Cookies & Cream

[Avi-kins]

((Open to both Fia and Nevermore, should either choose to join. Characters- Fia and Finwinkel. I would love on or both of them, but I would prefer not to have other characters in this thread.))

It was an old, abandoned classroom where Sherbet spent his spare time. Filled with cooking utensils, the room was perfect for him to experiment in foods. He was a little suspicious that teachers might know of the room; the cupboard was always stocked, as was the icebox. But it could have just been some of his house elf friends that did that for him.

No matter. Either way, it was his place, and only a few other people knew about it too. They would never tell, either. Sherbet Fortescue had told each of them that if they told, he would never cook for them again, and that was enough to ensure their silence. The rotund boy grinned at the though, pushing away some black curls. It pleased him that he could do something so well, and it pleased him even more when he was able to share his gift with others.

Today, Bert had been blessed. Some Mugglborn kid in Ravenclaw had received a stash of Muggle foods. Sherbet had bargained with the kid and eventually bought half the stash for a reasonable price. He set down the bag containing the food and proceeded to rummage through it. The young chef withdrew the items one by one. First was a packae of unremarkable creme-filled chocolate biscuits, labeled Oreos. He frowned. His father sometimes would purchase Muggle foods through a supplier for use in different confectioneries, but Sherbet had never heard of this biscuit before...then again, it must be American, because the long tube proclaimed the contents were cookies.

Curious to see what was inside, he opened the tube and pulled out a 'cookie'. It was dark, like mud, and the creme inside was astonishingly white. Every the experimenter, he nibbled a bit and frowned as he reflected on the taste. It was nearly sickeningly sweet, and he was pretty sure that if he looked in a mirror there would be black crumbs stuck on his teeth. Bert wasn't sure what to make of this strange biscuit. He liked sweets, but...it was very strange. The boy decided to treat it like any other biscuit, and whipped up some tea (Honeyduke's Two-Minute Tea, make tea in two minutes!) to dip it in. But when he dunked the cookie in the tea, it...disintegrated. Like cardboard. Not only did he not have the biscuit anymore, but his tea had a slushy mass at the bottom of it!

What was he going to do with this? Sherbet despaired, but at the same time he was sparked by the challenge. As a cook, and a very good one, he welcomed the challenge of finding something to do with these treats.

[Firewing]

((Just noting I was given permission to post in this thread))

Lily had taken to exploring Hogwarts castle, much as most first years did in their first weeks at the amazing school that they had become a part of. She hadn't been able to spend much time with her brothers, and she didn't want to believe they were avoiding her (even if they possibly were). Without their guidance, she had taken it upon herself to discover what she could about the school where she would be spending the next seven years. It was almost exciting to do it alone. Maybe she would even find her own place in the school and be able to retreat to it whenever she needed alone time.

Today's targets were many of the classrooms not used in the large and seemingly ever-changing castle. There were quite a few down a particular hallway in the school, and those were the ones she had chosen to explore today. Maybe she'd find something interesting.

With a sense of adventure in mind she had been looking in all of the classrooms in said hallway, trying to find something interesting. But so far all she'd found were dusty desks and chairs, perhaps and old book from who knows how far back that had been used. Nothing of interest had come.

However, she opened a door and found that there was someone in there. It was a... boy. And he was... eating? He appeared to be older than she was. Not by much, but definitely older. He was also not a Gryffindor, that much was apparent by the colors on his robes.

He was eating cookies it appeared, and they looked familiar but not quite a common sight. Perhaps a muggle treat her aunt had shown them at a holiday gathering or something...

"Hello," she responded, not nervous about running into someone new. She smiled cheerfully, hoping to make a good impression.

[Fia]

What, mused the tall, brown-haired fourth year girl as she surveyed the high ceiling through her amber-plastic-framed glasses, am I supposed to do now? For once, I've done most of my stinking homework. I've managed to find a bunch of empty classrooms, but there are no freaky critters in 'em. And now, I believe, I've done the impossible and gotten myself... lost. So, once I'm un-lost, what am I supposed to... eh?

Was the one of the new Gryffindor students, entering one of the classrooms she had yet to check? Her ever-strong sense of curiosity flaring up, Fia strode up to the door and quite literally swung herself into the room, hanging off the door frame, and narrowly avoided the younger girl in front of her.

"Yikes! Sorry," she laughed, in the almost-but-not-quite-American accent she'd picked up from her very large family.

And who was this...? Oh, yes! So this was that Lily Potter girl that bunch of second years had been babbling about. Cool. Curiosity growing, Fia tipped her head to one side and folded her arms, swiftly looking the girl up and down. A moment later, she did the same to the boy, who was evidently in Ravenclaw.

