Why hello, readers. In this chapter, I introduce Calum Wood and Winky the house elf. And yes, she is a real character.
Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter when nitwit, blubber, oddment, and tweak aren't freaking awesome words. Thank you Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
Chapter 2
Ginger Tea and Interesting Hair
One droning carriage ride and one thestral story later, we arrived at the castle. The whole atmosphere of Hogwarts is just so comfortable. We walked into the castle, everyone finding their friends and meeting up at the long tables in the Great Hall. As promised, Teddy and I saved a seat for Lucy while she was off performing her prefect duties. Calum Wood had also met up with us along with some of our other friends. Lucy joined us a little while later, right before the feast appeared on all the silver platters.
Teddy and Wood were in a deep conversation across from us, debating the pros and cons of Puddlemere United so I took the advantage to talk to Lucy.
"Lucy." She just nodded while she dug into her potatoes. "Luce," I said in a hushed tone, "are you going to tell Wood?" This made her drop her fork.
She looked at me with incredulous eyes. "I don't know but do you really think it's such a brilliant idea to talk about it with him sitting right there?" she asked me in a harsh whisper.
"Well I do think you ought to tell him eventually…" I replied.
"Anyway, I have to worry about try outs don't I?" She changed the subject. "Will you help me out? I mean, I don't think I can handle all that."
It was true. Lucy isn't exactly the most organized person in the world, no matter who her father is. "Yeah, sure," I muttered. I looked up at the staff tables, scoping out new professors. I didn't recognize anyone new. Professor McGonagall was still the Headmistress at Hogwarts, looking as stern and worn out as ever, but still one of my favorite teachers. There was still Professor Vector, the Arithmancy teacher here. Aunt Hermione says she gives way too much homework.
There was also Firenze, the Divination professor. After the Last Battle in the Second War, he made peace with the rest of the centaurs but continued teaching. Also seated at the staff table was Professor Amble, the potions professor since Slughorn retired…again. Amble was never quite happy; he was just not real enthusiastic about anything.
There were plenty of other teachers seated at the head table but two really stuck out beyond the rest: Hagrid and Professor Longbottom. But we all called him Neville out of class, of course. Hagrid always made it his job to invite Lucy, Teddy, James, and I to tea every now and then, telling us old stories about our parents when they were our age. But Neville was more of an uncle to all of us. We didn't have to be invited to walk into his office with a new problem. I even made a habit of asking him for homework help. He had always been invited the Weasley-Potter dinners so he practically helped raise us all, James especially.
Hagrid caught me looking up at the table and took the opportunity to wave violently. Good old Hagrid. His wild beard had started to grow some snow white hairs but he was still the same as he was on my very first day of Hogwarts. I waved back enthusiastically, knocking over my goblet of pumpkin juice and spilling it all over my plate, and the food with it.
"Oh, Merlin's beard…" I muttered. I grabbed a nearby cloth napkin and began sopping up the juice. At this point, Wood, Teddy, and Lucy erupted into laughter about my clumsiness.
"Look what you did, Vic," Teddy said through huffs of laughter.
"Please, you could be helping." I threw the napkin at his face.
"Fine, fine," he said, and started cleaning up the mess. We were both standing up by now, trying to reach around the silver platters.
I went to reach for another napkin at the same time Teddy did. Our hands brushed and I looked up at Teddy. He had a slight blush in his cheeks and I knew we were both thinking about our encounter on the train and talking about his parents. I didn't know about Teddy, but I suddenly remembered him touching my back and holding my hand. The thought was overwhelming. I automatically pulled my hand back and dropped his gaze, feeling a little shaky.
During this, Wood and Lucy had been intently watching, apparently. "What the bloody hell is up with you two?" Wood asked.
"Yeah, you look as though Nearly-Headless Nick just popped out of the turkey," Lucy agreed.
Without answering, I sat back down. "Nothing," I heard Teddy mutter. Considering all my food was spoiled by pumpkin juice, I started fixing myself a new plate. But before I could even start eating, the entire feast vanished.
"Blimey. Your luck today, Vic," Wood commented. I gave him an exasperated look.
"Thank you Wood, for your kind obviousness." He just shrugged. "Well it looks as though I'll be having desert for dinner."
"See? Your luck isn't all that bad," Teddy put in. I was thankful that we moved on from our most recent concurrence.
Wood then loudly asked, "Oh, yeah. Do you guys know who made Quidditch captain?
Uh oh. I saw Teddy's worried expression that matched my own. But before I could come up with a barely coherent excuse, Lucy quickly changed the subject. "How about those Holyhead Harpies?" she asked.
Wood, being Wood, ignored the fact that she dodged his question and instantly got caught up in their new Quidditch debate. We all joined in eventually, talking about how Gwenog Jones was mad to retire and how the team just wasn't the same since Aunt Ginny settled down.
After numerous helpings of pudding and Cauldron Cakes, I had eaten so much I was getting nauseous with a bit of a headache. Some students had already resorted to their dorms. I stood up, yawning.
