Food for a Hufflepuff

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Clara missed Marigold. It was only February and she missed the house elf like crazy. She wished she could have the elf visit, but she knew that would make her parents upset. She was supposed to be at Hogwarts to "learn". In all honesty, Clara didn't have many friends and for the most part, she was okay with it. But on days like these, where she was cooped up inside the castle, she yearned to just chatter with someone. Marigold always kept her company at home. 

Thoughts of the house elf drew Clara to the library. She wandered the cooking section, searching for a new book. She wanted to find something warm and breaded to make, since the weather was so cold and dreary. It was late afternoon, about an hour before dinner, and Clara had yet to change out of her school robes. Being as tiny as she was for her age, she was always cold and her robes helped keep her warm, layered over a soft blue sweater and jeans. She had been wanting to try a new recipe out, something that could warm a person with just a few bites, something delicious to bring a smile to the face. 

Clara stopped, letting her gaze scan the shelf of books until she found an interesting title, Food For Winter: Keep Your Family Warm and Toasty and a Party Entertained. That sounded interesting enough, right? Clara tugged it from the shelf and promptly sat right on the floor, Indian style. She lifted a hand to tuck a few strands of soft lavender-colored hair behind an ear. Clara dug in her bag to pull out a small pouch of Bertie Botts and popped a jelly bean into her mouth. She wrinkled her nose at the taste, but continued to munch on the candy while she scanned the book, flipping through the pages. 

"Hrmm..." she murmured softly, thinking as the taste of bubblegum filled her mouth for a moment. She was looking at a pretty dated picture of an intricate loaf of bread: it was shaped like a normal loaf, but delicate daisies seemed to be pressed into it. The more she read, Clara came to realize that the daisies were just made from flour and a bit of sugar and cinnamon, something to give the bread a nice effect. Her stomach growled loudly and Clara stifled a giggle behind her hand. Maybe tomorrow, since it was Saturday, she could try sneaking into the kitchen and baking alongside the elves. The thought brought a grin to her face and Clara went to stand. Her foot caught on her robe though and with a yelp, she staggered backwards, landing flat on her rear. Bertie botts spilled from her pockets, all over the floor.

"Ow..." she said, her lip poking out with a yelp. She really needed to hem her robes...


@puck

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Séamus didn’t know why he continued to frequent the library. The quiet didn’t help him think, and sitting alone and staring at the book didn’t make him understand any more. Shay was half-tempted to walk to the Ravenclaw common room and ask Dominique if she could help him, but he didn’t want to be a bother, and he really wanted to figure out how to be able to do the whole studying thing on his own. Even if Dom did agree to be his tutor – and he still had to gather up the courage to ask her that – she was going to be graduating May, and then he’d be doing his seventh, and arguably hardest, year of school on his own. Séamus was just beginning to think he might be on the right track to understanding his Charms assignment when he heard a yelp from a nearby shelf. Shay got out of his chair and crept over to the aisle where he had heard the sound coming from, and peered around the corner. There was a girl sitting on the floor, surrounded by a ring of jelly beans. “Are y-you okay?” Séamus asked, finally getting the rest of his body around the corner. He offered his hand to the girl to help her off the floor, careful to avoid stepping on any of the jellybeans and crushing them into the carpet.

@clarahalliet

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Clara felt her cheeks brighten as a voice startled her from behind. She turned from where she sat, her hair changing from lavender to a deep pink as a blush crept to her cheeks, matching the shade of her hair. She realized the boy's hand was outstretched towards her, offering her help. Clara reached her own small hand towards his and got to her feet. Clara then looked at her spilled jelly beans and clapped a hand to her mouth, stifling her giggles as her hair gradually changed back to its normal purple.

"Thank you," she said to the boy. She recognized him from the corridors, but didn't know his name. "I must look like a mess." Clara procured her wand and Summoned the beans to her outstretched hand. They all gathered in the air at her spell and landed in her palm. Clara pouted down at them. "Well...I guess those aren't good anymore." Clara stuffed them into a pocket of her bag to toss away later and then procured two sugar quills, handing on to the boy.

"Here you go!" Finally, Clara grabbed her book. Her rear still hurt, but she had had worse falls than that.

@seamus

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The fallen girl looked like she was blushing, and Shay felt a stab of pity for her. Normally he was the one blushing in awkward situations, but since his complexion was so dark, it took a serious blush to show. However, his hair definitely couldn’t turn pink like the girl’s did, and he smiled encouragingly at her, hoping that she wouldn’t be too embarrassed. He really wasn’t all that intimidating. Then again, everyone seemed at least a little intimidating when you were embarrassed.

