I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

A Taste of Magic

88th Course – Comfort

"Problem, Mister Potter?" McGonagall asked, giving him a stern look.

Harry gulped. "No, Professor. No problems at all. Not a one. Wouldn't know what to do with one if I found it."

"No, please, by all means. If you have a problem, feel free to share it so that it may be addressed," she continued, almost glowering at him.

Harry flushed and looked around helplessly. Most of the other students looked away, not wanting to catch McGonagall's ire like he did. Lavender looked at him sympathetically while Parvati giggled a little. Hermione gave him a slightly confused look. "I, uh, well, I was just thinking that the amount of homework is a bit…more than before," he said lamely. "But I know it's our O.W.L. year and you want us to prepare for it so it…makes…sense?"

She snorted a little. "I am pleased you think so," she said dryly. "And you are correct, this year it is more important for you to be diligent in your studies so that you perform well on your O.W.L.s."

The bell rang and the majority of the students gathered their things swiftly and made for the door, making a small jam as they pushed each other in an attempt at leaving first.

"Is this about the prefect thing?" Harry asked, quailing a little at her look. "I think it's about the prefect thing."

"No, despite me thinking you would be a good one," she huffed. "I understand your reluctance in the matter."

Harry looked at her. "Is this about the muffin thing? Professor Dumbledore said you liked muffins."

She flushed, especially when Lavender and Parvati and Hermione giggled at that. "I do and no, it is not about that and they are very delicious, thank you." She rubbed her eyes. "It is nothing you…solely…did. Perhaps I should be more circumspect."

Harry thought some more. "Is this about the letter that Grandfather Nicky said he was going to write you?"

"I would tell you to tell your grandfather to come and say his accusations to my face but I know he would do that!" McGonagall nearly growled, making them take a step back. "That man! As if it is my fault that you do not love transfiguration first and foremost!"

"I do like it!" Harry protested. "I try hard, it's just not my favorite!" He winced at her look. "I'm sorry."

"I am sorry as well," she sighed. "I should not take my ire out on you, considering it is tangentially your fault but not directly."

"Right okay uh so I'll just make you more muffins and I'll go do that and gotta go bye Professor!" Harry hastily gathered his things and fled with Lavender and Parvati and Hermione right behind him.

"What was that about?!" Lavender asked, laughing outright.

"Over the summer, my grandparents asked me my favorite subjects and I said Charms and Potions," Harry said, shaking his head. "Charms because of Professor Flitwick and stuff I've learned for cooking and kitchen work and Potions because it's basically like cooking. Turns out, those are the schools that Grandmother is best at and she rubbed it into Grandfather's face since he's the best at Transfiguration. He said he was going to write her a letter and I guess he did."

"Professor McGonagall shouldn't be taking it out on you though," Hermione sniffed. "That's not right."

"She gets a little irrational when it comes to Grandfather," Harry sighed. "They really like to argue and fight."

"Wow, he must really get under her nerves," Parvati said. "I wonder who she's irritated at more, him or the Weasley Twins."

"Maybe Grandfather," Harry smiled. "He deliberately does things to irritate her. Where I think the Weasleys do things that happen to irritate her."

"Are you really making muffins just for her?" Hermione asked.

"Not just for her. Part of the agreement for the Uncommon Room is to make extra things for the Heads," Harry grinned. "And it's not a problem, I just make a double batch or something. But muffins are her favorite and Professor Dumbledore told me that this summer when we were talking about the prefect thing."

"So are they 'I'm sorry' muffins or 'please don't punish me' muffins?" Parvati giggled.

"Yes," Harry said and the others laughed. "As well as the room tax I suppose you can call it."

"I didn't know you had to make extra things for us to enjoy the room," Lavender said, frowning a little. "We should help with that."

"Don't worry about it," Harry said, waving a hand. "I'm cooking already, just making a little extra. It really isn't bad at all."

"Well we can help out more by putting more money into the room budget," Parvati said. "And help tidy up and stuff more."

