Ron-Weasly book 1. V2 part 5-2

Chapter 5.2 The feast

I went to Harry's, to the Gryffindor table. He applauded loudly along with the others until I plopped down next to him. Well, the twins are sitting far away from me. They have a habit of throwing something nasty on their plate. And unfortunately Percy is sitting almost opposite.

"That's great, Ron, that's great", Percy praised me with an important look, while the last one on the list, Blaze Zabini, was already heading for the Slytherin table. "Roland, I hope you fed the Brat on the train." Percy asked, worried.

"Don't worry, Percy gave him some food. I was thinking of feeding him festive food from the feast."

"Ron, I hope you remember that you can't eat rats with spices?"

"Damn, I completely forgot, okay, I'll peel him a piece of potatoes and chicken."

"You can also give him a piece of mild cheese or your favorite pumpkin pie."

While I was chatting with my older brother, Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Magic Hat out of the hall.

I looked at the empty dinner plate in front of me. The hall was decorated with green plants on the walls, and floating candles in the air. I just realized that I'm insanely hungry. It seemed that I had eaten the sweets I bought on the train not a few hours ago, but several centuries ago. Albus Dumbledore rose from his throne and spread his arms wide. There was a radiant smile on his face. He looked as if nothing in the world could please him more than the students of his school sitting in front of him.

"Welcome!" He said. "Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. These are the words: Oaf! A bubble! The remainder! A trick! That's it, thank you all!"

He's weird. Although at his age, such behavior is excusable. How old is he, a hundred and fifty years old? Dumbledore sat down in his seat. The audience burst into cheers and applause. Harry sat and was surprised and silent.

"Is he... is he a little crazy? Harry asked uncertainly, turning to Percy, who was sitting on his left."

"Is he crazy?" Percy asked absently, but then caught himself. "He's a genius! The best magician in the world! But you're right, he's a little crazy. How about some fries, Harry?"

Percy began to help Harry onto a large plate, just a little at a time.

There was a tray of magical snacks next to us. I helped myself to some cheese sticks, and Harry decided to try one magic bag — a minitartalette with mushroom cream. Hermione held out her hand for a ham and cheese canapé on a skewer. After eating a few cheese sticks, I tried the magic bag, and piled on a plate of normal food.

There were dishes all around: Shepherd's pie, chicken cutlets in breadcrumbs in the form of wings, baked salmon with lemon and dill, with a side dish of mashed potatoes, and a mix of baked vegetables. The side dish was mudir potatoes, fried potatoes, mashed potatoes, stewed buckwheat porridge in pots.

I helped myself to a piece of salmon with mashed potatoes and chicken cutlets. Then I took a couple of medium-sized potatoes in a uniform and handed them to the Brat sitting on my lap. I also put some ham and a piece of cheese on him, removing them from the skewer. Then he attacked the food. She was absolutely gorgeous.

Harry tried a little of everything, and Hermione helped herself to a shepherd's pie and began to eat it in conversation with Percy.

"It looks good," the ghost in tights remarked sadly, watching Harry eat meatballs with buckwheat porridge from a pot.

"Do you want to" Harry began, but the ghost shook his head. "I have enough magic from the school's source, just like the rest of the school's ghosts."

I finished the cutlets and salmon and reached for the shepherd's pie.

"I haven't eaten regular food for almost four hundred years now. I don't have any need for food, but the truth is, I don't have enough. By the way, I don't think I've introduced myself. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Delphington, at your service. The ghost who lives in Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" I blurted out. "My brothers told me about you — you're Almost a Headless Nick!"

"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy." The ghost began in a stern tone, but Seamus Finnigan beat him to it. The blond-haired boy who stood in front of Harry in the line. He is the descendant of a combat fire mage.

"Almost headless? How can you be almost headless?"

Damn, not at the table. Sir Nicholas looked a little displeased, as if the conversation hadn't gone where he wanted it to go.

"Just like that," he replied irritably, tugging at his left ear. The head separated from the neck and fell onto the shoulder, as if held on a spring and activated by pressing on the ear. Obviously, someone tried to behead him, but did not finish the job. The Almost Headless Nick's head was resting on his shoulder, smiling contentedly as he watched the expressions on the freshmen's faces. Hermione dropped her fork in shock, then pushed her plate away from her. Then he pulled on his right ear and his head snapped back into place. The ghost cleared his throat.

