A Pumpkin and a Raincloud enter a kitchen ...

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva left the dorm and made her way down to the kitchens, they had been back a day already from the holidays and classes were expected to start that very Monday. She had wanted at first to sit in the common room, goodness knew she had yet to do that since she arrived but there were plenty in there already. So she had decided to just go for a stroll and as luck would have it, her feet took her directly to the kitchens. She smiled at the house elves who turned from their tasks to look at her. She recognised one face from the time that herself and Norton had been here after that awful cake prank but none of the other house elves looked familiar to her. She figured there were plenty of them around and she hadn't really been paying attention the last time, she had been too busy fascinated at the fact that she had gone to the kitchen in the first place with Norton!

"Do you have any vanilla ice-cream?" she asked, adding a 'please' hastily to the end before the house elf thought she was rude but the small creature dressed in a simple cream robe that looked nothing more than a pillow case opened at both ends, smiled happily at her before clicking its fingers and after a crack in the air about them, handed her a large bowl of delicious looking ice cream and a spoon. Minerva grinned and moved to the long trestle table that ran the length of the kitchen, it was laden with fruits and vegetables that she figured were all going to be prepared for later that day. She tucked in happily, wondering about the subjects she'd be doing that term, wondering if she should sit beside Norton ... or Vil, or Sara or any of the students she had met thus far in the next set of classes ... would it be easier to make friends that way? She scooped another spoon of icecream into her mouth, welcoming the chill and looking forward to the crazy brain freeze that she knew would come.

 

[Norton Gillespie]

Norton was so hungry! He'd eaten plenty at the last meal, but he was hungry, there was little doubt about that. He had therefore decided to take his hunger to the only place where it could be solved and one of his favourite places in the entire school, the KITCHENS! The young hufflepuff had been spending time with Gilly, had been spending time with her since it was the first day back at school. It would be exciting to jump into the second semester of this place, but there was a little bit of time between it to get readjusted to it, to remember all the little areas he loved, and today was the perfect day to just spend in the kitchens talking with the elves and eating something. The boy was making his way through the halls, having muttered the smallest of excuses to Gilly before just leaving, knowing that she would understand, and heading towards the kitchens. It was a path he knew fairly well at this point, having taken it several times, and once following the prank which the older gryffindor boys, Des and Finn had played on him and others. With Minerva, whom he was definitely excited to see again, and hopefully spend more time with.

The boy practically kicked the door open as he jumped into the kitchens, immediately spotting the girl sitting eating a bowl of what was probably ice cream. He realised immediately who it was, "MINERVA!" he called out excitedly as he spotted her. The boy rushed over to greet her, he was so happy to see her, and noted that she was eating definitely ice cream. The boy was so happy to see her. He looked to the elves and smiled brightly at them, "Can I also get some ice cream, PLEASE!" he asked excitedly, although he wasn't sure he wanted just vanilla, vanilla was fun, but this was the magical world, "But maybe something magic? Are there magical flavours of ice cream, there must be?" he glanced to Minerva to see if she knew any before looking back at the elves. They seemed to get busy, so he assumed that they were going to put something together for him, and instead he just plopped himself down in the seat in front of her, "How was your break Min? Did you have any more disgusting cupcakes? I hope not because they tasted the worse, I told my sister all about it, and she didn't find it funny at all!"
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva's spoon was poised to put yet another mouthful into her mouth when she heard her name being called in what could only be described as excited tones. She turned her head slowly, the spoon still poised, her mouth still open when she spotted Norton and she instantly found herself smiling. He was her house mate, her class mate, they had been pranked together, had walked into the haunted house at the Halloween feast and had gone to the kitchens before together. She thought of him as the closest thing at Hogwarts she had to a friend, providing she didn't count Odin her cat of course.

The spoon slowly lowered as a house elf grinned at the boy and nodded her head, readying to click her fingers when Norton spoke again, looking for something magical. To Minerva, vanilla ice cream was the most magical flavour there was.

