Supper With A Difference

[Poppy Bloxam]

How much her life had changed in the space of a few months, very nearly bowled her over, but the young Gryffindor could not have been happier. Poppy Bloxam had never fitted in with the other girls at her previous school, and now she knew exactly why: The students lining the Gryffindor table, male, female, red heads, brunettes, blondes.. These were her people. These were the people Poppy had been blessed with the chance to meet. And she was one of them.

A broad grin stretched across her face, exceeding its usual boundaries. Her eyes were alight with the thrill of finally taking her seat and joining the other students, and it was from here that she witnessed a new surprise; her friend from the muggle world, the girl she had shared so many laughs with, was taking a seat on the stool and- "GRYFFINDOR!" She heard the hat bellowing the word, and her heart almost stopped. She couldn't believe that not only had her friend turned out to be a witch, but she was also attending Hogwarts and they were in the same house. Janey sat away from Poppy, but the moment the sorting ceremony was over and the feast had arrived, Poppy managed to slip into a space beside her friend, greeting her with a twinkling smile.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

 

[Janey Pascot]

Janey had been praying for Gryffindor, as it was the house she felt most suited to. Although she had suspicious that her friend Poppy had also been a witch, it was not something Janey would have been able to talk about, and she was delighted that her thoughts had indeed been true, and that down the table sat a very confused Poppy.

She watched as food appeared for the feast in front of the students, and she looked around to see the sort of people that Janey would be spending the next seven years of her life with. She watched as Poppy joined her at the table, and Janey couldn't quite meet her eyes. Although they had been friends before now, even sleeping round each others houses, Janey felt like she'd somehow let Poppy down, even though there was nothing she could have done to prevent it.

"You wouldn't have believed me if i'd told you I was a witch back in January. After the dress incident I had my suspicions about you, but think about it" she poured a cup of pumpkin juice and handed it to her friend. "If I asked you whether or not you were a muggle, you would have thought I was crazy for knowing anything about it, whether you knew or not" she said, pouring herself a glass. "I take it you didn't know then?" she asked, remembering how Poppy would behave whenever something odd happend. "Why do you think I wasn't shocked when you managed to throw that dress across the floor" she added, taking a sip of her drink. It was good she was able to talk about this now.

 

[Poppy Bloxam]

It felt as though so many questions were suddenly being answered, and Poppy's eyebrows, though already half way up her forehead, were sailing off into her hairline, quick as day. She took the drink from her friend, pausing for a moment or two to eye it. Most of the cuisine here was so different from what she was used to, and it was with great caution that she took her first sip of pumpkin juice, a sip that she would never forget. It was a strangely appetising flavour, and it egged Poppy on to begin lining her plate with food.

"I suppose you have a point," she said, still smiling at her friend, just glad that she would know somebody at the school, and her worries and concerns about Janey, had now been answered. "I would have thought you a little.." Poppy paused as she chewed over the mouthful of meat, wondering what it was. She gave a ponderous look before swallowing. ".. A little different. And, no, I did not know." Poppy served herself another helping of whatever she had just been eating. "I just assumed you hadn't noticed and that I'd gotten away with it." She gave her friend a sideways glance. "How did your family feel about you being.. You know?" Poppy took a swig of pumpkin juice, holding it in her mouth for a moment or two to relish the flavour.

 

[Janey Pascot]

Janey watched as Poppy piled squirrel on her plate, and Janey herself took a helping of oddly shaped vegatables as they spoke. It was understandable that Poppy would be confused, and Janey hoped that Poppy would want to rely on her a little, afterall, if she'd only just turned eleven, she wouldn't know much of the wizarding world.

"My family knew I was magical ever since I was born" she said. Her own parents had known there would be magical blood in her, whether it shined through or not. "As you know, I also have two older brothers, Raffael and Simon, who go to Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. The other magical schools" she informed her, wondering if she would be able to keep up with so much new information.

"How are you finding being a witch? Tried out anything new?" she asked, taking a bite out of a juicy peach, catching sight of a school ghost in the corner of her eyes further down the table..

