Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice [Egg/Cheese sandwich]

[Raphael Caelan McLaggen]

7 February 2026

Rafe loved the Hogwarts kitchens. He wasn’t much of a cook, by any means – decorating had always been more up his alley – but it was still one of Hogwarts’ hidden gems. The space was always toasty and warm, and it was genuinely interesting to watch the house elves work. Even better, the longer and more often you were there, the more likely it was to be extremely well fed with amazing snacks. Raphael had stopped by plenty of times in the past for different reasons. To snap pictures for the Hogwarts newspaper, maybe, or even to claim a corner for himself to struggle through his textbooks. It was a much nicer environment than the library, in his opinion, and much closer to his common room too.

Today, however, he wasn’t here to do either of those things. After a month back at school, the new Quidditch arrangements were becoming almost unbearable. Slytherin had been booking the Quidditch Pitch every weekend, leaving the other House teams to fight for the slightly less desirable slots (namely, in the evenings after class). Sometimes Hufflepuff managed, but most of the time they got stuck with the absolute worst of the worst. So Rafe had been waking up semi-regularly before the break of dawn, only to blearily search for the Snitch on his broom and get (politely) criticized by his captain. He’d complained to Addy about it enough times, although she hadn’t budged on her position. So he tried less and less as the month wore on, and instead miserably narrated the whole story to Penelope. She had an older sibling who played Quidditch professionally too, and as members of the same House they were always more sympathetic to what the other was going through. It had been her idea to speak to Professor Ashcroft, their Head of House, about it. Maybe he’d have more luck finding a better arrangement for the Pitch. And naturally, it seemed ridiculous not to bring him a gift while they were at it. They all loved him, after all, so Penelope and Raphael had agreed they should bake him something before he went to ask about Quidditch. Besides, it was also a good hangout opportunity for the two Hufflepuffs of their little group. He spent most of his time with Addy and Brigh, but he genuinely enjoyed Penelope's company.

“I found it!” Rafe announced eagerly as he opened the portrait and burst into the kitchens, eyes automatically finding Penelope (it was easy enough to spot her among all the much shorter house elves). He stopped abruptly to allow a small crowd of elves to pass, all carrying a roast turkey among them as they scuttled by. Part of him wondered if that was sanitary, but he was much too polite (and afraid) to ask. Instead he shot a warm smile at a house elf he recognized (“Hey Winsome, how’re you?”) before finally crossing to join his fellow Housemate at the table where she’d begun amassing ingredients. “You were right, the recipe was by the Flitterbloom, not the bookshelf,” he admitted sheepishly as he handed her the brightly colored book stuffed full of recipes contributed by various Hufflepuffs over the years. He’d searched for ages before finding it, but now they could finally start!

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

February 7, 2026

The proximity of the Hufflepuff common room to the Hogwarts kitchens wasn't exactly a secret, but it was one of the added perks of being in Hufflepuff House. It was easy enough to slip out to the kitchens to request a snack from the house-elves who worked there or pop in for a quick cup of tea. Penelope didn't think that the staff really wanted the students to make a habit of going to the kitchens and disrupting the elves, but she also knew that she and Raphael McLaggen were hardly the school's troublemakers.

She had arrived to the kitchens before Raphael, perhaps better known within their group of friends as "Cheese", who had been off searching for a cookbook while she went and got as many supplies and ingredients together as she could. While bribing their Head of House with pastries probably wasn't the only way to get him to address the problem of Slytherin's having booked the Quidditch pitch for practices at all the best times, Penelope had a feeling that Professor Ashcroft would be more willing to hear them out with some added incentive. Plus, she hoped, maybe he would share the treats with Professor Zabini and make him a little bit nicer. It was worth a try, she thought, and if Professor Ashcroft said that there was nothing he could do about it? Well, then he got some free baked goods out of it.

Penelope turned as she heard the sound of Raphael's voice suddenly echoing through the room. "I found it!" he exclaimed. Before she could ask him if the recipe book was where she thought it had been, though, he followed it up with confirmation of that fact. "You were right, the recipe was by the Flitterbloom, not the bookshelf," he told her, handing over the book itself.

