Hogwarts Dinner
After everyone was sorted, a plethora of rich foods appeared on the table ahead. Ben jumped in his seat and Phoena grabbed Nerine’s arm. Then, the exciting day and headache of chocolate frogs caught up to them and they gorged themselves in the corn, chicken, steak, and potatoes that graced their plates. They passed bread and salt, their juices filled as soon as they were emptied.
For a while, no one talked but to express joy over the meal. Then the gossip started, the new students got to know each other and their elders.
“You know,” a girl with an Australian accent that seemed to be of East Asian descent started talking to whoever could hear. She had a tall black hat on, matching with the other students who were not first years. She sat across from Phoena, both girls listened. “Mcgonnagle’s speech about poaching should not be overlooked, Hagrid, the gamekeeper… you know the one that boated you lot over.” she pointed at the row of first years with a goblet of cranberry juice. “He found a Hippogriff… dead… locked in a cage just inside the Forbidden Forest, not far from Hogwarts… not far enough at all.”
“Yeah, don’t forget to mention its feathers were plucked off, it had been dead for a day or so…” Thomas added in, he leaned over, looking at all the first years. “The poachers wanted its feathers for trading, they use them in potions.”
It was a good thing that Nerine had finished her plate, she lost her appetite after even though she wasn’t quite sure what a Hippogriff was. When the prefect and the girl had finished their warning speech, she asked Phoena.
“Hippogriffs, right, I haven’t seen one for myself, they’re rare and majestic-looking. It's like a horse and an eagle in one, they can fly and gallop, sometimes you can ride them if you’re respectful.”
Nerine then remembered talking about these creatures when she first arrived at Helena’s Haven, she didn’t remember its name however.
“Like a pegasus?” Nerine asked.
“Pegasus?”
“Yeah… like a horse with wings?”
“I suppose so…” Phoena answered, she played with her food, stabbing it with a fork.
That was the first time Nerine saw a ghost, a man started screaming above them, he had come down straight from the stars in the ceiling. Ben closed his ears and looked up at the noise.
He wore a white onesie and a nightcap. Then Nerine noticed a woman who also yelled, but not nearly as loud as the man. She was cursing him while he screamed in fear and shouted out apologies. Nerine could just make out an axe that she swung in between them.
“Eddie Cleaver and Anabelle. No one knows what he did, but she won’t ever forgive him.” Thomas explained.
After Nerine saw the ghosts, she could recognize another that loomed over a Ravenclaw’s shoulder who read at the table. Her very faint appearance was unrecognizable until that moment. The student was a boy with black hair who seemed to be a second or third year, he shifted the book over so that the ghost could follow along.
“Look there's another.” Nerine pointed her out to Phoena.
“Oh!” Phoena was just as curious. “She looks familiar…”
The two girls could barely make out her features. Nerine decided to ask Thomas.
“That’s Helena Ravenclaw, the daughter of Ruina Ravenclaw, our house founder.” He said, before shoving a piece of bread in his mouth.
“Oh! She is what Helena’s Haven is named after.” Nerine said, Phoena was vehemently nodding, sipping from a goblet.
“You live there?” Thomas asked.
“Yes, I just moved in, Phoena and I live there.”
“I want to move there when I graduate, there are so many Ravenclaws… Phoena… Phoena Ollivander?” Thomas leaned over further, realizing that she was part of the famous Ollivander family line.
“Yes,” Phoena was quiet, looking down at the table.
“Oh! I heard the name but I wasn't sure I had heard it right!” The girl in-front of Phoena said, the one who explained the hippogriff story. “My name is Eva Iver, I’m a 4th year,” She reached out to shake Phoena’s hand.
“That must be awesome, I can’t imagine the collections he must have… from all of those wand makers… and Mr. Ollivander himself! He must be so talented, what is that like?” Thomas was now almost standing in his seat, everyone around her was patiently waiting for her response. The first years in front of Nerine looked the most excited for her answer.
“It's neat… he is….” Nerine saw Phoena look ahead, between Eva and the first year who sat next to her. They were facing the Slytherin table.
She looked down at her plate and shook her head.
