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

A Taste of Magic

137th Course – Specialty

"Hello Harry dear," Rita smiled.

"Hi Rita," Harry said warmly. He blinked when she put a very solid looking metallic briefcase on the countertop. It was dull red and closed with metal clasps. "Wow, what's that?"

"I use this to carry around work for Gourmancy usually," she said. "It looked like a lunchbox I had when I was very little." Her features softened a little when she said that. "Obviously mine wasn't so big or solid, but it was a nice little red lunchbox."

"I think that's really nice," Harry said sincerely.

She smiled at him, becoming the usual energetic Rita once more. "Sweet of you to agree," she said. She popped it open and pulled out a large manilla folder and handed it to him. "So I have done a bit of looking about and talked to a few colleagues in different places and here is some information about your potential competition."

"Thanks!" Harry opened the folder and started going through all the pages. "Goodness, you got a lot of info!"

"Of course I did," she said smugly, sitting down on a stool and leaning onto the counter. "Sadly, most of it is already somewhat public knowledge. I collected past reviews of their restaurants and pictures and things and put them together. A few of my colleagues have dined at some of their places and some were kind enough to share some thoughts. I even managed to find some legal and criminal records."

Harry blinked at that. "Really?"

"Oh yes. Some have done some rather…inappropriate things," she said lightly. "I was also able to secure a bit of an interview with one of the organizers of the upcoming competition."

"How did you manage that?" Harry asked, delightedly.

"I promised a rather large article in the upcoming edition of Gourmancy and they liked the idea of it and even more exposure, especially to Britain." She winked at him. "I also said I was your media consultant and advisor and that I would see it as a personal kindness if I could obtain some information to help you since you were the youngest and newest."

"And they were okay with that?" Harry asked. "Isn't that cheating a little?"

Rita shrugged. "I suppose one could see it that way and I had to promise to not tell you anything directly. Therefore, I won't be telling you directly." She turned to Hedwig who sat on a roost beside Harry. "Now Hedwig dear, I don't suppose you would be interested in hearing what they had to say?"

Hedwig nodded eagerly, rubbing her wingtips together.

Rita's smile was from ear to ear. "Good! I figured as much. So the upcoming competition is being called The Rising Stars because all the competitors will be relatively young and are chefs who are on the rise in their careers. It will be an extended competition like they alluded to where there will be a series of challenges with eight contestants being eliminated after each one, culminating into a finale with two or three chefs competing for the title: Star Ascendent, earning them international acclaim and a monetary reward. The challenges will have an audience of select individuals from the culinary world, people of influence in the industry as well, ICW people, and guests here and there, not to mention judges. There will be about five challenge events with two happening before the holidays, and the other three after the new year with the final slated for May."

Hedwig tilted her head and one eye narrowed while the other widened.

"My same question," Rita said without missing a beat. "Apparently the organizers did not want the chefs to be away for too long and imperil their businesses so they are spreading it out so that they have time to work and all that. Which works out for Harry since he is still in school. Personally I think they are dragging it out for more drama and media coverage, which will be fine honestly."

Hedwig flapped her wings, barking a question.

"The finale is in Paris and I think the majority of the challenges will be in large gathering areas in France as well. The World's Kitchen parent company is based out of Paris and there are readily available areas for people to gather and watch," Rita said. "Some might be open to moving elsewhere, but I think they will be mostly in France. Which again, suits us just fine. Oh and I'll be the main media person from Britain, representing the magazine and the Prophet."

Hedwig sat down and fluffed up some, tilting her head once more.

"The contestants will be allowed to have a few guests with them for each event," Rita said. "I will always be there of course as media presence but I am also of course firmly in Harry's corner." She looked at Harry as Hedwig nodded at that. "She's a wonderful listener and conversationalist by the way."

"She really is," Harry smiled. "We chat all the time while cooking and some of my best memories from my first few years after learning that magic was real and there was a Wizarding World, was visiting her in the owlery and chatting with her. She made the summers bearable for me the first few years."

