Bards and Meadhalls

[Bren Bartlowe]

Having escaped the dungeons at least the parts that he did not know so well he found himself to be a bit parched and hungry. Rumors had it that the kitchen was on the lower floors of the school and ran entirely by house elves. Bren's mother was rather against house elves on principal, but his Uncle Bartlowe was not of the same mindset. He had a rather young house elf named, Cotton, who he treated quiet well. He had his own living quarters within the cottage with a tiny bed and blanket. He also had the option to be set free if ever he wanted to or to receive compensation for his work. Of course, the house elf refused such things and found it nearly offensive to be offered them. He consistently though that Jayke was trying to fire him, so he to stop the crying Jayke left the offer on the table and said nothing more on the matter. Cotton, of course, was pleased as punch to have such a caring master that he saw little need to leave or be reassigned. All in all, everyone was quiet happy with the arrangments, save his Aunt, who often scoffed at Jayke for his dependence on a poor innocent creature. Jayke brushed it off in a cloud of smoke, like he often did and threatened his charming sister that if she attempted to set Cotton free that he would hex her bald, she seemed to get the point and left matters alone as well though she refused to linger long at the cottage before finding something more pressing to attend to elsewhere. Having only seen one house elf in his life he was curious to see what more looked like and was even more interested in watching them cook.

As he began to march off down one corridor, he realized that he did not know where the kitchens were exactly. There were really no maps to use to navigate the school, and even if there were he was terrible at reading them. So with a rolling of his eyes, he realized that he went from one bad scenario to the next. Lady Luck was not on his side today, and given the last ordeal, he did not know if he could handle another run with a student just yet. So far people did not take to kindly to his loud and energetic personality. It was like being thrown into a hurricane, a bit overwhelming at first. But if you could help mange to wait for the storm out then it was clear skies from then on. But Bren often tested the patience of those he met, and if he were forced to ask for directions for the second time, he would likely run into more complications. With no other choice, he leaned up against a nearby wall and glared at the painting of a cat on the wall. There was little point asking the painting where to go as the cat inside was having the time of its existence with a giant ball of red yarn. It blinked at him from time to time before going back to its cute pouncing and pawing of the yarn. He was so lost in the spectacle that he nearly did not notice a young girl coming his way. She seemed far more pleasant than the others that he ran into so far today though he knew that looks could be extremely deceiving in a school where house rivalry sort of ruled the scene. Maybe she was another Slytherin seeking to pick a fight with him for being a Gryffindor. Maybe it was another individual looking to explore the ground or someone who knew where the kitchen was!

"Oiy! You. Yeah, you. Do you happen to know where the kitchen is? I am lost again and can't seem to find the accursed place to save my life.Why did they have to make this castle so confusing! It makes no sense what so ever. Magical folk can not just leave well enough alone can they? They have to do things in the most confusing and fantastical way possible. You know how many times I got stuck on those blazing staircases today! SIX. Six times in one afternoon. I still have to make it back to my common room which means that I could end up getting stuck six more times on my way up to that bloody tower. Bah." He said a bit loudly and in a frustrated tone. He was still a bit peeved about the stair situation that he could practically chew bricks at this point in time. He did not mean to vent but the whole day had been a bust, and the only thing he wanted was a nice glass of lemonade and a few small baked goods to snack on. Why was it so diifult to get the msot simplest things in life? It was a question he would ask himself often over the course of the next year as he tried to familiarize himself with the castle and grounds more. "The name is Bren Bartlowe by the way, I am a first year Gryffindor. " He added as an after though as he realized he had not offered the girl the luxury of his name before he went off on his little tangent.

 

[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor couldn't believe that she was already in her second year at Hogwarts. She regretted taking advantage of it so much and wished that she had done many more things, despite how much longer she had left at Hogwarts to do all of that. Her second year hopefully wasn't going to be too hard and the only good thing about this year to Eleanor was that it had the least subjects and she was not stuck doing flying anymore. Flying was definitely not Eleanor's best subject. She loved going outside and feeling the wind blow through her hair but she just didn't have the coordination to stay on a broom for long and could not ever see herself joining the Hufflepuff quidditch team this year. She really wished she was good at it but not everyone was good at everything.

As Eleanor exited her common room and happily made her way down to the bottom of the castle she waved at a small portrait and smiled, suddenly having the urge to explore. She hadn't really explored the kitchens yet and hadn't ever seen a house elf yet, despite how desperately she wanted to see one last year. She was going to make that one of her goals this year and quickly made her way down to the lower levels of the castle, making sure no one was trailing her. If anyone found out that Eleanor was going to sneak into the kitchens just so she could see a house elf they would never keep her out of her sight ever again. She almost jumped to the roof when she heard a voice behind her. At first she thought that it was a prefect and could feel her face turning red but took a sigh of relief once she turned around and realised that it was in fact just a lost person looking to go to the kitchens himself. She let him rant to her and listened as he introduced himself as Bren Bartlowe. "I'm Eleanor Hope." she told him with a curt nod, understanding that he happened to be one of those new first years and so he probably didn't know as much as her. "Why do you want to go to the kitchens?" She raised an eyebrow at him, unsure whether or not he was trying to do the same thing as her and waited for an answer.

