I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Howdy everyone, hope all are doing well. I wanted to let you know that I will be going out of town from this Friday to the following Thursday, so my update schedule is going to change a bit. I'm still going to post three times this week as per usual, with my last one on Thursday instead of Friday. I probably won't be able to post until I return next week but I will try to post once next week if I can before returning. As always, thank you all for reading and commenting, it means so much to me. Have a lovely day!
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A Taste of Magic
134th Course – Warmth Underneath
"Thank you again for escorting us, Sir," Harry said.
"My pleasure, Harry," Flitwick said warmly. "It's never a bother and honestly, I'm so happy right now. I never imagined I would ever meet so many magicals interested in visiting Thalga and learning more about goblin culture." He beamed as he looked at the others in the train car that were clustered at the window. "Not even the majority of the human side of my family have ever shown such interest."
They were on the train going to Thalga once more but this time they were joined by Lavender, Pansy, Parvati, Padma, Hermione, Luna, and Hedwig. They decided to take the scenic route once more to give them the full experience of visiting and they had just left the tunnels and came out onto the open track with a full view of the Undersea. They gasped at the sight, seeing the sea go out into the underground horizon and into the darkness of the edges of the immense cavern.
"Oh, I hope they don't treat you poorly," Harry said quietly, hearing what went unspoken in Flitwick's voice.
Flitwick gave Harry a sad smile, one that spoke of understanding. "They treat me well enough, thank you," he said and patted Harry's shoulder. "But some things just are not addressed, on either side of the families if you catch my meaning. Still, I have no regrets. The best of both worlds outweighs the worst of them in my opinion."
"That's good," Harry smiled.
"This is incredible," Pansy breathed. "It really is like a sea. I don't know what I was imagining before when you told me but this is more than I could have ever dreamed of."
"Seriously," Parvati said, awed. "I thought it'd be a little claustrophobic like the tunnels but it's so open here. It almost feels like up on the surface at night time if it wasn't for the big shining thing up there."
"The SunDrop," Flitwick smiled. "Made to mimic the sun above for people to tell time and are used to a diurnal cycle. It's also a nice reminder for the people who live down here so they don't Floo someone in the middle of the night."
"Can you swim in the Undersea?" Padma asked.
"You can!" Flitwick said. "Parts of it anyways. As you might imagine, most of it is very cold but there are parts that are warm from vents in the stone that heat it up with some parts being almost boiling. Generally speaking, if you don't see anyone swimming without protective gear, you shouldn't go in."
"The bathrooms at the Spire are really nice," Harry said. "Especially the big bath. It's like a hot spring with naturally hot water pooled and you can have a soak whenever you want."
"That sounds really nice," Lavender smiled. She hugged and kissed Harry. "Thanks again for letting us come! It sounded amazing the last time you went and I hoped I'd get to see it one day."
"Of course! I'm glad you all could come too," Harry said happily.
"I'm glad Tracey let me borrow her camera," Hermione said, patting the bag holding it. "I'm going to take a lot of pictures for us all."
"I assume the others were too busy?" Flitwick asked.
Harry nodded. "Ron and Millie are training, same as Nev. He's actually getting field experience with the Hunters which is cool. Sue, Susan, Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey are travelling and Ginny is doing a summer Quidditch camp thing. And the younger sibs are a bit young to travel without their parents and they didn't want us to be responsible for them. The parents I mean."
"They said Harry is responsible for them during the school year enough," Pansy smiled. "And they're not wrong."
"I'm glad they were fine with letting you all come without them," Flitwick smiled. "Not that I anticipate any trouble of course and you will be well cared for."
"They trust you, Sir," Padma said. "And Harry. And Mrs. Dee sent them messages assuring them."
The train chugged along the track and everyone watched them approach Thalga with undisguised excitement. The girls exclaimed at the new sights, the different architecture, the network of train tracks that crossed all over the city, the Undersea alongside with the bioluminescent glow from the algae and lichens. As the train slowed down, coming to the station and platform, they rose to gather their things.
"Now girls, stick together please, and be mindful." Flitwick was a little more serious and that caught their attention. "Remember, Thalga is a bit of a different place and there are many here who won't be as used to seeing so many humans as all of you are seeing so many goblins. Stick with me, Harry, or any from StoneHeart."
