Everyone was in such a great mood today! But then it was Christmas time and that brought out festive cheer in most people!

"Oh, I definitely am!" Rosalyn told the Head Girl with a smile. Chocolate chip cookies sounded delicious; they were her favourite kind. Gingerbread ones were great too, and she was happy that she had a partner for this. "Wonderful, Miss Holmes! I haven't made them in a little while, but I am sure that we can get through this together!" Now where was that recipe?

Ah, there it was!

"Now we can get started!" Rosalyn placed it in front of them so that they could see exactly what needed to be done.

Zelena felt more at ease now that Professor Newton was on hand to help her. She looked at the recipe that Professor Newton had placed in front of them.

"Maybe we should check if the ingredients I have does match the recipe?" Zelena suggested. "After all, each recipe can be different even if it's for the same food. Cooking is about adapting if you understand my meaning."

Giving a smile to the History of magic Professor Natalia kept working on her own. Mixing in the wet ingredients Nat used her wand to blend them. Magic was great for so many things and now that she knew so many helpful spells in the kitchen she was using the muggle ways less and less. Giving Pips a smile as he seemed to be busy working as well. "I think they have cooking we can ice up and use sprinkles on too if we want." It was going to be a fun day of cooking.

Looking towards Zelena she nodded, "I love baking and cooking actually. I learned when I was pretty young and now that I live with my dad and his boyfriend I like to cook for them when I'm home." She liked to send treats home once in awhile from here too if she got in the baking mood. She hadn't done that much this term though with her badge duties she had been keeping pretty busy.

Listening to the two work she continued with her own. "Is there and oven open?" Looking towards the house elves to see.

Zelena smiled at Nat. "My father and dad tend to get a bit spoiled on their birthdays, their wedding anniversary, Valentine's Day, etc. If I am at home, I'll always bake a cake. The cake is always a bit lavish but I enjoy it. If my sister is visiting, she'll help which is handy because I do tend to undertake too much."

Natalia smiled when she heard her father and dad. Diar would never be her father, but he was a good guy and she was glad Joe had him. She liked hanging out with him and being around him. He was a good adult person to talk to when needed. Her eyes moved to the elf that just pointed about an oven being free and she went ahead and placed her cookies in it. Now that she wasn't mixing she watched the gingerbread being made. "I'm going to decorate some cookies too I think." Pips had said there were some just to decorate, so while she was waiting on getting the chocolate chip out she figures it could be something to do.

"Where does your sister live?" Being an only child Nat was always interested in hearing about other people's siblings, though most of the time it really made her glad she was the only one. Though her life, in general, made her thankful for being the only one. She would never have wished her mother on anyone else. Her mind slipped away to her time in Australia before coming back and glancing at both the professor and Zelena. "Sounds like your fathers are very lucky. Joe seems to like my cooking. He and Diar have never complained at least." She didn't think either would just be polite if they really didn't like it.

Zelena was mixing together her gingerbread mix while she and Nat were having their conversation. "My sister loves travelling so she moves around a lot. I think she is currently in France. Of course, that was where her last postcard was from. By now, she could be in some other country."

Zelena did miss her sister. They were very close. When Nat told Zelena that her fathers were lucky, the young witch smiled with a slight blush to her face. "Well, they have been through so much and I am lucky to have them as parents."

Algamus was fussing over the counters with all the studentsies making cookies. His kitchen was looking messy and he wanted to keep it clean.

It wasn't usual that Skylar got hungry in between meals, especially now that she wasn't goofing around with quidditch every waking second as she tended to do when she was home for the summer. However for some reason as of late, her schedule was all out of whacks; whether it was the super late Astronomy classes or the super early Defense lessons, the third year just couldn't seem to find appropriate eating habits.

Nonetheless, she found herself walking pass the barrels that she knew to lead to the Hufflepuff Common room and to the pear portrait, tickling it as her stomach rumbled. Here was hoping there was some good leftovers down there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

It wasn't usual that Skylar got hungry in between meals, especially now that she wasn't goofing around with quidditch every waking second as she tended to do when she was home for the summer. However for some reason as of late, her schedule was all out of whacks; whether it was the super late Astronomy classes or the super early Defense lessons, the third year just couldn't seem to find appropriate eating habits.

Nonetheless, she found herself walking pass the barrels that she knew to lead to the Hufflepuff Common room and to the pear portrait, tickling it as her stomach rumbled. Here was hoping there was some good leftovers down there.

Isabella was sooooooo hungry. Sure, she always stuffed when she left meals, but then she went to class and wanted to eat because it was boring. Then she wanted to eat before she ran around because she needed energy. And then she needed to eat after she ran or otherwise did physical activity because she exhausted all the energy she'd eaten before the running.

Basically, Isabella was always eating. And then she was always running up and down the stairs and down corridors and around the grounds. She was always either late, or just trying to stay awake to get her homework done. Eat, run, homework, sleep. Those were basically her the four activities she had time for as a third year. Luckily, the Hufflepuff common room was close to the kitchens. Luckily, a nice older student had shown her the hidden door to the kitchens as a first year.

