Updated 5/20/2008 - spelling error fixed
Chapter 16 – Holidays
Draco slowly woke to an annoying voice accompanied by a slight shaking. "G'way,' he mumbled.
"Get up, Draco," Pansy said impatiently. "I've got the paper."
"Don' care," Draco mumbled petulantly.
"Of course you do, dear," Pansy disagreed. "After all, you always do like to know when you're right."
Draco cracked open his eyes to see a disgustingly bright and cheerful, not to mention fully awake and completely dressed, annoying girl sitting on his bed. "Wha' 'bout?" he managed to get out semi-clearly. He figured this was an appropriately advanced accomplishment since he was only semi-awake.
"About Harry dismissing everyone who didn't invite him for the holidays," Pansy elaborated cheerfully. "It's right here in the paper."
Draco gave a passing thought to batting away the paper being shaken in his face but quickly dismissed it. Even half-awake that would be too undignified. Then Pansy's words finally processed and his eyes widened and he smiled. "Knew it."
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course you did. Now get up."
"Why?" More awake he might be now, but he still saw no reason to climb from his nice warm bed. "And don't you know how inappropriate it is for you to be in my bedroom when I'm undressed?"
"Because we have to go shopping," Pansy said innocently. "And you would never touch me."
Draco blinked. He wasn't fully awake yet, but he was quite awake enough to know that look. That look meant Pansy had done something he wasn't going to like. "We can go shopping later," he said suspiciously.
"We have to get an early start," Pansy insisted. "All the better to hide the appointment I made for you at 10 o'clock with Healer Monroe."
Draco blinked again and waited for his brain to decipher his friend's words. Finally, they did. "What!" he squawked. "You didn't!"
Pansy grinned unrepentantly. "I did. You might as well get the appointment over and done with as soon as possible so you don't stress over it. Plus, it'll be much easier to hide an hour absence on such a busy shopping day than later when you won't have as much of an excuse to get away from the manor."
"But…but…," Draco protested ineffectually. Damn, but he hated being woken with shocking news. He had planned on a completely lazy day – not one that required him to go shopping and keep appointments.
"Here. Read," Pansy said as she once again shook the paper in Draco's face.
Draco groaned and reluctantly sat up. He grabbed the paper with one hand while the other rubbed his face and smoothed back his hair. He gave a mighty yawn then set himself to the task of reading whatever it was that Pansy found so important.
Three hours later Draco was back in the hotel room they had rented for the day, red-faced and grumbling as he changed out of the same boring grey sweater and robes he had worn to Harry's first gathering. The glamour hiding both himself Pansy from discovery was also dropped.
"So how did it go?" Pansy asked, letting her curiosity free now that they were in a secure environment.
Draco looked up in shock at the question. "How did it go?" he squeaked out. "How can you ask that? I've never been so embarrassed in my life!"
"Why?" Pansy asked in confusion. "What exactly happened?'
"What happened? What happened?" Draco practically yelled. "I'll tell you what happened! I just had to wank off in front of a woman that had to have been at least 100 years old she was so shriveled! That's what happened!"
Pansy blinked in astonishment. "Really? Why? I mean, couldn't they just do some tests…"
"No," Draco ground out, still blushing bright red. "They couldn't just do some tests. They could for fertility but not for virility… evidently just because you're fertile doesn't mean you can get an erection and just because you can get an erection doesn't mean you can ejaculate."
"Oh. So you really had to…" Pansy made a vague motion with one hand.
"Yes," Draco hissed.
"Wow," Pansy said in surprise. "And right in front of the healer? Really?"
"She was behind a mirror," Draco admitted sharply, "But I sure knew she was there."
"Wow," Pansy said again, still surprised. She'd no idea what would be involved in testing for a male. Somehow she'd never truly realized that fertility and virility, or capacity and performance she supposed, weren't actually the same thing. "So were you successful?"
"What!" Draco screeched.
"Were you successful in, you know, doing that?" Pansy asked again.
"Of course I was successful!" Draco exclaimed indignantly. "I'm sixteen! I'd have to be in seriously dire straits if I couldn't get it up!"
"Well, you could have been sterile," Pansy suggested logically.
"I'm not!" Draco denied angrily.
"Or maybe a low sperm count," Pansy continued.
