So hungry, a horse sounds tasty

[Estrella Drage]

The phrase peckish could never in a million years sum up Estrella's appetite at the moment. She had only begun to notice that she could use something to eat in History of Magic. At first, the tiny tugs of hunger in her stomach were merely annoying, and now, she was simply ravenous. She was reminded again why muggles had coined a phrase about being so hungry that one could eat a horse. The girl had never tried that delicacy but it made her mouth water. Dinner was entirely too far off for her to wait, and thus, she had decided to drop off her things and head for the kitchens.

She had only been here a few times, and still had no idea whether it was off limits to students. Well, she was Head Girl... so she probably wouldn't get into too much trouble. Knowing instinctively that she was going to gorge herself, the girl hoped that she would be able to find something reasonably tasty.

Elated by the fact that she was alone, once again, in the kitchens, she headed for the back, where she knew there were refrigeration boxes. It was not long before she found a rather generous store of ice cream. She licked her lips, holding one of the boxes. It wasn't nutrious, but hey? She didn't have much to worry about, and frankly she didn't care. Now, all she would have to find was a bowl. She had ideas of a mountain stuck in her mind, salivating at the very thought of such a dish.

 

[Ella Greene]

Completely unsatisfied with the large feast provided in the great hall that morning, Ella felt her stomach grumble. Man, I could really go for a crepe right now. Heck, I'd even settle for a gallete. The thought of French food made her even more preoccupied by the empty feeling in her stomach than she already was. Feeling a little disappointed in herself, Ella knew she didn't have a stash of food back in her dorm room in Gryffindor. I guess I could go down to the kitchen in the basement, but I really shouldn't..

Deciding that she couldn't wait any longer, Ella slowly tiptoed down the staircases until she found herself standing in front of the kitchen. Okay Ella, you are only one step and two doors away from paradise, keep going. Ridden with anxiety, Ella looked over her shoulders; nobody seemed to be behind her. But, as she stepped through the doors and into the kicthen, she realized she forgot to check if anyone was actually in there.

"Uh oh," Ella accidently blurted out loud when she saw another student fidgeting around in the kicthen. I knew I shouldn't have came down here! She looks older too! Why do I constantly put myself in situations where I'll get in trouble?! Ella quickly twirled around, hoping to escape without being noticed.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella had set down the container of ice cream in pursuit for a bowl. Her lip pursed disdainfully as she noticed that the box had started to sweat. Hopefully, it wouldn't melt too much. She wouldn't be able to make much of a mountain if everything was going to end up congealing together. The very thought of such a tragedy had her frantically searching throughout the cupboards. The girl, quite beside herself, gave out a cry of exhaltation as she found a stack of them in the cupboards. She spun about, holding a porcelain bowl above her head in triumph.

Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as she realized that she was not alone, after all. She didn't recognize the girl who was in the kitchens with her, but ultimately, she felt bad for scaring her away. Realizing that she must have appeared entirely silly, she called after her, "Wait? Where are you going?" Her cheeks, which had before possessed a rosy pallor, were now deep crimson. "I didn't mean to scare you away!"

Normally, the sixteen year old would have not been so inviting, but today was just a great day, she supposed. She was doing a lot of things that she normally wouldn't. Heck, she barely ever talked to younger students, and here she was, lamenting after her hurried exit like she would a good friend.

 

[Ella Greene]

Ella was about to hurry out of the doors and up the stairs all the way up to the Gryffindor common room, when she heard a voice call out to her. Cringing, Ella stopped before she even set a foot out of the kitchen doors. Now what? Might as well deal with the consequences of sneaking off down here.. Ella turned around to face the other girl, and felt the entire surface area of her skin turn red.

Ella wanted to giggle when she noticed that the other girl's cheeks must have been just as red as her own. She doesn't seem to be mean, but prefects always look nice until they catch you somewhere you're not supposed to be... "Sorry for the intrusion, and you didn't exactly scare me away," Ella managed to squeak, although it came out a lot quieter than she anticipated.

As she waited for the girl's response, Ella noticed the bowl and ice cream. She managed to smile when she realized that the other student must have been in the kitchen for the same reason Ella was, a snack.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella smiled warmly as the girl turned around. She was in a positively chipper mood at the moment, and she had long since decided that she wouldn't mind company after all. It would be ten times as great to meet someone new in the process- and on the other hand, it helped to curb the guilt she felt for snacking. At least she wasn't the only one doing it. She shrugged a bit. "No, it's totally fine." She smirked broadly. "I'm glad I didn't frighten you, then. You here for a snack?" Well, that's quite obvious, she thought to herself immediately afterward, fighting the urge to smack herself on the forehead. What else would someone be doing in the kitchens?

