What a glorious night for a trip to the kitchens. Classes were harder than ever and coming out of her depression had made Bellatrix quite hungry indeed. After a long night of studying, she changed into a casual outfit and crept down to the kitchens. She had her wand stuck into her pink boot, as usual, in case she found trouble. She had recently come to the realization that she'd made a lot of enemies over the past three years and one could never be too careful.

The moment she entered, she was greeted warmly by several house-elves. They offered her all sorts of baked goods as they had done for lots of other students that needed a late-night snack. Since her mood was currently whimsical, she took a seat and decided to take samples from each proferred plate. After all, it would be wasteful to not accept some of the things offered and, of course, unfair for Bellatrix to pick one house-elf's foods and not another's.

How fitting that midnight's hungry souls should gather tonight.  He was in no mood to play nice and of  all the other people, he had to to run in to Bella.  He paused only briefly in the threshold before continuing on his path as though nothing was amiss.  How garish, he thought to himself, glancing sideways at her bright pink dress. 

He sauntered past and took a small tart off one of the trays the house elves held out to Bella.  Half of her adoring audience switched sides the moment he sat down and leaned back against the edge of the table.  He propped his elbows on the tabletop and grinned at Bella.  Then he popped the small tart into his mouth.  He chewed slowly, not taking his eyes off of the girl, just as much to keep an eye on her as to unnerve her. 

He finally swallowed.  "A pleasant evening, don't you think?" Ezra asked smoothly, looking away to peruse the fruit tray one of the house elves offered.  He finally took the entire tray out of the elf's hands and placed it on the bench next to him.  With a lazy wave of the hand, he sent the elf off to get him a cup of juice. 

Bellatrix should have been startled by the arrival of another student, but it was always her luck that she couldn't eat alone. The attention from the house-elves was stolen by none other than Ezra Inkwood, yet another housemate that had made his way on to her black list somewhere in her third year. His sentiment, as with many other Slytherins, was mutual.

There was no reason, of course, that the two of them couldn't be civilized...however false and brief the exchange was. Her wand was within reach should she need it. At this thought, sadly, that twinge of regret resounded in the back of her mind. Ezra Inkwood was a perfectly good Slytherin. If the two of them dug deep enough, surely they would find that they had quite a few things in common. Her lips pulled into a frown at the notion. Her and Ezra friends? 'Don't be silly,' she told herself flatly.

"A pleasant evening, don't you think?""

"Oh yes," she watched him as he took the fruit tray. "Lovely."

He sent the elf to fetch him something and her blue eyes followed the elf to the cupboard where it would pour him some juice. She had been up in the girls' dorm for months  prior to a week ago when she'd made the decision to stop brooding over her mistakes and failures in the past year as well as her sister's absence from Hogwarts. For a moment, her mind began to take a stroll down that path; it was abruptly switched back to the situation before her. She would absolutely not think about Beatrix.

"It would be more lovely were we both in the company of someone we trusted," she pointed out casually. "Shall we lay our wands on the table and make a promise to behave until we've finished our snacks?"

There were a couple of elves still holding up trays to her which she graciously took with a muttered, "Thank you". How very unlike the old Bellatrix, she thought to herself as they gasped and ran wide-eyed to the cupboard to fetch her what they assumed she wanted: a cup of juice like Ezra. Upon return, she didn't throw it at them and order a new drink. She didn't even correct them; the girl just took it with another comment of appreciation and began to drink it. Juice was better for her anyway. After a moment of guzzling half of it down, she set it on a table and peered across the way to Ezra with a very serious look on her face.

Ï'm done with the charade, Inkwood. I'd like to call a permanent truce."

Ezra studied each one of Bella's moves carefully and narrowed his eyes in triumph when she succumbed to his subtle pressure and took a tray from a house elf.  It wasn't like her and, for a moment, he wondered if she was feeling at all well.  Graciousness towards something as insignificant as a house elf was unheard of in the upper echelon.  He liked seeing people's reactions when he was polite to them.  He often learned a lot from their reactions.  Such as her change of heart.

He wasn't surprised when she offered a truce, although pairing it with a demand to publicly lay out their wands was a strike against her intentions he thought.  A valid truce required some modicum of trust between the two of them and if she needed him to place his wand on the table, well then, that wasn't very trusting was it?

Ezra smirked then took a sip from his cup.  He continued to stare at her over the rim, his eyes black in the low light of the kitchen. Then he carefully set the cup aside.  With a twitch of an eyebrow he replied, "I wasn't aware that we were feuding so badly as to need a formal truce but if you're feeling uncomfortable, I suppose I can accommodate you."

Long, elegant fingers reached into his robe and pulled his wand.  He held the shaft pinched between his thumb and index finger just to show he wasn't intending on firing a hex at her.  His statement wasn't entirely true.  He knew perfectly well that he and Bellatrix had been sniping at one another since 3rd year when she'd gone round the bend and made a variety of enemies.  It was nothing he'd taken too seriously though.  Being friends with Theo made other relationships comfortingly straight-forward.  He gave her a pointed look and added, "You don't expect me to be the only one to un-arm, do you?"

"You don't expect me to be the only one to un-arm, do you?"

"Wouldn't be much of a truce if i did, would it?" She removed her own Hawthorne wand from its hiding place in her boot and placed it upon the table where he could see it. "It wouldn't be fair."

Her blue eyes lingered on him for a while before averting her gaze to the house-elves crowding them again with more trays. She took several tidbits offered and set them on the table to nibble one at a time. The first was rather sweet and scrumptious which put her in a slightly better mood. Did the house-elves know how to cook things that changed people's moods? She had to wonder... The house-elves knew some strange magic and it wouldn't surprise her if they'd learned how to work it into the food they cooked.

