Bake-off

[Icarus Stratis]

Somewhere in the middle of Rangipo desert...


Two figures appeared out of nowhere in the deserted scenery, among the sparse and low vegetation.
Icarus had met earlier that day with his friend Elvera for a cup of tea. The young professor didn't have any classes for that term and he had more than enough free time in his hands. He had decided to catch up with the first friend he had made, upon his arrival to New Zealand. While talking and catching up, he had remembered the bake-off they were planning months ago and they had left aside, due to their hectic schedules back then.
They had decided to match their baking skills, at Icarus' place where he had the ingredients they would need and they wouldn't be interrupted by Hogwart's house-elves or from their students. They had to get out of Hogwarts of course to apparate and yet, they couldn't apparate directly into Icarus' house.

The place was dead silent, only the whisper of the drying wind was present that was making the low vegetation, dancing on its harsh touch.
"That reminds me why I prefer flying than apparating." he said, catching his breath.
"Are you alright?" he asked her worried as he was the one apparating them in that place and he wanted to make sure that she hadn't spliched a single hair. With a first glance, there was nothing there in the deserted scenery, showing any evidences of a house located nearby. Just the vast wilderness and a large mesa in the distance, not far of them.
He was sure that Elvera was going to have doubts that he had bring them to the right place but before they were going to move on, he wanted to make sure that his friend was feeling fine from his awkward apparition.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

elvera had had a couple of days off without any classes. she only had her fifht years this semester and they hadn't had much homework that she had to make yet, though she would have to mark their dream journals at the end of the semester which would prove either challenging or humorous depending on what the students wrote. earlier that day she had organised to have a cup of tea with her friend in the castle Icarus. they had both remembered the bake off that they had been planing on having for months but not quite having time to. they had then quickly left the castle the two young professors getting some odd looks from some of the students as soon as they were out of the grounds she held his hand as she didn't know where they were going and although she could apparate herself she would need him to guide her.
A moment late the noise of the village and castle had gone and they were in the middle of, well the middle of nowhere. she looked around and the only thing she could see that stood out in the empty landscape was an odd hill that looked like someone had cu the top off. "well its a good job your the flying professor then" she said when he said that that was why he preferred flying. she herself would much prefer apparition as she could never stay on a broom and it was a lot quicker. "I am great, how about you? though i must ask where on earth are we?" she said sure that he had his reason for being there though not sure quite what it was.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Icarus let a smile shape on his face when she told him that she was alright.
"Good, good. I'm okay thanks. I feel a little sick to my stomach but I will be alright." he replied as he was recovering from apparition's nausea. He smirked as she wondered where exactly they were. His uncle would be glad to know that even a smart witch couldn't guess that nearby there was a magical residence.
"I thought I would be apparating us closer to that mesa." he said disappointed for his skills as he had turned to face the odd hill in the distance. "Don't worry. Follow me." he said as he started walking towards its direction. He would prefer to walk just a little bit rather than apparate again.

It was a 10 minutes walk and now Icarus was at the foothills of the odd mesa, its shadow covering the nearby area. On the top of a big rock in front of them, there was a peculiar statue of a Sphinx. As soon as Elvera was by his side, the statue cracked all of a sudden and fell apart in front of their eyes. A real Sphinx was standing now on the rock, stretching her front legs, letting a yawn. She didn't cast a mere look at the young wizard and witch. She sat down on the rock, put on her human, feminine face a pair of glasses for reading and started turning the pages of a muggle gossip magazine with her sharp claws.
"We want to get in." Icarus said normally like he was experiencing this every day. The Sphinx continued reading but cleared her throat before speaking.
"Right. If you want to proceed, you have to answer my riddle. Which creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?" asked the creature. Only then took off her eyes from the magazine in front of her, piercing with her emerald eyes the newcomers.

Icarus was wearing a confused expression on his face. He hated those riddles.
"We have to answer correctly her riddle to get inside." he explained to Elvera pointing at the mesa in front of them. He knew that she might was finding all of these strange but Sphinxes were the best means to keep something secret and protected. He thought that she was going probably to ask why all those security measures and he was trying to find in his head a convincing explanation. "Hmm..let's see....four legs in the morning...two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening? What kind of creature is this?" he wondered vocally, hoping that the Sphinx would give them an extra clue.
Instead, the half-lion, half-woman creature continued reading her magazine indifferently.
"Don't worry. I have all day to wait. I need to finally finish this magazine." said in a desperate tone the Sphinx as she was turning a couple of pages.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

elvera was glad that he was also feeling alright, though she hoped that he wouldnt be actually sick, that would be a bad start to the baking. she looked at the hill again when he pointed to it, she wondered what secrets it held. "we aren't that far from it, a few minutes and we will be there" she said optimistically. they walked in silence towards the hill that seemed to get more and more foreboding the nearer they got.
ten minutes later they had arrived near its base and she looked around wondering where the house was. however the only thing that she could see was a boulder and as she drew closer to it she realised that on the top looked much like a sphinx. she jumped slightly as the stone cracked and there where had formally granite was a real life sphinx. obviously it was a normal occurrence as icarus seemed comfortable talking to it as though he spoke to it every day. she listened as the creature gave its riddle and smiled, it was one that she had heard before, called the riddle of the sphinx. she had been in ravenclaw house and the way into the common room was guarded by riddles so she had learned a lot of them and then kept challenging the door to give her one that she didn't know the answer to. she listened as Icarus explained that they had to work it out to get into the house. and after a few minutes she had remembered the answer. "it is man. in the morning or childhood he crawls on four legs, at noon or adulthood he walks on two, then in old age or the evening he relies on a cane which makes three." she said explaining her answer as Icarus didn't seem to have worked it out yet.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Icarus looked at Elvera as she was answering the Sphinx's riddle. Her answer sounded logical but he hadn't imagine that that was the right one. He turned to look the Sphinx then.
The Sphinx had taken a wide, sardonic smile as the young man had trouble to solve her riddle but as the young woman started talking, the smile started fading slowly.
"That is correct." the Sphinx answered impressed but still emotionless. She looked down at the muggles' magazine before talking again. "It seems I won't be finishing this soon." and with her last complain, she turned back into stone, while a huge crack appeared on the slope of the mesa. There was a tremor on the ground and the crack turned into a fissure and the fissure into a small gorge.

