I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Hello everyone, hope all are doing well and having a nice weekend. This was a bit of a stressful week, resolving things from what happened last week. I posted every day essentially to take my mind off things and am grateful for the comments you all have left. I was able to escape a bit and write a fair amount as well so an extra update this week. I just started 2nd year for this fic and things are still going strong. Hope you all continue to enjoy.
As always, thank you for reading. It means so much to me. Have a lovely weekend!
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A Taste of Magic
7th Course – Understanding
Lavender smiled brightly when she saw Harry sitting in the common room as she descended the stairs. "Hi Harry!"
Harry looked up and smiled softly. "Morning Lavender. How was the feast?"
She sat beside him on the couch. "It was fun. Would have been more fun with you." She patted his hand. "Not to make you feel bad, just saying I missed you there."
"Oh? That's so nice of you to say." He looked embarrassed and happy in equal measure. "I'm glad you had fun."
"How are you feeling?" she asked, peering at him closely.
"I feel okay," he said truthfully. "I slept alright surprisingly."
"That's good. Oh, the stew was so good, thank you so much."
He brightened. "You liked it?"
"It was delicious," Lavender said emphatically.
"I'm glad," he beamed.
"Hi Harry," Parvati greeted after walking up to them. "I saved some candy for you from the feast last night." She gave him a bag of brightly colored candies.
"Hey, some of those are ones I saved for him," Lavender protested.
"And I'm giving them to Harry," Parvati said smugly. "To prove I'm the better friend." She ducked when Lavender threw a couch pillow at her.
Harry laughed. "Thanks, you two, I really appreciate it. Shall we go to breakfast?"
"We're waiting for Hemione, if that's okay," Parvati said.
"That's fine," Harry said, pleasantly surprised. He smiled at Lavender. "You talked to her?"
"I said I would for you," Lavender said primly. "She's not actually that bad. We reached an understanding and we're going to try and be friendlier with each other."
"That's really good," Harry said.
Hermione came down the steps. "Morning," she said. "Thank you for waiting." After the quartet left the tower and were on the way to the Great Hall, she awkwardly cleared her throat. "Thank you, Harry," she said. "For asking Lavender to talk to me."
"You're welcome. I'm glad you guys talked," Harry said.
"Yes, it was nice," Hermione said.
They sat at the Gryffindor table and breakfast appeared before them. They started serving themselves and the morning owls came flying in, filling the air with the sound of hooting and barking and flapping wings. Hedwig circled in and landed in front of Harry. She looked at him carefully before nuzzling his face with hers, cooing softly.
"Good morning to you too," he smiled and rubbed her head. He fed her bacon after she finished her nuzzling and she sat beside him at the table, pressing herself against one arm.
"She's really affectionate today," Parvati said.
"I'm not complaining at all," Harry said happily.
Hermione was the first to finish and left for the library, needing to do something before their first class. Parvati watched her go. "I have to introduce her to Padma. I bet those two would get along."
"I'm honestly a bit surprised she didn't get sorted into Ravenclaw," Lavender said. "Don't they love to read and study too?"
"I don't think she'd have it any better," Parvati said frankly. "Padma says it's pretty cold in Ravenclaw. They like to debate and talk about theory and studies and stuff but it's super cliquey and not terribly friendly."
"The Hufflepuffs look pretty close most of the time," Harry mused, looking over at their table. "They're pretty friendly in class I think."
"More friendly than the Slytherins, that's for sure," Lavender sniffed. "They're mostly so rude and you can see them separate themselves into groups at their table too."
"Do you think the Sorting Hat puts all the rude people in Slytherin for convenience's sake?" Parvati whispered and giggled.
"No, because then Seamus would be there too," Lavender said. She and Parvati erupted into even louder giggles and even Harry fought hard to join them, but he smiled broadly alongside. When Lavender looked at the Slytherin table, she saw someone looking back at them for a moment. "She's looking over again."
"Hmm, I'm really curious why," Parvati said as peeked over at the other table.
"Who?" Harry asked.
"Parkinson," Lavender and Parvati said.
When Harry looked over, Pansy looked away. "Oh, she might be looking at me."
"Probably trying to help Malfoy mess with you then," Parvati sniffed.
"I don't know," Harry hummed. "I gave her a muffin after our club that night."
"You gave Parkinson one of your muffins?" Lavender asked, surprised. "Why?"
"I found her by the Owlery. She was crying," he replied.
