A New Beginning

Chapter 9: Cooking and the Lestrange Brothers

Harry was in the kitchen, cooking and baking more than enough food to feed at least a small army. On his own because he had kindly sent the house elves away to other parts of the Manor, or just to rest for some of the older/younger ones. He was bored. And when he was bored his mind wandered to things he would rather it wouldn't. Memories would surface. His emotions would bubble up. And he couldn't deal with that. He couldn't.

Cooking was fun, though. It took his mind off those things as he moved his hands, and body, and focused on the food and making it taste as good as possible.

He had written back to Luna and Neville and sent along some notebooks that they could chat to each other via, it was a gift from Severus, and being able to talk privately to them was helping, too. But he would much prefer to be able to talk to them in person, so he didn't have to wait for them to have the time to reply, or whatever. His mind really just needed something to keep it occupied so he wouldn't keep… thinking about and remembering everything. Especially his dreams.

Nightmares, really.

But he couldn't keep remembering those.

No, cooking was an escape, and he enjoyed it.

The only things he wanted to remember were the sounds of his baby's heartbeat, and the golden image of her hovering above the soft curve of his belly during his latest sessions with Sev and Cissa.

But of course his mind liked to bloody provide everything else instead.

"Harry," a voice said gently from the door, and Harry jumped, turning around to find Tom standing there with who he recognised as the Lestrange brothers, all three of them looking confused.

"Merlin, Tom, you scared me," Harry said, breathing deeply.

"I'm sorry. But, are you okay? What are you doing here? Is cooking really a good thing for you to be doing right now? Where are my house elves?" Tom said nervously as he moved closer to Harry.

"First of all, I'm pregnant, not incapacitated. Pregnant people have been cooking since the human race first existed. I think I'm fine. I'm also not using any magic, so you don't need to worry about my magic being drained or anything. Secondly, I sent the house elves elsewhere, either to rest, or to clean something. And thirdly, I'm not okay. I needed something to take my mind off everything, and cooking helps to relax me, and to focus my mind on something, and such. I enjoy it. So here I am, cooking. I hope you're all hungry," Harry said before turning back to the task at hand.

"Surely there is something better you can do?" Tom said, concerned.

"Well, it was either this or reading, and as much as I like learning about the wizarding world, I really wanted to do something fun. This portion of the world seems to be rather lacking in that department. Not that I was really able to do anything fun in the muggle world either, but they have many more forms of entertainment than we do. So cooking it is," Harry said.

"What do they have that we don't?" Rabastan said.

Harry turned to look at him with incredulous eyes, "First of all, a hell of a lot of fiction books, comic books, graphic novels and such. You know, books for entertainment. Secondly, televisions, which are these boxes that show films and tv shows that are like plays but filmed so you can watch them from the comfort of your own home. You can even go to a cinema and watch the films on a larger screen, with louder sound. Then there are the however many sports they have, which are also filmed so you can watch them from home rather than having to go to the event. Then there is the music, which is always evolving and changing, with various genres so that everyone can find something they enjoy listening to,"

"Severus and your twins are going shopping for things for you today, aren't they? You could have gone shopping with them, if we are so incredibly boring?" Rodolphus said, raising an eyebrow.

Harry also raised an eyebrow, pointing at him and Rabastan with the large knife he was holding, "Didn't you two hurt Neville's parents?" he said fiercely, "Were you that incredibly bored that you thought it okay to torture innocent people who were just trying to protect their child?" he seethed.

Their eyes widened fractionally and they swallowed thickly, "Well, technically it was really Bella and Barty that did all the work. We were just keeping an eye out," Rabastan said.

"Well, you didn't do a very good job then, did you, since you all got caught. Or was that the plan all along? Get caught. Go to Azkaban. Wait until your Lord returns and rescues you," Harry said, spitefully, "Are all of your Death Eaters stupid? With the exceptions of Sev and Cissa, of course," Harry added, looking at Tom.