Careful not to drop it, Penelope grinned. Years and years of recipes from Hufflepuffs past hung in the balance, yet Raphael had doubted her on the location of it. "I told you!" she retorted triumphantly, practically dancing with the book as she eyed Raphael. "But noooo, you swore it was by the Flitterbloom!" Penelope was only teasing him, though. There was really no harm done. They had the recipes they needed and could get to work. "Now," she mused, altering her tone, "Cauldron Cakes… or cupcakes made to look like Golden Snitches?"

Raphael Caelan McLaggen

[Raphael Caelan McLaggen]

It was no secret that this batch of 7th years had some big personalities. It wasn’t a bad thing necessarily, because they were all bright and accomplished students in their own ways. But it meant that Rafe got bossed around a lot – by Jimmie when it came to the newspaper, by Addy for anything Quidditch, and more and more by Brígh about Addy. He didn’t mind it, really, because they were all his friends and he’d do just about anything for them (which they knew, of course). But the dynamic was definitely different with Penelope. They were both pretty typical Hufflepuffs, and tended to avoid conflict whenever possible. Beyond that, Penelope was just a super sweet girl and she never tried to talk over him. Between that and the fact that they shared most of the same classes…well, their friendship was a recipe for success.

Despite the fact that they were both rather reserved members of the group compared to the others, there were no hints of that now. Rafe gave a mock sigh of defeat, although he was actually grinning as Penelope started her victory dance and her well-deserved ‘I told you so.’ They would definitely have been able to start earlier if Raphael hadn’t insisted on checking the entire common room for the book. “I should know by now that you know what you’re talking about,” he conceded easily, “but why focus on the past?” Penelope was still distracted so Rafe teasingly snatched the recipe book from her hands and flipped it open to a random page. “Oh, er…maybe not that,” he said sheepishly as he scanned the entry on kale cookies (for the health-conscious Hufflepuff, he supposed).

Penelope’s first two ideas were both good ones, and he hummed in contemplation as he continued flipping through the overstuffed book. “D’you think Professor Ashcroft would appreciate Quidditch decorations?” he mused out-loud. The idea of Golden Snitch cupcakes sounded amazing, and something that would go over extremely well in the McLaggen home – well, at least until Rafe would get told off for bringing sugar into the house, since that was hardly the diet of a serious Quidditch player. But he wasn’t sure about their Head of House and whether he liked Quidditch or not. It also wasn’t hard to notice that Professor Ashcroft had been a little depressed lately. He hadn’t told his students what had caused the blue mood, but Hufflepuffs were particularly sensitive to these kinds of things. So Rafe wanted something that would cheer up his Head. “Maybe something Hufflepuff-inspired?” he suggested instead, stopping for a moment on a recipe that advertised a cake with an enormous chocolate Hogwarts on top. Nope, too hard. He kept flipping.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

February 7, 2026

Raphael sighed—although it didn't seem that he was actually too defeated—and said that he should have known that she knew what she was talking about. While she was distracted, he took the recipe book out of her hands and flipped to a recipe that he clearly wasn't a fan of. "Oh, er… maybe not that," he mentioned but didn't elaborate. Penelope couldn't tell what he was looking at, but she assumed by his tone that it was probably either absolutely disgusting or inappropriate for them to be baking for a professor.

He seemed to like her idea of Cauldron Cakes or cupcakes, though he voiced his uncertainty that Professor Ashcroft would appreciate Quidditch decorations.

Penelope didn't think that he would mind, at least. It fit with the occasion for which they were baking, if one could call it an "occasion". Besides, even if the professor actually hated Quidditch, who could resist a sweet treat? Raphael seemed to be considering all the options available to them. "Maybe something Hufflepuff-inspired?"