"The Crew will be about too and they know you," Harry said. The girls nodded soberly at that and they left the train together. For a moment, it was very much like when Harry arrived last year. Heads turned and goblins gawked at the sight of not one, but several humans getting off one of the official Gringotts trains. Whispers filled the air and the girls felt a bit nervous at the attention.
"What's the matter?!" A loud voice cut through the air and the sounds of the train and everyone around. It made people jump and gasp and then Phrog was pushing his way through the crowd, glaring at everyone around. "It's just some girls visiting. You lot never been on holiday before?" He glowered at them and the majority of the onlookers left, avoiding Phrog's voice and gaze.
The goblin snorted richly, like the sound of train brakes catching, and he shook his head while shaking a fist at one other goblin that gave him an unfriendly look. He looked up at the girls and gave them a sheepish smile. "Don't pay them any mind. Welcome to Thalga, ladies." He smiled as he looked at Harry. "Welcome back, lad."
"Good to see you, and so soon," Harry smiled.
"It's been a day or so," Phrog said, amused. "I just heard Pitty's got a new kind of sauce and it's pretty good. Gates and some of the others are going tomorrow. We'll see you there?"
"Sounds great to me," Harry grinned.
"He's very loud and very nice," Luna said brightly when Phrog left.
"He's the stationmaster at Gringotts," Harry said. "He's great."
"There's my boy!" Dee appeared and hugged Harry tightly with her usual enthusiasm and bone-cracking strength. She let him go, winded, and she smiled warmly at the others. "And welcome girls! Thank you for coming and visiting. Come come, let's get out of here where things will be a little less chaotic. Well, almost as but it's more fun there." She led them away energetically, literally shoving people out of her way and even two large deepbull walked swiftly when they saw her coming.
"Thank you for hosting us, Lady StoneHeart," Pansy said. "We brought guest gifts and affections. My parents wanted me to especially thank you." It was her turn to have a rib-crushing hug and she gasped out loud when Dee hugged her.
"Oh you! Don't you get all fancy with me now," Dee laughed loudly and brightly. "Ah but you're a Parkinson. I gratefully accept the affections and it's the honor of my Clan to host you. A friend of Harry's is a friend of ours. Can't leave all of you out either." One by one, the others were treated to a Dee hug and she walked with even more pep afterwards.
"What do you do for a living?" Parvati asked, rubbing her ribs. "Do you crush things barehanded?"
"I do sometimes, when I'm proving a point," Dee said seriously. "Otherwise I do a bit of everything. Run the family finances, blacksmithing work, gem work, what needs doing. Save for cooking of course. I have Diggy and Cutty and Harry for that."
"She also gambles a lot," Flitwick added in a loud whisper.
"And guts things and fights grundwyrms," Harry said wryly.
"A girl has to have hobbies," Dee sniffed. She poked Flitwick and Harry. "Don't you two start with me. Oh speaking of gutting things-"
"Where are you going with this?" Flitwick interjected worriedly.
Dee ignored him. "-the tides this time are much nicer and safer and the crakes had a population burst year. Saw some nice specimens the other day so we can go hunting for some this time."
"Oh that'll be fun," Harry said eagerly.
The walk to the Tri-Point and the Spire was as pleasant as last time. The newcomers looked about with interest and awe, seeing this completely different world. They asked questions that Dee, Harry, and Flitwick answered and Hermione took many pictures. Flitwick, after hearing that she was bringing one, gave her some specialty lenses that would allow the camera to take good pictures deep underground and Harry had provided all of his friends with darklights too.
Hedwig had flapped around some, flying about but staying close to the others, and was now sitting on Harry's shoulder. She looked around with interest, head turning all around as she too took in the sights.
"You'll want to stay close to us, dear," Dee said to her seriously. "Your feathers are beautiful but you stick out down here and there are plenty of critters that might come and bother you and we wouldn't want that."
"Dee's looking out for you," Harry chided gently when Hedwig fluffed up and glared down at Dee. "I know you can handle yourself up there but this is your first time down here and you need to be careful, okay?" Hedwig rolled her eyes but hooted in understanding, nodding at Dee before tugging on Harry's hair and nibbling on it.
"When you say critters, what do you mean, exactly?" Padma asked nervously.
"Well you don't have to worry too much while in the city proper," Dee said comfortingly, "now if you were in the mines or out in the untamed parts, there's a lot you don't want to come across unprepared. There's sharpmaws, big lizards that gobble things up but they don't come close. Closest they come is to the Honeycombs and only the ones greedy for a meal and they get eaten by the bees more often than not. Clackers don't come close to the city at all and the dangle-lights don't either. We've had a bit more trouble with bats lately, but not too bad."
