[hr][hr][center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/01989753-c0d4-751e-94b6-ac932f65638b.webp[/img][hr][@Achronum][@Trainerblue192][@Morose][@Blizz][@Kirah][@PatientBean][@KazAlkemi][@kittyluna45][hr][h3][color=5B8B64][b]Dinner - Fri. Nov. 1st, 2040 [/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr]

As the first full day of term came to a close, the grand, heavy oak doors to the feasting hall swung open at the stroke of seven, as the room came to life with sudden intensity. The older population of the student body crowded into the expansive room, their idle chatter drowning out any other sound. It was a small mercy that the actual children had supped earlier. There were a variety of seating options, from long banquet tables to more intimate round tables and booths, some even with the privacy of a tapestry that could be drawn around them to avoid wandering eyes. At the head of the room, elevated up above as if on a stage, was a long table dedicated for the professors - a table that rarely saw itself filled, as most members of faculty chose to eat in the faculty lounge and receive a much needed respite from their pupils. 

The light in the room was provided by flickering, soft yellow flames, the orbs idly bouncing around the room, drifting from table to table. A protective sphere prevented them from setting the room ablaze, of course. The stone walls were adorned with historical portraits, depicting some of the most famous magical practitioners of the age - including one of the absent headmaster himself, Stephen Strange whose eyes seemed to follow you no matter where you sat. 

The food, of course, was enchanted to appear upon request. At each table, a small card indicated the menu for the night - and this early in the school year, the options were more than palatable, the quality having not yet dropped. Drinks were provided by request, with students merely needing to whisper into their goblet what they would like, and the liquid appearing… within reason. 

[hider=Tonight’s Menu][list][*]Main: Meat Wellington 
[*]Sides: [list][*]Frisée salad with poached egg 
[*]Creamy mushroom risotto 
[*]Roasted asparagus [/list]
[*]Dessert: Vanilla panna cotta [/list][/hider]

While most of the conversations that could be overheard in the feasting hall were repetitive and dull, focusing on newfound crushes, schemes to get out of homework for classes, and newfound conspiracy theories as to just exactly where Prof. Gray had gone off to for the year, one bit of gossip in particular may stand out: 

“Did you hear what someone found in the dungeons earlier?” a young Conjuration witch whispered, in between mouthfuls of puff pastry. 

“Croan’s sense of humor?”

“No, this is serious, Betty!” her friend protested, even as she herself dipped her spoon into her dessert. “Someone found a [i]head[/i]. Like, not one that a professor brought to show off for some freaky lesson, but an actual human [i]head[/i].”