Why not combine the two? "Hufflepuff Quidditch team-inspired?" Penelope thought aloud, though that actually didn't sound like a terrible idea to her. "We could make the Golden Snitches yellow?" she thought. "And then make little Hufflepuff scarves, and those would be yellow and black… Or a badger's face, maybe? That would be black and white, really, wouldn't it? So we wouldn't need to use very many supplies…"

Raphael Caelan McLaggen

[Raphael Caelan McLaggen]

Okay, baking was hard! They hadn’t actually started yet, but Rafe was at a loss as to how anyone ever actually decided what they were going to bake. There were so many options, and they all sounded good. Cookies, cupcakes, tarts…creamy frosting, chocolate garnishes, sprinkles that flashed and glitzed and popped. Every page he flipped through advertised something amazing, and Rafe stopped to stare longingly at a recipe that promised cupcakes with little chocolate skeletons that did a dance before you ate them. Keeping that one in mind for Halloween, he decided, although it occurred to him only a moment later that he didn’t even have any more Halloweens at Hogwarts. Oh, the lovely depressing thoughts of a seventh year.

Raphael was starting to wish that he wasn’t so indecisive when Penelope saved the day. “That sounds brilliant!” he enthused at the thought of a dessert inspired by the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. This was an endeavor to get more Pitch time, after all, and even the Hufflepuffs that didn’t have an interest always turned out to support the House team. Just one more way that Hufflepuffs stayed loyal and true, supporting each other’s endeavors even if Quidditch wasn’t for everyone. “Okay,” he said out-loud, mind working furiously before his face lit up, “Do you remember those cupcakes the Potters used to bring when we’d play in the backyard? With the little broomsticks on top?” The Potters, Bainbridges, and McLaggens all hailed from Godric’s Hollow, so it had been quite regular to get together growing up. The kids would split themselves into Quidditch teams while the adults coached or watched (although Rafe cringed at the memories of his father arguing with Harry Potter).

“Yeah, we could do little broomsticks wearing Hufflepuff ties or scarves! And it’ll be a great opportunity to practice Colour Change Charms for our NEWTs.” While he’d been speaking excitedly, Rafe cut himself off suddenly because – Merlin’s saggy spellbooks, that sounded exactly like something Addy would say. And that was a daunting thought, because when did he ever look for an opportunity to do more schoolwork out of class? But, if there was a mini-Addy controlling his brain, she was right in this case because a charm would be much easier than trying to color the frosting themselves. “I mean…hopefully the kitchens stock things for decorating. Erm, Winsome…?” Rafe turned to one of the few house-elfs he knew by name in the kitchens, but the words had barely left his mouth before at least three different house-elfs began to shove things into his arms. “Penelope, help!” he squeaked as he toppled under the unsteady pile of cookie-cutters, piping bags, and all sorts of inedible decorations that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

February 7, 2026

Raphael described her idea of doing something themed after Quidditch as being "brilliant", and Penelope grinned. She might not have been in Ravenclaw or had the academic prowess of some of her siblings, but she had a good idea occasionally, too. The good thing about baking—similar though it sort of was to Potions class—was that she didn't have to memorize quite so much or worry about looking stupid if something were to blow up in her face. Flour, although messy, could be cleaned up more easily.

After a moment or two in which he appeared to be thinking about something in great detail, Raphael asked her if she remembered the cupcakes that the Potters used to bring over when they would all play Quidditch (unsuccessfully, on her part, but that was another story) as children. "With the little broomsticks on top?" Raphael recalled.

Penelope's smile widened, the memory suddenly brought back to her after however many years it had been since she'd last had one of those cupcakes. "The ones with the chocolate? They were so nice," she answered Raphael in excitement. "I can't believe I didn't think of them!" Really, that was perfect, because they both knew what the other was talking about. Getting them to taste the same as the cupcakes they'd had when they were younger would be the harder task, she considered, but she wasn't deterred from trying. Between her and Raphael, they could put their heads together.

"Yeah," continued Raphael, "we could do little broomsticks wearing Hufflepuff ties or scarves! And it'll be a great opportunity to practice Colour Change Charms for our NEWTs."

Even though she could have done without adding in academics to their baking endeavors and was surprised that he had tied their exam revision to their current project, Penelope liked the idea that Raphael had put forward. It would be more enjoyable—and hopefully more effective—to practice that way than to have to do something comparatively ordinary from a textbook. That way, too, they wouldn't have to worry about perfecting the color on their first try; they could hopefully cycle through colors until they had adjusted the shade to their liking.

