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**Wilber Winterbottom** · #1 (**permalink**) 12-27-2022, 12:45 AM

For those who belong in Slytherin House, on the right side of the Great Hall is where your table awaits. Green banners containing an embroidered silver snake float above the polished table in honour of the cunning Salazar Slytherin. Already placed on the tables are silver plates with accompanying cutlery and goblets. All that is missing right now are the mountains of food and pitchers containing your favourite beverages.

Though your stomach might be growling as you take a seat on one of the long benches next to the table, it is important to not get hangry -- gnawing your arm away or jabbing your fork repeatedly on the surface of the table will do no good whatsoever. Give everyone some time to get settled in and wait for Headmaster Winterbottom to deliver his speech. Keep yourself preoccupied by catching up with your fellow housemates or those who are visiting from the other tables until it is time to sink your teeth into the hearty and delicious meal prepared by the house-elves.

aRogueOne · 05-01-2025, 10:19 PM

There were some things at Hogwarts that had lost their magic or grandeur. The train ride, which had initially seemed so magical was now monotonous. The carriage ride to the school a little less so, although that was mostly due to the Thestrals that were pulling it. Having taken several photos of the skeletal creatures, she’d wanted to see if they’d show up once they’d been developed, more so out of curiosity than anything else, but that would have to wait until after the feast. Unlike the train ride to Hogwarts, the Great Hall still made Sloane fell slightly warmer on the inside, despite it being her sixth at Hogwarts. The table on the right side of the hall, decked out in green, had always felt like a safe place for her. A home away from home.

Hands in the pockets of her robes, she wandered into the hall, her eyes on the staff table briefly before moving towards the right-hand side of the hall, her frizzy red hair bouncing slightly as she moved. The summer had been somewhat of a more relaxed one than she’d been used to, although it wasn’t exactly unwelcome. One of the more noticeable changes ~~or at least that’s how it felt to her~~ however, was the alteration to her last name. Formerly Sloane Aubrey ~~Knott~~, she was now a ‘Chosen’ and with it came a strange sense of confidence. Or belonging. Was that what everyone who had parents felt like? She wasn’t exactly sure, but to her, the change felt important.

Wishing that she’d brought a book with her to keep herself busy, she instead tried her best not to look too scary and sat with a neutral, less thunderstruck expression as the Great Hall began to fill up with students.

FearlessLeader19 · 05-01-2025, 11:01 PM

Graduating from Hogwarts was not going to happen until next year so this meant Ary had his sixth year to relax a bit. At least there would be a tad more relaxation than last year. Now that OWLs were in the past, and it had sunk in that he had failed Transfiguration, Ary was quite ready to try his best all over again to improve the grade from a P. Gratitude… a lot of it had to go to Jan for agreeing to help him with studies in the subject area. Given that his best friend was going to be busy with Quidditch and possibly a girlfriend, ahem - Ary would do his best not to be a bother by wasting Jan’s time.

The sixth year arrived at the Snake table and was quite delighted to find one of his close friends already there. “Sloane!” Gracing her with his presence by choosing to sit beside her, the boy looked her over. “Okay, so something’s different about you. Good sort of different, naturally.” He was grinning because whatever it was, he was already a big fan of whatever it was she had going on. Gracious enough to be conscious of the fact that he may wind up ‘annoying’ Sloane which may result in her punching him, Ary directed his attention to the Staff table. Gosh, that was quite a bit of new faces!

astrocat · 05-02-2025, 02:00 AM

After her abrupt departure from Hogwarts following winter break, Phoebe had insisted that she could NEVER go back to Hogwarts, that she WOULD never go back to Hogwarts, not ever again. But... despite all the great things about being homeschooled, Phoebe was lonely, and she worried that she was missing out. So now she was back, even though Hogwarts had been the subject of many a cry to a trusted professor as she declared that she'd never belonged anywhere less. Surprisingly, she wasn't feeling awful about it. Things had changed a bit- no, Phoebe had. She didn't look happier exactly, but she was less worried, less anxious, less apologetic. She was as quiet as ever, but her quiet had a gravity and a sense of self. She was okay.