"You could try a cucumber rosewater sorbet ... not sure how magical it tastes really but my father swears by it" she shrugged, finally taking the longed for bit of her ice cream as Norton sat in front of her. When he asked about her break, she couldn't reply at first ... he had called her Min! Min!!

Her mind tried to digest this piece of information, the last person that tried to call her something similar Mini got a punch into the nose but that hadn't been Norton - that had been a neighbour who thought it was funny to make fun of her size and her name together. Minerva looked at Norton and judging from how he spoke on, it was clear he hadn't called her Min to be mean. He had said it in one of those friendly nickname fashions, that was what friends did ... wasn't it? Gave it each other nicknames?

Minerva swallowed her ice-cream, wincing a moment at the sudden brain freeze.
"I told my folks and my brothers thought it was hilarious, they wished I had taken a photograph of it all. As if that was even possible when one ... we didn't know that was going to happen and two ... I had no camera with me and ... three ..." a crack sounded and the house elf grinned brightly putting a large bowl of pale green sorbet before Norton before running back to her duties.

"What makes you think there's magical ice-cream? Like ice-cream that can change shape or make you disappear or something?" they had never really spoken about their blood status before and it certainly didn't matter to Merlina if anyone was one thing or another but it would explain a lot about small things like that, that Norton came out with.

 

[Norton Gillespie]

Norton nodded at the suggestion that Minerva gave for ice cream, and knew that the elves would do something based upon that. The hufflepuff took his seat in front of her and smiled with ease at her, though they hadn't spent all that much time together during the first semester, she was definitely someone he liked, a good friend to him. The young hufflepuff paid no notice to the name he had used for her, seeing little wrong with a nickname though he himself didn't often talk about his, it was just natural for him to give them, though he sometimes asked before hand, with her it had just slipped out and even he had been rather unaware of it. He listened eager as she talked of what her family had had, Min's brothers having a better sense of humour than his sister who had not particularly enjoyed the story. His father hadn't seemed to really understand it, but he blamed that on the fact the man was both old and boring. He loved his father but his sense of humour was not on point.

"Having footage of it would've been great!" he agreed with Min's brothers, but he knew that she was right in saying that they hadn't known it was going to happen and unlike with muggles they were unlikely to take out phones and record it. After all phones didn't even work in this magical world. It, like the internet were things that Norton had assumed he would miss, but he loved it more and more. The loss of one thing open the door to so many others, he was learning so much about the magical world, FLYING, the amazing creatures, the beauty of the castle, the countless ADVENTURES he could have. Norton had always enjoyed those things but every day provided something new. The crack of the elf made norton smile as the food was placed in front of him, "Thanks buddy!" he told the elf as he picked up the spoon and gladly munched into it, it was tasty, different from anything he had ever tried before, but it wasn't magical enough. At the question, he just nodded, "There HAS to be," the boy told her, as if he knew this to be certain fact. He couldn't imagine why there wouldn't be, "It might not disappear or make you disappear, but there is candy that turns you into a canary, sweets which make you sick with one bit but fine with another, of course ice cream will have something magical. Why wouldn't there be?" Norton told her smiling with ease.

"This is delicious, but not really magical enough, do you want to try some?" Norton offered, pushing his plate slightly towards her, "What did you do over the break?" he asked, eating the sorbet with ease and grinning at her as he did so, not yet having been hit with brain freeze.
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

"Footage?" Minerva looked at Norton quizzically, she didn't understand what he meant by that, especially in relation to the cupcake incident. She hadn't used her feet for anything other than to get her out of there and to the kitchens with Norton afterwards. Minerva had noticed that quite a few of the student's she had met so far this year had used words she did't quite understand or understand at all and she found herself wondering if she should write some kind of dictionary to add these words into.