"You got it right! It would be taking me at least fifteen minutes to figure out!" he commented impressed.
"Follow me!" he said as he was entering inside the formed gorge. It wasn't big enough but it allowed a small group of people to squeeze inside it. It was a few minutes walk before the secret of the mesa was revealed. The odd-looking hill was hollow inside. A vast area was stretching inside, a vast plain. It was like a volcano and the plain was the bottom of the crater as you could see above the bright sky. Except from the open area, there were also a few buildings. A big stable that looked more like a minoan palace, a neoclassical manor and a desert house in the distance. "Welcome to the Sanctuary!" he pointed at the vastness in front of them. There were a banch of winged horses flying above the stables, far on their right. Closer to them there was a long, corinthian pillar that was marking the beginning of different paths, leading to the different building in the area.

The sudden eclipse of the sun, made Icarus look above them. The figure of a flying creature, had hidden the sun for an instance. It looked like it was flying towards them as it was lowering to the ground.
"Aha, don't be scared. She just comes to make sure that everything's alright and to say 'hi'." he warned his friend as the creatures was lowering closer to them. A female griffin landed on the top of the tall pillar, flapping its wings while leaving an agressive screech. Its hazel eyes scanned the humans below it and screeched once more, less aggresively as it recognised one of them. It opened its wings once more and landed in front of the humans, greeting with a headbutt the young men.
"Hello Gypaia, nice to see you too." he greeted the griffin with a groan, as its headbutt was hard enough to make his legs go off the ground. He scratched its feathery, thick neck and then touched the smooth beak.
The grifiness seemed to be enjoying the wizard's cuddles until she noticed the other human next to him. She cried a softer, questioning screech and faced the young woman, slightly lowering her eagle head in front of her, her eyes fixed on the stranger.
"Umm, I think she wants you to pet her beak. It's an identification process." he explained, not sure if Elvera was feeling comfortable with it or she was starting freaking out.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera smiled when she had got the riddle right. it was good to know that she hadn't lost herability o work out riddles, "sorry about your magazine" she said to the sohinx before turning to Icarus as he . her jaw dropped when the whole mountain seemed to crack in half. werever Icarus loved it was very wall hidden. she wondered briefly why but didnt ask, maybe it was just to keep the hourses in.
she followed Icarus down the passage into the hill, she wondered where she was going but she knew that she would find out when she get there.
when se reached the end of the tunel she saw that the hill was hollow and inside it were a selection of buildings and animals both on the ground and on land, it reminded her of her grandmothers house that was in a hollowed out hil, but not this large scale or magical. "the sanctuarry, a good choice in name i must say. a good place to escape from all the first years" she said referring to the mans flying class, she could imagine that would be a hard class to teach as some students would be rather adapt at flying were as others would not go near a broom with a 10 foot pole. and trying to keep everyone happy would be a bit of a struggle.
elvera looked around at the place it was a nice place to make home. as she was suddenly cast into shadow she looked up and saw huge creature coming lower towards them she ducked slightly as it landed "that is that?"[/b[] she asked wondering what on earth if was
when icarus started stroking it and calling it by its nam she realised that it muse be some sort of pet a little larger than the normal cat or owl (or raven like hers) it actually looked fairly grand, however when it turned to face her she instinctively took a step back, she had never seen a creture so big and majestic before only in books and scrolls. as she had never taken care of magical creatures however at icarus's insistence she tentatively put her hand out and patted it once quickly on the beak hoping that that was enough and it wouldn't attack her. "i hope that's okay. though i must ask why all the hiding and guards?" she asked hoping that it wasn't a too personal question, she just wanted to find the answer

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Icarus was glad that Elvera reacted well to the creatures curiosity. It was the worst reaction to start running when you were facing a griffin. "This is a griffin, the king of the creatures." he said with a smile as he watched her patting Gypaia's beak. The griffiness purred like a little kitten but then she backed away. She let a final screech and flew away towards a cavity on the cliffs surrounding the area. "Off you go girl. Your hatchlings are waiting for you." he said as the beast disappeared in its cave. "I think she likes you." he chuckled, giving him a little more time to think his answer to her question. "My uncle has a think about safety. Don't know why. Gypaia was a bit more aggresive than usual. The insticts of motherhood I guess." he explained briefly, facing the branch of paths behind the pillar. "I promise there are no other safety measures. I can finally tour you around a little bit. As you said is a good place to escape and relax, although you can't disapparate straight into here. The name matches the place a lot, however, I'm no the one who chose it." he said an casted a look above them to the sky. There was an invisible, defensive dome that was preventing the winged horses from getting out of the Sanctuary and strangers coming in.

He moved on, in one of the paths, pausing along the way to show to her."Okay this large building which can be easily mistaken as a palace, are the stables." he said as some winged horses were flying above it. "I work here in weekends and now that I don't have any lessons, I come everyday and give a hand." he explained as they were moving on the path. On their left now there was a big vineyard, a smaller path was separating from their's and was continuing through the yard, finishing in front of a neoclassical manor. "Here lives my uncle with his family. This is the Stratis manor. Quite magnificent." he said as he pointed at the building. "This vines are from homeland, they make some good wine. I have some in my house if you would like to try." he said as the wind brought the sweet smell from the vines. He let her admire a little longer the place before moving on. The path was stretching longer until it stopped into a fork. "Okay to the right as you can see is the main plain. Here we bring the creatures to graze and exercise. It's empty right now, I'm always tempted to bring my broom and fly across it." he said as his gray eyes lost into the vastness. "But we are not heading there. Final stop, my place." he said as he turned to follow the left path.