"It's perfectly normal!" Draco protested
"Well, all right, then," Pansy said briskly. "Let's go to the owl office and mail your certification and then get some lunch."
"Lunch!" Draco exclaimed in astonishment. "How can you be thinking about food right now?"
"Now, dear, calm down," Pansy said soothingly. "It's all over. You don't have to worry about it anymore. Come on, I'll treat you to some ice cream. Would you like that? Some nice chocolate ice cream with fudge sauce."
Draco glowered at his friend. "I'm just awash with your sympathy, here," he said sourly.
"With nuts," Pansy said placatingly. "I would never forget the ground walnuts."
"I can't believe you," Draco growled angrily.
Pansy put her arm through Draco's and started pulling him out of the room. "Come on. Let's go have some ice cream. Chocolate fixes everything."
"At least we agree on that," Draco muttered darkly.
--HPDM--
"You're welcome to have Madam Pomfrey do your certification, my boy," Albus offered. "She is quite…"
"No, sir," Charlie interrupted as he shook his head. "The certification has to be done by one of the healers on a list I was provided. I've already made an appointment for Friday. Thanks anyway."
"I see," Albus said in surprise.
"Do you have the list with you?" Alastor asked abruptly.
"Sure," Charlie said and dug it out of a robe pocket and passed it to his left. "There's nothing suspicious that I can see."
Moody perused the list once he received it, everyone watching him intently, then shook his head, made a copy, and sent the original back down the table. "You're right, it doesn't look suspicious. It is interesting, though."
"Why so, Alastor?" Albus asked.
"There're fifty-six different healers listed in forty-one different countries," Alastor said. "What does that tell you?"
"The home countries of his suitors, perhaps?" Albus suggested thoughtfully.
"That's my guess," Alastor said with a nod.
"Do you have Harry's fertility certificate as well?" Albus asked Charlie.
Charlie nodded and pulled out another paper from his robe and passed it down the table.
Alastor glanced at the official-looking paper before snorting in amusement and passing it to Albus. "The lad's bright. Or his chaperone is."
"Why do you say that?" Elphias asked as Albus sighed in disappointment.
"The certificate is signed by Healer Monroe," Alastor said with a chuckle. "The woman's integrity is unquestioned and her belief in confidentiality is completely unassailable. She can keep her mouth shut even under a triple dose of veritaserum. She'll never reveal anything about the lad, even if he gives her permission."
"So no leads from that direction," Kingsley said in annoyance. Despite the lack of orders from Dumbledore, he had nevertheless tried to find the Potter boy. He'd had no luck whatsoever all weekend.
"No," Alastor agreed. "Anything else interesting in that packet, lad?"
"There's the note that says I passed, he won't be coming to visit, and tells me what I need to do in order to continue in the courtship. There is also my pass to the healer to verify that I'm eligible for a rush appointment," he said, waving an ivory colored parchment and a bright blue half-sheet in succession. "I have to bring it on Friday." He passed the papers along.
"Nothing about the dates at all? About what is expected?" asked Elphias curiously.
"No, nothing," Charlie said as he shook his head. "I'm going to arrange a tour of the reserve. I think Harry will like that."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Albus said mildly. "Taking Harry out of the country increases the risk of him being attacked."
"Yes, well, it's a good thing I didn't listen to you before about what you didn't think was a good idea or we wouldn't even be having this conversation," Charlie said in annoyance. "I may have entered this courtship under duress but I'm staying in it of my own free will and I will arrange a date that I think is suitable."
"Charlie!" Molly exclaimed in shock at her son's words. "Apologize this instant!"
"No," Charlie said angrily then stood. "I know what you want, both from me and from Harry, but what you all seem to be forgetting is that both of us are people in our own right. We both have the right to make our own decisions. I'd like my papers back now."
The papers were silently returned to Charlie and the redhead took his leave amidst murmurs from the Order members regarding his attitude and a dejected sigh from Albus. Only Moody looked upon the scene with amusement and approval.
--HPDM--
Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody worked his way through the wards he'd set on the small six foot square cellar in his house. Once through – an effort of no less than half an hour given everything he'd layered upon this small space – he sat down on the single simple chair before the small round table that occupied the center two feet of the room. Upon the table lay his goal for the evening: a deceptively simple looking one foot square wooden box.