Phoebe took her rightful seat across from Sloane and Ary and offered them both a brief smile. "Surprise surprise." For Ary, mostly. "I forgot about how itchy robes can be," she grumbled, not actually all that mad. "I miss my sweaters, but it's good to be bad anyway." She turned, looking towards the Hufflepuff table to wave at Nyle and show him that she'd kept her word about returning.

sweetpinkpixie · 05-02-2025, 02:28 AM

Calliope strode into the feast humming with leftover summer energy, the heels of her boots echoing like a drumroll down the Great Hall. She’d spent the journey from King's Cross tapping out victory cadences on anything that would hold a beat — the carriage frames, the stone walls, even the shoulder of a mildly annoyed prefect. Rhythm followed her like a loyal shadow and for the absolute best reasons. Yeah, the luxury cruises and trips to the family island had been great and all, BUT the U-17 England victory still had her heart racing, even if it had happened weeks ago or whatever. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t on the team yet. It was obviously only a matter of time and then the team would really dominate and absolutely mop the floor with the opposition.

She flopped onto the bench Slytherin table and immediately started looking for her people who, hopefully, this year had the common sense to leave an glorified playing cards locked up in the bottom of their trunk where they belonged. Her search cast arbitrary glances at Sloane, who looked cool and calm as ever, and Ary, whose energy practically buzzed off his seat and was only mildly annoying. Phoebe was across the table, and for once, she didn’t seem like she was about to bolt into the shadows. It was almost grounding, sitting with them. Almost. More than ever, however, her older peers served as a single melancholy reminder: that she had to wait until the summer before her fourth year to join the U-17 team. I was criminal, really, and her parents needed to pull influence to get that department head or whoever thrown into Azkaban for their crimes against the youth!

Calliope slouched back in her seat, arms crossed, foot still tapping under the table like the metronome of her simmering frustration. Thankfully a cursory glance towards the staff dais and seeing Professor Adara there put her on ice ― even if only a little. She would be out there flying circles around everyone at tryouts for here soon enough...unlike out THERE where she was just a second year. Developing. "Lame," she muttered to herself, completely disconnected from anything being said elsewhere at the table and everything to do with her own mental gymnastics.

She supposed it was fine, toooootally fine, that there were no prophetic tarot nonsense from last term looming over her head tonight. No cryptic cups. No ominous towers. No uncomfortable questions. ~~But she also missed it~~.

*Nordic Witch* · 05-02-2025, 01:56 PM

JT's summer had been good. They had a big Forsefelle family vacation to relax and to his delight he, his father and grandfather had watched some quidditch matches too. The England's U-17 team had won several matches. JT hoped he could get to join the team U-17 team soon. It was a goal! Something that was on his mind though as he entered the Great Hall to head over, and sit down at the Slytherin table was his summer date with Iris where they had almost kissed, and had taken an unplanned dip in the Diagon Alley fountain.

Slipping into an empty seat at the table near Ary, Callipe and the others he waved and greeted broadly [b]"Hi everyone! Did everyone have a good summer?" It was then that his new black magical rat Buzz decided to peek his little nose out of JT's robe pocket, and then next second the rat was up on the table running around the plates and goblets."BUZZ! NO!" JT shouted out in exasperation, and fright as he tried to grab ahold of his rat. "Help me! STOP the RAT!" He shouted to his housemates around him hoping that nobody was afraid of rats.

sweetpinkpixie · 05-02-2025, 11:56 PM

Calliope had just managed to wrestle her mood into something neutral by pulling her drumsticks out and practicing a bit on the edge of the table (plates made for decent cymbals when there were no other option) when her left drumstick splintered mid-rhythm against. The echo had still been satisfyingly loud and she still had spares in her trunk, so it was a decent sacrifice to her boredom. Less so was the seam of her robes just under her armpit suddenly splitting with a soft riiiiiiiiiiiiiip as she lifted her arms up above her head to stretch. "Brilliant, she muttered just as someone behind her shifted and elbowed her clean in the back of the head. "Hey—watch it, broom-for-brains!" she snapped without looking.

