Cepheus had met Elliot not long after she’d started working at Flourish and Blotts. Living on Diagon Alley he tended to wander in on his way past. There was something about the place, wall to wall shelves, stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather, then the small ones you could only turn the page with delicate charms, bound in silk, and others who weren’t entirely books at all but more living things that spewed information. He’d always loved it since he was knee high, one might say a typical Ravenclaw.

He had struck up conversation with Elliot after she dealt with a query about an order for him. She’d taken over as manager, and her non-British accent had piqued his attention. The shop hadn’t been overly busy, Ceph on a day off from the Goblin Office at that time, and they’d chattered until another customer had come to interrupt. Elliot hadn’t had much luck, caught up in the November 5th attack on the Leaky Cauldron. Ceph had brought her flowers when she was laid up in St Mungo’s, when he’d heard, as friend did. The neighbouring patient had asked Elliot if Ceph was her boyfriend!

It felt as if she’d only just got back on her feet from that before she came face to face with a dementor on the way home. That time it’d been flowers and chocolate when they’d seen each other next. All in all, the pair of them had reached the point in friendship where they were the sort to meet for coffee, evaluate Ceph’s latest second-hand pretty book acquisition from the Diagon Book market (he only bought new editions from Elliot’s shelves) and now they were the sort to invite each other for dinner.

He and his sister were advocates of a good curry, but Ceph had decided to try chicken and chorizo paella for dinner when he invited Elliot that Saturday evening. It was an altogether safer option, it wasn’t hot with spice (well, not unless one counted the chorizo), and there was as little, or as much as one might like to eat. That, and it looked pretty colourful on a plate which made the difference when it was everything bunged in together.

The flat[1] was already rich with the smell of it as Elliot let herself in (as Ceph's close friends did when they were expected, or in Nate's case, even when they weren't but yelled loud enough to announce). She had visited before of course, sampled Ceph’s growing collection of cat-themed mugs.

“Hello!” He called from the stove, turning it down before he stepped away and headed to the hallway to greet Elliot and give her a hug, leaving a kiss on her cheek. “You’re looking lovely. I hope you’re famished, I think I’ve made a bit too much…” He beckoned her into his kitchen so he could talk while attending to their dinner. At the arrival of a visitor, Claude, Ceph’s black and white cat, stretched out on the armchair and dropped down to head for Elliot’s ankles in the hope it might be his dinner time now the guest had arrived.

1.	Rough sketch of the layout, written description of 312c Diagon Alley

When he greeted her with a warm hug and a kiss to her cheek she gave an equally warm hug in her own greeting to him. "I am hungry, yes. I've since learned to come as such whenever you invite me over," she replied. This was partially due to the fact of how good of a cook Elliot considered Cepheus, even though she thought her own skills fairly decent as well. She gave a quiet laugh as she squat down on the balls of her feet to better reach Claude and gently stroked his head. "Hello to you too, Claude. Good to see you again."

"Oh, that reminds me!" she continued as she rose back up to her full height. "I recently took on a Kneazle. Beautiful old girl. Named her Emmie." The witche's smile softened at the thought of her new companion who added just enough life and movement to the flat to keep her loneliness at bay. With each passing day Elliot wondered why she hadn't gotten herself a pet sooner. "I think you'd quite like her, Ceph. She acts like a lap cat and chirps rather than meows. Perhaps next time I'll have you over so you can see her."

She gave a quick, dismissive wave of her hand. "Plans for later, over dinner. So, what have you cooked up this time? It smells lovely."

Elliot couldn't help but stand beside him, with her hands held behind her, as she watched him finish up their intended meal. She had always found his taste interesting and thus, whenever she was over, would ask what he had made and how it was done so that she could possibly add the recipe (or a particular technique) or her own repertoire. She could smell the herbs and spices even as she had been approaching the kitchen, but now they were all the stronger and it made her sense of hunger seem all the stronger as well.

"Anything I can do to help before it's served? Unless everything's already set," she asked as she glanced at him.

Elliot joked kindly about remembering to come over hungry because of the amount of food he cooked. Cepheus reflected that he was rather good at knowing how much he wanted to eat on his own, but never wanted a dinner guest to go hungry. It was a pleasure to cook for someone else when he had enough time. Concentrating on it rather than everything else gave his mind a break from wandering into work territory or thinking about something academic. It was also something to look forward to, companionship, conversation and something different to eat.

Claude meowed in greeting to Elliot, pushing his head against her bet knee. Elliot didn’t kidnap him and dress him up, so she was in Claude’s top ten already. His fur had long grown back from Callie’s hairdressing in mid February thankfully, and his black and white shorthaired coat was looking shiny and well petted.

