Open Comics and Food Coma

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton was starving, beyond any hunger the young eleven year old boy experienced in the well.. past eight hours to be precise. He had woke up bright and early, a week into classes, and his stomach was hitting him full force. The grumble coming from his stomach felt like an earthquake in the Gryffindor Common Room. Almost rumbling out of bed, vibrations from his stomach keeping the movement going, Fenton decided it was time to get up and actually eat some food. He did have to say he missed his mother's breakfasts, but Hogwarts always seemed to display a good selection available.

Fenton reached down sleepily and grabbed his clothing for the day. He was not quite sure the policy on the weekend, but Fenton decided it would be easiest to just throw on one of the crumbled uniforms at the bottom of the closet. He really had to be start following his mother's checklists. Hanging up clothes was way more convenient than picking form the pile at the bottom of the closet, not quite sure what was clean and what wasn't. It all looked clean enough for the young boy as he finished getting dressed for the food he desperately needed. Fenton threw his backpack over his shoulder. This backpack had almost become part of his uniform with all the textbooks that were required! At this point in time, Fenton only had some of his favourite comic books and his planner (that his mother suggested) thrown into the bright blue backpack. It was the weekend. He did not even want to think about schoolwork.

The young Gryffindor ran a brush through his hair before he quickly left through the Gryffindor common room, walking in a sleepy daze to the Great Hall. The smells of a breakfast kept the young boy moving in the right direction until he reached his destination. Fenton could barely open his eyes. He had only gotten ten hours of sleep, not nearly enough! In a daze, Fenton walked over to the Gryffindor table and took an empty seat. He instantly began filling his plate with eggs, veggie bacon, various fruits, and a muffin with way too much butter. He poured a glass of orange juice for himself, as Fenton took a few sips and began to open his eyes. After gulping down a glass of juice, Fenton refilled his cup. Now it was time to dig in! The young tired boy, grabbed his fork and began to devour some of the eggs in front of him.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

For how skinny Flynn was compared to other people his age, you would be surprised at how much food he practically inhaled daily. The first year always had a snack in his pocket and at every meal, he could eat plate after plate of the main course and still be hungry enough for dessert afterward. Flynn just put it down to the fact he was clearly a growing boy and all of those calories and energy were just going into his growth spurt he was bound to have at any moment now. One day he was convinced he was just going to wake up and would have grown a good foot overnight. And, because he was sure this was going to happen and because he was always hungry, Flynn made sure never to miss a meal.

He was feeling in good spirits and looking forward to the weekend as he made his way into the Great Hall for breakfast in a tatty looking t-shirt and jeans he had grabbed off the dormitory floor that morning. But he hardly cared about his appearance, just grinning as he flopped into one of the empty seats at the Gryffindor table, wasting absolutely no time in piling as much food as humanly possible onto his plate. Though he did glance up just as he was about to dig into his bacon, staring for a moment at the first year sat opposite him. "You look like you're about to fall asleep face-first into your eggs," he did have to comment, already grinning slightly at the image in his head. Now that would be quite hilarious.

 

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton was focused on the food in front of him, well as focused as the young tired Gryffindor could be. He continued to put fork-full of eggs after another into his mouth, barely tasting them. He was mid-chew as he heard another first year speak to him. "That would be one way to eat" Fenton said putting down his fork and looking up at the boy. The boy looked about Fenton's age and was wearing a tshirt. So I could wear normal clothes. The young boy thought, upset at himself for not being more comfortable. Fenton made a mental note to 'dress down' next weekend. He probably didn't get the chance very often, but it was nice to know that he would get the chance on upcoming weekends.

"Yeah I was up reading last night" Fenton explained his tired appearance as he rubbed his eyes trying to wake up a little more for an actual conversation. "I've been rereading some old comics and you know you just lose track of time." Fenton finished as he poured himself another glass of orange juice. Taking another big gulp he looked over at the boy across from him. Fenton certainly wasn't expecting a conversation this early in the morning, but to be honest the young boy was happy for some company. He had not done too much socializing since arriving at Hogwarts.