"Thankfully everyone's been good about cleaning up and all that," Harry said.

"Yeah, that is nice. But it'll be nice to practice the cleaning charms and those kind of spells. The more we practice, the better we get and we'll do better in class, just like you always say." Parvati shrieked when Hermione pushed her solidly from behind. "Help! I'm being assaulted by a prefect! Abuse of power!"

"Please, that is nothing close to abusing power!" Hermione said crossly while Lavender and Harry laughed.

"Wow, I guess you're learning a thing or two from your girlfriend huh?" Parvati smiled. The smile disappeared at Hermione's expression and Parvati ran down the hall screaming with Hermione in hot pursuit.

"Oh Parvati," Lavender laughed. "We better catch up to prevent Hermione from losing her badge."

"Probably for the best," Harry smiled.

-0-

"You keep fiddling with your badge."

"Do I really?" Pansy looked down at the badge on her robes. "I haven't noticed."

"Is it uncomfortable or something?" Millicent asked.

"No, not literally, I don't think." Pansy shrugged. "It's hard to explain."

"So like most things you try to tell me," Millicent smiled.

Pansy smiled too and kicked her friend in the leg. "Very funny," she said. She sighed softly. "I mean, I always wanted to be a prefect. Who wouldn't want to be the one taking points away for once and having the power to do that and more."

"The other responsibilities leaching away some of the fun?" Millicent asked.

"No, not really. I mean, there are more responsibilities sure. They're not terrible. I just…I thought I would feel different as a prefect. I thought I'd be able to take it more easy if that makes sense, considering normally there are other prefects above us."

"Instead of literally just the one in each year," Millicent nodded. "Since the others all left."

"Precisely. I knew we, Blaise and I, would have to do more, but then again, our House is a bit bare as it is too." She looked around the common room as she and Millicent entered it. The Slytherins were never that boisterous before, when the House was full. The common room always had people in it though and conversation was usually measured for the most part, though some were louder and more energetic of course.

Now though, with a little more than half of the House having gone to Sanguis, it felt even more empty. There were a few pockets of people here and there, but on the whole, it felt colder and quieter despite the crackling fire in the hearth. The light from the lake made the room even more cool than normal, casting a pall that felt uncomfortably like drowning slightly.

Pansy stopped and looked over at the corner of the room. She bit her lip, standing and thinking and looking.

"What's up?" Millicent asked, stopping too.

"They look upset," Pansy said softly, looking at the three first year students huddled together.

"Yeah, poor firsties," Millicent said just as softly.

Pansy took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Millicent asked.

"Doing what someone did for me many years ago," Pansy said and walked over. She smiled at them as the firsties looked at her with apprehension. "Don't worry, none of you are in trouble," she said when she noticed their looks. "I wanted to come over and see how you were doing."

"Really?" One of them, a girl, looked at her.

"Really. I am your prefect and I want to help if I can," Pansy said. "Felicia, right?"

Felicia nodded. "Yes Ma'am."

Pansy laughed at that. "You may call me Pansy if you wish. Is everything okay?"

They looked at each other.

"Some of the others are saying it's our House's fault," Felicia said. "With how things are now."

"That our House is a bunch of traitors for leaving Hogwarts," Wesley said, one of the two first year boys.

"Has any done more than say things to you?" Pansy asked, frowning.

"No Miss Pansy," Benjamin, the other first year boy, said.

"Well, first of all, if any are doing anything more, let me or the other prefects know. That is not right and must be dealt with. Second of all, while there is a grain of truth in what they said, there is only a grain. A lot of the former students in the House left to join the new school. However, that does not necessarily make them all traitors. Some had to due to family desire while others believed it to be the right choice for themselves.

"That said, none of you are responsible and should not feel responsible. Slytherin is the House of ambition, resourcefulness, determination, and cleverness. The Sorting Hat recognized that greatness in all of you and you should be proud to be here, both at Hogwarts and in Slytherin."

"So we're not bad?" Felicia asked plaintively.

