"Ah come on don't be like that! Do you have any idea what that is? That's a runechest! The method to create them was lost centuries ago and the few still around are in collections or missing!" She said pleadingly.
"And that's all well and good but you still didn't ask before trying to snatch it from me. It's rude and inconsiderate behavior." I said calmly.
"Okay so MAYBE I got a little ahead of myself but can you blame me? I might never get another chance to really study a runechest in my life so I simply had to take it." she said defensively.
"I can understand that but there is an order to these things. In much the same way I'm sure Dumbledore would allow a student to study his own if they would merely ask politely. He can be a bit tricky in my experience but quite approachable and helpful otherwise." I said seriously.
"And what experience can you even have anyways?" she said with a scoff.
"He personally came to see me over the summer and even when I was in the hospital wing for the last two weeks. Perhaps not much experience but more than most students right?" I said with a shrug.
She frowned "Why would he come see you during the summer?" she asked confused.
"Oh well I'm an orphan you see. I SHOULD have been living in the orphanage but instead I left it to take up residence in Tom's pub, the Leaky cauldron. Dumbledore happened to have errands in Diagon alley apparently and came to investigate the missing persons case the orphanage put out after I vanished without a word. He was quite understanding about my choice and assured me that I'd have no trouble about it." I explained honestly.
"Do you not care about the worry the orphanage people might have had for you!?" she exclaimed in outrage.
I scoffed "I was treated like a freak there, a nuisance. They didn't care about that so I doubt they cared about me actually being gone. No, more likely than not they were more worried about someone finding out I was missing and they got caught not having reported it." I said firmly.
"That's dreadful! How could anyone treat a child like that!?" she asked horrified.
I sighed "It doesn't matter. We are getting off topic anyways. If you want to study the box ask next time. You could also just ask Dumbledore as well since I'm definitely not letting you have mine. I haven't solved it's riddles yet." I said casually.
"Riddles?" she asked curiously.
"You mean to tell me you want to study the thing and don't even know that much? From what I've figured out just messing with this thing is there are three riddles, one for each latch. You solve them by spinning these circles until you get the right answers, like a safe almost. I haven't quite figured out the trick yet since I don't have the riddles themselves but going through each possible combination until I get a reaction is rather fun." I said seriously.
"So it's basically just a more complicated safe?" she asked disappointed.
I chuckled at that "So it seems. Probably why it's crafting method was lost too. If you could just use a safe easier and cheaper then why go through the trouble right?" I said casually.
She just sighed at that and left me alone which suited me just fine. Like I had told her though the box was basically just a smaller magical safe equivalent. It's crafting method being lost didn't surprise me at all as that was just how advancement was sometimes. The less need there was for something the less of that thing would be made until eventually next to no one would remember how and perhaps only books had the method recorded. Did this mean the thing was useless? No. What it meant was that it's use had been taken by something better and that's all. I wasn't interested in the thing for it's usefulness to begin with or even it's contents. I just found puzzling over the combinations a stimulating way to pass time.-
Eventually though it was time for dinner and I put the box away before heading to the great hall with Mike and Terry. Dinner was good but once again more of the same, further reinforcing my idea of introducing some variety to the menu. The question became how to do so without sending the entire castle into uproar.
'Perhaps I can ask Dumbledore? He might be interested in the idea since he was depicted as rather explorative with his sweets.' I thought idly as I finished off my third whole roast chicken.
Soon enough dinner ended and rather go back to the common room I waited for Dumbledore. He seemed surprised when I approached him but smiled all the same.
"Good evening Young Alex, is there something I can help you with?" he asked curiously.
"As a matter of fact there is. You see I happened to have noticed that while the food is plentiful at the feasts the variety is a tad lacking. It's all delicious of course but I was wondering if there might be a way to diversify the menu at all?" I asked without holding back.
He chuckled and his eyes gleamed with interest "Oh? Now this is an unusual and intriguing idea. Why don't we go to my office to discuss this in further depth?" he offered.
I thought about it for a moment before nodding in agreement "Alright, I admit I have seen some interesting things written about that room I would like to see for myself. The portraits of the previous headmasters for example. The sheer volume of knowledge accumulated in those paintings must be staggering." I said eagerly.
He smiled and nodded in agreement "Yes, I often finding myself relying on their advice. They each bring a unique perspective and way of thinking to any troubles I might be having." he said with an appreciative tone.