"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you don't like hearing people cry," Lavender said. "To be nice to her when she's been so rude to you."
Harry shrugged sheepishly. "She sounded and looked really upset."
"Do you think that's why she's been less rude to us lately?" Parvati asked.
"I don't know," Harry said honestly. "I'll take it though. Malfoy is plenty rude."
"That's like saying water's plenty wet," Parvati snorted.
"Or that Hedwig's feathers are very soft and pretty," Lavender smiled as she watched Hedwig pull a piece of bacon off her plate.
Hedwig cheeped thickly with agreement; her beak full of bacon.
-0-
Harry popped another piece of candy into his mouth as he continued to write. It was breezy and chilly outdoors but he wanted to enjoy the sunshine while it lasted. The library or the common room would have been much warmer but the cold air was nice in its way. He knew with winter rapidly approaching, the days would be cold and dismal so the sunlight was welcome.
He saved the wrappers of the candies. He liked the varieties of candies that he had tried so far. They were so different compared to Muggle candy. Not just the obviously magical ones like the bubbles blown from gum that floated through the air or the candies that made your ears smoke and turn bright red. Even the small wrapped chocolates tasted incredibly different. Some more so than others.
"Hey, Potter."
He looked up and saw Pansy standing there. He hurriedly swallowed the chocolate and coughed a little. "Hi," he said back.
She looked at him, her face a mixture of curiosity and reluctance. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she finally spoke once more. "Thank you. For the muffin and the handkerchief." She held her hand out and revealed the handkerchief. "I've been meaning to give this back."
"Oh, you're welcome. You can keep it if you like. It's my first time sewing in a really long time so it's a bit rough," he said awkwardly.
She closed her hand around it. "Thank you," she repeated. She coughed and cleared her throat. "The muffin was really good."
"I'm glad," Harry said, his happiness at her words making his awkwardness at her words fade just a little.
"You really made it?" she asked.
"Yup, in Household Charms club."
"So you really do know how to cook?"
He nodded.
"Huh. Why?"
"It was a chore but I came to really like cooking," Harry said.
She blinked at him. "You did chores?"
He blinked back. "Yeah. Always did, as long as I could remember."
"Oh." She looked very confused. "You didn't grow up in a magical family?"
Harry shook his head. "I didn't even know about magic until like a week or so before school started."
She stared at him with disbelief. "How did you make the muffins then?"
"By hand without magic. Like I always have. I'm starting to learn a few charms and things that can help in club but I've always cooked without magic."
"I can't believe that," she said with wonder.
He frowned slightly. "I'm not lying. Like I wasn't lying about knowing how to cook."
Pansy colored a little, feeling slightly shameful for some reason. "I didn't mean to call you one. It's just hard to believe."
"Okay," he replied and the awkwardness returned in full.
"Were…were you really nice to me because I was crying?" she whispered. When he nodded, she looked at him directly. "Why? When I helped Draco be mean and rude to you. You could have just ignored me."
"Because you looked so upset," he said, rubbing his neck. "I really don't like hearing people cry and yeah you weren't nice but it doesn't do to hit someone when they're down."
"I've heard my father say that's when it's easiest to hit someone," Pansy said dryly.
"I guess?" Harry said, unable to keep his voice from rising in a concerned lit that made Pansy giggle. She looked shocked that she did that in front of him and he looked equally shocked. "In any case yeah, I could have ignored you but it would've bothered me. If I could help but didn't, that would upset me."
"Oh," she said quietly. "Uhm, thank you." She looked like she was about to say something else before deciding against it. "I'll…talk to you another time," she said. "Bye." She turned and walked away.
"Bye," Harry said after. He watched her walk into the castle, disappearing from sight. "That was weird," he muttered to himself.
-0-
"That's weird," Lavender said, after Harry had told her what happened that afternoon. "I still can't believe that you did that for her. I mean I can, you're really sweet, but she was awful to you for weeks."
Harry shrugged. "Guess you had to be there to see how bad she looked."
"I guess," Lavender said. She smiled mischievously. "So if it was Seamus or Draco that was sobbing up a storm, would you be nice to them?"
"Gosh, that's a tough question," Harry laughed. "Not for Draco. He's been the absolute worst of the two, three if you count Parkinson. He's just incredibly unpleasant. Since I met him on the train."
"Oooh, you met him on the train first?" she asked interestedly.
