I stand up, leaving my hat on the stool, and walk over to the scarlet-flag's table. To the loud applause of the Lionesses, I cast discreet glances at the other tables. Slytherin clapped sluggishly out of politeness, Ravenclaw — also Hufflepuff — just smiled and clapped friendly.
And, of course, it was my, henceforth, fellow faculty members who made the most noise. I won't describe the whole feast — it's boring. I'll just say that at the table under the scarlet flag were not all dirty and rude naughty boys. Yes, exactly the same hastily satiated and at other tables, except for "snakes".
"Golden Trio" was not the center of the universe, at least at this table the most noise was made by the red-haired twins. But there was a lot of fun, the kind of fun that blew away the embarrassment of the first years in a hurricane of cheers and excitement from the two boys and their senior year friends.
Ron Weasley didn't eat like a pig, though his culture was noticeably limp, and Scarface got on well with the other kids. Like a petite, nondescript, redheaded girl who lived her own life without drooling over the famous brunette.
The stamps and patterns I've heard so much about in my past life have yet to be noticed. Addendum: No poisons or potions in the food and drink either.
The only thing I agree with: pumpkin juice sucks, so the "partymates" closest to me indulged in tangerine juice. There was an announcement about the Tremudor Tournament and a canonical reaction from the students. Eventually everyone was released and we went to the "houses".
The flying stairs turned out to be a "pattern": I could see that the staircases were part of the castle, fed by the overall system, but some of the lines were broken, and on some of the staircases I could clearly see whole areas of broken weave. This seems to be the reason why some flights move at a "jagged" pace, disappearing steps appear, and other "fun" effects.
I don't know how to repair the breaks yet, only how to apply new weave. Is it possible to replace the energy channel with a physical one, such as silver? "Although," I estimated the total damage. — How much silver would it take to cover all the holes?
No, we have to think of something else. With such thoughts, I arrived at the faculty lounge along with everyone else. The greeting was given by the head teachers, because the dean is always busy with such "little things".
At least she showed me the way to my room. When the juniors were sent to bed, the seniors stayed in the living room to prepare for the "reunion", i.e. the party. That's when the questions came that I had been expecting all evening, and some of them, a very small part of them, were voiced at the table.
I would like to point out that there were no tactless questions, because the English have something like that in their blood, but there were many others. Not the least was the question about my age and the natural surprise about the course I was taking. He repeated the headmaster's words exactly, even repeating his intonation for authenticity.
— What about Quidditch, mate? — One of the twins asked.
— It's a great sport! — said the other.
— Great!
— I respect Quidditch on a spectator level. — I shrugged and took a sip of the German beer I'd shared. — But I'm not interested in playing it myself.
— Why is that? — sounded a woman's voice. — Would you come over, maybe try out for the national team?
— No thanks, I have other interests. And the risk of being crippled or killed is too high.
— But the freedom of flying!
— The speed, the excitement!
— And girls like strong and fit boys, too! — finished a satisfied Weasley, to which many smiled.
— Hehe, — the general atmosphere of the living room took hold of me as well, here I finally felt the 'power of youth', but not the one that many people would think of first, I wanted to be naughty. — Is that so? — A snide smile and tone formed on its own. — There are other ways for pretty girls to like you, right? And I'll show you now, if you clear the middle of the living room — I need space.
The boys and girls began to make more noise than before, anticipating the fun to come. By the way, the trio was also here, they had been kept away from alcohol, but no one forbade them to be in the noisy company of the faculty. A few sofas and armchairs had been pushed aside rather quickly. There was not much room, but enough for the few couples dancing. I hung my robe and surtoute on one of the chairs, wrapped the sleeves of my shirt around it. I spent a minute getting my blood pumping with laughs and unusual jokes, even joking that I was inventing a new dance.
Then I just stood on my hands and walked around a bit. People were joking, someone was clapping, someone was just smiling, and that is understandable, because standing on my hands is not too difficult. And then people suddenly stopped. I took one arm to the side, froze, and did a few push-ups with one arm upside down. The general shocked sigh was my reward, but I didn't stop. Standing up on both hands again,
I instead spread my legs into a full twist, pausing briefly. Bringing my legs together, I bend into a bridge, flowing smoothly into a twine on the floor, pause. Leaning back, bringing my legs together, flowing into a handstand and smooth flowing movement. Standing on my feet, straightening up. Back somersault. Forward. Flip through the arm to the side. No arm back.
Straighten up. Raising my left leg vertically, smiling broadly, realizing that the amulets had popped out from under my shirt during the jump and were now visible to everyone. All three of them. But that's no big deal, just a fact. I put my foot down and bowed to the audience. The living room exploded with applause, whistles and screams. So much so that the dean soon appeared and dispersed everyone and led me to my apartment.
There were two entrances. One was in the living room, and the door opened and led down one level to a small area with a row of identical doors with numbers on them, mine being number one. The second entrance was one level below the official entrance to the living room. Convenient.
So I can bring girls from other faculties, even snakes, and no one will dare say a word against me because they won't recognize me. The inside of the apartment is a normal two-bedroom apartment. Two full-fledged living rooms, a study, a small living room with a fireplace, a normal bathroom, a separate toilet, a small corner kitchen (a sink, a table, compact cupboards), and a small closet.
Furniture is provided. The colors of the apartments are in the style of the faculty, but that's not a problem, you can change it. I especially liked the large floor clock, a frowning column in the living room, a bit away from the fireplace.
By the way, the dean was very unhappy that I refused to live "like everyone else" and "like it's customary," which she remembered to mention a few times, and she frowned all the time. But I don't care, because remembering the conditions of the dormitory from the movie, and also my personal experience in the army, I am firmly convinced of the correctness of my views and decisions about life.