“It’s okay to be shy, we will have all year to talk about it, I bet you have learned so much from him.” Thomas said.
Nerine blinked and the plates vanished, some kids still held turkey legs when the dessert appeared. Nerine and Phoena were too full and too tired to eat the chocolate cake and ice cream that stayed frozen in its dish. They listened to all the advice and stories from Eva, Thomas, and the second years that sat next to Phoena. They taught them to watch the steps’ moving patterns before getting on them, how to solve the riddles the common room gives, advised them to let Helena read over your shoulder, and told the story of Ruina’s Diadem and the second Wizarding War.
When the dessert disappeared, Thomas stood up and clapped his hands, he and Suzie led the first years outside the grand hall, all the other students stayed behind.
They turned out of the great hall’s foyer to a tower that had the moving staircases Thomas and Eva described. They had forgotten to mention, however, the paintings that shifted and waved as they walked past. Some played music, some complimented the students, and others shouted amongst each other.
“Oh yes, these are the portraits, don’t mind them too much, though they do have interesting stories I do recommend talking with them at some point. Some have helped me study history and you’ll have to interview them for some of your classes.”
Nerine made a note to come back later and talk to them, curious as to who they were and what it was like being stuck in a portrait all day.
They were behind the Gryffindors before they turned left into a hall that connected to the tower. As they continued up the stairs, they had to periodically wait for the stairs to turn their direction. The sound of grating stone echoed through the tower.
They walked up one more moving flight before exiting into a blue hall, it led to a green room with more moving paintings, and then another tower. Phoena and Nerine were convinced the stairs would never end. They imagined walking up and down these everyday and Thomas interrupted.
“You’ll get used to it, many students charm their books to fly, flying books are all over the place, I don’t know if you noticed the ones above us in the Grand Staircase. You’ll only be able to perfect that in third year at the earliest though, so I wouldn’t try.”
“I don’t go back to the common room until I go to bed, I stay in the library or the courtyard.” Suzie added.
This didn’t feel encouraging for the girls.
All the windows they passed had incredible views that Nerine had also decided to return to when she had the time. The walls, ceilings, floors, and banisters were enveloped in ornate carvings, patterns, and decorations. She felt like a princess.
When they finally reached the top, Nerine’s legs seared with pain, Phoena seemed to be struggling too. Thomas and Suzie didn’t even break a sweat. They were now in a wooden room that felt like an attic. Some trunks and lamps were scattered around, a couple of beds too. There was a door with a bronze, ornate looking eagle door knocker. It took up half the door, its wings spread out, its head faced to the left side.
Thomas used the knocker. A posh-sounding woman spoke out, the source seemingly being from the eagle. “A queen has six letters, what are they from?”
The room was silent in thought for a minute, Suzie and Thomas looked at the first years in expectation. Ben spoke first, seeming to think out loud, “A queen…” the eagle's wings flung inside itself, crossing them over each other before the door creaked open.
Everyone looked from the door to Ben in shock, they applauded at the mechanics of the door it seemed more than Ben’s ability to answer. He looked just as shocked and impressed as everyone else.
“Wait, ‘a queen has six letters, what are they from?’ So it wasn’t a who?” A first year girl with dark skin and a short stature said.
“It wasn’t a who, because it wasn’t those kinds of letters.” a shrill voice replied, the crowd funneled their way into the common room. Thomas and Suzie looked amused by the situation.
“The answer was ‘a queen’, ‘a queen’ was the six letters.” the voice continued, it was a red-headed boy that held the shrill voice. Everyone made oh sounds expressing their comprehension, then they started to talk amongst themselves before Suzie shushed them. She was now standing next to the red-headed boy, Nerine noticed their similarities, they were siblings.
“Good job Ben, and nice explaining Carter,” she patted his shoulder that was significantly below hers. Ben still looked confused and flustered.
“This is the Ravenclaw common room.” They were standing in front of a large stone eagle statue that spread its wings out over the wall and morphed with stone bricks that lined the wall. Starry wallpaper that seemed to shimmer on its own was layered above the eagle's head. It smelled like old books and a fresh breeze.