Hoping that her badge wasn't making the girl have second thoughts, she set her bowl down, extending a hand. "I'm Estrella, by the way." She glanced back at her ice cream, hoping that it wasn't melting too much. The sixteen year old didn't mind her ice cream soft but she didn't want it to be soupy either.

 

[Ella Greene]

Ella took a few steps forward, so that she was closer to the counter. I might as well stay down here, she seems friendly enough. Now I just need to overcome my shyness... Grinning broadly, Ella answered the older student, "A snack? Well yes...." Ella paused for a moment as she thought about the breakfast in the Great Hall that morning. "Actually, I was intending to come down here to get something a little bit more substantial than a snack. I guess the huge pile of food that was served at breakfast today wasn't satisfying enough." Ella giggled as she talked about breakfast not being satisfying, knowing fully well that she sounded ridiculous.

"Oh, my name is Ella. I'm a second year transfer student from Beauxbatons." Noticing that Estrella was a little bit preoccupied with the ice cream, Ella cleared her throat. "I was hoping to make some crepes, but now ice cream seems like a better option."

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella giggled a bit, nodding her head at what the girl had admitted. "Oh, I know! I feel like such a hog right now," she smirked a bit, "But I don't care! For some reason during Charms today I got this massive craving for food." She knew that she probably sounded like a total dork, but what was the harm in it? She listened to the the girl intently as she scooped a massive chunk of ice cream out of the container. Luckily, at room temperature it had become smooth enough to scoop, but not enough to be gooey and nasty.

"Well, it's nice to eat- meet you, Ella!" She snorted to herself a bit nervously. "I'm sorry- I'm so hungry, my stomach has taken control of my mind!" After she had given herself a mountain of ice cream, she looked back to the girl. "Oh, how rude of me! Would you like any ice cream?" She figured that the girl would say yes, and started to lean towards the cupboard. "Beauxbatons, you say? Whatever brought you to this side of the world?" She grinned broadly, hoping that she was friendly enough.

 

[Ella Greene]

Ella nodded when Estrella mentioned an association between Charms class and a massive craving for food. After all, the large amount of wand waving was bound to lead to some exertion of the arm muscles, which in turn would make somebody hungy. At least I know I'm not the only one who craves food in strange situations. As Ella watched Estrella scoop out what one could only consider a gigantic portion of ice cream, Ella wondered if there was any left in the conatiner.

It seemed there was ice cream left in the container after all, as Ella found herself being offered some. "Uh, sure, I'll have some ice cream." Unsure of how much exactly was left in the container, Ella added, "unless you want seconds, of course." When asked about why she left Beauxbatons, Ella grinned and shrugged. "I guess it was a decision my entire family made. They wanted me to have new experiences and stuff. Plus, it's really fun here, and almost everyone seems nice. Are you from New Zealand?"

 

[Estrella Drage]

The Ravenclaw girl grinned broadly as she nodded to the girl. "I think I'll be more than okay with what I have," she chuckled, bringing the ice cream scoop back into the container and bringing out a generous portion for Ella. Handing the bowl to the girl, she attacked her own bowl with relish. Her cheeks flushed in delight as she brought a bit of cookie dough past her lips.

"Well, I'm glad to have met you!" Estrella chortled cheerfully. "Why, were there people who weren't nice at Beauxbatons?" she said jokingly, although she was rather curious about the matter. She didn't think she had ever met anyone from Beauxbatons. "Me? From New Zealand? Oh no." She shook her head thoughtfully as she took another bite of ice cream. "I've been going to school here since first year, but you can say I've lived a few places." With a smile, she said, "Now, I'm living in Norway with my grandfather- although I think I'm going to move here after seventh year. I rather like the area." She was quite attached to the school too, for that matter.

 

[Ella Greene]

Ella took the bowl from Estrella and noticed the large portion, well, I guess I was wrong about the container being nearly empty! She watched Estrella attack the ice cream and giggled a bit before bringing the spoon to her mouth. After taking a bite, Ella recognized the flavour as cookie dough, which was one of the better types of ice cream. However, Ella felt like there still was something missing, something that could be found in the fridge or cupboards..

