The Keeper

Chapter 52

I listened to Forget by Marina And The Diamonds, Thriller by Michael Jackson and Dream On by Aerosmith.

Please vote and comment <3

*

Professor Dumbledore had decided to host a banquet for the fifth years to congratulate us on our marks. So most of us had deliberately not eaten anything at lunch and a minimal breakfast to save room for a huge supper. And a huge supper it was.

When I stepped into the Great Hall, I was immediately greeted by the overwhelming smell of food. The vast abundance of food made it difficult for us to choose where to sit. Putting a stop to our indecisiveness, Aleeza marched to the far end of the Hufflepuff table where there were heaps of meat.

My mouth began to water as we sat down. It was very difficult to resist the temptation of immediately inhaling all of the food in front of me. But Professor Dumbledore had been very clear with his instructions: he didn't want anyone to start eating until he and some of the other professors made short speeches.

But cruelly, they had decided to display all of the tantalising food that we weren't allowed to eat yet. My hunger was about to get the better of me when the professors burst into the Great Hall, Dumbledore leading them. I felt my stomach practically leap at the sight. They took their seats at the front of the hall and Dumbledore stood in front of the podium. He had a goblet and gently tapped a spoon against it, causing an immediate silence to fall across the room.

"Let me make the most of this opportunity to congratulate all of you," he announced, his eyes scanning the crowd. "This has not been an easy year and it makes me incredibly proud to see that all of you have made it through." He continued making his speech for another minute or two but came to a close when people started to look bored. "I want you to remember that no matter the result, if you have worked your hardest, then Hogwarts is proud of you."

After a round of applause, Professor Dumbledore invited the other staff members to come up to the podium to make speeches if they wanted. The impatience in the air was palpable. Even so, we had to sit through talks from Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick and Hagrid (which admittedly wasn't so bad).

But the best part of the night was when Dumbledore told us we could start eating. Suddenly, there was a surge in noise as people rushed to pile food onto their plates. I knew I'd regret the amount I was planning to eat later. But right now, I didn't care.

"I don't know if I would've been able to stay conscious during one more speech," Louise said through a bite of potato. I looked away from her mouth, not wanting to see chewed bits of food. "I mean they basically said the same thing four times."

She didn't get a reply as the rest of us were too busy eating.

When the vast majority of savoury food had been finished, I almost thought I was too full to ever eat again. That foolish belief ended when the plates were restocked. My mouth watered once again as my eyes devoured the mounds of desserts on the table. Piles of trifle and cake and biscuits and ice cream stretched the length of the Great Hall. I had to restrain myself from taking too much of everything and ended up with a spoonful of most on my plate.

"Let's eat!" Sasha exclaimed gleefully, digging a fork into a slice of red velvet cake. Our form of agreement was the fact that we were already scoffing down the food.

By the time we were finished, I easily could've thrown up. The amount I had eaten in the past few minutes was appalling. My heavy breathing betrayed that fact. Although to be fair, there wasn't a person in sight who didn't look stuffed full.

"I might just lie down and fall asleep on the floor," Aleeza groaned, rubbing her stomach. "I should not have had that last square of chocolate."

"Is there a spell that can take the pressure off my lungs? I'm convinced my stomach has tripled in size and the rest of my organs don't like it," grumbled Louise.

"I think I'll be rolling back to the common room tonight," I said.

Sitting in silence for a bit, I made eye contact with Oliver from across the room. He seemed just as worn out as we were. He mimed vomiting and I giggled, immediately stopping when it hurt my chest.

Dumbledore insisted on saying a final few words before letting us leave. It was a slow process as everybody was walking about half their normal pace, which wasn't very fast to begin with. We all clutched our stomachs as we went. groaning and complaining about how much we'd eaten.

Collapsing onto my bed was the most satisfying part of the day. My feet could've wept in delight at not having to carry the weight of my very full body any longer. It only took a few seconds for me to fall asleep.

I dreamt about food that night.