The rest of the day came and went and before I knew it, Ominis was sending us off to detention - Sebastian was far too excited about the whole ordeal.
"I wonder what they'll have planned this time?" He grinned as we walked side by side.
"Do? Is detention not just sitting in an empty classroom, writing lines, staring at a wall or something like that?"
Sebastian snapped his head over to me. "Merlin, what kind of detentions were you getting? That sounds terribly grim."
"What sort of detentions do you get here?" I was starting to get nervous, what if they needed me to fly around outside on a broom and clean the windows of the castle or something equally as terrifying.
"You'll see Barlowe." He patted my shoulder. "You'll see."
We stepped into Professor Weasley's classroom at precisely nine pm, wood floor creaking below our boots. The red haired witch poked her head out from behind an oversized chalkboard.
"Ah Mr. Sallow, Miss Barlowe. Right on time."
She took a few shuffled steps towards us and held out one hand, palm up, and the other tucked behind her back, lips pulled into a tight smile.
I looked to Sebastian, confused, but he looked just as perplexed as I did, jaw open and eyes bouncing between the professor's face and hand.
"Uhhhh... excuse me for saying professor, but- I don't think dancing with a teacher is a reasonable nor acceptable punishment..."
"Your bag Mr. Sallow. Hand me your bags please. And your robes, you won't be needing them." She sounded incredibly unamused.
Sebastian mouthed a silent "oh" and lifted his strap up and over his shoulder, placing it on the professor's hand before turning to grab mine as well. Professor Weasley's arm sunk quickly with the weight of both bags and she grunted in surprise. We shimmied out of our robes and handed her those as well.
"Merlin's beard. I didn't know you were both carrying the entire library around on your shoulders!" She laughed and hauled the bags over behind her desk. I watched closely, worrying about the ancient text inside. "Your poor muscles!"
"We're a lot tougher than we look Professor." Sebastian flexed and gave me a sideways grin. "Especially Barlowe over here."
Professor Weasley laughed quietly. "I don't doubt that Mr. Sallow. Now," She had returned to stand in front of us. "Follow me to your detention."
The hallways were starting to clear out as we wound through them but a few students still hung out in the corners. A couple of them even fist bumped Sebastian behind Professor Weasley's back as we passed.
Our footsteps echoed over the stairs as we wound down further and further until all that was left was the area outside the Hufflepuff common room and the entrance to the kitchens.
Professor Weasley walked directly over to the painting and raised her wand to the pear. Sebastian and I gave each other an excited look.
The painting swung open and we were immediately drenched with the smell of tomato and garlic, my mouth began to water, stomach grumbling.
Sebastian, Ominis and I had ditched dinner in favor of spending some more time in the undercroft with Ominis attempting to teach Sebastian the Patronus Charm. When nothing seemed to be working, the two had spent at least an hour sat on the pillows, recounting old memories, trying to come up with something powerful enough.
Nothing seemed to quite do the trick though and the conversation went downhill quickly.
"What about the time you, Anne and I watched that terribly clumsy first year who forgot to tie his boots and ended up tripping into Professor Sharp? I think we laughed ourselves silly that day." Ominis twisted his wand around on the floor like a bottle.
"That wasn't a first year Ominis, that was me." Sebastian grumbled.
Ominis smiled at the floor. "I know. I just wanted to remind you."
My mind slammed back into the present as a screech echoed through the kitchens.
"TOOBY'S OWL!!!"
Professor Weasley jumped slightly and looked around the room, her eyes landing on the rolling heap of house-elf as Tooby slammed into my legs.
"Tooby is so excited to see you miss! It has been far too long."
I knelt and scooped Tooby up into a full body hug.
"And Mr. Sallow! Good to see you again." Tooby tugged on Sebastian's cloak until he bent down lower and then whispered not so quietly. "Don't worry Mr. Sallow. Tooby has been making sure the kitchens are always stocked with pears. He has even added them to Miss Atley's last couple bags as you suggested." He nodded happily and winked aggressively. Sebastian blushed, looking to me quickly before flicking his eyes back down to the house-elf and taking his hand to shake it.
