Chapter 8
Later that morning Sally was woken from her slumber by Charli shaking her by the arm. "Wake up sleepyhead!" she called. "Can't spend the whole day in bed."
Sally groaned, sat up and rubbed her eyes. "I've been up all night," she said and yawned widely. "I went to see my brother in Hogsmeade last night."
"What! How?" exclaimed Charli. Her eyes narrowed, "and why exactly did you go alone, why didn't you wake me up?"
"You were asleep," said Sally in a small voice, "and I didn't know how he'd feel even if it was just me..." she trailed off and lowered her eyes.
Charli's expression softened and she crawled onto the four poster, "how did it go?"
"Yes," said Sally, "I mean, it's alright, he does love me and promised he would write." She blinked and felt her eyes moisten. She grabbed Charli by the arm; "he will and he won't forget," she said urgently.
"I'm certain he won't," said Charli slowly, "but don't be upset if it takes a while." She seated herself on the duvet beside her friend for and they sat in silence with arms linked.
At that moment Neptune leapt up onto the four poster bed with a chirrup and rubbed himself against Charli beginning to purr. Sally stroked his head and he rolled over onto his back. Charli voiced her curiosity as to how exactly Sally had found her way into Hogsmeade the previous night. She was very interested in the orb this time and turned it over and over in her fingers gazing into it intently. She proposed that they find and investigate the kitchens as a test of its reliability, so the two of them made their way downstairs Sally holding Charli's hand and clutching the orb in her free hand, concealing it with her sleeve. They made their way downstairs to the Entrance Hall. Here Sally paused and closed her eyes and received a flash of inspiration. She pointed towards a door to the left of the marble staircase and Charli nodded. "I felt it too," she said eagerly and releasing Sally's hand she made a rush for the door and Sally hurried after her. Sally followed Charli down a flight of stone steps and then into a broad stone corridor, brightly lit with torches and decorated with cheerful still life paintings, most of which were of food. "This is where the Hufflepuffs come up from each morning," said Charli, "now I know that the kitchens are behind a painting of a fruit-bowl..."
"There," said Sally catching up with her, "I think we're supposed to tickle it." She indicated a painting of a large silver bowl of fruit behind Charli. She recognised in the depiction a bunch of bananas, lychees, grapes, purple fruit of silence and various others. Though just a picture painted in oils it was as convincing a likeness as a photograph. Sally held up the orb which glowed briefly. "The pear," she said nodding. Charli reached for the pear and tickled it. To their surprise it gave a chuckle and began to squirm, then morphed enlarged in size until it formed a green door handle. Charli turned the handle and pulled the door open. They entered a vast, stone underground room the same size as the Great Hall, with a large fire roaring in an immense brick fireplace at the far end. There were four long wooden tables which Sally realised, must correspond to the four house tables above. She looked around and smiled as a hundred house elves all standing around the kitchen turned and waved to them in cheery greeting and curtseyed. One of the elves rushed up to them. He had a swarthy face, large dark eyes and bat like ears. Like the others, he was dressed in a tea towel that was wrapped round him like a toga. Close to, Sally realised that it carried the elaborate Hogwart's crest.
"Anything we can get you misses, anything at all?" asked the elf in a squeaky voice.
"Oh, erm thanks, could you get me an orange juice please?" asked Sally.
"A lemon sherbet and toasted cheese sandwich served instantly," said Charli.
Instantly an elf appeared beside them carrying a tea tray on which there was a glass of orange juice, freshly squeezed, a foaming bowl of sherbet and a plate containing the toasted cheese sandwich. "Thank you," said Sally and the elf bowed and curtseyed. The girls took the tray and sat down on a pair of wooden stools.
"Useful little critters, aren't they?" said Charli. "I wish we had had one at home like my uncle does. Still, we have at least a hundred here I should think."
"Er yes," said Sally glancing around uneasily, hoping the elves would not overhear and take umbrage. But her father had said that house elves were completely obedient at all times. "Tractable" was the word he had used... like his daughter!
"I wonder what else they could get us?" said Charli, "I've a good mind to order a roast hippogriff in cream sauce," she gave Sally her characteristic wink.
"We really don't need any extra food," said Sally seriously. "This isn't a muggle boarding school like the one my granddad went to. For tea they only got served bread and butter and weak tea, can you imagine?"
"Not exactly a feast!" said Charli.
"I feel so sorry for muggles sometimes, it has kept me awake at night," said Sally dejectedly.
"Well of course being in a world with no magic is grim," agreed Charli. "Wait a minute," she clicked her fingers, "I bet we could find our way into the Hufflepuff common room! It's high time Hogwarts knew the best house. There are no barriers against Gryffindors."
