𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓮 // 𝓱. 𝓰𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻

002 - 𝓑𝓵𝓸𝓸𝓭𝔂 𝓟𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓬

Alara ended up sitting between Fred and Ginny, who proved to be an extremely chatty duo. She sat in awe of all the teasing and banter, interested in Ginny's ability to come up with quick comebacks. She was pulled in at some point, yet her skills did not match the redheads'.

When dinner was served, Alara felt rather inspired, putting some soup into her bowl. As she swished it around in her bowl with her spoon, she soon became aware that she was not as ready for a meal as she thought. She felt disappointment fill her. She was disappointed with herself, ashamed even. She looked up with defeat filling her eyes and instantly met Alejandro's gaze. He gave her an intrigued look at which she merely made a funny face. She looked back at her soup, deciding to come back to it after a while.

As the conversation and dinner went on she found out Ginny was, in fact, a year younger than Alara, and in turn figured out that the twins were the same age as Alejandro. The green-eyed boy now sat joking away with Fred and chatting with Sirius and Lupin.

Alara had spaced off, a habit she unfortunately developed from a very young age, though she found herself tuning in and out of conversations around the table. Mr. Weasley's conversations with anyone were rather interesting. The second Alara saw the man she immediately found him the most precious human ever. He was a tall red-headed man, whose hair was slowly graying and disappearing at the same time. He was very much a muggle enthusiast, bombarding Hermione, whose parents were muggles, with questions about their day-to-day. Alara found this absolutely comical and couldn't help but giggle at some interactions.

When Alara came back to her soup, she felt more relaxed, the lively environment raising her spirits. She looked up to her brother again, who nodded encouragingly before turning to converse with Fred for a second and then focusing back on Alara. She debated for a second or two then let out a defeated sigh, filling her spoon with soup and scooping up some potatoes. She slowly put the spoon in her mouth and retracted it, leaving the food inside. It didn't taste bad at all, in fact, it was very savory. Her stomach remained settled. She swallowed after chewing and she received a thumbs-up from her brother, who'd carefully watched the whole thing. He then pointed at the chicken between them, mouthing 'protein'. Alara made a pinching motion with her fingers, letting her brother know that she needed a moment before eating more. He gave her an approving nod, joining back in the conversation with a smile.

Alara sipped on her water. She focused on attempting to find the familiar unsettled feeling in her stomach, but she failed to identify it. She set her glass down and looked up, making eye contact with eyes that were already on her. It was Hermione. Her eyes were filled with worry, her eyebrows furrowed as if concentrated on solving a complicated math problem.

Alara felt embarrassment creep into her. Hermione had just witnessed that whole thing. Everything. Alara looked away from her and bit her inner cheek to refocus her brain. It was too late. It didn't work. As if a wave had just crashed into her from the back she became too aware. It was like a shock zapping through her, like her senses had been turned back on. The smells of the various foods around her filled her, making her feel disgusted. The unsettled feeling in her stomach grew like a plague and she gagged without meaning to.

She swallowed hard and brought up a sleeve in an attempt to block the smell of food but when she inhaled her breath caught in her throat. Her chest tightened.

Great timing anxiety, she grumbled angrily at herself in her mind. Just great.

She absolutely had to leave. At once. Before all these people witnessed her have a panic attack, and before her beautifully crafted first impression was ruined.

She abruptly stood up, as quietly and quickly as possible. Everyone stayed in their conversations, except Alejandro, who looked at her plate, the chicken, then her.