Dinner Time Frivolities // ... everyone

[Peter E. Pettigrew]

Peter took his usual seat at the Gryffindor table in the great hall. As usual it was busy, dinner time always was but despite that he could see almost every face that he knew, not one of them was a friendly sort of one that he wanted to sit with. Sure, all the houses had their tables, but people only really stuck to that at big meals like the start of term feast, or Hallowe'en or something fun like that, on a normal day, like today, the houses were a little bit jumbled, after all, you were allowed to be friends with people from other houses if you wanted to be, right? You didn't have to just sit with people in your house, did you? Peter wasn't 100% sure, but he was around about 90% sure you were allowed to sit with other people from other houses, though he dared not, just in case he was wrong and a teacher decided to pick on him for no reason. It would be just his luck after all.

Spooning some mashed potato onto his plate, Peter looked up sharply. Someone with dark hair had caught his eye, running between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table. For a brief moment, he'd hoped it was Finola, but it wasn't. Peter sighed in disappointment. She was awful pretty and, he wasn't sure if she knew this or not, but he did like to stare at her while he ate. Yeah, some might think it creepy when said allowed or even just thought in your head, but really, it wasn't, it wasn't like he followed her, he was just bored and liked someone pretty to look at, of course, he always made sure he was sat behind someone bigger, which was actually the majority of the students, even girls, because he'd die of embarrassment if she turned to see him looking at her. They hadn't talked since Hallowe'en so she probably thought he was a freak or something. Girls always thought he was a freak.

Finola wasn't the only girl that had ever actually been nice to him before. Vanessa had been once. She'd helped him up off the ground when he'd found himself at the bottom of a staircase after a spectacular fall. She'd even been so kind as to fix up his ink bottle and clean the mess up. Peter couldn't help it, he was clumsy, and it wasn't as if he was only clumsy around girls, he was clumsy all the time and it was tiring most of the time. Sometimes it was funny and made his friends - the Marauders, laugh, but other times, it was just frustrating, and people could get pretty annoyed with him, mainly Sirius and James. Remus was always calm with Peter, but then again, Remus was a half-blood, werewolf that was lucky to have any friends at all in Peter's opinion, but he never said it out loud. James and Sirius liked Remus better after all and if they left him, well, he'd have no one.

Grabbing about seven chicken drumsticks, Peter put them on to his plate and spooned several spoonfuls of sweet and sour sauce over them. Most people thought it was disgusting having it with mashed potato, but it wasn't it was actually quite nice, and Peter didn't like rice, so he'd come up with an alternative. Next Peter wiped his fingers off, the chicken drumsticks had been quite greasy and even though he was shorter than most, Peter knew he was quite plump, but he couldn't help it, he loved food, he loved it a lot, and pumpkin juice, and so once his grubby hands were a little drier, he poured himself some of the delicious orangey goodness that was sweetened pumpkin juice, drink of Hogwarts.

post status:
.finished.
tag:
everyone . . . so you better join!
word count:
655 // ...
outfit:
take a .peek.
comments:
everyone join! ish wanting a food fight! lol

[gossip]

Dinner time. The last meal of the day in the great hall and to be honest, Rita wasn't a fan. She barely at e anything of a dinner time but there was usually a lot of things going on and a lot of people to watch getting up to goodness knew what. you'd see how all the houses mingled with one another and how people acted around each other, and that was good for Rita's gossip page, it meant that she could keep an eye on people and watch as things unfolded. Not to mention she had a few informants here and there that made life that little bit more easy, though of course, if anything really juicy was happening, she wanted to be there in the thick of it all herself.

Walking into the great hall, Rita saw the pigs at their troughs, shovelling food into their mouths, laughing and giggling, play fighting and arguing, it all happened in the great hall and it all happened on a daily basis, what Rita had the pleasure of doing was sifting through all the monotonous crap and finding the good stuff. Usually it was all kept quiet and what better place to have a quiet conversation in a place that was so noisy, you could barely hear your own thoughts? It was brilliant, but Rita could spot the quiet ones and she kept her eyes peeled and ears straining to catch whatever conversation was quietly being passed.

Walking up between the side wall and the Slytherin table, Rita sat right at the end, watching over all the tables. She wasn't as interested in Slytherin goings ons because really, she had to live with these people, and if they ever actually realised it, they could make her life a living hell, so avoiding writing about Slytherins, unless it was really juicy suff, was a priority. Still, Rita knew how to pick her spots, not only could she see over the four tables that belonged to the houses, she could also keep her ears tuned to the staff table, if needed, though she never usually got much goods on professors that she could publish, but occasionally, she did get some good stuff that she could blackmail them with, and that was always a grade booster, if needed.

