The Gryffindor Table 2021-2022

Amethyst slowly nodded. "D-does it have pork? I'm allergic to it." She relaxed slightly seeing that another boy was also nervous. He said his name was Taizu. Right? She didn't fully remember. She needed to pay attention more. She listened to both Kim and Taizu speak in Japanese. She could understand them easily. She traveled a lot so she learned a lot of languages. The only problem was she couldn't speak the languages. She had a hard time pronouncing words. Hell, she had a hard time with the English language and it was her first language. It was most likely because she was deaf for the first four years of her life. Most people would say because she was a pureblood witch that she shouldn't have been deaf. She remembered the story of how her family found out. It was actually her siblings that found out first. She had been late trying to talk. The medi-witches said it was normal for some kids to take longer to speak.

It was a hot summer day in June. The kids were outside playing. Jasmine(13) and Jasper(13) were in charge of watching them since their parents were at work. Spinel(12) was swimming in the pond they had. Ruby(11) was climbing some trees. Amber(8) was being read to by Jasmine. Amethyst(4) was playing in some flowers. By this point, Amethyst thought it was normal not to be able to hear anything. She learned to look up often to see if anyone was needing her attention. She looked up feeling footsteps. That was another thing she got good at. She tilted her head seeing Jasper walking near with a book in his hand. Jasper sat down and tried to teach Amethyst about letters and how to pronounce them. He noticed that she looked really lost and confused. He got slightly worried and snapped his fingers near her left ear. Amethyst didn't flinch or looked toward the sound. Jasper quickly picked up Amethyst and told Jasmine to grab everyone. They all went to the nearest hospital which was a little away from their house. Once they got there Amethyst was taken to have some tests down. Jasmine and Jasper couldn't call their parents because they worked around magic. After about an hour a nurse came out and said that Amethyst's tonsils got too swollen which caused her to become temporarily deaf. They needed to do surgery to take the tonsils out. Jasmine ended up calling their mom(Angel). Luckily she had just gotten off work and was at home. Angel rushed over to the hospital and signed the paperwork giving her consent for the surgery.

Amethyst shook her head clearing the story from her head. She was able to hear after the surgery but she lost a lot of years of basic learning skills that most kids knew at age four. She went back to listening to the boys' talk. She was taken aback by Taizu's sudden outburst.

Taizu started to eat the food and his face lit up.

The boy's reaction to how good it tasted made Kim smirk. He was kind of cute.

When Taizu suddenly blurted out a question in English, Kim raised a brow. Not because Taizu had switched to English but because the question was rather strange.

Well, it probably wasn't strange to most people. But Kim was different from a lot of others. He didn't trust easily and didn't think of others as being friends for a long time. There was a reason for this, as he'd gotten burned quite a lot of times by people wanting to be 'friends' with him because of his last name. They thought if they were 'friends' with him, they could get hooked up later on. As a result, Kim never made friends anymore. At least not until now.

He never told anyone his last name if he could help it, unless they were muggles. And so far, no one had approached him for favors or to be 'friends' with him. As of right now, Kim had no one he considered to be a friend to him at Hogwarts. But now... the matter of 'friends' came up again. He regarded Taizu for a moment and then tilted his head to the side. "We'll see as time goes by." Kim told him. "Try the custard tart, it's delicious." He told him.

The quiet girl who hadn't said much Amethyst finally said something again and Kim glanced down at the shepherd's pie. "Oh, yeah. Well, it's not pork but it is beef. I think hamburger meat." He told her and glanced around the table. "Ah, you should try these then. They look good." Kim suggested as he reached over and pushed a plate towards the girl. I think it's some kind of broccoli cake patty with white sauce on top." He said.

If he hadn't just had shepherd's pie, Kim would have tried one too.


He let his eyes flicker over the girl. "What's your name?" Kim asked, curious. The two girls had been the only ones he didn't know the names of.

Yet another student decided to sit down near him.

It really seemed as if he was drawing a crowd to him but he supposed it was normal.

Even back at the muggle school he'd gone to before he'd been drawn out of it, Kim had always been surrounded by various people. Which was kind of ironic since he had extreme social anxiety, something he tried to hide from others. He'd been successful so far. As the newest Gryffindor tried to ask the girl beside her to pass the mashed potatoes, Kim looked over at her. The student apparently didn't seem to hear her, or was intentionally pretending not to.