"Yeah, came barging into the compartment, insulted Ron, told me I could do better and said he'd help me figure out the right sort of people," Harry said, rolling his eyes.
Lavender stuck her tongue out and made retching sounds. "Ugh, what a prat," she groaned. "What did you say?"
"I said I wasn't interested and he said I'd regret it." Harry shrugged again. "I'm still waiting to be honest. To regret it I mean."
"You'll probably be waiting for a long time for that," Lavender sniffed, giggling when Harry chuckled. "Well I guess I don't have to worry." She smiled at him when he looked at her with confusion. "If I'm ever terrible to you and get really upset, you'd still help me," she teased.
Harry laughed at that. "I don't think you'd ever be terrible to me," he said with complete confidence.
The firm belief in his words made her feel warm and happy. "I'll try my best not to," she said, making him laugh again. "There you are," she said as Parvati and Padma approached. She and Harry had been waiting in the castle foyer for them.
"Padma was taking forever," Parvati complained.
"I was finishing homework," Padma said severely. "Since we're going to do club things. Did you finish yours?"
"Mostly," Parvati said evasively. "Don't you two snitch on me," she said, glaring at Lavender and Harry.
"I know she did her Potions essay," Harry said.
"Thank you, Harry. See?" Parvati preened.
"Oh okay, that's good then," Padma said, impressed.
"Only because Harry helped us both with the essay," Lavender smiled.
"Oh really?" Padma said, giving her twin a look.
"I hate you," Parvati said, pushing Lavender as they walked down the hall together.
"So that's what it looks like," Padma said with amusement, watching Parvati and Lavender squabble. "She rarely argues and fights with our cousins, saves the most of it with me and now with Lavender. Thank goodness."
"Hello everyone," Flitwick said as they entered the classroom. "Good to see you all." He looked delighted to see Padma. "And our little club grows! Wonderful, wonderful. Oh and thank you for sharing the spices with us. That butter chicken you made together was very delicious."
"Oh I meant to tell you that Grandma said good job," Parvati said. "She also said you won't be Cursed now."
"Thank goodness," Harry said with naked relief.
Flitwick laughed when they explained the statement and Harry's relief. "What are we in the mood for this time?" he asked.
"I'm in the mood for some twice-baked potatoes," Harry said.
"Isn't that just a burnt potato?" Parvati asked.
Harry laughed. "No, you bake a potato then take out the insides and mash it, then add more stuff to it and bake it again."
"Sounds like a lot of work," Lavender said. "But it sounds good!"
"Oh! In that case, there is a spell for that," Flitwick said excitedly. "I picked up a book on magical cookery and lo and behold, there is a Potato Mashing Charm."
"Really? That's so…mundane," Padma said, surprised.
"Many a charm was created to do something mundane," Flitwick said sagely. "Magicals, by and large, are dreadfully lazy." He grinned while the students laughed at the statement frankly said. "Many spells were created for convenience's sake. You would be surprised at what exists and for what. In fact, there is a spell to do up the laces on your shoes with variance for tightness and even right versus left."
Like the other times, they split up at first. Lavender had a new project in mind and she was soon sewing away industriously while Parvati asked Flitwick a few questions. Inky brought the things Harry asked for and she and Padma helped Harry with cooking. When the potatoes had baked enough to have soft insides, Harry took them out of the oven and scooped out the steaming hot potato, leaving the skin intact.
Flitwick then taught them the Potato Mashing spell, and their first attempts sent potatoes flying everywhere. With a laugh, he gathered all the bits of errant potato and they worked together to learn the charm properly, watching the contents become smooth and lump-free. "Remember! Too much magic is just as ruinous as not enough in some cases," he said broadly.
"Why are you doing some by hand?" Padma asked.
"We've been trying something out," Harry explained as he mashed a bowlful of potato with a wooden spoon. "We've discovered that some batches taste different and we're trying to figure out why. So far the only difference between the different batches is some have had magic to prepare steps and others didn't."
"Ooh interesting," Padma said.
He mixed cheese, salt, pepper, and butter into the mashed potatoes and started refilling the skins with them.
"Oh that looks good already," Lavender said. "Parvati!"
"What?!" the girl said defensively, licking her lips.
"Don't eat from the bowl like that," Lavender laughed.
"She does it at home too," Padma sighed.
"So do you!"
