That evening, the Inspectors did not sit at the top table in the Great Hall, instead, they spaced themselves out with the student body. Dinner that night was a great roast that the house elves had laboured long and hard over. There was meat of every variety; not only chicken and beef, but pheasant, goose, turkey, lamb, pork and something that Hermione suspected was kangaroo by the way it seemed to spring around the plate when she tried to stab it with a fork. The vegetables were divine and the myriad of smells set her mouth to watering. Ron's eyes had turned as wide as pie dishes when the choice had appeared in front of him. Hermione pointed to a big pile of sprouts in front of him, offering to spoon some onto his plate, "Bleugh! No thanks!" he said sticking his tongue out.
"Harry?"
"Uh, I'll pass." Harry said. Hermione laughed and placed them on her own plate. The food was delicious, more so than normal, if that was possible. It didn't take long to be eaten. Quidditch never failed to work up the appetite. Hermione pushed her plate away, completely full. Harry looked as though he needed to loosen his belt a bit and even Ron had stopped picking at his plate. "What do you want to do for the rest of the night?" Harry asked. Ron yawned.
"Sit here and be fat?"
"Don't fancy wizard chess?"
"I ain't got the brain-power for that."
"What about exploding snap?" Harry suggested.
"I'll play you at that," Hermione said. Ron belched and shook his head.
"I think I might have to go to sleep for a bit," he said. Hermione tutted and rolled her eyes, that's what he got for over-eating. Harry pulled out a pack of cards from his bag and began to deal a hand. Then Ramshackle arrived at their table and plonked his considerable bulk next to Harry.
"I haven't played exploding snap since I was here as a lad!" he said with a great big smile on his face, "Mind dealing me in?"
"Here, take my hand," Hermione said. "It's a game for two people after all," she added drily.
"Thank you." Ramshackle said.
"You can play the winner Hermione."
"How about winner stays on?"
"How much time do you think we have?" Hermione said, "We still have work to do for tomorrow. But I suppose we could have a couple of rounds." She added after seeing the withering look Harry was giving her. Ramshackle looked relieved and the two boys began their game. The two wizards sat poised over the cards; their wands at the ready. Hermione found herself drawn into the match as Ramshackle proved to be a worthy opponent. The cards barely had time to make a noise before the matching pairs were caught. The game lasted longer than Hermione thought it would and in the end, Harry won by one set of cards.
"Do you still want to play?" Harry asked. Hermione shook her head.
"We have that work Professor Snape gave to us to look at and I want to do so before the weekend, else I won't be going to Hogsmeade. There's also the Charms essay to start and the copying up for Transfiguration," she said. "Maybe next time?"
"OK." Harry said. "Game for a re-match?" he asked Ramshackle. He nodded an enthusiastic response. Hermione smiled a bit before leaving the table, there was work to do and the presence of the inspectors didn't change that!