And then JT plopped himself down nearby with all the energy of a puppy in a storm. Listen, she liked her teammate. She respected him. She appreciated sharing the skies with him but her perception of her teammate was about to take a nosedive faster than a Seeker going for a snitch because a black rat launched itself out of JT’s robe and onto the table. Calliope froze. So did her voice. Her expression warped slowly into horror. "What," she said flatly, "is that."

Rhetorical question. She knew what a rat was.

It was that moment that the black monstrosity chose that moment to launch into a full sprint across the tabletop, claws ticking against the surface in a rhythm that the second year could appreciate if it were not attached to fur and beady eyes. Calliope screamed. Loudly. "SOMEONE HEX IT."

She jolted upright so fast her knee cracked against the underside of the table, and she swore under her breath, grabbing a drumstick instinctively like it was her wand. "I swear to Circe, JT, if that THING touches me—" But rats did not care about threats, especially not this one and the Slytherin would argue it was missing a whole lot in translation seeing as it LEAPT onto her shoulder next. Calliope shrieked... again... and spun in a circle like a malfunctioning ballerina figure in music box. She tripped as the backs of her knees collided with the bench, caught herself on someone's sleeve, but it was too late to deny gravity of its prize and she practically somersaulted backwards over the bench to the floor of the Great Hall along with a goblet that looked like it was inspired by a leaky cauldron and certainly would not be holding any pumpkin juice now. Her cheeks were flushed, hair slightly wild, the drumstick still clutched in her fist like she was ready to duel. "This," she hissed, jabbing the drumstick at the table for emphasis, "is why those things should not be kept in pockets. Or castles. Or anywhere near me."

With one last disgruntled exhale, she pulled herself up from the ground, adjusting the knot of her tie like it had personally wronged her. "Letting vermin climb the Slytherin table like it's a bloody obstacle course..." she grumbled, keeping her one arm pressed firmly to her side to hid the tear that had happened earlier ― back when her life had been rat-free and nurturing a healthy appetite. "That GREMLIN better be off the table!"

Preferably dead too but she miraculously managed to keep that to herself. Didn't everyone know rats were to blame for spreading the Black Death?!

The next person to bring out a THING was getting a free solo performance. On their head.

AlwaysSnapesGirl · 05-03-2025, 01:41 AM

The sour mood that had hung over her like a cloud since she'd received her OWL results was still present, but Florence maintained the neutral expression she usually did. Hopefully, once the school term was underway, she could more easily set aside her disappointment and focus on new goals, like ensuring her NEWT exams were going to be perfect - even if that specifically was more long-term.

She noted a number of familiar faces already present at the table - Sloane, Aryan, and Phoebe - and a couple of younger ones she had seen before but considered herself less familiar with - Calliope and JT. If any happened to look her way as she took her seat, they might receive a polite nod.

For a moment, despite the number of students present in the hall, all seemed peaceful.

And then the shouts and shrieks began.

Florence heard JT yelling about his rat and then she experienced the splash zone of pumpkin juice before she caught sight of the offensive creature. Merlin's beard. Who brought their pets to a feast?

Scowling, she pulled out her wand, aimed for the rat, and cast, "Immobulus!" Hopefully the spell hit and froze the little pest in its tracks. Then the boy could collect his pet and keep it out of sight.

WhittyBitty · 05-03-2025, 05:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Graduating from Hogwarts was not going to happen until next year so this meant Ary had his sixth year to relax a bit. At least there would be a tad more relaxation than last year. Now that OWLs were in the past, and it had sunk in that he had failed Transfiguration, Ary was quite ready to try his best all over again to improve the grade from a P. Gratitude… a lot of it had to go to Jan for agreeing to help him with studies in the subject area. Given that his best friend was going to be busy with Quidditch and possibly a girlfriend, ahem - Ary would do his best not to be a bother by wasting Jan’s time.