 

[Poppy Bloxam]

Poppy swallowed hard on her pumpkin juice in an attempt to prevent it from spraying across the whole table, in her shock. "Your brothers are wizards?!" She had only really passed the boys a couple of time when her and Janey had been hanging out, and so had never really gotten to know either of them. Only now was she learning how unbelievably close she had come to learning about the world. "I can tell I'm going to have to make a trip to the school library, come the morning.." she spoke inwardly, tucking into her food, once again.

"You mean spells and things?" Poppy asked, thinking about the past few months in as greater detail as possible. "I've been reading through as many of my school books as possible. I still don't wholly understand half the stuff. Oh, and then, on the train, I overheard someone talking about 'Quidditch'. From what I saw in Obsidian Harbour, I can only assume it broom-related." Poppy shook her head. She loved this wondrous new world, but she could really do with a helping hand to guide her through the basics.

 

[Janey Pascot]

Janey nodded as Poppy found herself a little suprized at finding out what her brothers were. "Of course. I could have gone to ether of those schools too, but for some reason I thought Hogwarts would suit me better. Durmstrang specializes in dark arts, and Beauxbatons in fairness and beauty. I'm not sure I could fit in ether" she smiled, helping herself now to a marshmellow cone that was sprinkled with everchanging coloured sprinkles.

"Yes. Simon taught me a few spells that he's learnt, but I haven't really had a chance to practise them yet." she said, making sure her wand was in her pocket. She had been taught the light spell, and the protection spell, just in case. "Quidditch?" She repeated, "Oh, yes. It's the famous magical sport. We'll have lessons in how to ride brooms. Every house has a Quidditch team too, although there are no first years in these teams." Janey didn't know whether she'd ever try-out for the team. She wanted to get involved, but she wasn't too confident in her flying ability. Raffael had forced her on a broomstick once, and the pressure had made her a little uneasy. She hoped the lessons would overcome her fear.

She licked her fingers as she finished off the pudding, and wiped her mouth with her sleeve of her new robe. Looking around, she wondered who the prefects were. Apparently they were the ones that took you back to the common room after dinner..

 

[Poppy Bloxam]

"My head hurts," she said honestly, but with a slight laugh. The night was fast wearing on, and though she had experienced later nights in her time, Poppy was certain that she had never felt more tired out. The train journey and all the information she had to absorb that day, had really taken the energy out of her. Never before had she craved a good night's sleep quite so badly. Her stomach was almost stuffed full, and a feeling of content now embraced her, wholly. There was only one thing that made her want to stay awake; she didn't want to fall asleep in this perfect, beautifully crafted world, only to wake up in the disappointment of reality as a muggle.

Combing her fingers back through her hair, Poppy let her hands dropped to her sides, where they soon found something that caused a sleepy smile to beam across her young face. It was her magic wand. The one thing she intended to cling on to, to protect with her every being. And tonight, she would try out her first ever spell. "Could you teach me one? Later on, when we've moved into our dormitory.. Will you teach me the easiest spell you know?"

 

[Janey Pascot]

"Prehaps you should drink more?" Janey would have suggested seeing the school nurse, but for a simple matter as a headache it would not have been worth it. The nurse was there for serious injuries just as when a student was petrified, rather than a meer headache.

Janey nodded, and smiled at her friend. "Of course. I can show you when it gets dark. I know the perfect spell to teach you" she said, knowing it would come in handy for her for the rest of her life. Janey watched as the Gryffindor prefects stood up, and began to announce that they would be taking the house to the common room in a few moments.

"Have you eaten everything you want?" she asked Poppy, before turning in her seat to introduce Poppy to the other houses that she'd learnt about. "Those guys next to us, in yellow, they're Hufflepuff. I think they're the ones who are really kind and caring. Next to them are those students in blue. Ravenclaw. Simon says students in that house are really smart. And on the end there" she nudged her head across the hall to the opposite side, "Are the green Slytherins" she said, before leaning closer to Poppy to whisper in her ear. "Those are the students you don't want to get on the wrong side of. If you see someone in green, you're likely to come away with a broken limb or a broken heart" she said, before standing up and following the rest of the Gryffindors out of the hall.

She paused to turn back to Poppy, whom she hoped was following behind. "I don't know these corridors. We should stay close to those who do. Coming?" she smiled, before turning to continue down the hall and out into the corridor, heading for the common room.

(Want to go to the common room?)