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Alchemy Course
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 02-28-20 17:44
Fritz is among the professors manning a booth in the Great Hall. His course, Alchemy, is an elective only available to sixth and seventh year students. With the Easter holidays rapidly approaching, it is once again time for eligible students returning to Hogwarts next year to consider electives.
Alchemy, not being a required course and being in the same vein as Potions, is one course most students pass on, especially since it's only offered when those students are busy preparing for the NEWTs. Fritz is glad there is an Alchemy Club option for those with an interest, especially since any student in any year can join.
He tries not to take it too personally that not many are willing to take on the added burden of another class, but then, Fritz wonders if there will even be Alchemy class next school year.
Lately, The Daily Prophet and other news sources have run articles about whether Hogwarts has grown too vast in terms of newer courses offered and the number of staff teaching them. There have been criticisms that students are receiving too broad an education; that by offering more than ever before, Hogwarts has become the jack of all trades but the master of none; that students are exiting Hogwarts unsure of their futures, leading them to enroll in St. Emrys University, which has been a different topic of contention in recent weeks; and that too much money is being spent at Hogwarts on additional classes and extra staff.
Much of it is outrageously false, at least that's what Fritz believes. Sure, he may be biased since he's teaching an extra class that didn't exist when he himself attended Hogwarts, but he doesn't think that adding to the coursework at Hogwarts or having more teachers is a bad thing. It's probably very beneficial overall.
Then again, this recent bad press probably found its inspiration from the perpetual negative light Hogwarts seemed portrayed in day in, day out these days.
The last two weeks have been constant barrage of articles on safety and security at Hogwarts. It didn't make the news until after Professor McGonagall made an announcement during a mandatory dinner in the Great Hall. Since then, nobody can seemingly cross through the Hogwarts gates into Hogsmeade without getting stopped by either a reporter or a concerned citizen.
Fritz thinks it's all a bit ludicrous, since an investigation is still underway to determine whether the carving was done in jest or is definitely the work of a dark wizard in training. For his part, he's hoping it's all one big, dumb joke. After all, since the start of term, there's been no indication whatsoever that anything amiss is happening within the castle walls, and several students are known to be pranksters. Fritz doesn't know for sure, but he's guessing the likely suspects have already been questioned.
He realizes he's been lost in thought and not at all paying attention to his surroundings. Nobody's standing in front of him to ask about Alchemy, but Fritz realizes that Eugene Smirt is standing in his line of sight and that the wizard is staring at him. Fritz tries to school his features and busies himself by adjusting some of the flyers on his table.
The vision in his mind right now is of the expressions on both Eugene and Eunice's faces when Professor McGonagall made her announcement. They morphed from surprised, to angry, to victorious, to sly all in a matter of moments. Neither spoke up, however, and Fritz hasn't heard what, if anything, they've done with the news.
At last, a student ventures over and asks, "Is Alchemy class as fun as Alchemy Club, or is it more serious like Potions class?"
(Eileen) Food Poisoning
Author: Sophie McCourt
Date: 02-29-20 03:41
Since she was a third year Eileen didn't have the need to visit Course Day. Instead she decided to spend her Saturday morning in the Baking Club room, and bake something for Gareth. After the Quidditch match, he had offered Eileen a beautiful golden quill. She had kept it inside a box on her dormitory, and was thinking of making a necklace with it.
After the rumors about the Dark Mark, and Headmistress McGonagall's announcement, the mood at the school was stranger than ever. Eileen had not seen the vandalized bathroom stall, so she hasn't been available to conclude if it was indeed the Dark Mark or not. And so she thought that some muffins might cheer things up a little bit.
Eileen stepped into the Common Commons with the muffins still hot from the oven. She spotted Gareth and some of his Gryffindor colleagues, included Ilsa Ludlow. Ilsa was sharing the same sofa as Gareth and she was trying to steal a parchment he had on his hand. Maybe it was an innocent attempt to steal Gareth's homework, but Eileen did not like the proximity between Ilsa and him. Of course that she was not Gareth's girlfriend or anything of the sort. He was a free man but they had went to the Sweethearts Dance together and she was starting to get know him better. They were getting along well and she often daydreamed that one day they could date.
Gareth must have sensed he was being watched because he raised his head and saw Eileen. He stopped up and went to her encounter.
"Good morning!" he greeted.
