Taking Stock

[Barnak Pengryffin]

Barnak stood in the Ruberagon Common room and rubbed his behind. The creature that had carried him here had been a rough ride, and he was bone tired. He wandered over and read the noticeboards, but nothing really grabbed his attention. There was nobody else around, so he followed his usual instincts - he slunk back into the comfort of the shadows and proceeded along one corridor until, rather unexpectedly, he came upon a door with his name on it.

He opened it slowly, peering inside, and then slid into its darkness and closed the door behind him. He drew his wand as a sudden light flared to his right and illuminated the room. It was decked out in a pale ruby red; a giant four-poster on his left captured his immediate attention. The light was coming from a fireplace of black stone, and by the bed a tall wooden chest stood open, his suitcases open on the bed beside it. Between them a small elf peered nervously back at him, one of Barnak's shirts half-folded in its hands and three of his ties in another.

Barnak looked at the elf for a moment and then lowered his wand. He let his robes fall to the floor in front of the doorway and kicked off his boots, shedding the rest of his clothing down to his trousers on his way to the bed and then collapsing heavily into it. His wand was still gripped firmly in his left hand, and he tilted his head to one side and peered back at the elf, who had tentatively returned to his task. He frowned, eventually accepting the necessity of speaking, and sighed as he lifted himself into a sitting position.

"Are you the elf assigned to me, then?"

[Binky]

The little elf folded away another shirt and then stepped toward him, its hands going to a large tear on its ear, fondling it in a way that made Barnak uncomfortable. It peered at him as though sizing him up and then clutched its hands at its breast, curling them around its filthy linens, and leaned in close.

"Barnak Pengryffin?" The boy scowled and the elf inched back a step. "Yes," it said, almost whispering, "I am to work for you."

[Barnak Pengryffin]

Something about the way the elf said it made Barnak feel like his worth was being challenged. He frowned and his upper lip peeled itself back, an expression he wasn't aware of but that formed itself frequently on his face when dealing with those he considered beneath him. He didn't take this sort of rubbish, especially from elves, but he was too tired to do very much about it now. Since he had lain down his dizziness had passed, but exhaustion was setting in quickly. He glared at the tiny creature as it turned back, hunched down in some semblance of obeisance, to unpack the last of his possessions.

"Get me some water, elf."

Barnak crawled under the covers of the bed and collapsed into it. He closed his eyes and listened for the sound of the elf's footsteps as it went into an adjoining room, and then there came the sound of a tap running.

[Tonkin]

A tap running might have been the last thing Barnak Pengyffin thought was worth mentioning, though the knock that interrupted the running tap might have been a little bit more worthy of attention. While Tonkin liked to follow every single one of his Master’s orders to the smallest detail without a hint of complaint. Tonkin did second-guess whether it was probably the best time to be interrupting one of his master’s fellow housemates. However, he was as obedient as ever, and followed his master’s orders without hesitation.

Tonkin was not an elf supplied by the school to Master Lucius Sinister, he was the son of the house elves whom served Master Sinister’s parents up until their demise, when Tonkin’s parents were also killed.

He knocked once more, not wanting to seem annoying, but also with the insistence of one whom was not at all interested in not carrying out his masters orders. He clutched a letter in his hand, he would knock until Master, or elf, would answer the door.

[Barnak Pengryffin]

Barnak heard the knocking but wished profoundly that he couldn't.

He waited a moment and when it came again he threw off the bedclothes, snatched up his shirt and tie from the ground and forced himself back into them, tucking the shirt in and straightening the tie until he was thoroughly satisfied. He heard the light pattering of elven feet behind him and thrust out an arm, catching the creature across the top of its head as it hurried to answer the door. He looked down, his eyes narrowed in what appeared to the elf to be displeasure at his taking too long but what was really just bleary half-sleep.

"I'll take care of this."

With the elf cowering behind his legs, Barnak crossed to the door and opened it a crack to see who it was that awaited him. When he saw that it was an elf his lip peeled back and he hissed with rage. 'I am to be addressed by an elf? Is this how the school conducts its business?' he thought to himself. 'I'll be the laughing stock of my family - Pen, the boy too lowly to be attended by his fellow wizards.' He eyed the creature and opened the door enough that it could see him properly, and offered it a single word:

"Speak."

[Tonkin]

Tonkin did not hesitate when the Ruberagon opened his suite room door. At first Tonkin considered telling off the house elf in charge of the suite, though he felt it should be something best kept for later when the elf’s master did not have to witness the display. Tonkin bowed so low his nose was barely a millimetre from the floor with both of his arms out so wide it looked as if he was quite capable of flying away.

“My Master Lucius the Lord Sinister wishes to convey his welcome to the regal house of the purest blood of Ruberagon,” Tonkin said in the most respectful voice he could muster as he maintained his bow a moment longer. He then raised his head but did not look directly at the master of another of his kind it was not appropriate and he did not have permission to do so, “He wishes for me to give you this, sir”

Tonkin clicked his fingers and a white gold platter appeared balanced perfectly on it, on the platter there was a scroll which had been sealed by a red waxed seal baring the Sinister family crest. Tonkin held the tray up to the young master of another of his kind without saying a word. Maintaining perfect stillness as he awaited the letter to be removed from the tray. It was an invitation for Barnak to attend a training session for Quidditch with Tonkin’s master the following day on the Quidditch Pitch at noon.

[Barnak Pengryffin]

Barnak's eye twitched as the elf finished speaking. He looked down at the platter, at the seal, and snatched the letter up so quickly that it might have simply appeared in his hand. He slammed the door and stood there a moment with one hand leaning against it. Then he turned on his heel, spun himself around and looked down at the elf. It cowered under him, as it should, and this calmed him a little. He looked at the note in his hand and walked to his bed, letting the elf get /itself/ out of the way of his legs, and he ripped his tie back off - shortly followed by his shirt - and flung it onto the floor. He peeled the seal back with care, and as soon as it had broken the note unfolded itself and balanced itself in his palm. He read it slowly, twice, and without looking up he addressed the elf once more.

"That water: is it coming before Christmas, or do I have to get it myself?"