"What are clackers and dangle-lights?" Parvati asked, her expression a combination of interest and concern.
"Clackers are like large land lobsters," Luna said. "They make noises and see their prey with the sound and have very large claws for both noise making and prey eating. Dangle-lights are creatures that make lights to attract their prey before they eat them. They have a light on a long appendage and they dangle it to attract and confuse their prey."
"Luna loves magical creatures," Harry said.
"Can we go see them?" she asked eagerly.
"Well one generally doesn't want to see them," Dee said slowly, giving Luna a look. "But there is a preserve in the city we can go to if you like to see some in a much safer environment."
"I'm good, no thank you," Parvati said, shivering slightly.
They finally reached the Tri-Points and Flitwick left for his family home and Dee led them into the Spire. The girls exclaimed at how things were laid out and built into the gigantic stalagmite. The others in StoneHeart were just as kind to the newcomers as they were to Harry last year, and they were very warm and happy to see Harry again.
"And this is where you'll be staying," Dee said warmly as she opened the door. She walked into a small sitting room of a sort with the same large open window to look out over the Undersea and the Cliffs. She pointed at various doors. "Harry, your usual room is through that one. We put in a door to go into this shared sitting area and it splits into different rooms for the others."
"You put in a door for me?" Harry asked, eyes wide.
"Barely took an hour," Dee said, patting him. "Don't fret. I just cut a hole through the wall, reinforced the opening, and stuck a door in. No problem at all. I figured you all would be more comfortable being close to one another and no one else used this side of this floor so it was no trouble. The bathroom in this area is shared though, hope you all don't mind. But Harry will show you the big bathing area we use so you all shouldn't have any problems with that."
"This is wonderful," Lavender said, "thank you so much!"
"You're so welcome!" Dee opened the doors to the other rooms. "There's two beds in this room, and two in this one. This one is a bit smaller so there's only one bed in here."
"That's only five beds for six of us," Hermione said. "One of us can sleep in the sitting room though."
"Oh I assumed you would be sleeping with Harry in his room," Dee said, looking at Lavender. She looked around as most of the others started snickering and giggling while Harry and Lavender blushed deeply. "Do you not do that?"
"We, uh, haven't done that," Harry said, trying to ignore his laughing friends. "We've napped together a lot sure and uh stuff, but not slept together overnight like that. Yet. Not that I'm complaining!" he added and felt even more mortified when Pansy, Parvati, and Padma howled with laughter.
"Oh well whatever you are comfortable with," Dee said without any trace of second-hand embarrassment or anything beyond simple acceptance. "I trust you and we can put another bed in your room Harry if you two would like that."
"Pads and I can share the bigger bed in the small room," Parvati said, face bright red as she coughed. "Or like we said, sleep out here on this nice couch. Won't be a problem."
"Just let me know then!" Dee smiled. "Harry's family and you all are his closest friends so you all are just as close as family too. We can make things work easily. Oh and speaking of family." She looked at Harry with twinkling eyes. "Emmie is coming today and she's been talking about seeing and playing and cooking with Uncle Harry for a week now. Rubi and Granite didn't tell her until a week ago because they knew she would be over the moon and be harassing them all the while."
"Can't wait," Harry smiled sincerely. "Emmie's sweet."
"She is and so are you." Dee patted his cheek fondly. "Take your time to get settled. We're going to relax for the rest of today and tomorrow I'm taking you lot out to show you what Thalga has to offer. It's going to be so much fun!" She left them, humming happily to herself.
"I can't believe she assumed you two would be sleeping together," Padma said, giggling mightily.
"I can, actually," Harry said, red-faced. "Dee is really open and understanding about a lot of things and I bet it didn't even cross her mind." He looked at an equally red-faced Lavender weakly. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me."
"Let's talk about it later," Lavender said, glaring at Parvati and Padma who started laughing again. "I'll just put my things in one of the rooms for now."
"It's not like Harry isn't used to sharing his bed though," Luna said prosaically.
"What do you mean by that and how would you know that?!" Pansy gasped and the others stared at Luna.
"Hedwig, Sunny, and Crookshanks sleep with Harry all the time," Luna said, eyes round and innocent.
"Even you know that's a little different," Hermione said, eyebrow crooked.