The left path was stretching through an olive grove, where the wind was brushing the silvery leaves of the trees, creating mysterious reflections. At the end of the grove, the terrain became that of the desert again and the path was concluding at a desert house just in front of the cliff that was embracing the whole area. "This is my home." he said as they arrived in front of the buiding. He used his key to unlock the door and let her step inside first.
The place wasn't that big but it was cozy. The white was the most prominent color, with the white sofa taking the most space in the living room. A fireplace was positioned in front of it, next to a wall-bookcase which Icarus thought that it would be very appealing to Elvera with all its books. The bathroom and his room were through the door on the wall-bookcase. The dining room was connected with the living room in the background and to the right of it was the kitchen, a muggle kitchen. Finally on the left was a door that was leading outside to a little pool.
"Feel like you are at your home. Well, like you are at your muggle home." he chuckled as he placed the keys on the coffee table in front of the sofa. It was true that the place housed so many muggle stuff. Icarus dog, a plump pug was also there, looking hapilly at the stranger (Elvera) with his round eyes and his little tongue hanging.
"It seems Gypaia drunk water again from my pool." he said, shaking his head as he was having a look outside at the pool, where patches of water were scattered around it. "Would you like something to drink? Maybe a glass of wine? A butterbeer?" he offered his hospitality. It was actually the first time he was bringing a friend to his new home.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera smiled as Icarus spoke to the griffin. he seemed really confident around it far more confident than Elvera would ever be, she was more like her mother and had more a a skill for herbs and plants. once the creature left she felt herself relaxing again, "Gypaia, thats an interesting name" she said not sure if she was being aggressive or not as she had never had anything to compare it to. "I wasn't complaining about them, it is sort of cool having to pass them." she said, looking forward to seeing what was housed here.
she followed him along the path looking at the palace ahead come into view, she could see the horses entering and leaving them though she was a little surprised to her that that was the stable. where she had grown up in the countryside there were a few muggle farms near by and as far as she knew the stables were either wood or brick buildings. and no where near as fancy as the palace. "well they are very well looked after horses" she said smiling. not really surprised when he said he came here every day to work with them. "I guess I'm not the only one working in the family business when i;m not teaching then" she said though her time in the eye was slightly different than working with the horses she would imagine.
the next thing she saw was a large building, a little smaller than the stable but huge none the less. "That is a pretty impressive house too, it makes Le Fey cottage look like an outhouse" she said. she loved her house and personally would rather live in the cottage than a mansion but there was a huge difference between the two. she looked at the vineyards they looked like something from a book on the Mediterranean. she guessed that was their inspiration and they were recreating their home there. "I thought you would have already done that" she said as he said he had always wanted to fly over the paddock on his broom. they turned once more and a few minutes later they were at their destination. through the olive trees and she saw his house. they walked inside and her mouth dropped at the sight of the living room, all those books. she thought that her room was full of them but it was nothing compared to the whole wall made of them. she headed over to the shelf to see what kin of books they ere but wasn't really surprised to see most of them were in greek, "wow its amazing" she said making her way through to the kitchen. this room too was so light and spacious. she saw a little dog on the floor, that was more her league of creatures. she crouched down and rubbed it behind the ears. it was actually quite a cute pug. she stood up again and saw what Icarus meant, it looked like something big had been holding a pool party, there was water marks all over the place outside, but the pool was nice, small and very contemporary in design. she turned back again as icarus offered her a drink. "a glass of water would be wonderful" she said. she didn't want to turn down the offer of the wine that he seemed so proud of, but anything alcoholic messed with her head for days, one of the down sides of her gift, though it could have been just her, and nothing to do with being seer at all. besides and she had some serious baking to do.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Icarus was glad that Elvera liked the place. Her enthusiasm seemed like growing with each moment. He wanted to feel comfortable as well, although quite difficult with all those surprises. At least she wasn't looking freaked out and ready to run away.
"It's a nice name. A mixture of the greek word vulture and the godess of earth. I think she was the first hatchling from our griffin breeding program. They seem that some species' numbers have been depleted and we try to reintroduce them to the wild. I guess, not only muggles can be poachers." he said with a hint of fury in his voice.
Then he smiled when she told him that she was finding cool to pass through they security measures.
"If that's so next time I'll try to convince my uncle to use again that chimaera. I'm just kidding." he said with a chuckle as there was no way to use such a dangerous creature as a guardian.

"They were too kind for letting me stay here with them. Due to family issues they had seen me only once before. All they new for me, were via owls between my parents and them so it is the least I could do for their hospitality." he explained about his uncle and aunt and the reasons why he was working also there. "Plus, I'm a workaholic. Now that I don't have classes, I'm grateful that I have another job here." he said as he couldn't imagine himself just not doing anything. "Is also a way to show to my father that I don't neglect our family's bussiness. He always bugging me with that since I made my decision to teach at Hogwarts. My parents believe that it is a waste of time but I like it." he added, realising he was revealing too much about himself.

He loved her reaction about his house. The truth was that it wasn't his. His uncle had built it for his older son for when he'll graduate but he could use it for now. "I'm glad you like it. You're welcome to come whenever you like. If you want to solve a couple of riddles and accept a snuggly headbutt from a griffin." he laughed, imagining that.
He knew that Elvera wasn't really in favor of alcohol but he had to offer the very best that was waiting in his fridge. "Damn, I hoped that you would like some wine. I was going to get more chances to win this bake-off." he joked as he went to the kitchen to bring that glass of water. "Here you go. Have a seat." he said, returning back from the kitchen with a glass of cool water. He realised that her attention was slightly absorbed on the wall-library.
"As you can see, you are not the only one reading, though most of my books are about Quidditch and creatures." he commented and sat next to her on the sofa. "Whenever you are ready, we ca move to the kitchen and begin. Oh I forgot to ask, do you require any special ingredients. I think I have the basics." he asked, wondering if she needed something extra for her recipe.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