Sitting herself down, Rita grabbed herself some rice with a little bit of chicken breast. She wasn't too hungry and she liked dry foods, so this was good enough for her, but while she was carefully eating, her sharp little eyes were continuously scanning the great hall in hopes of finding something out of the ordinary and while her eyes were looking, her ears were trying to catch snippets of any conversation that sounded even remotely interesting and gossip worthy, but alas, Rita was having no luck, so she stayed where she was, doing what she did best, while she had the most annoying meal of the day.

post status:
.finished.
tag:
everyone! join join join!
word count:
497 // ...
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check it // ...
comments:
Don't go getting the dress messy unless you want a bitch on your arse!

[dorcas]

School was back and that meant Dorcas HAD to see Adrian. Over the Holidays she'd sort of got it in her head that they'd be going out on a date. Sort of, that Adrian would accompany her to the stupid Val'Lauren's stupid Christmas party held on stupid Christmas eve, but no. The Jack-ass stood her up, leaving her looking like an idiot. After that she'd not gone out much apart from when her mother had dragged her shopping, and that was it. Worst Christmas Ever. Yeah, that suited it quite well, but it wasn't the worst Christmas because of Adrian, it was the worst Christmas because she knew she shouldn't have gotten so caught up in a guy. One night stand things were great, she knew that, but she wasn't the relationship type. So why did she insist on thinking that there could be something between herself and Adrian? They didn't even like each other for Merlin's sake. Dorcas couldn't help but be furious at herself, regardless though, she'd decided that she was full well going to let Adrian know exactly what it was he was missing out on.

Not really wearing a whole lot around her middle, Dorcas took a seat at the Slytherin table with her back to the Ravenclaw table behind her. Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. It was how the table were set out, Merlin forbid the Slytherins and Gryffindor's should be next to one another, they'd ruin every single meal, and you wouldn't want the Slytherins next to the Hufflepuffs, there'd be a load of Yellow uniforms walking around with gravy in their hair or pudding n their face. No, Slytherin's weren't exactly the type that mingled well with other houses and Ravenclaws, well, they seemed to stick to their own too and weren't exactly mean, though every now and then, if one did turn around and ask a Slytherin to quiet down, well, then there a few minor altercations. Yeah, Slytherin's weren't really people that behaved themselves, and she supposed she was apart of that too, so why not play up for a bit?

Grabbing a couple slices of Pizza, Dorcas wasn't really up for a proper meal tonight, as much as she loved her food, having spent her day thinking about Adrian, it sort of made her loose her appetite. She knew she'd just about manage one slice of pizza but was hoping to be able to fit in a second without feeling sick, after all they were only tiny pieces and she should be able to manage it really. Right? Yeah right . . . . she probably wouldn't get to the end of the first piece without feeling sick unless she had a distraction or someone to talk to but the problem was, right now, she didn't want to talk to her friends and and she didn't want any shit from anyone, so an argument with someone she hated was out of the equation, though a tall, dark, handsome strange to talk to her and make Adrian feel nice and jealous would be quite lovely, or so she figured, reality was if someone tall, dark and handsome DID start talking to her, she'd forget who Adrian was. Hmm . . . that actually sounded like a good idea. Shame there was no one at Hogwarts that fit the description.

post status:
.finished.
tag:
everyone! join join join!
word count:
579 // ...
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comments:
Tall, dark and handsome? Anyone? No, well . . . . everyone will just do then! Whoop!

[tanith]

Dinner in the Great Hall wasn't Tanith's favourite part of the day. Usually by evening time she was thoroughly tired of school, classes and her usual accidents and all, and she was looking forward to a mountain of homework before bedtime. But she was also usually ravenously hungry by this time of the day, and so most days - when she wasn't absent-minded enough to forget to venture down to the Great Hall - she had to make the journey, if for nothing else than the mouth watering strawberry cheesecake for desert. Technically Tanith wasn't really allowed to eat things like strawberry cheesecake. Her mother thought it would give her spots and at home she was forced to eat lean meats to try and make her fill things out a little more (her mother thought she looked too bony). But at school, one of the only things Tan liked about having dinner with the whole school was that she could eat what she liked! Today she was looking forward to fish and chips if it was on offer (and everything you could imagine usually was on offer). She'd had a penchant for them since watching Severus eat them a while ago, and she sincerely hoped that enough of the stuff would make her look a little less like a boy. Tanith hadn't worn a dress in years, but had been dragged along to the Val'Laurens party wearing one and felt suspiciously like a five year old boy in drag.

Today, Tanith's last class was Potions, and after a quick dash back to the dungeons to change out of her predictably stained school robes, she'd pulled on the first thing that she found in her trunk and made her way back to the Great Hall, armed with her current reading material '1001 Insults in Gobbledegook'. Although she was feeling relatively cheerful today Tanith usually brought a book to dinner to keep her occupied just in case. She couldn't deny that it was slightly daunting to be sitting down to eat with the entire school, and the politics of where to sit unnerved her. It was much easier to flick through the 'Prophet or a good book instead of making awkward conversation over chicken. Some brave students mixed at dinner time, but Tanith preferred to stay at the Slytherin table. Better the Devil you know and all that. Today was no exception. She quickly scanned the table under her house's green and silver banner and was surprised to find it relatively empty. Checking her watch, Tan decided it was because she was uncharacteristically early for once. Usually she was still lolling around the Common Room at this time before being one of the stragglers late in the evening.