"When they want to be, yes," Tom said with a grin, "But believe me when I say that these two have brains, most of the time. And strength. There are many things about that night that leads me to believe it was a set up, but we shan't be discussing that right now. In any case, why didn't you go out with Severus and your twins?" he said gently.

Harry's eyes widened at that information, "Why can't we discuss that now? I would like to know why my friend's parents were hurt. Why you think it was a bloody set up,"

"Harry, I thought you didn't want to discuss the war?" Tom said.

"Well, yeah, I don't. But if Alice and Frank were set up to either die or be hurt, then my parents probably were too. And I do believe that both Neville and I deserve to know what the fuck happened and why the fuck we were raised by people who couldn't find it in them to care for us," Harry said fiercely.

"Okay, if you want then we can discuss it when you have calmed down, and when you don't have access to any knives and other possible weapons. I don't want to cause you too much stress. And I don't want anyone to get hurt," Tom said calmly.

Harry took a deep breath, "Okay," he said, nodding, trying to calm down.

"Now, why didn't you go with your family to get the things you need?" Tom asked.

"Because I didn't want to leave here. I… I don't feel safe anywhere else. And I know that they would protect me, and that they weren't going anywhere obvious, but… I couldn't bring myself to leave," Harry said weakly, looking down at the food he was preparing, hating that he was so weak that he couldn't even think about leaving the Manor.

"That's okay. Completely understandable, really. You've been through a lot. It will take time for you to adjust, to feel okay again," Tom said softly, "Just, don't stress yourself out too much. You're not weak. You are one of the strongest people I have come to know. Just, please, don't stress too much,"

Harry looked up at Tom with soft eyes, "Okay," he swallowed, "What are you three doing down here, anyways?"

"Oh, well, one of the house elves told me that you were in here and I thought I would see if you were alright," Tom said nervously, "And I wanted to properly introduce you to these two. Over the coming months I want them to become part of your protectors. Just in case something happens, not that I am thinking anything will, of course, but it is always good to have more people on hand. Because of their status I can't really have them go out in the open just yet, so I figured that they would come in handy with protecting and looking after you when needed. Like if you were to leave the Manor one day,"

"Oh, right, well, thank you," Harry said, a tad flustered, "So I have actual bodyguards now?"

"You don't have to think of them as bodyguards if you don't want to. You could become friends with them, I think they would get on quite well with your twins. They also love pranks and such. Very creative minds. But they are the best of my defenders, too. And I trust them to keep you and our daughter safe if need be," he said, sharp eyes turning to the brothers, who nodded, straightening themselves up to their full heights and builds.

"Okay. Just, no more torturing unless someone tries to hurt my baby, please. Or Severus, or the twins," Harry said sternly.

"Of course, Lord Harry," the brothers said, their voices strong.

"Nope, just Harry. None of that Lord crap. I'm not up for that," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Okay, Just Harry," Rabastan said, a grin on his face.

"That is not what I meant and you know it," Harry growled, glaring at the brothers.

"We know, yes, but it doesn't mean we will do it," Rodolphus said, also grinning, "What are you cooking anyway? It smells amazing,"

"Thank you. But you shall have to wait until dinner to find out, if you would like any. So, go do whatever it is you boys do," Harry waved them off, turning back to the food he was trying to prepare.

He heard the brothers leave the room, but Tom moved closer to him, standing beside him.

"Are you okay?" Tom asked.

"Mhm," Harry nodded.

"I'm sorry if… If you don't want them I can choose some others, or if you don't want bodyguards at all then that is-"

"No, Tom. Bodyguards are a good idea. I just don't like the thought that they might actually be needed one day," Harry said, placing the knife on the chopping board and leaning against the counter, one hand on the small curve of his belly, that seems to be getting slightly bigger with each passing day, and the other resting on the counter, relaxing slightly as he felt his baby's magic flowing through him.

"I don't like that thought, either," Tom said, "But we must prepare for everything, right?"