Isabella tickled the pear and climbed through the door, really hoping there were some radishes or brownies or something for a snack. Oh! Somebody was here already.

"Hello!" Isabella said brightly. This person looked familiar...perhaps someone she had seen in class? A quick glance at the other girl's robes told her that it wasn't from the common room. "I'm here for a snack. I'm thinking radish slices, and/or something sweet. What about you?"

Skylar hadn't expected anyone to be following her into the kitchen, but instead was thinking about the rumbling noises from her stomach. She was actually kind of hoping for some potatoes and chicken and Sheppard's Pie and well basically she wanted REAL FOOD and was completely distracted. Which is why she was oblivious to footsteps behind her.

That was until someone spoke rather cheerfully and Skylar definitely did a double-take to see who the person was speaking to and basically who else was in the room. But upon seeing not a single soul of anyone else, other than the girl who spoke, well, she guessed the newcomer had to be talking to her. A quick glance at the girl's Hufflepuff Robes and familiar features, well it had been awhile but Skylar definitely remembered the girl from a previous encounter a couple years ago.

"Hello ... Isabelle, right?" Sky said hesitantly. "I'm here for some dinner food. My eating schedule is all off this week."

Isabella smiled at the other girl, a Slytherin. Yeah. She'd definitely met this girl. That was confirmed when she got her name almost right. "It's Isabella, actually," she said kindly, repeating what the Slytherin had said but with an additional syllable. "So, you're here for radishes, too!" Isabella said, jumping to conclusions. And completely oblivious to the fact that not all thirteen-year-olds had the same taste in vegetables as herself.

Her smile momentarily turned to a thoughtful frown as she tried to remember this girl's name. It was...Sunshine or Autumn or something cheesy like that, wasn't it? No... Slytherins didn't have cheesy names. But it was close to Sunshine, she thought. Maybe... Sunny? Sally? She wrinkled her nose as she tried to remember. Oh! It was Skye! "You're... Skye, right? It's been awhile!" Right? Well, if she had the name wrong...at least it had been awhile?

Oops! Isabella. Skylar made a mental note to commit that name to memory; especially since she was ninety-nine percent sure that she was in the same year as herself and Harriet, so why shouldn't she at least know those in her own year? Also, radishes? If that's what the girl considered dinner food, well, that was just weird. Hufflepuffs were weird; except for Hattie, but maybe that was more because she'd grown immune to Hattie's quirks and they just sort of became ingrained in their friendship.

"Sky's a nickname. Full name is Skylar, actually, but yea, it has been awhile." Sky confirmed. "And not quite radishes, though I reckon I wouldn't be opposed to having some, but I was more looking for meat and potatoes." Yup. She was looking for the full course, not merely a side.

Moving over towards where the fridge was, she frowned a moment in pause. Truth be told she wasn't exactly sure she was supposed to just go in and take what she wanted; perhaps Isabella knew? Hufflepuffs were better acquainted with the kitchens and the ground rules, weren't they?

Isabella practically beamed when Skylar confirmed her name. Well, nickname. Isabella was just proud of herself for mostly remembering. "My mother likes to slice radishes and serve them with tortilla soup," she murmured, remembering the dish fondly. The house elves were great cooks, but her Mama cooked different sorts of dishes.

As her stomach grumbled, Isabella looked about the kitchen. Where were the house elves? She did not see anybody near the entrance, but house elves were short so she certainly could have missed somebody.

"Excuse me," Isabella called softly. Softly, in case someone was napping. Did house elves nap? She wasn't sure. "We're looking for a snack!" Having announced their intentions, she turned and grinned at Skylar. "You're a third year, too, aren't you?" she asked. "I think we have classes together. You sit by... um..." Isabella frowned, trying to think of the person's name that Skylar sat by. It was someone in her house, she thought. Hmm.

Algamus came running over as he heard a studentsie call out. "Miss what can Algamus get Miss?" he asked before running past to get it ready as fast as possible.

Skylar smiled at Isabella's memory of how her mother served radishes. She'd never personally tried that, but this talk of soup and vegetables, made her stomach rumble just a bit. "Oops," she said shamelessly.

Glancing around the kitchen, as her fellow third year called out to the house elves for a snack, she nodded. "Yea, I'm a third year. And so yes, it would definitely make sense that we have classes together. I sit by a variety of people, depending on the class though." Sky clarified. And she was about to remind Bella of her best friend, who was also the girl's dormmate, when one of the house elves came running over.

"Hi there," Sky said, feeling weird. Despite being a pureblood, and having loads of contact with magical creatures, she couldn't recall ever actually speaking to a house elf before. "I'm looking for some meat and potatoes, and my friend here," she glanced over at the Hufflepuff, "she's looking for radishes. And maybe some tortilla soup, if you have it?" Did Hogwarts kitchens produce tortilla soup? She wasn't too sure... and truth be told, she wasn't sure that Isabella wanted some, but she had mentioned it, so...