"Thank you kind sir. I know Atley has appreciated the last few."
"I see you have met already." Professor Weasley couldn't hide her smile as she watched the three of us. Tooby shuffled a few paces back behind her and grabbed the smallest broom I had ever seen in my life.
"Anyhow, I've asked the house-elves to leave the kitchen cleaning alone for tonight. You will be expected to tidy and wash everything here that needs it. Without magic."
Sebastian groaned but I couldn't stop smiling at Tooby who was silently sweeping up a pile of something into a waste bin behind Professor Weasley's back. He froze at her words and then held a finger to his lips as he noticed my stare, smiling.
"I'll leave you in Tooby's capable hands. I believe the other house-elves have already tucked themselves in to bed. Please return to my office when you are finished to collect your things." And with that, we were left to spend our detention with a friend.
"So, where would you like us to start?" I clapped my hands together and Sebastian frowned, looking at the piles of pots and pans and eyeing the gigantic cauldron near the back. A few lone squashed tomatoes lay haphazardly around and limp noodles clung to the side of every dish. Evidently it has been spaghetti night.
"This is going to take forever."
"I thought you were excited for detention." I elbowed his side.
"I was. Last time I got to work with Professor Howin in collecting some Mooncalf dung in the Forbidden Forest - which sounds disgusting, I know, but we got to watch those big eyed creatures for a while first and I must admit, they are incredibly cute."
"Tooby would suggest the two of you work together. He thinks perhaps wash and dry the smaller pots to clear the counters and tables. Then move on to the tomato mashing station and finish up with the giant cauldron." He placed his hands on his hips and grinned proudly.
"Sounds perfect, thank you Tooby. C'mon Sebastian." I tugged him over to the small sink at our right, the basin was stacked completely with thick black pots and I struggled to lift them up and out of the way.
"Here, let me." Sebastian grabbed the last few and placed them on the counter, emptying the sink and then sneering down at a bit of smushed tomato that was stuck to his thumb. He pretended to gag and shook his hand quickly. The small piece of red flinging across the room over my head.
He smiled and shrugged. "Oops."
Trying to hide my own smile, I turned quickly to collect a towel from a stack under a little wood table behind us and returned to Sebastian's side.
"You wash. I'll dry."
Sebastian pouted, sticking out his bottom lip but turning on the faucet and dragging over a heavy pot anyway.
The cleaning seemed endless. Just as we finished one stack of pans, Tooby would levitate another pile of pots and the process would begin all over again.
Sebastian's fingers were beginning to wrinkle under the water and I had to switch out the towels as the previous ones would become too soaked.
Something creaked above us and I looked up to find Tooby's tiny body hauling itself up onto a little wood shelf. He laughed happily as he finally plopped down and peered down at us, hands clasped in his lap and kicking his feet. He continued to watch from there as we worked and I smiled to myself.
I slid over a tall thick pot to Sebastian and something sticky clung to my skin. A noodle lay across my thumb and I shook my hand quickly to get it off. Only instead of the food flying over our heads this time, it landed
right against Sebastian's cheek.
He turned his head slowly to me, glaring but laughter bubbling beneath his lips. The noodle slipped dramatically down his face and landed silently against his shirt.
His eyes trailed over our remaining pile of cooking dishes and he ran his fingers over and into one, grin slipping over his lips.
I took a step back, anticipating his chaos. "Sebastian... don't- do- it."
His grin had expanded to show his teeth now and he pulled half of a smushed tomato from the pot, twisting it around in his hand as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
"I don't know what you're talking about Barlowe."
I held my towel out in front of me, waiting for the food to fly but Sebastian only took a step closer.
I took another step back.
He took another step closer, grinning madly.
"Where are you going? We have so much work to do!"
