I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Note: An extra update this week to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This year is the year of the Rabbit, which is a nice little correlation with things. I hope all have a good day and weekend and wish you warmth and prosperity and good fortune. Thank you for reading.
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Extended Family
Chapter 76 – A Taste of Home
Takes place during Harry's seventh year at Hogwarts.
"Someone's burning the candle at both ends."
"Am I?" Harry looked at the candle on the table. "Wait, how would that even work? Doesn't sound efficient to me."
Hermione opened her mouth and paused, narrowing her eyes. She snorted when saw his grin. "Prat," she said, poking him in the shoulder as she sat beside him. "Having me on like that."
"Actually, now I'm a little curious." He flicked his wand at the candle and it floated into the air before turning horizontal. He expanded the holder dish so wax dripped into it and not on the table. Another flick trimmed the base of the candle and the wax peeled apart, making another pointed tip to reveal the wick. One more flick started a tiny flame that hovered off the tip of his wand and he lit the other end of the candle. He and Hermione sat and watched the floating candle lit from either end.
"It adds a bit more light but not enough to be worth it," Hermione remarked. "Not to mention burning through it twice as fast. Looks interesting though."
"Hmm, could be a fun Wheeze product. Make one end burnable and the other not."
"How frustrating, which fits the bill," Hermione laughed. "So why are you staying up late doing work? You haven't fallen behind, have you?"
"Nope, I wouldn't dare with you as my roommate." He grinned when she preened slightly. "I wanted to do the rest of the week's work and do as much as I can of next week's so I could be free this weekend."
"You also did a lot of the Head's work too," Hermione said, shuffling through a stack of parchment.
"Yeah and I was hoping to ask you for a favor, do you mind covering duties for me this weekend?"
"Perhaps, depending on the reason. Are you doing all this just so you can skive off and lay about?"
"No but good idea, I'll let that be my motivation next time." Harry rubbed his neck. "I, uh, wanted to go to Paris this weekend and see Katie."
"Awww, miss your girlfriend?" Hermione said in a sickening sweet voice, batting her eyelashes and making terrible kissy faces.
"Well yeah," Harry laughed and pushed her lightly. "But she's not having an easy time right now. She hasn't written a letter in a while and her messages through the candle have been really short. Fleur sent me a message saying Katie's super stressed and is having some trouble."
"Oh no, what's wrong, did she say?" Hermione asked, concerned.
"Fleur thinks it's just the stress from being in an accelerated program. Aimee said she's actually doing well, according to her great-aunt but Katie's been overworked and isn't feeling well. So I was going to pop over for the day and see if I can help her. Professor McGonagall already gave me permission if everything's covered and Sirius got me an international Portkey. I'm taking her some things from her parents and Lyla and going to bring over some other things."
"That's really sweet and I'll happily cover for you," Hermione said. "Can I have you take her something too? Wait, let's do a care package thing with everyone throwing something in if they want."
"That sounds brilliant," Harry smiled. "Thanks, I really appreciate it and I know she will too."
"Of course. She's in a completely different place with mostly new people. Plus her program really is intense. She gave me a breakdown when I asked and it's really something." She suddenly became severe and waggled a finger at him. "I expect you to be on your best behavior."
"What?!" Harry looked incredibly offended.
"Harry, you're my little brother and a boy, I know what you think about a lot."
"Sugar quills, flying, Hedwig, and I was thinking about baking you biscuits as a thank you but now I'm thinking about not doing that!"
"I was kidding!" Hermione said.
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"That's a lot of stuff," Harry smiled as people put things on the table.
"That is what shrinking charms are for," Daphne said with a nonchalant hand wave.
"I wasn't complaining. She's going to love it," Harry said.
"We want her to know we are thinking of her and wish her well," Luna said firmly.
Harry had left earlier in the day and visited the Bells and stopped at Wheezes to get things collected there from the team. He brought them back and was now starting to pack the things the others had brought into a trunk.
"Good thing I took the trunk from her home," he said. "At first I didn't think I was going to fill it but now I'm not sure if there'll be enough space for it all."
"We can make it fit," Hermione said confidently. She looked at a few things, "Though I'm not sure if we should for some things."
"Fred and George said they didn't include anything hazardous or illegal," Harry said, frowning at the maroon and gold packaging. "They know I'm traveling internationally."
"Did you include anything inappropriate?" Hermione asked, looking at the others.