"Do you have a house-elf at home, Inkwood? Your family is what they call 'old blood', innit?"

As they hadn't spoken since third year unless necessary, Bellatrix was rather curious about his family. Everyone knew her family was mad and had a questionable reputation like the Malfoys and the many pure-blooded families that had supported He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named. She wouldn't have supported him and neither would her twin, but--... Thinking about Beatrix made her depressed. No. She insisted that she would keep her mind off the absence of her twin! She reached out and took a bite of another treat. This one was rather tart!

Ezra laid his Blackwood wand down on the table in full view only when Bella did the same.  It was a dark thing, completely black in this low light.  Other than that, it was fairly undistinguished.  There was only one delicate spiral along its shaft by way of decoration.  One would never know it was old, fickle, and powerful as it was.  Ezra was the first person in the family since its first owner to be able to wield it with any success.  When he was eleven, he'd thought it meant he was destined for great things.  Now he knew that a wand was only a tool and it was ultimately up to him to become great.

He didn't take his eyes off of Bella when she became distracted by the house elves again.  He read her face as she nibbled on their offerings.  She seemed to relax a little at it.  Although he couldn't be sure if it was the food itself or the distraction that did it for her.  He grinned a little savagely at her reaction to an unexpected taste. 

Ezra shrugged in response to her question about elves.  He wasn't interested in bragging about kitchen staff, regardless of whatever status the wizarding world associated with them.  "We have one," he said offhandedly.  He leaned forward and plucked a cinnamon apple tart off the tray Bella was picking from.  He popped it into his mouth and closed his eyes as he savored the taste.

"Didn't come with the Inkwood name, though.  But that branch of the family tree did leave us with a truly spectacular resource for potions ingredients."  His Cajun ancestors had a desperate fondness for dead animal parts.  All of them carefully stored and preserved, Ezra could pick and choose from a wide variety of exotic materials.

"How about you? Since you asked.  House elves?"

"We have one. Didn't come with the Inkwood name, though.  But that branch of the family tree did leave us with a truly spectacular resource for potions ingredients."

Bellatrix, in the middle of chewing on a brisk Toffee-flavored dessert, looked at him in light astonishment. That explained why he was so talented at potions.

"How about you? Since you asked.  House elves?"

He'd answered her question about house-elves so casually. No tone of arrogance, no bragging. It wasn't in Bella to flaunt her family wealth. On the contrary, what with the Dark family reputation sinking lower and lower each year, it would be difficult for any member of the family to boast about their heritage--no matter how pure, wealthy, or notorious. In the eyes of many pure-blooded families, her father had shamed the Dark family name by betraying the Ministry. She was sure there was a justified reason for it; she didn't believe her father was evil like the previous Dark Lord...even if he was a little obsessed with blood purity. Her father was still her father and she would be proud of him no matter what.

She finished her treat before she answered, "We have several. Since it's just me and..." Her twin sister had left. No one could know her father was living with her. "Well, just me now. I can't clean the manor myself and there are some rooms I can't get into."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she said this aloud. It wasn't cleaning the house that was the problem: it was the fact that she was alone. A house-elf ran off momentarily only to return with a platter full of different sweets. Bellatrix fought extra hard against the urge to cry in front of Inkwood and took the sweet with a mumbled "thank you" before biting into it. It tasted wonderful! To her amazement, the sadness and loneliness disappeared with each bite leaving behind a general happy feeling. She hadn't felt this good since the argument over Christmas break. Bellatrix took another one and scarfed it down. Anything to keep the depression away! After too long, she was smiling without meaning to.

"Sorry," she apologized in an unusually perky voice. "Couldn't help myself. Has anyone told you how lovely you are?"

The house-elf offering her the platter gave out a squeak of surprise. One had been enough to make her feel better, but she'd taken two! The stuff they'd worked into the treats was potent. But to make Bellatrix Dark giddy... Well, some of them couldn't help but smile and giggle quietly behind their bony hands.

"What are you all laughing at?" The Slytherin girl, affected by whatever they'd put in the special treats, began to giggle with them uncontrollably. "Inkwood, why are you being so serious? Something's funny!"

(OOC: I couldn't help myself to make things a little...awkward for Bella.)

Bellatrix Dark was decidedly emotional, Ezra noticed carefully.  Pausing halfway through her sentences, fighting back tears, and smiling warmly at the elves.  He regarded her somewhat reservedly because of it.  Emotional girls weren't usually a good sign but perhaps it was something he could use to his advantage.  The subject of family had certainly struck a nerve.

Before he had half a moment to think about it though, Bella started giggling of all things.  Now, he wasn't one to hold it against a girl if his wit reduced her to giggles but she was doing so for no particular reason.  And she had the nerve to suggest there was something wrong with him for not giggling in the middle of the kitchen late at night over a tray of fruit tarts. 

"What did you give her?" he asked one of the elves curiously. 

The elf, thankfully not one of the gleeful creatures she'd complimented, ducked its wrinkled head and wring its hands nervously.  "There might have been a mild form of the Elixir to induce euphoria, sir.  We only wanted Madame Dark to feel better."

Ezra rolled his eyes as he turned back to Bellatrix.  The fool had taken two of them and the fool elves had let her.  A slow grin spread across his face though, when he realized that she had, in fact, taken two.  She'd probably be quite a bit of fun for quite a while now depending on the dosage.  He leaned forward with a full smile which might be considered a response to her prompting but was really him laughing at her rather than with her. 

"You know, Bella, I think you might be right.  Something is rather amusing all of a sudden."