Closed Lunch For Two

[Hester MacGillivray]

Mealtimes were more fun as a group activity, as far as Hester was concerned. When it came down to it the bustle and chaos of the Hogwarts Great Hall wasn't all that different to mealtime at home, with four older brothers bringing their own brand of noise and mess. Or... they had been, at least. With all but one of her brothers having left home now the dining table felt painfully quiet and lonely. Eoin was good company, but he wasn't the same as a whole horde of MacGillivrays spreading chaos. All of that was to say, Hester had welcomed the return to Hogwarts mealtimes with open arms. And she had also brought the companion who had kept her comfortable through all those silent, stiff home meals.

Big Douglas was, as usual, settled comfortably by her side at lunchtime, and Hester made sure to settle him before loading up her own plate. She had a little dish next to her own, a small selection of worms from the Hogwarts grounds writhing on it awaiting their fates. She gave Big Douglas a cheerful grin and a little pat as he started on his lunch, before reaching to grab her own food, settling on a bowl of soup and some bread, a welcome respite from the chill winter weather.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke had taken to eating more meals that not at the Gryffindor table, if only to save her from trying to jinx Liusaidh's dinner to attack her out of spite. Once she calmed down a bit she could do back, but for now Ivy was better company than her housemates.

She slowed as the approached however, spotting Hester's very distinctive red hair and double-taking when she saw she wasn't eating alone. "Merlin's breath, Hester. Why is your toad on the table?" Brooke hissed, aghast when she saw what was in the toad's bowl. "Are these worms on the table!" Brooke hastily sat down next to Hestor, hands hovering first over her wand, then the toad, trying to decide if she could fix this or not. "You cannot be serious about eating lunch with your toad," she said incredulously, grimacing as the large toad chomped contently on a worm in front of her.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester still didn't quite understand what Brooke actually wanted with her, but it didn't stop her smiling cheerfully as the Slytherin approached, though that smile slipped as soon as Brooke opened her mouth. "Of course I am!" She said firmly, moving one hand to gently pet Big Douglas. "It's lunchtime, he needs to eat just as much as I do! We're lunchtime buddies." Hester said firmly, raising an eyebrow at Brooke. "He's a perfect gentleman, he knows his table manners!"

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke tried to hide her grimace when Hester reached out to pet her toad with her bare hand. While she was eating. Ew. She fixed a strained smile instead, taking a deep breath to try and figure out how to break the new to Hester that "lunch time buddies" was a thing for five year olds. not fifteen year olds. "Okay, sure. But don't you think other people might like to eat their lunch without worrying about a toad on the table," she asked, glancing around the table to try and prove her point. "I'm sure you don't wanna be know as that rude toad girl- No actually, don't answer that, you probably do," Brooke said with a sigh, brushing her hair over her shoulder. Spending time with Hester last year had been surprisingly fun; she was like a puzzle Brooke couldn't seem to completely crack and she couldn't think of anything more satisfying than getting Hester to act even a little bit normally. Hester wouldn't accept that toads were gross and don't belong on tables, so Brooke had to try another angle. "Maybe he'd prefer eating morning tea with you. Privately. And then you can have lunch with your other friends and he can relax. Elsewhere." She tried, widening her eyes pointedly.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester gave Brooke an incredulous look as she continued to protest, keeping one hand over Big Douglas protectively. "Well, they don't have to sit near me if they don't like him." She paused, giving Brooke a shrewd look. "You don't have to sit near me if you don't like him." She added slowly, frown deepening when Brooke called her rude. "I'm not being rude. Seems like coming over to someone else's table and telling them what to do is a bit ruder." Hester had always found Brooke's coaching a bit weird, but she had been willing to go along with it until Big Douglas had gotten involved. She wasn't going to put up with someone trash-talking her toad.

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke clicked her tongue when Hester got all defensive, about her gross toad of all things. "Geez, Hester, I'm just trying to help you," she said with a sniff. "I'm just lookg out for you. Some people are very critical here and putting bugs all over your house table is kind of a bad look," she stressed, brushing her hair over her shoulder and trying to ignore Big Douglas. "It's very.. commendable... That you care about him so much, but don't you think people might like you more if he ate somewhere more private?" Brooke wasn't sure why she cared so much about this. Hester was clearly a lost cause, despite what her earlier success with her at the dance last year might had indicated but Brooke couldn't quite let it go. If she was being honest, she'd had fun with Hester, when she wasn't worried about looking like an idiot just by association. Not to mention the fact that she was currently so clearly being dismissed over a toad of all things was a blow to her pride she wasn't sure she could take right now.

 

[Hester MacGillivray]

Hester's frown deepened as Brooke went on, the undertones of the Slytherin's speech sinking in. Hester had been eating with Big Douglas for years now, and nobody at her own table had ever complained. "Well, if someone's being critical, then I don't want anything to do with them." She said firmly, giving Brooke a piercing look. "Big Douglas likes the house table, and so do I. Besides, he's got loads of friends here. Blue and Lysander are always happy to see him. You're the only person who's ever complained, and this isn't your table."

 

[Brooke Townsend]

Brooke huffed at Hester's response, unsure why she was letting the rejection from someone like Hester hit her so hard. She'd just wanted to help Hester, but clearly it was a lost cause, at least where the stupid toad was concerned. It was fine, this was stupid anyway. Brooke gathered up her bag, giving Hester and her toad one last look before moving to walk away. "Fine, I'll go sit at my own table with my own friends. Always nice to know when I'm not wanted, you don't have to be rude about it," she said shortly, flicking her hair over her shoulder and stalking away without another glance. Clearly she had better things to do than worry herself over someone who wanted nothing to do with her.