Tanith quickly slid into place near the end of the table, where she usually sat, because on the edge there was more space to lean her elbows and her books/magazines. Grinning slightly, she scooped some anticipated fish and chips onto her plate, watching the hall fill up around her. She'd only taken a few bites when she saw the first notable addition to her table, Rita Skeeter. Feeling her appetite leave her slightly, Tanith swallowed her mouthful of food with difficulty and briefly glared at the back of Rita's perfectly curled head of hair. Tan hadn't forgot what Rita had written about her in her last pathetic gossip column, and she was still infuriated and embarrassed about it. She sneered briefly at Rita's outfit over the top of her goblet of pumpkin juice. Trust Skeeter to come to dinner dressed like a celebrity. Tan felt suddenly slightly uncomfortable in her jeans and jumper (was it possible to feel underdressed for dinner? - apparently so) and she pulled down the sleeves over her pale stick like arms, sneering slightly. Tanith would have liked to have thrown her coveted strawberry cheesecake in Rita's face as she watched her fellow Slytherin scan the dinner table. But that wouldn't be polite.

Tanith settled for scowling fleetingly at her and then ignoring her presence (she was pretty sure that was mutual) instead feigning interest in the entrance doors to the Hall. It would be nice to have somebody to talk to just because Rita was sitting nearby, Tanith had felt slightly defensive about her "near silent" quip in the gossip column. But there was always people watching Tan supposed, and she reluctantly mirrored Skeeter's stance of scanning the other house tables, briefly smirking at Dorcas Meadowes' glazed loved up expression as she munched on pizza.

Outfit! here

[jamespotter]

James walked down the grand staircase as the aroma of the last meal filled the air. His stomach growled letting him know that it had been since breakfast since he had eaten. Usually he made it a point to eat but today instead of going to lunch he was exploring another passageway. He found it behind a mirror on the fourth floor. It was an extremely narrow passage and seemed to be going in the general direction of Hogsmeade. He didn't have time to finish checking it out or he would have been late for Potions. The thought of explaining his lateness to Slughorn made him cut his exploration short.

He rounded the bottom of the stairs pausing next to a table with a stack of The Hogwarts Newsletter on it. Picking one up he continued on into the Great Hall. Glancing about he saw that the hall was half filled, more or less, with students in conversations and eating. His eyes tracking to the Slytherin table out of habit to see who was there. He saw Dorcas was sat there her back to the room and of course the busy body Skeeter, no doubt busy listening in on some poor student's conversation. A conversation that can and usually ends up in one of her attention seeking, half truths columns.

Turning he ambled on over to the Gryffindor table. Peter was already there, his plate full, eating a drumstick. The boy wiped his hands as James stepped over the bench, placing the newsletter next to his plate and sat down opposite Peter, facing away from the rest of the hall, not his normal seat which was where Peter was. Normally he liked to sit to where he could watch the entire hall along with the entry. Would it be rude of him to tell Peter to move, he thought briefly as he settled in. He watched Peter pour the pumpkin juice and sat the pitcher back. "Your chin" he said with a nod, "you've sauce on your chin," he added reaching for the pumpkin juice and pouring himself a glass. He wasn't being mean or critical, he just was being considerate of Peter's feelings. Knowing that Peter was self-conscious enough about his looks already without adding the impression that he was some sort of sloppy pig when he ate. "Where is everyone?" he asked as he lifted his glass to his lips, meaning where was the rest of the marauders. Not really waiting or expecting a detailed answer he started loading his plate with chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and a dinner roll. He picked up his fork and adjusted the paper so he could read while he ate. Eating slowly and reading the articles from the front to the back. Granted it wasn't the Daily Prophet but it did have some interesting stories and goings on about Hogwarts.

Post status: finished
Word Count: 458

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: 462

Remus was more than hungry enough to eat a horse. The literal thought of eating an entire horse made him feel sick to his stomach, but deep inside, Rem knew it was true. The reason? Simple: he had, stupidly enough, forgotten about lunch, so dinner was going to be the first time he ate something ever since breakfast had taken place. He'd had a free period before lunch that he'd used to finish an essay he'd really needed to wrap up before tomorrow. Apparently, being able to focus on your work completely wasn't always a pleasant characteristic, as he'd forgotten about the time and had worked straight through lunch. He'd even almost been late for the class that followed - potions (which Remus wasn't allowed to miss out on, as it wasn't his strong subject at all).
He walked swiftly through the corridors, a quill still stuck behind his ear and a few pieces of parchment under his arm he was attempting to stuff inside his tattered bag without ripping them as he entered the Great Hall. The scents of the food almost made him groan, but he contained himself and quickly made his way over to the Gryffindor table, not paying attention to anyone else once he spotted his friends.

