The Marauders: Year Three | #Wattys2016

Pumpkin Juice

Pumpkin Juice

The Hogwarts Kitchens were busy as could be. Breakfast would be starting in just a matter of minutes, and the students would be expecting their hot sausages and fluffy biscuits, their platters of gravy and beans and bowls of jams and butter and steins of syrups and waffles. It was up to Toddy, a youngish house elf, to see to it that all of the others did their duties so that the meal could be delivered to the tables above them just on time. He scrambled up from one stool to another, dipping a fingertip into this gravy, then sampling a bit of a biscuit from over there, and sipping a bit of hot chocolate and warm butterscotch steaming in large mugs on the counter. "This is needing more salt!" he announced at one table, or else, "Having us any catsup? This is being excellent if it was slathered in catsup!"

The other elves moved about frantically, obeying every order Toddy gave them.

James Potter stepped into the kitchen through the round hole that the painting of the ticklish pear covered. He stared about, wide-eyed and amazed at the steam rising up from the pots and the rows and rows of fireplaces with steaming kettles and bubbling brews. There were house elves simply everywhere. He'd never seen so many of them! It was as though the castle had an infestation that was cleverly hidden out of view. There had to be at least fifty elves clustered about, rushing from one end of the room to the other, all shouting in squeaky little voices as they raced to get the final preparations complete.

"Blimey!" James exclaimed.

Suddenly, Toddy spotted him from across the kitchen and waved his hands, running toward him, "Oh no, no, no, no! It is not good for a student to be in the kitchen so close to a meal! You is being burned being in the kitchen so close to a meal!" He tried to shoo James back out the hole from whence he'd come.

"Wait! Wait, Toddy!" suddenly an ittle bitty elf came rushing from amongst a crowd of elves cutting up pieces of fresh fruit to make a cocktail salad, "This is James Potter, it is the boy I is been telling you about sister is sending to us! For her Master Remus's birthday cake!" He looked up at James Potter, "I is Toby, Mister James, sir," he said excitedly and be did a little bow.

Toddy lit up, "Ohhh! I am so very sorry Mister James, sir, I didn't know! I is be thinking you is looking for extra foods before breakfast!" he laughed, "I didn't wish for Mister James to be hurt!"

"Well, thanks!" James said, "I don't fancy getting hurt, so you've done good." He looked around, "This is a pretty brilliant kitchen, actually!"

"We is being proud of it!" exclaimed Toddy. Then he spotted one of the house elves about to pour a spice into a dish that didn't need anything more. "Excusing me! STOP BINKY! STOP!" He ran off.

"Tizzy is been telling Toby about how good you is being to her Master Remus and doing a birthday party! Toby is been telling all his friends about it and we is been agreeing how you is a very good, very kind wizard indeed!" He smiled up at James widely.

"Well, thanks," James said, deciding he liked House Elves quite a lot.

"You is being very welcome!" Toby announced. "Come, come see what we is been making for Tizzy's Master Remus!" He grabbed onto James's hand and pulled him along through the kitchens to a small table in the corner, which was surrounded by a couple other tiny house elves around Toby's size. Upon it stood a sheet cake coated with frosting and on top the house elves had taken quite a lot of time to use colourful smarties to create a lovely picture of a dragon with a long spiky tail and yellow-smarties for eyes.

"WHOA COOL!" James exclaimed, "Blimey, he'll love that! Good job, you lot!"

The house elves round the table flapped their ears happily. "Thanking you sir!" cried one with a bright pink dress on. The others were mostly wearing tea cozies or pillow cases labeled with the Hogwarts crest, though James had noticed that Toddy had worn a chef's hat and a bowtie.