Rita gave him a complicated look as Hedwig fluttered to him and landed on his shoulder, cooing gently and nuzzling him sweetly. "That does sound nice," she said at last and meaning what she said.

Harry looked through the papers and parchment Rita put in the file. "Oh I recognize a couple of the names of the restaurants from the few magazines I got before they became more popular lately. I need to ask Chef Robuchon and Chef Rocko about some of the names. They said they saw the names of contestants and there were a few they wanted to see lose."

"Spite is a wonderful motivator," Rita said with a sharp smile.

"They agreed with that," Harry smiled. He frowned after a few moments and Rita smiled a little to herself. "You said there were going to be eight contestants to start, but there's more than ten names here."

"Very good," she said approvingly. She looked at Hedwig who had flapped back to the roost. "The organizer didn't say it in so many words, but there might be a surprise event before competition starts to weed out others and to finalize the eight competing. Increasing drama and setting the tone."

Hedwig snorted and rolled her eyes.

Rita blinked back and turned to Harry. "She rolled her eyes."

"She does that a lot," Harry nodded.

"Owls shouldn't be able to do that," Rita said. "Owls have different eyes that don't move like other animals and people. That's why their heads can move so much. I did some research on owls once and learned that."

"Oh, well, Hedwig is really talented," Harry said. "It honestly doesn't surprise me."

Rita watched Hedwig roll her eyes around and around, giggling as she did it. "Well who am I to judge? It is delightful," Rita said with a smile. Her smile widened when Harry put a plate in front of her. "And what is this delicious looking plate?"

"Chefs wanted me to practice doing the same thing in different ways and presenting them like that with something connecting them," Harry explained. "So this is flounder both steamed and cooked meuniere style. I used scallion as the unifying ingredient besides the fish and incorporated it finely chopped in butter for the meuniere and then as the garnish for the sauce and steaming part."

Rita took a dainty bite from each piece and chewed thoughtfully. "Mmm, that's nice. The meuniere fish is not tough and still flaky. The butter is nice and rich. The steamed fish is so delicate and flavorful without being heavy." She smiled as Hedwig also took dainty bites of her own plate. "I still think you have a good shot at this."

"Thanks!" Harry took a deep breath. "I'm going to have to practice a little harder now since there might be a surprise challenge first."

"Remember what I told you," she said gently.

"I win, I win. I lose, I win more," Harry nodded. "And I should just do my best, enjoy the experience, and learn."

"Exactly." She winked at him. "I'm there no matter what happens."

"That makes me feel better," Harry smiled. "Want some affogato for after?"

"Is the Minister of Magic bad at his job?"

"You know, that's the second time someone said that and it's starting to make me think things," Harry said seriously.

"Oh the stories I could tell you Harry," Rita said knowingly. "I won't, however, to spare you."

"Appreciated," Harry grinned.

"The answer is yes by the way."

"To the affogato or about the Minister's ability to do his job?"

Rita grinned. "Yes," she repeated and joined Harry in laughing.

-0-

"Your informant is quite thorough," Gabriel mused as he looked through the collected papers.

"Rita's my friend and she's really good at her job," Harry said stoutly.

Gabriel gave him a guarded look. "Rita. As in Rita Skeeter?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. "Wow, she really is well known."

"Yes she is." Gabriel gave him another considering look. "And you call her friend?"

"Yes Chef," Harry said without hesitation. "She's always been professional and eventually became really nice to me. I trust her. She gives good advice."

Gabriel managed to stifle a snort and smoothed his expression. "If you say so," he said at last. "I did see some of these names before as part of the list for the contestants, so there is veracity to the information."

"Who are the ones you would like to see fail?" Harry asked honestly.

