Isn't this amazing?

While I wandered down the corridors with nothing interesting to do, trying to find new places inside the castle, I realized that this was the kitchens corridor. Remembering what I had read in a book about Hogwarts, in this corridor there would have to be the puffs common room and the kitchens.
It was a good thing I had over heard some older boys talking about how to get inside the kitchens, this would be my secret. I reached the still nature portrait and looked around to see if anyone was watching me, I looked at the painting for a bit before reaching out and tickling the pear in it.
I watched with wonder how the portrait started opening when I heard a voice.

Fiona tugged at the sleeves of her robe as she walked down the corridors. She hoped she hadn't been wrong about where the Kitchens were. She had heard about them from older students, whom she had found gossiped and talked a lot about their own adventures in Hogwarts. The stories were interesting and all, but Fiona didn't care much about that part. The parts she had heard were that the Kitchens in Hogwarts could be accessed by students. According to a pair of seventh years that had been lounging in the library near where she had been, the Kitchens were somewhere on this floor. Although Fiona didn't know exactly here, she was sure she'd be able to find it eventually.

She walked down the corridors and soon saw someone roaming the halls like her. She couldn't tell right away who it was, but suddenly he turned to a portrait of a bowl of fruit. She paused and stopped walking, watching the boy curiously as he reached out and he scratched at- or rather, he tickled the pear. She watched with surprise as the portrait suddenly swung open. She wondered if this was the way to the kitchens.

"What are you doing?" she asked him. Normally she would have avoided any and all contact with a potential trouble-maker, but her curiosity took over. She approached him and stopped next to him as she peered at the wall that had been behind the portrait. Yup, those were definitely the kitchens from what she could see. She looked at the boy, and a look of shock suddenly came over her face. It was that boy again! The one from Centenary Park and from her Herbology classes.

The slowness of the opening portrait was killing me with anticipation, it obviously led somewhere, and for the time being, it looked like the things I had heard about it were true, I didn't care any more about my surroundings, the tug on my stomach was overwhelming; if this was indeed the kitchen, I would have the secret to never having to wait until the meal times to get food, and even better, I could come down and ask for things to get to the bed room, This was going to be heaven on earth to someone with a bottomless stomach (like my mother liked to call me most of the time) like me.

I was so entranced by the possibilities of it, that I didn't hear anyone coming my way, that's why I jumped startled when I heard a voice beside me asking what was I doing. A million excuses crossed my mind to explain that tricky question before I realized that it was a young female voice, turning around and trying to get my heartbeat calm again.

Standing by my side was the animal whisperer as I named her, cause I didn't know her name; I was a bout to make a witty retort and try to get rid of her, but I was somewhat scared and a rush of adrenaline was running through my veins, so I didn't respond with any of the retorts that always came to my mind but just the truth "I was looking for the kitchens" I said as a huge smile crept up to my face; I stood there with her by my side, looking bewildered at the open portrait, into de huge kitchen.

Fiona was glad he didn't seem all that upset by her sudden appearance. She was even more so content that he didn't immediately glare at her when a flash of recognition crossed his eyes. She nodded when he explained what he had been doing, and he was obviously being truthful considering they were standing right outside of them. "How coincidental, I was just doing the same thing.." she told him quietly, feeling eager now that the portrait had swung wide and the kitchen was fully accessible by the two of them. "And it seems as though you've found them, too. Not bad," she said with a small grin, which was normally the closest she got to genuinely smiling.

She tore her gaze from the bustling kitchen beyond the hole in the wall, and looked at him again. "Would you like to go in first? After all, you are the one who made the discovery," she said, offering him the slightest of grins. She realized she did not know the boys name. Now was as good a time as any to find out what it was. "I'm Fiona Millington, by the way," she added as an afterthought. She wasn't going to bring up the park incident as long as he didn't either. Hopefully they could just leave it behind them and sort of 'start over'.

It was weird being here with this girl; that time with the raccoon gave me the impression that she was… I don’t know, I don’t even know why we had fought that time, for she wasn’t doing anything wrong, in fact she saved us from the wild beast, quite cleverly I might add, although I would never say that to anyone, specially her; on the other side, I didn’t say anything wrong, I just called her an animal whisperer, and she got all offended, it was really confusing.

Now, she still looked all uptight, and somewhat a know-it-all, but I didn’t feel the need to act all proud or anything like that. The grin that she gave me, however, told me that there was an adventure seeker inside her, so I grinned back at her “it seems like I did” I said with a smile, and was surprised with her comment, and really grateful but I wasn’t going to tell her “not too bad? I would say pretty good, but it’s ok” I was about to add that she probably wouldn’t be able to do it, but I didn’t want any trouble tonight, and the fact that the kitchen was in front of us, eased the mood greatly.

She offered me to go in first, but I wasn’t going to do it, after all I was raised with good manners, and ladies were always first “nah, thank you but Ladies first” I said making a small courtesy, half mock half truth. “I’m Benjamin Tyler” I said after she introduced herself, I was glad that I didn’t have to call her ‘the animal whisperer’ anymore, it would be weird “how do you think it works? Asking for food I mean” I wondered out loud, waiting for her to go inside before a teacher caught us.