Where Old Friends Cross

[Henry Lordings Jr.]

When Henry had arrived back at Hogwarts for his sixth year with seven O.W.L.s under his belt, he had thought that he was going to be buried by his new, and considerably larger work load. He had no idea, however, that such a massive pile of work could be assigned by five teachers. Since he had arrived back he had barely kept up with the essays, practicals, and projects which his teachers had set him. As soon as he finished what he had, they assigned just as much yet again.

It was chiefly due to this momentous work load that Henry was to be found, sitting on his own, in the corner of the central courtyard. As always, he carried with him a small library's worth of textbooks and papers on which, and indeed from which, he was working. The sun had risen high enough into the sky to shower the cool courtyard with light, though not quite high enough to subject the square to direct light. As he sat on the bench in the corner (One leg folded up and perched on the opposite knee so as to create a makeshift table), he read through the paragraphs that could be found in The Potential Potioneer on the uses of the Mandrake root. He had been set a rather vicious essay on the use of the plant by the potions master as an overnight homework piece.

As he jotted down a few more lines on the parchment he had laying on the right page of the open book, he was only vaguely aware that he felt as though he was being watched, though he didn't bother looking up. As he dropped a punctuation mark on the page, however, he noticed that there were a pair of shoes whose tips he could see via the top of his field of view as he looked down at the paper, and the library book...

(Eaden)

[Eaden Valo]

Morning sunlight shone through the window facing Eaden's bed. This rude awakening made her roll over in an attempt to go back to sleep. She wasn't one to sleep in but for some reason the night before was one of tossing and turning. After a fruitless attempt at falling back asleep she finally sat up, looking around her dorm room. Her roommates were all sleeping peacefully, the sounds of their breaths were all that was heard in the room. She sighed quietly and got out of bed. The cold floor made her yelp quietly, grimacing at the sudden feeling of her un-socked feet on it.

Walking over to her dresser she opened the drawers and pulled out her clothes for the day. Eaden pulled out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, an annoyingly bright blue hoodie, and she grabbed her trusty converse for her feet. She brought all of this down to the bathroom so she could change after her shower.

After a nice shower and a goo brushing of her teeth she got dress and ambled her way out of the common room, wand in hand. She never went anywhere without her wand. As she walked don toward the Great Hall she passed a few of her friends. Giving them a wave or a 'good morning' she kept on her path to food.

Finally getting to the Great Hall she sighed as the hall was empty. It was too early for most to be eating. Grumbling about the sun she found the Gryffinfdor table and sat down. Eaden grabbed a few pieces of toast and a cup of pumpkin juice. She buttered the toast and took a bit. The food was helping her wake up more. Her eyes went over to a window, noticing how nice it actually was outside. Smiling she decided to go outside and enjoy the sun that had rudely woken her up. Putting the toast in a napkin she chugged her drink down and got up and ran outside.

She ran out into the courtyard, arms outstretched to feel the sunlight. The warmth felt really good on her face. She finally looked around to see a boy who looked oddly familiar. As she walked closer to him she gasped quietly at him. Henry? She though, a smile gracing her pink lips. Was it really him? Her mum didn't tell he he went here! She walked even closer, now knowing who the boy was. She stopped right in front of him. Looking down she noticed he was doing some work, the work she did last night.

"Henry?" Her voice was happy, excited to see someone she knew. "I didn't know you went here! Last I heard you were at Salem."

[Henry Lordings Jr.]

Henry's eyes shot further up the shoes before him, continuing up the dark blue jeans to the bright blue hoodie (He could just barely see a white t-shirt poking out from under the hoodie), and up to the blond hair framed face of a pretty girl Henry didn't immediately recognize. As he brought himself up to his full sitting height, Henry used the index, and middle fingers of his right hand to push his spectacles further up the bridge of his nose so as to see the girl better.

Of all the features which he could have used to recognize her, it was her eyes that struck Henry with the powerful realization that this was someone he knew.

