A Book in Common Finished

Mia smiled at Ami's concern. It was nice of her to worry, very nice, but futile. Mia didn't eat in front of new people. Maybe it was annoying, or it was showing a sign of weakness. She didn't know. She just didn't.

Turning her head, she looked down at the small wrinkled house-elf in the corner of the room drinking a butterbeer and hiccuping loudly.

"You. Please get me some..."

Mia deliberated for a moment before deciding on something easy. Something small that she could just take one bite out of and eat half of it.

"I'd love a Caesar Wedge Salad with Bacon. Pepper on the side."

Mia smiled at the tiny drunk house elf. She wouldn't prepare the food, and if she did then it was just one crisp heart of romaine lettuce garnished with a strip of bacon and parmesan cheese. That was easy to force down and smile.

Mia then turned back to the girls, her eyes telling a very different story then her smiling mouth. It wasn't like she had an eating disorder, she didn't, but she didn't like Ami almost...not implying it, but putting her on the spot. Making her order something.

Still she just stretched her smile wider and fixed her attitude.

"Thank you Ami. I must have forgotten in all of the excitement."

She grabbed the handle of her butterbeer and raised the thick foaming glass.

"Now let's start eating! I'm sure you're all ravenous."

Raising her mug of butterbeer in a half-semi-sorta toast as well, Ami took a sip, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Jesus!" she exclaimed, staring at the amber liquid in surprise. "Wow, Mia! This is really good!" She hadn't known what to expect from the vegan hodge-podge of ingredients, but she was pleasantly surprised to see that they worked spectacularly well together.

Dipping a spoon into her food, she placed it in her mouth, smiling as she swallowed it all down. This... now, this was good food. Whoever said that vegan food was trash was wrong on so many different levels. Didn't everyone just feel so much better when they learned about the animals they didn't kill? Also, it was a pretty healthy way to eat, if done right.

"Mae, do tell me, how are your blueberries?" Ami asked, not just to be polite, but because she was honestly interested. Did wizard blueberries taste more magical and tingly than Muggle blueberries? Did British blueberries taste more fancy than American blueberries? While she knew that these thoughts were rather silly, she couldn't help but think them. After all, she knew that American mangoes versus, say, Indian or Indonesian mangoes were vastly different... maybe there was a difference in blueberries, too?

Mia smiled at Ami's outburst. She liked it. That was good. She didn't know what she would have done if the girl didn't like it at all, or even hated it. That would've been a bit awkward.

"I'm glad you like it. I'm quite fond of it myself."

She listened to the girl's question, and then turned to her, her brow furrowed. They were just blueberries. Enchanted to be juicy and flavorful, yes, but just blueberries.

Ami must have had blueberries in Chicago. Mia had went there occasionally, and they had all of the same foods in New York.

Mia concluded that this was just a 'polite question'. One that you had to ask at a dinner party, or even when meeting new people.

Her food came on a small china dish and she turned to thank the house elf that brought it to her, as Willy had always instructed her to do.

But when she turned she saw a very familiar face. Wrinkled skin, long, pointy ears, deep set, sparkling eyes, and a long nose. One could've mistaken him for any other house elf. But Mia knew instantly who he was.

"Wi-"

She croaked out, surprised. But then the house elf winked and promptly vanished, leaving a very confused girl with a stalk of romaine lettuce on a very breakable plate.

Ami watched the house-elf give Mia her- what even was that? It looked like... was that literally just a piece of lettuce? What kind of dinner was that? Clearly not a very filling one, was Mia not hungry? Shrugging slightly, Ami shoved another spoonful of delicious veganism into her mouth, her eyes still on Mia. She seemed rather put off, opening her mouth to say something as the house-elf disappeared.

"Mia..." Ami warned, eyeing the teetering plate warily. It would certainly fall off the table any minute now, with the way it was wobbling so precariously. "Mia! Plate!" she yelped, diving across the table and snatching the plate, just as it was about to fall off. Setting it down on the table gently, Ami sat back down, somewhat embarrassed by her sudden movement. "Earth to Mia..." she said slowly, waving her hand in front of the Slytherin's face.

"Are you okay?" she continued, concern and worry etched into her face. For this girl who'd sacrificed her dinner just so that the Hufflepuff could eat vegetables, Ami was ready to do just about anything. "You can tell us anything," Ami continued reassuringly, glancing at Mae to make sure that she was okay with it, too. "Is something on your mind?"

Ami waved her hand infront of Mia's face and she blinked rapidly and put her hand on Ami's arm, pulling it down.

Are you OK? You can tell us anything, is something on your mind?

Mia smiled and shook her head a bit too viciously, her hair flying around her head and then settling on her shoulders in a wavy pattern.

I'm fine-thank you Ami. Just a bit tired, that's all.

Mia yawned and covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes watering slightly, purely for the benefit of Ami and Mae.