I took another step and by lower back pressed against the little wood table, there was nowhere else to move. Sebastian was biting his lip and snickering to himself, I think I may have even heard Tooby laugh from above.
I chuckled nervously. "Seriously Sebastian, lets just-"
tomato mush
right
against
my forehead.
"That does it Sallow."
(I didn't want to add this song to the beginning and ruin the fun for those of you smarties who could guess what would happen so...... Bad Reputation - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts)
I shoved his shoulder and ran over quickly to a few more tomatoes that had been lying at our feet near the sink. Sebastian was on my heels and snatched me around the waist, pulling me up and I squealed as he easily tossed me to his side, grabbing up the tomatoes and tossing them at me.
I dodged one but the other hit my chest, chunks dripping down to my ankles.
"Come on Barlowe. Are you really going to take this shit from me?" He was laughing as he collected a few more tomatoes.
Wrapping my fingers around a bowl of sticky noodles, I lunged and dumped it over his head.
He shook like a wet dog and the little gooey bits flew everywhere.
I was too busy laughing to notice the way his left hand had sneakily reached behind him until it was too late.
With a satisfied "Ha!" he dumped an entire pot of cold spaghetti sauce over my head and I gasped.
I could feel chunks of tomato tumbling down my back and I screeched, ducking back behind the wood table and wiping at my eyes.
Sebastian was laughing hard now until I heard the familiar sound of tomato smashing against something hard.
"Hey! What the-"
I peeked under the table to see Sebastian covered in tomato chunks looking wildly up above the sink where Tooby was covering his mouth, laughing hysterically. A pile of tomatoes sat beside him on the shelf perfectly, as if conjured.
I took Sebastian's moment of distraction to lob a few of the red fruits from my spot of cover and pumped my fist in the air as they smacked against his back, white shirt completely dripping with red and orange goop.
"Oh you're gonna get it Barlowe." He whirled around and sprinted towards me.
I darted out into the kitchens grabbed at any and all remnants of tomato I could find. Tossing them over my back and hoping they would smack into my pursuer.
I was laughing so hard now, it hurt to breath.
I managed to make it to the tomato mashing station and hopped in to the short wide barrel, tomato juice and sauce immediately splashing up around my boots.
Sebastian didn't slow and I kicked madly at the mush, launching the liquid and chunks against his front from his face all the way down to the top of his pants.
He chucked a few plump tomatoes at me and they exploded upon impact.
Tooby yelled from behind us. "LOOK OUT MISS ATLEY!"
But it was too late, Sebastian's arms wrapped swiftly around my chest and hauled us backwards. His body rolled to take the brunt of the landing as we flipped out of the barrel against the floor, my chest landing against his.
He brought a hand dripping in sauce up to my face and smeared it across my cheeks and lips, making a gigantic mess.
"Got you!" He grinned and my heart swelled but I wasn't quite done yet.
I leaned in quickly, not allowing him any time to dodge my sticky face as I pressed my tomato covered lips against his and he squirmed below me.
Eventually though he gave in and kissed me back, hands at the back of my head.
When we broke away, he laughed and pulled a chunk of red from my hair.
I grinned down at his red smeared lips and shrugged. "Oops."
----
The kitchen was twelve times as messy after our food fight than it had been when we entered but for some reason the rest of the cleaning went by so much faster. I suspected Tooby had something to do with it, but I was never able to catch him in the act of helping.
When the last of the pots were cleaned, the mashing station scrubbed and the giant cauldron polished, we smiled tiredly at Tooby and wished him a good night. He hugged both of us and stepped back with a smile, his big ears covered in red mush but he didn't seem to care.
We stepped back in to Professor Weasley's office entirely sopped and stained from head to toe and her eyes widened.
She handed us our things back with a stern look. "I don't want to know."
We walked quickly out of the room but I peeked back over my shoulder at the last second and saw her grinning at her desk and shaking her head.