With a sigh, he sat himself down on the bench next to Peter, opposite James. Remus half wondered where Sirius was, but the damned boy was probably wooing (a.k.a. snogging) some girl somewhere and Remus was just glad his friend had the decency to do it somewhere else than at the dinner table - it would've ruined his appetite even more than the way Peter could sometimes maim his dinner.
"Evening all," he mumbled, not wasting any more time on formalities and simply piling mashed potatoes and beans on his plate like there was no tomorrow. To be honest, the wolf, in the back of his mind, was far more interested in the chicken, but Remus would not give into it. It was bad enough that he turned into the monster he was once a month, he wasn't going to give into tendencies like those at any other time, he had at least that bit of self control, that bit of decency.
While eating, he glanced at James reading and rolled his eyes. The Hogwarts Newsletter. It was not a newsletter, it was a badly disguised gossip pamphlet. "You're reading that filth?" He asked his friend, incredulous. "It'll make your braincells evaporate even quicker than firewhiskey does," he commented with a bit of a sour look towards the Slytherin table, an unpleasant feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. Remus Lupin was suddenly a whole lot less hungry.

[severus snape]

Severus hadn't minded Potions. Well..Of course he hadn't. But it had been especially goood, since this month, not only was he 16, but his best friend would be too. Slughorn had known and had given them a joy of a potion to brew. Not that anyone else would have agreed since it wasn't a straight forward: read instructions- follow instructions- potion made to instructions system.

Severus had had a whale of a time experimenting slightly, adding a little of this, a little more of that...Stirring this way...distillling this oil... all sorts of exceedingly interesting and, honestly, fun things. Yes, they were actually beyond the limits of what one could call nerdy without offending the nerds. Sometimes Severus was sure he belonged in RAvenclaw.

He had changed into 'casuals' as his dormmates referred to them, which for him, was a dark jumper with a frayed elbow, and a pair of his school trousers. He tugged at the collar ofthe jumper, since it felt a little smaller than it had before, mostly due to his finally beginning to see more than just the embarassing side-effects of puberty. The innappropriate bodily reactions wer mortifying but he could survive. The way his voice still cracked occassionally...that he could not. He scratched his chin where the hair that had been faint was finally darkening. Even his body hated him.

HE made his way down to the great hall, the smell of food was encouraging, particularly to someone who even now couldn't get over the fact that there was enough food. Enough, meant that he could eat until he felt full. Something he could certainly not do at home.

The table was already filling up, but he knew that some slytherins had a beauty routine to follow before they could appear in public, so there would soon eb more.

He spied fish and chips near one and and slunk over to it quickly, completely avoiding looking at Gryffindor table in case The MArarse noticed him and decided he would look 'pretty' in ketchup. IT was only when he had sat down that he looked up to see Tanith MAlfoy with a slice of cheesecake that she was..guarding?

Ah well..each to their own. He served himself fish, chips and a healthy serving of mushy peas. January was shaping up to absolutely fantastic.

[Peter E. Pettigrew]

Peter kept his head down and eyes looking at his meal, occasionally flicking off to make sure there was no one about to start on him, if anyone started heading towards him, he tended to try and get away before they even realised he realised. So far the evening was facing up to be quite quiet and this pleased Peter immensely, the lower he kept his nose, the less trouble that came his way. Every now and then he'd catch a flicker of a person, but it would just be someone walking by, occasionally he let his eyes wander to the Ravenclaw table, but unfortunately, Fin was not there.

Half way through his meal, peter caught a glimpse of something heading towards him, he looked up quickly and smiled with relief and excitement as he realised it was James. A sudden rush came over him. He liked James, he liked James a lot and hoped that this meal time would go from quiet to fun. Peter hated confrontation and making a scene when he was alone, but when he had his friends around him, especially James, he became willing to do almost anything to have some fun, to keep his friends and to look popular, after all, Sirius and James were the most popular boys in the school because of their pranks and fun loving, adventurous sides and Remus, well Remus seemed to get all the smart girls so he was popular to in his own way, Peter wasn't quite as much, but it was okay, he didn't need lots of girls drooling over him. He liked Fin and no one else.

"Oh." Peter quickly wiped his mouth and chin with the serviette he'd had beside him, and then looked at James with his chin sticking out to ask if it'd all been rubbed off. Peter couldn't help it, he wasn't messy on purpose and he was sure he wasn't special needs, but sometimes, he just sort of made a mess of himself when eating, and sometimes sleeping he would drool on his pillow . . . well, every night he'd do that and wake up with . . . well, you don't really need to know what, but he never did any of it on purpose, it just all sort of happened to him and he didn't know why, all he thought he knew was that he was unusually freakish in those sorts of ways.

Peter shrugged when James asked where everyone was. Peter never actually knew, but he could always guess. Sirius would be off somewhere, chasing some girls or in detention, Remus would be in the library and James, well . . . he was here and asking the question, but if it was someone else, he'd tell them that he was probably off stalking Lily Evans or hexing Snivellus. Okay, so he would never ever dream of actually saying that out loud to someone, but he would definitely think it.