The sixth year arrived at the Snake table and was quite delighted to find one of his close friends already there. “Sloane!” Gracing her with his presence by choosing to sit beside her, the boy looked her over. “Okay, so something’s different about you. Good sort of different, naturally.” He was grinning because whatever it was, he was already a big fan of whatever it was she had going on. Gracious enough to be conscious of the fact that he may wind up ‘annoying’ Sloane which may result in her punching him, Ary directed his attention to the Staff table. Gosh, that was quite a bit of new faces!

Feeling a little restless and not really wanting to sit at her house table at the moment, Rory decided to head over to the Slytherin table and say hi to Ary. Even though he was a couple years older than her, they were great friends, growing up with each other since her mom was best friends with his father.

Smiling, she sneaked up behind him and put her hands over his eyes. ”Guess who.” She laughed.

Hearing people start to shriek, Rory was very confused. Then she noticed the rat. She shuddered, but didn’t freak out about it the way the others were. Someone’s pet had escaped and would be returned to them eventually.

This was turning out to be an interesting first evening at Hogwarts.

Kolyander · 05-03-2025, 01:32 PM

Bryony had been only a few paces behind Aryan when he entered the Great Hall ahead of her. As per normal for her, the sixteen year old had easily found herself distracted upon spotting some of her friends as she headed for her own house table of Green and Silver. Several hellos, waves and hugs were given in greeting. It was these small short interactions that had caused her to arrive at the table just as the screaming had begun.

What was going on? So much commotion. Most of which Bry didn't get to see. Though she supposed she may have gotten there just in time...

A rat was darting all about on the table. "Whoa! I got him!'" This is where those Seeker skills of hers would come into play. "Excuse me.. pardon me! Look out..." As polite of warnings as she could manage were given as she reached around some of her fellow peers and across the table in attempts to catch the little furry rat that scampered this way and that.

Her first two grabs at it came up short. "Oi! Come here you
.." It was near the end of the long house table that her hands closed around the small rat. "Gotcha! Who does this belong to?" She asked, glancing up and down the length of the table, the rat now cradled against her chest. "I think this little one may very well be hungry..." This being said simply because the rat in question was munching on a bit of cracker or something in her hands.

*Nordic Witch* · 05-03-2025, 02:13 PM

SPOILER!!: Calliope, Florence and Bryony

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

And then JT plopped himself down nearby with all the energy of a puppy in a storm. Listen, she liked her teammate. She respected him. She appreciated sharing the skies with him but her perception of her teammate was about to take a nosedive faster than a Seeker going for a snitch because a black rat launched itself out of JT’s robe and onto the table. Calliope froze. So did her voice. Her expression warped slowly into horror. "What," she said flatly, "is that."

Rhetorical question. She knew what a rat was.

It was that moment that the black monstrosity chose that moment to launch into a full sprint across the tabletop, claws ticking against the surface in a rhythm that the second year could appreciate if it were not attached to fur and beady eyes. Calliope screamed. Loudly. "SOMEONE HEX IT."

She jolted upright so fast her knee cracked against the underside of the table, and she swore under her breath, grabbing a drumstick instinctively like it was her wand. "I swear to Circe, JT, if that THING touches me—" But rats did not care about threats, especially not this one and the Slytherin would argue it was missing a whole lot in translation seeing as it LEAPT onto her shoulder next. Calliope shrieked... again... and spun in a circle like a malfunctioning ballerina figure in music box. She tripped as the backs of her knees collided with the bench, caught herself on someone's sleeve, but it was too late to deny gravity of its prize and she practically somersaulted backwards over the bench to the floor of the Great Hall along with a goblet that looked like it was inspired by a leaky cauldron and certainly would not be holding any pumpkin juice now. Her cheeks were flushed, hair slightly wild, the drumstick still clutched in her fist like she was ready to duel. "This," she hissed, jabbing the drumstick at the table for emphasis, "is why those things should not be kept in pockets. Or castles. Or anywhere near me."

