Biscuit?

[Liam Kale]

Liam had snuck down to the kitchens earlier in the day. It reminded him very much of home. His Mother spent a lot of time in the kitchens. They had no cook, because his Mother prefered to do it herself. She loved cooking, and baking. This was another adventure for Liam. He wasn't sure how to get into the kitchens at first, but after a while, he'd seen another student going down. He'd waited 'till they were gone, and then followed. The House-elves were very friendly. He'd never seen a house-Elf before, back home they had human staff, muggles. His parents were always careful about when they used magic, and made sure only to do so when their maid and gardener were gone. It had been harder when Liam started showing signs of magic. His mother used to sit with him up in his room, trying to keep him occupied, and he'd be let out when they were gone.

At the moment, he was eating a cupcake that they'd offered him. He wasn't planning on getting food, but it would have been rude to refuse. He loved cupcakes, and they'd offered him some tea, which was almost ready. The tiny little creatures skuttled around him. Liam was 5'3" which was quite tall for his age, and he was still growing. The house-elves seemed miniscule beside him. The cupcake was delicious, and he smiled his thanks as he was handed a cup of tea, and a small plate of biscuits. He immediately dipped one of the biscuits in, something he'd done since he was a child, and waited until it was soggy. Just before it was about to melt, he popped it in his mouth. Delicious.

 

[Paxton Rogue]

Paxton had gotten lost exploring the castle, but he didn't care, getting lost always led to more adventures than knowing where you were going could offer. He found himself in a warm hallway that seemed so out of place in the otherwise lofty castle. The ceilings were lower here and there were rich woods to balance out the cold stone. He noticed a picture of fruit hanging on the wall a bit further down and laughed a little because it looked like it it belonged in 1950's motel room, rather than in an ancient stronghold of magic. It made him nostalgic for home, though. As beautiful as the island was, he longed to be back in Texas, riding mustangs, mudding, going to rodeos, and eating real Texas barbecue off the smoker. New Zealand seemed bland next to Texas and he had to lean against the burnished wall for a moment to collect himself. Paxton was usually unflappable. His mother called him stoic. But right now anger at his father relocating them all to a brand new country right when he was supposed to start his magical education was threatening to boil over. Strong, silent Paxton was more akin to a slumbering but very active volcano than to the rock of gibraltar.

"Just deal with it," he told himself. He knew that action was the best way to stave off emotion and decided to see what was behind some of these walls. The first couple of doors yielded nothing too interesting, but the third led him into a room filled with the delicious smell of baking and a lot of little creatures wearing rags. He noticed another boy from his house eating a cupcake and some cookies. His stomach rumbled as he sauntered forward to sit with the kid, noticing that even sitting down the kid might be as tall as he was. It would be a change to be able to look someone his own age in the eye without looking down. One of the creatures Pax had never seen, even as a half-blood, brought him a plate of cupcakes and bacon sandwiches. How did they know I had just been craving bacon like crazy? he wondered. "Hey, I'm Pax," he held out his hand to the boy, "I've seen you around the common room. I'm a first-year Gryff."

 

[Liam Kale]

Liam was busy ensuring the House-Elves that he had enough food, no he did not need a cake, and yes, the tea was lovely. they were funny little creatures. He'd love to have one living with them, but his Mother said it was cruel. He'd suggested they pay them, but she'd said not many would accept payment. He'd left it at that. He looked up and saw them handind another boy food. He looked to be around the same age as Liam, and perhaps the same height. He smiled at him and waved, as he bit into another cupcake. They really were delicious. He'd have to do a lot of running to work this off. He missed rugby, and his horses already. Obi-Wan would be lost, with nobody to excercise him. Yes, the jockey's would do it, but they weren't Liam. They didn't know that he didn't like doing laps of the practice ring, and prefered a good hack in the countryside. It would n't be the same. Then again, he had left his parents instructions. Perhaps they were looking after him, and Rhona. It was a pity he couldn't send Yoda on a reconnaisance mission. He wouldn't be able to tell him whether they were alright.

He shook the boy's hand, and swallowed the mouthful of cupcake; "I'm Liam, it's a pleasure." he greeted, then, answering the boy, he said; "Yes, I remember you from sorting, I'm a First Year too-I found this place earlier. They're very friendly." he grinned, smiling at the House-Elves; "It's weird though, I've ne'er seen them 'round the castle." Still, he hadn't been here long, they were probably very busy.

 

[Paxton Rogue]

Paxton wolfed down a bacon sandwich and started on the next one after a gulp of pumpkin juice, his eyes following the elves as they bustled about. "Err, what are they?" he asked Liam. He hoped it wasn't too rude to ask even though he know he sounded like an idiot. Pax wondered briefly if this boy was going to assume he was a muggle born, and if he did, whether he was one of those wizards with pureblood mania. His mother had told him all about the various prejudices in the wizard world, and even though he had grown up around magic, still had some trouble believing that half the creatures she mentioned really existed. A lot of it sounded like fairy tale stories about a fictional world. Well, he'd known enough muggles to know that a lot of them would call him a fictional character, too.