Gabriel snorted loudly and smiled a little. "A fair amount of them honestly. They work for chefs that I find irritating or are self-serving braggards that cannot toast bread much less cook anything more complicated." He looked slightly abashed and smiled a little at Harry's look of glee. "You will learn that the majority of professional chefs can be rather arrogant about their skills and like many places with strong personalities, they tend to clash and some can have rather poor opinions of their fellows."

"Oh it doesn't bother me," Harry said honestly. "I'm used to it from Grandfather."

"Ah yes, of course you would be," Gabriel said, deeply amused. "I will not tell you all of my thoughts of your potential competitors so you do not change your judgement of them before you meet them. After the final eight are chosen however, I will give you my opinion."

"Have you met them personally? The potentials?"

"A few of them. Some are as low of character and skill as their mentors," Gabriel said dismissively. "I would feel bad for them but they did choose their mentors so it is their own fault. Others are fine enough. A couple of the names however, I do not think poorly of and they will perform well."

He set the file aside. "Seeing how we now have a new potential challenge to overcome, we should focus on the next part of your training."

"Yes Chef," Harry said, standing a little more at attention.

Gabriel smiled at that. "You have shown that you learn very well and you actually practice what you learn which is very good. You also are capable of recreating what you have learned with a good grasp of the original. But in competitions, and your future, simply recreating is not enough most of the time. Some believe that replication is enough. And for some, that is true. But the mark of a good chef is to be more than imitation, but inspiration."

Gabriel crossed his arms and looked at Harry with utter sincerity and seriousness. "Meaning, you must make your mark known, your signature. Your specialty." He rubbed his chin briefly, seeing Harry's look of slight incomprehension. "If you and I made the same thing, and it looked very similar, then the difference would be the taste, obviously."

"And yours would taste better because you've had a lot more experience and you're an amazing chef, obviously," Harry said without rancor.

"Were you anyone else, I would think you would be flattering me unduly," Gabriel smirked. "Another thing you are used to due to your grandfather?"

"Just being honest," Harry said. He smiled. "Also I don't unduly flatter Grandfather."

"He has that enough I am sure," Gabriel snorted. "But yes I would be better on most things but not for the reason you think. Experience and skill matters for a lot but the main reason is a byproduct of the experience. The major difference will be how I cook and how my skill and experience influences my cooking, and my food. My signature will be the defining factor."

"Your signature," Harry repeated slowly, thinking hard. "Is that like how different magicals can cast the same spell and have it be slightly different?"

"Exactly." Gabriel looked pleased at the analogy. "That is an excellent example of my point." He took his wand from a pocket on his sleeve and flicked it. The tip shone brightly and the light that emanated from it was bright white, shining with intensity. He gestured for Harry to do the same.

Harry took his wand in hand and cast the same light spell. In comparison, his light was not as sharp and brilliant, but it was a strong light that was warmer.

"The same charm, with the same results, but differences in execution and quality," Gabriel said. "In this case, one is not inherently better or worse than the other, but as in all things, it depends on the viewer and on the intent. Which is how you can have two good plates of food that are similar in ingredients and taste, and they both can be good. But almost anyone would say one is better due to personal preference."

"But then it's about influencing the taste of the taster," Harry said.

"True, and you can either do so by catering to their personal taste if you know what it is or by cooking to the highest degree of ability that you can muster and show what sets your cooking apart from others," Gabriel said.

"So applying my own signature on my cooking," Harry said.

"Precisely," Gabriel said with approval. "A specialty, in the realm of cooking, is defined by having the eater realize that they are eating your food. That the food was made by you and that no one else can make it like you. They will see your face in your food and on their plate and that they will think of you when they eat it. It should be to the point where a person can sometimes taste who you learned how to cook from, that is, if you imitate and emulate your mentor to a very detailed degree. Then it is up to you to make it your own, to erase the traces of your predecessor and make the dish your own through your own efforts.

"Your signature is not the same as your signature dish. Your signature, as we have defined, is how you approach cooking, your personal style. How you cook and how you create and how you finish. Your signature dish is the dish you are the best at and the most confident in. The one dish you can make the best and that no other can possibly come close to making it like you."