"Eaden?..." said Henry, squinting through his spectacles at her. He closed the book he had in his lap (Without bothering to remove his report from it even) and placed it down on the bench beside him. He rose from his seat, and stepped closer to the girl, still squinting uncertainly at her. "...Eaden!"

In a rush of happiness, Henry did something that even he couldn't quite believe. He threw his arms around his old friend, and hugged her so tightly that he felt her feet leave the floor for a moment. In shock at what he had just done, Henry released her almost as soon as he seized her, and stepped back for a moment, smiling, though slightly embarrassed, nearby there were several Slytherin boys that were laughing heartily, and a small group of Ravenclaw girls that were either confused or taken at the show of affection. Henry wouldn't be at all surprised if he was glowing red enough to be hung up as the new Gryffindor banner.

"Eaden...I-I didn't know you were at Hogwarts..." said Henry, in a desperate attempt to cover the act he had just performed (As if she would forget). He hadn't seen hide nor hair of her in almost four months of being back at school, though, he was sure they were both in the sixth year, and wouldn't be surprised if the homework alone had kept their eyes averted from each other's presence. "...I-I thought you were at Durmstrang?"

[Eaden Valo]

Her heart leaped as Henry remembered her. Henry was one of her oldest friends having known each other for years. Eaden's eyes looked the boy over, seeing he hadn't changed a lot. Something Eaden liked. Most people by this age were totally different people then they were before. Henry was the same. This comforted her. Eaden's smile grew as he stood up to look at her more. She was glad she took a shower this morning. Meeting Henry whilst being dirty would have been quite bad on Eaden's part.

His sudden hug caught her off guard, but she copied him. Her hug wasn't as tight but it still let him know how happy she was to see him. When he feet left the ground she laughed loudly, not caring who saw them. As he put her back down she heard a few Slytherins behind them laughing. Turning her upper body she gave them a gesture she'd rather not let Raynor see her do. The Slytheirns grumbled and walked away. Eaden didn't even notice the Ravenclaw girls, they weren't doing any harm. Turning back to Henry she gave him another smile. Henry's blush was quite noticeable, thus it brought a blush to Eaden's face as well. Biting her lower lip she glanced around for a second, then back to Henry.

It was quite surreal to see him here. They hadn't seen each other in person for a good few years. He looked quite good, handsome. He really grew into her features. She knew all of the girls would be all over him once he started going out more. This thought annoyed her a bit, but she didn't make any show she was thinking this.

As he spoke to her he stuttered, yet another thing that made her smile. Nodding she looking him in the eyes and laughed a little. "Yeah. I transfered right after winter break. I just couldn't go to Durmstrang anymore. I missed merry old England. Also missed having people understand me. Bloody Bulgarians can't understand an Irish accent. Had to repeat myself ten times." She was rambling. Her blush came again, making her redder then ever. "And you? When did you come to Hogwarts?"

[Henry Lordings Jr.]

Henry was quite glad that there wasn't a lasting look of shock on her face, he had been afraid she would begrudge him his hug, but as he stepped back she beamed. Her comments about her transfer conditions explained how they hadn't seen each other till now,

"Is that so, I..." Henry began, making to try and stop her casting a quite rude hand signal at the Slytherins, though as she looked back at him he acted as though he had done nothing, and continued. "I'm glad though...It's been so long."

Henry and Eaden's mothers were quite good friends as well, and once about six years ago, Henry's father had taken them on vacation to the town where Eaden and her family lived. During their vacation in Eaden's home town, Henry and his parents had spent ample time around the Valos, and Henry and Eaden had become good friends by the time the Lordings left to return to the United States. Though neither of them had seen much of each other since that time, though they had kept correspondence with each other via letters constantly since. Funnily, his recollection of these letters coincided with Eaden's question about when he came to Hogwarts. Henry found it hard to believe that in almost four years at Hogwarts, he had never mentioned his transfer to the British school in a letter to Eaden, however, now he thought on it, he couldn't remember ever putting it into writing.

