TWENTY-EIGHT FAMILIES IN THE WIZARDING COMMUNITY HOLD MORE POWER THAN THE REST. Twenty-eight surnames have enough influence to bend knees and fill banks. Twenty-eight bloodlines are nothing but pure magic.
One of these families are the Capellos. Pic...
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unedited
THE GREAT HALL CAN BE A BIT STRESSFUL. At least, it can for Solea. So, she tries to avoid it at all costs, except for the rare early morning breakfast. She typically spends meal times in the library or roaming the hidden parts of the castle, if she can get away with it. She does have another favorite haunt, however, that she occasionally visits.
She discovered it back in second year. One evening, while everyone else was tucking into dinner, Solea had traveled down to the basements. As she was walking around, nodding at the portraits and trying to memorize every nook and cranny, she bumped into a small object. Looking down, it wasn't an object at all, rather, a house elf. The house elf and Solea both began apologizing profusely, before Solea smiled and told the house elf it was no problem, that she should have been paying attention.
The young witch then told the house elf her name, to which the little creature responded by saying his name is Vadby. Just as Solea reached to shake Vadby's hand, however, her stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl. Her eyes widened and she ducked her head to hide the blush creeping up her face, but the elf simply asked if she had eaten recently. When she replied no, he took her hand and led her to a portrait of a fruit bowl. She was already somewhat confused, but Solea's confusion and curiosity only grew when he reached up and tickled the pear in the bowl. Amazingly, the portrait swept open to reveal an enormous room full of other house elves, all of which immediately jumped up at the sight of the student.
Now, Solea knows this room to be the kitchens, and on days that she is particularly hungry, she likes to visit. This usually occurs at least three times a week, sometimes more. The house elves are always so eager to please, and even send bags of extra food with her because they now know her aversion to the Great Hall.
On October 31st, Solea wakes up with a pit in her stomach already. She always does her best to avoid the Great Hall at all costs on Halloween. Last year, she was unfortunately caught by Helena Ravenclaw, more commonly known as the Grey Lady, during the Halloween feast and was forced to join the rest of the students. She had sat through the dinner miserably, not even bothering to put food on her plate, all-too-aware of the weird looks she was getting from the students around her.
This year, she would have to plan properly. It's Friday, so she only has a few classes in the morning and her afternoon is practically free. That's why, as soon as Professor Babbling releases the Ravenclaw and Slytherin students from the eleven o'clock Ancient Runes lesson, Solea heads straight to the kitchens.
When the pear-portrait swings open, Solea is greeted with a dozen joyous greetings from the elves. Vadby comes to take her cloak, and she thanks him with a sincere smile.
"Of course, Madam Solea," he says, then carries it off to an empty corner.
"What can we get for you today, Madam?"
The question comes from another, younger house elf who is named Zinny. She looks up at Solea with bright eyes as the witch takes a seat on a wooden stool.
"Oh, just the usual, please. And I suppose I'll need a bit more, for tonight."
Zinny bows deeply before running off. Zinny is an interesting house elf; she prefers not to use magic, and she's very curious. Solea has grown very fond of her ever since she began working at Hogwarts in Solea's third year.
Seconds later, Zinny is back in front of Solea with a small plate containing fresh fruit and veggies, as well as a glass of water. Solea thanks Zinny, then begins to pick at the food. She decides to eat the carrots first. While she slowly makes her way from the carrots, to the grapes, then to the raspberries, Vadby comes to stand next to her. "Vadby doesn't want to be rude, Madam Solea, but he wishes you would eat a bit more."
Solea puts down the last berry and shakes her head at him. "No need to worry about me, Vad. I'm taking more to have tonight."
Vadby doesn't get a chance to respond, because just then, the portrait swings open again, startling Solea enough to almost topple off the stool. She clutches her chest as she looks at the four boys now staring back at her.
"This is a bit awkward," a tall boy with dark, messy hair says. "We weren't expecting anyone else to be in here."
Of course, Solea knows who the boys are. The one that just spoke is James Potter, the golden boy of Hogwarts. To his right is Sirius Black, the biggest flirt on campus. On his left, Remus Lupin, a genius, but just as mischievous. Then, next to him, Peter Pettigrew, the underdog of the group.
Solea may not know the boys personally, but she does know that where they go, trouble follows. She narrows her eyes slightly, but doesn't respond. Remus gives her a slight wave, which she doesn't return.
Even the house elves are silent, until Peter looks at the other three boys and mutters, "Now what?"
Not-so-discreetly, James whispers something about sticking to the plan and following his lead. Solea quirks an eyebrow as the leader of the group silently communicates with the group and they all nod. Three of them head to the back of the kitchen, while one remains at the front. Sirius Black looks around, whistling loudly, before once again settling his eyes on Solea.
Instead of joining the rest of his friends, he walks directly towards where Solea is sitting. He leans against the counter, his body facing her. "So," he begins, popping the forgotten raspberry into his mouth, "Sally, isn't it?"
"Solea," she corrects quietly.
"Right, sorry," Sirius looks slightly sheepish, but he's quick to cover it up. "Well, Solea, what are you doing in the kitchen instead of the Great Hall?"
Without thinking, Solea replies, "I hardly think that's any of your business. Besides, I could ask the four of you the same thing."
A hint of humor enters the boy's eyes, and Solea feels herself flush. "You know, come to think of it, I don't know that I ever see you in the Great Hall."
"Are you ever looking, mate?" James calls from where he is, hunched over something Solea can't see.
"I'll have you know I'm very observant! Besides," he looks back down at Solea, giving her a wink, "I can always spot such a pretty face."
Solea has to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Instead, she gets up and moves past Sirius. "Zinny, do you have those extras ready?"
"Yes, Madam!" The house elf rushes over to where the two teenagers are and gently hands a bag of fruit and vegetables to Solea. Zinny turns her head to look at both of them a few times, then darts away, giggling to herself.
Sirius is now looking at Solea a little closer, as if trying to figure out what's going on in her head. Without a word, she starts to make her way to the exit, but he first asks her a question.
"What's your last name, again?"
The girl turns to him, his charming grin replaced with a slightly intense expression. "Capello," she answers after short deliberation.
His eyes widen so slightly that Solea thinks she imagined it. He then clears his throat. "Right. See you around, Capello."
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Here we gooooo! It's only going to get more interesting from here, so buckle in, folks. I hope you all are enjoying learning about Solea as much as I am enjoying writing her. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so let me know what you think! As always, thanks so much for reading <3