She took another scoop of her ice-cream and sighed happily to herself, vanilla was definitely her favourite, she didn't care if there were over a million other flavours out there - there was just something comforting, homely and utterly delicious about this flavour that got her every time she had some.

"Well ... those types of candies are joke ones really, you can only buy them in joke shops. My brothers like buying that kind of stuff but I never have, seems like a vast waste of good money. I suppose it would be great to invent something like non-melting ice-cream especially when days get so hot here or an ice-cream that becomes two scoops instead of one" she shrugged her shoulders, glancing at him all the while, "I mean I've never heard of magical ice-cream but that doesn't mean that there isn't any out there ... I just wouldn't want anyone messing with what is already perfect."

Minerva shook her head with a small smile about her lips.
"No thanks, I know exactly how it tastes. It's nice and everything but vanilla gets me every time" she thought about what she had done over the break after he had asked her and again she shrugged her shoulders, "the usual I guess ...we have a farm ... there's a vineyard on one side and we have kiwi fruit on the other, I help my dad spray the crops with a potion that is meant to keep the bugs off and because there isn't any rain, he waters them with his wand. It's pretty cool ... I can't wait to help him do that someday. This under-age magic prohibition is ridiculous really... my mother dyes wool lots which is also great to watch. We had family over for Yuletide feast but it's not such a big deal for us I guess, we don't do a tree or any of that type of thing but we do exchange a few small gifts. What about you?"

She couldn't help but notice that he always smiled, it was a smile that spread from one ear to the other and seemed almost infectious, she couldn't help but smile back at him.

 

[Norton Gillespie]

It occurred to Norton in that moment that footage was a particularly muggle word, and though he knew nothing of Minerva's blood status, it would surely give his away, though he had demanded ice cream that was magical, it was a little different. The fact that she question the word made him blush shyly expecting as people had been saying for them to get annoyed at his lack of blood, but, she didn't. If anything, he should've known that Minerva would the person to not mind,"Like pictures, lots of pictures of us eating it, LIKE THE moving magical pictures," the boy explaining remembering at that moment that wizarding pictures moved, they were like short videos that looped forever. Certain so much as to be long enough to have caught their reactions, but no one was doing that, and so aside from them talking about it and the older boys there was little evidence that anything had actually happened. When Norton tasted something truly disgusting now, he was always reminded of the taste of the the cupcakes and of the memory too, of eating them with her, of the older boys, it would certainly sit with him.

As the girl moved in to explain the candies he had seen, he nodded along, briefly wondering how many brothers the girl had, but more interested in the fact there were joke shops! Norton hadn't had many occasions to go to joke shops yet, and now he knew there were magical ones, he knew that was first on his list to do so, even if Minerva thought it was a waste of money, "Well, it is a waste, but it's fun!" he assured her, "We could get some pranking stuff and try to get those older boys back, things like that," Norton added, hoping that this might entice her to think again about joke shops and the candies that could be found within it. The point about ice cream being perfect already was one he could concede, it was a perfect product already, but he knew it was one of those things that could still get better, "It could get better!" Norton told her, "I mean, perfect doesn't mean you stop trying to change things," Norton wasn't sure his point made sense, but he couldn't help but think that while ice cream was perfect, ice creams were perfect because you could have so many flavours and types. His mother had always pushed him to be adventurous with his food and he was.

Though she didn't take any, he brought the bowl close to him and began to easily dig in, nodding slong s she spoke, and struggling against the brain freeze which then always followed. He was amazed at the fact she had or lived on a farm and so much more so by the fact he used magic to tend to them. Norton thought that was incredible! How amazing was magic that able to aid plants to grow. He also didn't understand why they couldn't do magic out of school but his mind was still stuck on the farm, "Do you think we'll learn the spell or potion in school? Is Yuletide the magical equivalent of christmas?" he asked hurriedly as if it was such a pressing matter he needed to know the answer to immediately. It didn't matter that she was asking about his break, he didn't particularly want to talk about it, after all, it had been rather sad.
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva felt the brain freeze work from the center of her cranium out to her very ear drums and she gave a shiver and winced, her entire facial muscles looking as if they had contracted and that she had sucked on a bitter lemon. The moment lasted a minute perhaps less so she simply nodded that she understood what he now referred to as 'footing'. Strange language muggles had but she figured they probably thought the same about wizards!
She stirred her spoon around the sides of the bowl, scooping up the slightly melted ice cream when Norton spoke about joke shop merchandise. She could definitely see his rationale if it meant payback to the two boys Finn and Des even though she had since come to think of it as more than a prank but really great business acumen. They would go far in life that was for sure.

