Snack Time

Ashwin yawned and ran a hand through his mussed up hair. He had been sleeping, but that damned thunderstorm had woken him up. His other dormmates slept like the dead, and Ash didn't understand how they could do something like that. He shook his head as he tickled the pear, not even believing he was coming down here in just a pair of pajama pants and his robe.

He stepped into the kitchen and smiled at the House Elves taking a load off. A few jumped up to assist him, but he waved his hand and they reluctantly sat back down. He had his own elf at home he took care of, and he could call on her no matter what.

"Kaoru," he murmured, sitting down at a table. A near silent pop was heard, and a female house elf was soon bowing at the waist to her young master.

"Young Master Ash! You're not wearing a shirt! What would elder Master Christopher say at the state of undress?" The Elf squeaked in horror. Ash chuckled and traced one of the scars along his stomach muscles. He shook his head and focused on Kaoru again.

"Let's just be sure he doesn't find out alright?" Ash asked, smiling at Kaoru. She finally nodded to her young Master.

"What is it be that young Master desires?"

"Just get me a hot chocolate with whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and mint flavoring," he muttered, thinking a bit. "Might as well get me a few treats to snack on as well. Whatever you think is best."

Kaoru bowed once more to her young Master before popping out. Ash just leaned against the table and watched the other Elves talk as he waited for his to return with his food.

Zoya blamed the storm. True, it had been interesting to watch at first, the way the thunder and the lightening lit up the sky. It was like Nature's own fireworks show, but then she had gotten bored. And her body refused to go to sleep until she fed it something. So reluctantly, extremely so in fact, she had bundled up in her nightgown and sweater and then trudged all the way down to the First Floor, to the Kitchen.

Tickling the pear, she had greeted the house-elves and had asked one of them to bring her, her 'usual', a thick, frothy milkshake which was a mash up of everything she loved. It had cocoa powder, chocolate powder, coffee, chocolate chips, chocolate ice-cream, vanilla ice cream and best of all, Oreos. It was her ultimate favorite dish and she always banked upon it to cheer her up. Not that today she needed cheering up, but there was never a moment in life when she didn't enjoy it.

Tapping her foot as she waited for the drink to arrive, Zoya noticed the entrance of another boy, who dismissed all the other house-elves. That's curious, she thought as she stopped tapping her foot and instead shifted her complete attention to what the boy was doing. His face was vaguely familiar, as if she had seen him before, but considering that they were in the same school, and the school happened to be boarding, it was almost certain she had passed the boy in the corridors maybe or in a match or something.

She raised an eyebrow as he summoned an elf, presumably his house-elf and snorted when the elf exclaimed her horror. Taking her drink with a smile, she turned to the boy and decided it was high time she spoke something, keeping quite any longer would just be plain awkward.

"Well that was impressive." It was a compliment, but the way she said it really made the other person wonder whether it was one in reality or not.

Ashwin blinked slightly and sat up from where he was slouching. What if it was one of his father's lapdogs come to spy on him once more? Who would bloody be up at this time anyway? Focusing his attention on where the other voice came from, his worry melted away into a smile. It was a girl, a young one, by how tiny she was. But what was she doing here?

Getting a snack stupid. What do you think?

Oh right. He came down because of the storm, and he was hungry as well. Maybe it was the same for her. "Impressive?" He asked, canting his head. "I guess in a way it would be to some people. But I'd rather not make the other House Elves do more work just for me when they're taking a break. I can just call upon my own who takes care of me at home." He explained, rising from his seat to walk over and join her where she was.

"Here because of the storm?" He asked, curious about how she got here. And how she exactly knew how to get here. "Because I-

A small pop echoed near Ash, and then Kaoru appeared. She carried with her Ash's drink, and a plate of warm cookies. "Thank you Kaoru."

"Oh Young Master! You have a friend with you! Kaoru didn't know sir. She will be getting the Miss some treats too. You just wait right here Young Master!"

