2100 hours, The Kitchens


Raine's largest issue with weekends - and she had a few - was that their lack of lessons made it much too easy to forget the passing of time and, as a result, much too easy for her to miss a meal. Of course it had to be dinner.

The Gryffindor prefect sighed wearily as she turned into the corridor that would take her down into the kitchens, dressed in the same outdoors attire she'd been sporting earlier in the day. Fluffy gloves stuck out of the back pocket like a tail, next to her wand.

"Hello fruit," Raine greeted the painting in a droll voice before hopping to her tip toes and tickling the pair. It giggled (she smiled) and transformed expectedly into a doorknob. "Thank you!"

After all, nobody was around to see her conversing with fruit.

Her tummy made a slight, uneasy rumble and Raine finally pushed open the portrait door- revealing the Kitchen entrance, through which she slipped deftly as a cat. On the other side, in the large room with its long tables, throngs of House Elves greeted the girl with familiarity.

Finally, some food.

Well, alright, Gigi had a few pieces of clothing that she could get away with at school.  There were a few t-shirts that didn't having something hostile or offensive painted all over them.

This one went for confusing in-jokes instead, and the TARDIS hoodie laying next to her probably didn't help the effect. She'd even 'dyed' her hair in with green stripes for the weekend. Which didn't have much of an impact considering that all she was doing at the moment was scribbling down impressions of the kitchen in her notebook. While nibbling on cookies. That was a meal, right?

And it looked like Raine had had the same idea. "Hey, catch!" Gigi threw one of the less crumbly cookies at the Prefect wih some force.

It had taken a moment to register Georgiana's dark figure at one of the tables but significantly less time to react- Raine caught the projectile, belatedly realizing it was a cookie. Buttery too. The prefect wrinkled her nose at the treat but shrugged and polished it off in a quick bite.

"Mmat tasft beffer..." she swallowed, approaching her classmate. "Sorry. Tastes better than it looks." Several Elves were running about doing Merlin-knew-what and kept getting in her way.

One of the taller ones had come sprinting with a mug, which Raine snatched up with a quick grin as she hopped on to the table. The view was better from up here.

"Missed dinner as well, Trishna?" she folded up her legs, glancing at Gigi's sketchbook with vague interest. The hoodie next to her looked familiar; something from Mama's telly. Raine sipped at her mug (which turned out to be hot milk) and burbled a remark. "That looks good."

"Take mine, then." Gigi had had her fill of the cookies already, and they tasted a little weird to her anyways. That the not quite legal but certainly not dangerous Tapendra worried too much already about everything substances she'd sampled a little bit of earlier might have toyed with her taste buds hadn't quite entered her thoughts yet. She was still enjoying the relaxed buzz, since the weekend meant no classes to snark.

She plopped the notebook, still open, on top of the hoodie, and leaned back a little, supporting herself with her elbows. Maybe she needed to point out to her brother that drugs and alcohol could make her less of a smart-mouth. Even now she didn't think he'd appreciate it.

"Skipped. And eh, just scribbles." She patted the table next to her. Raine wasn't a bad sort, for a Gryffie. Or maybe just cause of what Gigi'd been sampling.

Cookies did not make a dinner but Raine accepted them, shifting over to the table next to Georgiana. Milk and cookies- quaint. While the house elves were busy rushing about the kitchen, several stopped over and left various plates of food for the girls. Bowls of fruit, bread rolls and the occasional pasty.

"Not bad for scribbles," the Gryffindor commented as she caught a glimpse over her classmate's shoulder- remembering to swallow before speaking this time. "I used to be horrid with perspective." It was just one of those things that their Governess had to scold her into learning.

Some days, she would still sit down and draw, typically in the dorms. It helped her remember better times.

"Are you going into the arts after Hogwarts?" Raine asked, smirking. In truth she knew nothing about Trishna's ambitions- nor did she care much, but the idea of Georgiana in that particular social sphere was terribly entertaining. "Or taking after the good professor?" It was fairly obvious who she meant by this.

"Hate drawing noses, myself." They'd wound up as either sharp lines or pig snouts for a while before she'd finally managed a little breakthrough on the subject. "Don't think I ever saw anything you'd drawn." She didn't make a habit of watching the art techniques of Gryffies. Even Gryffies that seemed to get everything down. Raine had to be an Animagus on top of everything else, course. Gigi couldn't quite drag up the desire to be pissy over it.

