Closed Comfort Cocoa.

[Evan Eldridge]

Learning about Unforgivable Curses in Defense Against The Dark Arts class had left Evan feeling absolutely horrible. She couldn't understand how or why anything so horrid could possibly exist. She needed something to help her calm down, something comforting... Something sweet, something warming to distract Evan from the horrible cold pit in her stomach. She managed to find her way down to the kitchens, and had set her heart on a giant mug of hot chocolate. Right in that moment she couldn't think of anything else she wanted in the entire world.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya had been far too busy becoming acquainted with the new animal companions around the school to remember inconsequential things like food and eating. There were cats to pet and poisonous slugs to watch appreciatively, so food hadn't appeared on her radar until her stomach growled angrily. She wondered if it was worth dealing with the staircases in order to get up to her dorm room. Freya did not trust them one bit and was half-convinced they were out to get her and only shifted when she was about to be late for class. The kitchens were closer, so she headed there and chatted idly with some of the house elves, inquiring about their day because she liked hearing about what was going on with the other beings around the school.

She hadn't quite decided what she was in the mood for eating, and looked up curiously as a girl entered the kitchens. "Our next contestant has entered the stage! Welcome to Wands and Whisks! Now, tell me, what are your culinary plans for us today?" Freya put on her best announcer's voice and wandered over to the girl and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

 

[Evan Eldridge]

When somebody addressed her the moment she entered the kitchen, Evan froze. She hadn't really thought about running into anyone else, her mind had only been on hot cocoa. The things the Hufflepuff was saying though, made no sense and at the same time Evan knew exactly what she was doing. She had no idea who this person was, but she was willing to play along. It was a good distraction from thinking about Defense Against The Dark Arts.

"My name's Evan Eldridge, Gryffindor. I'm here for hot chocolate. But not just any hot chocolate, I'm here to make the best hot chocolate Hogwarts has ever seen." Evan laughed, she tried to make her voice sound more serious than natural, hoping that pretending to be a competitor in some kind of magical cooking show was the response the Hufflepuff had been looking for.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya grinned, happy that Evan was willing to play along. "Welcome, Evan! I'm your host, Freya Song, and let's get; Ready! To! Cook!" she said, with a flourish. Hot chocolate sounded excellent to her right now. "You'll definitely need to be using real melted chocolate for that. That powdered garbage is banned from the show," she grinned. Hot chocolate powder tasted like sadness and Freya refused to subject herself to that again. It reminded her too much of being crammed into a tiny kitchen with a bunch of other kids and making plastic cheese sandwiches for her equally pathetic lunch. She spotted some chocolate and waved her wand towards it. "Accio chocolate!" she said, catching the block out of the air and putting down on the counter in front of them. "You're the master chef here, what do we need next?" she asked Evan, and held out an imaginary microphone for the girl to speak into.

 

[Evan Eldridge]

As Freya made the big announcement that it was time to get ready to cook, Evan pumped both of her fists in the air triumphantly. "Woohoo! I'm SO ready!" She watched in awe as Freya used a summoning charm to retrieve chocolate from within the kitchen. She momentarily broke character from the little game they were playing "Oh I was reading about that spell the other night!" She pulled her wand from her own robes and cleared her throat. "The trick to the perfect hot chocolate is...uhh" Evan was drawing a blank, she didn't actually know how to make the best hot chocolate in the world, but she wanted to keep the game going. She scrunched her nose up, trying to think of something fun enough, when she spotted a jar of cinnamon sticks "... why it's cinnamon, of course!" Before she'd had time to consider her actions, she waved her wand and said "Accio cinnamon sticks!" The jar of cinnamon sticks leaped from the kitchen bench and threw itself at Evan. She managed to catch the jar without dropping anything. "Hey, I've never done that before!" She smiled at Freya, feeling all of her worries slowly fading away. It felt nice to be play a make believe game, after three weeks of classes and study. "Now, to melt that chocolate."

 

[Freya Song]

Freya was impressed that Evan had been able to perform the summoning charm, even if it did mean she was a nerd that did things like reading about spells. "You're a natural," she said breezily, as she began chopping up the chocolate so it would melt more easily. She thought about making the hot chocolate in individual mugs, but wondered if that would make too much of a mess, before spotting an empty cauldron and asking one of the house elves if they could fill it with milk.

Chocolate, cinnamon, and milk sounded like a pretty solid recipe for hot chocolate in Freya's admittedly limited experience, and she began adding them to the cauldron, making sure Evan had the chance to assist if she wanted. "I'll give you the honour of stirring," Freya said graciously, finding a wooden spoon and handing it to Evan. "So, would you like to share with the audience what brings you to our show?" she asked. None of the house elves were paying attention to their conversation, or at least were polite enough to pretend they weren't eavesdropping, although Freya was certain one of them would pop up out of nowhere if they thought either of the girls needed anything.

