"You, my dear, seem to have a knack at Potions."
Aria's eyes widened at her head of house's statement. Professor Snape stood next to the Herbology professor and Professor McGonagall stood on her other side. Why Aria needed an entire audience for ju...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
~*~
There was an excited buzz about the great hall as all the students filed in to begin the Halloween feast. If this one would be anything like last year's, Aria was very excited. All the wonderful food that they always had was some of her favorites. All the sweets and pumpkin flavored treats filled her with delight. Though she didn't have a love for pumpkins, Hogwarts seemed to change that. Aria excitedly sat herself at the Hufflepuff table and began scooping all types of puddings and cakes onto her plate. Corryn, Thomas, and Cedric were quick to follow, the boys sitting across from the girls.
Aria loaded a baked potato on her plate and covered it with ranch dressing which appeared at a single thought. The house elves must have known she'd be wanting it. It was a meal she used to have almost every Monday at home. It was unpopular, but Aria didn't care. What was delicious was delicious, matter what you did.
"I didn't know I could eat so much," Cedric said, patting his stomach with a smile and loading a forkful of his own baked potato into his mouth.
"If you stay for Christmas, it's an even better meal," a Hufflepuff prefect said from next to their group. "And you get more food because there are less people there."
"I'll be staying for Christmas," Aria mentioned. "So I'll have to let you know how it is."
Thomas paused mid-bite. "You're staying for Christmas? Are your parents working? If they are, you're welcome to come home with me. Mum would love to see you."
"No," Aria said with a shake of her head. "Apparently, Harry has a hard home life so he's staying here. The Weasley's and I don't want him to spend his first actual Christmas alone, so we're staying here. They were going to go to Romania to visit Charlie for the holiday, but only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are going. They actually invited my parents, and they invited me, but I think I'd rather stay and support Harry. I haven't seen Charlie in a long time, but I'm sure he can be fine without my presence."
Half of her explanation was given with a full mouth, but her friends seemed to get most of what she said, and all shared a look.
"Sorry," Corryn apologized. "If I could stay with you, I would, but Christmas is a big thing in my family."
"Me too," Thomas agreed.
"The same is with my family."
Aria shrugged. "That's no problem. I'll have the Weasleys. Plus, with my access to the Gryffindor common room because of my bonus potions, I won't be entirely alone. Besides-"
The doors to the Great Hall slammed open with a loud bang, quieting the room immediately. Professor Quirrell ran down the open space between tables quickly, the loose fabric of his turbine flapping behind him. Sprinting to the staff table, he leaned against the spot just in front of Dumbledore, gasping for air, and looking quite terrified.
