Open Surrounded By Elves

[Leia Hume]

Leia had been looking for other places she could read and study, places away from prying eyes and mostly she’d found that rotating where she went helped more than doing anything else. She had decided today to go to the antiquated lavatory, which was the sort of place few people went to, and a place she could very easily study in. It wasn’ t the nicest of rooms, but she knew it served her purpose. But after deciding today was just not the day for that, she decided she would go to the kitchens. That was a spot that didn’t have too many people there, and plausible just a place where anyone looking to escape the nature of the great hall would go, others just didn’t like the elves. She thought they were pretty gross, but she could handle it most of the time. The slytherin walked into the kitchens and immediately was greeted by a few elves, she was quick to explain what she was doing before sitting at the furthest table. She couldn't stop them from bringing her a hot chocolate and several biscuits, she was able to just begin reading. She wasn’t really studying anything too complicated, just a little potions. ​

 

[Aras Ragauskas]

Having some free time in his hands, Aras decided to visit a new, unusual friend he had made recently. Holding a hand knit earflap hat with pom pom in the colors of Lithuanian flag, he was on his way to the kitchens, where his new friend was most possibly to be found. The headwear was a gift to a very friendly house elf that had helped him while lost a couple of times around the castle. During the time he interacted with the elf, it was clear that it had a thing for hats and beanies so Aras decided to give it one of the few he possessed. It was something that it was reminding him his homeland but he didn't really wear it.

Aras was really familiar with the kitchens as his constant cravings were forcing him to regular visits. He liked the elves and how eager they were to be of help. Coming from a poor family, they never had an elf to assist in chores and his current guardian was against house elves' exploitation. Hogwarts' elves seemed happy to him and his new friend was actually a free elf that willingly worked for the school.

As always the sound of clattering utensils and chopping knives filled the high-ceiling room as the elves had got down to work for the next meal to be served at the Great Hall just above them. Aras scanned the room for any vibrant-colored beanie standing out among the 3 feet tall beings tending to their tasks. There was another visitor, a girl around his age, studying alone away from the culinary commotion. While not wanting to disturb the elves' work and not seeing around his friend, he walked towards the girl.
"Hey, umm have you seen maybe a house elf wearing a beanie...or more on its head?" He asked, recalling that last time Teebo was wearing three monochrome beanies, his favorite styling when he was cooking classic French recipes, as they composed together the tri-colored French flag.

 

[Leia Hume]

Leia didn’t glance up immediately as she heard someone in the room. It was plenty normal for students to come in and they could assume that she was just someone else waiting for some food. She wouldn’t need to change too much or pay too much attention to most of it. She did however glance up when suddenly there was a voice in front of her. Her head snapped up in surprise and she immediately closed over her book. She took a moment to really be clear of what the person, this boy had said. She’d seen him in some of her classes, not her house and also somehow new. She didn’t remember him from the year before. She would’ve remembered, her eyes lingered on the boy’s scar. ”An elf?” she hadn’t really been paying attention to the elves. She didn’t care about them. ”Is it a friend of yours this elf?” she asked with a curious tone, ”But no, I haven’t seen it,” She then added, she wouldn’t need to worry too much about him telling people she was studying, if he cleared off after she answered his question, in search of his friend. ​

 

[Aras Ragauskas]

Aras actually recognized the girl from his classes but couldn't recall her name. He just remembered that she was a Slytherin and he had seen her a couple of times around the castle, isolated and absorbed in her books. He thought that the kitchens were not exactly the best place for someone to concentrate. For him certainly not as the hustling elves, moving around, would have been enough to distract him. Not that he ever remained concentrated in a book for long anyway.

He realized that the girl focused on his scar but he was used to it by now. For someone of his age who had a near-death experience, had taken pretty well the fact that he was going to remain scarred and blinded in one eye for the rest of his life. It was his personality to accept and go with the flow of events in his life. Only worry about the things he could actually change.

Aras had a seat opposite to her and nodded at her second question. "Kind of, yes. I haven't get used to the castle yet and I get lost really often. Teebo helped me find my way around a few times." He said and looked around and towards the boiling cauldrons again for any signs of him. He surely have noticed him if he was there. His stylistic choices were...evident. "I brought him this beanie as a gift. He seems to have hundreds of them." He explained about the earflap beanie in his hands as he pulled a couple of loose fibers out of the yellow pom pom. He then realized that he still didn't know the girls name.
"I am Aras by the way. We are in the same year." He said, not sure if she knew or not. He was generally observant but that didn't necessarily mean that other people were too.

Deciding to stay for a little while and wait for the elf, he shifted his attention on her book. "Schoolwork?" He asked, realizing that he had himself way too much homework to attend to.

 

[Leia Hume]

Leia watched as he took the seat opposite her and as he spoke her gaze lingered for a moment on his eyes, seemingly unable to stop herself from doing so. But she was at least listening. She wondered if he wasn’t used to the castle purely because he was new and therefore wasn’t sure where things were or because of the scar. She had to imagine it was difficult to find things when everyone else had learnt already in the year before. She looked at the beanie he had and couldn’t help but frown. ”That’s really ugly,” she heard herself saying before she could filter her mind to stop it. She had never heard of elves being friends with humans, she didn’t think it was possible to have a friend dynamic with someone whom you could in theory order around. ”Isn’t giving clothes to elf suppose to free them?” Leia asked as the boy chose that moment to introduce himself. Aras. ”Leia,” she replied with a little nod. Before giving a shrug at the statement, she wouldn’t confirm it. Rather she decided to distract it all by saying, ”What happened to your eye?” it was perhaps too forward and a little rude, but it might just get the conversation off herself. ​