The bookshelf on the far wall – full of forbidden but useful books – was ignored in favor of the box. The various useful but also forbidden artifacts stored on a second shelf were also ignored in favor of the box. His personal journals were eschewed this night as well, although he did set on the table the folder of articles and other notes and observations he had collected so far about Harry Potter and his courtships. Another night he would take the time to bind them together. But tonight… It was only the contents of the box that were of importance tonight.
He opened the box and gazed for several minutes upon the crown it contained nestled upon a molded cushion of deep purple velvet. The crown seemed as if it would fit an average-sized head, but he was sure it would adjust its size whenever needed. The crown was much different in appearance now than when he had first acquired it.
When he'd first touched this crown it had shifted into what he could now admit was an amazing example of gaudy showmanship. It had shifted into what a five-year-old considered to be an ideal looking crown for a King of wizards, a King that had been missing for nearly 2,000 years. The shape of the crown had changed over the years, though, as every time he touched it the thing would shift yet again. The only permanent features were the metal – pure un-tarnishing silver – and the gems.
Now the crown appeared the epitome of what Alastor thought a crown should be for a warrior-king. It was a simple and practical one inch wide band adorned with the varying gems. The crown had kept this shape for the last fifteen years, only the order of the gems sometimes changing; an effect he thought was likely more cosmetic than truly practical.
He'd spent some time attempting to decipher the magic of the gems in the crown. There were twenty-four of them. Twelve impossibly perfect diamonds that held an impossible amount of power and twelve other colored gems of impossible beauty. He'd not been able to figure out, specifically, what the gems did. He did know that the diamonds channeled power to the colored stones and probably also to the wearer. The colored gems had eluded him completely, though he'd once researched their meaning.
There were two rubies – for power and courage –currently grouped together at the front of the crown. The two stones of jet – the best stone to help channel magic and protect against magical backlash and exhaustion – were currently to either side of the rubies. The two each of amethysts, emeralds, blue sapphires and topazes – for wisdom, hope, mental clarity, and confidence respectively – were grouped at the back behind all the diamonds.
He wondered, as he reached into the box, if the organization of the gems would change. He watched in understanding as the rubies exchanged places with the emeralds and the sapphires moved to either side of the jet. Yes, instilling hope would be a more important duty for the new King, when he came, than showing off his raw power and mental clarity would be an asset in the coming chaos. Magic ability – both spell effectiveness and stamina – would be a necessity and so it made sense to him that the jet remained where it was.
He held the crown a moment longer before replacing it in its box and staring at it contemplatively. He remembered well when he'd acquired the crown. Alastor snorted at himself. Who was he kidding? He had been given the crown.
He'd been five and lost in the woods. Lost in woods he'd never been lost in before despite his young age. He'd been starting to panic when an old frail-looking woman in bright robes had appeared seemingly from behind a tree. He had presumed her to be a gypsy but now he wasn't so sure. He had many suspicions now as to how she had appeared and also her identity: the Lady of Avalon, Fate, a personification of magic itself perhaps. She could have been just a random gypsy seer, of course, but he very much doubted it.
"Thrice you will see Hell before the coming of the King," he murmured in memory. The woman had grabbed him and spoken in a voice so full of power that he had never forgotten her words. As he'd stood there with his little mouth hanging open in astonishment, the woman had released him and reached into her robes and pulled out the very box before him. It was yet another action he hadn't questioned at the time. Where had such a frail woman stowed such a bulky box?
She'd thrust the box into his chest and he'd had no choice but to grab onto it. "You shall crown the King," she'd said intensely. He'd tried to protest, to question, but hadn't been able to gather his wits. "You will know him the first time you see him and you shall be his closest advisor as a new age dawns."
"Fulfill your duties well," Alastor repeated her final words to him before she'd left as suddenly as she'd appeared. He'd been unable to follow her and had soon recognized where he was and headed home. He'd hidden the box under his bed, not even looking in it for another week. He'd never spoken of his encounter, or the crown, to anyone. Not ever. And he knew he never would, at least not until the new King arrived.
That event had changed his life. He'd instantly become hungry for knowledge of all types. Not just the esoteric or theoretical knowledge favored by the Ravenclaw house he'd eventually joined, but practical knowledge from all walks of life. If he was to be advisor to a King, he was determined to know as much as he could about everything.