"I mean…" Despite his ideas, Raphael appeared to hesitate some. "Hopefully the kitchens stock things for decorating," he added, and Penelope realized that that was a very good point. Raphael then looked to one of the house-elves, Winsome, for assistance, but he said no more before multiple elves at once began to assist him with his request.

The kitchen elves were being extremely helpful, but they might have gotten a bit too carried away. Penelope could hear Raphael letting out a cry for help as he struggled to hold all of the baking supplies that were being bestowed upon him, and Penelope didn't know how she was supposed to save both him and the baking supplies from falling over. Rushing to his aid and letting out a small squeak of panic herself, Penelope grabbed hold of Raphael's arm and tried to keep him upright. Any supplies that fell could be cleaned again pretty quickly, but she couldn't be without a baking partner.

Raphael Caelan McLaggen

[Raphael Caelan McLaggen]

Cheese was still reeling from whatever dark magic had made him think that baking with Penelope was an excellent opportunity to revise for their NEWTs too. He never looked for extra credit opportunities or, really, anything that would force him to do more work outside of class. Merlin, most of the time he had to be gently prodded to do his homework, maybe even with an extra threat to snap his broomstick in half if Addy was in a crabby mood that day. And despite the many personality differences between him and Brígh, they were united by their distaste for homework and therefore Brígh’s schemes to cook up some mischief and procrastinate on their work. So the words that tore out of his mouth without thinking now made him reevaluate whether this friendship with Addy could really be worth it. Next he’d be lamenting a perfectly good A and wondering how he could have gotten an E.

But he was quickly distracted by the landslide of decorations the house-elfs were shoving into his arms, and Rafe tottered unsteadily on his feet as he tried to balance it all. He could hear Penelope’s panicked squeak as she grabbed his arm, and Cheese winced as he felt loose items slide off the pile and hit the ground. Gorgons, he’d forgotten how enthusiastic house-elfs could be after a polite request, but Penelope’s hand steadied him until he felt sure the threat of being buried under all the supplies had passed. “Thanks,” he panted as he unceremoniously dropped everything left in his arms onto one of the tables, face flushed from the exertion of carrying what felt like twenty quaffles at once. “Never thought it would be the house-elfs that do me in,” Cheese joked, rubbing the back of his neck as he examined the carnage on the floor. He and Penelope had made a mess in the kitchen before (how many times had his mum told them off for spilling flour everywhere?) but that usually happened after the baking, not before. This was definitely a new record.

He picked a piping bag off the ground and examined it closely before sliding it onto the table too. At least now the two Hufflepuffs knew what they wanted to do, and they even sort of had a mental reference for it too. That would be way easier than trying something for the first time, especially since Rafe wasn’t signed up for Home Economics or anything like that. He assumed they must learn all sorts of interesting cooking charms to make the process easier. As it was, his charm was mostly just relying on Penelope to do the baking parts while he focused on the decorating. Hopefully to the point where these cupcakes would convince somebody to give the Hufflepuff Team more time on the Quidditch Pitch. But, he thought somewhat gloomily, he wasn’t sure there was any magic that was strong enough to do that either.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

February 7, 2026

Not everything that had been in Raphael's arms managed to stay there, though he thanked her for what little help she could give him as he flung nearly all of their supplies onto a table. The good news was that anything that needed to be washed could be, Penelope knew. The elves would see to that in a heartbeat, though Raphael joked that he didn't think it would be the house-elves that would do him in. Penelope laughed, though she knew that they meant well.

Raphael grabbed a piping bag from the floor and looked at it, setting it on the table. It wasn't actually dirty; it didn't look it, anyway. They could get started without a problem, though Penelope had a feeling that she would be the one doing the baking until everything was cool enough to be decorated without having the decorations melt. (Melty Hufflepuff colors probably wouldn't look too great.)

"Alright, let's see," Penelope mused, grabbing the book of recipes. "These should be easy," she said of the cupcakes, proceeding to list off all the ingredients and their measurements. "How do we want to do this?" she asked, as the more important point. "I'll take the wet ingredients, and you take the dry ingredients, then we set them up all nice like we know what we're doing and then start mixing the batter?"

