Lunch was a noisy affair just as breakfast had been. Tonight the students were being treated to a Sunday roast, excellently cooked by the house elves. The sky above them was gloriously clear; a shower of stars scattered over their heads as they ate.
Al was faintly amused by the expressions on the first years faces as the silver platters, goblets and cutlery magically appeared on the oak tables. Him and Scorpius chatted with their fellow Slytherins, though sat together as usual. Despite being popular, Al still refused to join another part of the table, opting to stick with Scorpus.
"Hey Al, d'you have that map still?" Scorpius enquirred, chopping a crispy roat potato into manegable slices, "I fancy tea tonight."
Al raised an eyebrow quizically, "A nice cuppa?" He said, the sarcasm more than a hint in his voice.
"Proper English tea, possibly accompanied with scones," Scorpius replied, equally matching Al's sarcasm.
"Doilies?"
"Sounds marvellous, dear friend."
They were both chuckling now, eating down the last of their food. As Scorpius took his last mouthful the platters dissappeared and reappeared, this time laden with wonderfull puddings. Both the boys opted for apple pie, pouring copious amounts of cream over their silver plates.
"Ah, I've missed this food," Al commented inbetween mouthfulls, "Mum's is nice, but it's nothing compared to here."
Scorpius nodded, "My mother cooks well, but dislikes puddings. God I love Hogwarts food."
Both looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Once finished they slung their bags over a shoulder and made their way out. Al waved to his Hufflepuff cousin Hugo, recieved a glare from James at the Gryffindor table, then hurried after Scorpius into the Entrance Hall, his muddy trainers scuffing the floor. He could have sworn he saw Professor McGonagall glare at him as she walked by.
Once they were in the Hall, they took the turn into a narrow staircase that eventually led to the dungeon complex. Another set of stairs led them into a coolder, danker corridor. This was the same corridor that housed the Potions classroom and the maginificent store cupboard in which Al had ventured manier time. They went far beyond this, deep into Hogwarts chambers.
Eventually they reached a wall hanging, and Scorpius grinned, "Here we are again."
Al rubbed his hands in glee as one of Scorpius' bony fingers reached out to gently tickle the pear in front of him. It proceeded to laugh rather oddly, as any embroidered fruit would do, then let them through grudgingly.
Al had learnt all he knew from the his father and his uncle, and had been much obliged to share it with Scorpius. They now went on regular excursions inside and outside of the castle, much to the dismay of their school friends when they turned up ten minutes later, arms laden with food.
"Quick, I can see Winky!" Scorpius hissed at his friend, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside.
Winky was the boys favourite house elf, seeing as they seemed to have found a way of weedling food off her. One turn of those watery globe eyes and she came hurrying up to them, ears bobbing merrily.
"Anything for the good sirs?" She asked, smiling rather oddly, "Gateau? Warthog?"
"Er ...," Al hesitated, glancing round to make sure none of the other house elves had been alerted too much to their presence, "Tea? Any chance of some scones Winky, I'm bloody starving."
She nodded and bowed, "Poor sir's, please do sit down."
She ushered them into stools by the small fireplace, and Scorpius let out a sigh.
"I love it in here," He said, cracking his knuckles, "They're so bloody obidient. Ours isn't."
Al nodded, grinning. He didn't bother to mention his Aunt's involvement in elvish rights, as he had discovered when she found him and his Uncle discussing the kitchens. Things like that were better kept quiet. On her the other hand, he made a mental note never to bring up the subject of personal elves around Rose. She was prone to being a little tetchy at times.
A littler house elf than Winky bustled over to them, a rather clean tea towel fastened round it's waist adorned with badges, carrying to tray. Al took one look at the tray and caught Scorpius' eye, grinning. The tray presented in front of them was full to the brim, a large steaming tea pot precariously balanced to it's side. The rest asides from two mugs was filled with scones, cream and jam, accompanied by a selection of brightly coloured fondant fancies.
The elf handed the tray over to Al, bowed, and hurried back over to it's place in the kitchen.
"C'mon, let's go up to the Tower," Scorpius suggested, taking the tray from Al's hands, "It'll be quiet at this time of night."
Al nodded in agreement, vacating his stool. They bid goodbye to the elves, who all took a low bow, and exited the kitchen, Al rubbing his hands in glee. They hurried through the corridors, the tray gripped in Scorpius' hands. Across the Entrance Hall, thankfully managing to avoid any Professors, and up three flights of stairs. Round a corner, then another, and finally they were in the secluded corner of the little used West Tower. This was a remote part of the school, aided by the fact there were no classrooms nearby, leaving only a very unknown short-cut to the library. Al was proud of discovering this; he had come across it while running from Davies in their second year, and now find it made an excellent place, providing more privacy than the Slytherin common room.
