Black Decorum

II - The Hostility Of Lions

The rest of the evening passed by in a blur. I only heard sections of what was being said, all the time thinking about how seriously screwed I was.
“Lestrange, Rabastan”
“SLYTHERIN”
Lucky idiot.
“McAllister, Lauren” McAllister walked up.
“GRYFFINDOR”
Another one.
“Snape, Severus”
“SLYTHERIN”
Figures.
“Potter, James”
“GRYFFINDOR”
v I hated Hogwarts.
The headmaster said something, but I still wasn’t listening. Food filled the empty plates that lay before us all and everyone immediately started to talk. I found myself just staring at my empty plate, even though I was extremely hungry. “Are you going to eat anything?” Someone said from beside me.
I looked to my right, to see a girl sitting next to me, her green-blue eyes wide in curiosity.
I simply shrugged and turned away.
“Well you should.” The girl carried on, in a know-it-all tone.
“So?” I muttered, still staring at the table distractedly.
“So, do you want to starve?”
Yeah, I could starve to death. It’d save my mother the trouble of killing me when I got home. Or when she got here…what if she did come up here, demanding for me to be changed to a Slytherin???
I found the idea slightly appealing.
Except that it would be extremely embarrassing.
The girl sighed deeply.
In order to shut the girl up, I simply reached across the table and took a large helping of boiled potatoes, then put them onto my plate. He then picked up my fork and began jabbing away, taking out some of my anger.
These gryffindors were annoying.
“That’s not eating.” The girl said dryly.
I pointedly ignored her.
“I don’t think he’s a big talker.” Another girl said. I recognised the voice as McAllister’s.
“Obviously not.” The girl next to me said.
I sighed. This talk was pointless.
After what seemed hours, the Gryffindors and I were being led to the Gryffindor Common Room. I didn’t particularly want to go in there. I didn’t belong there. However, I was tired as hell and in order to get to a bed, I needed to go through the common room.
I knew I was being stupid anyway.
I couldn’t avoid the common room forever.
“The password,” one prefect said loudly, “is Frog Spawn Soap.” The prefect coughed, disapprovingly.
He turned around to the painting he was standing in front of.
It was an extravagant painting of a large woman in a dress.
“How are you Christopher?” She said, brushing her long hair down absent-mindedly.
“Good, good. I’m head boy.” Christopher replied, grinning and sticking his chest out in what I suppose her thought was a subtle way.
“I noticed.” The lady said dryly.
“Well, can we get in?” Christopher said, still smiling charmingly.
“Oh, yes, yes of course.” The lady replied and quickly, her portrait swung open to reveal the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
I took a deep breath in.
“Here we go.” I muttered.
“So you don’t talk to me, but you talk to yourself?” Someone said from beside me.
I looked up to see the girl who had been sitting next to me in the great hall blinking her wide eyes at me, expectantly.
“What?” I muttered, staring at her, slightly disdainfully, with a look that I had learnt from my mother.
“Oh, never mind.” The girl sighed deeply in resignation and turned around to talk to another girl.


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