Closed Gold in the Lining

[Harper Alston]

There were only two reasons Harper ever ventured down into the kitchens: either she needed snacks for a get-together with friends or she needed ice to soothe an injury. Unfortunately, it was the latter reason that had sent her down here today. She'd been reading in her favorite tree when a bowtruckle had startled her, sending her tumbling to the ground. She wasn't seriously injured — no breaks or sprains that required Hospital Wing attention — but she did have a bruise forming above her left knee that could use some ice.

Past reckless stunts ending in kitchen trips had taught Harper where the elves usually kept the ice, and within minutes, she had a couple of pieces wrapped in a dish cloth. The idea of walking up eight flights of stairs with a freshly bruised knee wasn't particularly appealing, so she sat down on a nearby stool and propped her leg up on another one before putting the ice in place. Her bag, along with the book she had been reading, were nearby, but she left them alone and instead eyed the cupboards. She needed to keep the ice in place for at least 15 minutes. Maybe she should take advantage of her time down here and grab some food.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko was feeling good after winning against Ravenclaw but that also just meant that the pressure was on for the rest of the season since they were now on track to winning the whole thing. He was doing his best not to stress about it since their next game wouldn't be until next semester but he's brain had never been good at listening to him. So he headed down to the kitchens to work off some of his nerves, humming on his way down when he spotted Harper. He paused at the door but quickly noticed the ice and he quickly joined her. "What happened?" he asked sounding concerned.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper was busy contemplating whether she wanted something sweet or savory when someone suddenly appeared in the doorway. She flinched, sending the bundle tumbling off her knee. Though she managed to grab the cloth before it hit the floor, the ice cubes clattered to the ground and shot across the room. "Oh, hey, Nikko," she said, smiling when she saw who it was. "Sorry about that, you startled me."

She shrugged and swung her leg down. "It's nothing, I fell out of a tree," Harper said casually, as if she were describing any routine activity, before realizing that probably didn't sound very reassuring. "I wasn't very high up, and it's just a bruise," she added hurriedly. Maybe it'd be best to turn the conversation to him before he got too worried. "What are you doing down here?" she asked as she stood and scanned the floor, trying to find the fallen ice cubes.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko made a face. "No, I'm sorry." he said with a small laugh but tried to sound apologetic as he quickly bend down to help her clean up the fallen ice. "Guess I kind of over reacted." he admitted a bit sheepishly as he grabbed a few of the quickly melting cubes before getting up to toss them in a nearby sink. Nikko couldn't help but laugh again as Harper explained what happened. He still thought it sounded more serious than she made it sound but he didn't want to overstep if she insisted she was fine. "Well as long it was a short tree." he teased before rubbing the back of his neck when she asked why he was down here. "Oh, well I just needed to clear my head a bit and...cookies usually help." Nikko shrugged. "Do you want some?" he asked over his shoulder as he went to one of the pantries to collect the things he needed. He wasn't sure how the kitchen's were always stocked but he was grateful for it all the same. "It's going to take a little bit but I can always use an assistant. And It still looks like you should stay put for a while." he said with a grin.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper wasn't completely sure why Nikko was laughing, but it was infectious and soon she was laughing with him. "Very short," she reassured him. "It was basically an overgrown shrub" Which was a lie, of course, but he didn't need to know that. She found the last few pieces of ice and dumped them in the sink. Harper gave Nikko a curious look when he mentioned needing to clear his head, but she decided not to pry. Not yet, at least. If he was here for a distraction, he probably didn't want to dwell on whatever was bothering him.