"No, you nor we are bad," Pansy said firmly. "We are all students here. We are all here to learn magic and make friends, and become educated and prepare for the future. Let no one tell you otherwise." She smiled when they did. "I can't believe I'm about to say this, but you may look to your fellow first year, Astoria, for aid in this. I say that because I have known her for years and she enjoys making my life difficult on a personal level. Thankfully, not like her own sister however."

"Astoria is kinda cool," Felicia said brightly. "A little intimidating though."

"All an act, let me tell you," Pansy smiled, making them snicker. "But her older sister is my year-mate and we will do what we can. You all belong here, truly."

"Thank you, Miss Pansy!" the firsties chorused, looking much happier.

Pansy waved and left them, walking back to Millicent who stood there with a soft smile and a proud expression on her face. Pansy flushed a little and kicked her friend again. "What is that look for?"

"Just that I'm proud of you," Millicent said, shoving her back. "Look at you being the awesome prefect that's actually a prefect."

"Well, someone must," Pansy said weakly.

"No, it's good," Millicent said. They walked back to their dorm room and Milicent threw her things onto her bed and caught a jumping Sunny. "So you did what Harry did for you?"

"Save for giving a muffin," Pansy nodded. "I guess I felt like he did and did not want to see someone be sad for no reason." She snorted. "Not as good actually, there are plenty that I would be happy to see them so distressed."

"That's fair though," Millicent laughed. "You're more of a bitch."

"Exactly," Pansy giggled. She sobered a little. "I think there was a time I wouldn't have noticed them being upset at all though, nor would I have cared."

"Yeah, same for me too actually." Millicent sat beside Pansy. "Guess Harry's really changed us, hasn't he?"

"He really has," Pansy said softly, looking off into the distance.

-0-

"Sir? Are you well?" Remus asked worriedly.

Dumbledore looked up at him. "Well enough I suppose, why do you ask?"

"It is a bit dark in here," Remus said lightly.

"Ah. I had not noticed." Dumbledore waved his wand and the fire in the hearth was rekindled, crackling and burning a little more brightly. Candles lit too and the ambiance in the room lightened somewhat. "Perhaps it was to match my mood."

"You do seem a bit down as well," Remus said slowly. "Is something the matter?"

Dumbledore sighed and waved his wand again. The door to his office closed securely and charms settled around the space, making the room tingle. "I have some rather…complicating news. I had Alastor and Severus go off on a mission of sorts-"

"Together?" Remus asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes actually." Dumbledore smiled a little. "Apparently it was traumatic for the both of them. That said, it was successful. They met with Horace and managed to have him…confess to something. Apparently he had spoken to Tom Riddle before about Horcruxes, when he was a student here. Tom had wheedled the information out of him and it seems that Tom had planned to create more than one, potentially seven."

Remus shivered. "That's heinous," he muttered. "Which also concurs with our conclusions then, when examining the locket and seeing the transformation in Quirrell."

"Quite. Also, I sent a letter to Quirrell, congratulating him on the initial success with Sanguis and made a reference to something only Tom would know. Quirrell's reply confirmed that he did in fact know what I was referring to which does mean he is being possessed by Tom." Dumbledore sighed deeply. "And it does not seem to be an unknown thing with how Quirrell seems to slip back and forth easily."

"Which means he is a willing participant in all this," Remus said quietly.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed unhappily. "It seems that way."

"What do you plan to do with this knowledge?" Remus asked.

"Protect Harry, protect the school, and put an end to it one way or another," Dumbledore said softly. "This has gone on too long and I fear for the future with Tom still alive and acting this way. Starting a school is one thing. Everything he did to discredit Hogwarts, the danger he put others in, it cannot be ignored. I did too much of that during the war."

Dumbledore rose to his feet and stared out the window at the grounds of Hogwarts clad in shadows. "I believe he is becoming more desperate and desperation means more danger. His actions as the years passed were growing more dangerous, back during the war and the lead up to it as well as now. What if he gets pushed to the point where he is no longer working slowly and methodically?"

"That would be very bad," Remus said.