"Depends on whose definition of inappropriate," Tracy retorted.
Daphne gave her a level look and opened the small box that Tracy brought.
"Hey! Invasion of privacy!" Tracy squawked, trying to pull the box back. They fought over the box and a magazine fell out.
"Oh I've seen these," Luna said as she picked it up. "Father calls them the 'suggestives'."
"What is that?!" Hermione shouted, looking at the cover as Luna opened it up to page through it.
"Tracy!" Daphne scolded and slapped her girlfriend's arm.
"What?! It was a joke!" Tracy said, rubbing her arm and glaring at Daphne and Hermione. "Besides, I worked hard looking for that copy!"
"Why?!" Daphne shrieked.
"All the wizards look remarkably like Harry," Luna said as she continued to look through it.
Harry buried his face into his hands while Lyla did not know if she should be horrified or laugh hysterically.
"I can't believe you," Hermione growled.
"I can," Luna said and Daphne sighed.
"She probably would find it really funny," Harry said weakly, his voice muffled by his hands.
"See? I'm being a good friend," Tracy sniffed.
"Debatable," Hermione and Daphne said together, turning to look at each other in surprise.
"Oh boy, that's a new metric of judgement for me," Tracy sighed. "Getting Daphne and Hermione to both agree on something."
"That's not easy," Luna said brightly. "Good job on your achievement."
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Harry swayed a little, finding his bearings. The entry point in the French Ministry of Magic was as beautiful as he remembered it the last time he came. Sirius had gotten him a personal roundtrip Portkey and so he did not have to share with anyone.
"Ah! Monsieur Potter, so good to see you!" Elaine smiled at him.
"Bonjour Mademoiselle Elaine," he smiled, walking to her with increasingly steady footsteps. "How are you?"
"Doing well, thank you. Monsieur Delacour mentioned you would be coming for a small visit. He did not mention for what, however."
"He is here for illicit reasons," a new voice cut in, sultry and suggestive. "He is here to see a lover."
Harry blushed lightly and shook his head, smiling ruefully. "I'm here to visit my girlfriend, yes."
"Which one?" the voice asked, mischief dripping from her words.
"I am sure Monsieur Potter only has the one! He is no dog," Elaine said with faux shock.
"It's okay," Harry said. "I think Colette doesn't want anything I make on the visit."
"Harry!" Colette held a hand to her heart and looked incredibly wounded. "I was only teasing! You are still so cruel!" She giggled at his eye roll. "I will take him from here."
"I was wondering what you were doing hanging about," Elaine said dryly. "Let me know if she is being too bothersome, I will tell her boss."
"Thank you," Harry laughed while Colette continued to look wounded. "Thank you for getting me," he said as they walked away.
"Of course my dear friend," Colette said. "It will be good for Katie to see you and spend some time with you. She is very tough as you know but she has been overworked some, poor thing."
"She can do it," Harry said confidently. "But she doesn't have to do it alone. Everyone needs a bit of help right? And that's okay."
"Indeed!"
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"Katie? Are you okay?"
Katie opened her eyes slowly. "Huhn?"
"Oh dear. Give me the vial."
Katie blinked a few more times as a rich and heavy scent forced its way into her nose and into her brain. "What's that potion?"
"An espresso," Fleur said. "Go on, drink up."
Katie did and she felt the caffeine slowly work its way into her system. She yawned and blinked owlishly, focusing on Fleur and Aimee. "Was that just espresso?"
"Yes. I always have an espresso vial on me in case it is needed and you clearly needed it." Fleur looked concerned. "Are you okay?" she asked again.
"I'm really tired," Katie said. She looked as exhausted as she sounded. "I knew this wouldn't be easy but my brain feels like mush and I feel like I'm barely hanging on."
"But your marks are fine," Aimee protested. "And your teachers like you. You are doing well."
"It doesn't feel like it," Katie said, looking down at the ground. "I feel like it's all over my head."
"That is normal. There are times I think I am not doing well with classes and mastery work," Fleur said soothingly. "You said you worked harder your last few years of school and did not early on?"
"No, I cared more about Quidditch and just doing okay," Katie confessed, cheeks red. "It wasn't until my fifth year and after my career counseling that I decided on being a Sports Healer. Well, had help deciding it really."
"You are just overwhelmed and it is okay," Aimee said kindly.