"We're really not supposed to go into the Hufflepuff common room," said Sally her eyes widening. "They wouldn't want us there," she rubbed her temples, "they'd throw us out and we'd get in trouble."
"We can risk that," said Charli her eyes shining. She grabbed Sally by the hand and dashed out of the kitchen and back into the corridor, Sally was forced to run as well. "The Hufflepuff common room will most likely be that way," said Charli pointing down the corridor.
Sally gulped. "I don't think I could burst in on them for no reason at all," she said in a strained voice. "They'd find it easy to make fun of me."
"Not while I'm around," said Charli, squeezing her shoulders. Sally gave a sigh and squeezed Charli's hand, but stood still with her eyes downcast. Charli whispered in her ear even though there was no one else present to overhear; "anyone who is rude to you gets on the wrong side of me." Sally looked into her face and smiled a small smile. They ambled down the corridor until they came to a blank stone wall on which there hung a large painting of a badger on the leafy ground of a woodland.
"Password?" said Charli.
Sally held the orb and closed her eyes. "Marmalade," she whispered and the painting swung aside to reveal a large gap in the wall. Clutching Sally by the arm, Charli climbed through it.
They found themselves in a circular underground room with smooth stone walls and ceiling. Yellow banners decorated the walls and the room was full of wooden tables and fat yellow armchairs. Yellow appeared to be the predominating colour. It was a nice yellow Sally thought, half-way between cartoon canary and champagne. There were a number of Hufflepuffs standing, or sitting around, some were talking and others completing preparation tasks on the wooden tables. A fire crackled merrily in a fireplace opposite them on the far side of the room. Suddenly someone noticed them, "hello Sally-Anne, hello Lottie, what are you both doing here?" Hannah Abbott, their friend from Hufflepuff house came hurrying towards them. Sally beamed and stepped forward to hug her. Charli scowled, "don't call me Lottie," she said, "you're not my mother."
"Do you want to play exploding snap?" asked Hannah, as she and Sally broke apart. "Ernie and I were just going to." She nodded towards Ernie Macmillan who waved at them from across the room.
"Alright, just one game," said Charli and the three girls made their way over to the sofa on which Ernie was seated. Sally squeezed in between Hannah and Charli. The sofa was larger than the armchairs in Gryffindor tended to be and had a bouncy texture. "What nice doors," said Sally brightly as she noticed the perfectly round doors like barrel tops that led to the dormitories. "It's like a perfect Hobbit dwelling."
"They don't belong here, they're in Gryffindor," came the shrill voice of another first year nearby.
"Yes, well, what are you going to do Smith?" asked Charli. Sally rubbed her face with her hands. Zacharias Smith came over. A number of Hufflepuffs had turned to watch them with curious looks. "Are we getting even more Gryffindor visitors?" asked a Hufflepuff fifth year. "Why don't they stay in Gryffindor tower?"
"Yes you're not wanted here," said Smith, approaching the table on which the cards lay. "You ought to clear off now."
"I wouldn't mind sharing the Gryffindor common room if it were up to me," said Sally.
"Oh get away you diseased girl," said Smith.
The jibe took Sally completely by surprise. She did not care if Pansy Parkinson attempted to jeer at her, but would anyone in all the other three houses be liable to do so even when they were used to her? Unbidden, the tears came to her eyes and her lip trembled.
"Zacharias, tell her you're sorry," scolded Ernie.
"Sorry cuts no ice," said Charli, sweeping the cards aside and standing up her eyes flashing. She stepped round the table towards Smith, drawing her wand. "We're going to settle this with a duel right here and now Smith."
"Oh don't," said Hannah as she patted Sally's arm.
"Break it up," said one of the Hufflepuff prefects arriving on the scene and interposing himself between them. Zacharias Smith slunk off. "Now you two belong in Gryffindor House," said the prefect, "get back to Gryffindor Tower where you belong." Charli glared at him, but then dropped her gaze. She took Sally by the hand so that Sally got to her feet. After wiping her eyes on her sleeve, Sally turned to whisper "good bye" to Ernie and Hannah and she and Charli left the common room. "What a wart Smith is," said Charli putting her arm round Sally's shoulder, "just wait till I catch up with him. We can make him number two after Parkinson can't we?"
"I'm OK dear," said Sally holding onto Charli's arm and wiping her eyes with her free hand. "There's really no need." She remembered her brother's words the previous night and smiled wanly. "Whatever Smith says... it's not what's important." She kissed her friend on the cheek and they made their way back to Gryffindor tower.