Isabella was always surprised by the house elves, but she was able to keep it from showing as Algamus came over to help them. "Hello," she said softly, as Sky explained what they were looking for. "If you don't have the soup, an apple would be filling enough," she said. She reeeeally didn't want to make extra work for the house-elves. Reminiscing about the soup had been an accident. It wasn't why she came to the kitchen.

At least, tortilla soup wasn't consciously why she'd come to the kitchen. But it was possible she was a little homesick and didn't know it.

"Yeah, I usually try to sit by myself in classes," she told Sky after they'd told Algamus what they wanted. "I get distracted otherwise, or I'm distracting. It's hard to focus on History of Magic and such when you're surrounded by too many friends. It makes me want to goof off."

She was NOT out past curfew. She was NOT being babysat by a Prefect - thank MERLIN and CIRCE and everyone else- but she was surrounded by elves. So that counted for something, right? Dora logic said it did anyway. Ahem. As the fifth year plopped near the fireplace she pulled her knees up and hugged them to her chest as she stared at the dancing flames. Nothing soothed a Dora quite like watching something burn. Dreamy sigh.

The term was decidedly not her favorite. NOPE. All the studying, the curfew, the general feeling of dislike she had for most people at the time. Meh. Just... she needed something to take her mind off of all of it. Where was a fellow lion when she needed one?

Ahem.

Truth be told, Matt had no clue what time it was, but he was hungry. What to do when there was a curfew and they technically had to be escorted by 'more responsible people' to classes and basically everywhere they went? What to do? WHAT. TO. DO?

Go to the kitchen on his own, of course.

And there he was. After tickling the pear, he walked in and looked around, ready to be fed by elves. Omnomnomnom, he was ready to stuff his face!

Ohey, another Gryffindor on her own. Lol, were they that predictable?

"Yo." He greeted his housemate as he made his way to where most of the food was. She didn't seem like she was stuffing her face at all, and Matt wondered why she was in the kitchen. "Want me to make ya a sandwich?" Maybe she was just lazy?

HOLD ON, that's what the elves were there FOR, wasn't it? "Or should I leave it to you guys?" He asked the group of creatures with a cheeky grin.

What? It was worth a try.

She had mastered the Jedi mind trick.

It was CLEAR.

A satisfied smirk crossed her lips as she turned toward the voice. "I'd love a sandwich. Turkey and swiss on wheat, please. Brown mustard, tomato, and lettuce... bacon if there is some cooked. AaaanD crisps... AND a pickle. I'd also like a soda, please. No ice. " Did he catch all of that? Here's hoping. Nothing much made Dora hungrier than devising a plan for an adventure.

"Hey, how do you feel about blowing stuff up? " For or against? This was important because if he was anti explosion she would totally have to figure something else out. And that would require more food.

Choose wisely, child.

C H O O S E W I S E L Y.

As Matt turned to start making his own sandwich and perhaps hers too, the other Gryffindor started vomiting instructions and all of the things she wanted IN her sandwich and WITH her sandwich.

The boy turned his head and smiled at her. "Sure! our wish is my command." He told her before facing the 'workstation' again and making two plain ham sandwiches. "Voila!" The fourth year turned back around, not bothering to place the sandwiches on a plate; he simply held them UP with his hands.

Here's hoping they were clean, aha!

Her next question made him lower his hands as he studied her face for a few seconds. "How do I feel about it?" Matt repeated her question in an incredulous tone. "What do you mean 'how do I feel about it'??? I've been doing it my whole life!" COME ON. There were few things better than blowing stuff up. FEW. Very few. "What's the plan?" He didn't know what was going on, but he was IN.

Well that was oddly satisfying. Boys weren't ALL useless - as was evident by the fact that she loved a Ravenclaw one very much - it seemed. How lovely!

Turning her attention back to the flames she felt herself being sucked in again. Metaphorically speaking, of course. It wasn't until Matt spoke again that she dragged her attention away from the fire... and saw him fondling her sandwich with his bare hand. What was this?! HOW OFFENSIVE! And it was ham! Too salty, even from Queen Saltine! BUT Dora was a lady. A CLASSY LADY. Offering the younger boy a sweet smile, she took the sandwich and laid it on her lap. Not eating that, but ya know... appearances. "Thanks, Matt. That was very, uh, sweet of you. "

And gross.

Dirty boy hands. ACK!

But yeah. Whatever. More important stuff.

"Well, I reckon we go find something to blow up. Outside. By the lake. What do you think? " Yas. Come, small one. Let us go blow things up!

Matt could've given her a funny look because of the way she thanked him, but he was used to girls and their odd ways. He had about a million female cousins, so he knew better than to look suspicious.

Besides, everyone loved ham sandwiches ANYWAY. He took a bite off his. "Welcome." He replied with his mouth full.

Omnomnomnomnom.

The fourth year seemed to ponder things for a second as he thought of a way out. There was NO WAY he was going near that bloody lake. "I think we should go somewhere near the Forbidden Forest instead." He said casually. It was SO MUCH BETTER and a lot more exciting and less terrifying than the silly lake.

He took another bite off his sandwich and watched to see her reaction. She was a Gryffindor, she was BOUND to want to go to the Forbidden Forest.

Or so he hoped.