What she was doing after school got a non-committal shrug and a bit of a scowl. "Can't study art here, not properly. Need tech for it now." She shot Raine an inquiring look, trying to figure out if she was being messed with. "And I'm not taking Astronomy anymore. Couldn't stand it."

Even though there were a couple of times where it would have been great fun to tease him. She snatched a roll off one of the plates and stuffed too much of it into her mouth.

Raine washed down bites of cookies with warm milk- making a face as she lowered the mug. It was like being seven all over again, when stuffing yourself sick with sweets was a socially acceptable thing to do.

"I was taught," she shrugged at Georgiana's comment. "But my sister still has some portraits and landscapes with the Art Appreciation society." Sanya had a much stronger tendency for that sort of thing. It never held much appeal for the Gryffindor.

Admittedly, the shot at Professor Trishna had been a low one but she had been wondering in earnest as well.

"You don't have to teach Astronomy," Raine clarified- she was taking the subject and could understand Gigi's disdain. It was fascinating but not riveting. "Although if you like the arts..." she pressed her lips together thoughtfully.

There was an artistic field in the wizarding community, wasn't there? They used to be dragged to exhibitions and shows and other dull proceedings she might have slept through as a child.

"You could do... I don't know, magical artwork. My aunt Ira is involved with that sort of thing, she doesn't really discuss it." Raine picked off a green apple from the table, rolling it between her palms. "I'm not especially interested."

Gigi carried on devouring the roll as Raine spoke. She wasn't used to this sort of conversation with anyone other than Taprenda and other nosy school staff, so getting it from Raine was odd, if not as intimidating. Still didn't get her an answer. "Don't know what I want to do this summer, let alone once I'm out of school." Then a collection of mmffing noises as she gobbled down more food.

"Never looked at wizarding art, really. Suppose I'd be as far behind on it as I am on Muggle stuff." That was what always bit. Go home, hang out on the computer, yell at the 360, no magic. At school, no technology. Pain in her ass. "Any idea what you're doing?"

Ugh. If only professional Halo troll were an option somewhere.

A lack of ambition was hardly the most troublesome thing to be found in a Slytherin and so Raine didn't think  much of it to hear that her classmate wasn't dead-set on a particular goal. The summer still seemed some time away at any rate... and graduation even further.

"I wouldn't know what it takes, in either of the arts..." the redhead mused. Of course she preferred the wizarding arts but there was something to be said of mama's telly box or the museums she visited over break. "It seems very subjective."

At Georgiana's question, she smiled faintly and set her apple down to balance precariously on her knee.

"Auror training." There was no question about it. "Or whatever it is Hit Wizards have to do to qualify." Raine sprung her leg up slightly and caught the apple as it bounced- she glanced at Gigi with a intelligent light in her eye. "I want to hunt down criminals."

Just like the animals they were.

Oh, yeah. Despite all her thoughts about that annoying foot in both worlds things, Gigi could be pretty bad at remembering that it didn't apply to everyone else. At least, if she wasn't thinking snarky about the person in question. Raine wasn't the bad sort at all.

And not just in the 'far better than Erin's usual choices in dates' sense. Pretty long list, there.

"Lot of Muggle art these days uses  tech. Sort that starts sparking and wastes money if you try bringing it here. Thus, scrimfffsles." She thumped a free hand on on her notebook as she swallowed the last crumbs of the roll.

Somehow, she could see Raine as an Auror or something. Gryffie had that way of being respectable without being a total square. "Know an Auror. Could drop him a note if you want. Don't bother him enough anyway." Luthas was pretty much her uncle. And 'hey, want to chat with someone who wants to smash criminals?' was probably a lot better than what he'd expect to hear from her.

A light of understanding entered Raine's eyes as she listened to the explanation of muggle technology in art. There had been something about that on telly. Photo store? Photo mill? Something rather technical that didn't strike her as an attractive way to illustrate anything.

"I see," she appeared slightly put off. "I would remain with my pencils and brushes. Can hardly stand being on the computer for very long anyway." Mama had bought her a laptop last summer but using it felt far too passive an activity. How did anyone ever do real things on a screen?