Damn, I've lost my appetite. But fuck you. I'm going to eat! Unfortunately, I'm hungry almost all the time.

"Percy, how do I ask the house elves for other food?"

"Tap your wand on the table and say what you want. Only politely."

I took out my wand and tapped its tip a couple of times on the tabletop.

"Can I have fried chicken, please?"

Ten minutes later, a small dish with fried chicken legs appeared in front of me. Reaching out, I helped myself to fried chicken drumsticks and began to eat. I've already eaten the pie. Damn, it's like I haven't eaten since morning. And we ate a lot of sweets on the train.

"Ron, can I have a leg?" Harry asked me.

"Yes, take it, I held out the dish to him." Harry took a chicken drumstick and helped himself to mashed potatoes.

"Ron, Harry, don't overeat, there will be a delicious dessert." Percy told us, after which he reached out and took a chicken thigh from my dish. He likes chicken himself, although he prefers beef.

"So, to the new students of the Gryffindor faculty! I hope you will help us win this year's competition between the faculties? Gryffindor has never gone so long without a reward. For the past six years in a row, Slytherin has won. The Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin's cellars, has become almost unbearable."

I looked towards the Slytherin table and saw a creepy-looking ghost with bulging empty eyes, an elongated bony face, and clothes stained with silver blood. almost headless Nick started agitating us. The Baron was sitting next to Malfoy, who was not at all enthusiastic about such company. Well, I get it, Draco, the Baron is covered in silver blood, and he's also a pretty respected ghost who demands attention without even eating properly.

"How come he's covered in blood?" Seamus blurted out, who for some reason was very interested in this question.

"I've never asked," Almost Headless Nick remarked delicately.

When everyone was full, the plates suddenly emptied, becoming perfectly clean again and shining so brightly in the candlelight, as if there was no food on them. But just a moment later, a sweet appeared on them. Lemon pie, pink and blue meringue sprinkled with sequins, sand baskets with fruit jelly and fresh berries, chocolate candies in the form of pebbles with whole hazelnuts and orange jelly.

While I was filling my plate with a variety of desserts, and Harry was reaching for a mint lemonade, they started talking about families at the table. I helped myself to lemon pie and chocolate pebbles, and pulled over a steaming cup of spiced tea.

"Personally, I'm half-on-half," Seamus admitted. "My dad is a Muggle, and my mom is a wizard. Mom didn't tell him anything until after they got married. I understood that he wasn't happy at all when he found out the truth. He calls me a spawn of the devil.

Everyone laughed. Yeah, I don't envy Seamus.

"And you, Neville?" I asked.

"I... well, my grandmother raised me, she's a magician," Neville began. "But my whole family was convinced that I was a real squib. My great-uncle Algy kept trying to catch me off guard so that I could create some kind of miracle. He really wanted me to be a magician. So, one day he crept up on me while I was standing on the pier and pushed me into the water. And I almost drowned. In general, I was the most ordinary — until I was eight years old. When I was eight, Algy came to tea with us, caught me and stuck me out the window. I was hanging upside down there, and he was holding my ankles. And then my great-aunt Enid offered him a cake, and he accidentally opened his hands. I flew from the second floor, but I didn't crash — it was like I turned into a ball, bounced off the ground and bounced down the path. They were all delighted, and Grandma even burst into tears of happiness. You should have seen their faces when I received the letter from Hogwarts — they were afraid they wouldn't send it to me, that I wasn't really a wizard. My great-uncle Algy happily gave me a toad."

"Couldn't he have tied her to you?"

"Ron, he tried, but she just jumped away from me after the ritual. I think it's gotten worse."

I listened to what Percy and Hermione, who were sitting on our left, were talking about. However, I might have guessed: Hermione, of course, was talking about classes.

"I really hope that we will start studying tomorrow. We have so much to learn. Personally, I'm most interested in transfiguration, you know, the art of turning something into something else. Although, of course, this is considered a very difficult task."

Yes, it's very difficult, but as a future golem lord, I need it. It's good that I can practice on a chess set. First you turn the board into a forest or a lake or mountains, and then you play with the mind of the set.

"Don't count on much. You'll start with the little things, you'll turn matches into needles, something like this."