"Hi! I've baked some muffins from a recipe I've learned at Baking Club. I was wondering if you would like to give them a try? There's cinnamon, chocolate and blueberries…"
"Of course! Thank you!"
Gareth selected a chocolate muffin and gave it a bite. Eileen waited with anticipation, but the reaction was not the one she expected. Gareth bravely swallowed the muffin and told her:
"They're delicious, Eileen."
But she could tell he was lying.
"There's something wrong with it, isn't it?"
"No, no, they're fine…." Gareth assured her.
Eileen tried one of the blueberry muffins. The flavor was terrible. She couldn't even describe the taste, but she must have done something wrong because the muffins weren't eatable at all. Unlike Gareth, she couldn't even swallow it. She picked up a napkin and spit the half chewed muffin into it, feeling quite ungraceful by doing it in front of Gareth.
"Oh Gareth, I'm so sorry!" Eileen apologized. "I don't know what happened, I must have forgotten some important step…Let me get you some water!"
She quickly went to fetch Gareth a bottle of water, feeling quite embarrassed, and hoping she hadn't just ruined her chances with him. She was even afraid she might have caused him some food poisoning. He only had a bite, but she didn't know if that would be enough to send him to the Hospital Wing. She had been too ambitious picking such a hard recipe, and doing it without the assistance of Briar Rose and Phlagmelina Hodfuffer. Next time she would stick to something simpler.
(Sophia) Electives
Author: Lysander Stratford
Date: 02-29-20 14:35
Sophia entered the Great Hall alone. Her friends and roommates had either already stopped by, were busy doing something else at the moment, or already knew which electives they wished to sign up for next school year. Sophia, on the other hand, had no clue whatsoever.
She figured she would visit each booth for information, decide whether the professor teaching the course was someone she could stand to be in class with for one or more school years, and go from there. It was probably good that Sophia was on her own rather than with others who might distract her or sway her in one direction or another.
She started with Ancient Runes, taught by Professor Hodfuffer––Amethyst's uncle. Then, she went to see Professor Sacheverelle, who taught Arithmancy & Divination. Sophia heard that once upon a time, the two subjects had actually been separate courses. She'd heard that from her dad, who had taken Arithmancy but not Divination. It had also been in the news recently in an article complaining about how different Hogwarts was nowadays. Apparently, there was a large group of very opinionated witches and wizards longing for days gone by and being quite loud about it.
After speaking with Professor Sacheverelle, Sophia spoke with Professor Kent about Care of Magical Creatures. She had a cat named Maru, so it wasn't that Sophia didn't like animals, but she wasn't completely sold on handling all types of creatures. Nevertheless, she spent a lot of time talking to Professor Kent, though it was mainly beause she was curious what it was like for him to have a son who was in prison for being one of the Hogwarts student recruited to the Death Eaters. Sophia didn't dare ask about it, but she sort of hoped it would come up in conversation some kind of way. It didn't, of course.
Lastly, Sophia went to see Professor Miller to see what Muggle Studies was all about. Sophia was certainly of the mindset that wizards were better than Muggles, but she saw an advantage to learning about Muggle culture. How could she say she was better for being a witch without taking the time to learn all the dumb things Muggles do in their daily lives?
She left the Great Hall armed with brochures and giveaways, still not entirely sure which two electives she'd choose for next school year. Good thing she didn't have to decide immediately.
Sophia ran into Charlotte and Grace in the entrance hall. They stopped their conversation to say hi and find out if Sophia had made a selection. She told them she hadn't, held up her armful of goodies, and said she was going to take everything to her room. They said bye and resumed talking to each other.
On her way down to the dungeons, Sophia thought about how her dad had asked her to keep an eye on those two. He thought because of who their fathers were, they would likely be targeted to join the Death Eaters. Sophia was fairly certain that Grace didn't have that kind of mindset at all, and though she thought Charlotte might lean that way a little bit, Sophia didn't think she had anything to do with what had happened recently at Hogwarts.
Sophia wouldn't say it aloud, especially in the current climate, but she was very interested in what happened in the girl's bathroom on the fifth floor. She hadn't seen the alleged Dark Mark, which some who had seen it claimed looked like different things altogether, but she wished she'd had so she could make up her own mind about what it really was. The bathroom had been off limits since the discovery, and besides, Sophia heard someone say they saw the whole stall door being carted out of the castle not too long ago.