elvera was surprised that they bread griffins, it was surly rare just to see them but to breed them, that must be an awesome job if that was your thing. "she was born here, wow" she said then when she said maybe thy should get a chimaera she shook her head though she knew he was joking, at least she hoped so. "I think when they try to kill you is crossing the line between a challenge and unwelcoming" she said before they were at the next place. she was surprised that his farther had thought teaching to be a waste of time, my mother was happy if not a little surprised when she found out i had the job. an owl arrived over breakfast one morning offering me the job. and not reading the name she had read the letter, then i had some explaining to do, you see i didn't tell her i was applying until then what with Eden pregnant, and everything it would be a waste of everyones time thinking about it if i hadn't got it" she said releasing that she too was rambling.
by now they were in the house.
Elvera smiled at his offer that she could visit when she wanted. "thanks, maybe I will sometime, though i will have to get used to the Griffin first. the riddles i think i should be okay with" she said taking the seat that he offered her. "maybe I will have some later, you seem to be selling it pretty well" she said grinning conspiratorially at him. maybe if she only had a little and drank the right tea when she got back it wouldn't mess with her too much. she looked at the books again, she could sort of understand there being this much about creatures, as there were a lot of kinds of creatures, but on quidditch surly there wasn't that much. she had watched the match at the school and all and she had been glad when Slytherclaw had won she had been convinced that Gryffinpuff would win due to their chasers and beaters. though much more than that she had no real interest in it. though Lil seemed to think it was interesting as she had sent ages trying to explain the rules to her. thinking of the match "was that your cousin playing for gryffinpuff the other week, he did well" she said remembering their beater was also a stratis. "thank you" she said as he handed her a glass of water before sitting down beside her. she took a few big mouthfuls talking through the desert had caused her to feel thirsty. "I dont need anything special, i will work from what you have. i am ready to start when you are" she said, as he was the host it was only fair for him to pick when they started.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Icarus nodded several times as Elvera was taking about the time she was applying for the divination professor post at Hogwarts. "Same here. I didn't tell them a thing. I knew that I have relatives here and I have heard of a second branch of Hogwarts here so I checked out. When I was accepted just right after I graduated, it was an unpleasan surprise for my parents. Completely different reaction from your mother's. My mother wanted to become a healer like her, my father wanted to take over his breeding center but I did as always my own thing and they didn't like it." he shared his parents' reaction as she did with her mother's. "Eden is your twin sister, right? What about your father? I can't remember if you have mentioned him before or not." he asked interested to hear more about her family, as he was placing his elbow on the back of the sofa to lean his cheek on his fist.

His eyes brightened and gave her a smile when she joked about the griffin. "Don't worry. She's got your scent and from what I saw, I believe that she has categorized you to her friends." he reassured her that their 'little' guardian wasn't much of a threat for her. "Im not pressuring." he said with a grin and a shrug. "Let it be a clear competition. Although I have the impression that our judge for tonight, will be in favor of you." he mentioned, as they were going to have a kind of judge to make it more realistic and fun. He was surprised that Elvera changed the topic to quidditch. It wasn't her favourite one. "Yes, he was. My uncle's older son. He did a pretty good work although he wasn't playing at his post. You were rooting for the other team, weren't you?" he asked, remembering that her house used to be Ravenclaw. "I was at Gryffindor's stands. Just to cheer him up. Remarkable how kids get anxious for a quidditch game and they don't care about their courses." he said as his house was part Ravenclaw, part Hufflepuff so he was sharing the attributes of a Ravenclaw. "Tell me again, what are you going to make?" he asked as their little judge wasn't there yet to start.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera was not really surprised that his parents had wanted him to tae over the family business, she knew that when morgan could no longer handle the shop she would be back there though she would be teaching as well as she loved her students. "you seem like the kind of person who does their on thing. though surly he will be happy that you are working here too" she said hoping she was right, when he asked if eden was her twin she nodded. "yes, though we went through seven years of school before finding it out." she said smiling, a lot had happened on her graduation day including finding out that her closest friends was actually her twin, the actual graduation was probably the least significant even of the day though it had sparked the rest of it off. she took a sip from her drink when he asked about her farther. she needed a moment to decide what to say. "I don't think i have mentioned him before. you see i have never seen more than a photo of him. his names arthur and he went to school with my aunt, in fact if i remember right they were engaged t one point. but they broke up. he vanished then years later he spent a night with my mother and we were the result." she said. summing up the basics of the story. there were many details that she hadn't mentioned but they didn't seem important to the question.
she smiled when he said that the griffin had classed her as friend. that is always reassuring" she said before conversation turned back towards food and drink. "I know you're not trying to pressure me, but you really are a good sales person. who is going to be judge?" she asked at the mention of a judge. she handout thought of how they were going to be judged just that they were going to be baking muffins.
"He did a very good job if that wasn't his normal position. I dont know if professors are meant to take sides but old habits die hard and i was in the ravenclaw end cheering them on, though there were player on Gryffinpuff who i was supporting too. Next year I will have to support Slytherin as my sister is transferring back from beauxbattons, and she plays seeker, and i have heard she is pretty good" she said she had been surprised to hear about Liliths decision to move back though it would be nice to have her closer as she hadn't spent much one on one time with her younger sister.
when he asked her about what she was planning on making she thought. "I was thinking white chocolate and raspberry, they are my favourite, but orange and poppy seed also sound good. what kind of muffin are you going to be baking today?" she asked curious as to what he was planning, he had mentioned a while ago that he like banana and butterscotch (at least that was what she remembers him saying she may be wrong) and they sounded nice, but he may have come up with something else since then.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

"Really?" Icarus exclaimed surprised. "Wow that is crazy! Sounds like a muggles' movie or book. I couldn't imagine having a sibling that I wasn't aware of, especially a twin. How did you find it out? You looked like?" he asked even more interested than before. He understood that he had pressed a sensitive spot by asking about her father and he tried to handle that topic with attentiveness. "Who knows? Maybe it's better that way. He's the loser for missing a daughter like you." he said, hoping that words of support would help. He couldn't believe how many irresponsible people were out there, unable to take over their own responsibilities. However, he didn't want to say anything else. He was still her father and he didn't want her to misunderstood his opinion.

Fortunately, the topic turned to his new discovered skill of being a good sales person. "Well thank you. I might consider opening my own broomstick store. I might be able to to convince even you, buying a broom." he joked but the idea of having his own shop wasn't a bad one at all. "I can't blame you. I would be rooting for my house as well." he admitted as it was natural taking sides even for your own old house. He frowned a little when she revealed what she was going to bake. Icarus couldn't remember if he had poppy seeds among his ingredients.
"Nice choices. I was thinking about my favourite. Chocolate caramel muffins." he seaid still thoughtful. "Excuse me for a moment. I'm going to see if I have everything we need and get them ready. Be right back." he rushed to the kitchen, praying that he had poppy seeds.

