#9 Dinner

Though Elizabeth had not watched any of the game and truly desired to hear none of the talk about it, it was increasingly clear that they had won, which meant she would have to listen to idiots bragging all through dinner. Great. Elizabeth wished that she had prefect duty so she could excuse herself from dinner earlier.

She filled her plate with food she would normally eat and continued to act as if it was any other day. A Slytherin-celebrating second year approached her for a celebratory high five, and she fixed the child with a glare, both because she did not particularly care and because at first she assumed that it was an attempt to slap her.

Silently, and with excellent posture as always, Elizabeth began to eat her dinner. The next day couldn't come fast enough. A full day of classes, finally.

"It's bloody bollocks," Harris hissed the word and slammed a plate full of lasagna down on the table a bit too hard, bolognese flying all over the table in front of him. "Bloody Mardling and his bloody technicalities. How is Slytherin not scoring a single bloody goal not 'Gryffindor scores twice as much?' I don't care if zero times five is still zero! It's the bloody principle of the thing!"

He was shouting at basically whoever would listen at this point. He assumed Lucky was somewhere nearby, but in his blind rage he could have been standing alone in a field screaming into the void. Harris had been cheated and he would never believe otherwise. Mardling had scammed him and made him a fool, and Harris was going to find some way to pay him back... assuming his rage didn't abate any as the night went on .

He shoveled the lasagna into his mouth at a speed that would concern most onlookers, but he didn't care. The pure unadulterated joy of Quidditch had been stolen from him by a thieving, conniving Slytherin. How could Seb stand being associated with twats like Mardling and Seabrook? Seb was kind, considerate, intelligent, interesting, cute...

...cute? Where did that come from? Harris slowed slightly as that word came to mind, but his anger at the situation overrode all his other thoughts. He could deal with questions about his feelings for Sebastian later. He ripped off a piece of garlic bread and dunked it into the sauce like he was trying to drown it for committing blasphemy.

"Hey you," he said with a gesture of his fork towards a first year girl. Trix, was it? "Lucas Mardling didn't screw you over on a Quidditch bet, did he? Look out for that lot. You're so lucky, he'll be gone soon and you'll get to enjoy five years of Hogwarts Mardling-free. I envy you, really."

It was evident to Sebastian that boys who watched their favorite teams compete must've had similar testosterone surges as their male players. He had felt lost in the midst of it all, trampled by Langford's jumping and deafened by the group's singing. But it was a surprisingly good time. Seb had smiled quite a few times, actually—and no, it hadn't been when he managed to steal a glance at the boys' bare torsos, but because he enjoyed Harris Teague's company.

When the game had ended, Sebastian followed the other boys out of the stands, sticking closer to Harris than the others. He might have spent time with Langford and Bane during the game, but he didn't consider them friends. Not yet, anyway. He found both to be abrasively loud and obnoxious in ways Harris wasn't. For whatever reason, Harris was exempt in Sebastian's eyes. He was different and not at all annoying to him, not like most Hufflepuffs had seemed to be.

But that wink. It was on Sebastian's mind. He regretted looking away when he noticed Harris do it, and wished he would've basked in the expression a little longer. That's what happened when bashfulness got the best of Sebastian, though. He didn't know what the gesture fully meant, but he knew that he liked it—and maybe a little too much if that was possible.

Sebastian reluctantly waved to his friend when they reached the dining hall, offering Harris a lingering smile as he turned and headed towards his table. He wanted to sit with him, but thought it would be best to be available for Victoria when she arrived. If she arrived. He didn't remember seeing her on his way to the castle—or Amara for that matter. It was probably nothing, but for them to not be parading their victory seemed unusual for the two of them.

The mood at the table was solemn, which was to be expected, and Anjay tried to hide the fact that he was in a good mood. He knew that Gryffindor losing was bad on a practical level- he possessed a huge amount of House Pride and he cared for the success of his housemates, Tiana in particular- but the outcome of today's match hadn't really bothered him that much.

Instead, Anjay had found the opportunity to enjoy some no-pressure fun with his sister and Kettles to be quite relaxing. He had needed a recharge and this afternoon had left him feeling more energized than he had in recent memory. Was it... was it possible that indulging in sports and mindless entertainment could not only be fun, but also beneficial? He wondered how he had never pondered that before.

Anjay's dinner was hearty, potatoes and onions and cashews in a rich tomato curry, the basmati rice that served as its bed fluffy and luxurious. A piping cup of green tea topped of his meal. It could be 100 degrees outside and Anjay Xcalyn would still be found with a cup of boiling hot tea. He had basically striped his throat raw of the ability to feel the burn at this point.

"Evening, Marsh," Anjay greeted the 4th year in a sudden desire to be conversational. He had never really spoken to the younger boy but of course he knew his name. "Classes going well for you?" He didn't mention Quidditch. Why should he? They'd all been there and seen the same outcome, and some took the news harder than others. Marsh could have easily been one of the over emotional ones.

Since she had not had much for breakfast and then again missed the opportunity to eat while at the game, her hunger had finally caught up with her and Reena filled up whatever onto her plate and started eating before any of her friends had arrived to join her.

She had not planned on watching the whole game, wanting to leave after Slytherin had scored their first goal but that had not happened.
Not a single goal.
Since her friends were on the team, she briefly wondered wether they would be upset about it despite winning the game.

Reena herself had one a little with her bet this morning, thanks to Mardling‘s suggestion. She was starting to think being on his good side was rather beneficial.

Her gaze drifted towards the entrance now and again but Lindsey, Hanna and Sinead were yet to come to dinner.
After having eaten a bit and feeling better than she had all day, she also allowed her eyes to wander towards the Ravenclaw table, wondering if Jax had talked to Mathias Sallow yet like he had said he would.

Jade was still smirking as she strolled into the Great Hall, which was especially strange considering Gryffindor had lost the match her best friend was a Captain of. She sat at the Gryffindor table and looked around at everyone seated, huffing as there was no sign of Tiana herself yet. It was much more fun to gloat among friends, plus she needed to thank her anyway.

'Anyone else bet on today's match?' Jade asked anyone nearby, unable to keep her smugness contained. 'I won big. Word from the clever, never bet against Tiana Thomas.' She was so proud of her best friend and couldn't wait to tell her in person.

Except, she could wait because some genius thought snacks for hundreds of kids, huddled together to scream at a Quidditch match, wasn't a necessary factor to consider on days like this. Jade shoveled food onto her plate, already munching on fries as she did so. Gulping a full goblet of juice, she glanced around again in hope of catching sight of Tiana.