"I guess," Katie said, unconvinced. She rubbed her eyes. "Thanks for talking to me though. I really appreciate it."
"Of course. We were waiting for you at the Floo area and you were not there so we came looking for you," Fleur said.
"Sorry," Katie said sheepishly.
"Do not be. Come, it is time for us to go home." If Katie had been more awake, she would have noticed the look of glee on Fleur and Aimee's faces. "It is the weekend and it will be very good," Aimee said.
"I hope so," Katie sighed.
"Perhaps a wager? If you feel much better after the weekend is over, then you can pay for our next outing?" Fleur asked.
Katie smiled wanly. "Sure, why not?"
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Katie stumbled through the Floo and stopped dead. The air was rich with familiar savory and sweet scents and it was almost like walking into a solid wall with how they stopped her. "What?" she gasped. She squealed when Fleur came through behind her and knocked her over, only for Aimee to knock her over and they fell in an ungainly heap.
Colette shrieked with laughter, seeing the girls flail in a clumsy pile like that. "Finally! I am not the one that suffers!"
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, having run out of the kitchen when he heard them falling and Colette laughing.
"Harry?!" Katie gasped, craning her head up from at the bottom of the pile.
"Surprise," he smiled.
Fleur and Aimee squealed when Katie pushed herself upright, making them roll off of her. Katie lunged and clutched onto Harry, hugging him fiercely and enjoying the feel of him in her arms, the feel of his arms around her.
"Tossed aside when she sees him," Colette complained. She yelped at Fleur's stinger.
"We were literally tossed aside and you do not hear us complaining," Fleur sniffed.
"I'm complaining a little," Aimee snickered, rubbing her rear.
"Sorry girls," Katie said sheepishly.
"Do not be," Fleur smiled.
"She does not look sorry," Colette sniffed.
"What are you doing here?" Katie asked Harry, ignoring the three French girls as they made faces at her and giggled among themselves.
"Thought I'd visit and bring you a bit of home," Harry said. "Fleur mentioned you were having a rough time and so I did a lot of work and got permission to leave for the weekend."
"Oh I wish I knew," Katie moaned. "Not that I didn't want to see you but I have homework to do tomorrow and we can't go out and explore or anything."
"I didn't come over for that, I came over to see you," Harry said. "We can do your work together and just relax. It'll be great."
"We are going to be here the whole weekend so no…funny business as you say," Fleur said, looking stern and waggling a finger at the couple.
"I do not mind," Aimee grinned. "That is what silencing charms are for."
"I assumed all the baked goods were payment for us giving you privacy," Colette said with a faux innocent look.
Katie laughed and felt much better.
They ate the dinner Harry made, roast chicken and lots of sides that made Katie tear up a little. Katie felt even better. She was still exhausted but Harry's presence kept the fatigue at bay. It was nice to have him near, to hear him talk and laugh. She eagerly listened to stories of things they were doing at Hogwarts and with their friends.
After dinner, he unshrunk the trunk for her. "Care package from a lot of us," he said.
"Aww, that's so sweet," she said, touched.
"Do you wish for a bit of privacy?" Fleur asked. "Perhaps there are things within that are a touch sensitive?"
"Should only be one thing," Harry sighed, cheeks pink.
"Oooh, now you must open it in front of us," Aimee said eagerly.
"Oh Merlin, who sent it?" Katie asked, smiling wide. She opened the trunk and picked up the box on top at Harry's gesture.
"Tracy, who else?" Harry sighed once more.
Katie opened it and took one look at the magazine and started laughing uproariously. "I love her, she's so much fun."
"Oooh, something scandalous!" Colette picked it up and immediately opened it. "She has good taste."
"Debatable," Katie and Fleur said. They snorted and high-fived.
"At least she picked one where the men look like Harry," Colette observed.
"That's oddly touching and even weirder!" Katie laughed until her face was red. "You can have that, Colette."
"Merci!"
"Ooh, I've been missing some of the Quidditch magazines," Katie said, looking at the rest of the things in the box. "We can share these, Aimee."
"Oh my, that is beautiful," Fleur gasped. She marveled at the drawing of Hogwarts and the Lake. The colors shifted constantly, as if night and day were constantly changing and the castle was either lit brightly or clad in shadows.
"Luna is so talented," Katie sighed happily. "Oh wow, that's a pretty bottle of mead. Thank you, Daphne! Oh wow! Muggle medicine books from Hermione, that's so sweet. That'll really help me with the comparison classwork I'm doing."