"What's my specialty?" Harry asked softly.

"That is something you decide," Gabriel said seriously. "There are many who will assume what yours is, or are arrogant to claim and say what it is. But no one has the ability nor the right to know what you can do more than you do."

Gabriel shrugged a little. "And of course, there are those that will chase that question forever, and will never obtain the answer they seek. Those that flit fruitlessly from one to the next in some vain attempt at trying to be something they are not. Yes you can learn how to cook and cook well, but they will never have the craftsmanship nor the soul of one who knows who they are and what they cook and most importantly, why."

"May I ask how you found yours, Chef?" Harry asked.

Gabriel looked at Harry for a moment before shrugging once more. "The short answer, I admire my grand-uncle. I always have. He adheres to a creed that I have adopted as my own and appreciate: perfect does not exist. Nothing should ever be perfect. Perfection is an ideal to strive for but to never obtain for once you deem something perfect, you are stagnant. There will always be a better way of doing something, a way to improve, and to think you are perfect is the height of arrogance."

"That's a lot like how Grandfather and Grandmother approach things," Harry said excitedly. "Like how alchemy is the journey to achieve through your failures."

"Indeed," Gabriel said approvingly. "Joel Robuchon was named Chef of the Century and he has earned that accolade. He has put his mark on traditional French Cuisine by taking what made it good and made it better, by incorporating skills and knowledge from other cultures."

He smiled proudly. "I remember how proud I was when he was announced as such. And since then, I have had many tell me that I will never be as good as he, that I will never be the man he is. And I know that. That was something he taught me when he started training me. I do not even want to be him, truth be told. I want to make my own mark and succeed on my own merits, but I will take his path to heart and travel it with my own feet, and make my life my own. Make my cooking mine."

"And that's why you specialize in French cooking," Harry smiled.

"That and French cuisine is the best," Gabriel said with utter surety.

"So I need to figure out my specialty and my signature," Harry said softly.

"I believe you will, in time," Gabriel said honestly. "It may take some time to get there, but I believe you will find it. Which is why we are doing this, the teachings I mean. My goal is to give you a foundation that you can build off of, to teach you skills to further enhance your abilities."

"I really appreciate it and I've learned a lot," Harry said sincerely.

"I know, I appreciate your honesty," Gabriel said. He hummed softly. "Something that might help you is to think about why you cook. The why is every bit as important as the how. The intent behind your actions, much like you should have proper intent behind magic."

He leaned back. "And to answer your question before you ask, I cook to honor my grand-uncle, to hone my skills, and to be the best that I can be. To test the limits of my cooking and to discover what else I can do." He looked at Harry with his most piercing gaze yet. "Now allow me to ask you. Why do you, Harry Potter, cook?"

Harry looked into himself for a long moment. "Before, I had to," he said quietly. "It was a chore, the one I liked the best because I was able to eat more and the…the Dursleys were nicer when I did it well."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at that and frowned but Harry did not notice the expression.

"I kept cooking because I felt useful, because I liked how I felt when people ate it and were nice," he continued softly. "Because it was nice to be needed." He let out a breath and straightened. "But after starting at Hogwarts, meeting my friends, finding my family, I started to really like cooking because the people who I was cooking for were actually genuinely nice. Like, they actually appreciated it and were proper happy."

He looked up at Gabriel. "I cook to get better, to do better, to be better. I cook to learn all that I can. But most of all, I cook to see people smile. To see them be happy."

Gabriel looked at Harry in silence for long moments, a pensive expression on his face. When Harry started feeling the need to fidget, the older man coughed. "That…is almost painfully naïve," he said in a very kind tone. "But I can think of many worse reasons, and can think of few better." He nodded. "I will continue to teach you with increased interest, and we will see what you can do."