"I transfered here almost four years ago...when dad transferred to Oxford for work." said Henry nervously, he was quite sure his neglect to tell her he had been transferred to the school would not bode well for him.

[Eaden Valo]

"I'm glad though...It's been so long."

Eaden nodded earnestly at his comment. She was quite pleased to see Henry here at school. Everyone from her past had seemed to slip away but Henry was always there, not in person, but always a letter away. "It has been. Life is so hectic at home with my...you know..me being special and all." She leaned in close to him as she said this. Not many people knew about her being a metamorphagus. Henry was one of the ones she told. She needed to tell someone about this power she was given.

Taking a small step back she looked around again, seeing the Slytherins. She rolled her eyes and looked back at Henry. "They're a bunch of tools. In their third year and they don't know one side of a wand from the other." Eaden laughed quietly at this though. "They're no threat. They just try to look tough but I heard last thunderstorm they were crying for their mummies."

"I transfered here almost four years ago...when dad transferred to Oxford for work."

Some people would be mad at not hearing a piece of vital information like this but Eaden wasn't. She smiled lightly, locking eyes with him. She reached forward and touched his arm. "It's fine. I should have written you and told you I transfered. All that matters is that we're both here now!" As she said this she jumped up a bit, not able to control her excitement anymore. "We're going to have so much fun! I promise. There is so much to do here." Thoughts ran through her mind as she spoke to Henry. Ideas of adventures they could have excited her even more. This looked like a good day.

[Henry Lordings Jr.]

"Indeed." said Henry, he pulled out his wand and flicked it at his books and papers over his shoulder, causing them to fly into his school bag, and with a second flick, he caused the bag to zip shut and fly into his hands. He threw the bag over his shoulders, and continued "This can wait till tomorrow." he gestured at the school bag, and put away his wand. "What d'you figure we could do?"

Hogwarts, being a castle, would, to the outside viewer, seem to have very limited possibilities for activity outside of learning pursuits. The truth was, Hogwarts wasn't just a castle, it had a positive city's worth of facilities, and magical secrets that the mischievous could easily capitalize upon. Outside of Hogwarts, however, there was plenty other things that could be explored. Hogsmeade, of course, was always worth a tour, and there was the hidden passageway to the shrieking shack, the forbidden forest, of course, and they could always go for a spell around the Quidditch pitch, as long as the teams weren't practicing, nobody cared who was hanging about the field. Before she could answer, however, he had a sudden inspiration.

"Hey..." said Henry, looking shiftily around to check no one was listening. "...What if we head up to the seventh floor. There's a secret room up there where we can duel...It'd be like a duel between Salem and Durmstrang!"

[Eaden Valo]

Eaden watched as Henry make his school work and books fly into his bag. She watched him as he put the bag over his shoulder. Her light eyes were glowing with excitement. She had been at Hogwarts for a while now but seeing Henry made her feel like e part of her childhood came back to her. The blush on her cheeks still hadn't gone away fully, making it look like she was a bit cold.

She grinned at Henry and took a step forward. She hugged Henry again, tightly. Seeing Henry here really made her happy about her future at Hogwarts. Not that she wasn't having fun here, just Henry was very special to her. She could remember when they had just met she was fiercely protective of him. Any other girl who spoke to him when she was around usually ran away crying after she was done. In retrospect it was quite funny. She would be sure to bring that up later.

She stepped back, feeling a bit sheepish. The hug was a lot longer then she excepted. Memories of their time together was so special to her. Even though they only met once and stayed in contact since then she felt closer to him then almost everyone she knew.

The seventh floor? The corners of her mouth twitched a little as she listened to Henry. When he finished her thought she nodded quickly. "I think that sounds quite good. Gotta warn you though, I was the champion dueler at Durmstrang." Eaden winked at Henry, gigging as she did so.

[Henry Lordings Jr.]

"Heh...We had a saying back at Salem..." said Henry grinning "...Don't snap your wand before you lose."

