A Wonderful Experiment
They sipped white wine and enjoyed the paté Hagrid sent us while I finished up the meal. The half-giant was a horrible baker, but a genius with anything meaty.
Neville, Ron, and Hannah were over for dinner tonight. Kreacher was upstairs watching the younglings, who'd already eaten. It is wonderful to have an elf that can clean up the kids' messes with a snap of his fingers. It also meant he wasn't lurking around and grumbling about how the master shouldn't be taking work away from a loyal servant of the house of Black (grumble grumble).
Hermione, my Hermione, came into the kitchen holding a plate with a couple of rye-grain crackers spread with Hagrid's paté. "Open up." She took one and slid it into my waiting mouth. I would have preferred a kiss, but, there you are.
The paté was made of hare and game birds-whether magical animals or not I didn't know. He 'jugged' the ingredients, and when they had aged long enough he minced the meats and pressed the mixture into a dense loaf before slow-baking. It had a rich umami taste that hinted of several creatures, unctuous while slightly tangy and a bit lemony. Hagrid joked that it was his mum's 'secret recipe', which made me wonder what a giantess would use. Dragon haunches and breast of roc?
...
Hermione helped me levitate the dishes into the dining room. We placed them at one end of the table while I gestured our guests to sit at the other end. I arranged an arc of five large bowls around the foodstuffs and began to assemble the main course.
It was an experiment. I was flying by the seat of my pants-a familiar feeling; but I was a Gryffindor, so 'charge ahead'!
In each bowl, first, a layer of white rice and black beans. On one side, medallions of carrot and onion leaves that had been baked in the oven until the carrots were softened and the onions were translucent. The other side received a slice of beef that had been slow-braised in diluted wine; this was coated with a tan gravy made with madeira and a touch of curry, On the side were small bowls of a sweet chutney made with dirigible plums, citron, and cranberries.
After Hermione handed around the bowls, I took my place at the head of the table. Hermione and Hannah sat either side of me, then Neville and Ron.
Ron dug in with his usual vigor, but with better control than our school days thanks to Hannah's 'gentle persuasions'. (I never asked.) He swallowed before asking if that were his mum's gravy recipe
"Not quite, Ron. I changed it a bit, added some sweet wine and so on." As if Molly would ever divulge that recipe.
"Well, it's great, mate." He had little else to say as he inhaled the dish.
Hannah blotted her lips before taking a sip of wine. "This is delicious, Harry. I wonder if we could do something like this at the Leaky." Hannah was old Tom's great-great-granddaughter, and she and Ron had taken over running the pub after his passing.
I titled my head back and forth. "I'm sure you could. It's a bit complicated. There's three different dishes, plus the chutney, and they need to be timed right to be ready to serve together."
"That's not a problem. I learned a few tricks for preparing food when I apprenticed at the Red Stallion. A commercial kitchen can use shortcuts that you wouldn't need at home.
"Also, magic."
We shared a laugh at that.
I'd made enough for seconds for everybody, which meant that Ron almost had enough to eat.
We talked and joked; caught up and revealed plans; relaxed and reminisced. We had fun, and we had fellowship, and we remembered times of joy and hardship.
...
Kreacher's pound cake with strawberry custard and complemented by black tea rounded off the evening.
After our guests had left, and after Kreacher locked us out of the kitchen so we wouldn't interfere with him washing up, and after we looked in on our sleeping treasures, Hermione and I cuddled in bed.
"It was a wonderful meal", she whispered to me.
"And wonderful friends."
As my wife snuggled closer she murmured, "Yes."