Raphael Caelan McLaggen

[Raphael Caelan McLaggen]

There was nothing that could remind Rafe of the good ole times more than hanging out with Penelope. He literally couldn’t remember a time in his life when she hadn’t been there, because it was a fact of life that the McLaggens and the Bainbridges had always lived on the same street of Godric’s Hollow. And because they were the same age, they’d shared the end of the kiddie table at every event – holidays, birthdays, summer barbeques. They’d always gotten along, and it had been a relief to be sorted into Hufflepuff after her and know they wouldn’t have to be separated at school either. It wasn’t hard to see any of their friends in the other Houses, but still – there were some days when Cheese didn’t want to leave the common room.

Penelope began to rifle through the book he’d found, and Rafe tried to make himself look busy by lining things up on the table. He began to idly spin an egg and watch it move in slow circles as Penelope flipped through the pages and thought out-loud. He began to nod like a bobble-head at her idea, because he didn’t really have anything better. “Sounds right to me. My mum makes it look easy.” Which didn’t really mean anything at all, but Rafe began to pick up ingredients and study them before deciding what made them wet or dry. Flour was definitely his, oil was definitely hers. He didn’t know about the eggs, so he left them alone and picked up the sugar. “A good Hufflepuff shares,” he said with a grin as he slid the book over and found the amount of flour he needed. He began to delicately measure it out and hope he was doing it right.

“I wonder if Frida is going to continue with Alchemy next year,” he said conversationally as he poured the flour into an empty mixing bowl. It didn’t really feel like gossip to him, since Hufflepuffs were all involved in each other’s lives in a much more supportive role than you might expect. Frida was a sixth-year who’d asked basically every Hufflepuff in her year and theirs whether she should continue with the subject. He knew it was her ambition to use alchemy in whatever future career she chose, but she didn’t seem certain if that was even possible. He didn’t have a good answer for her, though. But Penelope gave great advice – at least, she always gave him great advice – so Frida had probably asked her too. And he was curious. He finished dumping the sugar and moved to grab the salt over by Penelope.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

February 7, 2026

Raphael said that what she was saying sounded right to him, which gave Penelope some confidence that she wasn't completely clueless about baking. He added that his mother made it look easy, and Penelope felt that that was true of hers, too. She then had to hope that their mothers weren't just baking experts and that they stood a fighting chance at not totally wrecking what was meant to get them in their Head of House's good graces.

Penelope laughed as Raphael added that a good Hufflepuff shared. She sure hoped so, and she looked over the recipe again before he pulled it away. "Sorry!" she smiled, not taking offense because she knew that it wasn't really criticism of her. Once he took the book, Penelope washed her hands and got out what she would need for the wet ingredients.

"I wonder if Frida is going to continue with Alchemy next year," Rafe mused as Penelope began to throw together what she could. She knew that Frida, a girl in the year below them, had been agonizing over whether or not to continue with Alchemy.

"I don't know." Regrettably, Penelope had never really known what to tell her. She didn't take Alchemy, and it wasn't terribly common to drop a subject midway through the NEWT level. (Then again, Penelope wondered if she should have done that with Potions class and saved herself the stress.) "There isn't much that actually requires a NEWT in Alchemy," Penelope voiced, "unless she wants to become an alchemist."

There were a lot of considerations around choosing which subjects with which to go forward after OWLs, but a lot of that had been done for them. If they didn't meet the needed standards and get the required marks, they couldn't move on to the subject at NEWT level.

Focusing on the wet ingredients again, Penelope eyed the egg that Rafe had been playing with previously and cleared her throat. "Ahem," she announced. "Two eggs, please."

Raphael Caelan McLaggen

[Raphael Caelan McLaggen]

Rafe nodded along with Penelope’s logic as she weighed what it meant to take Alchemy. There were some students that followed a very practical mindset (*cough* Addy), and they didn’t take a subject unless they knew what they could do with it. But Cheese had never really thought about it like that, and he’d always chosen his courses based on what sounded interesting to him. He didn’t have a clue how he’d use Herbology in his future career (whether he did as his dad wanted or not) but he still liked taking care of the plants. “Brígh’s mad for Alchemy, though I haven’t a clue how she’d use it in curse-breaking.” Their Gryffindor friend’s career ambitions were quite well known to the group, and she hadn’t left much mystery in what her post-Hogwarts plans were. Cheese shrugged. “But Addy likes the other Professor Burke more. She always does her Magical Theory essays first.”