Fenton picked up a piece of his veggie bacon and took a bit bite. He loved how Hogwarts had so many options for food choices. He never had to worry about finding something to eat. He wondered who made all the food for a moment as he took one more bite before returning his focus to his peer across from him. "I'm Fenton by the way" the young Gryffindor said signing his name as he introduced himself using New Zealand sign language. It was a difficult habit to break; at home all he really used was sign language to communicate with his mother.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Flynn didn't understand how someone could be tired and hungry at the same time. When it came to himself, the hunger always took over the tiredness no matter what, which was why he was surprisingly wide awake as he sat there, stomach rumbling and more than ready to start digging into his breakfast. And no doubt when he was done with the plate in front of him he would move onto a second plate as well. And then maybe a third after that if he had room for the extra.

Reading. He was about to wrinkle his nose, but stopped himself when it seemed the other first-year had been reading comics and not something boring like a book. "What sort of comics do you read?" Not that he was incredibly curious, not being much of a comic person himself. It was just all those unrealistic superhero comics that had put him off. While the action scenes could be pretty exciting, but everything else about them was just completely unrealistic. Those stupid super powers and super strength and good looks. Nah, while he liked a good adventure and story, he just couldn't get into something like that. Besides, he'd rather go and have those sorts of adventures himself instead of sitting there reading about them.

The boy had offered his name, but Flynn was more confused by the sudden weird hand gestures. "Why are you flapping your hands around like that?" It looked a bit stupid if he were being honest.

 

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton piqued up slightly at the talk about comic books. Superheros were definitely this young Gryffindor's weakness. "I'm rereading the Thor comics." Fenton said simply not sure if the boy was really interested or just being polite. Being polite could be dangerous, since this young boy could talk about comics for hours upon hours. Hopefully this other boy could deal with that. Fenton knew he should start out small before going on a big rant, which he had been building up for days after rereading this comic book. "It's a muggle comic about a powerful god basically. Has some good mythology in it too." Fenton explained reaching down to grab his fork and take another bite of his eggs.

Placing his fork down, Fenton searched the table before finding it. Ketchup Yes! The young boy put a hearty amount on his plate. His family always did say he used more ketchup. Want to add some eggs to that ketchup His father's playful voice filled his ear. He really did miss them. Pushing his family out of his mind, he refocused on the encounter in front of him. Maybe if Fenton hadn't been so tired he would not be zoning out as much.

However, Fenton let out a loud laugh when the boy asked why he was 'flapping his hands about.' Honestly Fenton often did not realize he was signing as well as speaking verbally. He often did this. The deaf community was large, about 1 in 20 people were deaf. This always confused Fenton as to why more people did not use sign. It was not hard to learn another language to incorporate more of the population. "It's sign language." Fenton explained. "Basically I just spelled the letters in my name. It's the language we use at home." Fenton tried to make himself clear. "It's a beautiful language though." He added. Fenton loved he had the ability to communicate with as many people as possible.

(IC: Fenton's Name is Sign Language)

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

When it turned out the boy was reading superhero comics, Flynn instantly lost all interest he might have had in the conversation. It was all comics were just about stupid superheroes. If there were ones about skateboarders or something then he might bother reading them himself. "I know who Thor is," he huffed out, giving the boy as look as he shoveled some more bacon from his plate into his mouth. While he didn't really care and didn't have much interest, he still knew who all the Avengers were and all the famous Marvel and DC characters. And it wasn't like he was someone who had completely grown up in the magical world and knew nothing about the Muggle one or anything. He'd grown up in both worlds, and after his parents had died, Flynn had been stuck completely in the Muggle one with no access to magic. Until now, anyway.

He chewed slowly on his food as he watched the other Gryffindor put way too much ketchup on his plate. Flynn was more of a salad cream type of guy than he was any other condiment, but it was not really like you could have it with bacon and eggs. Chicken, vegetables, potatoes and salad on the other hand....