Sophia reached her room and threw everything she carried onto her bed. She climbed in, shut the curtains, and lay back against her pillows. Never would her dad think that his daughter might be the most likely of the Stratford and Valentine children to show an interest in the Death Eaters.
(Chloe) Course Day
Author: Mildred
Date: 03-01-20 02:38
"If I choose Muggle Studies do you promise to help me out?" Ruth asked.
"Of course!" Chloe replied.
"You should have said 'no'. You're going to end up doing all her homework."
"No she won't! Don't listen to Alectrona, Chloe."
The three Ravenclaw friends had gone to the Great Hall to check out Course Day. Both Alectrona and Ruth came from wizarding families, but while Ruth was completely ignorant about Muggles, Alectrona had a solid knowledge in that area.
"I wish there was a Wizarding Studies class," Chloe said.
She had some difficulty understanding the rumors circulating about the Dark Mark. Headmistress McGonagall's words made Chloe realize the seriousness of the vandalized bathroom stall but she felt a little bit out of context. It had been Alectrona and Ruth that filled her in, and her revelations alarmed Chloe. Ruth pointed out that as a half blood she would most likely be a target, while Alectrona was wiser and assured Chloe no one was going to get hurt.
A letter had been sent home to all the parents and Chloe soon received a reply from her father. Just like her friends he too explained her the meaning of the Dark Mark, its history and complexities. It was a long letter and Chloe was able to sense the worry and love in her father's words. It made her understand a little bit why he solemnly refused to be part of the wizarding society. He had described sceneries of violence and horror towards those who were not considered fit to carry a wand. He recommended her to keep to herself and focus on her studies.
The girls approached the Arithmancy & Divination booth. It appealed to Chloe a lot but she knew she wouldn't get permission to take the class. In his letter his father told Chloe which electives he wanted her to choose. As a man of the church he firmly believed that any forms of Divination were nothing more than nonsense. God shaped the future of His children. She would not learn anything from tea leafs and crystal balls. Obviously Professor Sacheverelle had a different view on the topic. Chloe listened to her with interest, knowing this would be the closest she would get to learn anything about the subjects she taught. Her father decided for Chloe that she would learn Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures.
"What electives is Douglas choosing?" Ruth asked Alectrona.
"I don't know," she replied. "Why?"
"Well, if a boy had asked me to the Sweethearts Dance I would want to be with him all the time! What if he finds another girl he likes the most when you're not around?"
Ruth could be dramatic at times. Alectrona just shrugged her shoulders. Chloe obviously did not get permission to attend the dance. She was sad about it, and she couldn't help feeling a little bit jealous of her friends. But knowing it was wrong to feel that way she had gladly helped Ruth and Alectrona to get dressed. Alectrona's dress was particularly beautiful with the cherry blossoms and Douglas had offered her a matching corsage.
Paul Campbell was happy to learn that no boy had asked his only daughter to the dance. He did not want her to engage with young wizards more than necessary. Little did he know that Chloe spent part of her evening thinking about Argyll. When she got back to Hogwarts from Christmas Alectrona brought a record of a Christmas concert preformed by the students at her brother's school. Chloe had been delighted. She had always loved music, and not only she used to sing at her father's church she was also a member of Hogwarts Harmonies. While almost everyone was at the dance Chloe listened to the record on the Common Commons' gramophone. She listened to Argyll's solo over and over, admiring his skill and talent, until an older student complained of the repetitive piece and told her to turn it off.
(Anthony) The Carving in the Door
Author: Beck
Date: 03-01-20 08:49
Several members of law enforcement, mostly aurors, stood in an evidence laboratory and studied the stall door recently taken out of Hogwarts. The carving, a mark that to some definitely looked like a crude rendering of the Dark Mark and to others looked like anything but, had been evaluated a dozen different ways.
A magical origin was mostly ruled out––only mostly because there was the slightest chance that it had deliberately been given a "carved by knife" appearance. If made by a student, even an older one, the skill needed to perform such a skill was extremely high. It seemed unlikely, but then again, not impossible.
Although not yet confirmed, there was a very good chance that everybody's wands would get checked to see if such magic had been performed. Every wand belonging to student, staff, and any guests who were known to be at the school between a certain range of dates––law enforcement included––would have to undergo the evaluation.