"I dunno . . . Remu-" Peter was caught short as he saw Remus heading up toward them. He smiled at his other friend that he didn't really think was a friend, but pretended to like him anyway, and Peter was sure they both felt the same way, but he never said anything . . . just in case. "Hey Remus." Peter mumbled and he shoved a load of food into his mouth and smiled at his two friends. Something caught his eye though as Remus asked about something James was reading. Severus Snape had come down for tea at the same time as them. Peter snickered and quickly swallowed his food, if he didn't swallow now, he'd probably choke later. "Look! Snivellus is down and all on his lonesome. Nothing new there." He snorted, hoping there would be some fun in the mix this evening as he took a sip of his sweet pumpkin juice.

post status:
.finished.
tag:
everyone . . . so you better join!
word count:
650 // ...
outfit:
take a .peek.
comments:
Peter has his back to the wall so he can look out over the great hall too James ... He likes to stare at Fin .... he's a pervert ... sort of ... lol

[caradoc]

Double Potions and charms, it had to be said that it had been a very tiring day for one Caradoc Dearborn. Not to mention that a Quidditch Practice had been thrown in last minute, making his muscles all soar. It had been raining the throughout the entire training and the water was still dripping down from his hair when he entered the Ravenclaw Tower. He went in, got some fresh clothes and took a quick shower so that he wouldn't be late for dinner. After all, the practice had made him gain a lot of appetite.

Dressed in some old stylish jeans and a black t-shirt, wand in his back-pocket, Caradoc made his way into the Great Hall. As always, the ceiling was enchanted to look like the nights sky, which hadn't changed much from the scene he had witnessed a mere hour ago at the Pitch. His hair was still slightly wet, laying messily over his eyes as he scanned the crowd inside the Great Hall. So far not to many Ravenclaws could be seen at the table next to the Slytherins, of course, the Marauders were already at their Gryffindor table, and the snakes, well, some of their finest pieces were helping themselves to a nice plate full of food.

Dorcas Meadows was there, one fine piece of ass that he'd like to get his hands on some time. But to his disbelieve she was dating Adrian Nott now, if he wasn't much mistaken. Strange, he'd never seen her as a girl that could go steady with someone.
Rita Skeeter was also at the far end of the table. There was no way you could deny that this girl was absolutely beautiful, but even though they flirted at times, Caradoc Dearborn didn't really trust this girl, with everything she wrote in her gossip. It was a surprise how he had stayed out of her target point thus far. Of course, he shouldn't push his luck with her. Best to keep a low profile if you wanted to stay out of the claws of Rita Skeeter.
Ah, and then, of course, there was the one girl that could always bring a smile to Caradoc's lips. Tan Malfoy, though being a Malfoy she was nothing like the other Slytherins in his eyes. She was sweet, nice, studious, funny, and so much more. That was probably the reason why they were so good friends, even though they were from different houses. He sneaked up to her, hands softly squeezing her shoulders as he leaned down until he was at the same level as her ear. "And you call me the nerd.", he grinned, playfully winking at her, ignoring any stares that might come from the other students of Hogwarts.

[jamespotter]

He scooped some mashed potatoes onto his fork, eating as Peter wiped his mouth. James glanced at Peter when he finished, offering his chin for inspection. He nodded, "You got it," forked more potatoes as he looked back at the paper. Catching the small article about a release of a new Wizarding Trading Card for Devlin Whithorn. Inventor and founder of the Nimbus racing broom company in 1967. Helped design the Nimbus brooms which revolutionized the game of Quidditch. Tuning out the murmur of voices the filled the hall. At least until he heard Peter greet Remus. He looked up, "hey Remus" and watched his friend sit down next to Peter before returning to the paper and food.

You're reading that filth? ... It'll make your braincells evaporate even quicker than firewhiskey does

He looked over at Remus and grinned. "There's just no pleasing you is there? Just this morning you were on me about not reading." He stated with his eyes sparkling with laughter. Yes indeed Remus got on him for not reading an assignment for History of Magic class. "Really Remus, if anything would evaporate a brain cell it would be a dull history lesson. Besides this little rag isn't too bad unless you happened to be featured by the gossip queen."

He finished the page, picked up the paper turned the page and refolded it to lay nicely next to his plate. Speaking of that, there it is, the gossip queen's article of the month. So far it was the usual boring junk about the Christmas parties until he got to her feature interview. An interview and article that featured one of his best friends. He glanced at the boy across from him who sat there eating as if he didn't have a care in the world. For Remus to be taking this so calmly he was either (A) ok with the article or (B) had no idea he was the feature gossipee. Interesting. He picked up the paper and leaned in a little closer to read it. He reached for his roll and began to eat it as he read. Reading with keen interest about Remus' relationship with Saige Logan and Monoceros Dolohov.

...have you ever kissed her, and I want the truth Mister Lupin?

He glanced at Remus again, trying to hide a smirk behind the paper. He continued to read, pausing to reach for his glass of pumpkin juice. Taking a drink as he read ...