"I could maybe write to my ... no, I can't write to my brothers. They'd get some really strange stuff then charge me a small fortune for it. I think there is a shop here in Brightstone but I don't think first years are allowed there at the weekends" she wasn't sure how they could get any prank stuff to use against the older boys now, unless Norton knew any of the older students who might get something for them on the next weekend out.
Eating another spoon full of ice-cream, Minerva thought about what he said and looked at him quizzically.

"You really think that perfection can be improved upon? I think every has the own ideal as to what perfection is ... me, I love vanilla - anything else just isn't my idea of perfect but others I guess who don't like it enough, would consider an ice-cream with biscuits, marshmallows, sprinkles ... syrup all perfect. I don't normally get a perfect anything unless I am having vanilla ice-cream, so ... no I wouldn't try to change vanilla" she grinned.
When the conversation had moved to other things such as the holidays and her parents farm, Minerva shrugged her shoulders.

"I think we will get to learn the water one, Dad said he learned it at school. The potion spray I'm not sure about, he likes fiddling around with different potions to see if they help with the crops" she found herself nodding her head then,"Yes, well ... Yuletide is the more traditional version I guess before it got all christianised and became Christmas. I could be wrong though. I'd imagine quite a few muggle borns celebrate Christmas or whatever traditions they grew up with and have passed them down over the years which is why they've become known in the wizarding world."

She wasn't a hundred percent certain on that either but it was plausible to her, definitely more logical than any alternative she had tried to come up with.
"What about your holiday ... do you celebrate Christmas?" she turned in her seat to look at him this time because she had definitely noted his lack of an answer the first time.

 

[Norton Gillespie]

The young hufflepuff once again couldn't help but wonder how big Min's family was, he wanted to know, he was interested in her life and what siblings she had. He had told her about Gilly, Norton was sure that he had, if he hadn't mentioned it directly he would've mentioned it in passing. Certainly she had to know just a little about it. He couldn't help but agree that they should go to brightstone at some point to get stuff to prank them with, "I think we can, we can go to brightstone but not the makatu mall," Norton countered the lingering excitement in thinking about how he could spend some time with Min in the village finding things in it, "We can go and get a few items to prank them with, and though neither of us are gryffindor, I'm sure we can find a way to prank them, don't you think so Min?" he was looking for her agreement on the matter so that he could go ahead and begin planning something. Though already his mind was filled with buckets of falling water, confetti, magical pranks, just anything that could get them back. He felt certain of himself and his ability to do something of the sort, and with Minerva they'd manage it together.

Norton considered what she said about perfection, he could agree that her idea of perfection was what she had in front of her, the vanilla, his idea of perfect was just perhaps more fluid, that he could improve what he was eating, and increase it's perfect in a way that hadn't been done. The boy nodded, "Vanilla is perfect, I just think things can be made more perfect," the boy said with a smile, "I'm glad that you get that feeling of perfection with the vanilla," Norton was happy that she found perfection in something, perhaps his striving for something better at each turn was a bad thing? He had never really considered that, he just loved to always try for something better, even if he though perfection was hit. He was always moving on to the next thing, his attention on one thing was rare, though he did manage it on occasion. The boy kept eating the sorbet, taking great care with each bite and trying his best to avoid freezing his brain while listening to her talk about the spells and the yuletide celebrations that she had. He wanted to celebrate a magical one, but not being from a magical family he had little choice. It sounded somewhat similar, "How big is your family?" he asked, all this talk of her brothers before and the celebration of magical yuletide had just made the question rush out of him.

