Closed Something Familiar

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko couldn't sleep. It wasn't the first time he found himself wandering the halls later then he should and he doubted it would be the last. The fact one of his roommates snored was only half of the problem. Tonight he couldn't stop thinking about the letter he sent his dad for his birthday. The one he had sent it weeks ago and Nikko still hadn't received a response. Somehow he found his way to the kitchens and was a little surprised he could just walk in without any kind of supervision. He knew his way around a kitchen, especially big ones like these. Despite the house elves that kind of gave him the creeps, he found it comforting down there.

Growing up in his parent's inn, his mom had done a lot of cooking and baking. Bread, cookies, muffins, cakes, she had a recipe for nearly any occasion and thankfully she had taught a lot of it to him. It was also her go to method to cheer him up, because it always worked. And tonight he needed a little cheering up, so he gathered up all the ingredients which took longer then he expected since he had no idea where things were. But eventually he had everything he needed and started to measure, his focus solely on the task at hand.

 

[Theia Carnahan]

Sending letters home was stressful instead of reassuring, and Theia wasn’t able to sleep that evening with all that was on her mind. She had read the same chapter of her book over and over again, sitting alone in the common room and thinking the more she tried to read the same words on the same pages, the more bored and by extension tired she would become. But she realised after a little while she was just as awake as ever, annoyed even that her attempt to bore herself to sleep hadn’t worked. It just seemed as if her thoughts couldn’t settle and reading wasn’t enough to wear her energy down. So she had eventually given up and decided to aimlessly walk through the lower levels, assuming walking would tire her out if reading wasn’t able to. And if that didn’t work she’d have to resort to tossing and turning in her bed until she was tired, no matter how long that would take. The next day would be awful, the experience of going to classes with no sleep one that bothered her before it had even happened, but Theia felt she had no choice if walking wasn't enough to make her feel tired.​

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Her stroll was to nowhere in particular and she for the most part stayed quiet and kept to herself, her demeanor only changing when she approached the kitchens to hear some kind of movement. Curiously, Theia opened the door a crack and poked her head through, seeing someone she recognized from her classes making... something. Theia knew how to make a few meals for her siblings at home, but she wasn’t an expert and hadn’t thought to venture to the kitchens to make something while she was at Hogwarts. Though now that she realised one of her year mates could cook, her interest was piqued, and she moved to join him, closing the door behind her. “What are you making?” Theia then asked as she stepped closer, wondering exactly what he had wanted that the house elves couldn’t have made for him.​

 

[Nikko Blackwood]

Nikko had finally assembled all of the ingredients he needed, and was starting to measure out the dry ingredients. He was focused on his task and didn't hear anyone approach until they spoke. "Ah!" he yelled, flailing his arms causing flour to go everywhere. Well maybe not everywhere, just all over his face and shirt. "I didn't hear you." he snapped more out of reflex then actual anger. He took a deep breath and willed his heart to stop beating so fast. "I'm making cookies." he said bluntly as he tried to whip away the flour now covering his face and shake the rest out of his shirt. "Peanut butter cookies to be exact. It's the only recipe I've memorized." he admitted, before turning back around to measure out the ingredients again.