If there were ever two schools that would rival each other in the teaching of use, and defense against the dark arts, it would have been Durmstrang and Salem. Durmstrang, a northern European school, was known the world over for it's fixation on the teaching of the dark arts. Salem Magical Institute (Not to be confused with the Salem Witches' Institute), however, took a more universal approach to the dark arts. Teaching both Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Use of the Dark Arts (Often on the same days of the week), Salem demanded dueling perfection from it's students, indeed, young witches and wizards attending Salem were expected to master speechless spell-casting by the end of their first year, and a practical demonstration of the use of one of the Unforgivable Curses (On a spider) was part of end of year exams for second year students. Henry, though he had practiced defense and use of the dark arts over the past four years at Hogwarts, was well out of practice of an actual curriculum involving both arts. One of the things that had always concerned Henry, however, was Salem's almost casual use of the Unforgivable Curses in class (Not on it's students, even in America that was illegal), he had always felt a certain guilt when he cast the curses, which had nothing to do with the laws against them, and everything to do with an inexplicable sense that the curses were wrong in every way.

While Henry had demonstrated a perfectly executed Imperious Curse on his spider at the end of his second year at Salem (Earning him an 'A' (Salem's equivalent to Hogwarts' 'O' mark) on his end of year Dark Arts Studies exam), he had not so much as thought about using them again since his transfer to Hogwarts, regardless of whether or not he was on his own. He respected and followed, more than any other law or rule, the laws against the use of the Unforgivable Curses, and it didn't matter if no one else knew he had done them, he did, and that was enough to stay his hand for four years so far.

Henry and Eaden made their way up to the seventh floor corridor where there hung a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy trying to teach trolls to dance the ballet across from an apparently blank stretch of wall with an all too unassuming manner to it. Henry, who was quite fond of taking tea after hours down in the kitchens while completing his homework, had, in his first year at Hogwarts (His third year of magical education), been told of the 'Come and Go Room' (Otherwise known as the Room of Requirement) by an elf named Gilti, an unusually mischievous house elf who spent more time expanding his knowledge of the castle than cleaning it.

Henry left Eaden and her look of mild confusion standing to the left of the bare stretch of wall and walked back and forth in front of the blank wall thinking I need a place to duel as hard as he could. On his final pass, he turned on the spot, and found he was now facing a wall with a heavy wooden door bearing set into it as opposed to the bare stretch of wall that had faced them previously. As they entered, they found themselves standing on the edge of a large domed room with a circular raised wooden platform in the middle around which many benches were set, though they stood empty. At the very summit of the dome was cut a large circular hole through which light from outside descended and threw the circular platform into brightness while showering the rest of the room with an ethereal sort of indirect light, the kind which a lit swimming pool might cast on it's surroundings after dark.

Henry, not having had the presence of mind this morning to realize it was the weekend, had dressed in his school uniform, and now removed his cloak, sweater, and red and gold tie, and threw this down on the nearest bench with his bag, rolling the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and tapping each one with his wand while thinking the word Subsistio (A sticking charm which would keep his sleeves in their rolled up state until he cast the counter charm), and moved toward the raised platform, waiting for Eaden to follow.

Mere moments later, they stepped up onto the raised platform and looked around. The platform's surface was covered in a blue fabric which had many silver circles and runes embroidered onto it. The rules of such a dueling ring were relatively simple. Each circle marked a progressively more difficult level of dueling as you drew closer to the center. Combatants would stay in a particular circle, depending on the level of skill to which they both subscribed, and would remain at opposite ends of the floor from each other. The center circle (A circle about six feet in diameter) marked the highest difficulty level, a level that even Aurors tried to avoid, for it gave almost no time to defend one's self, you would have to be casting the counter curse before your opponent cast his curse in order to make the save in time. Most duelist, however, stayed in the third tier, that is the circle third from the center, which kept the combatants a good thirty feet from each other.

"So." said Henry, looking around the ring "What tier would you say you want to do?"