Those scars on your body, are you proud of them? (Yes ladies, mister Lupin has scars all over his body and yours truly has had the pleasure of seeing them)

An image of a nearly naked Remus standing in front of Skeeter popped into his mind... talk about evaporating brain cells! Shocked, he swallowed wrong and coughed, spewing some of the juice onto the paper. Still somewhat coughing and choking he laid the paper article face down and picked up the napkin to cover his mouth just as Peter excitedly announced the arrival of Snivellus. He half turned in his seat to see Snape then turned back his coughing fit over. Picking up the paper he wiped it and the table off before looking slyly at Remus. "Sorry about that, interesting article here, quite reveling in many ways actually." He glanced at Peter. "Seems Remus is begging for a woman to kiss, hold and to tell his secrets to, besides Skeeter whom apparently has seen him naked." His eyes falling back upon Remus laughing.

Word Count: 527
Comments: Bleh... it wasn't stated how Peter was facing... I've adjusted my post... : P

[Remus John Lupin]

Word count: 777

Remus continued to frown a little as James read on. Oh, he knew what was in the gossip section, and yes, it did bother him (a lot, actually..), but he had decided acting as though he didn't care or know would be the best approach. If anyone asked, he'd say she made it up, that Rita had fabricated a lie just because his hands were scarred, something like that.. Or he'd tell them it was none of their business, but then again that would arouse suspicion. Remus exhaled slowly, trying to enjoy his vegetables and focus on other things.
James merely grinned at him after Remus' admonishing him. "There's just no pleasing you is there? Just this morning you were on me about not reading." That had been true, but at least that had been useful reading.. Remus wasn't sure whether to be amused at James' come back or frowning at his lack of interest for the subjects. "Really Remus, if anything would evaporate a brain cell it would be a dull history lesson. Besides this little rag isn't too bad unless you happened to be featured by the gossip queen." Remus half nodded and said nothing to that - just prayed to Merlin, or whomever, that James would not read the gossip section. (Or, if he did, that he would not mention it.)
To be honest? He was a little afraid. Other people being mean about it, people that were not his friends, that he could deal with, but he was sure it would affect him a whole lot more if his friends made fun of it. He valued his friends more than anything, and their opinions mattered more to him than he'd dare admit.

He'd been in the gossip page for the last three months (damn Skeeter), but this time had definitely been the worst.
Rita had somehow cornered him in the Prefects' bathroom a few weeks back while he was in the bath (topic can be found in there, still, I think, for those interested) and there had been no way to get out of it, especially as he knew Rita would've come up with far worse things had he refused to cooperate. Remus was rather self-conscious about his body and the fact she'd asked about it and had published it bothered him immensely (understatement of the century).
Still, he hoped at least his friends would agree that it was a low, dirty trick. Remus hoped his friends would at least understand how much he worried about this, especially the question about the scars, but also in general: Remus didn't want to be in the spotlight. He wanted to be noticed as little as possible (which was easy if you went around with Sirius and James, as they were rather loud and obvious). This, of course, would cause the complete opposite.

Slowly, Remus continued eating, though he kept an eye on James, checking where he was in the paper, what he was reading, and couldn't stop himself from pausing in his chewing movements for just a moment when he turned to the gossip page. He could feel James look at him, but decided not to return the glance and kept his eyes glued to his plate, waiting for the inevitable reaction and hoping it wouldn't be the one he feared.
When his friend choked on his pumpkin juice, Remus looked up, watching James as he eventually calmed down and then looked at him. He could see the glint in James' eyes and almost already knew what was coming.

"Sorry about that, interesting article here, quite revealing in many ways actually." Remus set his jaw, in and exhaling deeply for a moment. "Seems Remus is begging for a woman to kiss, hold and to tell his secrets to, besides Skeeter whom apparently has seen him naked." Remus' eyes also shot to Pettigrew too, for a moment, to see his reaction before turning back to James, about to say something in his defense, but then he realised he was speechless. Remus didn't know what to say. He could deny it, of course, that would be the most logical reaction - but then again.. everyone in the gossip page would most likely deny everything. Besides.. James was just poking a bit of fun.. right?
So, in stead, Remus just shot James a glance (that meant 'shut it') and stabbed into his mashed potatoes, ears on fire and appetite well and truly gone.

[adrian]

It was finally dinner time, and Adrian was starving. He hadn't had the time to eat at all that day, due to classes and some last minute potions homework. He was lucky Slughorn liked him and his family so much, otherwise he probably would have been kicked out of that class a long time ago. That, and, Adrian knew, Slughorn really liked having the Quidditch trophy in his office, and if he failed potions Chandler Nott would definitely take him off the Quidditch team, which would make the odds of them winning this year rather slim.