He'd also studied magical and physical defense relentlessly and had become an auror once he'd graduated Hogwarts. Most people presumed that his paranoia came from his auror days, but they were wrong. He'd been told, when he was five, that he would thrice see Hell and he'd decided quite young that he was damn well going to be prepared and ensure he made it through to serve his King. He hadn't quite made it in one piece, but he had made it. So far. Constant vigilance.
He'd seen Hell twice now. Once during the war with Grindelwald and once during the first rise of Voldemort. And now another war was coming. He knew of the hopes that Albus placed upon the shoulders of Harry Potter to end the war quickly, perhaps before it even really got started. He didn't know why Albus had those hopes, but he did know that those hopes were in vain. There would be war. There would be Hell. Of this he was certain.
And somehow Harry Potter was involved.
When he'd first seen the boy, he'd felt a spark stir within himself. He'd taken a second, third, and fourth look at the boy but had come to the conclusion that the boy wasn't the prophesied King. The absolute certainty that he presumed he would feel upon first seeing his King had been absent when he looked at the boy. Still, he knew the boy would be important.
Now, with this Veela business, he thought that while Harry Potter wasn't the King, he would probably bear the King. He would mate, leave Britain, and bear and raise his children safe from the upheaval that would overcome his birth country. And one of those children would be the new King, Alastor was certain. But that meant at least a couple of decades of Hell before the King would appear.
He closed the box and stood. He would be ready. He would fight alongside Albus for now, for he knew his place was here until his King came to him. He wasn't sure why he was so certain, but he knew that it was not his place to help raise his King. It was his place to be here and to know intimately the country that his King would one day rule.
It was his place to witness Hell one last time before the dawn of a new era.
--HPDM--
Harry finished his shower and stepped out sopping wet onto the small plush green rug that decorated the green marble floor of his bathroom. This was his third extended visit to his grandfather's home and it still made him smile when he stepped onto this rug.
When he'd first come here after fourth year and been given his suite of rooms, the throw rugs in the bathroom had been a deep chocolate brown to match the wood, towels, and other accessories. It had been two weeks before a casual comment had resulted in the hiring of an interior decorator. In very short order, Harry had green rugs in his bathroom, brocade curtains instead of velvet both on his windows and his new canopy bed, different paintings and light fixtures, and different furniture.
Then the tailor had been brought in.
And so had started Harry's initiation into the lifestyle and mindset of the truly wealthy. Harry knew he had money, and suspected that there was more waiting for him from the Potter estate upon his majority, but his Veela family took rich to a whole new level. Still, he had to admit that all the shopping and spending he had done the summer he'd turned fifteen had been a lot of fun in addition to being educational.
Harry shook himself out of his ruminations and continued his traditional New Year's ablutions. For his birthday he liked to stay up late to celebrate the very first moment of the day but for New Year's he did something very different. He'd started his traditions when he was six and the Dursleys had taken up spending New Year's Eve and Day with Marge, leaving him blissfully alone in the house.
The first thing he did to celebrate was to go to bed early and wake up late. Then he took a very long, very thorough shower, making sure to double scrub every square inch of himself. While in the shower he also did an extra special thorough job of flossing and brushing his teeth. Once out of the shower and dry he rubbed lotion into his skin, tended his finger- and toe-nails, and did his best to tame his hair. The last was just as hopeless a cause this year as it had been every other.
When he was finished he put on his fluffiest bathrobe and left the bathroom; he was quite looking forward to ordering his breakfast in his room and lazing about all day. He stopped short when he saw his grandfather already in his room and seated at what used to be a small dining table but was now five times as large and covered with what could only be properly termed as a feast.
"Grandfather?" he questioned hesitantly.
"Good morning," Robert said affectionately. "I remembered what you told me about what you do for New Year's Day. After your, hmmm, purification rite, you scrounge as much food as you can safely get away with and eat in your room. Yes? Well, this year you've no need to scrounge." Robert waved a hand dramatically over the dozen dishes of food on the expanded table.
Harry grinned in delight and walked over to his grandfather and gave him a very enthusiastic and grateful hug. "You do realize that I've been at Hogwarts the last five years and haven't had to scrounge, right?"
Robert returned the hug and replied, "Perhaps, but neither have you been pampered. I'm sure you never had mango with raspberry sauce at Hogwarts."