 

[Evan Eldridge]

The idea of making an entire cauldron of hot chocolate was hilarious to Evan, and she laughed heartily. She watched Freya's every move, the girl was very unusual to Evan but in the most wonderful way, and she couldn't wait to hear what she would come up with next. As Evan stirred the cauldron, Freya asked her what had brought her to the kitchen. Evan pondered for a moment before answering, wondering if she should come up with a bizarre and fantastical answer, or whether she should use the opportunity to vent about what had really brought her down to the kitchens. She didn't know how others might react to her opinions about DADA and how she felt about Professor Styx, but there was something about Freya that made Evan feel like she didn't have anything to hide. She decided to speak from her heart.

"Well, Freya, I've recently been alerted to the existence of some pretty horrible magic, and let's just say it's shaken me to the core." She thought back to the moment she had learned about the killing curse, and she shivered. She continued her speech, deciding to kick the imaginary element up a notch. "The world needs more goodness, Freya. I believe if we make enough of the world's greatest hot cocoa to share with everyone, no one will ever feel the desire to perform dark magic again." She tried to keep her face sincere, but she couldn't hold back a smile. She was having the most fun she'd had in a while.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya had not considered the consequences of making an entire cauldron of hot chocolate, but she was willing to sacrifice the safety of her stomach if required to drink all of it. Maybe the house elves would enjoy some when it was ready. She listened to Evan speak, smiling at the girl's plan to stop dark magic with chocolate.

Charms could be horrible occasionally, and transfiguration made Freya experience some kind of emotion if she thought about it, which she tried not to, but she had an idea of what Evan was referring to. "Ah," she said, knowingly, and half-wishing she had her glasses with her so she could appear wise and scholarly. "Let me guess, you've got Styxie Boy teaching you how to defend yourself against the dark arts?" she hummed, adding some sugar to the cauldron. Freya didn't mind DADA classes, though she was more interested in observing Professor Styx being spooky than any of the actual subject content.

 

[Evan Eldridge]

Evan was glad she hadn't already finished making and started drinking the cocoa, otherwise she may have choked and spat everywhere at hearing Freya refer to Professor Styx as Styxie Boy. She burst out laughing, almost dropping the wooden spoon she was using to stir the cocoa right into the cauldron. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry but that's too funny!" Evan wheezed. She wasn't able to control her giggles, and the laughter had been so strong and sudden that she already had to hold on to her ribs which were starting to ache. Professor Styx might have been a bit terrifying at times, but how terrifying could a Styxie-Boy be? "I'll have to remember that one" She wiped a tear from her eye and took a deep breath, trying to regain control of herself.

 

[Freya Song]

Freya hadn't thought her nickname for Professor Styx was that funny, and looked at Evan with a bemused smile as the Gryffindor laughed. Maybe the name would catch on, to be spread far and wide throughout the school. "Tell all your friends," Freya winked. The cauldron probably had enough sugar in it by now, and Freya peered at the hot cocoa mixture. "Do you think it's ready?" she asked. She had to restrain herself from putting chili peppers into the hot cocoa, because while it sounded like a brilliant idea to her, she wasn't sure if Evan would appreciate the unexpected addition of mouth-burning spice.

 

[Evan Eldridge]

Freya was probably right, Evan thought, as the two had chatted their concoction had simmered away for long enough and it was finally time for the taste test. Evan reached for two goblets from a shelf nearby, feeling there was no need to summon something so close to her with magic after having such a successful first try- she didn't want to push her luck. Evan remembered Freya's fun little make believe scenario, and quickly jumped back into character.

"It's ready, alright! Now, if it's perfect, you and I should be able enjoy it as a delightful hot cup of cocoa, but if this specific brew were ever served to an evil big old meanie then all of their evil big old meanie thoughts and desires would be forever gone, destroyed by the power of chocolate and cinnamon and the joy of having a warm and full belly!" As Evan went on her voice became increasingly more excited and higher pitched, and by the time she was done speaking she was standing on her tiptoes, waving her arms (and the goblets) triumphantly above her head. In her excitement she lost her balance, wobbling drastically to regain her composure. She came dangerously close to knocking over the cauldron, but, perhaps protected by the power from the magical chocolate concoction nearby, Evan managed to find her footing.

She burst into laughter, barely holding it together enough to finally scoop two portions of cocoa from the cauldron and into the goblets. She offered the second one to Freya, lifting her own to her mouth and taking the first careful sip. "Oh.. My.. Gosh.." Evan paused, carefully considering the taste and what word she could use to describe it... "It's DREADFUL!" She began to roar with laughter, and managed to carefully place the goblet of terrible cocoa on the closest flat surface she could find before falling onto the floor and curling into a ball, giggling and clutching at her ribcage, imagining that the only way that this cocoa would defeat any dark witch or wizard would be by poisoning them.