Adrian knew what everyone was saying about him, even the people in his own house; there weren't many people, who thought he deserved to be the captain. But he did not care. He knew he was the best, and that all the other students would be eating their words by the end of the school year when he would be the one holding the trophy in his hands, every Slytherin in the audience cheering loudly. He had dreamed about that ever since he first started playing Quidditch. It was amazing that this year was finally going to be the one. He just knew it. And before long, everyone else would, too.

Walking up the stairs from the dungeons, he began heading for the Great Hall. It was probably packed by now, since dinner had been going on for about ten minutes already. He still had a lot of homework for the next day, but there was no way he was skipping another meal; even if he had to sit up all night... or just not do the homework at all. Damn N.E.W.T.s he thought to himself. Adrian knew he wouldn't even need them if he could just do what he really wanted, and not have to pursue some stupid Ministry job like his father wanted him to.

Stop it. Now! A voice in his head said. Adrian didn't usually let himself think about what he really wanted to do after Hogwarts. Besides, how many people actually managed to become professional Quidditch players? It was way too risky. And even if he could do it, his father pretty much already had his whole life planned out for him, and there was nothing he could do about it. That is why it was best not to think about it at all and therefore not be disappointed when it was time for him to start in the Ministry.

The Great Hall was full, just as he had expected. He immediately began to make his way towards the Slytherin table, not even looking at any of the other ones. Adrian preferred to pretend they didn't exist whenever he could. By doing that he was able to have a decent meal occasionally. But that was hard to do when one of them was over at his table. Okay, so normally he didn't mind Ravenclaws; they were actually very nice most of the time. But Caradoc Dearborn was a pest! He was always acting as if he was the best thing that ever happened to Hogwarts, and now he was over at the Slytherin table. Big mistake.

As he walked towards the guy, Adrian's eyes noticed someone else at that table; Dorcas Meadowes. Shit. The last time they had seen each other was when she told him to go to the New Year's party with her. He had actually been planning on going, but as it turned out the Nott's were having some really important guests over, and he was pretty much forced to be there. However, Adrian doubted Dorcas would accept that as an excuse. Well, even if she would, she wouldn't get to, because he would never apologize to her.

"Hey, Dearborn." He said kind of loudly. Adrian was still a few feet away from the Ravenclaw; he knew from experience that it was best not to get too close to people he didn't like. For their safety, of course. "I suggest you go back to your own table right now." He just wanted to have a nice meal, so hopefully this idiot would just do as he was told. Once again, Adrian glanced at Dorcas, but looked away quickly. "Go on." He added with a nod towards the Ravenclaw table.

[dorcas]

Dorcas sat where she was, her back to the majority of the great hall as she ate her pizza so she wouldn't have to look at them all. Talking and laughing, being cheerful little individuals, yeah well whatever. Wasn't she just the little sour-puss this evening? Dorcas sighed to herself almost silently, not paying any attention to her fellow Slytherins that were at the same table and that were slowly coming in for tea tonight, no, Dorcas was wrapped up in her own little world, listening to her own thoughts that were certainly trying to torture her. Before she knew it, she would be completely insane, and it was all Adrian Nott's fault the damn fricking bastard.

Ah . . . think of the Devil . . . Dorcas looked up to a familiar voice. It wasn't speaking to her, but it was close by. Her eyes locked with Adrian's as he was trying to boss some Ravenclaw around, Dorcas swiftly went back to her pizza, hoping Adrian didn't really notice her . . . yeah right, they'd looked right at each other, how could he not have noticed her? A part of her brain was thinking that he may of thought she was someone else, but the logical side of her knew that wasn't true at all. Dorcas wondered why it was he was kicking up a fuss. That Ravenclaw guy was on his House Quidditch team, but surely Adrian wasn't insecure enough to be threatened by another Quidditch player at their table, was he? Hah, he probably was the stupid idiot.

Closing her eyes briefly, Dorcas hoped Adrian would get his arse served to him on a platter, but a part of her didn't want that Ravenclaw to do it, she really, really had the urge to just mortify him in front of everyone . . . if only she actually had some dirt on him, unfortunately she did not and as such was left just wishing and wanting. Dorcas shook her head to herself and put her pizza slice down and picked up the jug of water not far from her, she poured herself a glass and set the jug down. Why did she have a feeling this evening was going to be a bad one? It probably had something to do with the fact that she was once again in close proximity of Adrian fricking Nott, something she was not happy about but that she would only have to deal with for a few more months and then, she would never have to see him ever again and nothing would make her happier than to just walk away from him, get him out of her life and just move on. Why did she have to get so fricking hung up on a guy? This never, ever happened to her and now, she had to go and choose the wrong sort of guy. At least this was only school and they were still only teenagers, that meant that in years to come, ten maybe twenty, she could look back on this and laugh, thinking about how foolish and silly she was. Surprisingly, that didn't comfort her much.