--

With a faint pop, an imp looking creature appeared out of nowhere in the living room, facing towards the fireplace were Icarus dog was lying down, having its back to Elvera. The imp was a female, it had the colors of the earth and instead of hair had leaves and twigs with two of them, looking like horns. It also had a long tail, a huge smirk on its face and eyes full of mischief. "Lookie lookie lookie. Little Marshmallow is all alone." the imp said, mocking the pug by pulling its ears. The dog whined irritated and rushed to hide under the coffee table. The imp left a malovelent laugh and streched its little arms before turning around to realise that it wasn't alone in the room.
"Eeek!" jumped astonished the creature, its dark eyes widened, fixed on the stranger. "Who-who are you?" asked the woman the creature, taken by surprise.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera nodded when Icarus asked really, most people seemed surprised that she hadn't found her twin until they had both finished school. it was an odd thing especially as they had been friends during the previous few years. "yeah, I guess it does sound like some story but it happened. I think both morgan and Eden had a vision and the truth came out. though i think we had known that there was something between us for a few months we hadn't guessed it was something like that." she said it had been a day full of surprises and probably her favourite day so far. she shrugged when he said about her farther. "Its not his fault, to be honest i think it is part of the family tradition, no farther seems to have stuck around for as long as i had looked. there is just a chain of mothers and daughters" she said. that wasnt quite the whole truth. for example her cousins farther had stuck around but the difference was she was the daughter of the non seer of the generation not the seer.
she was glad that the topic of conversation turned to Icarus and not herself. "I don't know if even you are that good, the only reason i can see myself buying a broom would be for Lilith" she said. "Actually i think you and Lilith will get on pretty well, she too wants to play quidditch professionally, and she has been doing a good job trying out for teams" she said she had had a few different trials during the last few school breaks and although no teams said for sure a few seemed interested in her.
when Icarus said what he was going to make she thought they sounded delicious and it would be a tough competition. "Chocolate Caramel sounds delicious, I think i need to pull out all the stops to beat it, so white chocolate and raspberry it is as the orange ones sometimes get a little dry" she said before he left for the kitchen.
whilst she waited for him to return she looked back at the huge bookshelf. scanning for titles there seemed to be a section on caring for different animals, and another section for broom maintenance and yet another about different quidditch teams. just then she heard a noise behind her and she turned round to see a creature. she stood there a little surprised for a moment as it taunted the dog. however once it had scared the dog away it turned and saw her. it was an odd looking creature. and she wasn't quite sure what it was, a wood nymph maybe or an imp or elf. "Icarus what kind of judge were you expecting as there is someone here" she called through to the kitchen before answering its question. "well i could ask you the same thing, but as you asked first I am Elvera, a friend of icarus" she said hoping it would introduce its self.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

"Okay I have poppy seeds as well as coconut pith. I didn't remember having that..."he started saying as he was coming back when he noticed that someone else was in the room. "Oh yes. This will be our little judge. Elvera this is miss Poopy." he introduced the creature, hardly able to keep his laughs.
The creature bit its lips in an attempt to prevent curses flow out of its mouth. "My name is Thasia." pronounced slowly the creature with closed eyes, shaking a little bit from its nerves.
"No, you have failed to keep your old name. Now this is how you are called." he continued as the creature erupted into a paranoic rampage as it started apparating and disapparating all around the room, cursing under its breath. "She will get used to it. I must explain though about our judge. This is an imp-like creature, let's say the equivalent of a Greek house-elf though it's more of an earth imp..." he started explaining without referring to the actual name of the creature as he didn't want to confuse her anymore.

"How dare you comparing me with those goners? I'm not a house-elf." the imp stopped rampaging as it had been offended by its master's words. Icarus just ignored it and continued. "Her kind lives underground, coming out on the surface only during christmas to cause mischief and troubles to muggles and wizards and witches. I caught this one trying to snap my wand in half." he said as the imp rested on the sofa's back, immitating him talking while rolling its dark eyes. "Once you caught them doing mischief, you can subjugate them by giving them new, embarrassing names. Now she can't do the kind of mischief she used to do and she has to obey me." he finished while the imp was blowing a raspberry, noisily. "You. Behave yourself or I'll send you back cleaning the stables." he threatened the imp who abruptly stopped, narrowing its eyes on his master.
"This is my friend Elvera. We are going to have a small competition here and we wanted someone as a judge. My little cousins are not here at the moment so I had no other choice and bring you here." he offered an explanation at the creature as well.

The creature's features changed instantly. A huge sardonic smile formed on its gray face and it raised an eyebrow.
"A friend huh?" said the imp craftily while lively winking and swirling its long tail in its tiny hand.
Icarus felt awkward with the creatures comment but he didn't let it to become anymore impertinent by glaring at it. "Right umm, I have everything ready. We can move to the kitchen and begin our bake-off if you like." he turned to Elvera, ignoring the creature behind him that started humming a love song while dancing alone with its invisible partner.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera heard Icarus coming back hopefully he would be able to explain what this creature was. when he came back she listened a little surprised by its name. had she heard it right? Miss poopy? but the look on his face said that yes she had heard it right. though it seemed the imp didn't like the name as she seemed to be fighting and managed to say a different name. "well it's a pleasure meet meet you miss Thasia Poopy" she said mixing the two names together though that did feel odd still. as Icarus continued telling her what thasia was she was surprised, she had heard of house elves before but not something like this, she tried to think back to the books she had read when she was younger in her grandmothers house about creatures of her own country to see if she could find one that was similar to it. but couldn't think of anything more than imps and possibly piskies and pucks. as he continued she hoped that she hadn't freed it by using her original name, she probably hadn't as she had used the new name too. she was sorry if she had. that sounds like an interesting way to get a, umm, helper" she said not wanting to use the word servant or slave, or elf (the latter being due to the imps apparent dislike to the comparison to house elves)
When Icarus said that she was his friend and it winked cheekily and questioned it implying more Elveras violet and green eyes flashed warningly at the creature they WERE just friends, they may have attended the halloween feast and yule ball together but they were just friends regardless of what some of the other professors and some students thought. "yes like I said before we are friends nothing more, nothing less" she said emphasising the word friends, making sure the elf knew that. at the suggestion of starting Elvera nodded and made her way to the door that seemed to be the way to the kitchen. "great idea. so how will this work, will be just go until they are made right, or will we have time limit?" she asked wondering which would be the way the competition went. she thought personally that she would prefer to go until they were ready as she didn't work well with time limits.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Icarus watched as Elvera was introducing herself back to Thasia. He couldn't but smile when she used both her names to adress her. It was alright as soon as the little imp wasn't forgetting its new name, the name it took for being busted. "I didn't want a helper but I had to do it. If it wasn't my wand it would be someone else's. They live on mischief and they bug muggles as well. They know of their existance, that's why the put sweets next to the christmas tree to prevent their presents from being damaged, hidden or stolen. That's why I thought that she would be a fair judge. Her kind loves sweets." he said pointing at the creature next to him. "I'm not sure if she'll be pretty righteous with me as she hates me." he added, pretty sure that Thasia wasn't even going to try his muffins.