Her question to him, made the active boy pause slightly, the christmases they had were usually amazing, but given his mother's death there was a looming shadow. The boy nodded, finding his movement once more, "Non-religiously, but yeah, presents, food, games, all the trimmings," Norton told her with a smile, thinking of all the great aspects of the holidays, the ones they had spent together, "I wake up first, sleeping on christmas eve is so hard, I just want to open all the presents right away, but have to wait," the boy was careful to avoid mentioning any hard details about the last christmas, he didn't want to talk about it, and he didn't really want to bring it up, ruin their great mood, "I'm really excited about this semester, apparently there's a duelling tournament coming up and more quidditch, and hopefully hufflepuff will win!" Norton moved the subject along, unstoppable excitement once more filling his voice.
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva's face lit up at that, she'd only ever been to Brightstone once before and that must have been when she was around six or seven. It probably had changed an awful lot since then, there had been a book store to the best of her knowledge there but she couldn't recall if there had been a joke shop.

"I don't know if there's a joke shop there, I can't remember but we can try" she was suddenly working out different scenario's in her head, strategy and planning, lists would have to be made for all the things they wanted to do and then what to get to make those pranks happen. She couldn't help but smile as she came to the end of her ice-cream and looked at her friend, "I think we can ... we just need a plan that's all. We can put them under surveillance, watch their movements and see if they have a routine ... and ambush them" she suddenly blushed, hoping she hadn't come across as some sort of vindictive witch, she was doing her best to get into the spirit of the whole pranking experience, her only problem really was that clueless about actual pranking - she would take it all to a whole new level.

"Hmmm I still don't know if I agree with you" she related regards the whole perfect concept, "I mean you have a perfect smile, it completely lights up your face, your eyes brighten and everything. It's infectious. I don't think that kind of smile can be perfected." Minerva said it all so matter of factly, she was telling the truth as she saw it, his smile was one of the amazing things about Norton and quite positively perfect in her view.

The conversation swung to her family again and she placed down her spoon into her bowl and counted them on her fingers, "my parents, my brother Lincoln, my brother Saunders and my sister Ritchel. Both sets of grandparents are alive and I have a few cousins and the usual aunts and uncles" she shrugged then let her chin rest in her hands as she propped her elbows on the table to look at him, "What kind of presents do you get?" she was curious what was considered a gift in the muggle world compared to her own, "I'm kind of nervous about the defence against the dark arts professor but the rest of the semester does look to be interesting. There's a Valentine's day dance as well ... I mean how many feasts and dances does one school need? Will you be going to see the next Hufflepuff game?" she couldn't help but smile at him, his entire personality, honesty, warmth and friendship were intoxicating.

 

[Norton Gillespie]

Norton wasn't certain where the joke shop was, but he was certain that between them they could come up with something, something that would be a good fit for revenge, so they had little time to do it in, he was still certain that they could do it! "Of course we can try!" the boy nodded enthusiastically, feeling excited at the mere thought of getting back at people who'd pranked him and Min, it would definitely serve them right, and he knew it would be funny too, he knew it. The young hufflepuff though about what she was saying, they did need a plan, they did need to ambush them, he knew he could not be trusted with being secretive about this, his enjoyment and excitement over what was to come would certainly alert them to their plan. He then remember the girl that had been in the room when he'd been pranked, the one who had been annoyed about her clothes, "I think I might know someone in gryffindor who could help us, least that way we could have an inside person," Norton said tentatively, carefully thinking about what he was saying, he couldn't guarantee that she would help them, but he felt tentatively hopeful that she might and this was certainly showing in his tone.