This was still under deliberation due to the large number of minors involved and would require parental consent and presence, or a teacher acting in loco parentis if permission was granted. Anthony, having been assigned to patrol Hogwarts during the affected dates was ready to hand over his wand and he wanted to be there if Alex also turned his over for inspection. He didn't expect any foul play from his colleagues, but he felt it would be better all around to serve as a witness. After all, the two consultants at Hogwarts were rumored to be notorious for falsifying claims and over-exaggerating, and he wouldn't put it past them to accuse the most innocent student of being a wannabe Death Eater.
Already, the Hogwarts kitchens, Baking Club room, and storage facilities for Potions and Herbology had been inventoried of knives and other implements that could be used as carving tools. Every single item had also been checked for damage or flakes from the bathroom stall door. Anthony had helped with that enormous project and had also sorted through the implements in Hagrid's Hut at the half-giant's offering.
A few items were missing here and there but that didn't mean they'd been used to make the carving. Some had scratches or dents, but that also didn't mean anything. No evidence from the stall door was found in the initial searches.
There was also the question of turning over mattresses and searching other places a student might hide something, but this was also currently on the back burner due to privacy infringements on minors. Anthony understood it all plainly. After all, he wouldn't want someone barging into Alex's room and throwing his stuff around in search of something that probably wasn't even there.
He was all too aware, though, that the longer they waited, the more likely the culprit would get away with it.
True Friends
Author: Majandra
Date: 03-01-20 19:43
Gage nudges Georgie and with a small hand gesture indicates the Potions table where Professor Snape scowls at a student passing by. Though well out of earshot Gage asks sotto voice, "How do you not find him bloody terrifying?"
"Who? Uncle Severus?" Georgie manages a straight face as he pretends ignorance.
Gage rolls his eyes. "When we're fifth years, I dare you to call him that while in class."
Georgie sniggers loudly enough that Professor Snape looks their direction. Gage's eyes widen and cut to Georgie who laughs again and gives a small wave to Uncle Severus before allowing Gage to pull him away. They don't stay much longer in the Great Hall. Being first years the only elective they can take is Fitness & Athletics, a course both are currently taking and plan to take as second years. They mainly came to Course Day to see if any professors are handing out any good freebies in the form of sweets. Thinking to go down to the pitch to see if anyone wants to get a game of Quidditch going or if anyone's already playing to see if they can join in, Georgie and Gage head for the main doors, passing Miranda and her friend Cecily in the process.
Cecily and Miranda pause just inside the Great Hall to get an idea of which courses are located where. Though there is a booth for each upper years core courses, for Fitness & Athletics, for Alchemy, and for the four courses third years and above, none of the booths require much space so only a relatively small portion of the Great Hall is bustling. Thinking the Cecily will likely be signing up for Care of Magical Creatures, Miranda suggests, "Let's start with Professor Kent."
Cecily readily agrees so the girls are soon at the Care of Magical Creatures table asking Professor Kent a few questions about the sorts of creatures studied. When they walk away a few minutes later, angling towards the Muggle Studies booth, Miranda says, "I'm fairly sure I want to take Care of Magical Creatures but I have no idea what else." Nodding in the direction of Professor Quigley and the upper years Astronomy table she sighs, "I do like Astronomy but I wish I would drop the class and just do star gazing with the Astronomy Club."
Cecily laughs, "Less homework and studying that way."
Miranda grins. "Exactly."
After also visiting the tables for Arithmancy & Divination, Ancient Runes, and Fitness & Athletics, the friends stroll out of the Great Hall for the commons with Miranda admitting, "I'm no closer to knowing what I want to take. I'm definitely taking Fitness & Athletics again but," she shrugs, "I have no idea what else. Care of Magical Creatures might be good but, honestly, they all seem like they might be all right. The only thing I know for sure is they all mean more time studying." She loops an arm with Cecily and jokes, "If you were a true friend you'd do all my homework and studying for me."
"And you would write all my exams for me," Cecily jokes back before they both dissolve into giggles.
The rest of the short way to the commons is spent with them thinking up things a true friend would do for the other such as Cecily getting pimply spots for Miranda and Miranda having an ugly red cold sore on her lip for Cecily.