Since the dish was within reaching distance for him, Kim grabbed it and offered it to her. "Here." He told her with a little nod and handed it over, making sure she had a grasp on it before releasing his hold on the dish. "You only having that? You should try the shepherd's pie, it's delicious." Kim told her and picked up the dish and placed it down near her. "Or can you not eat hamburger meat?" He asked, this time being cautious.

As the other girl couldn't eat pork.

Kim didn't want the new girl to have an allergic reaction to the meat if she was also allergic to something in the dish, especially if he'd been the one to recommend it.

september 2021 / with @kim sato

"Erm." Amber looked at the boy who had passed down the potatoes. "I don't eat lamb, but I'll be eating other stuff, so don't worry." She gestured to her plate that had some other vegetables and some chicken on it. She dolloped on a few, generous spoonfuls of mashed potatoes before looking for the gravy. She figured she should explain the lamb thing too...

"We have a sheep farm, we keep them for their wool, not their meat. I don't think my Ma could ever have the heart to hurt them. We keep other animals too, some chickens and cows and goats. The usual lot." She laughed, finally spotting the gravy and grabbing it. She all but drowned her dinner, her stomach grumbling in happy anticipation for the food she was about to eat. Amber picked up her knife and fork.

She cut up some chicken, adding a bit of stuffing and gravy covered potatoes to her fork, "Lamb is the only meat I don't like eating. The others are fine. I don't know why, I just can't stomach it." She knew it was kinda weird, but hopefully he wouldn't laugh at her. Hogwarts was her first experience of being around a bunch of kids her own age and Amber really wanted to fit in and make as many friends as possible.

Amethyst nodded and took the shepherd's pie. "I'm fine with beef just can't have pork, sadly. I love bacon and sausage but it upsets my stomach and I can't eat for the rest of the day." She put some on her plate. She put the bowl back into the middle. "Are we allowed to have a small bit of wine? It's kinda a thing my family started doing after we went to France." She tilted her head. "I just remembered this is a school so most likely we can't have wine even if it's a few sips because we are underage. Never mind then." She started eating the pie. "Oh, this is really good. It's kinda weird. I have never had shepherd's pie before but I have had a lot of different things."

Amber smiled seeing her sister actually talking to people. She would hurt anyone who hurts her sister. She went back to eating and talking with her friends.

Amethyst looked up realizing that someone was talking to her. "Oh sorry. My hearing is not the best." She looked down feeling bad. She was glad that Kim was able to give her the food. She went back to eating.

Kim raised a brow when the girl spoke.

She referred to lamb and he tilted his head to the side, not sure what she meant by her words.

Could she be referring to the shepherd's pie? That particular dish didn't usually have lamb in it, it had hamburger meat. But maybe she didn't know that?

After all, the other girl hadn't known the meat in there wasn't pork. "If you're talking about the shepherd's pie, don't worry it doesn't have lamb in it. This one has hamburger meat." Kim told her and glanced down at her plate. Well, it did seem as if she'd taken care of herself, she had some delicious chicken there. Hm, maybe he'd grab some chicken and potatoes, even though he'd already ate some shepherd's pie. Maybe a little more.

It was the sorting feast, he deserved it!

Kim took a small amount of chicken, vegetables and mashed potatoes.

He glanced back over at the girl who had spoken before, who was now talking about how she had a sheep farm back at home. As she continued to talk, Kim nodded, listening to her speak. He was usually the type of boy who liked to listen and not talk, but would speak if he had something to say or a question was asked of him. Most people would probably try and strike up a conversation. But Kim was kind of quiet when he didn't have any pressing need to speak.

If he spoke for the sake of filling the silence, that would be small talk which he disliked.

Why say something you had no interest in finding out the answer to?

It didn't make sense to him.

Sometimes being silent was the best thing you could do, although he was aware this had a tendency to bother a lot of people. Kim continued to fill his mouth with the chicken, vegetables and potatoes. This was delicious too. The house elves were doing really well on their part with the food given. As Amethyst commented on wine, Kim raised a brow. Wine? They weren't even teenagers and she was talking about alcoholic beverages? Was that a joke?