With one last disgruntled exhale, she pulled herself up from the ground, adjusting the knot of her tie like it had personally wronged her. "Letting vermin climb the Slytherin table like it's a bloody obstacle course..." she grumbled, keeping her one arm pressed firmly to her side to hid the tear that had happened earlier ― back when her life had been rat-free and nurturing a healthy appetite. "That GREMLIN better be off the table!"

Preferably dead too but she miraculously managed to keep that to herself. Didn't everyone know rats were to blame for spreading the Black Death?!

The next person to bring out a THING was getting a free solo performance. On their head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

She noted a number of familiar faces already present at the table - Sloane, Aryan, and Phoebe - and a couple of younger ones she had seen before but considered herself less familiar with - Calliope and JT. If any happened to look her way as she took her seat, they might receive a polite nod.

For a moment, despite the number of students present in the hall, all seemed peaceful.

And then the shouts and shrieks began.

Florence heard JT yelling about his rat and then she experienced the splash zone of pumpkin juice before she caught sight of the offensive creature. Merlin's beard. Who brought their pets to a feast?

Scowling, she pulled out her wand, aimed for the rat, and cast, "Immobulus!" Hopefully the spell hit and froze the little pest in its tracks. Then the boy could collect his pet and keep it out of sight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

Bryony had been only a few paces behind Aryan when he entered the Great Hall ahead of her. As per normal for her, the sixteen year old had easily found herself distracted upon spotting some of her friends as she headed for her own house table of Green and Silver. Several hellos, waves and hugs were given in greeting. It was these small short interactions that had caused her to arrive at the table just as the screaming had begun.

What was going on? So much commotion. Most of which Bry didn't get to see. Though she supposed she may have gotten there just in time...

A rat was darting all about on the table. "Whoa! I got him!'" This is where those Seeker skills of hers would come into play. "Excuse me.. pardon me! Look out..." As polite of warnings as she could manage were given as she reached around some of her fellow peers and across the table in attempts to catch the little furry rat that scampered this way and that.

Her first two grabs at it came up short. "Oi! Come here you
.." It was near the end of the long hCouse table that her hands closed around the small rat. "Gotcha! Who does this belong to?" She asked, glancing up and down the length of the table, the rat now cradled against her chest. "I think this little one may very well be hungry..." This being said simply because the rat in question was munching on a bit of cracker or something in her hands.

When Buzz jumped out of the breastpocket of his robes JT hadn't exactly calculated the loud-mouthed reaction it would unleash from Calliope's diection. Quickly standing up on his seat he tried to grab a hold of his rat, flinging himself around peers and goblets to get him out of harms way. Unfortunatley what every rat did when frightened was that they fleed and Buzz was no different, and as such all his grabbing attemps were unsuccessful.

JT didn't expect his rat to run back towards the shrieking Calliope, but he watched with horror, and held breath as Buzz leaped up on Calliope's shoulder causing her to shrieck even more and fall backwards off the snake bench and out of sight along with some cutlery. Yikes. "Calliope, are you all right?" JT called out worriedly. It seemed like a good idea to ask even if he right now probably was the last person she wanted to hear from seeing as she had called his rat a number of not very nice names. Most of JT's attention was on his rat and some on Iris who he wanted to officially call his girlfriend if she let him and he was going to do what he could to make that happen.

It was then that someone, Florence pulled out her wand and cast a spell aimed at his prized rat. Frozen, JT looked on with relief that the spell missed and his rat climbed up on one of the goblets as if he was looking for something. JT getting back in motion made another few grabs to no avail before Bryony arrived and grabbed his rat. Relief and gratitude shining in his eyes JT raised his hand "It's my rat. He is new. Thanks for catching him Bry! He got out of my robepocket. I'll give him something to eat when the food arrives."

aRogueOne · 05-03-2025, 09:17 PM

Sitting in a world of her own, her mind wandering from the Great Hall to the Vial in her pocket, it took her a moment to fully take in the people that were slowly filling up the hall and another moment to realise that the person sitting next to her was Ary. “Are you sure you don’t want to look me up and down again? You might notice the second time” her words her usual deadpan and lacking any real emotion. Her friends knew when she was joking and when she wanted to wound however, so she did not seek to clarify her sarcasm, although that may also have had something to do with more new arrivals.