“You’re w-welcome.” Séamus said after pulling the girl back to her feet. It was what any decent person would do, and Shay prided himself on being a decent person, even if he wouldn’t normally insert himself in a situation that involved social interaction. The girl said that she must’ve looked like a mess, and Shay shook his head vigorously. She looked a little frazzled, but who wouldn’t, after falling down and spilling candy? Speaking of the candy, the girl was Summoning it now, and Shay had to admit he was a little jealous of how easily she gathered it all. He was good at spells, but probably not that good. Apparently there was a limitless supply of sugar in the girl’s pockets, though, because she produced two sugar quills, and handed one to Séamus. “Th-thanks.” He said, accepting the candy. “I’m S-Séamus.” The Slytherin introduced himself, since he didn’t know the girl’s name and suspected she didn’t know his.

@clarahalliet

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@seamus

Clara tilted her head slightly, picking up on the boy's stutter, but she popped her own sugar quill into her mouth with a small giggle. Clara hefted her bag over her small shoulder, looking up into the boy's face. Only standing just below five foot, Clara was quite a bit shorter.

"I'm Clara," she replied, twirling her sugar quill between her fingers. She clutched the book to her chest, excited to the try the new bread recipe tomorrow. Clara was a frequenter of the kitchens, and she loved the company of the house elves, though none of them could compare to her Marigold. 

"I think I've seen you in the dungeons before? Are you in Slytherin?" she asked, lifting a hand to tuck a strand of lavender hair behind an ear. Being Hufflepuff, Clara often ran into the Slytherins since their commons rooms were both in the dungeons. 

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Clara. That was a nice name, and it seemed to fit the girl fairly well – Shay couldn’t imagine naming someone with purple hair anything else, unless it was Violet or something along those lines. “N-nice to m-meet you.” He said with a smile. She seemed nice enough, at least from what she had done already, and since she obviously recognized him from the dungeons (and wasn’t a Slytherin), Séamus was willing to bet that she was a Hufflepuff. Which was good, because Shay had yet to meet a Hufflepuff he didn’t like…Mostly because he had yet to meet very many Hufflepuffs at all. “Y-yeah.” Shay responded to the question about which house he was in. “N-not m-my f-favorite m-most of the t-time.” He admitted. Being a Muggleborn in his house wasn’t the easiest thing to be, but Shay was getting better about standing up for himself…or at least better at avoiding confrontation in the first place.

@clarahalliet

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@seamus

Clara tilted her head once more, a little more pronounced this time, as she blinked up at Seamus. He didn't like his house? Clara tried not to be prejudice against Slytherin, but they were typically the ones who eased her the most, especially just to make her hair change colors. 

"You don't like it?" Clara asked, shifting her weight to her other foot, popping out her hip slightly as she sucked on her sugar quill. "I mean...sometimes the Hufflepuff Common Room can get a bit rowdy and I will leave until it settles down, so I think I can understand?" Clara suddenly remembered the book clutched in her arms and the recipe she had found. She held her sugar quill between her lips as she opened it right there, flipping through the pages. 

"Hey, I know dinner isn't for a bit...but would you like to come to the kitchens with me?" she asked Seamus. Clara didn't tell many people about her secret - visiting the kitchens to cook and say hello to the house elves. But she had a good feeling about Seamus. He had a kind face and kinder eyes. 

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Clara asked him if he didn’t like the Slytherin common room, and Séamus shrugged his shoulders, even though the answer to her question was a resounding no. Who would like to be in a house where who they were was seen as a hindrance? Shay had thought that being in Slytherin would be good for proving that Muggleborns could be as good as anyone else, but in order to prove that, people had to be receptive to the idea to start with…and no one in Slytherin really was. At least not the people whose minds he had set out to change. Clara mentioned that the Hufflepuff common room could get rowdy, and Shay bobbed his head in a nod. He had thought that Hufflepuffs were quiet, but maybe that wasn’t the truth.

Clara asked if he wanted to come down to the kitchens with her, and Séamus was about to nod again, when he realized that he hadn’t actually said anything for a long while. “S-sure.” He stuttered out. “Is th-there a r-reason wh-why?” He asked. Clara seemed to be well-outfitted in the snack department already, so he couldn’t imagine wanting even more food.

@clarahalliet