Just then a loud sound rang out signaling dinner, Ellie followed Neville through the doors and into the Great Hall. Once again, Ellie had to make sure her jaw didn't hit the floor- the great hall looked amazing- Jack Lanterns hung in the air lighting the room, pumpkins of various sizes and small moving little ghosts decorated the tables. As she and Neville walked to the table, she had to make sure to keep her mouth closed, otherwise her jaw would be on the floor. Then she looked up.
"Is this place open to the sky?" asked Ellie, as she looked up at the ceiling.
"No, there is a roof, but it is enchanted to look like the sky outside, only it doesn't rain."
"Wow. I've never seen anything like it. Are those real pumpkins? They're giant," said Ellie.
"Yes, and I grew them," said Neville.
"Really? What did you do to make them grow so large?"
"Good soil, grew them in the greenhouse, and used just a little bit of magic."
"It's impressive," said Ellie, as she took her seat at the table, Neville took the seat beside her.
McGonagall spoke a few words and said grace. Then something amazing happened, the tables filled with food. Ellie's bowl, which had been empty mere seconds before was filled with soup.
"It's ok," said Neville. "You can eat it. It's just pumpkin soup- it actually really nice."
"I'm sure it is perfectly safe," said Ellie. "I just want to know how it got in my bowl."
"Magic," said Neville.
"That can't be all of it. You said something to me once about food- that you can't make it appear out of nothing. You said you could make more of what you had, but you can't make it appear out of thin air. So how did it happen?"
"You're correct on both counts," said Evan. "The answer is House Elves."
"Elves?" said Ellie. "Like the Elves in the story of the Shoemaker and the Elves? Elves that come unseen and serve people."
"Yes," said Evan.
"But the soup appeared- it wasn't served unless Elves are invisible or super speedy," said Ellie.
"Elves have their own kind of magic, and they can transport food magically," said Seamus. "They actually love serving. They are excellent cooks. Try the soup. You don't have to worry it isn't poisoned or anything."
"It's delicious," said Ellie. "If I could, I would try to hire your cook. If all house elves cook this well, you are very lucky."
"If you ask me, it is the wizarding world's secret shame. Wizards took advantage of this trait to help for far too long," said Alex.
"The House Elf Liberation Act changed that," said Flitwick. "Our elves are paid and very happy. Corb and Win are two of the best chefs anywhere. Trust me they are quite happy here."
"I helped pass the bill," said Alex.
"How many are there?" asked Ellie. "I mean, you'd need quite the crew, at least ten to twenty with a group this size. I'm not including chefs or anyone else. How many do you have?"
"I think Hogwarts has about forty or fifty. It's one of the larger settlements in Britain," said Flitwick.
"How do you know how many people it would take?" asked Alex.
"It's simple logic and the fact that my family is in the hospitality industry."
"Seamus said you were a teacher," said Alex.
"I am," said Ellie, "but you can't grow up in hospitality and not pick up a few things."
"Have you heard of Bell's Hotels?" said Seamus. "That's Ellie's family."
"Of course I've heard of Bell's," said Alex, "in fact, we're Platinum rewards members."
"Wonderful," said Ellie.
"So, what subject do you teach?" asked Alex.
"I don't teach here. I teach primary school with focus on language arts."
"More power to you! I just don't have the patience for teaching. There is also the fact that you'd have to deal with kids who don't know how to deal with magic yet. I spent a few months in the Muggle-Magical Relations Department when I started at the Ministry and most of their job is dealing with young witches or wizards who accidently expose muggles to magic. It's gotten so much worse since the magical world began sending some kids to regular schools. You had to deal with kids who couldn't figure out why they were in trouble for levitating the toy truck, oblivate the other kids and the parents. Then, there was the paperwork and the ever-present fear that a child will expose the entire magical world. Ellie, I'm sure you have some stories along these lines.
"Actually, I haven't run into anything like that yet," said Ellie. "Most of my issues come from parents or administration. Of the two, parents are more difficult. There is always that one parent who refuses to believe that their child could do anything wrong."
"I believe it," said Evan. "I got a howler last week from a parent who was furious about the fact that their child hadn't done well and had gotten detention. The one good thing about being a boarding school- it's harder for the parents to come to school and be mad."
"Very true," said Seamus. "But they can still send howlers. I got one last week. Thank goodness I managed to get outside before I opened it. There is no reason for the entire school to hear that a parent is mad about a grade."
"I just wish I could send one back to the parents, but that is frowned upon," said Evan.
"It sounds like parents are more involved now than they were when we were in school," said Alex.
"Yes," said Neville, "but can you blame them after everything that went on a few years ago?"
"No," said Seamus.
"What went on?" asked Ellie.
"This food is incredible," said Neville. "I wish we had this every night."
"It wouldn't be as special," said Ellie. "But I agree with you this is much better than the food at my school. If my father were here, he'd try to steal your cook."
Suddenly, the main dishes disappeared and were replaced with a variety of desserts- sticky toffee pudding, chocolate cake, and tiny custards served in small pumpkins.
"This pumpkin custard is amazing," said Ellie. "I've never had anything like it."
"This reminds me of a dish I had in Southeast Asia," said Alex. "Funny how food travels"
"I don't care where it originated," said Neville. "It's delicious and I wish we had it more often."
"I agree with Neville," said Seamus.
"Happy Halloween" said McGonagall, as she stood up to speak. "It's time to award the prize for best decorated pumpkin and prize of twenty points and bragging rights goes to Hufflepuff. Before the dance begins, there is a little entertainment for everyone in the courtyard. After that, our first and second years will go to the astronomy tower for a special event and third years and up will come back here for the ball."