The creature next to him smirked and crossed its arms on its chest. Thasia scanned with her dark eyes the woman as she was confirming her master's statement that they were just friends. She stretched her arms and yawned, showing that she wasn't anymore amused.
"No no no time limit. It's baking not a race. Cooking needs its time." he said, not being a fan of time's pressure himself. "Mrs Poopy is going to try out in the end and decide who's the winner." he concluded explaining how their competition would work, ignoring Thasia's groans to the reference of her new name.
"Okay let's move to the kitchen." he said and led the way.
"He tries to poison me. Help me!" whispered lies the creature to Elvera as they were moving to the kitchen, trying to seed doubts in her about Icarus.

In different spots on the counters, they were located two different stations with different ingredients. One for him and one for Elvera. "This is yours." he pointed at the part of the counter that were located Elvera's ingredients and cooking supplies. "I think I have everything you need. This is a socket, supplies electricity if you want to use one of these muggles' devices." he referred to a couple of mixers. "Mrs Poopy will give the sign to begin."
Thasia rolled her eyes and started counting. "One...two...three...go." she said indifferently and climbed on the counter away from both of them, only staying for the reason that they were going to provide her with free food.
"So, who taugh you this recipe and generally cooking?" Icarus asked Elvera as he was checking his ingredients before starting.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera smiled as Icarus laughed at her introduction. "I bet even a reluctant helper would be useful though. especially like you said in doing jobs like cleaning out the stables. but the love of sweet things would be good for judging." she said though when he said that she hates him she shook her head. "why don't we make extra and i will take them in for my Fifth year tomorrow and they can give a second opinion" she said. she always took cakes or biscuits in for her classes she had an idea that was the only reason why some of the students made the hike up to the divination tower.
Elvera was glad that she wouldn't have a time limit, she never liked the pressure of time constraints and would much prefer to take her time on things. "that's good, I would much rather do it well than rush through it. See i do have hands under these" she said taking off her gloves. she always wore them except when she was at home or in her office or a few other places but when she was looking they would likely get covered in mixture which would make them sticky for the rest of the day and she rather liked those ones. as soon s she took them off she felt a little more open to the house, and saw shadows of two little boys hardly more than toddlers running through the place long before it was filled with Icaus's things. she guessed that they were his cousins who he had mentioned. she smiled as she imp said that icarus tried to poison her. "I don't think he is that kind of person. she said closing her eyes and trying to concentrate on the thought of poison, she didn't see anything so like she had guessed it was most likely a lie.
she entered the kitchen and smiled "Nice kitchen. It is so large and spacious" she said, it was a lot more contemporary than the one at her home. she saw two piles of ingredients and guessed that hers was the one with raspberries on it. she went over and was happy to see that he had everything that she needed there. as well as a few other things. "when you're ready we can start" she said to the elf who started counting them in. at the word go she started measuring out the sugar and butter. as she was doing so, she answered the question. "Morgause taught me to cook when i was younger, she is my grandmother though i didn't know that then, I think the muffin recipe was probably hers originally hers to begin with, but I learned it off morgan" she said pretty sure he knew morgan was her mother. "how about you? who taught you to cook, and who's recipe are you using?" she asked, wondering how he had learned to cook. by this time she had the first two ingredients in a bowl and was mixing them together.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

"I guess you are right. We don't really use house elves cause they don't deserve such a treatment but this guys are a different story."he said pointing at the imp. Thasia grimaced and crossed her arms on her chest, moving her monkey tail irritated. "My kind has nothing to do with those slavey. We are not made to serve you but to make your life hell." she stated and raised her head proudly.
"I was thinking to bring her to Hogwarts and help me around but I think they are not used to her kind so I won't do that for now." he continued ignoring the imp's words.
"I would only accept that if I was free and I could cause chaos. Now it's pointless." said the imp quite depressed that it was unable to cause mischief anymore. "I don't care what you think. I'm the one who tells you what to do now." he raised a bit his voice, becoming more intimitating to her eyes. The imp went silent and stopped talking for a while since its attempt to darken its master's name was fruitless.

"I would like to see those hands more often." he said spotaneously. He didn't really cared if she was going to see things about himself. A clear sky isn't afraid of lightnings and he was honest with her up to that point.
"Don't worry you won't pick much things around here." he reassured her. He wasn't a seer himself but his grandmother was and he could guess that the gift wasn't always a bless.
"I'm sure that later in your life you won't need those gloves. My grandmother is a seer and around her thirties as she had said, she had managed to neutralize her gift and use it whenever she wanted." he shared, sure that Elvera would like something like that.

The imp in the distance was collecting information as the two humans were talking. It had made out that the witch was a seer as well and it didn't like that. It might was unable to cause trouble anymore but it didn't want someone to be able to see what it had done in its life.
"That's a great way to bond with someone. I was cooking with my little brother. Our parents were working a lot so often I had to take mom's role and cook for us. I'm quite jealous that my uncle here is more closer with his family. They invite me as well to their dinners, their picnics in the countryside. It's really nice. My father never done something similar. Just obsessed with his work and the only thing we did together was to show me his work and how I was eventually going to take over." he said, shakiing his head as something like that wasn't going to happen. He preheated the oven and placed the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder into a bowl. He started mixing them well together until the mixture was homogenized.
"Believe it or not this is my recipe. My mother is not cooking. Grams was cooking for us, she's a great cook but the recipe she had taught me is oat with cinammon muffins. Tasty and healthy at the same time. She has a thing about healthy diet. I guess that is a Greek grandmother, always trying to fatten up her grandchildren in a healthy way because no matter their body structure, they always look starving to her." he said about his grandmother with a chuckle.
"I was wondering. Does your family has any connections with Morgan Le Fey? I mean the historical person." he asked as he had been wondering that since he had met Elvera. She had the same surname with Merlin's sister.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Out of Character:

I actually made white chocolate and raspberry muffins yesterday after posing here as it made me in a muffin making mood

Elvera nodded in agreement at Icarus's statement on elves. she knew that in the past they had been treated badly, though if morgan got much older, and she was still teaching she may need to see if she could get one but it would be well treated, but then gain morgause seemed to be doing okay on her own so maybe it wouldn't be necessary. "yes, I can see her being more trouble than use at Hogwarts, even if she did exactly what you said i am sure that there would be a loophole somewhere and she will have a bit of fun from time to time" she said hoping that she wasn't giving the imp any ideas.
she smiled when he said that he wanted to see her hand more often. she was fine out here, but all the teenage drama in the castle sometimes seemed like having roomful of tv's and radios inside her head, all turned for different channel, though she was getting better at toning it down sometimes one would just blast through her thoughts. "your right, Its pretty clear round here" she said, she wasn't trying to see anything but nothing jumped out at her which was good. "you mentioned your grandmother before, I am glad that there is home for me" she said smiling jokingly "half my family are seers, it seems to be part of he trait. there has been at least one per generation as far back as i have been able to go" she explained, she had been trying to research her family, well not really tree, but more line, mother to daughter, no sons.
Elvera looked at the imp she seemed to be watching them trying to suss them out. she wondered what the creature was thinking but not for long as soon she was mixing egg, milk and oil in a second bowl. she listened To icarus when he spoke sensing a little resentment in his tone. "I am sue he did more than that." she said trying to reassure him. she wasn't resentful for her parents and their contribution to her childhood, but it did show her a different way of how parents would act, her farther had long gone before she was even born, and her mother had spent the first twelve years of her life in a crazy state, "I am sure he just wanted what was best for you. but it shouldn't be a bad thing as if he had been different then you wouldn't be who you are today, which may not be a good thing, though it may be" she said quickly shutting up and looking away as she mixed the liquid in with the dry things. maybe she had said a little too much.
she laughed along with him as he said that greek grandmothers always try and feed up their grandchildren. "my grandmother used to make apple and cinnamon which were delicious, especially warm in winter. but it's good to see you have a slightly less healthy taste" she said winking and nodding at the bowl who's contents were a delicious looking chocolate colour. she was enjoying this conversation. Lilith would say she was flirting but she didn't think of it as that, she just saw it as talking. however his next question made her stop what she was going (weighing out the chocolate). "well my mother is called morgan, but i guess thats not the right one. there is a family myth that we are her grand daughters and i have been trying to look back in records, but I am having problems going that far back, it seems like there was a fire where some of the records were kept years ago and they were lost." she said though she believed the myth there was no proof on it.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Out of Character:

you are kidding me? every time I have to reply to this thread I have to eat afterwards cause it gets me hungry

"Thanks for the trust." said the imp from its corner to the woman for telling her master not to give her too much space because she was going to cause trouble.
Icarus decided that Elvera was write. The imp's kind was also unusual for this part of the world. Bringing in the castle a creature that was rarely seen from other people on the castle, could only be a bad thing, taking into account that the imp would love to sneak out and probably make miserable the lifes of the kitchen's house-elves.
"Yes, it's cool to have grandparents around. Unfortunately for my grandmother, her gift haven't been passed down to our generation. Maybe cause most of us are guys, we have only one girl in our generation who is far than a seer. Grandma stays positive though. She believes that one of her grandgrandchildren will have her gift." he said believing that as a seer she would have probably seen something to be that positive. He didn't know if he could deal with such a gift. Icarus generally wanted to be ignorant of the future as he believed that life should be full of surprises to spice up.

"Usually I have a healthy diet. I have to as I'm more like an athlete rather than a professor. However, as far as my grandmother is not around here, I can indulge myself with something not so heathy." he said and dipped a finger into his chocolate mixture and tasted. It instantly tickled his taste buds. "Apple and cinnamon sounds indeed a winter recipe. I don't know but the combination reminds me of a fireplace." he confessed, maybe because he used to drink a hot drink made of apple and cinnamon when he had a cold.
He took another bowl as he was listening interesting the connection between Elvera's family and the historical Morgan Le Fey. At the same time he made sure that he was mixing correctly on the new bowl the eggs, milk, some oil and vanilla. He added the wet mixture to the dry ingredients before talking again.

"Interesting. I must say that I was always thrilled to learn more about my family's past. We had kept a huge family tree, originating back to antiquity. Well it gets more incomprehensive if you go down back to the ancient past but it was gone down from generation to generation like a heritage. My family claims to be one of the seven families decending from the witch Circe. My grandfather is actually convinced about it and the family tree if accurate, points to that. You can say that the family's skills in transfiguration is another proof to that." he said as most of them were doing exceptional in transfiguration and Circe used to be famous for turning intruder in her island in all sorts of things.
"It seems that we also have a connection with other wizards that you have depicted into chocolate frogs. My grandma's family for example, states that comes from the bloodline of the seer Calchas but who can be sure for that?" he said with a shrug as he stirred his ingredients until just combined, without beating.
"Was Le Fey a notable seer?" he asked as he wasn't that well-informed for the specific historical person.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Out of Character:

I swear it is he truth in fact i am eating one now, though it is hard to type

Elvera looked at the imp, "I do trust you, I can just see the temptation that causing chaos in the school would be. In my year in the first few years there was a group of students who always like to cause mischief, and often succeeded in it, it was rather fun to watch at times" she said mixing her batter until it was smooth. it looked perfect but she wasn’t going to taste it just yet. She went on to putting out the cases in the tin. She listened as he said that his grandmother was a little disappointed no one in the family had got the gift off her. "It is fairly common to skip generations. So maybe next generation there will be a seer" she said though she had no way of knowing, seers found it hard to see seers.
she mixed in most of the chocolate and some of the raspberries onto the mix then. mixing them in. ready star start spooning it out, this was the part where her gloves would have been ruined. as she used her finger to sip the mixture off the spoon. she hadn’t though of him as an athlete, she guessed more of a friend than anything else, but she guessed that flying professor was more sport than theory. "I guess you’re right, for me as long as i remain fit enough to clime all the stairs I am golden, though there are a lot of them up to divination tower" she said jokingly. She wasn’t big into sport, but her usual activities tended to keep her active enough. "a winter treat, you're right they are best eaten by a hot fire." she said the thought taking her back to when she was young she would eat them fresh from the oven sitting by the fire often with a hot sweet apple tea or warm milk.
"your family past is rather interesting. Circe I have heard of her. She was the one who turned people into pigs right?" she said she could only go up one line for her family, no branching or anything. "wow it seems like you come from a lot of famous witches or wizards, the world had better watch out for the Stratus’" she said smiling as she added a second spoonful of the mixture in the cases. "supposedly Morgan was more into transfiguration, and was a bird animagus most likely a raven hence why i use one instead of an owl.” she said explaining her choice of postal bird. It had originally been galled Morgan but she had had to change its name to Merlin after she had found out her mothers name and started sending letters to her. "I think some texts say she was also a healer and a seer though they may have been wrong, I hope not thoughshe sad scraping the last of the mixture out of the bowl ”How are your muffins going, I’m almost ready to put them in” she said. She just had to put the remainder of the raspberries and chocolate on the top.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