The arrival of Phoebe did mange to get a reaction out of her however, with a small smile just making a brief appearance on her face. “The robes aren’t that bad as long as you wear a t-shirt underneath.” She’d seen some of Phoebe’s jumpers and some of them definitely looked a lot less comfortable than the robes.

Choosing to ignore some of the younger students, Sloane leant forward, her elbows on the table, allowing her hands to hold up her head as she patiently waited for the speech to start. The quicker it started, the quicker the feast would start and the sooner she could leave and go back to the common room. With her mind wandering towards her four-poster bed, the sixth-year Slytherin shot up from the table as one of the younger students (JT) shouted, bringing her right out of her day-dream. Looking around, she eyed him with scorn before turning her attention one of the other students (Calliope). Was she that dramatic when she was younger? ~~Definitely not~~. Rolling her eyes, she pulled a hairband from her wrist and reached up to tie her hair up so that she could help find the stupid rat. Something told her that removing the rat would go down far smoother than removing one or both of the younger students. Before she could do anything however, both Florence and Bryony seemed to have the situation under control, thankfully. Turning back to her fellow sixth years (Ary and Phoebe), she sighed and rolled her eyes. “Bet you’ve really missed this place Pheebs. How could you ever want to stay away?”. If one more person tested her patience, she was not at fault for her reaction.

FearlessLeader19 · 05-05-2025, 06:23 PM

“I mean… I can, Sloane.” And because he and Sloane shared a cheeky friendship, Aryan did exactly that, scanning his fellow Slytherin once more. He knew she meant no harm with her words, and even if she did, he never took her to heart. “Were you pleased with your OWL results? I failed Transfiguration.” Was he ashamed? Absolutely not.

Ary nearly toppled off the bench in surprise. “Pheebs, you’re back!” This… was one of the best and happiest starts to the term a guy could have, one of his friends returning. "You were missed, you know.” He was just so thrilled that Phoebe had made the decision to return to Hogwarts. “You can always ask Professor Feirgrund for something to help with that. Or maybe you need to get used to the robes again.” Calliope might find him only slightly annoying just then but perhaps she would find him even more so when he shot her a finger wiggle-wave greeting. Was he being slightly more social presently? Yes. The reason was yet to be determined, however.

“Hi, JT. Yes, mine was excellent.” Not that Ary had done much but worked his butt off at the Reserve in an attempt to continue proving to his dads that one day he would be more than capable of taking over its operations. “Did y-” Uh oh. Run away rat! The sixth year made a lunge for the little creature but completely missed. If everyone would just remain calm, he was sure they would get him easily. Certainly Calliope was not making anything easier at all with those dramatics. Florence’s idea of using the Freezing Charm was a good one but it was the girlfriend that secured the runaway pet. At least, that was as much as Ary saw before his eyes were covered quite suddenly.

He lifted his hands to meet the ones hampering his vision, smiling broadly as he did so. Naturally he recognised the voice. “Uh… I dunno. Hang on, let me think. Slight French accent, familiar hands… Hi, Rory!” Laughing, he grasped his friend’s hands. “Congrats on Hufflepuff, by the way. Dad Adi and Aunty Lux will be so proud!’’

Charely Potter · 05-05-2025, 07:41 PM

Goodness, gracious. What a way to start the year, his sixth year at Hogwarts. How was Jan feelings? Well, he had been behaving in a reserved fashion throughout the train ride and remained seated. Even among his friends which continued through the feast. He clapped politely for each first-year and transfer student that were sorted. Eventually, his silence broke as he grinned at Ary, "I heard we'll have an easier time this year, I hope you're ready for our Transfiguration study session. We got Apparition lessons to look forward to." It also looked like some familiar faces had returned as he waved at Phoebe and Sloane.