She was tired. She must have been. Otherwise she would of been able to keep herself calm. Or she would of never hallucinated in the first place.

Hallucinate? Did she? She was usually stable-usually being a keyword-and had never hallucinated before. But it must have been a hallucination. It must have. Willy was at home, and safe. So safe.

Mia plastered a half smile on her face and looked towards the two girls. She took her stalk of romaine lettuce in her hands and took a bite, chewing thorouly.

Swallowing, she turned to the two, and plastered the smile back on her face.

We should probably head back soon-we have classes tomorrow.

Well, obviously, Mia wasn't "fine", despite her insistent words, but she clearly wanted to leave the two girls to go and be alone. It was getting rather late, anyways, and honestly, they should really just head off to bed. The three looked exhausted and well-fed after their meal, surely that was a sign? 

We should probably head back soon-we have classes tomorrow.

"Yeah, you are... probably right," Ami admitted, running a hand through her wild hair. "Come on, Mae, let's go." The Ravenclaw had remained oddly silent throughout their conversation, although Ami credited it do the deliciousness of the food and drinks. "Come on. Mia, I can probably walk you back to your common room...? It's on the way to the Hufflepuff commons, it wouldn't be any trouble."

Standing up from the table, Ami gathered the now empty plates into one stack, handing it off to a house-elf, thanking them elaborately for the amazing meal. The house-elf seemed rather flustered, but handled the barrage of thanks rather well, all things considered. 

"Alright, bye, Mae," Ami said cheerfully, waving at the Ravenclaw. She had really enjoyed Mae's company that evening, she was a really nice girl. "I'll see you around sometime, then." Turning to Mia, she added, "Come on! Let's go, then."

Mae had been a bit silent in the conversation, but it really was due to the food. Mae was only ever used to muggle food, but this stuff was amazing. Mia suggested that the girls get going due to classes tomorrow, which Mae could agree with tomorrow was going to be hectic. "Yeah, you are... probably right," Ami said while running a hand through her hair. "Come on, Mae, let's go." Ami said gesturing to her. "Come on. Mia, I can probably walk you back to your common room...? It's on the way to the Hufflepuff commons, it wouldn't be any trouble." she then said towards Mia. It was cool though because Mae was going to have a way longer trek up the common room and should've gone as well. "Alright, bye, Mae," Ami said turning to leave with Mia, "I'll see you around sometime, then." she added. "Come on! Let's go, then." she said turning to Mia. "Yeah it was nice to meet you too, we totally have to hangout sometime again, preferably in the daytime," Mae had said with one final goodbye. "Oh and Mia, it was wonderful meeting you as well, we need to do this again," Mae quickly added as a second final goodbye. If it was any constellation she really liked meeting Ami and Mia they were both nice girls.

{Mae Exits thread]
But honestly tho, we need to do this again sometime

Oh and Mia, it was wonderful meeting you as well, we need to do this again

Agreed. This was so much fun.

Turning to Ami, Mia smiled and placed her hand in the girl's, tugging her towards the door.

Let's go!

Smiling at the Ravenclaw in front of her, Mia took a step forward, brushed her robes down into a more comfortable position, and promptly opened the door for Ami, leaving the house elves to clean up after her. The members of S.P.E.W. would probably be mad at her for doing this, but honestly she didn't care. That's what they were paid for.

Walking towards her common room, Ami with her, Mia flipped her hair out of her face and continued walking. It really had been fun, but she was tired, and tired Mia was not a nice person. Luckily she hadn't snapped because of anything the girls had said-they were too nice for that. It was just her acting like a cranky baby.

There's my common room!

Mia smiled at Ami and opened the door, whispering the passcode under her breath. The door opened easily, and Mia waved goodbye to Ami, walking in.

Turning with a smile, she shut the door and looked at her red-haired companion with a smile on her face. This was not going to be the last time she crossed paths with her.

Ami, Mae, and Mia bid their goodbyes to each other, and the Hufflepuff and the Slytherin went their own way towards their common rooms. Upon reaching the entrance of the Slytherin common room, Ami suddenly pulled Mia into a tight hug. "Thank you," she said quietly, letting go and standing back. "For everything. You're amazing, you really are."

She watched Mia go, and turned to return to her own common room, trudging towards the direction of the kitchens. Hopefully, the three would meet up again, because they were fantastic, both of them. Mae was a sweetheart with a face to match the goodness on the inside, and Ami hoped that the two would have a closer friendship in the future. And Mia... the Slytherin girl had sacrificed her dinner for a Hufflepuff that she barely knew so that said Hufflepuff could eat her own "special" food. Really, the two of them were just perfect angels.

Slipping into her common room, Ami trudged up the stairs to her dorm, getting ready for a long night of reading to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day, and maybe she'd see one of the other two in one of her classes. Maybe, just maybe.