"That would be the coolest humans in that place. I would be using them to do my dirty work and then they would got played. I can imagine their faces when they got blind sided." said the imp with a menacing laugh, revealing its small fangs. "Thanks for sharing. Now I'm never going to let you even have a glimpse of the place. Stables are pretty enough for you." he interrupted the imp's ambitions by making it clear that he was never going to take the creature to Hogwarts.

He was glad that the creature remained silent. He had already enough of its attitude and he was trying to concentrate on his muffins while talking with Elvera. "That place has so many stairs, that's true but I wouldn't mind having my office at the towers. I could be flying off my office without being noticed that easily by students." he said as he had thought a lot of times to fly off his office's window but it was so close to the ground that people would have noticed. He didn't want to give a bad example to students, making them recklessly flying off windows.
He chuckled as Elvera referred to his ancestor. It was funny that most people were remembering from turning sailors into hogs. "Yes, that is correct. I guess she was a feminist and she wasn't really happy about sailors trespassing her island. Later, she became more open-minded and created a whole magical community on her island. It still exists." he talked about the place he was brought up. He was sometimes homesick but he liked this new begginging in his life.

He dropped spoonfuls of the caramel into the mixture and gently swirled through. He didn't actually mix it in. He found nicer to see little pockets of caramel bubbles in the finished muffins.
"It's not only my family coming down from those wizards. There are other six. There were more but for some reason they were banished off the island for some strange reason." he said as he took his muffin cases and placed them in the tin. "It is said that Circe had at least three sons athough she was known as a bad girl. Who knows how many children she had." he grinned and spooned the mixture into the cases until they were quite full.
"My family and the other six are descended from her three sons with Odysseus of Ithaca. He was a muggle hero. You might know him from some muggles' poems. Anyway, we even know from whom of her three sons are we descended." he continued while he was keep filling the muffin cases with tenderness like a chef.

It was nice to learn more about wizards outside Greece. They seemed they were skillfull magis everywhere around the world. "She sounds so powerful. Seer and at the same time an animagus? That's what I would call talent." he said impressed, filling his last case. "One of our ancestors was an animagi. The first recorded in history. He could turn into a falcon, the sacred animal of Circe. It's a shame though. Except that none of us has the gift of a seer, we even don't have an animagi in our generation." he said, realising how much they would have let down their ancestors. "I'm ready as well. Let's put them in the oven." he opened the preheated oven and placed his cases inside. "Mine will take 20 minutes to be ready. Want some hot chocolate till then?" he asked her already taking off a cupboard a couple of mugs.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

Elvera shook her head, she hadnt meant to cause problems for them. "yep you are lucky to be on the first floor, I have seven floors and then a starecase to the tower every time a want to go for dinner. but i do love my tower office, Its nice and a way from the rest of the school, when there isnt lessons on its only me and Zinnia the other divination teacher are there" she said, she wasnt complaining, but it did stop her sneeking down for morning tea, though she had enough food in her office to make up for it.
"if you time it right you should be able to fly out from your office" she said smiling.
when he spoke about his ancestor she nodded she was sure she had read about that before, maybe for a history of magic, maybe just whilst she was reading. "I think i have heard of her, was that where you grew up?" she asked wondering what his childhood had been like. "you know which son you were from? that is interesting. though three sons from that long ago would lead to a lot of people now." she said. watched as he put the rest of the mix into the cases. "she was a pretty powerful witch, Taught by merlin." she said. it was one of the most reliable myths about her. she saw that he had the last of his mix in the case "ready? Mine take 15 to 20 minutes, it depends on how powerful the oven is." she said rambling slightly. "I would love a hot chocolate" she said waving her wand at the dishes to clean them. the advantages of being an adult was that you, could do the dishes easily.

 

[Icarus Stratis]

Icarus let Elvera put inside the oven her cases and closed it, setting it to the right temperature.
"First floor is always busy. History of magic and defence against the dark arts, pile students from the morning until the evening. Sometimes I just can't concentrate in my office." he continued about the drawbacks of his office's location. "I bet that the towers are not really visited by students, at least, not so often." he added.
"Oh yeah I have done it a couple of times. In the evenings I have the cover of night." he admitted with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah I was born and brought up there. Great place although quite excluded from the rest of the world. Rules there are quite strict and supposed to be unbreakable." he talked about the island he had passed his life.
"Yes I know it sounds quite impossible but that's what they say. The one of the three actually died in a duel so I think he didn't have the chance to have any offsprings so they are actually two of them. Officially only seven families can call themselves rightful descendants of that bloodline but I'm sure there are more out there. As I said there were some that were banished from the bloodline for unknown reason." he said not really knowing the reason why. He wasn't a really deplomatic person and he wasn't good in politics so he wasn't taking part in conversations like that one.

"If Merlin was her tutor then she's undoubtedly powerful." he agreed with her. Merlin was a worldwide known wizard. Maybe the most skillfull and powerful.
He added some cocoa powder in the mugs and then he used his wand to add non-verbally water. With another flick, the water in the mugs unleashed some steam as it warmed up. From a jar he picked a few marshmallows and added them in the hot chocolate. "Here you go. Careful it's hot." he warned her as he was offering the hot drink. "Any plans for the end of the term? Planning any kind of holidays?" he asked as he leaned against the counter and had a sip from his chocolate, leading to a grimace of pain as he burnt his tongue.