"Kaoru, wait-" Ash started to say, but then the Elf disappeared. He sighed before smiling again. "She's like a mother. Of all the House Elves I could have, Father gets me the one that's more of a parent to me than him."

"Noble thoughts." Zoya replied, slurping contently on her drink. She didn't agree, nor disagree with the boy, mainly because she had never ever had a house-elf before, so she didn't understand the workings of their mind. In her mind, she had never seen them as anything more than creatures who were always there to help her, and actually took pleasure in it.

"Well yes. First it was entertaining, bu t then I got bored of it pretty soon." She answered, noting curiously the entry of the elf. "Well that wouldn't exactly be----" But before she could complete the elf had apparated back to wherever it came from. Obviously his hose! What do you mean 'wherever she came from'! She mentally corrected herself, before completing dejectedly. "---necessary."

"You really like her don't you?" She observed as she took another sip of her drink, before asking curiously. "I hope I am not intruding when I ask, but why would you say something like that? Having a family is always better than none at all." She added cryptically, but sincerely. From the way the boy spoke, Zoya felt that the topic wouldn't be exactly pleasant to him, but then, she could 'feel' wrong, especially since she knew the guy for barely five minutes. "Trust me on that. I would know since-" She stopped herself just in time, waking up early definitely had its side effects. "Just trust me on that." She completed.

[AN: My rank hasn't changed, but I have changed my year! I am a Firstie on a lot of sites so it does get sort of boring, so now I am a Fourth Year. ]

"Of course I really like her," Ashwin murmured, taking a drink of his hot chocolate and taking a cookie. He gestured for her to take one as well, if she so wanted. "She's been with me since I've been born. Took care of me when my parents were too busy having support parties. Nursed me back to health whenever I was sick. That kind of stuff."

Ash bit into the cookie and smiled. Sweet, but not too much so. Just how he really liked it. Kaoru always knew what was best when it came to him. "My mother's been dead for a while yet, and I readily blame my father for it." Ashwin said, shrugging slightly. His eyes slanted over to the doorway, wondering if there was anyone listening. He figured a lapdog of his father's wouldn't be up this early.

"Oh, forgive me. Where are my manners today? Or rather this morning?" He gave the girl a smile and extended his hand. "I'm Ashwin Morte. It's nice to meet you." Kaoru canted his head slightly as he heard the tell-tale pop of Kaoru's arrival.

"Kaoru is back Young Master. With treats for the Pretty Miss! Kaoru brought brownies and small white chocolate treats for you, Miss Lady!"

Ashwin took the plate from Kaoru and set it on the table. "Thank you Kaoru. Please, go home before Father senses that you are gone. Who knows what he does at this time of night." Ash watched Kaoru nod before she popped out of the room.

"She forms an integral part of your life, she must also love you a lot." Zoya replied, not exactly sure in how to respond. In her life, no one had been that close to her, no one who had actually cared whether she lived or not. She accepted his invitation and took one of the cookie. It wasn't exactly to her liking, she liked sweet cookies but it wasn't bad also. It was okay, though, judging by his expression, the boy seemed to like them.

"Sorry?" She asked as she choked on her drink slightly. "What?" She asked incredulously, she couldn't have heard right, could she? She mentally went over what he had said. My mother's been dead for a while yet, and I readily blame my father for it. "I am sorry." She added, shaking her head slightly. These kind of topics weren't pleasant and she was asking him to repeat it just for her curiosity's benefit.

"Probably where mine are skulking." She replied wryly but with a smile as she took his hand. "I am Zoya. Zoya Malfoy. You have an interesting name." She observed, srunging her eyebrows to remember if she knew its meaning. "What does it mean?" She asked finally.

She smiled as she heard the familiar pop sound of the elf's arrival. 'Thank you! I do like brownies and small white chocolate treats." Zoya said to the elf, smiling as she reached for one of them. They were perfect. "They are very good."