“Come with me,” she said, walking to the right of the eagle up some steps. Windows surrounded the circular room and extravagant blue curtains and rugs filled its space. As they reached the end of the stairs, over top of the students' heads, Nerine could see a statue of a woman with braids going below her waist holding a book in one hand and a wand in the other. A niche enveloped the statue and was accented with a beautiful blueish, marbled stone. Two vases sat on pedestals next to her.
The circular room has a giant chandelier, study tables, bookshelves, Ravenclaw banners, lamps, and busts of historical figures. It connected to another circular room that Nerine could see through a thick castle archway. She could feel a breeze from the open window behind her.
“This is the common room, where you may study late at night, or early in the morning.” Suzie was walking and talking, heading towards the archway to the next room. One student after the other looked up at the chandelier, where they could see the dome shape of a skylight over a second floor with its railings that lined the mezzanine. They passed some telescoped and armored statues that grunted as they walked past. There was a fireplace in the middle of the room they entered. A couple of kids ran up to the fire and put their hands out, testing to see if it was real, it was.
More windows covered the walls, the dark hills were visible through them, beyond the night, and more rugs covered the floor, some were folded from the foot traffic of whoever was here before. Suzie was standing in front of the fireplace, waiting for everyone to trickle in.
“Behind you, there are two staircases, the right is the boys’ dorm and the left is the girls’. Your name will be on a bronze plaque on your bunk’s bed frame. The bathrooms will be on the staircase as well, on the right wall. Your luggage will be there for you and if you have a pet, they may be waiting there as well. Although, I didn’t see my owl for the first three months of my first year… anyway, off you go.” Carter still stood next to her, she turned to talk with him before Nerine grabbed Phoenas arm and they practically ran to find their room.
They found that the first years were put in the rooms at the very bottom of the staircase. The girls were calling out each other's names as they read the plaques. It felt like the first day of class when the teacher assigned seats and everyone wandered around in a chaotic storm.
When they found out they would be in the same room, Nerine and Phoena burst into screams and laughter. Phoena’s owl was perched on a golden stand in front of the room’s bookshelf and flapped its wings from the loud noise. The small girl with dark skin and hair from earlier sat on her lower bunk bed watching them.
“Your owl, what’s its name?” she asked.
“My owl?” Phoena replied.
“Yes, your owl, it's the only one in the room.”
“I haven’t named it yet,” she approached the owl and it let her run her pale fingers through its feathers.
The girl stood up, “Im Nelly Ettington,”
“Nerine Champagne,” Nerine gestered to herself then to Phoena, “Phoena Ollivander.”
“I heard you talking about your father in the dining hall, so what is it like? I want to know too.” she asked.
“Yea… It’s cool,” Phoena gave the same blank expression as she did at dinner.
“I saw his wand collection, he has so many, the stories too, they’re very interesting.” Nerine answered for her.
Phoena nodded.
“I have got to visit your house some time, I could spend days with a good wand collection like that.” Nelly said, “Well.. you have got to name your owl, what is it then?”
“I think… Perpetua.”
“Perpetua?” Nerine asked.
“After Perpetua Fancourt.” Phoena replied.
Nelly nodded and raised her hands, “Yes! She invented the lunascope, a wonderful invention, I have about five. And your owl? Do you have one?” Nelly was looking at Nerine.
“Yea… Ummm…” she didn’t know any famous wizards or what they did. She did remember the Narnia books and her favorite character, and her friend from primary school who she missed “Lucy, her name is Lucy.”
“Wonderful name.” Nelly nodded.
“Do you have an owl?” Nerine asked.
“Yes, I suppose she will come in due time, she has been in that cage for so long… Her name is Celest after Celestina Warbeck the singer. Although Celestina was a Gryffindor, she is the only Gryffindor I can stand.”
“What’s wrong with Gryffindors?” Nerine asked.
“They’re so cocky, my older brother is one, they have won the house cup for the past two years, which is ever since he has been at school. He is way too competitive and now that I’m in Ravenclaw he is going to rub his victories in my face.”
“We’ll win the house cup, all you have to do is be a good student, and we are learning magic right? That shouldn’t be too hard… at least not boring.”