His countenance turned grave. "But, and I say this out of genuine care, you must remember that you are doing the cooking. You are putting in the effort and shedding blood and sweat and tears for the craft. Cooking for others is laudable, but do not neglect yourself in your journey. For once more, only you know what you can and cannot endure and no one save you will be there to suffer the consequences of your actions."

"I've learned that lesson, it's actually Lesson One from Mr. Abe," Harry said with a fond smile. "I'm still not the best at it, but I'm working on it."

"As long as you are aware," Gabriel said. He smiled gently. "You have had the benefit of many mentors."

"I have," Harry said gratefully. "And I wouldn't be here without them."

The hours passed pleasantly and Gabriel tasted the latest dish, nodding with approval. "Good, you are improving," he said to a delighted Harry. "Your flavors are refined when appropriate. Your plating has improved as well."

"Chef Rocko has been teaching me about plating too," Harry said happily.

"Rocko LandFang?" Gabriel asked, looking faintly impressed.

"Oh you've heard of him?" Harry asked.

"Yes, he is an accomplished chef from Italy. I thought he normally does not teach any that do not work for him or many humans without a lot of vetting. Ah. You work for your Gringotts, that would explain it."

"And I'm friends with Mr. Leomattok and they're friends, he and Chef Rocko I mean. They're really cool and nice, coming over when they have the time."

"That is very nice of them," Gabriel agreed. "Send me a message when you are told of the first challenge. If able, I will try to meet with you again before it."

"Thank you, Sir," Harry said.

"A last question before you go, is Blinky truly a basilisk?"

"Yes Sir, she's great! She's really sweet and is really nice. At least, if you're not a dragon trying to poach territory."

He frowned a little at that. "How big is Blinky?"

"Depends on how she's feeling or what she's doing. When she visits me in England, she's a lot smaller like a regular snake for travelling. When she's here, she can probably wrap around this room a few times and her head is bigger than the ovens put together."

Gabrielle blinked at that. "Then it is best we do not keep you here overlong. Until next time, Harry."

"Have a good day Sir, and thank you again. Au revoir!"

"Au revoir," Gabrielle replied and shook his head when Harry left.

-0-

"What would you say is my specialty?" Harry asked.

"Tolerating Sirius," Remus said.

"Tolerating Remus," Sirius said.

"Tolerating Sirius and Remus," Dora said.

Andromeda sighed and rolled her eyes at the three of them glaring at each other while Harry and Ted laughed. "Keeping Dora fed," she said warmly.

"Oh yeah, that's not easy," Dora said, nodding.

"Noted," Harry said, miming writing all that down into his notebook, making the others snort and laugh. "I meant in terms of my cooking." He told them about his discussion with Gabriel earlier that day.

"Oh, well, you do have a varied repertoire," Andromeda mused. "You cook British food, Indian, Chinese, French, and Japanese now."

"Having eaten out a fair bit, you do a good job of the other kinds too," Ted said.

"You make delicious food," Dora said, pulling Harry to her and hugging him, leaning against him comfortably. "It makes you feel warm and happy."

"Comfort food," Remus smiled.

"Yeah, that," Dora nodded.

"I certainly feel better after eating your cooking, no matter how bad of a day I had before," Andromeda agreed.

"I do like doing that," Harry said.

A small pop made them turn their heads and Winky appeared beside Harry. "Master Harry, important post for you," she said.

"Thanks, Winky," Harry said and took the envelope from her. It looked very fancy and important, made of smooth paper that was heavy and gilded with colored ink. "It's from the World's Kitchen."

The adults looked at each other for a moment. "Open it," Sirius encouraged.

Harry did, taking out a very formal looking message and reading it swiftly. "It's the date of the first event," he said at last. "Apparently there were more people who wanted to be involved, more than eight for the competition. So they're having the first event be a cook off. All the potential entrants have to cook a dish and the top eight will be chosen for the Rising Stars Competition."

Sirius took the letter from him and read it quickly. "That's the weekend before you head back to Hogwarts," he said. "Cutting it close."