He hadn’t chosen either to continue in either of the two NEWT subjects, so he couldn’t really say firsthand which was more interesting. In all honesty, they both sounded quite dull to him. Rafe grinned as Penelope politely announced that she needed two eggs, and he fished two out of the carton in front of him. “D’you think I could juggle them?” he pondered as he weighed the eggs in his hand, although as he looked up he could see a house-elf across the room staring at him. Cheese cleared his throat and handed off the eggs to Penelope. “Not that I would ever try such a hypothetical question,” he said in a loud voice before ducking his gaze and opening the packet of salt. There were some students who wouldn’t have hesitated to try – and add a dash of magic into the mix – but he wasn’t that brave.

Since he was something of a new baker, Cheese decided to measure out the ingredients over the counter, instead of over the bowl. This turned out to be a wise decision when his hand slipped and he sent a flurry of salt cascading over the spoon. He laughed nervously, picked up a pinch of salt between his fingers, and added it to the bowl with the flour and sugar. “Reminds me of that time we got brownie batter all over my mum’s kitchen. Well, that time I did,” he remarked casually – although he winced internally at the fit his mum had thrown when she’d discovered the mess. He was willing to take full responsibility, though, because Pen was much neater than he was.

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

February 7, 2026

Raphael brought up that their friend Brígh was "mad" about Alchemy, even though he wasn't sure how she would use that in Curse-Breaking, the career path that she planned to pursue. Penelope wasn't sure either, admittedly, although she supposed that a Curse-Breaker would have to be prepared to encounter all sorts of things. Maybe some curse on something would involve alchemy somehow? It sounded plausible, anyway. Some alchemist somewhere could have gotten creative.

"But Addy likes the other Professor Burke more," Raphael continued. "She always does her Magical Theory essays first."

Penelope nodded. She wasn't very good with the heavy theoretical material, and she was pretty sure that was part of why Potions had broken her brain after a few years of it. Potions wasn't exactly a subject that worked well with a "trial and error" approach. If something got poured in the wrong order, then hopefully whatever was being brewed wouldn't explode.

Divination was nice because it was sort of theoretical in that it still required thought, Penelope considered to herself, even though most people thought that it was all a load of guesswork (or some other descriptors that weren't so complimentary).

At least Raphael had paid attention when she requested the two eggs from him, though he asked her if she thought that he could juggle them. Penelope didn't really want to find out if he could juggle the eggs or not, especially not when they were essentially borrowing the school's food supply to bake to convince a teacher that Hufflepuff needed fairer treatment.

Luckily for the eggs, the expression on the face of one of the kitchen elves caught Raphael's eye before he could make any attempts at juggling. "Not that I would ever try such a hypothetical question," he added. He had realized that maybe he had gotten a bit too silly about their baking, apparently, and Penelope happily took both eggs from him.

With two intact eggs at the ready, Penelope cracked them—carefully and over the bowl, as they needed to be—and watched to make sure that Raphael wasn't going to do anything to mess up the salt. They could always add more, but they couldn't take it away once it was mixed in with the other ingredients. At least, Penelope thought to herself, he had the sense not to pour it all on top of the bowl that already had the flour and sugar in it.

Sensing that she might need to be of some more assistance, she threw away the eggshells and then washed her hands so as not to contaminate anything from having touched the eggs. That didn't take much time, though, and she was back by Raphael's side before he could make too much of a mess.

"Reminds me of that time we got brownie batter all over my mum's kitchen," Raphael recalled, although the brownie batter disaster that he was describing had been primarily his doing. "Well, that time I did," he corrected himself, and Penelope immediately started to laugh.

"Merlin, your mum was so angry," Penelope giggled. It was only funny because they weren't being told off for it anymore. As she recalled, her younger self had started crying when they got in trouble with his mother.

