Closed A banana a day

[Ares Zephyr]

At home, whenever Ares wanted a snack, his mum would usually bring it to him. Of course he wasn't so naive to think that someone would be here at Hogwarts giving him some toast or a basket of muffins whenever the moment fancied, but he hadn't thought he'd have to do everything himself. If the elves cooked their dinners and could put it in the Great Hall, would it really have been that much of an ask to deliver some food to the common rooms? Especially those on the higher level. If the students were expected to be back in their dorms in the evening, were they just meant to go hungry over night? Honestly it wasn't fair, especially to the students that were studying late into the evening. How anyone was supposed to concentrate without banana and chocolate chip muffins was crazy.

Ares had taken it upon himself to complete this task, although given he'd never baked before in his life, nor did he have a recipe, it was going well. So far he'd found flour and bananas, and was attempting to mash one into the other in a large bowl. When he'd asked one of the house elves for help, they'd simply turned their noses up at him and wandered off. So much for student support in the castle.

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper had been lonely, she missed home and helping her mamas around the kitchen or just baking for fun. She'd wanted to hang with Pumpkin but the cat had seen a mouse and disappeared on a hunt. Juni wasn't one to shackle an animal so she'd let the cat do his thing, he deserved to be free. But without the cat around Juniper was aching to do something useful so she'd walked to the kitchens. Perhaps the elves would let her help them? She could help clean the dishes, of course they'd have magic and all but she wanted to, no needed to, feel useful.

Entering the kitchens a bit hesitantly she looked around, expecting it to be buzzing but it surprisingly wasn't, however there was a boy. She recognized him from her lessons but had little to no idea what his name was. The boy was smashing something in a bowl so the Hufflepuff walked closer silently. "Do you need help?" She asked with a quiet voice, almost scared to speak to him. "Not that I don't think you can do it, just that I um want something to do so if you needed or wanted two extra hands I thought I could offer?" She added quickly, fearful she'd upset him. This was going terribly already.

 

[Ares Zephyr]

Would two bananas be enough? Ares' flour to banana ratio didn't seem quite right, everything seemed a bit too.. fluffy. He jumped when he heard a voice beside him, not realising someone else had joined him in the kitchens. It was easy to hear the house elves, who seemed to enjoy smashing their pots and pans around wherever they went, but this girl had practically crept up on him. She offered him help, and even though Ares knew she didn't know what it was he was making, he instantly trusted that she had a better idea than him about how to make the muffins. After all, it wasn't like anyone could have less of an idea.

The girl seemed to try and backtrack, but by the time she'd finished speaking Ares had already stepped away from the bowl. "Yeah," he waved one arm lazily in front of him, "it doesn't look much like a batch of muffins to me." Maybe the girl would know how to fix it. It would have been strange for her to offer if she didn't know how to bake after all.

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper let out a small breath of relief as the boy accepted her offer of help. She gave a small smile before stepping closer to the well... It wasn't batter but it was mashed banana and.... Flour? "Oh." She said eyeing the mixture. "I'll get the rest for banana muffins, do you want chocolate chips or no? I'll get the ingredients together and then show you how to do it so you can make them yourself next time, sound like a deal?" She offered but didn't wait around for a proper answer before walking to look for the ingredients needed. She had made banana and chocolate chip muffins plenty so she knew what to get and would gladly show the boy how to make them. Though perhaps it'd be a good idea he'd also learn it himself. Juniper found some chocolate chips, salt, butter, eggs, sugar, baking soda and vanilla extract before she walked back over to the boy. Her arms were way too full and tired as she carefully laid the things on the table. "Okay so, first of all you can't bake with just flour and bananas, it's a great start but won't make you a batch of muffins." The Hufflepuff said with a hesitant smile.

 

[Ares Zephyr]

This was easier than Ares thought it would be. The boy leant back against the counter tops, crossing his arms over his chest as the girl immediately took over for him; he hadn't even had to ask. "Yeah," Of course he wanted chocolate chips too. Without that they would just be healthy. Ares also had no intention of trying to make them himself in the future, not if there was a perfectly good student who could do them for him. He watched as she gathered all the ingredients, which while Ares didnt know they'd be needed, it certainly looked like a collection of food that he was more accustomed to seeing around the kitchen when his mum made them for him. As the brunette smiled in his direction, he couldn't help but reflect it in return, "Whaaaat, no way!" He feined surprise, "I would never think to put some of those things in, you're so good at this." Honestly it was too easy. "When did you learn how to bake?"

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper felt a little weird around this boy, well she wasn't sure how to explain it other than she felt weird.. However the Hufflepuff refused to acknowledge that part of her brain as she began putting the ingredients in the right order. Perhaps this boy just really wanted friends? He was being very friendly after all. "I used to help around the kitchen, so I learned from both my mamas." Juniper explained glancing at the boy. "I hope you are taking notes... mentally?" She mentioned because he looked like he wasn't doing anything to memorize the steps.

 

[Ares Zephyr]

Ares was glad she used to help out, maybe she'd know some other recipes too. "Can you make pastries?" He asked, the smile lingering on his lips as he watched her working. "The chocolate or apple kind though, not savory things," he didnt mind the odd sausage roll but he would have preferred to have food his parents would be less inclined to feed him at home since he was finally away from them. As the girl asked if he was taking notes, he gave a half hearted shrug, "Yeah, but it looks so hard." Ares walked closer, peering over her shoulder to see clearer what it was she was doing. He had to at least act as though he was trying. "I dont understand how you know all this," he said, picking up the vanilla extract and peering at the label. "Will one bottle be enough?"

 

[Juniper Veritas]

Juniper was not sure what to make of the boy, but her guard was slowly slipping. "Uh it depends I guess? But I am not like the best at it though.... I can make an apple-pie or a mud cake or basic chocolate cake or brownies I guess?" She offered hesitantly. Not sure how much of herself she should reveal. Surely he was just a classmate so it wouldn't be too bad to tell about her hobbies. Eyes wide Juniper turned to look at the boy, who was now far too close to her for comfort, at his question if one bottle would be enough. "We won't even use the whole bottle.... Just a few teaspoons." She explained, horrified at the thought they'd ever even use more than a few teaspoons.

 

[Ares Zephyr]

By the sounds it, this girl knew enough recipes that would keep him satisfied for a long time, even if she didn't think she was that good. "What's mud cake?" Ares asked, genuinely unsure whether that was a real thing or something she'd made up to try and mock him. She didn't seem to think they'd need much essence, "Are you sure?" He wasn't convinced they would be able to taste it but hey, she was the expert. Ares put down the bottle and opened the chocolate chips, pouring a few into his mouth while he waited. "So, what's your name them?" Ares asked between mushing the chips between his teeth.