[Eaden Valo]

The walk up to the seventh floor was easy enough. The crowds of people weren't as big today because of the fact that it was a weekend. She didn't have a backpack but she did have her wand which was already in her hand. Twirling it between her fingers as she walked up the stairs her breathing started to become a little ragged as the stairs wore upon her. She didn't want Henry to see this but it was hard not to cough and wheeze as she walked.

They finally made it to the seventh floor, a sigh of happiness escaped her lips. She glanced over to Henry, smiling. "That was a fun walk right?" She coughed quietly after she said this, finding it hard to breath as she spoke. She blushed a little as she turned away to cough. It was not polite to cough when you are in close proximity to someone. Her coughing subsided and she turned back to look at Henry. "Sorry, I get winded easily."

Eaden followed Henry as they walked toward a wall in which he walked back and forth a few times, looking like he was intently thinking of something. Her smile grew as she saw a door appear. She walked forward and followed Henry into this newly made room. what she saw made her gasp. The room was gorgeous, almost too gorgeous for dueling. She looked around. her mouth open in a quite unladylike way she walked deeper into the room. "This place is gorgeous.." Her voice was awe filled. Turning back to Henry she grinned. "I'm very excited."

Henry started to undress in a sense, taking his cloak and some of his more constricting garments off. Eaden did the same, but only took off her hoodie. She placed it nicely on a bench, folding it properly. Without turning back to Henry and ran over to the dueling platforms and looked at them. They were exquisitely made. The fabric used mus have been silk or something of the same price.

"What tier would you say you want to do?"

"Hmmm, lets say....third tier. For warm up." Her smile was wicked, but still happy. Putting her wand on the platform she jumped up onto it. She didn't dare enter a circle before Henry did. "We didn't use things like this at Durmstrang. Just the floor of our dark arts classroom. What about at Salem?"

[Henry Lordings Jr.]

(JP: Eaden & Henry)

"Nothing so grandiose." said Henry, looking at the ring "Salem was quite spartan in it's facilities."

Eaden nodded, grinning at Henry. "I'm going to venture it is much nicer then old Durm is. The whole school is small and everyone is obsessed with the dark arts."

"In that case I'd say they'd be akin to each other." said Henry with a wide smile, and, giving Eaden a mischievous smile, he mounted the small set of stairs up to the platform, and stepped into the circle third from the center, waiting for Eaden to enter via the opposite stair.

Smiling back at Henry she walked up the stairs and into the circle opposite of him. She looked around, her eyes taking in what was around her once more. Nothing to hurt herself on if Henry gets a good shot. She pulled her wand out again, holding it tightly in her hand. "Ready when you are."

He grinned, then gave his wand a flick and said "Expelliarmus" figuring they might as well start out on an easy foot.

Without a word Eaden silently created a shield in front of her using the spell 'Protego.' Without another thought she sent a body binding charm back Henry's way without a word.

Henry smiled still more widely, and gave his wand another little flick, casting the spell 'finite', instantly neutralizing the spell, and with a twirl sent a jet of searing hot air back at Eaden.

She wasn't fast enough. A jet of hot air hit her arm, making her jump away, clutching her burned arm. The skin instantly turned red and burned. She bit her lip, looking down at her arm.

Cursing himself, Henry stepped forward, looking at Eaden with a great deal of concern, trying to see if she was okay.

Eaden touched her burned arm lightly, hissing at the pain. She looked over to Henry and smile weakly. "I'm alright. Just burned a little is all."

"Sorry." said Henry, cursing himself further, and flicking his wand at the burned spot on her arm and mumbling "Vigoratio", a universal healing spell for minor wounds, causing the skin to heal almost instantly.

Eaden looked down at her arm as it healed. She touched the burned spot that was only a light pink now. "Thanks." She looked back up at Henry, seeing the look of concern on his face. "Don't worry. I'm fine. Just a scratch."

Henry smiled weakly, and said "Do you want to keep going?"

Eaden nodded as she got up. "Totally. Not going to let a burn stop me!"