The refilled potatoes were popped back into the oven and soon the air was rich with the scents of butter and cheese mingled pleasantly with the earthy potato. When they came out, they steamed. Flecks of black pepper dotted the creamy potato filling that was laced with strands of melting yellow cheese. They were topped with dollops of sour cream and a bit more butter and Harry offered a small pile of chopped chives. "Careful, the potatoes will be super hot," he warned. Each person took a half of the first batch.
"It's like better mashed potatoes," Lavender said, fanning her mouth. "Not as creamy as some I've had but the melted cheese is wonderful with it!"
"And you still get the nice crisp jacket outside," Padma said as she chewed blissfully. "This is great!"
"Mmm," Flitwick agreed. "Well worth the effort when you want something a bit more than a standard jacket potato."
After they finished the first ones, they started eating the second ones.
"Oh wow, there is a difference," Padma said. "This is still amazing but you can tell there's a difference."
"The texture is pretty similar," Parvati said as she chewed slowly. "Not quite the same but there's something else going on."
"Everything else is the same," Harry muttered to himself. "I weighed out the cheese and butter and even the salt and pepper."
"Is it just me, or does it taste even more different?" Lavender asked.
"What do you mean?" Padma said.
"For the biscuits and the muffins, they tasted different but not too different. These definitely taste more different." She frowned. "It's hard to explain."
"Wait, I think I get what you mean," Parvati said. "And I agree, there's more of a difference between these two."
"And the only difference is that one had a spell used and the other didn't?" Padma asked.
Lavender nodded. "Mmhmm. The last two things, Harry cast the mixing spell to mix the dough."
"And everyone cast the mashing spell today…" The students turned to look at Flitwick. The professor's forehead was furrowed and he was looking at the potatoes. He jumped up suddenly. "I got it! I think I understand why we taste a difference in things!"
"Really?" they cried.
Flitwick clapped his hands excitedly. "Yes! Oh my, it's rather obvious if you think about it. I just never have in this connotation before!" He spread his arms wide. "We are tasting the magic!"
Harry, Lavender, Parvati, Padma looked at each other. "You can taste magic?" Harry asked.
"Apparently!" He was bouncing up and down on his feet. "This is a bit above your school level but you will come to learn that every magical's magic has a distinct signature. Much like when you sign your name with quill and ink. It is yours, specific to you. Granted there are means to mimic and forge it, but you can tell the differences if you try hard enough."
He started pacing, like he did during class when he was lecturing. "Now you all have learned the Wand-Lighting Charm, yes? Splendid. Please, would you all cast it?"
The four students readied their wands and with incantations of "Lumos,", four wands were lit. Flitwick cast his own and held his wand up. "Now see between the five of us, there are some differences, right?"
"Mine is a lot brighter," Lavender said. "Parvati's is a little blue and not as bright. Padma's is a little yellow and not as bright either. Harry's looks focused, like a point." She looked at Flitwick's. "And yours is really focused."
"Now granted I have had many more years of practice than all of you combined. As you mature and become more adept, your spells will change a little here and there but your casting of the charm will be different than someone else's, as we see." He waved his wand and with each flick, the light changed subtly but noticeably. "I'm still casting the Wand-Lighting Charm but as you see, I can change the intensity and the shape and the hue somewhat."
After they cancelled the spell with a chorus of "Nox," he continued. "And that can apply to almost every spell. I know that my warming spell will feel a bit different than say the Headmaster's, and it will be different from when you all learn to cast it."
He beamed. "Therefore, if we can see a difference in magic, feel a difference, and I imagine once we learn ones that make noise they will sound different, so why not taste? We just never thought of it before because we had no need to or no opportunity."
He gestured at Inky who had been watching and listening while munching on her potato. "House Elves have their own form of magic, much like other magical beings. So that would be why when she makes food with her magic, it would taste different compared to other House Elves. Isn't that so, Inky?"
Inky nodded. "Some Elves make some foods taste better, so they make them more. Not Inky though, Inky is good at almost all foods."
"So when I did that second batch of biscuits and they tasted…less different, same as the muffins…" Harry said slowly.
"You were practicing the mixing spell," Flitwick finished. "The more you practiced, the better you got at it. So we were tasting less of the magic, and more of your cooking." He rubbed his chin. "Your skill in cooking is undeniable, that is why we heartily enjoy it without the spells. But with the spells, it adds a dimension that is a new factor."
"That's why magical foods taste so different to me!" Harry exclaimed. "I've noticed that!"