They set the tray down on the floor and leant back easily on the cool stone walls, catching their breath. Al was a good Quidditch player, but it didn't mean he could run. Both boys lacked stamina, and often spent a lot of time recovering.
"Fondant fancy?" Scorpius offered, a smirk playing on his lips, "Scone?"
Al took the small pink cake from his hand, grinning, "Certainly, dear chap."
"Tea?"
"Lovely."
They both held the mugs in their hands, occasionally reaching for one of the cakes on their tray. They talked about trivial stuff for a while, including their iminent Divination lesson. They had both agreed last year to take the subject purely because of the fact it seemed like an easy lesson. Al was convinced that when it came to Divination, you could easily just blag your way through it. His dad had been proof of this, he knew.
They continued in this fashion until the plates were clear and their mugs empty, Al rose from the floor, arms stretched high above his head. Scorpius followed suite, then picked the tray up and they both started the long descent down three flights of steep spiral staircases and into the vast Entrance Hall. Both quickly hurried across it, their shoes scuffing the floor, and down yet another staircase. The only person present in the Hall was a certain Professor Longbottom who grinned at Al as they rushed by, rolling his eyes at their empty tray. Al had always liked Neville, and he was seemingly the only teacher who Al really liked asides from the Grounds Keeper Hagrid. He had even stayed with Neville and his wife Hannah during the Summer Holidays; the top floor of the Leaky Cauldron was somewhat an honour.
They clattered down into the dingy dungeon corridors, zipping past stray students, tray still gripped in his hands. Scorpius chuckled at his side. They eventually reached the tapestry, Scorpius doing the honours of tickling an over-sized pear, and they were in the kitchens once again. A rather tiny house-elf scurried up to the, removed the tray from Al's hands and bowed to each of them in turn before hurrying back off.
The two friends made their way out into the dungeon corridor and proceeded to amble down to their common room. Inside was mainly empty; most students were taking advantage of what little sunshine there was still left outside. Al wasn't one for lazing around on the lush grounds and Scorpius found the Highland breeze rather annyoing. Instead, they as a pair chose to stay indoors, underground to be exact. The familiar green glow and chill air was strangely warming unlike the overground parts of the castle. Al had grown adjusted to the dingy lights and freezing cold temparatures so much so that he now preffered it to the warming glow of Howgarts' fireplaces.
Scorpius was first to sink into their sofa. Al called it theirs because of the noticable fact that Scorpius Malfor never sat anywhere else in the common room. He always chose this sofa in the corner. Al didn't object; the corner itself had a rather fascinating window that bordered onto the Lake itself, giving off the only glimpse of natural light the Slytherin common room ever recieved.
Al glanced over at his friend, noted that Scorpius already had his stuck into a book and sighed, lifting himself back off the sofa. Scorpius glanced up, an eyebrow raised quizzically.
"Going somewhere?"
"Dorm, still got some sweets from the train somwhere."
"'Kay,"
Rather than admitting he was slightly dissapointed at this response, Al nodded at his friend and shuffled off to the staircase. It was up a couple of winding cases to their dormitory, shraed with two other boys in their year. One glance into the corner confirmed Scorpius' early waking; the duvet of his bed tightly pulled over, the pillows fluffed. The trunk at the end was neatly aligned, the bedside table only holding a couplf of books and an empty glass. Al then looked over at his own beed, duvet half on the floor, bedside table covered in sweet wrappers and Chococlate Frog cards. His own trunk sat at the end of his bed, it's mahogany top strewn with clothes.
"It's a real state, y'know," Someone drawled from the doorway, causing Al to frown.
"Scorp, just because you wake up at God knows what time in the mornring to tidy doesn't mean we all do, kay?"
"Geez, hungry again Al?" The blond boy smirked, coming over to rest a hand on Al's shoulder, now both staring down at his bed, "Whose are the charming pink pants then Al? Been washing your clothes with Rose's again?"
Al sighed, exasperated, "Just because your mum does your washing, Scorp,"
Scorpius continued smirking, and patted Al's shoulder gently, "I'm sure you'll get the hang of those household spells someday, Al,"
Al grimaced, still avoiding eye contact with his friend. He often wished Scorpius didn't feel the need to comment on everything.
-
Author's Notes - Oops, short chapter lacking substance or interest. But hey, it's an update. I'm attempting to complete the NaNoWriMo I started, so I'll have this updated AND a link to my NaNo in my accoutn soon.
Much love, Rose 3