Harry laughed and took his seat and eagerly looked over all the beautiful looking food just waiting to be eaten. "I'm sure I've never had mango with raspberry sauce anywhere."
"Well, now you will," Robert said and tapped one of the dishes containing bright orange chunks drizzled with a purplish sauce.
"Thank you," Harry said with a great deal of gratitude. "It means a lot to me that you support my silly quirks."
"Ah, Harry, this is not a silly quirk," Robert said with only a small bit of sadness. "This is a meaningful personal celebration and I am honored that you seem willing to let me share it with you."
Harry smiled and said, "I'm glad to share with you. So tell me about all this food. Do you even know what it all is?"
"Of course," Robert professed with mock offense. He started describing all the different dishes as his grandson laughed at him. He'd had the chef prepare a small amount of a wide variety of dishes and had also instructed that additional dishes were to be delivered every half hour. He was going to keep Harry eating all day if he could. His grandson had put on a decent amount of weight in the past nearly two and a half years since they had first met but he was still too skinny!
An hour of food and conversation later a servant delivered the day's personal mail along with another dish of what appeared to be some kind of cheese-covered thing. Harry was surprised when his grandfather handed him several pieces from the mail stack. One of the head valets was supposed to be taking care of his mail while he was here.
"They are probably from your friends," Robert said encouragingly. "Perhaps thank you notes for your presents."
Harry's eyes widened in realization. "Oh. Right. I guess I just didn't expect anything until I got back to Hogwarts." He flipped through the stack quickly and saw that the letters were indeed from all the people to whom he'd sent presents. "Funny that they all arrived on the same day," Harry said.
"Henri may have held them for you until they had all arrived," Robert suggested. "He knows you don't want to deal with much mail while you are here."
Harry nodded his understanding and opened the letter from Hermione and read through it. He smiled as he summarized the letter for his grandfather. "She says she scared her parents she squealed so loudly. And she must thank me a dozen different times. She's so excited she didn't mention studying even once!" Harry laughed at his friend's enthusiasm and reached curiously for one of the new cheese-covered things.
"Ah, your scholar friend," Robert said with a smile as he set aside his own letter. "You've told me of how she's been reading your book with you and how much she wanted her own. Did you truly expect a different response?"
Harry finished chewing and swallowing his bite of the surprisingly good but still undefined cheesy thing and said, "I thought she might scold me for giving away some of my courting gifts as Christmas presents."
"You did purchase some of the tomes you sent her," Robert reminded him.
"I know. And I did tell her that. That I filled out the set for her," Harry said as he fiddled with the reminder of his food bit. "I still thought she might get upset. I'm glad she didn't."
"As am I," Robert said then lifted the letter he had just finished himself. "And on that same topic, the head librarian of The Royal Public Library thanks you for your donation."
Harry frowned. "Why would he be thanking me? You're the one that sent the books," he said and popped the rest of his appetizer into his mouth.
Robert chuckled ruefully. "Louis has been my friend for many years and is far from being a fool. Remember that your courtships are of great interest to the Veela nation, although the coverage in our paper is much more dignified than Britain's gossiping media. It was a small matter for him to see the similarity in the titles and subjects of the books he received and the reports about your interests. Add in the fact that it was I that delivered the books…"
Harry bit his lip. "So he figured out you were my chaperone. Do you think anyone else has figured it out?"
"No, I do not think so," Robert said confidently. "No one else would have such clues. And Louis was even more perceptive. As I said, we have been friends many years. He knows I would not chaperone just anyone, not even the famous Boy-Who-Lived, without very good reason. He offers his congratulations and condolences on my daughter, his congratulations on my grandson, and his best wishes for a felicitous mating."
"But…" Harry said in surprise then stopped. There really wasn't anything to say to that.
"And then he asks that I pass along his gratitude for the donation," Robert added with an amused half-smile. "He'd have thanked you himself but wasn't sure it would be appropriate, since you were keeping your lineage secret."
"Uh, well, tell him he's welcome, I guess," Harry said haltingly, somewhat bewildered over how to handle the situation.
"I will," Robert said. "And who else wrote to you?"
Harry startled at the question and said, "Oh, uh, Fred and George, Ginny, Neville, Lavender."
"Why don't you read your letters while I respond to Louis?" Robert suggested gently.
