Universal Displacement

An Unexpected Revelation

She was about to speak again when her stomach let out a loud gurgling that had Flipsy jumping back again.

"Did-did Miss get lost before dinner?"

"Um...yes, I did, but-"

But the house-elf interrupted her with a little hop and a wave of the hand.

"Come along then! Flipsy will do her job and get Miss something to eat!"

There wasn't time to protest, and Sutton hadn't been planning on it even if she could have. Her eating habits had become far too irregular lately for her liking.

She followed Flipsy down one more set of stairs and around a couple corners until Sutton found herself before a painting of a bowl of fruit. Flipsy reached up and wiggled her long, thin fingers to tickle the pear in the bowl. Sutton watched in fascination as it began to shift and move and then laugh before transforming into a green doorknob.

Inside, it was an immense space with a large fireplace and long tables that matched those in the Great Hall. Besides that, there seemed to be an endless supply of brass pots and kettles and iron pans and all sorts of kitchen supplies. Flipsy led her over to the fireplace and snapped her fingers. Instantly a small fire crackled and popped inside it.

Sutton settled near the warmth of the fire and watched as Flipsy quickly made up a small plate for her. It could have been leftovers, could even have been throw out from the top of the trash, Sutton didn't care. It was warm and delicious. She was given roast chicken, boiled potatoes, peas, carrots, and Yorkshire pudding and it was heaven for her empty stomach. Sutton had never actually had Yorkshire pudding, so she had to ask about it, and she was a bit confused to find that it actually wasn't anything like pudding at all. It was like a bread bowl with meat and gravy inside and Sutton felt very lied to.

"Huh," she mused as she ate. "You know, I always thought this was a dessert."

Flipsy looked at her oddly.

"No Miss, not a sweet, no! Never!"

Sutton shrugged and continued to cleaned off the entire plate, licking the gravy off her fork and sighing in contentment as Flipsy snapped the plate clean and back to its shelf.

"Thank you very much," she said. "That was wonderful. Wonderful earth, not Tatooine food," she muttered under her breath.

Flipsy bowed a bit while wringing her hands.

"Miss is welcome," she said. "But Miss must now get to bed! Miss will get in trouble if Miss is found up! Flipsy must get a professor if Miss is lost."

"Actually," Sutton cut in, "I think I can find my way now!" She pointed to herself sheepishly. "Hufflepuff. Just around the corner!"

Flipsy was suddenly nodding again, her large bat-like ears almost heavy enough to knock her over.

"Oh yes! Miss is right, just around the corner they are! Two from the bottom, middle of the second row! Best not tap wrong though, or Miss will be sorry!"

Sutton stood up and dusted off her tunic then kneeled down and opened her arms.

"Well, thank you very much again, Flipsy! You are very kind."

But the house-elf just stared blankly at her.

"What is Miss doing?"

Blinking, Sutton looked down at her own arms and then back up.

"Well I was going to give you a hug to say thanks, but if you're not a hugger, I totally get that. Not everyone is, you know. I just thought-"