"Hiya. You're Lily, right?" she queried, her broad grin spreading rapidly into place ,while her brown eyes sparkled slightly with interest and good humor. "And I don't know you...." She glanced inquiringly at the boy, pausing for a moment to let him answer. Then she noticed the...

"Cookies!" she yelped with highly exaggerated excitement, pointing dramatically. "Where'd they come from?! Where?! Just kidding."

At which point she clapped a hand to her mouth to muffle a burst of laughter. This failing, she actually bit down on the inner side of it -an attempted distraction from whatever she found so funny.

Which still did no good.

[Nevermore]

Finwinkel danced though the halls with a broom and duster (Elf sized of course!), preparing to clean some of the older, unused classrooms of Hogwarts. He tripped, hitting an uneven block of stone. His cleaning supplies spewed across the gray flooring and his large nose was smushed under his head. Sighing, Fin pushed himself up and brushed the dust off of his sack. He trotted over to his duster, then headed back to the broom which had slid into another hall. He paused with his hand outstreched, listening.
Were those voices?

Curious, Fin took his broom and skipped to the open classroom door way where he saw three students. Two Gryffindors (he loved the Gryffindors, they had such nice stories to tell), and-
"Master Bert!" Fin called out seeing the chubby Ravenclaw student. Fin did not know Sherbet
personally, but had seen the boy in the kitchens and had spoken with him on occasion. All the other Elves seemed to love the boy who had a joy of food that could rival the House-Elves.
Fin scurried over to the wizard, dropping his broom and duster, which sent dust into the air.

[Avi-kins]

((Fyi, the Oreo was just released last year in England. Here's an article about it.))

Bert Fortescue had not been paying attention when Lily entered; he was so involved in his cookie conundrum. But when she spoke to him he replied, "Hullo there." He didn't move to greet her, and just briefly looked at her as he tipped out the entire tube of Oreos onto the clean table. A few of the black and white disks rolled around and one fell from the table to the floor, but for the most part they made a small, cow-coloured mountain.

The boy stared at the mountain for a few seconds, sighed dramatically, and prepared to speak to the new girl- when another girl entered, this one older. His eyes widened and bulged just a bit; two visitors in one day? This was a lot. And this new girl was gesturing wildly...and laughing loudly....she certainly was a strange one. Sherbet grinned at her uniqueness.

"Yes, they are cookies," he said smoothly, scanning each of the girls from head to toe. Had the newest one called the first one Lily? He believed so...was she that Potter girl in Gryffindor? "Or, at least, I think they are...they seem a bit like a sugary mass to me. I'm Sherbet, Bert for short, and welcome to my kitchen!"

Sherbet bowed grandly, smiling affably. He knew his nickname didn't quite match the pronunciation of his name, but he did like it. "Who might you two ladies be?"

Then the House Elf came it. Sherbet had such a fondness for house elves. They were true lovers in perfection and food, and they understood more than just the taste, but presentation, care, and love, the work put into it...they were fine creatures, and he couldn't see how they were considered lesser than some truly piggish wizards. He didn't know this particular elf, but he greeted him with a great, "Hello, little friend!"

[Nevermore]

Finwinkel looked up at the two Gryffindors after keeping his shining eyes on Bert for a few moments. His huge eyes were kept on the witches, as he tried to bring a memory of them.
none came to mind. But he would keep this one stored in his thoughts.
"Hello, Mistresses. I am Finwinkel, the House-Elf. It is an honor to meet your witchynesses." Fin bowed low to the ground, his eyes closed, and his nose touching the cold stone. After quite some time, he slowly raised, and turned back to Bert.

He peered up to the table, seeing the mass of Oreos piled upon the table.
"Master, what are those?" He asked the round wizard, pointing at the cookies, and glancing up at the students. Fin had never seen cookies like that before, and was startled at the sight of them. Where did this student get them? Surely no House-Elf would have baked them. UNless it was that darn Kittlepuff. She always liked to try new things.

[Firewing]

Lily stood by the doorway, amazed when two other people also entered the room. It certainly seemed like this "abandoned" classroom was no longer quite so abandoned. Well, she was meeting a few new people, and that was always fun. The gathered crowd seemed to be an interesting group, and none them seemed to be the kind who shirked social contact with their peers. It was also a plus that none of them were Slytherin. She didn't like that House, and if one of them had been here it probably would have ruined the entire thing. That would certainly suck.

"Yes, I'm Lily," she responded. She wondered how the older girl knew her name, but then remembered it wasn't that long after the sorting ceremony. Her name would have been called and simply because of her last name, hard to forget. Well, it was cool to feel recognized by someone. She smiled, happy.