Ella put her spoon down, leaving the majority of her serving of ice cream in the bowl, and grinned widely at Estrella. "I'm glad to have met you too! I never would have expected an older student to be sneaking around in the kitchen during daylight hours. But the fact that you do is pretty nifty!" When asked about the people at Beauxbatons, Ella shook her head to indicate that they weren't mean. "No, the people at Beauxbatons were nice enough, I just didn't expect as warm of a welcoming as I've been given here at Hogwarts." Ella raised an eyebrow with interest when Estrella mentioned living in Norway, "Norway, neat! You're from a bit more north than I am, but it's nice to talk to someone else from Europe."

Ella glanced at her ice cream and hoped it wasn't melting too quickly. Leaving her bowl on the counter, she walked over to the fridge and opened it. "We forgot an important ingredient here; toppings!" After looking around in the fridge for a few seconds, Ella pulled out a jar of currant jam.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella could only grin back at the girl as she took a bite of her ice cream. It was odd saying that she was from Norway, considering that she did not have the slightest hint of an accent. In fact, she was starting to sound like a kiwi. "Yeah- I've only been there a few years, and considering breaks aren't that long I haven't gotten to do much of anything. But I'm glad you feel so welcome here; Hogwarts New Zealand is the best school after all." She smiled good- naturedly. "And the kitchens- well, I've been known to lurk here from time to time." She winked at Ella, hoping that she wouldn't come off as odd. "Sometimes," the Ravenclaw girl added, "Dinner is just not enough, if you know what I mean. And you know- I've never really known if we're supposed to be in here or not."

She grimaced as she looked at the jam, forever a skeptic when it came to toppings. "Unless you've got any chocolate syrup, I think I'll be okay over here," she chortled, digging in. The sixteen year old knew that the ice cream mountain was not the best idea, but then again, impulse could sometimes just be her thing. Hopefully, it wouldn't melt on her and turn into a mass of sticky soup before she could eat it all.

 

[Ella Greene]

Ella shrugged and laughed at the concept of the kitchen being off limits to students, "Well, not knowing the rules is a good enough excuse for breaking them, I guess." Ella hoped that she wasn't breaking the rules by snacking in the kitchen, as she was having a good time and hoped to sneak down again.

Placing the current jam on the counter beside her, Ella began to snoop around the fridge once again. "You don't like toppings on your ice cream? Seriously? Well, I'll bet I can find something that you'll enjoy, or at least try." Picking up a bottle of mustard, Ella held it up to the light for a few moments before grimacing and putting it back in the fridge. Wrinkling her nose, Ella closed the fridge and proceeded to open the cupboard closest to where she was standing. Grinning broadly when the contents seemed to be perfect toppings for ice cream, she pulled out a bag of raisins and a bag of nuts. "Yes!" Ella hissed as she picked up her three items and walked back to her bowl of ice cream.

"Everyone likes nuts and raisins, right?" Ella asked Estrella with a hopeful expression, happy that the Ravenclaw girl seemed like a new friend and not somebody that she had to be shy around.

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella gave the girl a small smirk. "I'm pretty sure even if this place was off limits, it wouldn't really be a major offense. Definitely not something that would deserve detention." She grinned, digging into her ice cream. She was starting to crave fried chicken oddly, but decided it would be best not to think about it. Estrella looked at the girl as she foraged through the cupboards, trying to find something that both of them would like. The Ravenclaw girl grimaced as Ella pulled out a bottle of mustard. "Oh, I bet that would be delicious," she stated sarcastically as the girl put it back. Estrella had always hated mustard, and putting it on ice cream was unthinkable.

Her nose wrinkled as she saw the raisins Ella had pulled out. "Sure, I like raisins- but on ice cream? I'll pass." She grinned. "But, if you don't mind, I sure would like some of those nuts." Ella had some taste in toppings after all.

 

[Ella Greene]

Ella handed Estrella the nuts, glad that the girl liked something she had picked out. Looking at her own quickly melting ice cream, Ella frowned. Gah, if I don't eat this soon, it will turn into some kind of slop. Ella picked up the jar of jam, but changed her mind before she opened it. Raisins first! After putting the jam on the counter, Ella opened the bag of raisins and dumped a handful onto her ice cream. "Looks good," Ella grinned and held the raisins out to Estrella. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

 

[Estrella Drage]

Estrella grinned, taking the nuts from Ella and pouring a good number onto her ice cream. When she was convinced that she had enough she handed it back to the younger girl. "Thanks!" Taking a bite of her ice cream, nuts included, she exclaimed, "Definitely makes it better!" Leaning against the counter, she asked, "So, Ella, how are you liking your classes?" She continued to dig into her delectable dessert, wondering if she would ever get to the end of it before it melted. "And I'm totally sure. No raisins for me today."