Meeting the squad

Walking through the door, a massive hall came into view. But it blew me away. Dozens of floors could be seen, almost like shelves on a bookcase. The floor/roof of each level was made of onyx stone and the guard rails on the balcony of each floor was made of gold. The entire building was rectangle-shaped and looked like the side of a hotel. Spares tables full of students could be seen. Everyone had a smile on their faces as they were talking. A multitude of food spread over the table as if it was Christmas eve. On the walls, small thunderbirds could be seen holding lamps that lit up the floors brilliantly.

The lighting made it seem like it was daytime. the walls looked like windows into another world as grassy plains, mountain ranges, deserts, oceans, it was all there. But separated into floors.

the entire place was shiny and luxurious, a cafeteria could be seen against the far end of the room. from where I was standing, I could see it stretch upwards where another cafeteria was placed.

But what differentiated each one from the next, was the food being served. It seemed to match the scenery. On the ground floor, it was a grassy plain, so there was picnic food, as well as chicken and beef.

On the second floor, a desert, so there was cold and refreshing food such as ice cream and Cold Sesame Cucumber Noodles, Chicken Orzo Salad, Watermelon Poke Bowls and so on.

On the third floor, there was a mountain range full of deep forests, so they served game. Deer, rabbit, moose. As well as other hot foods.

On the fourth floor, there was a limitless ocean, on that floor they served fish of all kinds from shark fin soup to tuna and clams. Anything and everything.

On the fifth, a burning desolate land, on that floor, everything that could be spicey was and incredibly so.

Above that was the final floor, an expanse of clouds. Nothing more nothing less, just clouds. On that floor, they had every possible candy you could imagine.

As I gazed up at the infinite amounts of foods of all kinds, I became slightly overwhelmed. What should I choose to eat?

But before I could decide, "TOM!" a voice yelled from somewhere within the first floor. I looked in that direction and saw Percival sitting down with a bunch of other people. They had chicken, beef, barbeque, it smelled great.

Making my way over, I sat down next to Percival after he made space for me. He pat my shoulder with a smile, "Let me introduce you, this is Fred, the most bored and unenthusiastic person you will ever meet." He said pointing at the kid with brown hair who was almost dozing off on the table. A face of complete boredom and lack of care for anything was evident. he didn't even respond to Percival's insults.

"Next is Jenna, she is the smart one of the group, if you have problems, she can help." He spoke. The girl in question had brown hair and glasses on. Her deep blue eyes spoke of wisdom beyond her years which caught my attention. She had her hair tied in a neat bun and pushed her glasses up with a furious expression.

"Hey, why would you introduce me like some nerd. You're such a loser Percival!" she said angrily. Percival waved her off dismissively and moved on, "next is Robert, he is the best when it comes to transfiguration and loves animals."

"Sup man," Robert greeted casually and lowered his head back to eat the salad on his plate. He seemed to be a bit of a vegetarian. He had black hair and a warm smile. brown eyes and freckles all over his face.

"Don't mind him, he loves animals so much he can't bear to eat them. And last but not least, Abby, she is the best and duelling amongst us all. even though we are only second years, she is way ahead of us due to her parents being master duellers." He explained.

Abby looked at me solemnly, she had raven black hair that was down to her waist, slender hands and skin as white as snow. She was already exhibiting signs of being a real top-class beauty in the future.

"Why is she in the thunderbird house instead of the wampus cat house?" I asked.

Percival smiled, "for some reason, the wampus statue didn't light up for her." he shrugged.

Abby's head rose from her food as she stared at me for a moment.

"You're the kid Percival was talking about. The one that froze us all in the colosseum?" she asked.

"That's the one. No hard feeling." I said with a smile.

"Have a duel with me," she proposed abruptly. I looked at everyone and saw their lack of surprise, it must be a common occurrence. I then looked at her for a moment and pondered, even though I would gain no benefit from doing so, it wasn't bad to get acquainted with the people I'll be staying with for the next half a year.

"Sure, but let me eat first, I haven't eaten since we arrived at the school," I said before getting up and walking to the cafeteria on the same level. Even though there was nobody there to take the order, there was a piece of parchment, ink and a quill. I wrote down my order and the words disappeared. Instantly, the dish was placed on the desk in front of me.

It reminded me of Riddle's diary. Not bothering with the thought anymore, I took the large plate full of fried chicken and barbequed beef and sat down before digging in. I could see Robert frowning heavily as he saw me eating. I decided to tease the fellow, "boy, what are they feeding these chickens? They're delicious." Exclaimed as I turned to Percival with a playful smile.

Percival understanding my intention smiled cheekily, "yeah, they're delicious, they say that the house-elves feed them magical seeds and enhance the nutrition of their food in general." He nodded vigorously while licking his lips. Black lines appeared on Robert's face as he stared at both of us as if we had killed his mother.

"Want some?" I asked, extending a chicken drumstick. Robert stood up abruptly, "You're both insufferable, I have lost my appetite." He said and was about to storm off when I stood up and stopped him from leaving.

"I was only messing with you man. Relax," I said with a smile. But Robert was still frowning.

"Robert you dumbass, stop being such a pussy and sit down," Abby demanded. Robert looked at her before silently sitting down again like a good little boy. I was stunned, the mouth on this woman. And why did Robert listen to her?

As I sat down, Percival noticed my look and leaned in, "Robert over there has a crush on Abby." He revealed. I finally understood, it was understandable, you do some weird and simp like things at this young age. I sighed slightly. But in a sense, if Robert played his cards right, he could end up having the last laugh.

I shrugged and continued to eat my food. But I couldn't help but think of Hermione, in this world she was vastly different from the one in the books. In this one, she resembled Emma Watson. Which was definitely something to brag about. I knew very well that Hermione would grow up to be a very beautiful woman, and I couldn't help but praise my good luck.

[Really now? Look at this Achlys, Tommy here is love-struck,] Drak teased. I almost choked on my food.

'I am not! Just analysing the facts', I tried to defend myself as I felt my face burn up slightly.

{PFFFT! Right, because we'll fall for that one mate! Don't worry, we back you all the way! you don't have to be embarrassed about it.} Achlys said in a mocking tone.

'Fuck you both'

{[back at you]} Both dragons spat at the same time. I really hated them. But I was honestly astonished at how much that girl had rubbed off on me. At this point, I couldn't deny that I was developing a crush on her. But I shook my head slightly,

"*Sigh* how far I've fallen" I mumbled to myself.

"What?" asked Percival.

"Nothing man. Nothing."