“Really?” Ceph asked, rhetorically, pleased at the news that his friend had taken on a pet. “Emmie, lovely.” That was a friendly name - one you could call with an extended vowel Eeeeeh-meeee. “I’d love to meet her,” he agreed, and turned back to throw peas into the pan and tapped the egg timer with his wand. Behind him, Elliot suggested they set a date later in the evening.

“Chicken and chorizo paella,” Cepheus explained, stepping aside so she could see better. “Chicken, Spanish onion, garlic, chorizo, turmeric, saffron, paprika.” He had a neatly handwritten recipe laid over the pages of a well-read cook book beside the stove. “It’s a recipe from a friend of a friend who cooked it for the Leaky’s spanish night last year er..” Cepheus realised that was cautious ground and quickly moved on, "I’ve just got to cut the lemons and the parsley, if you wanted to…” He gestured to the nearby chopping board. “Thanks. I’ll get the wine - unless you’d prefer something else?” He didn’t want to give her a bad head if she was up early tomorrow to open up, but reached for the bottle of white to see if she approved.

“How have things been? You got any plans for a holiday before it’s the rush for September again?” Cepheus asked, the first question a more weighted one, considering she’d met with misfortune on two occasions, and by the law of threes could have been expecting another at any moment. “Sightseeing Britain or anything?"

"It's alright, Ceph," Elliot started when she heard him stumble over his words at the mention of the Leaky Cauldron. Thankfully, the memories that came up the moment the place was mentioned had lost most of their effect on her. The only reaction it pulled from her was a slight pursing of her lips. "It's been some time since then." She looked away, turning her focus to the cutting board so that she could help him finish preparing the meal. "Besides...it's not the worst thing to happen to me..."

She let the silence following her reply linger in the air for a moment before she broke it with the sound of her cutting the lemon and parsley. "Oh, don't worry about the wine for me. I'm fine with something else." She turned her head to give him a look, though still friendly, before she continued. "And don't feel like you can't drink just because I won't."

"As for plans," she continued, "I don't really have any. I never really...saw much reason to go anywhere." Her expression shifted into one even she wouldn't be sure how to describe, and was thankful that her face was hidden from view at that moment. "I think I'll probably just keep to what I've been doing in past years: stick around and somehow manage the flood of paperwork as the school year starts up again." Her process of slicing slowed for a moment as she chewed on her lip. "Unless you have suggestions?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him. "I never traveled much, so I'm open to almost anything."

Cepheus gave Elliot a concerned but friendly look as he reached into a cupboard and brought out a glass bottle of water. His wand tapped it twice, and a chill swept over it, condensation bubbling on the slender glass neck.

“For a lady who hails from the vast expanse, I suppose our little island might seem condensed easily into London,” the English wizard explained, in a thoughtful tone, “but there are some wonderful places to see, strange culture packed into Britain. The Lake District, Scottish Highlands, the Pennines, Exmoor, Dartmoor all full of clean, entirely different air to London with horizons and heights and fantastic rock formations.” He was beginning to feel like a geographer, as he paused to wave his wand to send glasses to the kitchen table. “Or there’s the coast - Cornwall, Brighton, Norfolk and the Fens, or up the North coast, Scarborough, and of course, Blackpool in the Northwest - I, I’m starting to sound like an wizard’s almanac of Britain. Sorry.”

It took them a moment to finish preparing dinner and take a seat at Ceph’s modest kitchen table. Claude wound around their ankles below before taking a sentry post in the gap where kitchen met living room, watching for any opportunity to score a handout from the table.
“There’s plenty of places I’ve not been, or would go again, if you’d tolerate the company.” He shrugged and smiled chasing some paella with his fork. “What with apparating, you can be there and back in a jiffy.”

She chuckled as he went on, listing each place she could try to visit. Admittedly she liked all the suggestions he gave. Despite her years of living in England, mainly sticking to London, she had never given herself quite the opportunity to really get to see and know the rest of the country. With each city he mentioned she took a mental note of them.

"No need to apologize. I need as many suggestions as you can make." She fiddled with her food with her fork for a moment before taking a bite, enjoying the flavor and letting her thoughts continue. Once finished with that bite she continued. "From the sounds of it, you're familiar with almost everywhere. So, I wouldn't mind a bit of company to help show me around. And if we do go anywhere I think I'd like to start at the coastal cities."

"I'll take some time to look into what they all offer," she said before glancing at Ceph. "I'll keep you informed."

“Oh gosh, not everywhere. I know you might think it’s a small island, but…” Cepheus placed down his knife and gestured with a wave of his hand that he did not feel this way. “When you’re young and single you value your weekends and take advantage of a day out.” He smiled gently.

“Do, yes, company’s always welcome. Spring arriving, you might even get a sunny day.” He returned his attention momentarily to dinner, which he was secretly rather impressed at how well it had turned out. “Anything to get a break away from your unusual customers,” he added, considering the characters who appeared at Flourish and Blotts. “Had any good ones recently?”