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Chapter 4: Common Muggle Fighting
"Nothing seems to be wrong with them, Minerva," Madame Pomfrey was saying to McGonagall. Selphie and Rinoa had just finished recounting the tale of their discovery to the Transfiguration professor. They were all sitting in a group of chairs; Selphie and Rinoa chatting excitedly, Quistis peering around the room and taking notes, and everyone else finding seemingly interesting spots on the ceiling or floor to gaze into. Squall stared hard at his feet, his head in his hands, hiding his face from everyone else. What kind of place was this if it had mirrors that teased people with what they couldn't have?
Selphie looked up at McGonagall, grinning. "Are we going to the 'Great Hall' now?" she asked, excited at the prospect of going somewhere new.
"Yes, Selphie," she replied. "Lunch has just begun. You may sit at any of the four house tables you like and just dig in with the students."
At this, Zell was the one who suddenly looked excited. "Do you guys have hot dogs here, too?" he said, a manic smile coming across his face.
McGonagall looked at him, nonplussed. "Hot dogs?"
Zell's face fell. "Well… you see… they're kinda like sausages, only… not…?"
Quistis, not one to displease a fellow Instructor, looked like she was trying to think quickly about something. "The muddles!" she suddenly jumped in. "Maybe they're something mu- muddles eat?"
Irvine nudged her in the ribs and said as quietly as he could, "Muggles, Quist."
McGonagall looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "I'll try to arrange having these, er- hot dogs served at your table."
Zell looked absolutely ecstatic at this news.
"Yes! Thanks, man!" Zell exclaimed, jumping to his feet and then looking at everyone else expectantly. They all stood up also.
"Now I have yet to announce your arrival to the school," McGonagall began as they walked out of the infirmary, "So some of the students might be a little... nervous at your sudden presence. Pay no mind, however, as everybody will be excited over you as our new guests. We hosted a Triwizard Tournament a few years ago, and it went over quite well with the students, so I'd imagine this will be no different."
As they stepped down the Grand Staircase, they were met with throngs of students who had obviously just left class. They stared at these strange newcomers with a mixed sense of fascination and coldness. They obviously weren't wizards, because they were in Muggle clothes, but because they were being escorted personally by McGonagall meant that they were here for a reason. Irvine gave grins and tips of his hat to most of the girls, who giggled before turning away. Rinoa looked them over in their robes, mentally making notes to write down later. Quistis, who was completely enthralled in her work, took pictures of everything. When she noticed the people in the portraits were moving, though, she gasped and quietly asked Selphie for the video camera.
"Quisty, you can do all this later," she whispered back. "It's only the first day."
As they entered the Entrance Hall, where people were meeting their friends before lunch, they received even more eyes as the room grew louder with people asking each other who these "Muggles" were. The students who were in the path of this group parted as McGonagall led the way, greeting various students as she passed. She took the group right into the Great Hall.
Squall peered around at the huge room before him. Four long tables ran longways through the room, and at the other end was a platform with a shorter, horizontal table on top. He was vaguely reminded of one of the pictures he had seen at the meeting the day before. Students were already setting themselves down at the tables, some even eating. Squall noticed that at the high table were adults, probably their teachers. McGonagall turned to them when they reached the end of the long tables. "Sit wherever you like. I will announce your arrival in a few minutes, when more students have arrived. Until then, you may sit anywhere you like and eat whatever may appear in front of you."
The group looked at each other. It was in a quick, silent exchange that they seemed to agree to sit at the end of the table next to them, together, where nobody else was yet. Squall was jostled in between Zell and Irvine, Selphie on the other side of him. Quistis, Rinoa, and Seifer sat across from them. "I can't believe we're here," Selphie said, grinning and looking around.
"Yeah," said Rinoa. "It's just like what I saw, too. This is so cool..."
"I wonder what she'll say about us in her announcement?" Quistis said. "Are we supposed to just take this food?"
Squall looked at the food spread on the table. Flagons of some kind of juice sat between roasted chicken legs and mashed potatoes with gravy. There were also bowls of some kind of dessert and roll baskets.
