Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [122]
Harry and Cho sat down at the closest table, and Ron and Hermione joined them. Hermione looked just as extravagant as Cho; she was dressed in almost the exact same dress she wore last year, only this one was covered in shiny glitter and a lighter blue, very white. She also had her hair down differently: it was slick and down, not tied up in a bun. There were no curls like she usually had, and there were blonde highlights spattered through it. She smiled at Harry, her teeth shining.
“Hello Harry,” she said.
“Hey Hermione,” said Harry.
“Oh, hello Cho,” said Hermione, seeing Cho look over, to see who Harry was talking to. Cho smiled, and put out her arm. Hermione took it, and they shook hands.
“I don’t believe we’ve ever met formally,” said Cho. “I’m Cho Chang.”
“And I’m Hermione Granger,” said Hermione, letting go of their handshake. She presented Ron. “And this is Ron Weasley.”
“Good to meet you, Ron,” said Cho. Ron went very red, and sat back down next to Hermione.
“You have such nice friends,” said Cho.
“I haven’t met any of your,” said Harry. “Where are they?”
“Oh, I don’t expect they’ll be coming to this party,” said Cho. “They’re all seventh years, and are allowed to attend a different dance, the one in Hogsmeade. It’s much larger than this one, and from what I’m told, more fun.”
“More fun than this?” said Harry. “I doubt it!” Just then, Professor Fletcher appeared before Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Cho. He had a big grin on, and looked excited.
“What is it professor?” asked Hermione.
“What would you like?” he asked, barely moving his lips.
“Like for what?” asked Cho.
“What would you like for dinner?” he asked, reaching into a large pocket in his robe. He took out four sheets of parchment, and handed one to each.
“These are the menus,” he said. “Choose what you’d like, point to it with your wand, and it will be served to you as soon as the professors downstairs can fix it up.” With that, he smiled at them once more, and left for the next row of students, giving them menus.
Harry looked over the menu, everything on it seemed delicious. There were things on it from Hogwarts’ breakfast, lunch, and dinner feasts, holiday specials, desert goodies, and many other foods he’d never heard of. Each item had a tiny picture of what it was next to it, and the more Harry looked at the menu, the hungrier he got. He had to choose something before he at the menu.
“I’ll take… the ham and pineapples,” said Harry, pointing at that choice on the magical menu. When the tip of his wand touched the text, it turned a magnificent white. The menu started to vibrate, and then the words peeled themselves off the paper. The words fluttered about the menu for a few seconds, like a bird just trying out its wings. It flew higher, just above Harry’s head, then it shot off into a small hole in the wall, which probably led to the kitchens.
There were a few seconds of awkward silence, as all eyes were on Harry, wondering if his food was going to come, and wondering where it would come from. Suddenly, the hole that the words shot through expanded, and grew a dark red. Something shot out of the hole, flying faster than any owl Harry had ever seen, and right in front of him. It was a silver platter. Harry nervously took the cover off, and saw what was inside. The smell was the first thing to get to him, and it was delightful. He took a deep breath, savoring the smell, trying to taste the food with his nose. Harry looked down, and before him was the most succulent ham with the shiniest pineapples he’d ever seen.
The Great Hall exploded with the sound of hundreds of people, ordering their meals. White words were flying all over the place in the air, trying to fight their way to the hole in the wall. Some words were knocked out of the sky by bigger ones, forcing the people who ordered them to try something else.
Soon, all of the orders found and worked their ways through the hole. Everyone was staring