Hogwarts in 5 Seconds

Twins, Tables and Trunks

The Sorting Ceremony was finally finished, and the purple wizard, looking a bit dismayed that his moment in the spotlight was over, left the stage with the hat under one arm and the stool in the opposite hand.

McGonagall stood up again, smiling down at her students, “Now, I’m sure you’re all eager to eat.” There was a murmur of assent and she held up a placating hand, “And I won’t take up much longer of your time. Just a few notices, Quidditch try-outs will be starting in a few weeks and the first match will take place on the 23rd of September with Ravenclaw vs Slytherin.” An excited rumbled swept through the students and McGonagall waited for it to die down.

“And finally, this year we will be introducing something new to our school, but details of that will follow shortly. Now, dig in.” She clicked her fingers and the gold plates that covered the tables were suddenly filled with food. A few people cheered and conversation resumed as people begant o serve themselves.

The smell of roast meat reached her and her mouth began to water as she looked around, trying to decide where to start first.

For some reason, Ashton had ignored the majority of the food and instead had chosen a slice of chocolate cake with a side of ice cream. He saw her watching him curiously and smiled around his spoon, “I like to start with the best first.” He tried to say, the mouthful of cake in his mouth making his words muffled.

She shook her head at him and reached for the roast potatoes, but saw a massive Hawaiian pizza nearby and made a grab for that instead. “Do you guys play Quidditch then?” She asked.

Calum grinned and gestured between him and Ashton, “Course. We’re the Beaters.”

Ash nodded and beat his chest, “Men hit things. Things hit people. Get yelled at. Do it again.”

The people around them laughed and Ash grinned loudly, “What about you two?”

Lucas, mouth full with food, looked up and turned expectantly to Kyla, “We’re both Chasers. See that boy up there.” She pointed to a thin, willowy fourth year who was flirting with a girl in his year, “That’s Barry, he’s our Seeker. Carrie Delos is our Captain and third Chaser, she’s a sixth year. And you see the big guy at the front, Jared Diggory, that’s the Keeper.”

“That’s so cool!” She gushed, “Can I come watch you guys play sometime?”

Kyla laughed at her enthusiasm, “No.” She laughed harder when Eleanor’s face fell, “I’m kidding, course you can.”

“Oh right.” She grinned shyly, “Do the others play? Like Ella, Michael and Luke?” Her voice squeaked at the end but luckily no one noticed.

Lucas eventually swallowed his mouthful with a loud gulping noise and joined in, “Ella and Lara do, and I think Luke is planning on trying out this year but the others don’t. Michael prefers to keep his feet on the ground.”

She nodded, not sure what to do with this information and took another bite of piece, chewing as she leant back. The conversations around the room had gotten quieter now, a contented murmur as people finished eating, growing sleepy as they sat around, stomachs full and lighting low.

McGonagall, sensing the shift in mood, stood up again and a hush descended once again, “Now, I’m sure you’re all very tired so, can prefects please lead their houses back to the dormitories. Slytherin, your tower has been repaired but please try and refrain from setting it on fire again. Gryiffndor, don’t get any ideas.” McGonagall sat down again, accompanied by soft laughter as students began to get up and depart from the hall.

“Kyla, Eleanor!” They looked over to see Ella standing on the table and waving at them, “See you tomorrow, yeah?”

The nodded and waved back and with a grin, she leapt down into the crowd and vanished.