"Well, I'm going to turn in," I let them know.
"Alright, Vic. I'll probably be up soon as well," Lucy replied. Lucy and I shared a dormitory in Gryffindor Tower along with three other girls in our year. I turned and departed from the table, hearing Wood and Teddy call out there goodnights to me. I just waved over my shoulder in acknowledgment.
At around midnight, I was still tossing and turning in my four poster bed. If it weren't for my horrible stomachache keeping me awake, Lucy's snoring sure would have done the job. I climbed out of bed and put on some slippers. Truth be told, I was a bit of an insomniac. I had a bad habit of wandering the castle in the latest hours of night. The castle was so beautiful at night; whispering about its secrets waiting to be discovered.
Once I had successfully climbed down all seven flights of stairs silently, I made my way to the Hogwarts kitchens. When I opened the doors, I was instantly greeted by the familiar smells of the Welcoming Feast and the many portraits on the walls. One of my favorites was a portrait of Dobby the House Elf that Uncle Harry told us about.
Then I heard someone humming at a very high pitch.
"Winky?" I whispered. The humming stopped.
"Good gracious, Miss Victoire," the elf exclaimed, coming into view. "You should be in bed at this hour." I leaned against a counter and smiled.
"With all due respect, Winky, so should you," I retorted. She laughed a high pitched giggle.
Winky the Elf had been working in the Hogwarts kitchens for many years now. The former house elf for Barty Crouch Sr. was a very upbeat, kind-hearted elf. She had been depressed for a long time after learning about Crouch's death, but has been recovered for quite some time.
I met Winky in the kitchens while serving detention in my third year. Come to think of it, I had gotten detention for being out of bed after hours. How ironic. The elf was instantly kind to me, and she had been my getaway for midnight snacks ever since. I knew she would be awake, flittering away at something in the kitchens.
"Well, I suppose you are right," Winky replied. "Now, what brings Miss Victoire down here at this barking hour?" She waved her thin hand at a chair, summoning it towards me silently. I graciously sat down.
"I actually had a bit of a stomachache and was wondering if you had any ginger tea? Or just some pumpkin juice if there's no tea. I don't want to be a burden."
But Winky merely waved me off. "Don't be silly, Miss Victoire, it would be my pleasure to make you a cup of ginger tea." And she instantly got to work.
After she fixed me my tea, she pulled up a chair and got a teacup for herself. She was in the middle of asking me if I got settled in alright, the kitchen doors opened. Uh-oh, I thought, I'm supposed to be in bed. Great. Detention on my first night back at school.
I couldn't help panicking when the someone walked closer, but my worries were ceased when I saw-
"Teddy?" I asked, surprised. He was looking back at Winky and me with the same expression on his face. He was still in his school robes, as though he never changed out of them.
"Vic. Um, hi," he rambled. "What are you doing down here?"
"Tea," I stated, as though that answered everything. Then I became aware that I was wearing very unflattering sweatpants and a jumper, and a blush crept up my cheeks.
"Well… okay. I didn't think anyone would be down here." His gaze went from mine to Winky's, whose slightly wrinkled face looked very amused.
"Oh! Um, Ted, this is Winky. Winky, this is Teddy Lupin. I met Winky when I had detention in the kitchens once," I said to Teddy, "and Teddy is my best friend." I explained the last part to Winky.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Teddy," Winky said, smiling.
"Same to you, Winky," Teddy replied. He turned back to me. "I just came down for some water. I was at Hagrid's; he needed some help with some blast-ended skrewts and it took longer than we hoped." That was so good ol' Teddy; helping Hagrid even on the first day back.
"I see." During his little explanation, Winky had gotten up and filled a glass of water. She handed it to him kindly.
"Oh! Thank you, Winky," Teddy said.
"It was no bother, Master Teddy," she replied.
"Well, I'm gonna head upstairs. Thanks again Winky. Goodnight Vic." He gave me one last smile and left the kitchens.
And embarrassingly enough, I found myself watching him go. I snapped out of it when Winky said knowingly, "He's rather fond of you, isn't he Miss Victoire?"
I felt my face heat up. "Don't be silly, Winky. He's just my best friend. I should be getting to bed anyway, as should you."
"Goodnight, Miss Victoire," she replied. But as I walked out of the kitchen I heard her call back to me, "But he does have quite interesting hair!" as if trying to persuade me.
"I heard that," I replied.
But as I slipped back up the spiral staircase to the Gryffindor Tower, I couldn't help the smile tugging at my lips.
There you go. Chapter 2. Its quite a bit longer than the first one.
Thank you to rob-girl, jaz .no1 fanpire., randomrayyxx3, squibalicous, bojangles78, and maximumridetwilightfreak14 (phew that's a mouthful) for reviewing my last chapter.
Reviews are wonderfully appreciated, even constructive critism.
Also! I would love some suggestions for later chapters. I will try to use as many as I can.
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