"Right." said Henry, his smile widening as he made it back to his position "Ready?"

She moved over to her circle and nodded. Holding her wand before her she said, "Petrificus Totalus!"

Slightly taken aback by the abruptness of the spell, Henry panicked and rolled to the side, forsaking his faithful 'finite' spell. As the jet of magical energy passed through the spot he had been standing a moment before, he flicked his wand, and, with a bang, sent a flock of rather vicious ravens at Eaden.

Swiping the air with her wand she said "Protego." The force of the spell knocked her off her feet and onto the floor with a loud thud. The flock of ravens couldn't get to her. She waved her wand again, making both the ravens and the shield vanish.

Henry straitened up in the time it took Eaden to cast her spell and escape the ravens, and readied himself for her next attack.

Eaden smirked, looking around quickly for her next hex. Pointing her wand at a gargoyle that was carved into the ceiling she said, "Bombarda!" The spell made the gargoyle explode and rocks fly everywhere.

"WOW!" said Henry in surprise as a large piece of the exploded gargoyle hit him in the chest, knocking him over backward. He landed on his but on the very edge of the platform and fell over backward off the platform, hitting the floor with a thud.

Eaden gasped at what she did. Running forward she jumped off the platform and ran next to Henry. "Oh Henry I'm so sorry. I'm just used to people using spells like that on me at Durmstrang." She sounded like she was on the verge of tears as she spoke to him. "Are you ok?"

He was still on his hands and knees when she got to him; He was rubbing the spot in the middle of his chest where the rock had hit him, and waved his hand at her comments, mouthing almost wordlessly at her that he was fine.

As he caught his breath he said. "I'm fine, just a little winded."

Eaden sighed quietly as she sat on her knees next to Henry. She touched his back lightly, rubbing it. Words could not express how mad she was at herself for doing that. "Are you sure? It was such a stupid spell to do."

"Oh I'm fine." said Henry slightly breathlessly "It's not the worst spell I was ever subjected to, I just wasn't expecting the gargoyle to attack me heh."

Henry straitened up and made his way back up onto the platform, flexing the shoulder he had landed on to loosen it up, and readied himself again, waiting for Eaden to make her way back up onto the platform as well.

Eaden's light eyes glanced back at the destroyed gargoyle, grinning a little. "Was quite cool..." She smiled sheepishly at him. She got up and walked back to her circle again. She got herself together and held her wand at her side. "You start."

"You sure?" asked Henry, generally, in the rules, people who knocked their opponents out of the ring got to start the duel again when their opponent re-entered the ring.

She nodded, smiling again. "I'm waaaaiting."

Henry laughed at this and said "Levistio!", casting the Jelly-Legs jinx.

Eaden jumped out of the way of the jinx at the last second, but could feel the heat from the jinx on her legs. Smiling at Henry as she was still on the ground she cast a spell that sent a jet of water toward him.

With a wave of his wand, he created a large angled metal shield before him, which caused the jet of water to be deflected off to the side. When the stream of water ended, he gave his wand a twirl, causing the shield to disappear and a blast of bright red stunning hex to arc toward Eaden.

Without a moment to spare, Eaden did a complex flicking of her wand that made a shield that was stronger then protego. The shield absorbed the hex Henry had just sent her way. Quickly she waved her wand and made the shield vanish. Flicking her wand again she sent over a spell that when it touched skin would bind the recipient with black ropes.

He flicked his wand and caused a large black snake to appear in midair, causing the snake to take Eaden's spell and be bound by black ropes which appeared from thin air and then cast a burning spell on the snake, causing the snake, and the ropes around it to burn away. He then gave his wand a kind of fancy flick-like twirl and cast a very powerful stunning spell. With a sound like a machine gun, beam after beam after beam of glowing bluish white light erupted from the end of his wand in wide arcing paths, heading strait for Eaden.

The spell hit Eaden like a ton of bricks. She was still on the ground but her body flew back to the edge of the platform. She didn't move because she wasn't conscious. Her wand was still clutched in her hand, her eyes were closed, and she was still breathing. Everything else wasn't registering to her.