Scrunching up his nose as Fenton explained the hand flapping was all sign language, Flynn swallowed his mouthful of food. "How can waving your hands around be beautiful?" It just looked incredibly stupid and he honestly had absolutely no interest in learning any sign language, either. English was enough for him, thank you very much. It just took too long to say anything.

 

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton might have just been exhausted, but he was getting the feeling that the young boy had no interest in Comics. It definitely wasn't everyone's cup of tea, as they say. Fenton took another bite of the veggie bacon, it was delicious today, crispy just as the young boy enjoyed. Reminded him of home really. "Comics aren't everyone's thing I guess." Fenton said shrugging his shoulders and turning back to the plate in front of him. He was actually starting to get full. "Do you have any more exciting hobbies?" Fenton asked trying to keep the conversation going, but not sure if it would. Fenton and this young boy seemed entirely different. Fenton was not one to force a friendship, way too much work.

Although Fenton looked up at the boy when he seemed to not understand the beauty of another language. Fenton actually rolled his eyes as the another boy spoke. Oh he's one of those who only cares about his own culture. Sheltered I imagine Fenton thought attempting not to get frustrated with the boy's almost hurtful words. Some people just lived in their own little world, not caring about the comfort of those around them. In a way this made Fenton feel sorry for the boy. I bet he goes to France and wonders why they don't speak English. He thought smiling slightly at the thought. People could be so...well into themselves. "Good thing you did not come to a school in another country that speaks a different language. Or made any friends who were hard of hearing." Fenton said not even looking up at the boy this time. He just continued to eat his meal, clearing his plate. Fenton knew that at any time, he could always lose his hearing, anyone could. It was a fact of the world, things happened without explanation.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

At least the boy was right about that, comics really weren't his thing. Nor was reading in general, but especially not stories about fake heroes and stupid powers that made no sense what so ever. "Skateboarding," he responded almost instantly, trying to fold a fried egg on his plate with his fork so he could shove the whole thing in his mouth at once, "Quidditch, climbing trees, adventures, pranks sometimes." There were a lot of things which interested him and things he considered his hobbies. And they were all ten times more interesting and exciting than reading comic books.

This boy shouldn't take his words that badly. He didn't really think that any language was beautiful, it was all just words, some he understood and a lot that he didn't. And he was hardly going to go out of his way to learn some language he didn't need to know in the first place - that just sounded like too much effort on his part. "Why would I bother going to school in another country when this one is right here?" He didn't really think he had much of a choice in the matter, it was not like the matrons of the orphanage were going to bother wasting their time and energy to send him somewhere else. No, he was going to Hogwarts and he was going to like it. "And I don't think I've ever even met anyone who's deaf before, so I'm not going to learn sign language just in case." That was like trying to learn every language in the world just in case you happened to meet someone who spoke it.

 

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton often let his frustration get the better of him, yet the young Gryffindor boy was trying his hardest to not let certain things get to him. It was something he was certainly working on. Trying to shake it off, Fenton listened to the boy speak of his own hobbies. A lot that Fenton could relate to there. Maybe there was hope for this interaction after all.

Fenton was not one for skateboarding. To be honest the young Gryffindor had never tried. Maybe it would be exciting, but it definitely was not on the top of his list any time soon. "Gryffindor through and through" Fenton said looking up at the boy with a small smile as he listened to the boy's interests. Fenton was often surprised how accurate the Sorting Hat was when assigning houses. "Who doesn't love a good prank here and there." Fenton said knowing he often got in trouble for such pranks at home. His mother did not have the best sense of humor when it came to horseplay, as she would call it. "As long as you don't get caught of course. That's half the fun, getting away with it."