Harry nodded and did just that. He smiled at Lavender's gushing thanks for the jewelry box he'd sent her since she'd so admired the one he'd received. The jewelry box was one of the few gifts he'd actually specially purchased this year. He grinned at Neville's letter, which was just as excessively and uncharacteristically enthusiastic as Hermione's. He'd sent Neville the first set of duplicate music marbles that he'd received over the past four months – a total of nearly 100 – as well as a PeMM Player, or personal mobile marble player. He laughed outright at the thank you notes – and reports of Ron jealousy – from Fred, George, and Ginny. He'd sent them the second (62), third (62), and forth (47) duplicate marble sets respectively, as well as PeMM Players.
"You've received good responses, then?" Robert asked. "No scolding?"
Harry shook his head, still smiling over the amusing letters he'd just read. "No. Neville said that the PeMM was perfect for working in his greenhouse and said to feel free to unload duplicate marbles and marble playing devices anytime I want. He said he didn't care at all that I was passing along some duplicate gifts."
"Good, very good," Robert said with a nod and picked up his tea.
"The twins said thanks for sending them both their own sets; that it's nice to get individual Christmas presents instead of one they have to share. Not that they mind sharing, just that it was nice to also be seen as individuals," Harry said then giggled. "They say they kiss my toes for such a princely gift, but only because they're princely Veela toes." Harry's giggle turned into a full laugh.
Robert looked taken aback for a moment before he also laughed. "Is that so?" he asked in amusement.
Harry nodded, still giggling, and added, "Ginny also says thank you very much but has no plans to kiss my toes, princely Veela ones or not."
Robert smiled widely. "Perhaps that's best."
Harry merely giggled in response and picked up another cheesy-bit.
"I thought we might expand the table a bit more and finish loading your Vortex," Robert said. He knew his grandson didn't want to work today, as per his traditions, but he also knew from the past few days that Harry found quite a lot of fun and satisfaction in loading the device with his music marbles.
"That thing is so brilliant!" Harry said brightly. "I can't believe nobody thought to send one before. I have to send a really nice thank you note to Eric."
"They're not yet available to the general market," Robert said. "Only to commercial establishments."
"Really?" Harry asked in interest as he rose from the table to fetch the Vortex. "Where did you learn that?"
"From the shop proprietor Monday evening," Robert answered. "I spoke with him about it while you were looking through the store."
"Wow," Harry said in surprise. "I wonder why not. It's amazing."
"Not many people have the two thousand marbles needed to fill the device to capacity," Robert said with a chuckle. "The smaller one or two hundred capacity Tornadoes are more applicable to the everyday needs of most people."
"Do Tornadoes work the same way as a Vortex?" Harry asked as he picked up the device from his beside table. "You know, storing the marbles in a vortex pathway and playing whichever one's on the bottom? The name certainly implies it."
"Yes, they do," Robert answered as he expanded the table so his grandson could set down his player.
Harry deposited the contraption then left to fetch his music marbles. "The only ones I have left to add are the ones I exchanged on Monday," he said. "I can't believe I had forty-three copies of the Weird Sisters Greatest Hits."
Robert chuckled at his grandson's expression of disgust. He knew Harry was pleased, overall, to have a music collection even if he was displeased with the individual gift-givers lack of creativity. "That is still over a hundred marbles, correct?"
"Yes," Harry nodded as he approached with four bulging bags. "I'm still surprised at how many duplicates I got, especially now that I've been to a music store. I mean, there're thousands of titles and out of 1,500 marbles I still had almost 400 duplicates?"
"Will you leave all the marbles here?" Robert asked. "I know you plan to leave the Vortex here but you still have a PeMM, yes? You could take the marbles back to school with you."
"Everything I've gotten so far I'm leaving here," Harry said with a shake of his head. "I'm still getting marbles, if you can believe it. I'll take one of the PeMMs with me and use it if I want to listen to anything."
"What will you do with your remaining PeMMs?" Robert asked curiously.
Harry laughed. "I don't know. You want one? I gave those suitors positive marks – they were good gifts – but I hardly need a dozen of them."
"No, thank you," Robert declined. "I've no need of one."
"Well, shall we start with The Kneazles?" Harry asked as he held out an unopened marble package to his grandfather.
Robert exchanged the package with a bit of food – what Harry was now calling in his mind a cheesy-pouf – and said, "But of course."