Norton couldn't help the smile that graced his features as she complimented it, he didn't really agree that it was perfect, but he couldn't but be warmed by her compliment. His cheeks blushed a deep red colour and he couldn't help but smile widely at her, unable to really stop himself from just smiling at her, "Thanks," he replied unable to find other words, "You've got a pretty perfect smile too," he returned, he liked her smile too, he liked her, she was his best friend in his eyes, "PLUS, you're like the perfect friend! You're my best friend!" he told her bluntly the excitement and honestly clear in his voice. They'd tasted beetles together, he couldn't imagine doing that with any other person. Perhaps Gilly but no ONE else. Norton was still keen to learn about her family and so he nodded along, she appeared to have quite a filled family, and he jealous for a moment, but only the briefest of moments, just more happy that she had a good family, was part of a happy family, "Is everyone in your family magical?" He asked, since of course only he and his twin were magical in his family.

The mention of presents brought a grin to Norton's face, he hadn't gotten much, but it was more than enough for him, "Well, my dad's been trying to figure out the magical world and get stuff from that, so this year I got books and other school things, but before I would get electronics, some board games, just anything really, I'm just happy for the gift," he told her. The boy wasn't all that nervous about what was to come in the new classes, he was excited about the valentines day ball, "I love the feasts and dances, so I'm not going to question it," he told her, "If you end up going, come find me, we can hang out!" Norton added with an excited smile, think of how amazing it would be if he could spend more time with her at these things. As for quidditch, "OF COURSE I'm going! I love quidditch, it's so much fun, are you coming?" he tended to spend the time at games with April, always just that they attended together but he was keen to also had Min there, he was sure that together they could have even more fun!
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva thought having a person on the inside sounded so dangerous and so super sleuth like, she had gotten some muggle books from a store in Obsidian and they had all been about a detective consultant called Sherlock Holmes, she had devoured them - loved them to bits and couldn't wait to get her hands on more.

"That would be great" she enthused and then her world seemed to turn upside down and inside out as Norton complimented her and then announced that she was the perfect friend, his best friend! Her mouth opened in a silent gasp and tears welled in her eyes. This was possibly the nicest most amazing thing that anyone had ever said to her ... she had a best friend! A real genuine corporeal best friend! She couldn't help but smile back at him, her smile dazzling, bigger and brighter than ever before. Now this she had to write home about, this was the most important news of her life! It suddenly didn't matter to her if she got outstandings in her exams or not, she had a bestie!

She nodded her head and then was suddenly shaking it again with a grin.
"My grand parents are muggle born but I'm never allowed into the muggle parts of the country ... I have no idea why and my grandfather rarely speaks of anything muggle. My grandmother is half Dutch and half Maori, she tells me lots of old legends but nothing about the muggle world either. It's like once they reached 17 and could decide for themselves, they chose the magic world and never looked back. I guess I never really questioned not being told anything about my muggle heritage because everyone I knew was from a wizarding family. I've got lots of questions to ask them now though" she couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

Minerva listened as Norton spoke about the presents he got and loved that he got books as gifts as well, she thought those were always the best kinds of gifts to get.

"What's an ... elk et onic?" she had a little furrow on her brow as she tried to mentally figure out what he had meant and figured it was a muggle thing and he would explain it all to her soon enough. He was so infectious, especially about the feasts and dances. Minerva was not a social person by nature but if Norton was there at these events, then she wouldn't feel quite like a spare part entirely.

"Dealio" she smiled, though still wasn't 100% on going to a Valentine's dance, that seemed like a very grown up thing to attend and didn't you have to be in love or dating or something to attend something about Valentines? She figured she would leave the decision about attending it till later. Norton was as excited about the quidditch game as he was about the feasts and dances ... and ice-cream that Minerva turned in her chair to face him grinning from ear to ear.

"I don't know ... I mean, it's not really my thing. I went to the first one but ... yeah, I'm not sure. I guess I should support my house team though" she gave a small shrug as she crossed her legs at the ankles and gently swung them back and forth, "why do you love the sport?"

