Autumnal Meals Open

October 13th, evening

The evening air was crisp as Rhys came into the Great Hall. It took his breath away, just as it had every other time that he came into the hall. He'd gone for a walk around the grounds after classes were over, deliberately taking so long that he would miss the start of dinner. He'd found that if he arrived at the beginning of the meal, the press of that many students was too much for him. With his family being as small as it is, he was used to dinner being 2 or 3 people eating together. They occasionally went to restaurants, but even those weren't anything like the Great Hall.

So, after a couple of weeks of being uncomfortable, Rhys began delaying his arrival at the hall. At first, he was just avoiding going there, but he quickly realized that the crowd thinned out if he just gave them time to finish and leave. By the time he arrived, there was room at the table and he could breathe easier.

Tonight, he'd really enjoyed the walk and was in a good mood as he entered the hall. The full moon had been a few days ago, and he was finally feeling like himself again. He always grew pale leading up to and right after the full moon, and it made him feel like everyone could tell he was afflicted. Today, though, he'd woken up with his normal lightly tanned complexion, and that had set the tone for the whole day to be a good one.

The Slytherin table had some students at it, and he didn't avoid them... but he did pick a spot at the bench with a bit of room. There were Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws in the middle and Gryffindors on the fully opposite side of the Hall. Probably best. Their House often got testy with Slytherin, and it wouldn't do to have them constantly eating next to each other. The food fights would be unending.

Despite him arriving late, the platters in the middle of the table were still heavily loaded and the food was at just the right temperatures. Definitely useful magic, that. Rhys began piling his plate with meats and sides, and he grabbed a sticky toffee pudding for afters. As he ate, he watched the rest of the room, trying to learn names and faces. Because of how their classes ran, he didn't see all of the other First Years every day, and the older students even less.