"We can easily get your school things whenever. We can even get them for you so you do not have to worry about it," Andromeda said.

"You're allowed four guests for this one. Probably us two," Sirius pointed at Andromeda and himself, "and the Flamels, since it's in France."

"Rita will be there too as Gourmancy writer and Prophet reporter," Harry said. "She told me."

"Wish I could come to support you and I will for one of them," Dora said, squeezing him. "But you'll be awesome, I'm sure of it. I should know too; I've eaten a lot of different things and yours is the best."

"You will do splendidly," Remus said stoutly. "You have worked so hard all these years and this summer preparing. And you still have a few weeks to continue to train."

"It just feels a lot more real now, more official," Harry said a little nervously.

"You got this, Harry," Ted said encouragingly. "We believe in you."

Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly before nodding and smiling a little. "I just have to try my best. And accept whatever comes of it."

"That's our boy," Andromeda said proudly, kissing his cheek. "And your best is frequently very good. We have faith in you." She groaned when a growl filled the air, making the others laugh. "You have to be doing that on purpose."

"Okay, this time, it was," Dora confessed, laughing and using Harry as a shield against her mother. "I am hungry though!"

"Better get back to practicing," Harry grinned. "How does butter chicken sound for dinner?"

"Good Merlin, I swear your stomach just said yes," Remus said, looking at Dora with amusement.

"I think she did too," Dora said proudly, patting her stomach.

Harry let the happy chatter from his family wash over him as he got things ready to make dinner. He was not feeling entirely confident, but with the faith and belief from them, it was hard not to feel at least a little confident.

Maybe more than a little.

-0-0-0-

Arnie1701 - Thank you!

Penguin Lord0029 - Thank you very much, it was a nice day.

reaperofages - Thank you for the kind words and the wishes. I'm grateful that you enjoy reading.

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Thank you! Actually, in middle school, I used to bring doughnuts on my birthday to school. I'm glad you continue to like the chapters and I know you like Leomattok a lot. He's a great character.

61394 - Thank you, still a few years away from that milestone. Thank you for the kind words and encouragement.

TheSphynx - Sometimes I worry their reactions would get stale and be like beating a dead horse but I'm glad people still enjoy them as much as I do. They still amuse me.

TheMatze99 - Thank you. The competition will start soon.

alix33 - Hedwig in her tie and Harry's top hat is such a cute mental image.

longhitterz - Thank you very much. I'm glad that you look forward to the notifications. I like that theme for this fic, where Harry's kindness is the determining factor and he cares about friends, not what they do.

Lucy Elizabeth Dawson - I started working on the competition proper and put a lot of prep work into it, hope people like it.

iamchaos98 - Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.

poka - Thank you so much! I did a change with the watch from the one he got in Family and I thought it still fit and would feel just as good in a different way. I was really happy with Rita's presence in this chapter. It's so Rita and still feels like how people react to her in canon, but in a much nicer way as befitting this fic.

Hans Off MY Wolfie - Thank you! I liked the traditional gifts with a bit of a spin on them. Only the fun confrontations like you said, the ones you can laugh at and enjoy. Thanks for reading.

kilowatt - Thank you so much.

choquain - Thank you so much. I had hoped to be able to update and the coincidence of the day and the chapter was too great to ignore. Thank you for the kind words.

DarkRavie - Thank you.

Five of Seven - Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy it and I always like to see comments review whenever and however so I am grateful for your time.

nypism - Dobby works at Hogwarts now and while I have no written about him since his last appearance, I can say it is far better than how his circumstances were.

Guest - Thank you.

Guest - Thank you.

odonnellzoo99 - Hope your work travel was smooth, thank you. I was tempted to bring back sibling stones but the idea of the compass came to me and it still fit so I enjoyed using that. Blaise does appreciate fashion and Aster and Astoria appreciate dragging him whenever they can so everyone wins. Maybe not Blaise though, poor guy.

Jah Ith Ber - Thank you!