The girl explained herself directly afterward and Kim nodded. Okay, that made more sense. He'd heard the French tended to drink at an earlier age than those from other countries. But this wasn't France and she seemed to understand this. There was no need to say anything in response. "The drinks here tend to morph into whatever it is you feel like drinking at the time. With the exception of alcohol of course." Kim told the other.

He put some more chicken, vegetables and potatoes into his mouth.

As soon as Joey arrived to the table and sat down, she started to eat like she never did it before. All the nerves and the excitement left her without energy and they did not let her eat a single bite before the ceremony. After introducing herself to the people around her, she started her little feast. Her brother, Andros, looked at her funny from the Slytherin table. She narrowed her eyes, as she knew without the need to hear his thoughts that he was already thinking of ways to annoy her. All the jokes about her being a Gryffindor were going to be endless.

Looking away, she concentrated on her task at hand: eating until she couldn't move. And, to be honest, that happened pretty fast. However, that wasn't necessarily bad, as now she was able to pay attetion at all the conversations. The food was so good she forgot the most important part: to make friends! She smiled when the words of one boy caught her attention. He confused her, so she did not hesitate to say whatever she was thinking before processing her thoughts. "Excuse me, hi. Sorry for interrupting your conversation, I'm Joey, but... Hm... How do you know alcohol does not morph? Is it because of experience? Can you drink alcohol in Hogwarts?" And if so, did her brothers try it without her parents knowing? She was not going to be a snitch, but blackmailing was always a good card to keep under the sleeve. Just in case.

While she waited for the answer, she also felt Dominic's eyes on her back. It gave her goosebumps. She knew her brother was smirking as much as Andros. They both knew she would end up in that table, so they were very proud of themselves. Trying not to roll her eyes, she kept looking at that boy. He looked asian, she wondered if he was new in the country or since when his family moved there. Luckily, she controlled herself and her tongue. Her dad always said she talked way too much.

It was around this time that an unfamiliar voice piped up.

With his mouth full, Kim wasn't able to respond to the question asked by a newcomer.

He waited until he'd swallowed and then glanced over at the girl who had spoken. "It does morph, but just not for us. Students aren't allowed to drink alcohol at Hogwarts. Not until they become of age. It does morph into the glasses of professors should they want it though." Kim told her. "But I don't think we're missing much, there's so much delicious food to be sampled!" He added and glanced over at the girl.

"You should try the shepherd's pie if you don't mind hamburger meat." Kim said with a lick of his lips. "The chicken, vegetables and mashed potatoes are good too." There really were a lot of good tasting foods available. He wondered if this spread would happen every day for them. "Do you like desserts?" Kim asked, curious. Anyone who liked desserts, sweets and especially chocolate were great in his book. Yes, Kim was being serious.

The world of food had so much to offer those who consumed it.

All you needed to do was be present to be able to sample all the delicious flavors out there.

Josephine wrinkled her nose. She had zero interest in drinking alcohol, as her father let her try it once. She thought it was disgusting, but Andros seemed to like it. If the teachers were the only ones allowed to drink it though, there was no way for her to trick her brothers into some mischief. "Well, that's interesting. I wonder what kind of spell they casted for those glasses..." she mumbled. A smiled grew on her lips when the boy mentioned the food. Her mom used to joke about her becoming a Hufflepuff, so she could be closer to the Hogwarts' kitchen. "That is true! Who needs alcohol with so much food?" She agreed, reaching for some more, like the pie. "I'm not picky, I like all kinds of food. Well... Maybe not the spicy kind". Her stomach would get upset everytime she tried it.

Every suggestion that came from the boy, she took it. Her plate was completely full once again when he asked a question. She stopped before filling her mouth and looked at him, confused. "Who doesn't like desserts?" Could it be? She never met a single person who didn't. Ever her father had a weakness for hot chocolate and pumpkin tarts. Tea time was her parents favorite times. For Joey, anytime that involved food was a good time. Just in case, she looked at him. "Do you like desserts?" Even if he said no, she would have not judged him. Beaumont, her brother, did not like sugar as much as salt, and he was a good guy.

She stuffed her mouth with the shepher's pie and the mash potatoes, then sighed, content. It was really good, whoever cooked there had no need to envy the chef at their mansion. In fact, maybe she should ask for advice. After she swallowed, she wished for every meal at Hogwarts to be like that one.