Dig In :: OPEN

03 Sept 1920
5:01 am

While the first night of the term was exciting for the simple fact that the students had arrived and the term had begun, apparently the feast was the real show. The volume of dissent when the Head Mistress announced that the feast was postponed and sandwiches would take the place of the normal roasts, steaks, ham, potatoes in every possible form, baked breads and every pudding under the sun. It was damn near chaos.

Gideon spent the entirety of his second day in the kitchens trying to repair the magic. It had been an… explosive day. His hair still smelled of smoke and burning garlic. Thankfully, after a fair bit of magic experimentation, the kitchen was back up and running. The elves seemed to be ecstatic, handing him bottles of butterbeer and an entire lemon meringue pie to enjoy at 1 o’clock in the morning.

Unfortunately, there was no rest for the weary. Walking into the great hall on the morning of September 3rd, Gideon didn’t mention to anyone that the magic had been restored. It would be more fun this way.

Taking his seat, looking this way and that at the disgruntled students, he tried to hide his smirk. For the love… there appeared to be one Slytherin nearly in tears.

It was 5:00 am, 2 hours before the early classes started. Gideon didn’t mind, he was an early riser by nature. And getting the chance to watch the tired eyes see hot, delicious food was well worth the early morning alarm.

With a pop, out of nowhere, the four house tables filled with trays, bowls, platters, pitchers and plates piled high with every HOT breakfast food imaginable. Sausages, pancakes, eggs in every conceivable form, bacon, ham, piping hot pumpkin juice, hot chocolate and coffee for the staff. It was a gluttonous display, and from the sounds of shock and delight, one that everyone was happy to see.

A trio of Slytherin girls arrived maybe 10 minutes into what had turned out to be a glorious feast. One hurried along, eager to grab them some seats and tuck into the food they deserved from the start. The other? Her legs wobbled ever so slightly as she carried the dead weight that was Ruth Anaya on her back. The girls, her dormmates since their first year, had already gotten to the great hall and witnessed the change from bland peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the sumptuous feast laid out before them now and had immediately thought of their unfortunate friend who'd spent days crying and lamenting her self-imposed starvation.

The task hadn't been easy.

Rae had only crawled into her bed two or three hours earlier and had been difficult to stir. It didn't appear the girl had understood a single word they'd screamed at her. Even the commotion up in the common room hadn't been enough to stir the sleeping snakette, forcing them to hoist her onto the back of the stronger girl as they hurried back up the stairs.

It was a lot of food, but there was a small dread that, starving as many had claimed to be, all the plates would be polished in the short time it had taken them to return to their dorm to collect Rae.

Back on her feet, the girl slumped onto the seat before toppling over onto the table. The Slytherin girl with oatmeal in her hair and bacon grease on her cheek wanted to return to the warm blankets she'd been wrapped in minutes earlier and sleep for at least another hour. It was far too early for whatever excitement and buzz was taking place around her.

"Open."

Something nudged at her lips. Eyes still closed, Rae's lips parted at the scent of bacon. Her mouth watered immediately, and the girl managed to convince herself she was in a dream. A dream where an invisible hand fed her bacon, and the Hogwarts Shortage of 1920 was only a distant, painful memory that could no longer hurt her.

Why couldn't all her dreams be like this? She would have no issue going to bed on time.

Mmm...this was good dream bacon.

The invisible hand fed her another strip while around her, the chatter of her peers swirled. Rae had no idea what they were talking about. Still in her nightgown, she wasn't even aware she was in the Great Hall being served a real, hearty breakfast. Someone poked her cheek, and she wiggled her nose, but her eyes remained shut.

Ugh, if she knew where her wand was, she would conjure a "do not disturb' sign. She'd be very sad if someone actually managed to wake her and she found herself facing bologna and cheese.

Someone would get hurt.

Where was that hand with the next strip of bacon?