"Indeed!" Flitwick smiled. "You have a palate from your cooking that most of your peers do not, so you were able to notice it much sooner than others. For those of us who have grown-up and lived in the magical world for so long, we rarely have the exposure to food that hasn't had magic in it in some way, shape, or form."
"Why haven't Muggleborns noticed it?" Padma wondered.
"Muggleborns are still magical folk," Flitwick mused. "So to them, the magic is welcome I imagine. Goodness me, the avenues for exploration are myriad in this."
"I'm sorry," Harry said weakly.
"For what?" Flitwick smiled broadly. "The sheer amount of testing and experimenting and things we can explore and discover is incredible!"
"Oh, that's good," Harry said sheepishly, making the girls giggle. "I just felt like I should apologize for something."
"Not for this, you shouldn't," Flitwick soothed.
-0-
"What're you thinking about?" Lavender asked.
After they finished up with the club, Parvati, Lavender, and Harry had returned to the common room in Gryffindor tower. They sat together at one of the small desks against the wall to finish homework together. Harry had been looking out the window, staring at the ground under cover of night silently.
"That magic is interesting," he said slowly. "I never thought that you could literally taste magic. That's wild to me."
"Yeah, same," Parvati said. "And I grew up in a magical household. I'm going to have to pay attention when I go home. I know some in my family cook with spells and some don't. I want to see if I notice a difference."
Harry looked down at his hands. "Now I'm wondering if my cooking is only good because of magic."
"It's not," Lavender said firmly. "I've had your biscuits that you've made without using magic and they taste wonderful and all the other things you've cooked without magic are delicious too."
"Yeah, I agree," Parvati said.
"And you using magic to make them doesn't make them less delicious," Lavender continued, "just different. Your food tastes good because you're good at it."
"Yeah and didn't the professor say that spells were made to make things easier? When you're cooking without them, you're working hard and it shows," Parvati said.
Harry smiled bashfully. "Thanks. It really makes me happy and feel better to hear you two say that."
"We won't lie to you," Lavender said, smiling back.
"I might fib a little," Parvati said. She flushed at Lavender's angry look. "Only on certain things like if you're wearing something you like and I don't think the color suits! Not on actually important things!"
"I knew you were lying when you said you liked my shirt!" Lavender cried.
"Fib! Not lie!"
Harry's laughter broke up the argument.
"Fine, I won't lie to you," Lavender huffed.
"I won't lie or fib when it comes to cooking and food!" Parvati sniffed.
Harry sat back, smiling as he listened to his two friends bicker amicably, feeling just a bit better.
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Nysk - No troll on this Halloween. I wanted to try and challenge myself on this fic and deviate a bit more from canon while trying to keep certain feelings the same, but it is firmly an AU story. So essentially, don't think everything from canon will happen if anything major does. Glad you liked it.
AshokaTheGreat - Thank you for the high praise. I've gotten good at writing melancholy and bittersweet things I think.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - I feel like any Halloween style chapter for the most part should have some kind of bittersweet feeling to it, for Harry anyways, until things can improve for him.
Navn Ukjent - Where I grew up, toothsome could also mean a chewy quality to the meat so that was the definition I was using.
odonnellzoo99 - I hope that makes sense for them. I never liked stories that made Lavender into this terrible person or overly vapid. I like to think of her as a kind girl and a relatively normal one as well. Obviously in this she'll grow a bit more different, but I'm aiming to maintain a mostly cheerful and bubbly personality for her with some depth if that makes sense. And from that, Harry can develop his own thoughts and feelings as he has that kind of support nearby.
I cook it in florets. It's florets of cauliflower, chickpeas, chunky peanut butter, garam masala, curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, coriander, and some broth or coconut milk depending on what you like. Simmered for a bit and it's lovely on rice.
Sageofchaos - There will be plenty more hopefully. I hope to write it in its entirety and it'll be a decent length.
LordLiberty - No troll for Halloween. I'm trying to shake things up a bit and deviate from canon in some ways.
kaya - Thank you for the incredibly kind words.
kaiserbane - That might be a coming plot point.
Hyperion07e - I personally do not find Uncle Roger funny or pleasant so I do not care to care if he approved of anything. I do intend on Harry learning other cuisines and things like that however.
alix33 - Glad you found it so.
poka - Yes, I realized later that I had written a lot where me saying my other main story isn't obvious. That kind of surprises me a little to be honest. But yes, I did mean The Family that Chooses You. Glad you liked that about his actions, I wanted it to be poignant and moving and understandable. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the story to the end.