Fenton reached over for some water and poured it into a glass that next to him. Some stray ice fell to the table and Fenton swiped it aside with his hand. The young Gryffindor took a sip as he listened to the boy discuss his opinions. Certainly they did not match up with Fenton's, but not everyone could always be the same all the time. Maybe this boy would change with exposure. Fenton's mother always said that exposure helped make a topic less scary, but showing it was just different, not bad. "You might change your mind, might not. But I can promise you'll see a lot more sign language in the Gryffindor Common Room from now on" Fenton said shrugging his shoulders. He was not going to 'get into it' with this boy over something so simple.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

He had finally managed to fold his egg into a small enough square to fit into his mouth in one go, so Flynn simply jabbed it with his fork, ignoring the spurt of runny egg yolk onto his plate as he picked it up and shoved it right into his waiting mouth. And this happened to be the point the boy opposite him started talking again, so Flynn was left in a bit of a dilemma as he now had a mouth full of fried egg. "Hng?" Was all he really managed to get out between all the egg as he chewed on it. Clearly, he was not a boy who had been brought up to use his manners very much. (Not incredibly true, he had, but he just chose not to use them).

Eventually swallowing his large mouthful, Flynn simply wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. "I never get caught," he decided to brag, moving his hand to pick up his knife again to continue inhaling his breakfast. And that was, of course, a lie, he had been caught plenty of times, but he wasn't about to admit that out loud to some boy he barely knew. "Why are you going to be using sign language? Is there someone deaf around?" He was pretty sure he hadn't met any deaf Gryffindor's yet. And he didn't see the point in this boy using sign language when no one else was going to be understanding what he was trying to say in the first place.

 

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton had finally reached his point of being too full to move. Why did he always do this? Eat so much he wanted to be rolled out of the dining hall and placed into his bed for a much needed nap. He always wished he could be like Shaggy from that old school cartoon, Scooby Doo. Shaggy would eat a whole buffet by himself and then just run it off, running from monsters of course. Although Fenton would like to avoid the evil villains of those cartoons, he did wish he could run off this 'food baby' he had right now.

Placing his fork and knife neatly on his empty plate, he reached over for a napkin to tidy up. As he did so, Fenton listened to the other boy brag about never being caught. Fenton let out a small laugh. "So you're the one to take with me when I come up with a great prank." Fenton said not sure if he actual meant that. He had mixed feelings about this boy across from him. For now, Fenton was viewing the boy in a nice light, he had potential for friendship status.

"Exposure" Fenton said simply not sure if he wanted to tell his whole life story to a boy he just met. "It's always nice for people to know." He added. Fenton was sure the boy would not take that explanation lightly and would of course come up with another comment that would possibly frustrate Fenton. Instead of reaching that point, Fenton decided he might as well explain, at least a little more. "My mother lost her hearing suddenly due to an autoimmune disease. It runs in the family. You never know. I could lose my hearing and I'd like to have people to talk to" He added with a slight laugh. The topic itself wasn't laughable, but the fact that Fenton may lose his hearing eventually did not bother the young Gryffindor. It had always been a possibility. Many of his family members were either born deaf or had lost their hearing in their teenage years. Although Fenton would miss a lot about the hearing community, he knew he would be just as successful. Hearing wasn't everything after all.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

Flynn finished off his first plate of breakfast, but oh boy was he not done yet. Almost as soon as the plate was cleared he was already grabbing more stuff to eat, moving to snatch a couple of slices of toast. Fried egg and toast sounded like a wonderful idea and he was sure there was still room in his stomach to consume more. Putting the slices on his plate, Flynn reached for the butter, just nodding his head a little as his eyes mainly focused on his work. "Yeah, I'm a master at getting into trouble and not getting caught," he continued to brag, "So if you don't wanna lose house points or something, then you should come and find me and no one will be any the wiser." Not that he ever personally cared about a loss of house points or not.

Finishing up buttering his toast, Flynn pushed the butter away from him before grabbing a couple of eggs, almost carefully putting them on top of the toast. As if he wasn't going to completely destroy the presentation in five seconds when he started eating again. But he paused again, glancing up at Fenton. "Can't they magically fix it?" He did have to wonder with a frown, "Magic can do anything these days, I'm sure there is some sort of spell that could let your mum hear again. Or you if you start losing your hearing as well." He supposed it might be different if she were a Muggle, but he didn't see why that would stop anything if her son was magical. She knew about magic now, so it would be fine, right?