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[gossip]

Rita wasn't really enjoying her chicken, she supposed it was all right because she was eating it, but her mind was on other things, plenty of other things as a matter of fact. There was plenty of gossip going on all around the great hall and to make things a whole lot more interesting, three quarters of the Marauders were in the Great Hall at the same time as Severus Snape. Usually where those boys were, there tended to be a little scuffle, usually nothing worth reporting about, but then again, sometimes it was. Severus probably disliked her intensely, but truth was, as impressive as Severus was around the Slytherin House, able to impress older students with his ... talents he was still a weedy little runt that everyone could walk over and no one gave a shit about apart from that mudblood Evans.

ANother couple she was keeping an eye one were Tanith Malfoy and Caradoc Dearborn ... interesting, how very, very interesting. They seemed to be getting closer and closer as things went on and Rita wondered just how close they were with one another. Maybe there was something there, a sexual relationship, boyfriend and girlfriend, unrequited love or maybe, just once it was a friendship, but how boring would that be to report on? Oh no, Rita did not do boring reports, no matter how insanely attractive the male of the pair was. Though Rita did find it quite interesting that the quiet Miss Malfoy was 'friend's with a half-blood. That was certainly something to hitch up the point that Miss Malfoy was a muggle defender and mudblood lover.

As if things weren't getting good enough in the Great Hall this very pleasant evening, Rita was given another little treat. Adrian Nott, seventh year Slytherin did not seem at all impressed with Caradoc's presence at the House table. Quite interesting really, perhaps Nott had a thing for Malfoy and was jealous over her relationship with Dearborn, but then Rita noticed the glancing at Meadowes and Meadowes at Nott. Oh Lordy what a love square there was. Three Slytherins intertwined with a Ravenclaw? Could this evening get any better? Rita certainly hoped so because all though she was making mental notes of everything, she was also making sure that she was being very careful not to look at them all too much. She didn't want them knowing she was watching in and listening, that would possibly complicate things, and she didn't want to complicate things, it seemed this foursome, of which meadowes was actually keeping her distance from, were able to complicate things quite nicely for themselves, she barely had to put a spin on any of it ... barely.

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[tanith]

Tanith had to admit that although it seemed nosey, people watching did have its benefits. Her reading material lay forgotten next to her picked at fish-and-chips whilst Tanith watched the Great Hall fill up. She snickered as her gaze moved from the thoughtful pizza-chewing Dorcas Meadowes to watch Remus Lupin squirming on the other side of the Hall whilst his friends scanned Skeeter's latest scathing, lying rag. She could almost see the pleasure Rita got from gossiping about every other student in the school, being nosey was kind of fun, even if Tan's own brand of nosiness was more passive than using a quick-quotes quill to make sure everyone knew about it. As Tan watched Lupin squirm he noticed the chubbier Marauder .. what was his name, Pettigrew, glance over to the Slytherin side of the hall and she turned slightly in her own seat to see what they were looking over at, just in time to see Severus sit down to his own plate of fish and chips. Typical, Tan thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She wasn't friendly enough with Severus to embarrass herself intervening with the Marauder's favourite activity of 'Snivellus-baiting' but all the same, she hoped they would remain on their own side of the Hall. A fight was the last thing she wanted, she'd lose her appetite completely then.

Deciding people watching was actually more trouble than it was worth, Tanith gave a slightly awkward wave in Sev's direction that she wasn't sure he saw, deciding to bite back a friendly comment about a shared penchant for fish and chips. She'd have to yell it over the clatter of plates at the Slytherin table and she knew how awkward that would look. Best to remain awkward on her own. Oh well. Feeling breezier than usual (she decided she would come to group meals in the Great Hall more often if they were as placid as this) Tan was about to tuck into her cheesecake when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and a voice in her ear. Although she knew it was Caradoc, she still jumped, dropping her fork onto her plate with a clatter that made her cringe and two small first years giggle beside her. "Merlin Car, most people just say hello" Tanith teased, grinning behind her at her friend and deciding that she would definitely be joining group meals in the Great Hall more often if it meant enjoying Caradoc's company (even if he was leering across at Dorcas Meadowes). Resisting a jealous frown in Dorcas' direction, Tanith rubbed the back of her neck (she was still straining to look back at him) and shrugged Car's warm hands off her shoulders rather abruptly, gesturing to the empty seat beside her on the bench. "You're going to give me whiplash, why don't you sit --"

She'd been about to say 'sit down' but before Tanith could finish her sentence, another voice made her jump. Cursing her over-sensitive reflaxes, Tanith turned and frowned at Adrian Nott. She was already feeling slightly testy about the way Caradoc had been staring at Dorcas, and now Adrian was glancing furtively in the same direction. Were they going to wrestle or duel to try to impress the brunette? Tan seriously hoped not. Perhaps it was because she was feeling irritable and jealous that made her reply acidly to Adrian. Any other time she would have shut her mouth (he was slightly intimidating, Tan had always thought of Adrian, even if most other girls swooned over him). "Actually" Tanith frowned witheringly at the Slytherin boy, surprised at her own voice; "Caradoc can sit here if he likes, s'none of your business" Now that she'd blurted it out Tan instantly regretted it. It sounded slightly feeble. But hey, it was something.