million times.'' #Fact But then again, AJ knew him so well so... yeah. LOL. But anyway, into the oven the pizza went! Mmmmm! In a few minutes he would be sinking his teeth into that. But right now he was starting to laugh. "AJ, is that your stomach? Didn't you just feed that thing?"

"My brain is perfectly fine occupying my cranium alone,'' Adi stated. "You'll spend your life missing my hair. That's all I'm saying.'' Hehe. The Puffer began to move around, clearing away the dirty utensils. "Come on, AJ. You gotta help too.'' There was no way he was doing this alone. Haha.
....................

Adi sniffed the air as the aroma of the pizza wafted through the air. "I think it's almost done.'' He glanced at his watch. Yup! The time was almost up. Wheee!

The date would be a success, because he could think of little that could ruin it. As much of a Princess as Maggie was, his hair couldn't have all that much bearing on the outcome of the date, she was the one that suggested they snog so it couldn't be all that off-putting. So unless he said the wrong thing (which granted, was possible), or unless Flamsteed turned up to spoil the event, he considered himself in the running to do well enough for a second date, which by definition would make her his girlfriend, right? Regardless, there wasn't much more he could say on the subject right now, he'd have time to plan this... and get advice, advice would be appreciated. "Prepare to be swept off your feet," he grinned. He went there, as cliche as the statement was, he went there.

...

Unfortunately for him, there didn't seem to be another kiss for his attempt at pushing his luck, but he didn't much mind the response he received. The tap on his chest was almost laughable - in a good way - but it didn't come to that because yes, ANOTHER one. "I'm full of great date ideas, which is why you should just give in and go with it." Go with him. As a thing. Duo. Couple... type thing.

"They will like that." She was certain that they would, she would wait for Candice to tell them that she was here, rather than telling them herself. It would be better that way. Anything new or interesting? "Nothing too crazy, my parents are arguing more, I made friends, and you are here." She smiled softly. No way she was ready to talk about her affections for Henric just yet. Only Adi had the privilege of that knowledge.

Hex me please......"If he does something to truly deserve it , that is one thing. But, as unjust as accusing you of something that you are not guilty of is, his opinion of it doesn't really matter does it? You hate him and he probably doesn't like you....hexing him won't change anything or prove anything.....Except maybe make it worse and it might get you detention."

What is wrong with it? She'd have to leave Henric! And....yeah! "I don't particularly want to go to France and learn yet another language....." Four was enough for a fifteen year old wasn't it? "And that is where my cousin Idunn went. I'd hate to be compared to her." Because they were COMPLETELY different.

She laughed a little at the you're welcome. Hufflepuff Henric? Yeah her boy was a Puff.....wait Candice knew him? "Yes, my friend is in Hufflepuff. Do you know him then?" She eyed her friend curiously. All other thoughts were forgotten.....what about Henric?

Swept off her feet?

Maggie giggled, shaking her head slightly. "You're setting the bar high, you know. I'll be expecting an amazing date now." She paused for dramatic effect. "Unforgettable even." She was enjoying this way too much, teasing him. Only he seemed to be so full of himself today that it couldn't even be seen as being mean to him. Not at all. Besides, she had AGREED to go on a date with him today. Nothing mean about that.

Maggie was basically a saint today.

"Give in and go with it?" She laughed, giving him a curious look. Maggie had left her hands lightly resting on his chest and used them now to give him a soft push. Not hard enough to actually push him too far away from her, though. "Not the most effective way to ask a girl out, you know." It was amusing her though. How into this he was. And how many great (debatable) ideas he seemed to have.

She definitely liked the attention.

"Yeah. I'll make sure sure to write one after this." Assuming that she know what she had to write. She's not good at writing letter. She was pretty sure that she couldn't just write 'I'm in Hogwarts now with your cousin' on her letter. she will stress about it later. Her parents arguing more? "That's not good." Was she ever mentioned that she's BAD at giving comforting words? "Uh-huh." Somehow she didn't buy that's the only things happened with her but she's not going to prey.

Blink. Blink. Blink. She never heard Ilia spoke that much before. But she did mentioned the boy started it first right? "Okay then Miss Wise." How did she and Freyr was cousin again? And how did the old hat put Ilia in Slytherin. She's more like a Ravenclaw if she's being all wise like that.

"Ugh! yeah. Learning another language is troublesome." The only language she would like to learn is Merperson language. "I understand how you feel." No one liked to be compared with someone else.

See. Its not even hi-----....WAIT. WHAT???!!!! "Hufflepuff?!" She was pretty sure that there's only one Henric in Hufflepuff. So its the same person.

O_____________________o

"He's the person who I told you earlier." What a small world.

As sickly as cliche's were, this one was worth it simply to hear Maggie giggle. "Would you rather me set it lower?" he questioned, an amused smile softening his features. "I thought I was supposed to impress you, or are you easily impressed?" It was possible he was playing with her now, only because he didn't think setting the bar lower was negotiable, and nor would he want it to be... okay, that was a lie, he wouldn't complain either way. It would be unforgettable though, that was for sure. Because if it went well, then he will have left an impression, and if it went badly... well everyone remembered bad things. So memorable he would be.

Tapping, booping, pushing... he really didn't mind that she was touching him, but as she pushed him away a fraction, his arms moved to her sides instinctively to keep her close. "Mmhhmm," he agreed, flashing a toothy smile. How about it, Maggie? Would she buy it? Did he at least get credit for trying? He was awfully persistent about it. Calling into question the effectiveness of his technique was a little harsh though, maybe. "I thought I tried the more effective way," he replied quirking an eyebrow. Or at least his first attempt had been more direct, simple.

What! No she was NOT easily impressed. So don't get any ideas there, Zeke. She giggled though simply because she felt like it. "Impressing me and sweeping me off my feet are two different things though." Just saying. "I'm counting on you though." Which was....a weird thing to say. Ugh. Sometimes she was way too comfortable around him. Maggie looked down for a moment to collect herself.

"Which doesn't mean it'll be easy." Ah yes. Good save.

Maggie was glad that he had found a way to stay close. A small smirk playing around her lips, she started tracing random patterns on his chest with her fingers. He HAD tried the more effective way yes. "You did and it was a success." So he should just stick with that. Ask the girl to go on a date directly. Well actually in this case she'd been the one to suggest going on a date.

Wait.....has SHE asked HIM out?????????

He smirked at him but lifted an eyebrow a little "Yep a cake just for you." he said nodding and moved to get a few more things they needed like pans. "Nah, I don't want to give them more work to do, and thought it'd be more fun to do it ourselves" he said shrugging. He liked baking if he was honest, though he preferred to eat it than make it he still didn't mind doing it.

"Okay" he said nodding and moved to his pile of ingredients and start organizing them in order before he started measuring dry ingredients. He looked Chris' way and smiled a little as he worked. Kind of odd to be sitting in the kitchen baking, heh.