"I guess so," answered Selphie, looking at all of them. Zell peered over the bowls and plates of food.
"Where're the hot dogs?" he asked, looking disappointed. "That funny lady said there would be hot dogs."
"She said she'd try to see if they could do that for us," Quistis said witheringly. "And her name is Professor McGonagall. You have to remember that."
Zell stuck his tongue out at Quistis and Rinoa laughed. "I'm glad we're all here," she said, clutching on to Seifer and smiling at him. Seifer grinned back smugly. Squall turned to Zell as he didn't want to watch anymore.
"Well, if they're wizards, Zell, they'll probably be able to get you hot dogs. I wouldn't doubt it if they even taste just like the ones back in Garden," he told Zell in his monotonous explanation voice.
Selphie laughed. "I don't think they can read our minds Squall. At least not all of them..."
"I sure would be embarrassed if they could," Irvine said softly, as he had been eyeing a girl who was just coming in. Selphie gave him a push. "H-Hey! Geez, I wasn't doing anything!"
Suddenly a platter of about twenty hot dogs, along with small bowls of the standard toppings, appeared where the chicken legs had been. Rinoa let out a small scream.
"Did you see that? Did you see that?" She exclaimed. "The- the-"
"The hot dogs!" Zell said happily, grabbing about ten of them and throwing them on a plate. The ones he had taken were quickly replaced as more reappeared on the plate. He smeared relish and mustard and ketchup and onions and cheese all over them before beginning to stuff his face. "These are better then the ones back at Garden!"
Everyone except Squall and Seifer laughed. "Stop embarrassing yourself, Chicken-wuss," Seifer said smartly, putting his arm around Rinoa.
"Go fuck yourshelf, Sheifer," Zell spat with his mouth full of dog and bun, spewing pieces everywhere as his face turned red.
"Uh-oh, Chicken-wuss, your wasting some of your precious food. And go fuck myself, ah? Sorry, Zell, I actually have a girlfriend for that."
Rinoa's face fell. Zell swallowed. "That's it! You're DEAD! I can handle it back home, but not here! Not here!"
Suddenly the Great Hall went silent. Zell stood up on the bench. Squall and Irvine pulled at his arms. "Save it for later, man," Irvine begged, looking at everyone watching them. But Zell, with his fighter strength, wrought his arms out of their grasp.
"You're DEAD, Seifer!" he shouted as he sprang over the top of the table and knocked Seifer out of his seat, not taking Rinoa with them because she had thrown Seifer's arm off her. Zell pinned Seifer to the floor and began punching him repeatedly in the face.
"Stop it! Zell! Seifer! Stop!" Rinoa cried. Squall, seeing that his calm collectedness was needed, jumped over the table to the now wrestling Zell and Seifer. He tried pulling Zell away.
"Stop! Just let go!" he said, attempting almost half-heartedly at dragging him off Seifer, who after all, did need his ass kicked.
"Fucking bastard!" Zell seethed to Seifer as Squall pulled him off. Squall saw the beginnings of black eyes on both of them. He sighed, wishing now more then ever that Rinoa didn't drag Seifer along. Seifer gave Zell a scathing look as he stood up and brushed his long white trench coat off.
"If you are finished," a stern voice suddenly boomed throughout the Hall, causing everyone to look forward at Professor McGonagall, who was standing up on the platform. She was staring them down, her mouth no more then a thin line. She turned her attention back towards the room in general. "I ask that everyone please excuse our visitors. That is, if they've finished performing an example of common Muggle fighting."
Some of the students managed a little laugh, but most continued to stare silently at either McGonagall or the strangers from Balamb. Selphie, Rinoa, and Quistis all seemed to roll their eyes at the same time. Irvine pretended to be studying the hot dogs. Suddenly he seemed to have courage as he said, almost shouting to make sure everyone heard him, "I believe we have!"
At that, the entire Hall erupted into laughter. Irvine, looking pleased with himself as Selphie clutched his arm and smiled at him, turned his attention to McGonagall.