"Understatement," Dumbledore snorted.

"We're with you," Remus said. "Sirius and the Tonkses and I. Not to mention the Hogwarts professors I'm sure."

"That is a comfort," Dumbledore said. "As well as the Flamels and Drake. That is indeed a comfort."

Remus opened his mouth and closed it. He could not see Dumbledore's face but his posture radiated weariness. His voice was old, older than the man looked. Even in the height of the war, Dumbledore had never looked quite like this. It unnerved him somewhat. He cleared his throat gently.

"I have cough drops on my desk," Dumbledore said, forcing levity into his voice.

Remus smiled. "Not yet, but one day I might accept one. I, well, was going to say something that might provide a little more comfort."

"By all means, please."

"Now that you know Quirrell isn't being unwillingly possessed, you shouldn't feel any guilt in dealing with him too," Remus said.

"That is true," Dumbledore said. "That is also a comfort. Sometimes it is good to know that the opponent deserves what is coming."

Sometimes, he thought. And I wonder if I could say the same about what is coming to me.

-0-

"Hey Sue, do you have a moment?"

"Sure thing, what's up Harry?"

"It's about time for the Mid-Autumn Festival again, right?" Harry asked. When Sue nodded he continued. "Well, I was wondering if you had any ideas for something. Things have been kinda…glum you know?"

"Yeah," Sue said with a little frown. "I think the fact that the school is so empty is one thing and for us because it's O.W.L. year, we're a little more serious. Not to mention us wanting to try out for the Scholastic thing."

"I feel a little bad about that," Harry admitted. "I didn't want people to sacrifice their happiness and what not for it."

"I don't think we are," Sue soothed. "Just, well, guess we've all been a bit more serious about school things. We do want Hogwarts to look good and all." She smiled. "What made you want to do something with the Mid-Autumn thing?"

"Well you always have great ideas and recipes for family and group style eating," Harry said. "And that's a big thing for the Mid-Autumn right? We regularly eat dumplings and mapo tofu now. I figured you'd have some good ideas for more things we can do. I want to make one thing for the Hogwarts Kitchens to do though for the school if we can, and something for us."

Sue thought for a moment. "Oh well, I never suggested this before because I wasn't personally confident in it but I made sure to practice it this summer so I bet we can do it. Mooncakes. They're like the quintessential Mid-Autumn Festival food treat thing."

"Sounds great," Harry smiled.

"And for just us, well, I know just the thing and that'll be a lot easier mostly," Sue said eagerly.

"I knew I could count on you," Harry said happily.

Sue laughed. "I can say the same about you. Let's go and give it a shot!"

-0-

"Fancy seeing you here, Headmaster."

"I can say the same to you, Ebbers," Dumbledore smiled. He opened the Uncommon Room door. "After you." He followed Ebbers, Inky, and some other kitchen house elves into the room. "Hello Harry," he said warmly. "And good to see you too Miss Li and Miss Lovegood."

"Thanks for coming," Harry said brightly. "We made something that might be good for something coming up." He lifted a cover off a tray and the elves exclaimed at the pretty little cakes that sat on the tray. They were golden brown with a slight reddish hue. "These are called mooncakes. They're a traditional Chinese confection and they're especially important for the Mid-Autumn Festival."

"They have a long history but they're basically eaten around this time to celebrate the moon and they symbolize longevity and harmony as well as sharing things with friends and family," Sue explained. "They have so many kinds and varieties depending on the region but they're usually a form of pastry around a dense sweet filling. Sometimes they have a salted egg yolk inside and there are savory ones too, but my favorite are the sweet ones with red-bean filling."

"Oh my, they are heavier than I thought them to be," Dumbledore commented, picking one up. He bit into it, further surprised by the dense pastry and filling but it had a smooth texture and was delightfully sweet with ample richness. "Mmm, quite delectable," he said, catching crumbs with his other hand. "Very nice!"

"Traditionally had with tea," Harry said, pouring out cups. "Chinese tea usually but ours will do just as well, I think."