 

[Norton Gillespie]

Norton nodded excitedly at her, he so enjoyed spending time with her and he couldn't wait to spend more time being with her, she was his best friend and nothing would please him more. He hadn't known Min very long but it had been a good experience between the two of them, he had gotten to know her better and she was someone whom he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with. Though the boy was not often caught without a smile, but currently it was Min who made him smile the most. Gilly obvious made him smile the most most, but min was that second person. He looked at the girl and smile as she began explaining whom in her family wasn't magical, that was interesting to him, he couldn't really understand where his magic had come from being from two non magical parents. Her family history seemed so much interesting that he could've ever imagined his being. All he knew about his family was that they'd been in New Zealand for quite a while, and that his surname was probably from the United Kingdom, but he wasn't sure, he also didn't care that much, he was just happy to be here and now, and happy to be a WIZARD! It was the most amazing thing.

"That's so interesting! I don't even understand why me and my sister became magical," he told her, "But the fact you can trace it! That's amazing!" the boy told her excitedly with a look of wonder upon his face, who could even imagine having several magical people in ones family, imagine having all of the people in the family be magical! Norton had to admit though had he and his sister not been magical they would've just never known and continued a long line of what were muggles. At the attempt to copied what he'd said, "Electronic," he helped to say it for her, "It's like magic only we make it, it's pretty cool, but none of it works around magic which SUCKS!" he told her, he couldn't listen to his music, he hadn't watched any tv and he didn't have any of his games, but he did prefer magic. Magic was the best! "Magic is better though," Norton told her, knowing it was better. He was surprised that she went to the first but not any of the others. He shrugged a little, he knew that not everyone would be interested in the game, though he loved it, Norton usually threw himself completely when it came to some sports, and quidditch was just about the best sport he had ever seen, but obviously not for everyone, "I don't know really, it's just so much fun, it has so much good in it, like the way the players fly around, the balls, the snitch, just everything about it is amazing!" Norton told her excitedly, "And I mean you don't have to support the house team, I support slytherin whenever they play apart from against hufflepuff. I usually watch the games with April but you can come join us!"
​

 

[Minerva Khulik]

Minerva found that she could sit and speak with Norton for hours and still not be bored, she found that smiling came naturally to her when with him and at times she even found herself wondering if she would end up with lock jaw from it, especially as her mouth was not used to being in that position.

"Well, I could be wrong though I'm not usually" she wasn't boasting and said it in such a matter of fact way that this claim of hers did not make her feel anyway abashed. She only said what she meant and meant what she said, she read a lot and studied hard. She may not be the greatest people person in the world but facts she had close ties with or at least facts that she had read about.

"I think muggle borns come from when a squib has married into a muggle family" she had definitely read that in a genealogy book here at Hogwarts which had been a fantastic read because that point and fact she hadn't fully understood herself until she had read about it and then it all had made sense.

"They do say squibs are rare but of course pure bloods are supposed to be rare too but we still have them and with the fact that we have so many amazing muggle born wizards and witches, it stands to reason that we have more squibs that people let on who blend into muggle society and eventually the magic that should have presented in them, presents instead in another generation" she shrugged lightly as if that should explain it all.

She listened intently to all he told her about this electronic stuff and asked him if he could show her some of these things someday, she was utterly fascinated now and had her mouth parted in earnest, hand propping up her chin as she took it all in.
"I don't know, I've never experienced the muggle world so I have nothing to compare it to but ... the muggle world can't really be all that bad not if it has electrics and things."

Minerva couldn't help but grin as he became animated on the subject of quidditch, she had known quite a few people like this, especially her brothers so she could only shake her head playfully.
"You've gotten the bug already huh? I remember when I was seven, I went to see a game with my father and it lasted six days ... it was so crazy! When you end up having to go see a game that lasts that long, come back and tell me you love it then will you?" she had a feeling he probably still would and gave a little nod of her head when he suggested that she could join himself and April to see the next game.