"Well yes, they're smaller so less space to fight for," Luna nodded with Hedwig nodding in agreement. "And doesn't Dora and Harry sleep together a lot as well?"
"Well, yes," Lavender said, giving Luna a pawky look. "But that's different too."
"If you say so," Luna said and smiled brightly at Lavender's groan and the general amusement of the other girls. "But then that means Padma or Parvati can share with Harry because they're siblings and that's different. I see Harry as a brother so I wouldn't mind sharing with him either-"
"No! No one is sharing with Harry but me!" Lavender stomped into Harry's room with her things, face red but steps resolute and she slammed the door as Padma and Parvati shrieked with laughter.
Pansy smiled at Luna. "Quite crafty of you, Luna."
"I've learned a thing or two from Daddy and the Quibbler," Luna said with the slightest touch of smugness in her expression. "It's very handy."
"I have conflicting feelings about this," Harry sighed. "I feel like I tricked her into this."
"If anyone did any tricking, it's not you," Hermione said, deeply amused.
"Lav wouldn't do it if she didn't want to," Parvati added. "Like really really didn't want to."
"You're a perfect gentleman," Pansy smiled. "We trust you, and so does she."
"Just enjoy and we promise we won't snitch," Padma giggled.
"Thanks," Harry said wryly and sincerely.
-0-
The door banged open and a small form came running in. "Uncle Harry!" Emmie squealed and she made a beeline straight to him. She jumped and Harry caught her easily and she hugged him with all her might.
"Thank goodness he wasn't holding anything sharp or dangerous," Granite said, following in after her.
"We heard her shouting for a bit before coming in and Harry put everything down," Lavender smiled.
After getting settled some, the visitors all came down to the kitchens and Harry did as he usually did with the others watching and relaxing with him with others drifting there one by one. Minla and Jaspyr were talking and laughing with them while Diglin and Dee arrived. As soon as Rubi, Granite, and Emmie arrived at the Spire, they had heard the little girl shouting and growing louder as she came in.
"Emmie, let the poor boy breathe," Rubi sighed, seeing how tightly Emmie was hugging Harry.
"I don't mind," Harry said truthfully. "It's so good to see all of you!"
"This is your first time visiting Thalga, right?" Rubi asked the girls as she sat beside them. "How are you finding it so far?"
"It's so cool," Lavender said enthusiastically. "Harry's really good at describing things but seeing it is even better. The lights are so different and incredible and the style of the buildings and what people wear is so interesting."
"I really like the individual rails," Hermione said. "I've been to places with lots of trains to get around and subways like in London, but they're so different here and really nice."
"I will admit, I was a touch nervous," Pansy said honestly. "Being so deep underground and having grown up learning about how goblins and magicals interact. I'm very relieved to be wrong with your family however."
"Even we're a little odd that way, having done more business with humans and magicals than most," Rubi said kindly. "Some though, well, they also hold onto old grudges and the like. But don't worry, you're safe here and with us when we're out."
"You must be glad to visit home again," Padma said.
"So glad," Rubi said gustily. "We're actually transferring back, Granite and I, and we're moving back home which will be good. I miss seeing my family every day and Granite's family lives here too so it'll be nice. Dad's still the best cook I know but Harry's a real close second, which no surprise considering Dad teaches him."
"Plus babysitting," Parvati smiled.
"I still can't believe how much she likes him," Rubi laughed, smiling fondly at Emmie clinging to Harry who was cooking with one hand and his magic and carrying her with the other. "I don't mind at all of course. Harry's amazing and so good with her. It's just she used to be the shyest little thing and she still isn't that close to other family."
"She calls Cuttlyr Uncle Buttlyr," Minla said gleefully, making them all laugh.
"That's partially my fault," Rubi snickered. "That's what I call him when I'm annoyed at him and it stuck."
"Don't teach her things like that," Jaspyr said with disapproval.
"I didn't teach her! She did it all on her own!"
-0-
"I can sleep in the sitting room or kip on the floor," Harry said awkwardly.
Lavender shook her head. "No, I'm not kicking you out of your room. We can do this. It's not weird, right?"
"I don't think so," he replied honestly. "It's a bit awkward though and I vaguely feel like I'm forcing you to do this."
Lavender huffed at him and gave him a look that made him laugh. "No, if anything, I'm forcing it because I want to. Just, kinda weird timing."