Something woke Eaden up, she didn't know what but something did. Pushing herself onto her knees she looked around at what was going on. Her eyes were blurry, but she could make out Henry. He didn't look to pleased with himself. At once her head started to ache. Groaning quietly she reached up to touch the back of her head. "Hmmmm," her voice showed how much her head hurt. "What happened? Did I fall over?" Eaden had no memory of what happened right before. "Or did you hit me with a spell?"

"Uh...I used Oppressio on you...It's Stupify's bigger brother." said Henry, cursing his foolishness "I'd performed it before, but never on a living target...it appears to magnify if it's used on a living subject..."

Kneeling was giving her a headache so she laid herself back onto the ground. Now on her back she looked up at Henry, still smiling. "Guess we know thats a good one to use if the Deva attack us." The back of her head still hurt from when she hit it. Groaning once more she covered her eyes with her arm. "It also gives a wonderful headache."

"Apparently so..." said Henry. "...We should probably call it a day."

She finally found the ability to sit up and did so. Looking around she rubbed her eyes and sighed. "That was....fun. Painful at time but fun." She grinned at Henry, trying to make the pain in her head go away.

"C'mon." said Henry in a cheerful sort of way, standing up and offering her his hand "...I'll take you down to the kitchens, always a nice place to hang out after a taxing event."

She took his hand and got up. A little wobbly on her feet she stumbled a little and looked around. "Guess my brain isn't working well."

[Eaden Valo]

In her mind all she wanted to do was lie back down and sleep. Even if only for a few minutes or so. Dueling, though fun, really took a lot out of the sixth year. Her breathing was slightly labored as she walked down and over to her hoodie. Stowing her wand in the special hoodie pocket she pulled it on, loving the feeling of the warm fabric on her arms and body. She turned to Henry and smiled. "Kitchens you say? I think I could go for some food right now."

She turned to look back into the dueling room. There was some damage to it now and it didn't look as nice as it did before. The gargoyle she exploded, the water spell she did left a night stain near where Henry was standing, all of these would vanish when they left the room. Something about that made her smile. Eaden didn't know why but it just did. Standing there she stretched her body, going on her tippy toes. A quiet pop rang as her back cracked. Sighing contently she did the motion again, but there was no crack of her back.

As she walked toward the door she rubbed the back of her head. She didn't feel a lump there but she did feel sore. Letting her hand drop to her side she opened the door and went out. She held the door open for Henry as he walked behind her. Eaden pulled the hood of her jacket over her head. It didn't really help but it made her feel a bit less in pain.

"I'm looking forward to some coffee and a big cupcake when we get down there. How about you?" Her light eyes followed him as he walked toward the stairs with her.

[Henry Lordings Jr.]

"Cup o' tea should be nice." said Henry, releasing the sticking charm on his sleeves with his wand. "I wouldn't say no to a piece of Gilti's treacle tart either..."

He pulled on his sweater, and cloak, and stuffed the tie into his bag, which he hoisted over his back and led the way out of the door. After making sure the door behind them melted back into stone, the pair of them set off downstairs toward the dungeon corridor where there hung a painting of a bowl of fruit near the entrance to Hufflepuff house.

Thanks primarily to the lack of people hanging out indoors, they made it down to the large fruit painting in about ten minutes, and Henry reached up and tickled the pair, which promptly turned into a door knob. The kitchens were a huge hall with high ceilings and a great brick fireplace at one end. Mounds of brass pots and pans were heaped around the walls. There were preparation tables directly below the four house tables in the Hall above.The kitchens were, as usual, staffed by over a hundred house-elves, all working tirelessly to prepare the afternoon's meal.

"Welcome Master Henry, Sir!" said a high pitched voice nearby.

Henry turned to see a short house elf with tennis-ball sized blue eyes who was wearing a tea towel with the Hogwarts coat of arms emblazoned upon it.