The atmosphere in the room was so friendly it was hard not to be happy to be in there. This boy... Bert she believed he had said, had a kitchen? In here. Well, he certainly did seem to have some good food at his disposal, and she wondered if he would be willing to share with those who had just arrived. The other Gryffindor girl and the House Elf both seemed to be delighted to be here, just like her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Finwinkel," Lily responded. She found House Elfs to be some of the most fascinating creatures out there. Well, she had heard many stories about them from her aunt, and so she had been curious about them. And here was one! Right here!

"Oh, I am Lily. Lily Potter," she said. "Its a pleasure to meet you and be allowed in your kitchen."

[Avi-kins]

Sherbet tossed an Oreo at Finwinkel, expecting the house elf to catch it. House Elves were defter than humans. "It's an American biscuit," he explained the the elf. "It's terribly sweet, sticks to your teat, melts in tea, and full of fake colouring. Possibly bleaching, because i don't think it's possible to naturally have creme that white."

He turned to his two human guests, granting Fia and Lily sunny smiles. "Would either of you like to try a cookie?"

He turned away for a moment, taking out a huge knife to try chopping the cookies. It was a mess. Frowning, he tried to crush them with a rolling pin and had better results. Continuing to press down on the pin and roll it back and forth on half of the cookies, he continued, "Just take one if you wish. There should be other things in that bag too, if you want to look. And Lily, come anytime."

Chocolate and milk. Those went together. Milk was ice cream. The crushed bits...they could be put into ice cream. Possibly. Maybe even with some mint, or some citrus fruit...he quickly moved his round body to retrieve cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt from various cupboards, and he dumped it all onto the table unceremoniously. He began to quickly measure out ingredients into a large bowl.

"I'm going to try to make some ice cream," he explained to his guests, although Finwinkel probably didn't need the explanation. "I doubt these cookies would work in much else."

((If you decide to look in the bag, I suggest coming up with crazy types of food. Try searching the internet to find popular treats in England and such. This could be really interesting.))

[Fia]

Oh yeah. This was Britain. Duh. Fia could have smacked her forehead, but refrained from doing so, since she'd already taken that action several times that day out of sheer exasperation with herself and her sense of direction- or current lack thereof. Cookies were called biscuits here. Fia had never figured that out. If cookies were called biscuits, what were biscuits called? It just didn't make any sense.

"I'm Fia, fourth year, nice to meet you," she announced all in one sentence after Sherbet -cool name- introduced himself. She opened her mouth to question his use of the word 'kitchen', since the place didn't seem to have a stove, but snapped it shut as a startlingly small figure wielding a miniature broom entered the room.

House elf! Fia could not have been more delighted, unless a griffin or some such thing appeared out of thin air. She'd never met a house elf, though she'd heard people mention them. And they never seemed to have much to say about them, which was pretty lame.

"Nice to meet ya, Finwinkel! And I know what those are like, thanks, eaten 'em for years," she added in an offhand tone, jabbing a thumb at the cookies. "Good stuff. My brothers like just eating the white bit, 'cause it's sweeter, but I like the whole things. With milk! Oreos are good with milk... oh, but maybe not tea," she added, noting the cup. "Might dissolve too quick in hot stuff. You have to remove 'em quickly or they get mushy."

Nodding sagely, the girl finished off her mini-rant about the cookies, only to have her interest seized by the mention of ice cream.

"You make ice cream? Cool! I made some with my mom and dad once. D'you make ice cream, too?"

The last bit was aimed at Finwinkel, as was the teenager's curious gaze.

[Nevermore]

Finwinkel caught the Oreo and proceeded to inspect the cookie. He carefully fan his long fingers over the designs on the two black sides. A over a few moments he raised it up to his nose and sniffed the cookie. Then he ripped it apart and inspected the creme. Clearly it was artifically made. Those Muggles tended to add strange things to their food to make it look or taste better. Fin wrinkled his nose at the thought.

His large brown eyes turned up to Fia as a grin spread across his face. A new friend!
He then turned to Lily. "How are you liking your stay at Hogwarts? It is a wonderful place, is it not?" Fin always enjoyed first years. He loved answering questions, yet few first years knew of the existance of the kitchens. He saw very few there.

Fin turned back to the Oreo and shoved the cookie into his mouth. It was sweet. Very sweet. he had never tasted anything like it before. The chocolate and the creme mixed perfectly together... but it would be better of everything was more natural.

The House-Elf watched as Bert pulled out ingredients to make ice cream. A smile spread across Fin's face. He loved ice cream. Fin turned to Fia and nodded. "I love to make it. I always ask to make it down in the kitchens but the other House-elves won't let me. I always end up eating most of it before it can be given to the students. Such a shame." Fin shook his head in dramatic dispair.