"I would sure hope so," Ashwin said, grabbing another cookie. "Kaoru has always protected me when I needed it. Especially from my father. She kept me in a different part of the house if he was on a rampage. And when I broke something on accident, she fixed it up right away so I wouldn't get a beating for it. It's a mutual friendship, though I would say she's more family than anything."

Canting his head, he nodded once. "Yes. My mother was planning on leaving my father, so I am convinced he had her 'removed' from the picture. My family isn't a very happy one, and as long as his lapdogs don't catch wind of who I'm hanging out with or what I'm doing, I'm completely safe. Though, I was in serious trouble the other day. My friend Morgan. She's a half-blood, and my father will not tolerate it. Pureblood Supremacy, if you've heard it before."

He took another sip of his drink before downing most of it in one gulp. Merlin, how he loved that stuff. Though, it was usually one and done for him. Since it was very sugary and it tended to make him more upbeat than he needed to be. "Morte means Death. We live at Morte Manor, which is more commonly referred to as Death Estate. Morte Manor sounds better, but my father would rather have people know just what kind of a house they are visiting. He's a weird one."

Zoya just smiled at the boy, for lack of another expression. This conversation wasn't exactly her forte. People could ask her about books, studies even cleaning and she could give hour long monologues on them but emotions and relationships? Well these topics didn't exactly gel well with Zoya. She was much more comfortable without them.

"You have a complicated family." She replied, nodding. So she had heard right the first time. Even though Ashwin's father should get her all fearful and scared, she wanted to meet the guy. Which weirdo was messed up enough to kill his own wife? What was up with his brain! She wondered as she had another brownie. Brownies were her weakness, and perfectly baked ones such as these were pretty darn hard to resist. "well then I should be safe, I am a Pureblood. So at least for the time being i will be in your father's good books." She added, wondering where she had heard the name Morgan before. Somewhere in the papers perhaps?

"Death estate?" She questioned incredulously, obviously, Ashwin's father was even more messed up than what she had assumed. "Shouldn't your father, like, consult a psychiatrist?" She questioned, inclining her head slightly towards the right. "And I meant your first name, by the way." She added, smirking. She couldn't help it, she always found smirking easier than smiling, no matter how much it offended the other person. "Hey you know something? Zoya, means life in Greek."

"I'm not entirely certain anyone is safe from my father," Ashwin commented offhandedly, grabbing another cookie and biting into it. He chewed and swallowed before opening his mouth to speak again. "I'm his only son and heir, and he certainly doesn't treat me like I'm in his good books. Sometimes I really wonder what would happen if I had a sibling or two." He finished off his drink, bewildered when Kaoru popped in with another one.

"Young Master, drink up. Elder Master Christopher has told me he requests your presence tomorrow for the weekend. My Young Master will need all the strength he can get until then."

Satisfied that her message was received, Kaoru popped out of the kitchen. Ashwin grabbed the mug he had been given, still slightly hot, as he sighed and shook his head. "Great. Another meeting about something. He just saw me last weekend too. What the hell does he want this time?" Ash muttered to himself, taking another drink of his new beverage.

Sighing again, Ash looked back up at the girl. "My father is an esteemed member of the Death Eaters, prized by the Dark Lord himself. He has money out the wazoo, and all the other Death Eaters aim to be like him and many others in his position. To them, he's a champion among champions. Death Estate is a just a way of warding people off our property that aren't wanted."

Ashwin laughed at her name meaning. "You're serious right? You're name means life, my last name means Death. That's rather contradictory. As for my first name, it means star. Or strong as a horse. Whatever that is. My mother named me, so perhaps she saw some meaning within the name I have." He shrugged and finished off the cookie he had bit into.

"Well, I would like to meet your father and figure out what's wrong with him." Zoya blurted out, before quickly covering her mouth with her hand and wincing. 'I am sorry. I did not realize that you may not appreciate this kind of conversation." She corrected in an apologetic tone. It wasn't that Zoya particularly felt apologetic, it was just one of the many side effects of having been forced to attend classes on mannerisms every weekend. As a result, Zoya was incredibly well mannered, but that wasn't necessarily who she was, it was just what she had been forced to become.

