open Roast Chicken Friendships public 𝙲𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍

Colin was famished! He dashed into the Great Hall, ducking between students heading both in and out of the place. He gave a yank on one particularly troublesome girl's hair --- an older Slytherin who always stared and looked like she wanted to slice him up for hippogryff snacks --- and he was gone before she could even cry out "Who the f---!?"

For once he didn't even care who he sat next to, he was that hungry. The first thing that caught his eye was a roast chicken. There was some girl already eating --- and eating and eating! Across from her was his friend Quinn, which made him really happy. They were talking about the chicken. Must be really good today!

He dropped his things onto the bench and sat down next to the girl who Quinn was talking to. "Hey Quinn! What's up? Did ye get yer lessons done yet?" he greeted her.

Colin looked over at the pile of chicken bones. "Mm. Even the bones look good! --- Have to gnaw a couple of those later!" he said to himself.

He laid some of the chicken on his plate and found some cheese an apple to go with. Colin couldn't help but watch the other girl out of the corner of his eye. He didn't remember meeting her before, but they could easily have been in some classes together. Once she looked up from her plate Colin winked at Quinn, then turned to the other girl. "Lassie, I'd challenge you to a chicken eating race, but I think you'd win!"

@Ivy Finch|@Quinn Root

_________________________________________________________________________________

"It's very good don't you think?"

Ivy looked up and saw Quinn, a fellow first year, talk to her. Although Ivy often thought her to be a sweet girl, she had never actually struck up a conversation with Quinn, and was surprised to be addressed by her.

"It's great," Ivy agrees, "Although you can probably tell how much I like it by the way I've absolutely demolished this chicken leg." Before Quinn can reply however, Colin McCoire - again, someone Ivy knew but was not well acquainted with - approaches the table and greets Quinn heartily. For a moment Ivy was unsure if Colin even recognised her, but he spoke to her all the same.

"Lassie, I'd challenge you to a chicken eating race, but I think you'd win!" He grins, not before winking at Quinn. It may have been a trick, but Ivy was not about to back down quite so easily.

"Oh yeah?" She asks, a sly smirk spreading across her face. "Want to bet? Although, the prefects aren't far off, they'd probably get us in trouble. And for that, I'll save you the humiliation of losing, Colin." Ivy puts down the chicken bone, and slickly licks the tips of her fingers clean. It was a good meal, but something told her lunch wasn't quite over yet.

_________________________________________________________________________________

@Ivy Finch
@Colin McCoire
@Quinn Root

Walking up to her dorm, Bailey dropped off her books and headed down to dinner. Walking over to the Ravenclaw table, Bailey spotted a familiar face at the Slytherin table.
Deciding to go say hello, Bailey straightened her shirt and walked over to Colin. She put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Hey Colin!”
Taking her hand off of his shoulder so that he could turn around, Bailey saw that he was sitting with two other people, both Slytherin girls.
Deciding to greet them, Bailey smiled and said “Hello! My name is Bailey. Bailey Glade. I am a Ravenclaw second year. I figure you are both Slytherins, but what year? If you don’t mind sharing.”
As she said this Bailey stuck her hand out to shake theirs should they care to.
Knowing they might reject her, Bailey instantly second guessed coming over here. They clearly had been having a conversation that she probably had just interrupted.
“Sorry if I interrupted something. I just wanted to come and say hello to Colin here. It has been a while since I have had a chance too.”
Turning back to Colin, she asked “How have you been lately? I’ve been meaning to send you an owl asking but I’ve been busy with running my clubs and such.”

Word count: 220 ish

Colin tensed immediately when a hand grabbed his shoulder from behind and his eyes flew open in terror as he looked across the table towards Quinn. he managed to keep himself from jumping up on the table --- Quinn didn't seem concerned. But before Colin could react further, he heard Bailey's voice behind him and he relaxed again. Whew! That was close!

He turned and let out a puff of air. His eyes focused on Bailey's radiantly good nature. Odd how he felt calmer now: "Oh! Whew! Hey Bailey!"

She introduced herself to Quinn and Ivy. She stuck her hand in front of the girls. He'd seen lots of kids do this, and often wondered what it meant when the other one grabbed their hand in return. Must be some sort of game! Or a martial art thing? Bailey's into that! Colin would have to ask her about that some time. He'd have to ask her about martial arts, too. He'd been hoping to find a sparring partner.

"No worries about no owls, Bails" he said giving Bailey his best injured puppy dog eyes. He sighed deeply, then laughed! "But we're in for a bit of fun here, lass! Smirking Ivy here thinks she can eat more chicken than I can! I challenged her earlier, and Quinn wants in too. Maybe you can join us?" He looked over towards Quinn, then Ivy. He was pretty sure Quinn wouldn't mind, but didn't know if Ivy would mind a Ravenclaw sitting with them.

He smirked back at Ivy: "It won't be me losing to thee!" Though as he said that, he caught sight of the pile of chicken bones she'd accumulated. "On the other hand, it might be close!"

@Ivy Finch|@Quinn Root|@Bailey Glade

@Quinn Root
@Colin McCoire
@Bailey Glade

_________________________________________________________________________________

To Ivy, Colin was an open book.

She saw the way he tensed up as the Ravenclaw girl put her hand on his shoulder. She saw the look he exchanged with Quinn as a subtle cry for help. She saw his nervousness as he offered the Ravenclaw a seat with them.

Here's the thing: most people assume Slytherin's like to keep to themselves, and have a strange rivalry with every other house. While that may be true for the Gryffindors, the idea is false for almost everything else, and Ivy was more than happy for the girl to join. Bailey, she said her name was Bailey, so Ivy may as well use it. But really, as a Slytherin himself, Colin should know better. Ivy politely smiled at Bailey and embraced her handshake, suppressing a grin at Colin's confusion as she did so. She hadn't realised that wizards did no such thing.

"I'm Ivy," she said politely with a warm smile, "And I'm in first Year, like Colin and Quinn over here. The others are right, you should join us, although, we are having quite a strange debate, I hope you're not a vegetarian!" Ivy shuffles over to make room for Bailey, before she'd even accepted the invite. "How did you get to know Colin? After all, you are in entirely different houses and years."

_________________________________________________________________________________

@ Ivy Finch
@Quinn Root
@Colin McCoire

As she felt Colin tense under her hand, Bailey quickly listed her hand. He seemed to relax when he turned and saw that it was her.
When she apologized for not having sent him any owls, he cast his green eyes at her like a puppy dog, and said not to worry.
He also said something that was different. Bails… is that like a nickname? Bailey wondered. Deciding it was, she accepting the other girls handshakes, and did her best to keep their names straight. Quinn and Ivy- both are pretty names Bailey though, before deciding to say that.
As she said down, Bailey said “Both of your names are super pretty. But despite that, I definite think one of us can out eat Colin!” Bailey said the last part teasingly, knowing that Colin could eat a lot. Bailey also knew how hungry she was and that she could make some headway.
When Ivy asked how she had met Colin, Bailey smiled at the memory and said “It was a while back- at least before winter break. I was in the library reading GB and he came up, asking if he could sit. I told him he could and then we invited a few other students over, and we spent the day exploring and eating. It was a ton of fun- wasn’t it?”
Placing her bag by her chair, Bailey grabbed some chicken and started eating.

Word count: 250 ish