In Love With a Mudblood

Chapter 4

Author note: As always, please like and comment. It means a lot to me!

The unfortunate thing about Luna and I being in different years was that our schedules didn't line up very easily. We still made it work though and we had every meal together. A few weeks passed and Luna gave me a matching cork necklace which I wore every day despite the fact that it looked odd. I also took to wearing my Spectrespecs on my head. I still wasn't sure that Wrackspurts were real, but it was fun to look at the little floating creatures with them.

One day, during a free period, I was very bored. I'd finished all my homework that I felt like doing and I didn't feel like wandering the castle again. I'd done that enough times that I'd pretty well memorized where nearly everything was. I sat and stared at the fire trying to think of something to do. I was kind of hungry, but there wasn't anywhere I could get a snack, so that wasn't an option. Wait! On my first night, Cedric told me how to get to the kitchens! I could get a snack and maybe sit in there for a bit.

I found kitchens relaxing. The smells and sounds were soothing to me. I hopped up and hurried into the hall stopping at the painting of fruit. It was something about the pear. I'm sure. Tap it? Tell it a joke? Poke it? I gave up and decided to just try rubbing the pear. It started squirming and giggling a little. That's right. You're supposed to tickle it. I reached up again and ticked the pear. It burst out laughing and the painting swung forward. I entered the room and saw a bunch of house elves scurrying around the room. Some were chopping things, and others kneaded dough, or tended pots and pans.

Wow. This is the coolest kitchen ever. I wonder if they'd let me cook anything in here. I bet they know a lot. They could teach me all sorts of stuff. One elf noticed me and ran forward.

"What can I do for you, Miss?"

"Do you mind if I sit in here for a bit? I'm no trouble at all, really. I'll stay out of everyone's way, I promise." I said. It wasn't what I'd wanted, but I couldn't bring myself to ask.

"Of course, Miss!" she said, leading me over to a small stool. I sat down and thanked her.

"It's my pleasure, Miss. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" I asked.

"Birdie, Miss."

"Thank you, Birdie. I don't need anything else. You can go back to what you were doing if you'd like."

She ran off and got back to work. Despite having magic, most of the elves did things by hand, only using magic when they had to. I watched them prepare dinner for about 20 minutes. I was in awe. They chopped things so quickly, and I'm sure that nothing ever got burned. It was amazing. This is what all kitchens should be like. The smells were amazing too. Tons of different dishes were cooking, but the smells didn't clash or overpower one another. They combined to make something wonderful. Birdie noticed me staring and came back over to me.

"Miss, are you sure you don't need anything?" she asked.

I hesitated for a moment but decided to go for it.

"Um, would you mind if I helped cook? I don't mean to insult you or anyone else, I just enjoy it and I'd like to get better at it. It seems like you all really know your stuff and I could learn a whole lot by cooking here. You can say no. I won't be mad. It is your job after all."

She smiled and nodded. "Where would Miss like to start?"

Relief washed over me. I'd learned that house elves take a lot of pride in their work and I'd been really worried that she'd take it the wrong way.