"Of course," she said with a grin. "You don't even have to ask." Harper stepped back to give him space to gather the ingredients and supplies he needed. "And by assistant, you mean someone who will sit back and supervise, right?" she joked. "I can also taste test afterward. Since I'm feeling generous." She was of course willing to assist him however he needed, but she wasn't sure how much help she could be. She didn't really know how to bake. After the Great Flour Disaster of '46, her parents hadn't been too keen on teaching her and her siblings how to bake or cook.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko held up his hands "If you insist." he said before grabbing a bowl from one of the higher shelves. He paused, but only for a second as he tried to make sense of something being so high when the kitchens were mostly used by house elves. Maybe this one didn't get used very often and he made sure to rinse it out thoroughly. "Of course." he said with a dramatic eye roll, but he grinned at his new assistant. "You would do that for me?" he asked, sounding surprised before laughing. He was happy for the distraction and the company if he was being honest. He liked kitchens as a place to get away from a usually busy castle but today he didn't mind sharing it. "Alright, well go sit down before you find some other way to fall over." he said and shooed her away so he could work. Nikko set the oven to preheat before dumping the flour and sugar into the bowl with a practiced hand.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper nodded solemnly. "I know, it's a major sacrifice, but I'm willing to do it because I'm such a good friend." She tried to keep a straight face, but soon she was giggling as well. That laughter turned into a noise of faux-outrage moments later, however, when Nikko sent her away. "Are you calling me clumsy? I'm hurt," she said, unable to resist the pun. Even as she dramatically clutched at her heart, she took a seat. It was clear that Nikko knew what he was doing, and Harper didn't want to get in the way. Maybe she could help him clean up later as payment for the cookies. She watched as he started mixing ingredients without even pausing to consult a recipe. "Where'd you learn to bake?" she asked curiously. She didn't know many teenage boys who knew how to bake, and she wondered how Nikko had fallen into it.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko shook his head as he laughed and continued to wave Harper off. "I am." he said firmly as he cracked a couple eggs into the bowl next. "You're the one who fell out of a shrub." he pointed out and used the spoon he was using to mix the ingredients together to emphasis his point. But he quickly returned the spoon to the bowl as batter starting to drip off the end. Nikko made a face and reached for more flour. He knew the recipe by heart but there were more distractions that usual and figured he only put in half the flour he was supposed it. "My mom." he said simply when Harper asked about where he learned to back. He was focused on getting the consistency right and it took him a few seconds before he figured he should probably explain a little more. "My parents own a small in back home. My mom does a lot of the cooking which actually ends up being a lot of baking." he explained. "I like to help when I can. And it's always been fun to me I guess." Nikko added with a shrug.

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper couldn't help but laugh as he pointed the spoon towards her. "Hey, I only fell because I was attacked," she shot back. "It was a truly terrifying bowtruckle," she said, fully aware of how ridiculous of a statement that was. Nikko gave a rather brief answer to her question, and she wondered if she was distracting him. Harper wasn't sure how difficult baking was; the closest equivalent she could think of was brewing potions. And she knew she'd have trouble brewing a potion from memory while holding a conversation. But then he elaborated on his answer. "That's nice of you," she said with a smile. It also sounded like a lot of work and responsibility, but at least he enjoyed it. "You must be really good then if you're used to baking for a whole inn of people."

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko laughed at Harper's reply. "Hmm, likely story." he teased as he focused mixing the ingredients together. It was starting to look like it was supposed to now and he turned around a few times before remembering where the baking sheets were. He grabbed two so he could be more efficient. This was always the point in the process where he got impatient. "I guess." he said with a shrug when she said it was nice of him. It wasn't like he had choice all the time. Or rather it was help out or be bored doing nothing. "Yeah, it definitely got crazy at times." he said and smiled to himself as he started to scoop the finished dough on the sheet. He remembered times when he was too little to use the oven on his own and was in charge of moving things on to cooling racks and feeling like he was drowning in pastries during their busy seasons. "So have you really never made like... a cake before? Like even from a box?" he asked with a smile. He found it hard to believe that she found a simple batch of cookies to be so impressive.

 

[Harper Alston]