Raphael Caelan McLaggen

[Raphael Caelan McLaggen]

Penelope had always been the ‘responsible supervision’ whenever the younger kids got left alone during neighborhood events. It worked out rather well, because while Cheese always had the best intentions – well, he could be extraordinarily clumsy sometimes. But Pen had always been a very steady friend and she kept them on course. While the older siblings would run off and get themselves into trouble – yeah, Cheese was happy to stay behind and have a low-key baking session in his mum’s kitchen. Of course, the brownie batter disaster had led to a month-long ban from the kitchen and a direct order to play outside whenever it looked like the youngest McLaggen was getting too bored (or too interested in the baking mixes again).

“I mean, Mum’s always in a bad mood,” Cheese said breathlessly with a shrug after the giggles had died down, “But she likes you so we got out with minimal scarring. Big win in my book.” It was the sad truth of the McLaggen household – when his dad wasn’t being pushy and demanding, then his mum was in a mood about something (work or household chores or his sister) and they’d feel a stormy atmosphere in the house for the rest of the week. No wonder Mickey had turned out so independent, fleeing the McLaggen household since early days, and Cheese had gotten so caught up in his own head and with his artwork.

Using his wand to siphon away the spilled salt, Cheese poked the butter ponderously before deciding against it and choosing a different dry ingredient. “Oh! And there was that time with the mud pies. Can’t believe I put that in my mouth,” he said with a grimace at the memory. There hadn’t been any adult supervision for that one either, although he held Penelope partially responsible for putting the idea in his head in the first place. She was supposed to veto all the bad ideas before they happened!

penelope raisa bainbridge

[penelope raisa bainbridge]

February 7, 2026

Raphael shrugged and commented that his mother was always in a bad mood; it was only because she liked her that they hadn't gotten in more trouble when they were younger. From his perspective, Raphael added, that was a win. Penelope supposed that it was, considering that she had a reputation in her own family for being the sensitive one of the Bainbridge children.

"Oh!" Raphael exclaimed. Penelope immediately worried that something had happened to the salt or the butter, but her moment of panic was all in her head. He had remembered another baking adventure from their childhood. "And there was that time with the mud pies. Can't believe I put that in my mouth."

"We won't be putting mud in these," Penelope laughed, making a face. "I hope." The memory of the taste was still there after so many years—like a dirt-flavored Bertie Bott's bean, only worse. "Shall I do the butter?" she added. "That's technically wet… I think?"

Raphael Caelan McLaggen
OOC: I'm thinking this one can be brought to a close?

[Raphael Caelan McLaggen]

Their baking session was the most Hufflepuff strategy that Rafe could imagine – if you can’t win ‘em over, kill ‘em with kindness. Hufflepuff House did have a sort of ding on its reputation, if only because their tendency to play fair and be soft-spoken could earn a scoff or two from the other Houses. But he’d never been unhappy with the Sorting Hat’s decision. He’d given it an uncertain nudge during that first moment he’d sat down, because there’d been a small part of him that hoped being placed into Gryffindor might earn him some of the attention that his dad had always given Mickey. But the Hat really knew what it was doing.

Sweeping a few eggshells into the bin, Rafe watched as Penelope went for the butter and he nodded approvingly. “Yeah, you’d better. I dunno what to do with it, probably would’ve just dumped it all in.” Maybe he should’ve signed up for Home Ec after all, although it was probably a sign from the universe that the thought had only occurred to him for the first time in the last few months of their seventh year. Probably wasn’t meant to be, then. They worked in silence for a while and Rafe enjoyed the background noise of the house-elfs in the background as they worked.

He stooped down to glance at the cupcakes in the oven, then stood back up to grin at Penelope. He gestured at the counter they’d been working at and suggested, “Maybe we should clean up a bit while we wait?” It seemed more polite than just leaving it for the elves, even if a couple were already glancing at the dirty space from their peripheral vision. It might take a while – Cheese had gone creative with flour-sprinkling – but all in all…yeah, it’d been a way more fun afternoon than if he’d gone to tackle the pile of homework waiting for him in the common room. Hufflepuff hospitality at its finest.

penelope raisa bainbridge
[End post Cheese!]