"I mean, I know they're magical creatures of some kind, but they obviously don't need wands and what's with their clothes?" he said, feeling sorry for the small creatures who seemed overworked and severely underpaid. He wondered if there was such a thing as minimum wage in the wizard world. Even when he did chores around the ranch back in Texas his father insisted upon giving him minimum wage. Of course he didn't get to spend that money. Nope, the businessman was strict about bringing it straight to the bank to build a foundation for the future. Funnily enough, he wasn't really considering that there's any kind of future in magic. Sure, he wanted Pax to learn it, but he still had to do muggle studies over the breaks. Pax made a face thinking about how he'd have school all year long.

 

[Liam Kale]

Liam was shocked that thew boy didn't know what they were/ He sipped his tea before answering; "They're House-Elves. Lots of wizarding family's keep them as servants. I dinnae know there were any here, bu' I met them when I came down here. My Mother says they have very powerful magic." he answered. "Where are you from?" he asked, he'd never heard this boy's accent before. It sounded American, like the actors in Star Wars, but he couldn't be sure; "I'm Scottish meself." he added, hoping that, because he'd given some information on himself, the boy would answer.

"Oh, now tha's a big topic for debate." he began as the boy questioned their clothes. Liam knew a lot about the magical world, having grown up in it, but he didn't realise other kids didn't; "You see, hoouse-elves belong to their Master.They donnae get paid, most of them like it-which is a bit weird. A lot of them'd bite yer head off for suggesting they get a wage, or proper clothes. You see, if a House-elf's Master gives him clothes, he's free. Lots of Elves are afraid of losing their Master. It's terible really, to see them enslaved, but wha' cin you do when they don't wanna be free?" he finished, with a sigh. He'd made sure not to speak very loudly, as he knew how much house-elves could get insulted. His cousin had one, and she was devoted to the family, who had tried to pay her once. She'd spent the afternoon scalding herself in boiled water, and no matter how many times they stopped her, she continued. It had been terrible, and they'd had to promise never to mention giving her clothes again.

 

[Paxton Rogue]

Pax nodded as Liam spoke, becoming more and more aware of how much he really did live in the muggle world and not the wizard one, despite being a half blood. "Hmm, well I don't know if we have 'em back in Texas, where I'm from, at least I've never seen or heard of 'em, but maybe my mom has," he said working his way through yet another bacon sandwich, "I'll have to ask her." He tried to imagine one of these creatures - house-elves - on a ranch in Texas and it seemed such a strange match that he laughed a little in his pumpkin juice. They'd probably burn like crazy in that heat and horse manure would be a pain to get outta those rags. He sure didn't understand not wantin' a decent wage for your work, but he supposed that not all people measured success in the same way. He knew the ache of his muscles or being able to recite a poem measured something, even if his father was more concerned with the state of his bank account at any given time.

He wondered if Liam's dad was the same way, if he was even a muggle at all. "What's Scotland like? Is your whole family there? What do they do?" he asked, grabbing a cupcake from the plate on the table, his sweet tooth kicking in. As much as he loved her, he was always kind of disappointed in his mom. Perhaps the frown showed on his face now as he thought about her. He never understood why anyone would give up such an important part of themselves - their magical heritage - to be some greedy Texan's wife. He loved his dad, but the pursuit of money just seemed so shallow next to a world steeped in ancient magic. "I guess it's kinda obvious I didn't grow up around much in the way of wizard folk," he said, playing with the cupcake. "My mom just kinda stopped using magic except for some housework, and my brothers don't have any powers, so I'm the only one who's really into this stuff. How about you?" he asked, looking inquiringly at Liam and wondering idly whether Liam was a pureblood who would react badly to this information, but not really caring. If he did, Pax would deal with it. He ate the cupcake in two bites and grabbed another.

 

[Liam Kale]

Out of Character:

Apologise for lateness

Liam looked over at the boy as he sooke about Texas, he knew that was somewhere in America; "Well, not many families have them, lots of people don't believe in it. In keeping them like slaves. There have been a few who agreed to be paid, but it's not very common." he explained as he spoke about asking his Mother. n elf brought over a plate of cookies and Liam took one, smiling his thanks. He loved cookies. The other boy seemed lost in thought. He too the opportunity to try and think of his geography lessons. Unconsciously, he said aloud; "Texas is in the South isn't it?" he'd had to study world geography, and his Mother would be ashamed to think he'd forgotten any of it.

Liam smiled at the questions. He loved Scotland. This was the kind of conversation he was use to, and it was comfortable and familiar; "Scotland's much colder than here, I live in the highlands, so it's very hilly, and green. I love it, there's plenty of places to explore." He began, thinking of home. "In the castle, there's just Father, Mother, Grandmother, Cat and I. Cat's my little sister." he explained. He loved the castle. It was big, and drafty, but it was home. His Mother had made it a bit more cosy. He had cousins and such, but they didn't live with them. "We own a stables." he explained, when asked what his family did. The stables were a big part of daily life; "How about you?" he asked, he didn't know much about Texas.

Liam shrugged as the boy said he didn't grow up with magic; "Both my parents are magical, and my sister's already showing signs. I grew up with it, but we have to be very careful that our jockeys, or servants don't see. Mother and Father use it, but only when no muggles are around. Grandmother uses it too, but she uses a lot of non-verbal magic, so it's not as noticeable" he explained. His Grandmother wasn't as strict about secrecy as his parents.