Time for Food

"I always make my own food here," Natalie said. "The house elves are busy enough."

"I want..." The elves paid her no mind as she went about the kitchen grabbing this and that; she was there so often that they didn't even object to her doing the cooking anymore. She skipped to the cold storage area. "Ice cream..." She left and went to another part of the kitchen. "And marshmallows," she grabbed a bag, then returned to Landon.

"A very nutritious snack, if I do say so myself," she offered him a spoon, although she didn't know if he wanted to share with her. "It's Butterbeer flavored," she added cheerfully as she tore open the bag of marshmallows and popped a few into her mouth.

"Good idea," Natalie hopped up onto the table and sat. "Chairs are stupid," she said.

Opting for the best of both worlds, she snagged a chocolate chip cookie and a sugar cookie to become the "bread" of her sandwich. Using one of the spoons, she took a scooped a large mound of ice cream out of the container and spread it on one of the cookies. She sprinkled some marshmallows on, then smashed the other cookie on top of the concoction.

She took a bite and was delighted when it was just as delicious as it looked. So delighted, in fact, that she hopped off the table and did a little dance. She tried to say something to Landon, but it was impossible to decipher through a mouthful of ice cream. She swallowed, then tried again. "You, sir, are a genius!" she bowed in front of him.

Natalie's jaw dropped open in disbelief as the marshmallow soared at her, hitting her in the arm. "I cannot believe you just did that," she said with a deadpan face as if she was mad.

"This. Means. WAR!" she grabbed the bag of marshmallows and dove behind another table, shouting, "Battle stations everyone! We cannot allow this yellow-bellied landlubber to defeat us!" she paused for a moment. "Wait, why do I always go into pirate mode?" she thought aloud.

She grabbed a handful of marshmallows and tossed them at Landon. "Fight back, you coward!" she giggled.

Natalie gave a soft yelp as some cookies flew over her head and smacked into the wall behind her, showering her in crumbs. "I feel like I've just been blessed by the cookie fairy or something!" she giggled.

She tossed some more marshmallows and, as they soared across the space between the two tables that had been drafted to act as fortresses, she crept around the one she was hiding behind to launch a sneak attack. When she was a bit closer, she tossed another handful under the table. "Take that!"

Natalie took as big a handful of marshmallows as she could and threw them all at Landon at once. She hoped he was thoroughly distracted by the fluffy white rain coming down on him as she put the second part of her plan in motion.

She dashed forward and grabbed the container of ice cream and a spoon. She crouched down, scooped some of the ice cream onto the spoon, and said, "Surrender now, or you'll get it!"

Natalie laughed and hopped back up onto the table, eating the ice cream on the spoon. "That was fun," she said, looking back at him. "I suppose we should probably clean up..."

She couldn't resist dipping her finger in the ice cream, reaching back, and swiping it across his face, all the while with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Right, now we can clean up," she said.

"You're welcome!" Natalie replied cheerily as she wiped the remaining ice cream off her finger on a napkin. "I'm not really sure..." she'd never made an actual mess in the kitchens before.

She hopped off the table and went over to one of the elves. She hated to be a bother, but it was the only way she'd find cleaning supplies. "Excuse me, Mopsy, where can we get a broom and stuff?" she asked the elf kindly.

"It is not a worry, Miss Natalie," the elf snapped its fingers and the mess was gone.

She wrinkled her nose. She would have preferred to do it herself, but it was already done. "So much for us doing the cleaning," she said, returning to Landon's side. "What now?"

Natalie grinned when Landon tossed the question back at her. She knew just the place and what she could show him. "But of course, one second."

She went back to the house elf, Mopsy, and said thank you again, then returned to Landon and grabbed him by the hand. "Come on!" she tugged at his arm and took off, dashing to the place she wanted to show him.