"I agree." Dumbledore took a sip of the pleasantly acrid brew and nibbled on the mooncake some more. He smiled when he saw the Elves clustered around Sue and Luna, watching them make one and taking notes. "A fine idea and if the Elves agree, would be a nice treat to have on the tables. I like the idea of the Mid-Autumn Festival. What made you think of it?"

"Just thought it would be nice for the school to have something new to enjoy," Harry said.

Dumbledore smiled down at Harry. "Very kind of you."

"Just doing what I can," Harry said.

"It is most appreciated," Dumbledore said warmly.

-0-

"Those mooncakes are so good," Millicent said. "Thanks for that."

"What makes you think I had anything to do with that?" Harry asked, looking up briefly. "What?" he asked defensively, seeing everyone looking at him with incredulous expressions.

"As if anyone else could possibly have it appear on the tables," Daphne said with a smile.

"It's possible," Harry insisted, going back to his chopping.

"Highly improbable though," Blaise snorted.

"I really liked the fun messages that popped out when you ate them," Lavender said. "Who came up with that?"

"One of the many stories about mooncakes has that," Sue said. "Way back, there was a time where a Chinese city was subjugated by their enemies. So the rebels included a secret message in the mooncakes and gave the different ones to their neighbors. Inside, they were told to attack the enemies at the same time and that's what they did and managed to oust the invaders and free themselves."

"We don't really have an invader to oust so we asked the elves to include fun ones," Luna said.

"That's so cool," Neville said. "And I really appreciated my mooncake telling me that I smelled nice. A little odd, but appreciated nonetheless."

Harry and his friends were in the Uncommon Room, as they regularly found themselves, and were relaxing. Some were finishing up bits of homework while others relaxed.

"It was really nice to see people compare the messages and try a new treat," Hermione said. "People seemed more at ease and were enjoying themselves."

"That's good," Harry said happily.

"What are you making by the way?" Astoria asked, watching Harry and Sue work. "It looks a little gross and weird."

Harry had used his new cleaver and reduced some cod fillets to a paste with a lot of chopping and then crushing the pieces with the flat of the blade and then chopping and smashing some more, creating a thick paste. He did the same to shrimps and chopped ginger and garlic and green onions and mixed them into the paste with other seasoning.

"Fish balls," he said, mixing the paste with the Mixing Charm to make sure everything was smooth and incorporated. He looked up again when he noticed people were silent. "What?"

"They're trying not to laugh because we're surrounded by children," Sue sniffed, glaring at their friends who had differing expressions of stifled laughter and giggling. "Don't laugh at my culture!"

"Why aren't you giggling?" Lavender asked, face red.

"Because we have fish cakes that are really similar and it's not that funny," Parvati sniffed, giving Lavender a cool look.

"It's not like they're called fish bollocks," Luna said and her statement pushed people over the edge. Everyone burst out laughing, including Sue and Harry, and it took a moment for the merriment to subside.

"What is all this?" Lavender asked, looking at the long table. "It looks really impressive and fun!"

"It's one of my favorite things to do," Sue said excitedly. "It's called hot pot. We put a pot of bubbling broth in the middle of the table and you put in what you want to eat and let the broth cook it in front of you, and then you eat it."

"Oh, that's why there's raw meat on the table," Ron said. "I was wondering what that was about."

"It's sliced really thin and so it'll cook very fast," Harry said. He was shaping the fish paste into balls with his hands, setting them aside. "There're also dumplings and lots of nice veg like Chinese cabbage and spinach. And tofu and these fish balls and the sliced beef."

"You make little dipping sauces for yourself here," Sue showed them. Then you dip whatever you cooked into it and eat it with rice. We have noodles to put in at the end. It's a really nice family and friends thing to do because people can bring what they like and you share things around and it's so good to have when it's cold."