Given the circumstance, Jan had a lot to think over. His U-17 team in Scotland finished in second place to England. Then his time in India with the whole family... but that wasn't the only thing on his mind as he received a special something right before the trip. Gentle, was the word to describe his gift that came as a surprise. But now, he had promised to talk with them about it and hadn't quite strung the words to what he wanted to say.

"Geez!" A surprise like that would take anyone out of their thoughts. Jan leaned back as JT's rat scurried across the table before Bry managed to capture them safely. "Good catch, Bry!" Gifts didn't arrive as only physical objects but skill as well. "That's a cute rat, JT. Hopefully, Professor Paton didn't notice their adventuresome self. I had a great summer, by the way. Are you going to try out for the U-17 next summer? It'll be my last summer playing." And he was such a good mate to play and converse with. Which got him back to relaxing as he surveyed the table with the new staff introduced. Clapping as the new staff and positions were addressed, Professor Burbage... the ghost heading Hufflepuff? He hoped they wouldn't have much trouble. Hufflepuffs usually were well-behaved from what he heard... but they do love to party as well.

Jan's eyes then looked to see where his little brother was at... of course, at Hufflepuff. Gosh, he could only smile at how happy they looked and hoped it stayed the same. "Grape juice... sounds good right about now." As the food appeared and he began to pour himself some in the goblet. It would wash down the beef and potatos he'd partake in.

sweetpinkpixie · 05-07-2025, 07:05 AM

Still brushing phantom rat germs off her shoulder, Calliope reseated herself stiffly at the Slytherin table like it was a dinner at bisnonna Tamara's. Spine rigid and jaw set, her face was mostly a mask of icy composure, but her eyes betrayed just how furious and shaken she truly was. The shriek she’d let out? Mortifying. The fall? Infuriating. But the rat?

Unforgivable.

"You can seriously be that thick, JT," she hissed, twisting slightly in her seat to look over her shoulder at him. "You brought a rat to the Feast? Into the Great Hall? Where people eat? Have you been hit by a bludger too many times? The last time I checked, pets weren’t allowed at the Feast. And... correct me if I’m wrong, which I’m not... they especially are not allowed loose in your pocket! I don't care if he is new. I hope Professor Paton noticed your inconsiderate-ness. You should give yourself detention for this, honestly. I lost points for throwing a broom at tryouts last term, and you think bringing a disease-ridden rat to a public table is less disruptive? PuhLEASE!" And WHY was no one else in an outrage over this?!

The answer was, probably, that she was outraged enough for the entire table. So much so that she did not notice any finger wiggles at her for a greeting ― not that they would have bothered her in the first place. Nothing wrong about human fingers. Human fingers were clean, predictable, and not likely to scrabble up your arm and send you tumbling off a bench. Human fingers didn’t have yellowed claws or twitchy little toes or the audacity to cling to your collar like some grotesque accessory. Frankly, more people should appreciate fingers. Fingers were useful. They gripped broomsticks during midair barrel rolls and twirled drumsticks during impromptu common room jam sessions. They were elegant, articulate, and not the stuff of nightmares. Rat claws were a violation.

As if on cue, the Headmaster’s voice rang out over the hall, signaling the official start-of-term address. Students began to quiet but Calliope couldn’t hear a word of it. Her stomach was churning, not just from leftover fear but from the thought of what else Buzz might’ve scampered across before Bryony's display of her Seeker skills and snatched him up. She sat stiffly, arms folded across her chest, legs crossed like a barricade, eyes on the empty plates in front of her but absolutely refusing to look at the food when it finally appeared. Her absolute favorites were staring back at her and all she could think about was rat feet.

Nope.

Calliope stood abruptly and slid out from the bench with all the dignity she could summon. "I’m out of here," she announced to no one in particular, though very much so at everyone who was showing her no empathy for her low grade musophobia. "I’ve lost my appetite."

And with that, she turned on her heel, not sparing a single glance back at the food, the table, and especially not at JT or his rodent. Because some things ( like reputations and feasts) were simply not compatible with vermin. Her second year was off to an absolute disastrous start and it was going to be a long night until breakfast.

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