 

[Bren Bartlowe]

"Charmed to make you acquaintance Ellie." Bren said as he christened the girl a nickname, whether or not she wanted one. He found her name to be a bit long winded compared tot he likes of his own but more than that he liked to give people nicknames. It was a sign that the meeting was off to a good start as he only gave people nicknames that he liked. The girl did not seem like a Slytherin, and was in fact, a Hufflepuff given her house colors. Bren sighed gratefully as he felt as though he was int eh company of a long lost friend. He had never heard of a mean or nasty Hufflepuff and was told that there were no finer people in the world than a Hufflepuff. It was the house that his uncle had graduated from and so he knew it was one to be trusted. " I was looking for the kitchens so I could meet a few house elves. I hear the school has a whole flock of them manning the kitchens, and I figured that in would be interesting to see them rush around making food. If I could get a pastry out of the visit and a nice glass of milk, well that would just make my day which has been otherwise miserable. Who knew that this place could be so big and utterly confusing." Bren said as he leaned back on his heels and smiled at the girl brightly as he shoved both hands in his pockets.

"Why are you down here? I can not say that I imagine that Hufflepuff house is located in the dungeons." Bren said with unshakable confidence as he knew for a fact that it was Slytherin who was housed in the dungeons after his dealings with Rory. He figured the girl was either lost as well, something that seemed far too common with the first years this semester. Or she was looking to find the kitchen as well. Maybe she had been there before and was making a return visit. It would be the start of improving his day if she could give him directions at the very least. He would prefer if they were accurate directions as he had been given his fair share of false ones all day. It was partially what led him to become lost; some silly third year told him to take a left when he was supposed to take a right. Which lead him to lose his way for the better part of an hour before he managed to find his way back into familiar territory. He took a moment to observe the girl as she offered him up her reasons for being in the dungeons. She seemed sweet and innocent at first glance,w ith her brown hair and soft features. But he knew that sometimes the most the least innocent looking individuals could be the most dangerous of foes. Bren hoped that the girl was a friend rather than a foe as friends seemed to be in short supply these days.

 

[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor didn't know what to think when Bren used her nickname. The only person who really called her that was Ares and it felt slightly indifferent to hear it come out of someone else's mouth. Nonetheless, Eleanor still smiled at him, supposing that he was most likely just a really nice person who gave everyone nicknames. After all, Ellie was the the only nickname that could really be used for her name and she was thankful that Bren was already feeling comfortable enough to call her that. She listened as he started speaking yet again and Eleanor wondered if he ever stopped. She also wondered if that was how people felt about her when she tended to ask a lot of questions. What really shocked her was that he wanted to go to the kitchens for the same reason as she did. Was that the only reason anyone ever wanted to go there? Besides, what else would be so interesting about the kitchens?

"Oh I was just... visiting my sister in her common room." Eleanor lied when Bren asked her in return what she was doing. She realised only 2 seconds after she said it that it was stupid - she wouldn't be able to go into the Slytherin common room anyway. Sighing, she confessed her crimes. "Okay fine I'm going to the kitchens too for that exact reason. Crazy, huh? I guess I could show you the way. Follow me!" With that, she turned around and continued her journey to the kitchens, this time with a new acquaintance by her side. Hopefully the two of them were going to have heaps of fun.

 

[Bren Bartlowe]

Bren for a split second was likely to buy the lie, being a first year and all he was not all that well versed in school rules. It was in part that when rules were brought up he often dozed off out of sheer boredom. Most rules were rather straightforward and rather obvious. Others were a bit different but Bren disliked all rules equally so as not to be biased one way or the other. So he for a minute believe that he was able to enter the common room of other houses but then he realized the error in that lie. If it was easy to walk into another house common room then there would be no need for passwords or hidden locations. Though before he could call the girl out on her deceit she confessed to the crime in a round about way. Bren faked being shocked and slightly hurt by the revelations. "And here I was thinking that you were this sweet innocent girl, only to find that you lied to me. You can not visit other common rooms. However, I shall forgive as long as you are really going to show me to the kitchens. My uncle Jayke warned me about the cunning of the Hufflepuff, while you mascot may look all cute and innocent they can be rather dangerous if provoked." Bren said as he followed alongside the girl with a slight grimace on his face. Duped by a Hufflepuff. that would be something he would not be boasting about in his weekly letters home. His mother would likely respond with a howler for that error in judgment. His uncle would also laugh heartily as he often did if informed of Bren's underestimation of Hufflepuff. "So what year are you then Ellie if you do not mind me asking. While you look to be a first-year student, I can not imagine you would be able to find the kitchen so easily."Bren said as he gave the girl a sideways glance. "Oh let's try and be honest this time around! If you are honest with me, then I will be honest with you. There is no reason not to trust one another. " Bren said cooly, as he was every bit honest as he could be given the circumstance.

 

[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor held her breath as Bren spoke, hoping that he wasn't too angry that Eleanor had lied to him. It was very hard for the Hufflepuff to keep a lie for too long so she knew very well that it wasn't going to happen again. She was relieved that the boy forgave her nonetheless as she rounded the corner. Breaking someone's trust when they only just met was quite rude and Eleanor felt like hexing herself, not really happy with the fact that she didn't really give Bren a good first impression. She had no idea that she could be dangerous when provoked and simply shrugged at his words, not knowing if that was true or if that was just stereotypical. There were many stereotypes for Bren's house too but the girl simply kept her mouth shut as he continued to talk, not wanting to make her first impression even more worse than it already was.

When Bren asked Eleanor what year she was in and told her to be honest, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes at him. Why would she lie about the year she was in? It infuriated her that he already thought so low of her, despite it being her own fault. "I'm a second year. I have only been to the kitchens once but I've never entered it, mainly because I was too scared." she admitted, knowing very well that this time, with a new partner and all, she would not be able to chicken out again. Doing things with people was always what made her happy and she knew that it was only for the best that Bren was with her. Eleanor didn't have much independence and hoped that the boy wasn't going to judge her too much for her cowardice, especially considering he was supposed to be a brave Gryffindor. Before she knew it, they were at the kitchens and Eleanor stopped at the door, hesitating before opening it slightly. If the elves were smart they would definitely have found a hiding space by now.