CHAPTER FOUR: THE GREAT HALL
The girls walked into the Great Hall, Willow once again proclaiming the large room to be wow-worthy. She was fixated by the ceiling, enchanted to look like the sky outside. Sunbeams shone down into the Hall, warming the area up immensely.
The Professors were seated at their table, eating lunch. Giles motioned Willow and Buffy to come and join them, which the two girls quickly did. They'd been wandering the castle for hours and hadn't really had a chance to eat earlier.
Sitting with the Professors was a strange experience for Buffy, and she found herself desperately missing her friends especially at meal times. The Professors were all incredibly nice (with the exception of Snape of course) but they couldn't compare to the friendships that Buffy had with Harry, Ron, Hermione and everyone else. There was still another two months before school went back, and as eager as Buffy was to learn as much as she could in those two months, she also really wanted her friends there. She idly wondered if she could convince Draco to return to school a little earlier just to keep her company.
Willow took a seat between Buffy and Giles and gasped as plates of food appeared in front of them magically. She looked to Buffy who just grinned and began eating. Willow hesitated for a moment, almost afraid that the food would disappear as suddenly as it had appeared. Willow finally just shook her head, smiled and grabbed her fork.
"This place is amazing Buffy," Willow whispered as they ate. "I can't believe this is where you've been the whole time."
Buffy grinned and swallowed before answering. "It is pretty great. It's too bad school hasn't started yet. You should see this place when everyone's here. Ooo, and you'll hafta come watch a Quidditch game one day. I'm gonna try out for it when school starts up again."
"And Quidditch would be what exactly?" Willow asked.
"Only the best Wizarding game in the world. Think of it as basketball on broomsticks," Buffy explained.
Willow looked suitably intrigued and made a mental note to herself to come and watch a game. Giles looked around Willow towards Buffy.
"You didn't tell me you were going to try out for Quidditch," Giles said.
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I figure with five positions open I may as well at least try. Harry said he'd teach me to fly when he gets back to school. I'm trying to convince Hermione to try out as well, but she doesn't seem too thrilled by the idea. It'd be cool though. Me, Harry, Ron and Hermione all on the team."
Willow felt a pang of jealousy rush through her, followed by a stab of guilt. She was jealous of the way that Buffy spoke of her new friends, and was guilty that she couldn't just be happy that Buffy had found such loyal friends, especially after everything that had happened to the tiny blonde girl.
"You four get in enough trouble on the ground as it is," interjected another Professor. "I'd hate to see the four of you in the air together."
Buffy pouted and grinned at the Professor who had spoken. "Aw, come on Professor McGonagall. We're not that bad. And from what I've heard, those three got in far more trouble before I arrived."
McGonagall smiled indulgently and nodded. "Exactly why they don't need any more help in that area."
Buffy just laughed and put on her most innocent expression. "It's not all my fault."
"You managed to get Malfoy and Potter speaking civilly to each other though," Giles interjected. "That in itself is worthy of a medal."
Buffy grinned and popped a grape into her mouth before replying. "I wasn't about to have my cousin and my boyfriend being all fighty around each other. It woulda got annoying after awhile."
"After four years, I think the word 'annoying' falls slightly short," McGonagall said with a small smile.
The conversations continued, the Professors sharing knowledge and anecdotes about students, past and present. Willow just listened and laughed at some of the mischief that the students managed to get up to, the names Fred and George Weasley nearly as often as Ron, Harry and Hermione's names.
When they'd finished eating, Buffy turned to look at her friend, a grin on her face. "Wanna see by room?"
Willow nodded, and the two girls bounded out of the Great Hall, arm-in-arm, chatting happily. Giles watched them leave, smiling to see his young charge looking so happy. She had been depressed for too much of the previous school year, and he could only hope that this year would be far better for her.
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I know I know, still short, but…eh. It's the establishing chapters. They do get longer, honest. Oh, and I know a lot of people are wondering about my fic 'What You Did' and it WILL get updated, but sadly I'm sick as a dog right now and can barely type properly so I'm having problems writing the next chapters. My apologies, but hopefully it will be updated within the next few days.
Toodles.