Care of Magical Creatures
Author: Jolyon
Date: 03-02-20 18:13
Jolyon manned the Care of Magical Creatures table, which was one of the more popular electives taught at Hogwarts. Where else could one learn about unicorns, kneazles, blast-ended skrewts, bowtruckles, and nifflers? Although it probably wasn't needed, he'd brought out a few creatures to entice students over to his table.
In one cage was a black and white rat. In another was a bright yellow puffskein. There was an aquarium with a blue speckled salamander and a young and therefore not-so-giant giant orange snail. A pure white snowy owl sat on a perch with eyes half-closed. All of a sudden, it swiveled its head nearly full around, which caught Jolyon's attention and had him following its yellow-eyed gaze.
Across the room they spied Eunice Smirt standing over to the side with her ever-present clipboard in hand. Frankly, Jolyon was quite surprised that he hadn't heard a peep from her or her brother since the revelation that there might have been identifiable Death Eater activity on campus. From conversations with others, Jolyon knew that nobody had been interrogated in the usual fashion from either Smirt in the last couple of weeks. It was odd but not unwelcome.
After the discovery of the mark, an auror named Hugo Grelleir sought out Jolyon to ask a few questions. He wanted to know if Asher had ever mentioned marking parts of the castle with stylized Dark Marks that might look like nothing to one person and what it was meant to be to another. In truth, Jolyon didn't ask Asher about his past involvement with the Death Eaters whenever he visited Azkaban. They talked about anything but that.
Against Jolyon's wishes, Grelleir also interviewed Arielle. Ever since attending regular therapy sessions and getting involved with the therapeutic pets program, Arielle was doing so much better. Although she didn't really want to discuss the past either, she answered all of Grelleir's questions, though she wasn't any help at all since she didn't know anything.
Grelleir had also gone to Azkaban to interview Asher directly. He could truthfully and without magical interference say that he and the others recruited with him never left marks anywhere. He didn't know anything about the mark recently discovered and wasn't sure if it was the real deal or not. What he couldn't say was that it could be real because there were still Death Eater recruits roaming the halls at Hogwarts. For all he knew, there was also a new batch of recruits. Belinda was in charge and surely was being tasked to grow the ranks despite the risk of discovery.
Jolyon looked away from Ms. Smirt and focused on a group of students recently arrived to his table. He shelved the thoughts in his mind and fixed everybody with a pleasant smile.
"Interested in Care of Magical Creatures?"
Inactive Mark
Author: S Snape
Date: 03-02-20 21:01
Frederick Benwick visibly gulps before crossing the short distance to where Severus sips a cup of black tea with a single dollop of cream. He had just spoken with Liberty Copperpot, Edwina Trainor, and Albert Nutcombe. There was a time he might have thought of the trio as the Three Stooges, an American slapstick comedy group he remembers from his childhood. Now, however, in his effort to be a new Severus he admits, if only to himself, that there is nothing slapstick or silly about them. Turning, he sets down the tea before inquiring, "How may I help you, Mr. Benwick?"
"If I freeze up on the Potions OWL and end up with a poor mark, is there any way to fix it before the new term so that I can take the NEWT level course as a sixth year?"
"You could do relatively well on your Potions OWL, Mr. Benwick, and still not qualify for admittance to the NEWT level course. I require an Outstanding."
"So if I freeze and make the highest Exceeds Expectations, which would just be one point below an Outstanding, I'd not be eligible?"
"Correct, so I suggest you do not, as you put it, freeze."
"But if I do, is there are sort of work I could do over summer holiday to become eligible?"
Severus noisily expels a breath then shocks Frederick to the point that the boy is literally open mouthed, his jaw gone slack, his expression one of waiting for some horrible punchline. "If you fail to make an Outstanding, Mr. Benwick, contact me and I shall give you a summer course of study that if completed to my satisfaction will garner you a spot in the sixth year NEWT level Potions class."
After Frederick as gaped at him for a full thirty seconds, Severus prods the boy with one finger. "Mr. Benwick?"
Frederick blinks several times and gives his head a single hard shake. "Yes, Professor Snape. I mean, thank you, sir. Thank you!"
Frederick hurries off so quickly Severus concludes that the fifth year wanted to get away before Severus had the opportunity to say, "Just kidding," or more Snapish, "Are you truly so daft, Mr. Benwick, that you believe I would bend my own long established standard of admittance simply because you are earnest?"