"Did you ever get to interact with the guests?" Harper asked curiously. She didn't know anyone who had grown up in an inn, and she had to imagine it made for a lot of interesting stories. At Nikko's question, Harper shook her head. "No. Well, I once made cookies at a friend's house using the frozen dough you can buy at the store, if that counts?" She had a feeling it didn't since the only thing they had done was break apart the little squares of dough and pop them into the oven. The whole process had taken maybe two minutes, not counting the baking time. "My parents always took care of the cooking and baking," she said, wondering if that made her spoiled. She'd never given a second thought to the arrangement until now. "They didn't really want five kids running around in the kitchen, making a mess. I think they still tense up every time one of my brothers walks in," she added with a laugh.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko hadn't really talked that much about his family to anyone at school. He wasn't sure if it was his dad's weirdness about magic that made him want to keep things so separate but it was nice to talk about it. "Sometimes." he said with a laugh. "We have this one family that would come nearly every year and when I was younger the dad would always offer me a few dollars if I could take his suitcase all the way up to their room. Which I know sounds easy but when your seven and the suitcase is nearly taller than you it's quite a challenge." he said with a laugh. Nikko made a face to show that he did not in fact think frozen dough counted before he turned around to pop the trays in the oven. He took a seat next to her now that it was time to wait. He didn't have a timer but he checked a clock on the wall and would just have to pay attention. "Five?" he said in mild disbelief. He had heard her mention siblings before but never realized she had that many. Apparently he hadn't kept track very well. It made his only child-ness feel quite lonely. Nikko laughed at her comment about he brother. "Well in that case it makes sense." he said with a shake of his head. "If they're all as graceful as you I'm sure your parents have every reason to worry." he joked, not wanting to pass up another opportunity to tease Harper again. Not having siblings never bothered him much since he had a lot of cousins and if he was honest he liked the quiet.

 

[Harper Alston]

The mental image of a mini-Nikko trying to lug a suitcase taller than him up a flight of stairs made Harper smile. And a little sad. He made it sound like he'd spent most of his childhood helping out with the inn. But he was laughing, and she'd follow his lead. "You got paid? I can't believe I've spent all these years doing my chores for free," she joked. She did chuckle when Nikko made a face. "Okay, I get the message." It seemed that he was done mixing the dough, and she had to admit the stuff on the trays looked better than the greasy, frozen squares she and her friend had used all those years ago.

As Nikko sat next to her, she felt a strange, but not wholly unfamiliar (or unpleasant), flutter in her stomach. Harper didn't want to think too hard about what the feeling meant, and thankfully his shock proved a good distraction. "Five," she confirmed with a laugh. "Things are never quiet at my house." It was a different kind of chaos from the castle, and she sometimes missed it. At Nikko's teasing, she gave him another mock-offended look. "You're so mean," Harper said, giving him a small playful shove in the shoulder. She couldn't maintain her expression for long and soon she was grinning. "I hope you're nicer to the guests at your parents' inn." She paused. "Would you believe me if I said I'm the most graceful out of all of them?" Actually, that was a lie. Her sister was definitely more graceful, but Harper liked to think she wasn't as much of a mess as her brothers.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko watched the clock tick down the minutes till the cookies would be ready. "Hardly." he laughed as Harper complained about not getting paid for chores. "It didn't happen often." he added with his hands up defensively. He sighed it had been a long time since he spent nearly everyday with his parents there. "I think they might pay me now. Well, they would if I were around more." he said a little sadly. He hadn't spent much time thinking about what his life might be like if he had never gotten his letter for Hogwarts, mostly because he had been so upset to come here in the first place. Besides it didn't do him any good to dwell on the impossible.

He was grateful for the distraction as Harper talked more about her family. He shook his head and had a hard time imagining it since it was so far from his own. He did have a lot of cousins and holidays with them were always chaotic and loud. He loved them but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't glad when they went home too. Nikko laughed as she pushed him lightly but he leaned into it dramatically and slid off the stool where he was sitting. "I'm always nice." he shot back as he checked the time and went to go peak at the ovens. "It might be hard but I think I could do that." he teased and ducked down to pull out the trays before she could throw anything at him.

 

[Harper Alston]

She was about to shoot back another joke when Nikko sighed. The sadness in his voice was unmistakable — if only because Harper knew she sometimes had the same tone when she spoke about home. She hesitated for a second before asking, "Do you think you'll go back after graduation?" It was still several years away, and though Harper had never been one to agonize over the future, the question of what she would do after Hogwarts had definitely crossed her mind. She'd talked to Chloë about it a bit, but it struck her that she didn't know what most muggleborn (or muggle-raised) students did.