"Hello Telmy." Henry said kindly to the small female house-elf who had greeted him. "Have you seen Gilti?"

"Indeed, sir, I has, sir." said Telmy, her ears drooping just a bit. She indicated the large fireplace across the hall. "Gilti is working on his deserts, sir."

"Thank you Telmy." said Henry, he knew almost all the house elves by name, and had taken to addressing them by said names as even most of the teachers would not. "Could you please get me a cup of Earl Grey, and a coffee, and one of Farli's cupcakes for my friend?"

"Of course, sir!" said Telmy happily, bowing to Henry and Eaden deeply. "I will brings it to you, sir."

"Thank you." said Henry, and he made for the fireplace and the spot where Gilti was undoubtedly making the treacle tart that had enchanted several generations of Hogwarts students.

"Ah, Master Henry!" said a particularly elderly looking elf who was hunched over a large tray of tarts, putting the finishing touches on them. Gilti was unlike any of the other elves present in the kitchens; In his old age, Gilti had become intensely mischievous, at least by elven standards. He had taken to neglecting cleaning pursuits, and instead had taken to sneaking about the secret areas of the castle and eavesdropping on students, and teachers alike, in fact, he had become so good at it that the people upon which he was dropping eaves almost never knew he was there. The only time of the day when the old elf did his chores was when the time to cook desert came around, at which time, he would make his all too famous treacle tarts and fudge which had captured the hearts of everyone from Albus Dumbledore to Harry Potter.

"Hello Gilti." said Henry, pulling out his wand and drawing up two comfy armchairs and a short coffee tale "I'd like you to meet somebody. Eaden, this is Gilti, Gilti...Eaden."

The ancient elf bowed as deeply as his deteriorated state would allow, and straitened up saying. "A pleasure it is, Miss."

[Eaden Valo]

Eaden followed Henry as they walked down to the Kitchens. Walking so far made her head thump painfully. She reached up again and touched her head. In the morning it would be killing. Pouting slightly she tried her best to not fall behind him. She didn't want Henry to see her in such a state. Eaden felt a little silly as she staggered on the stairs. Breathing slowly she made she to put one foot in front of the other.

Finally making it down to the kitchens she let Henry open the door and they walked in. The bright lights of the room sent another shot of pain to her head. Man...this sucks! She thought as she pulled her hood further over her head. Trudging further in Henry started to speak to one of the elves. He was looking for a specific one. Seeing him be so nice to a house elf brought a smile to her face. Most people weren't nice to the house elves, and yet he spoke to this one as an equal.

"I'd like you to meet somebody. Eaden, this is Gilti, Gilti...Eaden."

She nodded to the newly appeared elf that stood in front of her. Bowing slightly she grinned at the older then the dinosaurs elf. "Nice to meet you Gilti," She said with a grin. Seeing that Henry pulled up chairs for them she threw herself into one and instantly felt better, now she was off her feet. "So I'm guessing you're down here a lot if you know their names?" She asked Henry as their drinks were brought to them.

[Henry Lordings Jr.]

"Oh yes." said Henry with a smile, taking the second seat, and leaning back into it's cushy upholstery. "I know them all. I often work through my homework down here. It's odd how busy company can help you study."

Gilti smiled at them, and continued with his cooking pursuits.

"I know all of them on sight." said Henry, beginning to point out elves who were working on various chores about the kitchen, and ticking off names. "That's Oley, she helps Garney over there make the pork, Farli makes the cupcakes, of course, Gyn over there is the brew master, no one alive makes a better cup of tea..."

His voice trailed off as small group of elves, including Telmy, came over carrying a large silver tray between them upon which was set a large teapot, a cup of dark liquid that smelled enticing set upon a saucer, a cupcake with pink icing and a cherry set upon a small plate, and a small bowl with a wad of watery pink shavings in it.

"What's that?" asked Henry, eying the pink shavings curiously.

"Tis Phoenix Ginger, sir." said Telmy promptly "It will sooth the Miss' headache, sir."