A Bit Early

Breakfast Etiquette

When I woke up, there was a strange sweetish smell in the room, and a lot of noise.

"Guys," I moaned jokingly, "I have to pay if you ruin these curtains." I blinked a few times, and my dorm came into focus.

"What do you do?" I yelled. There was fabric strewn across the room, Parvati and Ginny yelling their heads off, and Cho looking about ready to burst into tears. Luna was combing her hair calmly, infusing it with some strange oil watching Padma, who was hunched over scraps of a very familiar blue fabric. "That isn't, is it...?"

"It's my dress!" screamed Parvati. At this specifically loud outburst, Cho broke into sobs.

"I d-didn't mean to cause all this m-mess. She's only a b-baby owl. She d-didn't know!" Cho blubbered, holding her owl, Alice, close to her chest. All of the commotion had startled the bird, and burrowed her head closer to her owner.

"Someone explain what is going on now; or you're all out!" I demanded, planting my feet in my annoying, Prefect way. Luna stood up delicately.

"You see, during the night, Cho's owl destroyed Parvati's dress. Parvati believes it to be Cho's fault, for it is her owl; while Ginny thinks it was an accident. Padma is doing her best to repair the dress, but Parvati is still upset. All this has caused Cho to believe this is all her doing. That is why she broke into tears," Luna finished simply, and began to comb her hair again.

"Girls, it isn't Cho's fault, though it is Alice's. Nothing can be done to mend it exactly, so it's best to get over your gown; which dissolves your argument. And should ease Cho's guilt," I smiled sympathetically to each of them. "I'm sure that Padma will do wonders with the dress like she did Luna's. So that solves Parvati's problem. And now the only thing we must worry about is each getting a spot of breakfast before returning to start getting ready."

They exchanged glances, and slowly Parvati walked to Cho and lowered herself so that they were sitting face to face.

"I'm sorry. It really wasn't your fault. And your poor little owl didn't know any better," she cooed to the bundle of feathers still tucked away in Cho's morning robe.

"Thank you, Parvati. And I apologize too. She's never been the brightest of pets," said Cho affectionately. "Let's all lock up our pets, and go down to breakfast like Hermione suggested." We all nodded in agreement and headed down.

As we approached the Great Hall, we noticed that the boys and girls had been split. The boys got the tables usually reserved for Slytherin and Gryffindor, while the girls got the tables for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Professor McGonagall approached us as we stood there with questioning looks.

"Girls, please sit down at one of those two tables," she said, indicating the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. "Except for you Ms. Granger and Ms. Chang. I would like a word with you two." Everyone else left with puzzled looks, except Luna, who appeared to be talking to herself.

"Sure Professor. What do you need?" I asked. Cho looked nervous, always afraid she had done something wrong.

"Oh, nothing is wrong, dears," said McGonagall, referring to Cho. "I just wanted to make sure that make sure that you were aware of your dancing steps for tonight. You ll be leading the other dancers, you know." Apparently Cho hadn't known.

"What?" she yelled. "We must lead everyone in dancing? But I simply can't dance in front of them all." She stated. "I will miss steps, and forget when to jump. What if I trip on my dress?" I grabbed her arm, and began to drag her towards a table as she carried on.

"Don't worry Professor. It's just a case of nerves. She'll be fine," I said, sugary sweet. When we finally arrived at the Ravenclaw table, I noticed the food laid out was not our normal breakfast.

In front of us were plates of fresh fruit, oatmeal, and dime sized, extra fiber pancakes. There was an array of fruit juices from cranberry and apple, to pineapple and mango. The closest to a sugary sweet or chocolate were the blueberry, flax seed, and banana-nut muffins. Every yard or so, there were stacks of pamphlets with how-to's about makeup, dancing, and proper etiquette, which the Slytherin girls chortled at.

"This is astounding," I breathed in the smell of fresh fruit, and light perfume.

"I know. Isn't it great?" said Padma through a mouthful of papaya slices.

"Tsk-tsk, little sis. Don't talk with your mouth open, and don't slouch," said Parvati pouring over an etiquette pamphlet with Ginny. They began walking around the table and correcting everyone.

"Exactly like that, Padma. Chin up, Cho. Hermione, elbows off the table. Nobody gawk at me. It isn't very becoming," Ginny continued.

"Thank you, Pretty Police. Now, explain what's going on, and why I can't find my orange juice," I said, exasperated.

"Always say please," Ginny warned as Parvati explained.

"Since the ladies of the representing school must look lovely, they made a special breakfast and gave us these," she said holding up a pamphlet. "The fruit will make your cheeks glow, and help clear your complexion. The muffins will keep you energetic because of their slow digestion. But citrus makes you break out, ergo, lack of orange juice." I was about to complain when Ginny finished explaining.

"The pamphlets give us instructions for much needed topics. Do you know how to ballroom dance? Hmm? What about the do's and don't's of making conversation with the opposite sex?" she inquired.

"Making conversation with the opposite sex? What are they now, aliens? You have five brothers! How hard is it to learn the right way to say hi?" I huffed. They began correcting me again, so I tried a different approach.

"How about we go over this while getting ready? But we have to eat quickly. The," I lowered my voice to an exaggerated stage whisper, "opposite sex will think we Are pigs if we stay at the table for much longer," I concluded. They widened their eyes and nodded, as they finished their dainty meals.

As we 'gracefully glided' up the stairs, I couldn't conceal a little giggle. I wonder what the boys have been put through for this dance.