The conversation turned to her family, and Harper grinned as Nikko dramatically fell off his stool. "Yeah, making fun of an injured girl, that's real nice of you," she said sarcastically. At his next comment, she laughed. "I can't believe you have so little faith in me." The room had been warming for the past few minutes (or was it just her?), sugar and vanilla scenting the air, but the fragrance grew especially strong when Nikko pulled the trays out of the oven. "Oh, those smell incredible!" She leapt up and started to clear the table so that there would be room for the cookies.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko hesitated and considered Harper's question. He had practically been avoiding the thought even though nearly everyone in his year was buzzing all about it considering they had their OWLs. But he had never focused much on his classes and only did enough to get by. "I- I really don't know. I know they'd love to have me home and I'd love to see them more but..." he started to say but trailed off. If he went home after school and worked at the inn, he knew he'd be happy but that would also probably be the end of magic for him. His father wouldn't allow it even if he was technically an adult by then. He hadn't figured out if he had any passion for any magical profession but the thought of never using it again, even for simple things, scared him. It would feel like cutting off a part of himself and he didn't think he could do it. "I think I need to figure out my own path. As cheesy as it sounds. Maybe I'll try out for a pro team and see if anyone will take a mediocre keeper." he said with a grin and a laugh, trying to lighten his own mood more than anything.

He was grateful he also had cookies to focus on and quickly started to move them off the sheet onto a cooling rack. "Well you don't seem that injured." he said teasingly. He was still a little worried her knee was messed up than she was letting on but considering she was able to laugh and joke it wasn't something dire. As he got to the last cooking on the sheet he scooped it up on the spatula and held it out for Harper to take. "Be careful, they're hot. But let me know what you think?"

 

[Harper Alston]

Harper listened patiently as Nikko worked through his answer. "That makes sense." She wasn't sure what her own path would look like, and she was glad she had an extra year to figure it out. She didn't think she was ready to choose between the magical and muggle worlds. "I think you mean a great keeper," she corrected. She knew Nikko was probably joking, but she wanted to reassure him in case he had any doubts. "Of course, I'll be expecting free tickets to all your games," she said with a grin. It was interesting that so many of her friends wanted to go pro; then again, she was friends with a lot of athletes.

"It's the principle of the matter," Harper said airily before smiling. She didn't want to worry Nikko. Her knee barely ached, and besides she'd had much worse before. She couldn't remember the last time when she didn't have a scrape or a bruise of some sort. When the cookies were finally ready, Harper eagerly accepted one and took a bite without a second thought. The inside of the cookie was practically molten, and she gasped, her eyes welling thanks to her burned tongue. "Sorry," she choked. "Hot." She laughed a little, knowing that this was her fault for ignoring Nikko's warning. She waved the cookie around a bit in an attempt to cool it down before taking a smaller bite. It tasted just as good as it smelled, and she hummed appreciatively. "These are great. I can't believe you've been holding out on me," she joked before taking another bite.

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko grinned at Harper's compliment but couldn't help but shrug it off. "If you say so." he said with a laugh. He appreciated the words of encouragement but he wasn't sure he entirely believed it. "Oh yeah?" he teased when she asked about free tickets. "I'm not sure why you think you'd get free tickets." he said sarcastically. He wasn't sure if he'd even get on a team worth watching but he would probably find a way to get her tickets if she wanted. "Maybe just the home games."

He rolled his eyes at her again and bit down another laugh as she took a bite of the cookie despite his warning. "I told you." Nikko said in scolding tone. He shook his head when she accused him of holding out. "I have not been holding out." he insisted with a laugh. "It's not my fault you've never been lucky enough to have them before now." he said with his arms crossed over his chest and gave Harper an innocent look before moving to put the last of the dough on the sheets.

 

[Harper Alston]

"You're right, it's not like we're friends or anything," she said, matching his sarcastic tone. "Between you and Chloë, I don't plan on ever paying for Quidditch tickets again," Harper joked. Not that she'd ever paid for them in the first place since she'd never seen a professional match before. But as soon as she had her apparition license, she was going to check one out. And if one of her friends was playing, that would be even better. She was more than willing to pay for tickets to support them.

Even though Harper was pretty sure she had scalded half her tongue, she couldn't help but laugh a little at Nikko's tone. "What, so it's my fault then?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. She finished her cookie and grabbed a paper towel to wipe the crumbs from her fingers before starting to put away the ingredients. On the dirty utensils, she cast a couple scourgify spells. "Any other secret talents you're hiding?" she joked, turning her attention back to Nikko as she waited for the spells to work their magic.