"Even the worst," Harry said, his voice thick.

"Even the worst," Tom agreed, his voice also thick with emotion as he swallowed deeply.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. We'll be okay. I'll do anything and everything I can to make sure of it," Tom said, his voice a tad stronger.

"I know you will," Harry said, swallowing thickly.

"Right. Well, I'll leave you to your cooking then. When you are done, call some of the house elves so you don't end up taking all the dishes up to the dining room on your own, please," Tom said gently.

"Will do," Harry said with a nod.

"Good. Do you want me to send Severus or your twins down when they get back? Or do you want to be alone?"

"Erm, can I be alone please?"

"Of course. Whatever you need. I shall see you later," Tom said.

"See you,"

Then Tom was gone, and Harry was breathing shakily, trying to get everything back under control, his thumb rubbing gently against Bump.

And soon he was back to cooking. Trying desperately to ignore any and all thoughts and memories that entered his mind, relaxing the more he was there.

Hiya, how are you all today?

Sorry for the delay, I did not realise the last chapter was posted in September until today. But here is the next one. I hope you enjoyed it, and hopefully there won't be such a long wait between this one and the next one. But we shall have to wait and see how life is between now and then, I suppose.

Also, I have Tumblr now. My username is marauderingpaige if you want to go and give me a follow over there. I also have one more focussed on personal life and writing, username is paigemakepeacewrites. And I have a Discord server, too, a new one! If you would like the link then feel free to drop me an email (my address can be found on my profile) or message me on social media, or join my Facebook group, and I will happily share it with you.

I have also now started writing a fanfiction for House M.D. It is an omega verse pic with House as the omega and Wilson as the alpha. If you love the show as much as I do then feel free to go and check it out. It is called Lights Will Guide You Home.

Also, I am working on some Spotify playlists for my fanfics, so if you can think of any songs you think work with the stories as they are so far, or where you think they are going, or songs that give you the vibes you get from the stories, then please do let me know and I will give them a listen, then potentially add them to the playlists. If you would like to go and give them a listen as they are now then you can find me on Spotify under the name Maraudering_Paige. They aren't that long at the moment, but we are making progress and I will continue adding to them the more music I listen to and when I have the time to do so. But still, if you can think of any relevant songs then do let me know.

I have a Facebook group called Maraudering_Paige which you are all welcome to join if you would like to and are able to. It is where we can talk about Harry Potter, fanfics, life, share memes and more. It is also where I have somewhat of an update schedule for my fics and will be keeping you up to date on what I am working on, in regards to fanfics, original works, and more things. So if you are interested in joining then I am more than happy to accept you all.

I also now have a TikTok and an Instagram for my fanfic writing escapades. The username is maraudering_paige on both of them so feel free to follow me, and we shall see how often and what kinds of content I can post when I can. But it is another way for me to keep you all up to date if you don't have Facebook and such, and for me to spread the word about other things I am working on and things I want to do and such. So yeah, feel free to join me on those if you are able.

And finally, if you like poems, then I write them and I have started a where you can read 1 or more poems every month depending on how many I have the time to post. You also get access to information about my original books I am working on before anyone else. And you get your name listed in the acknowledgements section of any book I publish whilst you are a Patron. For as little as £1.11 (plus VAT) a month. If you would like to join me over there and read some rants I call poems, and get updates on original work, then you may. My username over there is Paige_Makepeace. No pressure, by the way, you certainly do not have to if you can't or don't want to. I understand. I just thought it would be a cool thing to try. Any money made from this will go towards helping me write and publish the original novels I am working on. Including the one I am hoping to publish first which is a slow-burn, witchy, bisexual/lesbian enemies to lovers book. You will also be able to read the first draft of the first chapter of my book, so, if you are interested in doing that then feel free to go and subscribe if you want to.

If there are any other platforms you think I should join you all on then let me know and I will have a think.

I hope you are having an amazing day!

Kind regards,

Paige xx