She continued to dig through the trunk. "A scented enchanted handkerchief from Alicia, hey a new Johnson jersey too! Oh boy." She took out the large Weasley Wheezes box. "'For dissuasion,'" she read off the note.
"Wait, what does that mean?" Harry asked, suddenly worried.
"Just some jerks I've been having a bit of trouble with," Katie said smoothly. "Don't you worry."
"Well now I am," Harry muttered.
"Do not let Gabi anywhere near that or we will have no peace," Fleur warned.
"You got it. Aww, Mum sent me a new blanket and some spending money. Lyla sent me candy." Katie snorted as she opened the box. "She already took a bite out of the first bar."
"So nice for Harry to be the owl this time," Aimee smiled. The women laughed when Harry hooted just like Hedwig.
"Thanks love," Katie murmured and hugged him tight.
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The next day passed all too swiftly for her.
After sleeping in a bit, snuggling with Harry in her room, she unfortunately did spend a good amount of time studying. However, it was better than usual when Harry helped her. He asked her questions and went over things with her. He even brought up his Quidditch injuries and quizzed her on how she would treat him, something that the other girls found appalling at the number of injuries he had before.
They managed to finish early and with the girls, took a trip to the local market to buy fresh groceries to cook dinner with. They pointed out their favorite stalls and things and Harry bought some treats to take home.
"Do you like wine more now?" Harry asked that night.
Katie sipped daintily from her glass. "I've certainly drunk a lot more of it living with Fleur and Aimee now. Don't get me wrong, I still don't know how to appreciate it properly but I like it. I know what I like and what I don't. I definitely like coffee now but still like good tea."
"We will wean you off the dirty leaf juice eventually," Colette snickered.
"Bean juice is much better apparently," Harry laughed.
"I prefer grape juice," Aimee snorted.
"Hmm, so butterbeer is butter juice?" Harry mused.
"That sounds revolting," Fleur shuddered.
Later in bed, Katie wrapped her arms around him. "Think you can transfer to Beauxbatons for your last term?"
Harry chuckled. "But then we wouldn't win the Cup and continue the dynasty."
"Oh right, can't have that." Katie sighed softly. "This has been so nice. Thank you for coming."
"Of course. I'll try to do it again next term if I can."
"No, you have N.E.W.T.s," Katie said. "I can manage. Hopefully around summer you can come or I can go home for a bit."
"I'm so proud of you," Harry whispered. "You're doing so good and I know your Mum and MumAndi and Madam Pomfrey are really proud of you too."
She nuzzled his neck, blushing happily. "Thank you."
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"Thanks for telling Harry and letting him stay," Katie said when they returned to the flat the next day.
They had all gone to Chez Delacour and had brunch together before Harry took Sebastian's personal Floo back to the Ministry so he could Portkey back. It had been a lovely weekend and Katie felt much better, rejuvenated and at peace.
"Of course," Fleur said warmly. "It was wonderful to see him and you needed a bit of recuperation and care."
"Besides, we benefit from seeing him too," Aimee smiled. "Not only do we get to spend time together, he stuffed us full of food. We will not have to cook or order out for a while."
"Yeah, he's the best," she said proudly.
"He really is." Colette winked at her friends. "So…where shall we go on our next outing? I think we should go to that place on the Rue."
"The place with the expensive drinks?" Katie asked.
"Yes, that one."
Katie stopped. "Hey! Wait a second! You made that wager with me knowing he was here!" Katie tried to glower at the three laughing girls but she could not keep the smile off her face. "Entrapment!"
"Yes, and?" Fleur asked, holding her middle as she coughed from laughing.
"We were kidding about that place," Aimee said, wiping tears of merriment away.
"I was not!" Colette protested.
"How about I take care of half the bill," Katie laughed, throwing an arm around Colette's shoulders.
"No, we will go somewhere cheaper and more comfortable and you can cover it all," Colette laughed.
"Fair enough," Katie smiled.
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Arnie1701 - That might be fun.
odonnellzoo99 - I guess Katie and Lyla will never quite grow out of that fighting, which is good for us. I will always have some fun running jokes. Angelina pretending Harry is innocent, Luna pretending to be innocent, fun ones like that. Thank you.
alix33 - He's always happy to hear them.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Hope your week improved and have a nice weekend.