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Harry woke up again, wrapped up in a warmth that could only belong to Bella. He opened his eyes and found her asleep next to him, her arms wrapped around him and her legs entangled with his. He yawned and stretched. The fever felt like it was gone, and he recalled bits and pieces of Bella nursing him through the worst of it. But he couldn't recall how he'd ended up with Bella in the first place. Voldemort should have killed him after what he had revealed.
Harry gulped and came to realize how dry his throat was. He stumbled out of the coffin and poured himself a glass of water from the side table. Settling down on the bed, he gulped down the glass in one and then poured himself another. His mouth tasted incredibly bitter and the water wasn't doing anything to wash away that flavour, His stomach grumbled noisily, and he groaned. The fever had left him with an appetite. Looking down at himself, he set his priorities in order. Bath first and then food.
He discarded his clothes on his way to the bathroom and filled the bath tub with luke warm water and the lavender vanilla scented bath salts before stepping in. The warm water made him sigh in relief and he closed his eyes as he revelled in the exotic scent surrounding him. His mind faded into dullness and everything was a foggy illusion. The sensation of the steamy water calmed him; it took his mind off Voldemort and everything else…all the things he honestly shouldn't care about. Voldemort's curse wasn't his concern. He should be more worried about himself but he just couldn't turn his back and ignore everything especially because Bella was suffering from the same curse.
He ran the wash cloth over himself, careful to avoid the fading bruises that didn't hurt that much but still stung when he touched them. After he felt clean enough, he rose to his feet and dried himself off with a towel before dressing up in a fresh pair of pants and a shirt. He stood in front of the mirror and ran his fingers through the tousled mess that was supposed to be his hair. There was no hope for it so he gave up trying and ran a finger over the bruise on his face where Voldemort had struck him and the fingerprint sized ones on his neck. He had a feeling there were going to be many more of these before Voldemort saw sense and started trusting him.
His stomach grumbled again, and Harry chuckled,
"Okay…okay…I'm going."
He grabbed the map and the pocket watch from the side table and navigated his way to the kitchens. The kitchens were huge and were equipped with about a thousand pots and pans along with every kind of cooking utensil imaginable. The pantry was his favourite though because he had never seen so many ingredients before. There were things that he didn't know the names of but was utterly intrigued with.
The last time he'd been here, he'd been cooking a meal to impress Voldemort, so he had gone a little over the top. Today he was cooking for himself, so he decided to keep it simple. He grabbed some flour, water, olive oil, eggs and salt and began kneading his pasta dough. He waited for it to rest for half an hour and decided to explore more of the kitchens. His stomach whined again and that's when he saw the strawberries in the pantry and his mouth started watering. He instantly knew he was going to ruin his appetite, but the temptation was difficult to resist. He popped one into his mouth and moaned as the exquisite sweetness assaulted his taste buds. They were definitely something special because they tasted too good and were packed full of flavour. They were sweet and sour and tasted like the very essence of spring. He relished their distinct fragrance as he popped another one in his mouth.
He checked the time on his pocket watch. It was nearly dark. He felt guilty for not leaving a note for Bella but he figured that she would find him. He hoped that she would because he wanted her to taste these strawberries. In fact…a better idea struck him and he whipped up some cream, tossed the strawberries in a bowl and heaped it up with the cream, topping it with a bit of brown sugar. He set that aside and decided to check on his dough.
Rolling it up, he passed it through the machine, watching with extreme excitement as it grow ever longer and thinner. He turned the dial to change the roller thickness and sent it in again, over and over until it was long and papery. He could almost taste it already covered in a tomato basil sauce and sprinkled with parmesan. After cutting it up into long thin ribbons, boiled it, set it aside and began working on the sauce. He was almost done with it when Bella's panicked voice rang through the kitchens,
"Harry! Harry! Are you in here?"
Harry grinned as he turned off the flame and called out,
"I'm back here."
Bella's hurried footsteps echoed in the otherwise silent kitchen and when she saw him, Harry watched as the tension physically drained from her being. She smiled and pulled him into a hug,
"It wouldn't kill you to leave a note."
Harry laughed and kissed her cheek before pulling away and stirring the sauce. Bella inhaled deeply and licked her lips,
"You know the scent of your cooking is spread throughout the castle, that's why the kitchens were the first place I checked."
Harry laughed and plated up the pasta,
"Really?"
Bella watched him as he grated the parmesan over the plates and handed one to Bella,
"Tell me how it tastes?"
Bella smiled sadly as she looked down at the food and Harry frowned,
"What's wrong?"
Bella shook her head and spoke,
"Nothing."
Harry put down his plate and cupped her cheeks,
"You're a terrible liar."
Bella held his gaze and spoke,
"I wouldn't know what it would taste like. Food holds no flavour for us."
Harry felt tears well up into his eyes and kissed her forehead,
"I'll free you, Bella. I'll free you if it's the last thing I do."
Bella hugged him tight and when she pulled away, Harry was about to take the plate away when she snatched it back,
"I'm still going to eat this."
Harry held her gaze,
"You don't have to."
She smiled and patted him on the cheek,
"I want to."
They settled down around the small three legged table and Harry was about to take his first bite when Bella screeched.