Using the low burners they did for potions, Harry and Sue set up three large shallow pans on the table, each full of bubbling broth and having a few spices within already. Plates of thinly sliced napa cabbage sat with slivers of green onion and bundles of spinach and watercress and piles of mushrooms. Thinly sliced beef sat on the side and plates of soft tofu and golden fried tofu were there as well. Trays of already made potstickers waited alongside raw dumplings to be turned into shui jiao. People made little dipping bowls of soy sauce, sesame oil, chili oil, and vinegar and could add chopped garlic, scallion, and other little things to them.

"I've never had to cook my own food in front of me before," Blaise joked as he put in a bit of beef into the pot in front of him.

"It smells wonderful," Tracey said, breathing in the scents.

"Oooh, hot hot hot," Lavender exclaimed, fanning her mouth. The tofu she took out was molten hot but had picked up the flavors of the broth and the sauce. "Mmm, so good!"

"This is a lot of fun!" Ginny said as she ladled up some broth and vegetables.

"Mmm, and the rice soaks up all the broth and sauce and it's so nice," Pansy exclaimed.

"Hey, Tori, that's mine!" Daphne scolded.

"No it isn't!" Astoria retorted, taking a fish ball. "I have no idea what to expect from a fish ball but it's really good! It's super chewy."

"They're like chewy meatballs," Sue nodded. "And there're are a lot of different ones."

"Mmm, these pickles are really nice too," Susan said.

"Goblin style pickles, specifically Chef's family recipe. I'm making my own here," Harry said. "I really like them and they add a nice sour and spicy flavor to things."

"Oof, I'm all warm and full now," Parvati groaned when they finished. "Gosh, that is perfect for winter time. We should do it when it gets really cold out."

"You won't hear me refuse, I love hot pot," Sue said happily.

"Yeah, great idea," Harry said and he and Sue high-fived.

"Looks like they enjoyed themselves," Lavender said, pointing at a side table. Crookshanks was sprawled out and comatose from their own mini-hot pot. Hedwig and Sunny were dividing the last of the dumplings and the plates were clear of any food.

"I'm going to have to carry you to bed, aren't I?" Harry smiled when Hedwig slowly toppled over. She cheeped at him before her eyes closed and she started to snore. He started to get up but Padma waved him down.

"We can clean up," she said as others joined her. "It's only fair."

Harry settled back and looked around the room, at his friends chatting and laughing over many different things at once. He took a deep breath and nodded to himself.

"What's that for?" Lavender asked, handing him a cup of tea after she and the others had put things away and a tray of biscuits was laid out for nibbling. "You're looking introspective."

"Just glad to be here with everyone," Harry said simply. "And that I'm going to do my best to make sure we can continue to enjoy times like this."

"Me too," she said firmly, sitting beside him. "It's really nice and comforting."

"It really is," he said soulfully.

-0-0-0-

Rhys898 - Yeah, it does seem inconsistent between what works on the app versus the website and they seem to interchange too. I hope they work things out soon. I'm glad AO3 has been pretty stable. Glad you are enjoying.

odonnellzoo99 - She's so fun. She is a perfect instigator and somehow gets away with it by being so endearing. I like the dynamic between the Patils and Harry. It feels good and I like seeing it grow into this. Their trio antic on his birthday was fun to write.

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - It's going to be a bit different this year but I'm really enjoying the feeling oddly enough. I'm also really excited for the next chapter and I hope people like it. I've been waiting a long time to get to the events in it.

agnar - Thank you. Ah that's such an odd workaround but glad it works for you.

Hands Off MY Wolfie - So many, almost all the fifth year prefects in their friend group. A quieter and more poignant trip. Thanks for reading.

Kaya - It's been a little difficult juggling people and trying to make sure no one is left out, but I think it's been going really well. Hope you will agree too.

alix33 - Gosh. Drake tutoring is a really funny and frightening idea.

pillpushr - Hedwig would have her own fan club, absolutely. I have a really great idea for her that won't come for a while yet, but when it does, I hope people enjoy it.

poka - That's what I enjoy about this Harry. He accomplishes so much by just being himself. The atmosphere is going to be different this year but still satisfying I hope.

l4w - They'll find out in time. Thanks for reading.