Chapter 196 - The Birds and the Bees Ⅲ (1/2)
Later that evening, the Great Hall quickly filled for dinner. However, it was a rather strange affair as the third year Slytherin girls were all blankly staring at their still empty dinner plates. There was such an empty look in their eyes that the older Slytherins gave them a rather wide berth and ensured that the younger Slytherins did as well. For the older years knew exactly where that look came from and tactfully gave them plenty of space recalling their own traumatic experience.
The older Slytherins weren't the only ones to notice as the older years of Gryffidnor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff did as well. Rather mutely, the older Hufflepuff's patted the 3rd year Hufflepuffs on the back to the utter bafflement of the third year Hufflepuffs. The older Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's merely stared at their own third years with pity and sympathy. They knew that tomorrow would be their own third years turn.
After the longest period of silence, Rowan dully croaked, ”Well, at least the boys had it worse.”
Tiffany raises her dead gaze from the table and mutters, ”How?”
”They got Slughorn,” Rowan numbly replied.
Instantly Silvia covers her mouth as she turns green at imagining the horrific scene. Gulping rather loudly Silvia tries to breathe through her nose, while Bethanie slowly pats Silvia on her back in an attempt to comfort her and help with the nausea. ”I suppose there is always a silvering lining,” Bethanie muttered rather ill-looking herself.
Tiffany looking vaguely green herself, gurgles, ”I really, really, don't want to know!”
All four girls shiver as with only a minute to spare before the start of dinner the third year Slytherin boys begin to weakly stumble into the Great Hall. They resembled pale zombies as their gazes were completely blank and filled with an inexplicable void. Not one of them could nor wanted to speak of the horrors that had transpired in the last hour. The boys merely shuffled into empty seats and slumped down onto the benches. Their heads were resting on the table, while others had their hands covering their faces.
Terry and Severus had somehow managed to stumble to sit down next to them as per usual. The instant they did so, Severus covered his eyes as if he were blind, while Terry's head with a loud thump fell to rest onto the table. In a muffled voice, Terry says, ”Please OBLIVIATE this evening's horror from my brain! I don't think I'm ever going to get over this trauma.”
”It couldn't be all that bad,” Bethanie kindly said in a weak attempt to cheer them up.
Severus uncovers his turns dead eyes towards the girls. ”Trust me, we heard all about Slughorn's exploits.”
”EW!” Rowan and the girls exclaimed as they tried not to gag as dinner began to appear onto the table. Silvia actually claps her hands over her mouth, before lurches away from the table towards the nearest girl's bathroom. Tiffany is following right behind her as Bethanie rather unsteadily rises to her feet and closely follows after her.