Reaching for his tea Severus wonders now how many others will come begging for deals similar to Frederick's. He finishes the cup and is considering another when Eugene Smirt sidles up to him. "Professor Snape, I do not believe in prior conversations that I ever asked why your Dark Mark has never alerted you to You-Know-Who's whereabouts."
Severus puts down the now empty cup and slides up the sleeve of his left arm. The tattoo there is faded, looking like nothing more than an old, odd scar. "You are aware of the difference in appearance between active marks and inactive ones?"
"Yes. Yes, of course," Smirt quickly replies, his vocal timbre verging on patronizing.
"Then, as you can see, mine has the appearance of having been inactive for quite some time. Some at the Ministry who have long studied the Dark Mark and I believe that the connection to my mark was severed quite some time ago, most likely by Fairchild."
"No one at the Ministry has suggested allowing you to continue in your position here is reckless?"
"I'm sure at least one person has made such a suggestion but as I am not an agent of Voldemort nor was I one for Fairchild, and as the mark is inactive, there is no reason to bar me from Hogwarts."
"I would have thought that the possibility that you are recruiting students to You-Know-Who's cause would be reason enough."
"So you've mentioned before." Severus pointedly looks in the direction of an approaching student. "If you are quite through with your not so subtle implications that I am working for Voldemort, I need to return to answering questions about NEWT level Potions."
Smirt's rigid posture and glaring countenance are at odds with the manner in which he somewhat nonchalantly ambles away. Severus has a childish urge to hex the irksome wizard or at the very least blast him in the derriere with miniature lightening bolt. Breathing out noisily again, instead he turns to the student newly arrived at his booth, "Good afternoon, Miss Rushworth."
Feeling Faint From Hunger
Author: Plum
Date: 03-03-20 20:17
"Are they serving supper yet? I'm about to die of starvation." Alex crams half a chocolate biscuit into his mouth.
Dolly gives him an are you serious look as CJ, his own last bite of biscuit waiting to be shoved as unceremoniously into his mouth, sounds sad when he says with a shake of his head, "Supper is still a little ways off."
Becky looks up from the information she's gathered for each of the electives open to third years. "I don't understand why Course Day is hours long. The only ones really interested are second years and fifth years. They could do it in the time between breakfast and lunch."
Shaking his head Joe reminds, "Apparition lesson."
"You think apparating is as hard to learn as they say?" Emmie twirls a skein of hair around one finger while using the dampened end of one finger on the other hand to pick up fairy cake crumbs off a small plate.
The others all nod, Alex saying, "There are a lot of the lessons. Something like twelve or thirteen."
"And you have to pass an exam for a license." Joe eyes a chocolate covered caramel, the last of the sweets. No one's shown interest in it for a few minutes so he snags it, popping it into his mouth before anyone else remembers it's there.
Seeing his move Dolly laughingly says, "You could have asked if anyone else wanted some of that."
Joe just smiles at her while Alex says of apparating, "There are people whose jobs are nothing but going around and fixing things like apparating wrong."
"Splinching," CJ says.
"Yeah, splinching." Alex continues, "If wizards and witches with licenses still can't do it right every time, it's probably even harder than we've heard."
"Can't be harder than trying to pick two more classes," Becky grouses. "I spend way too much time on courses as it is. Why do I have to take two more? And why is picking which two so, so hard?"
Dolly commiserates with her. "I can't decide either. I think Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes and then I'll think no, no, Arithmancy & Divnation and Muggle Studies. Or Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures. I don't know."
"My dad taught Arithmancy but I'm not sure I want to take it."
"Weren't it and Divination two different classes then?"
Alex bobs his head at Joe's question. "Yeah. Not sure why they were put together. Are you going to take your uncle's class?" he asks in reference to Professor Hodfuffer's Ancient Runes.
"Not sure yet. I haven't decided on two."
Dolly looks to CJ. "Professor Sacheverelle is sort of like an aunt to you. Are you taking her course?"
"Just like all you lot can't decide on which two, I can't either." He gestures to one of the clocks, "They should start supper any minute now. Maybe we can figure out our electives after we've had some real food."
Alex jumps up. "I'm all for real food. I'm about to faint from hunger."
"Merlin forbid you go more than three minutes without food," Dolly snickers.
The six leave the commons for the Great Hall the girls offering to levitate the weak from hunger boys so that they might avoid collapsing from lack of food.