White Heather for Protection

The School Bell Rings

~~~

It was currently Saturday and the twins had once again dragged Heather away from breakfast at the Slytherin table. She could see a trend forming already.

"Where are we headed, Fred?" Heather asked the twin on her right.

George, to her left, was the one who answered. "Why, Heather-harp, to Hufflepuff Basement of course!"

How cute, they were still trying to confuse her. "Thank you, George," she answered intentionally. They tried not to react. Tried being the keyword.

"Rumour has it that the entrance to the kitchens is a stone's throw from the Hufflepuff common room," Fred said brightly, trying to change the subject.

Heather took pity on them and accepted the diversion. "Do you suppose we're allowed to ask for food directly from there?" Perhaps then Mipsy wouldn't have to trouble herself by bringing Hadrian's food to her rooms nightly. The Hufflepuffs weren't very far from the dungeons, after all.

"Yeah!" the twins exclaimed.

"That would be great!"

"We could bring lunch to our room-"

"-in Ravenclaw so that we don't have to-"

"-go to the Great Hall!"

"We could stay in our room the whole day!" they concluded excitedly.

How long would they be content to spend their weekends sitting around in a room? They didn't seem the kind to remain passive for long. When they started getting bored of just plotting and learning spells, Heather supposed she would be left in the room herself.

"Well, we've got to peel our eyes if we want to find the hidden entrance!" Heather said with forced cheer. She would cross that bridge when she got to it.

~~~

Heather, Fred and George had searched high and low all over the basement and were no closer to locating the kitchens.

Heather sighed tiredly and tried their last resort.

"Point Me Hogwarts kitchens!" Her wand just spun uselessly in circles.

Frustrated, Fred tried, "Point Me Hufflepuff common room!" If they could just find the general location... The spell failed again.

"It's evident that these rooms were warded to prevent unauthorised students from accessing them," Heather stated uselessly.

"Cheer up, Heather-harp!"

"Yeah, we can try again next time!"

Heather smiled and nodded. "If only we knew at least which corridor it was located in..." she trailed off ponderingly.

What if...? Brandishing her wand again, she pronounced, "Point Me corridor outside Hogwarts kitchens!" There was a slight pause before her wand swung to point to the left.

"Brilliant!" George and Fred exclaimed, enveloping Heather in a bear hug.

The three friends followed the directions given by the wand till they reached a short hallway. The walls were lined with several paintings, most of them depicting food.

"Maybe we need to give a portrait the password?" George suggested, thinking of his own house's common room.

"Which portrait? There are so many!" Heather asked.

"Probably the largest. The others are too small to conceal an entrance," Fred said, pointing at a huge painting of a fruit bowl.

Heather and Fred started saying possible passwords to try their luck.

"Gluttony?" Heather ventured.

"Buffet!" Fred tried.

"Too many chefs spoil the broth."

"Kiss the cook."

Meanwhile, George inspected the painting. He ran his fingers over the frame and the picture itself. Maybe there was a button somewhere. Sliding his fingers over the grapes, he brushed up against the pear. Wait. Did it just...

"Hey guys, check this out." George repeated his actions.

"Did that pear just...giggle?" Giving his own chuckle, Fred tried it out, giving the sensitive fruit a firmer tickle.

As the pear gave a loud peal of full-blown laughter, the portrait swung open to reveal its hidden room. They'd found it!

Giving a low bow, Fred said, "Ladies first."

Heather smiled graciously. "Of course. George?" she said, indicating that he should precede them.

The twin in question fluttered his eyelashes and said in falsetto, "Thank you kindly," before stepping through the portrait-hole.

As the three students entered the kitchens, they saw that it was overrun with house elves. They were all scuttling about, busily doing their assigned tasks. In the throng, Heather spied a familiar face.

"Mipsy! Hello there."

The little elf turned towards Heather and smiled happily. "Miss Heather and friends! What can Mipsy be doing for yous? Has Miss Heather's food been okay?"

Gesturing to each twin in turn, Heather introduced them. "These are Fred and George Weasley. Fred, George, this is Mipsy. I asked her for some help our first night here."

Turning back to Mipsy, she said quietly, "The food was delicious, thank you. I hope I haven't troubled you too much."

Fred and George looked confused, but they didn't ask. Hopefully they would forget about this exchange.

"Not at all Miss Heather! Mipsy be glad to help! Would Miss Heather and friends like some tea?"

As if on cue, three stomachs grumbled hungrily. Heather blushed lightly and nodded at Mipsy. They had been so focussed on their search that they had missed lunch.

An hour later, filled with beef sandwiches and pumpkin juice, the trio waved goodbye to the house elves and left.