She blinked in surprise when the Elf made her re-entry, but that was all. There was no other change in her expression other than a slight frown as she wondered what could be the reasons for him being called home. She hoped it wasn't because of her, but she doubted that his father could be concerned by her. It had to be something major though, after all, he was calling his son back in the middle of the school year. "I hope it isn't my company which he detests and doesn't want me to hang around with you." She finally said, genuinely concerned.

''Oh so you are also supposed to follow in his footsteps?" She asked quietly. She hadn't herself chosen a side, she was waiting to see which one would be stronger. And then there of course, the slight issue of her not being very loyal to either sides. Which basically meant that she wouldn't be willing to risk her life for any of these. "I haven't decided, and unlike you, I don't exactly have role models. Forced, or otherwise." She continued. She didn't actually want to get into her whole back story. It was complicated and it left people with pity. Pity for her, and Zoya did not appreciate pity.

"I know right." She added as she grinned. "I have heard of healthy as a horse, but strong as a horse? Well, that's a first!"

Ashwin laughed, taking another drink of his hot beverage. "I'd like to find out what is wrong with him as well. You're more than welcome to meet him all you want, but I'm not sure you'll ever find what's wrong with him. He's always been for the Dark. He usually says 'Someday, you'll understand that the Light wins the battles. But the Dark wins the wars.' And, I don't mind this conversation. I really can't have it any other place else since my little cousin tries to follow me around, hearing every conversation I have. On my father's orders of course."

Ashwin took the last cookie on the plate and bit into it. He swallowed before answering Zoya. "As far as he's concerned, if you're a Pureblood, you're fine in his book. Granted you aren't some kind of a blood traitor. He doesn't like those either, even if they're Pureblooded. And yes, he does want me to follow in his footsteps. Swear allegiance to the Dark Lord when I turn seventeen, dabble more with Dark Arts. Stuff like that. I don't want to, but it's always been about what he wants."

He chuckled, nodding his head. "I do know what you mean. However, in most languages, it does mean star. So technically, I am the 'Star of Death.' Rather morbid if you ask me, but at least my name doesn't mean Angel. That would be ten times worse." He finished the cookie he was eating and sighed. "So you're a Malfoy? What's your family like? I think the Deputy Headmistress is a Malfoy, but I haven't seen her around so I can't be sure."

"Well then its decided." Zoya replied, "You have to promise me that you will make me meet him." She added holding out her hand. "But be warned, when someone makes a promise to me, I hold them to it. No matter what." She warned, in a serious, grave voice but with twinkling eyes. She was really looking forward to meeting, and not just because she felt that he would be an interesting personality. She also wanted to see someone from the Dark side. She felt that because now she was fourteen, had no real family to speak of, soon people would start to wonder and before one them asks her a direct question, she would have to make a decision. And decisions were tough. the deadline that Zoya gave herself was till her Sixth year, because she knew, after that, the lines get drawn. "How old is your cousin?" She asked, in an effort to distract her mind from her 'decision' topic. Sometimes, Zoya did over obsess and gave much more importance to herself than was needed.

She made a face at him for finishing the last cookie and took a sip of her beverage reflectively. "Well then he might not like me. My grandfather, I think that was it, yes, married into a blood traitor family." She nodded, happy that she remembered something correctly. Or so she hoped. "But I don't get it, if you don't want to, then don't."

"Its better than mine. Trust me. See, my name means Life in Bad Faith or Life in Laws or Life of Bad Faith or even Life of Laws." Zoya answered, rolling her eyes. "What do you want to know about? My lack thereof? I don't have a family. I was abandoned in an orphanage by my mother. But if you mean the people from whom I get my last name, well Abraxus had two sons, one was Septimus who was younger and got disowned by his father for marrying into a blood traitor family. He had a son, who got involved with a girl and knocked her up and the result is me." Zoya replied flatly, playing with her straw.