 

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton watched as the boy across from him began to load his plate with even more food. And Fenton thought he could eat, apparently not. This boy seemed like an endless pit. Luckily, Hogwarts always seemed to have enough food for everyone, which was actually impressive considering the sheer amount of students that attended each year. The first year class, alone, was over one hundred students. For a moment, he wondered who exactly made the food. He doubted it was the professors. Maybe it was a work study program like his last school, that seemed a bit far fetched though.

"I'll keep that in mind next time I get a brilliant idea. I'll just ask around for.." Fenton said with an actual smile towards the boy. "And I just realized I don't think I ever got a name." Fenton added realizing they had skipped the introduction phase once Fenton gave his own name. It would be nice to know, even if the two did not end up being close. If the boy was as good at pulling a prank as he said, he could be fun company later on.

Fenton listened to the boy as he mentioned a very common misconception that many people believed. It was often said that magic could fix any problem, which quite possible was the case, minus death of course. But being a part of the deaf community was not something that needed to be fix. Everyone had their own identities, being deaf was not like breaking a leg, it was a part of who a person was. This was difficult to explain to anyone, nonetheless someone who had no experience in this topic.

Fenton decided on more slice of veggie bacon could not hurt, as he placed two pieces on his plate, moving his knife and fork to the side. The Gryffindor boy took a bite of the crispy bacon before continuing. "It's not really something to be fixed" He said simply. "It's difficult to explain. It is kind of who a person is. Not like breaking a bone." He added shrugging his shoulders slightly at the last part. Fenton had not really discussed this with anyone here at school yet, he had expected some negative feedback, but he had not really thought how difficult this would be for the young boy spread awareness about. Fenton was absolutely ready for the challenge though! The young Gryffindor had to admit though, he would not be able to change everyone's mind. He had to come to realize that was okay.

"To each their own I guess" Fenton added finally as he continued to finish the last two pieces of veggie bacon, which clearly was a mistake. Fenton felt his stomach trying to process the overflow of food that he had just consumed. "I don't think I've ever eaten this much at once." Fenton said aloud, not sure if it was directed at the boy or to himself.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

When this much food was placed in front of him, he could eat and he was going to eat. Back at the orphanage, he could never eat this much, there were always limits as there wasn't that much food to go around and everyone wanted to eat. But now there was no one else around to tell him to stop and he was going to happily stuff his face until he was so full up he could barely move a muscle. "Flynn," he offered his name without even looking up as he started ripping into his second breakfast, grinning slightly as the egg yolk broke and went running across his buttered toast. "Name's Flynn. Flynn North." Just in case there happened to be another first year around who shared his first name, but Flynn was pretty sure that he hadn't heard anyone else called that yet. But, then again, it was not really like he knew the names of every single other first year in the castle with him.

Jabbing his fork through a bit of egg and toast, the first year happily shoved it into his mouth, chewing slowly as he thought about what Fenton had just said. Why would someone want to continue being deaf if there was something they could do about it? Wouldn't you want to hear again? Not have to worry about what other people were trying to say to you? It didn't make much sense to him nd when he was finally ready to speak again did he swallow his mouthful. "Well, it's not. You're hearing now. That's who you are. If you suddenly go deaf you're telling me you would just accept it and not want to hear again?"

He shrugged, looking down at his plate, "Neither. But I don't exactly get the chance usually."

 

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton caught the boy's name finally, Flynn North. It sounded like a famous Qudditch player. Fenton wondered if maybe one day that was possible. Some names were just fit for certain possibilities. Fenton had always wondered what his name said about him, maybe that would help find his purpose in life. However, his name did not sound like a famous anything to be honest. Just one more thing the young Gryffindor had to find out about himself here at Hogwarts, it was the place after all to determine your future.

Fenton listened as Flynn finished chewing mass amounts of food and asked him a very good question. This question had always been in the back of Fenton's mind. He would surely miss music, something the young boy loved to listen to, but could not play to save his life. He would miss his superhero movies. But there were always subtitles and music had vibrations to 'listen' to it in a whole new light. "Its a difficult question honestly." He said thinking of his family. His mother had chosen her own identity when she went deaf and his brother, who was hard of hearing, never did anything to try to magically correct it. It was almost a belief that fates decided this destiny. Fenton was not sure how he felt about fates and destiny, but it was a comforting thought. "I probably would grow into my new self" He said laughing a little bit. "That sounded way deeper than I meant it to." he added not wanting to get all deep and dark at breakfast.

