Craving something sweet (Open)

Dakota was craving somethign sweet and sugary. She stepped into the kitchens and watched as the House elves surrounded her asking what they could make for her. She smiled down at them. She always had a weakspot for the cute little creatures. "Well hello to you guys too. I dont know exactly what i want, but I am craving sugar. Why dont you guys surprise me?" She smiled as they all hurried to begin making her her special treat.

She looked around and saw that no one else was down here besides the House Elves. She wondered if they ever actually left the kitchens or if they were in here all the time. Waiting for more orders from the students and teachers of Hogwarts. It kind of made her feel bad for them. She watched as the hustled and bustled about making something to satisfy her craving sweet tooth.

Never one who worried after rules, Apollo had taken to following the secret passages around Hogwarts after hours when he couldn't sleep. It was one of those days when he knew that he should focus on what was happening in his current life than what he wanted to come in his future, but part of him just couldn't help it. That was all he seemed to think about anymore. As it had before, the wondering and the worrying had kept him up late, and that was what had led him to the kitchens that night.

Lemon tea was, perhaps, something that his mother liked more than his father, but Apollo seemed to have taken a couple quirks from Daphne throughout the years. It was partly in an attempt to have something in common with her although she seemed to be more interested in the younger of the twins. The one that Blaise did not shove all of his expectations onto. Apollo hated that it was true, but he often found himself wondering what it must be like to be Christian Zabini, the Hufflepuff with a horde of friends and the freedom of having whichever career he wanted.

Still, it was the tea he was after, not the questions about his brother. So Apollo snuck into the kitchens and took a look around. He was surprised to find another student in there, though, and he stood up straighter upon noticing. He recognized her from his house, a year below perhaps. She certainly wasn't in his typical classes. Then again, taking Arithmancy and the like wasn't typically on all students' lists, so that wasn't all that surprising.

A moment of worry spread through him as it registered that, in all possibility, the girl could use his being out of bed late to get him in trouble. But a smirk spread across his cheeks when he remembered that he had the exact same ability when it came to her. So he ambled in, and leaned against the kitchen's island, pulling out a stool with one hand. His gaze found hers across the bar top and he lifted an eyebrow. "Out of bed late, I see, Rose."

Dakota turned at the sound of the door opening. She saw Apollo Zabini, a boy from her house who was a year above her. She smiled and nodded to acknowledge his presence. She turned to the small creature that began to tug on her pants leg. She looked down and saw it bearing a plate of chocolate chip cookies. She smiled, “Thank you, Minky.”

She took the plate and sat at the tiny table in the center of the kitchen, “I could say the same for you, Zabini. What brings you down here and out of bed?” She bit a cookie in half and chewed it slowly as she waited for an answer.

Apollo shrugged one shoulder at her comment, watching as the house elf looked up at him in question. "Tea, if you don't mind?" he asked gently, quite used to the way that house elves tended to mother people. There was no point in being harsh, considering they would merely become upset. He most certainly did not want to deal with sad or offended house elves. Not that night.

So when she asked what he was doing out of bed, Apollo was not entirely sure what to say. Minky had wandered off to make him some tea, so he leaned more heavily on the kitchen island and tried not to notice how she had mirrored his greeting. He had used her last name, and thus she had as well. At least he wouldn't be expected to use her last name. A part of it felt too formal for the fact that he didn't actually know much of anything about her. She was a Halfblood, as far as he knew, so it wasn't as though he saw her at Pureblood parties.

"Let's just say I wanted to clear my head. I didn't expect to run into anyone else, really. Figured it was close enough to the common room," He said, trying to hedge her question. She didn't need to know the actual problem.

"I don't know you well enough to actually elaborate, Rose," he added after a moment, pushing off of the counter so he could take the cup of tea from Minky and thank her quietly. "So how about you tell me if you're down here just because you want a snack... or if you've got some other reason why sneaking around after hours seemed like a good idea."

Dakota watched as he interacted with the small creature and continued to eat her delicious treat. She didn’t know much about the Zabini boy. Just that he was in her house and a year older than herself. And he was cute, there was that factor as well.

Dakota listened to his explanation of why he was out of bed and nodded. It was quite similar to her own reason and she bit into another cookie. She slid the plate over to him to offer him a cookie or two. She noticed that he was avoiding her question, but decided to just let it slide.

“I don’t know you well enough either, Zabini. But you can call me Dakota instead of Rose.” She thought for a moment at his question, “I came down here for the same reason as yourself. Hungry and to clear my head.”