The next Hufflepuff game was the biggest to the best of her knowledge, she had been contemplating whether or not to show up and support the house but sitting on her own felt decidedly lame but if she watched it with two people who really loved the game, that might help a little she thought.
"Alright ... if I'm there, I'll join you both ... if I'm there!" she told him with a small grin.

She glanced about her and saw how busy the elves were and wondered if they were holding them up from their duties.
"Are you nearly done with the ice-cream?" she asked Norton looking back at him again before she lowered her voice, "I think we probably shouldn't over stay our welcome here, not if we want to come again."

 

[Norton Gillespie]

There was no doubt in Norton's mind that she was right about it, Minerva was certainly smarter than he was, but he felt no jealousy about that fact towards her, he was proud that his friend was so smart. The revelation that someone who was magical with no actual magic was surprising and more so that they were someone who had been a part of his family. He couldn't help but wonder how far back that had to go was it a grandparent or was it much further back. The boy was so enthralled with the idea, that he actually had a magical line somewhere that had just been dormant until him and his sister was incredible. Though, if it was his mother's side, perhaps the magic of this world would've meant she hadn't died. In any case, the hufflepuff was just happy to have his magic and happy that he and his sister were upon this brand new path which allowed them to have an experience magic in the way that they did. To actually be magical. His mind lingered momentarily on those thoughts, unable to stop himself from that, but he launched into explaining the electronic stuff for Min, it was odd to him that she had never experienced any of it, but surely as weird as having never experienced magic would be to her, "I can show you some of the stuff I brought before I realised it wasn't going to work?"

Norton's love for quidditch was growing with each game that they played and he knew that it was just about the best game ever. It was just so interesting to him, and the fact that he hadn't even seen a professional game and the fact it could last for six days was incredible! It could last so long! That was INSANE! The only game he knew that last that long or that could last that long was cricket, and he wasn't a huge fan of that. "You should, I'll try to find you in the crowd!" he told her with a sincere tone, meaning that he was almost promising that he would look for her, the chances of finding her might be hard, but the boy was certainly try his best. He glanced down at his bowl and nodded, he hadn't even really been aware of the time passing, and him eating the ice cream, spending the time with Min was just such fun! "Yeah! How about I show you my collection of muggle things?" he offered getting to his feet and waving brightly at the elves in a goodbye.
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[Minerva Khulik]

She couldn't help but smile at his offer to find her in the crowd at the next Hufflepuff game.
"You do realise how short I am and that there will be a huge crowd. I may have to hover myself over people just so you'll be able to see me but I will look out for you too" not so long ago, Minerva would have not bothered one iota in attending another quidditch game and now suddenly thanks to her best friend, she felt content to go if not but to just spend more time with him. Was that selfish of her? She hoped it wasn't. Norton had already said that it was something that he and April did together and she genuinely didn't want to encroach on that but she felt he would not have offered if he had not wanted her there too.

She stood up at the same time that he did and also gave a slight wave to the house elves saying thank you before turning to listen to Norton talking about his muggle objects. How absolutely fascinating, she mused, the most she had seen were a few bits in a store. She had bought ear phones to block out noise when it got too much for her, though she had recently read a spell that could dull loud sounds about her which would greatly help instead of having to wear the large cumbersome things on her ears. She had also gotten a few tops and books but the few other items in the second hand magic store with a stall especially full of muggle items, she had no idea about and they had looked like something otherworldly and ... broken!

"I would love that!" she exclaimed, "What kind of things do you have? I've tasted a twix bar recently, those were delicious. Do muggles have special objects for brewing ... oh wait, muggles don't do potions. How do they get their healing remedies and things?" she was full of questions now and bombarded Norton, her absolute best friend on the entire planet, as they left the kitchens and made their way back through the school to Hufflepuff House.

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