Mention of knowing an auror promptly kicked such thoughts out of her head, however.

"Is he a family friend?" Raine asked, genuinely curious. It made sense, if so. Professor Trishna had been married to an auror after all. "Although I'd rather not trouble anyone," she paused here and finally bit into the apple in her hand. "As sshmush--as much as I would like to smash criminals."

"Pretty amazing what they do with computers and graphics these days." Gigi picked up her sketchbook again anyways, and started to scribble the outline of a face. Or at least an oval shape.

The question got a nod and a grin. "Yeah, Luthas helped Tappy with us when were young. Sure he wouldn't mind. I'll make a note and owl it to him today. Sure he'll be glad it's not a disaster."

She sketched an x over the face, covering the eyes and shifting a bit over the bridge of the nose. "Think you'd be good at smashing." Raine was good at a lot of things. Including being a cat, apparently. "You got plans for that over the summer, then?" She was probably crazy prepared already. Had a clue what she was doing.

Gigi just hadn't figured out what she wanted yet.

It sounded to Raine like she needed to pop into a muggle cinema over the holidays, to see what on earth their "computers and graphics" could do. Her experience was limited to the experience of children's animation- they rather outgrew such things after turning eleven.

"A disaster?" the prefect smirked at her classmate's choice of words. "I didn't realize you were synonymous to such a thing." As if though a letter from Georgiana Trishna could only mean disaster.

Tossing her apple core - precisely - into a bin by the sinks, she turned away from Gigi to secure a bread roll. Cookies, fruit, bread. So much for a wholesome meal. Raine glanced back as she bit into her fare.

"Mmf..me?" she swallowed. "I suppose if the Aurors live up to that summer programme they discussed at the fifth year career fair, I'll be sorted. Or I could do another internship[1]. Was hauled down to China last summer..." the redhead made a face. "Anything to keep me out of the house."

The last thing she needed was to be stuck at home with her parents. They were hardly there anyway; papa even suggested that she stay in London with Aunt Ira for Christmas, which was a first. Raine hadn't objected.

"There might be another school trip, too." Egypt had been rather enjoyable, she had met Abby there after all. "Do you have any summer plans?" she asked, curious. "Besides harassing Professor Trishna, I mean."

At least that was what Raine assumed younger sisters were for.

1.	Forbidden Secrets, We Shall Know.

"Do I look like the sort who writes letters?" Gigi thumped her shoe against a nearby cupboard, with a half-satisfying clunk. "Luthas might think someone died." Or that they were impersonating her. Hogwarts was pathetic for communication. No phone calls, no emails, no internet voice chats. Slow and archaic.

She cocked her head a little at the mention of China, and Raine's accompanying facial expression. "Sure you'll find something. Bet everyone wants you. Got that respectable thing." Something which Gigi was trying to avoid, herself. Too many expectations, too much of her brother blabbing on about 'when I was your age'.

"Summer means I can get my head out of the stone age and use that computer. Going to need to bug Tappy, though. 'Specially if he wants me to do something he thinks is 'productive'." She rolled her eyes, unable to resist at the idea. Family, so annoying.

"Like the sort who writes Howlers perhaps." Raine smirked though she nodded once, grasping her classmate's notion. One did not expect to spy Gigi Trishna milling about the grounds with quill and parchment at hand, composing letters to loved ones.

The bread roll was gone- as was the disappointing emptiness in the pit of her stomach. In the warmth of the kitchen and the flickering light of its live fire, their evening appeared to be a rather cozy one. Homelier than home even. The prefect leaned forward and relaxed her posture into a boyish stoop. Respectable thing?

"It's more about what I want," she mused with a frown. "Respectability is its own currency and I would trade it away for a chance to be an auror."

Short-sighted, she realized, but true. Raine glanced away from the hearth at the end of the long kitchen and looked at Gigi; she smiled faintly at the complaint. Having Professor Trishna for an elder sibling. What was that like, the witch wondered.

"I confess, I'm a little jealous..." she trailed off with a trace of whimsy. "It must be rather nice to have an older brother." Like having a sort of protector, wasn't it? Someone watching over you. Safe.