Ekky the house elf had just finished cleaning the classrooms and decided to head back to the kitchens to see if there was anything that needed doing. He knew there wasn't, of course; Hogwarts House Elves were excellent house elves, and everything was already sorted in the kitchens. Most house elves would either be straightening the students' dorm rooms and common rooms as the kids slept, or having a kip themselves. Ekky was a restless old elf, and rarely slept. He knew his dog, Tip, would be snoring in the section of secret corridor between the walls of the old castle that they'd claimed as their own. It happened to be just on the other side of the wall from one of the large furnaces that heated the castle, and Tip loved to lie up against the wall, letting the warmth seep into her old bones and joints.
As he apparated into the kitchen with his trademark squeaking sound, Ekky saw a young teenager sitting at one of the tables.
"Ooh! Greetings, young witchy! How is you? Master is hungry? Ekky can be cooking for Master. Master wants?"