Flynn mentioned that he normally never got a chance to eat this much. Fenton wondered why. Maybe his mother was a terrible cook or maybe she was a health freak like many mothers Fenton had heard about around here. It also could be that Flynn did not have an abundance of money, that also seemed to be the case with many students that came to this school. Not sure if it was a sensitive issue, Fenton let the comment go, knowing if the other boy wanted to explain he could. They had already had such a philosophical conversation already. It was best to leave it at that. "Well food never seems to run low here." Fenton said motioning to the vast amount of food still on the table, as if it never ran out. Magic was crazy sometimes. All the food looked so good, but Fenton had definitely reached his limit. Those last two pieces of veggie bacon did him in. Fenton was going to need a long nap after this.

 

[Flynn North-McGowan]

He supposed things might have been different if you were born deaf and had never known what it was like to hear. How could you miss something that you had never known? But it must be different if you were born with hearing and then lost it further down the line. Flynn knew that he couldn't imagine himself not bein able to hear anything and knew he would want some sort of fix, demand some magical fix to bring back his hearing. "I'd just want to put things back to the way they were," he explained for himself, cutting up another bit of egg and toast, "I don't think I would want to live with losing my hearing, not when I know what it's like to be able to hear."

He shrugged as he shoveled in another mouthful of his breakfast, chewing on it. "Course it doesn't," he managed to say through a mouthful of food before swallowing, "I've heard they have a whole army of house elves cooking in the kitchens." Though when he had visited the kitchens that one time in the middle of the night there were not that many house elves. But he was sure there were a lot of them around. And for that he was thankful, it meant that the table would never run out of food and he could quite happily keep eating for as long as he wanted.

 

[Fenton Fuller]

Fenton smiled at Flynn for a moment. The other boy seemed to be reaching a slight understanding of what Fenton was trying so hard to explain. It was nice, at least Fenton believed it was to know he was making the slightest of a difference. The young Gryffindor listened to Flynn, watching him eat even more food. Where does he even put it Fenton thought briefly, knowing he had reached his own limit. Any more food and he would pop.

Fenton was interested in the idea of house elves. He had never really saw such a creature, but had heard about them. Honestly, Fenton still had a lot more to learn about Hogwarts and all it's mysteries. "Well I'll have to think them one day for this delicious spread." Fenton said with a smile, wondering if the house elves got quite a few visitors during the day. It only seemed fair. They could definitely cook better than this young boy. He wondered how they received jobs at Hogwarts, were they treated fairly.

Thoughts buzzed into Fenton's head as he neatly stacked all his dishes and cups. He was surprised how many dirty cups he had. This young boy never really had the abundant option of breakfast drinks, normally just water. This was a pleasant surprise, which probably accounted for the five cups he had stacked up high. Normally, Fenton would have to wash the dishes right away at home, now he almost felt lazy not having to do any tasks after dirtying all these dishes. His mother would have a 'field day' if she knew.

Fenton finished cleaning up his little area as he looked over at the boy still enjoying a buffet sized breakfast. "It was nice meeting you Flynn." Fenton said standing up from the table. "But if I don't leave now I'm going to fall right back to sleep at this table" Fenton added with a small laugh, even if he was not sure if he was joking. At least they would wake him up for lunch. No Fenton knew he would have to work this off. Maybe he would go kick a football around for a bit outside. The young boy really wanted a nap, but that was dangerous to partake in if Fenton wanted to get anything accomplished today. "I'll see you around the common room hopefully." Fenton said. It was nice meeting a fellow student and socializing, even if Fenton felt it was too early for much of the talk. Fenton began to collect his belongings, ready to figure how how to deal with this food coma that was beginning to make him lethargic again.