20 Sep 2019, 05:34
Bitter But Better
@Dahlia Rowengrave
Hailey entered the Great Hall. Dinner was her least favorite time of day, mostly because dinnertime back home was unheard of. Her family avoided interaction like the plague and she was often left to her own devices, which meant heating up ramen noodles and making sandwiches.
Hogwarts sparked a great change in her diet. Before her only delight was breakfast, which became her favorite time of day. She enjoyed eating eggs, toast, and oatmeal, along with many other morning foods, but after coming to this school she was introduced to fresh and well-made gourmet that she truly liked. The quality, though not the best of the best, was the best in her opinion. It made every break for food worthwhile.
The Hall was full, though it was especially scarce for the Ravenclaw's. She expected that they were off celebrating somewhere in the castle because of their House Cup streak. Though she wouldn't ever admit it, she was pretty envious. Like every other House she wished that Slytherin was in their place. She wanted them to win next month; to help achieve that she needed to do well in her classes, complete errands for the professors, and do as many...moral things as she could. She had grown to be sort of proud of her House.
Hailey sat down in a seat where both sides were empty. This way she wouldn't have to share with anyone else and have everything she wanted. It was selfish but she was in the mood for pleasantries. Besides, the food smelled way too delicious.
She grabbed a handful of rice and beans with gravy, a bowl of plum pudding, some rotisserie chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, baby carrots, two rolls of bread, and a cup of some mysterious dark liquid. It tasted bitter but she still found herself drinking more.
Hailey happily munched on her food, oblivious of her surroundings for a moment as she ate. She switched her drink to something minty when she grew tired of the strange tatse of the black drink. While she slipped she gazed around.
Nearby at the Hufflepuff table three girls were giggling about something humorous, which seemed to concern something that squeaked in one's hand. A few seats down a boy and girl of her House were in a heated discussion, though she couldn't discern whatever they were saying because of their hushed voices. She couldn't make out the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw table but she got the gist that everyone was enjoying themselves however they could.
She took another bite of chicken and turned her head. Black hair wasn't uncommon in this school, especially in the Ravenclaws and Slytherins, but Dahlia Rowengrave's always caught her eye.
Hailey waited until she was close enough before greeting her. “Dahlia,” she said crisply, nodding her head.
20 Sep 2019, 08:27
Bitter But Better
@Hailey Hinkle
Dahlia skirted around the corner and bounded through the gigantic doors leading into the Great Hall. She hadn't wanted to miss a second of dinner, as she was developing an addiction to the incredulous dinner rolls that graced the tables every evening, but as it so happened, the inevitable had occurred: she'd gotten lost. Damn staircases. For the life of her she couldn't figure out how they were meant to be in any way efficient, changing however they so pleased every two seconds. She'd somehow ended up all the way back in the basements. After darting across what felt like the entire campus, though, she'd finally made it.
She still hadn't gotten quite used to just how magnificent the Great Hall really was. It was all she could do not to stand there transfixed by the enchanted glowing candles floating overhead, or the ghosts drifting through the walls, or, of course: the food.
She made a beeline for the Slytherin table, almost tripping on her robes as she did so. Passing by the other students, she noticed several of the older amusing their friends with simple spells and charms. Dahlia's eyes sparkled enviously. She couldn't wait to learn everything and more there was to learn here. Oh, the wicked fun she's bound to have.
Her eyes searched the table for empty seats, and settled on one that happened to be next to one Hailey Hinkle, the girl in her year she'd met at the library. As she neared the vacant seat, she saw Hailey look up and notice her approaching. Hearing her greet her, she cracked a smile and stepped over the bench to sit down.
"Hailey," she replied, echoing her tone. She reached towards the center of the table and grabbed a roll from the basket, taking a massive bite out of it as soon as she did so. Noting the food Hailey had piled onto her plate, she nodded towards it, remarking, "Isn't it something? Loads better than the food back in London, that's for sure. I wonder how they do it?"
Last edited by Dahlia Rowengrave on 21 Sep 2019, 23:40, edited 1 time in total.
21 Sep 2019, 21:45
Bitter But Better
Hailey couldn't help but crack a smile when Dahlia copied her. Though she hid it behind a mouthful of food she knew that the girl probably noticed. But Hailey didn't mind, she was just glad to talk to someone she actually liked.
She copied Dahlia and grabbed a roll, chewing on it slowly. It actually wasn't bad. It was sweet and fillig, so filling that it instantly satisfied her appetite and she could eat no more. Luckily she'd eaten all of her food so she didn't waste anything.
Hailey agreed with Dahlia about the quality of the food. It was really good and she actually enjoyed eating more, now that she wasn't just heating up things. She'd miss poptarts though.
“Yeah, it's pretty good. You should try the plum pudding, if you haven't already," she said, offering the bowl to the Slytherin. “...I wouldn't even hope for things this good back home.”
Hailey froze. How did she let the slip out? She cleared her throat and looked away, reaching for another roll. Her face was turning pink although she definitely didn't want it to. She cleared her throat once more before adding, “Well, I could've helped out with dinner more, really...”
Home, it was something that had slid into the back of her mind. It was as if all of this magic stuff had filled all of the emptiness and pushed back the things that had once been her entire world. She had lowered her guard over her mind and now she was just letting things loose, like a foolish girl. She didn't want people to feel bad for her, she wanted to be strong.
Trying to change the subject, she gestured at the dark liquid she had been drinking before. “Do you know what this is?” She couldn't find the bowl where it had came from and all that remained in her goblet was a tiny pool of the drink. She frowned disappointedly.
22 Sep 2019, 00:53
Bitter But Better
@Hailey Hinkle
Grinning widely, Dahlia set the already forgotten dinner roll down on the napkin designated to her seat and eagerly took the bowl of plum pudding from Hailey. "Gonna be the death of me, this food is. You're going to have to roll me down the stairs by our third year at the latest." But hey, this all was one hell of a change from fish and chips and tasteless mash. Even in Wizarding London the cuisine was rubbish. Magic or not, London was London, Dahlia supposed.
She quickly caught on to Hailey's discomfort at the mention of her home. At first she reckoned she'd probably lived in London or the like, and had grown up with still-half-frozen chips as well, but there was no humor in her voice when she spoke. Dahlia's brows furrowed an she opened her mouth to question this, as she typically would ("social cues" wasn't anywhere in her vocabulary) but as Hailey changed the subject, she chose not to press the issue.
Perking up at Hailey's question, she peered into the girl's goblet. The drink was a dark brown, not thick by the looks of it, though she couldn't tell much else as the goblet was made of what appeared to be bronze and she could only examine the drink from the top. She looked around the table for a bowl of it so as to taste it herself, but couldn't spot one.
"Pumpkin juice?" she guessed. "Wouldn't be coffee or anything this late, we'd be bouncing off the walls 'stead of sleeping."