Extra Ordinary (Riddle Era)

Chapter 6

"It's hard to believe you've never been to the kitchens," Steele observed as they walked out of the library and back towards the Entrance Hall.

Tom shrugged, brushing aside the annoyance that flickered at the comment. And the truth of it. "I've never had occasion to," he admitted honestly. Of course, he thought, that didn't excuse the oversight on his part. He should have gone to the kitchens before. It was a resource, like everything else in this castle. And he hadn't been using it.

Steele hummed, and Tom glanced sideways at her, pulled from his thoughts with an uncomfortable jerk that reminded him he needed to be more aware, more present, more careful, where Steele was concerned. "I suppose the other houses wouldn't really, would they," she mused. Then, blinking and apparently realizing Tom was looking at her slightly sideways, she elaborated. "All the Hufflepuffs are shown the kitchen as first years," she explained with an almost nostalgic little smile. "It's right by our dormitory and just about everyone goes in for a snack at least occasionally. Plus, at least half the house seems to like cooking or baking in some form, so it's a good idea to get to know the house elves. They're stingy about letting anyone use their kitchen," she added with a little chuckle that turned into a full laugh a moment later. "Ella Johnson got on their bad side one year for using the pots without permission. Merlin, did she get a dressing down from our prefects about that."

Tom sniffed, smiling in polite amusement as he filed the information away. Ella Johnson was a relative nonentity in his life, but that didn't make information about her useless. "I didn't realize it was possible to get on a house elf's bad side," he admitted. And this was true. As far as Tom knew, House elves existed for the purpose of service. That was their life's work. He didn't see how it was possible to get on their bad side when they only wanted to do things for you. When their job and purpose was to be on your good side.

Steele hummed, casting him a glance that was strangely and uncomfortably accusatory. "It's very possible," she told him lightly, and her voice was so devoid of harshness that Tom wondered if he'd imagined the look. "Of course," she added, tipping her head slightly and smiling, "Being on their bad side just means the food isn't quite as good or quite as hot and they try to hurry you out as best they can."

Tom chuckled, and the response was almost an honest one. "That hardly sounds like a punishment at all," he observed.

Steele shrugged, but she again sent him that sideways look that made him feel like she was passing some judgement. The idea made him bristle. "Maybe not," she admitted. "But it's less about how it's expressed and more the fact that someone's upset with you at all, isn't it?"

Tom frowned slightly at this, disliking the way it felt like he was being admonished for something when he had neither done nor said anything wrong at all. Besides, Steele was just flat wrong. But then, she was wrong in very Hufflepuff way, he supposed, so perhaps this time it was less directed at him specifically and more just a typical sort of foolishness.

"Either way, though, Ella felt awful about it," Steele was saying now. "She spent weeks trying to make it up to them. I think they probably forgave her after a few days, really, because she's such a sweetheart but..." She shrugged again, leaving the sentence hanging. Tom resisted the urge to laugh and make the sort of comment he would have if he was around his Slytherin peers about how classically, ridiculously Hufflepuff the whole thing was. Trying to make amends with house elves. Honestly.

"Anyway," Steele continued, now stopping beside a painting of a bowl of fruit. "Here we are." Tom blinked, glancing around before settling his gaze on the painting, reasoning that this must be the hidden entrance. Merlin, he hoped the password never changed. That would be a pain. Then again, he wasn't sure there could be a password seeing as how the fruit wouldn't be able to hear it anyway. Of course, portraits were already magical here, but sentient fruit seemed like a bit of stretch even for Hogwarts.