Empty Gold • d.meadowes

-25-

Maeve had agreed to hang out with Silver and Dorcas, although Silver was surprised that she didn't yell at her when she went to ask her if she would like to hang out. For several minutes, they were at a loss about what to do. Dorcas suggested going to the kitchen and having a nice meal – ever since Leigh had mentioned that he knew the location of the kitchen, it was all she ever wanted.

It was surprising, and perhaps a little sad, that they had to make plans to meet up, as though they haven't been living in the same room and sometimes sharing the same bed, for the past six, almost seven years. But what other choice did they have? If they met up randomly in a corridor, they would end up at a loss for words, and that would end up making them more miserable.

In the end, they agreed on having a girl's night. It was Silver's idea, and both Maeve and Dorcas happily agreed to it. They have been putting their mind and soul into studying, and needless to say all three of them looked awful, with dark circles under their eyes and hair looking like it hasn't been washed in weeks, especially Dorcas's. They decided to meet up in one of the empty classrooms on the third floor – Maeve, being a prefect, had managed to find out which classroom would remain open and empty during this time.

Silver would be bringing the makeup and other products, whilst it fell upon Dorcas to head to the kitchen to bring food. And thus, there she was, walking into the basement with Leigh.

"I'm salty that no one other than the Hufflepuffs know about the kitchen," she said with a huff, crossing her hands dramatically in front of her.

Leigh laughed. "But you said some of the Gryffindors know."

"Only a few," she protested. "It should be public knowledge."

Leigh stopped in front of a large painting of a fruit bowl. She looked at him quizzically, and her puzzlement grew as he reached a hand out to tickle one of the pears in the painting.

"What are –" she began, but halted mid speech as the pear transformed into a solid brass doorknob and he gave a triumphant smile in her direction. He twisted the knob and a door appeared on the wall.

"After you, Milady."

Smiling, she entered. The kitchen was vast, as large as the Great Hall itself. Hundreds of house elves scuttled about, carrying pots, pans and plates, arranging food on the table, pouring water and pumpkin juice into goblets, stirring some liquid in a large cauldron over the fire. Dorcas stared, amazed.

She had never seen house elves before, but had read about them. Two of the small creatures scurried over to them and asked if they needed anything. She was speechless for a few minutes, still unable to recover from the scenery unfolding before her. In the end, she told them what she wanted, and soon left the kitchen with a large tray in her hands, topped with pies, cookies, chips, cakes and jug of pumpkin juice.

They parted ways at the basement, Leigh heading towards the Hufflepuff common room. She walked carefully, making sure to not move the tray a lot and to avoid passersby who might end up toppling it. Her entire attention was on balancing the tray in her hands, so when someone came up beside her she didn't notice; not until he asked, "Need a hand?"

Dorcas started, and almost dropped the tray. She managed to hold on to it, however, and looked beside her to find Cillian Davies, the boy who Juliet had claimed to be staring at her in the library. His sudden appearance surprised her, though she managed to break out of it and smile at him. "Thanks, but I have got this."

"Let me hold the jug at least," he offered. When she looked unsure, he took it, and she couldn't deny that it made the task easier for her – the jug had been making the tray unbalanced.