A Star For You

Ten

Estelle woke up the second day in a row without much sleep that night. She kept tossing and turning from nightmares and new non-existing arguments with Elio. Why couldn't she have had good dreams due to the fact her and Severus were finally coming to an understanding? The nightmares were horrible and extremely tiring, she thought miserably as she walked to the kitchens in the morning. She had missed breakfast and was starving. She would have called for a house elf in her office but she felt suffocated in there, worried Elio might show up at any second and they would argue some more. So she decided to get some exercise and head for the kitchens. 

She was nervous since this was her first time going there but after asking a fellow staff member for how to get in, she found it wasn't too bad at all. She quickly went down near the Hufflepuff area, down to the basement, and found the Pear painting rather quickly. She hesitantly tickled it and it giggled. Then suddenly a door opened, revealing the entrance to the Hogwarts kitchen.

She walked in and was amazed at the scene before her. The kitchens were huge and bursting with life and movement. She noticed the house tables immediately, and the stacks of pots and pans that were surrounding the walls. House elves were cooking, cleaning and talking loudly. She smiled at the sight, mesmerized and impressed. After her initial reaction, many house elves popped in front of her, asking all kinds of questions. "Are you hungry miss?" "Do you want a drink miss?" "Would you like to try this new recipe?" She laughed, feeling slightly overwhelmed and only asked for a light breakfast since she missed this mornings meal. They complied happily, showing her to one of the tables. She sat down and in an instant a mini feast appeared before her. She thanked them and began to eat, watching them all the while. After feeling full and eating more than she indented, she left feeling much better but only slightly.

Since she had no other plans, Estelle decided to go to Hogsmeade for the day. She had only been once since coming here so she wanted to explore some more and possibly buy something. She first grabbed a cloak to keep warm and headed to the little village. She stepped outside and casted a warming spell first to keep extra warm. It was the day before Christmas so it was snowing and chilly out, though it was refreshing and not too bad. Estelle enjoyed the peace and quiet as she walked to Hogsmeade, feeling relaxed and peaceful. After walking down the path, she arrived at Hogsmeade. One of the first shops she decided to go into was The Three Broomsticks, hearing many students mention it on passing and was curious about it. She walked in and felt warm and cozy immediately. She looked around and noticed not as much people were here, realizing it was the morning and winter break so hardly anyone would be here anyways. After looking at the drink options, she decide to get a cherry syrup soda. It arrived and she noticed rather quickly it was bright red and fizzy, with a cute little umbrella. It was perfect and delicious. After drinking that she decided to go and see the other shops.

Her next stop was Tomes and Scrolls, a cute little bookshop. Upon entering there was thousands of books, all piled up on the shelves and floating to be sorted and organized. She loved every second in the shop, taking her time browsing and looking at all kinds of different books. One book though, when she had grabbed it, started to shake and squeal very loudly. She put it back abruptly, startled. She didn't end up buying anything and left. Next she found herself in a dark and gloomy looking cauldron shop called Ceridwens Cauldrons. She only went in because she thought of Severus. She browsed but left quickly, not finding anything interesting. What? They were just cauldrons. 

She then proceeded to go to Zonko's Joke Shop, hearing all about it from her students. When she entered, even though it was pretty empty and not crowded, she still got the sense this shop was very busy. All kinds of things were stocked and shelved, and hanging or floating in the air. She was impressed and browsed a little, but same as the others she didn't find anything she wanted.