It was time for bed. The SunDrop emitted a colder and cooler light, much like the moon, and was diminished in intensity. The sound of the Undersea's waves against the cliff and shore was soothing and pleasant, a low constant sound of motion as old as time and the world. It was a bit chilly, as was most places underground, and the fire in the hearth crackled comfortably, lending warmth and a faint light through the screen.
Harry and Lavender laid beside each other in his bed and while it was a large bed, it suddenly felt incredibly small to him. When he and Lavender brushed arms, they both started and immediately apologized at the same time, looking at each other. A snort from Hedwig, accompanied by a very emphatic eyeroll from her, finally made them laugh and laugh, the awkwardness and tension bleeding away.
"We snuggle and nap together all the time before," she giggled helplessly. "We're idiots, aren't we?"
"Maybe a bit," Harry chuckled. He sighed at another snort from Hedwig. "Okay, maybe more than a bit."
Lavender pulled him to her and she nestled her head on his chest, snuggling close. She breathed out slowly, a heartfelt sigh that made her relax all the more. "This is nice," she murmured sleepily.
"It is," he agreed, and soon they fell asleep like that, lulled away by the sounds of the waves and the fire.
-0-
"Welcome back," Diglin said warmly as the girls and Dee, Minla, and Rubi came back into the kitchens. "How was the second outing?" He had taken everyone out earlier to show them around as well as take them to the open food market. After eating lunch, Dee and her daughters took the girls out for a shopping trip around the main clothing district of Thalga. "I don't see many bags," he observed.
"Oh that's because the girls shrank them for us," Dee said brightly. She and the others stacked them up and they were regrown, making a large pile. "Such a handy thing! And they told me about those bags that hold many things up there so I know what I want soon. So nice to have."
"We took them to Garrods and Shroolards and visited Silk Street," Minla said. "The proprietress at the Penny's on Silk Street loved Lavender and Parvati."
Lavender was all smiles. "We talked about so much clothing and fashion things! And they showed us all sorts of materials and we talked for a while and shared so much. It was incredible!"
"It was," Rubi smiled. "She's famously super rude but when Lavender and Parvati were asking her questions, she thawed out almost instantly."
"Lavender is very good at making friends," Pansy smiled. "Especially when it comes to sharing passions. We got all sorts of things. The prices here are very reasonable and much cheaper than I thought they would."
"Benefits from being the biggest mercantile city and port city," Diglin nodded. "You have some that sell substandard things of course, but generally most are proud of what they make and sell and we've known where to go for what."
"They're still cooking?" Padma asked. When they had left, Cuttlyr had come to cook against Harry. Diglin wanted to provide Harry more practice against others as training while giving Cuttlyr the same opportunity.
Jaspyr nodded. "They are on the fourth bout."
"How many has Cuttly won?" Minla asked with undisguised relish.
Jaspyr sighed but smiled. "One."
"That's one more than I thought he'd win," Rubi snorted. She squeaked when Diglin poked her.
"He has improved," Diglin said mildly, giving her a look. "No he has, you know I won't lie about that sort of thing. "He took last year to heart and has improved over the year. Works harder and is more diligent. He even asked me for advice and things throughout the year."
"Really?" Rubi looked surprised when Minla and Jaspyr nodded. "Well then, good for him. Still, only winning one out of three isn't much improvement."
"It looks like Harry's cooking with him," Parvati said, shaking her head. "Don't help the opposition, Harry!"
"That's Harry though," Lavender said lovingly. "He wants to help you too as long as you're not a total arsehole."
"I feel like you have to be for him to refuse to work with you," Minla said. "He's so nice and sweet."
"That's our Harry," Luna said proudly.
After Cuttlyr and Harry brought over their dishes and with everyone tasting them, Rubi nodded. "Yeah, you've gotten better."
Cuttlyr blinked. "Uh, thanks."
"Not that much better though," Rubi continued. "Like barely any better. Like you know when you see someone hammer the edge and that's how you know it's been hammered because you see it but aren't sure if there is any noticeably better improvement to it. Like that much better."
"Fuck off, fuck all the way off," Cuttlyr growled.
"But be proud that you did get just a tiny bit better," Minla added. "Not too much though. Because that would be disingenuous and unearned."
"You can fuck right off too!"
Dee sighed happily as she watched her children squabble. "I love it when family is together."
-0-
"Those are giant crakes," Padma gasped.
"I think those are bigger than the one we saw in fourth year," Parvati said with awe. "Remember that mutant one we saw in the cave they made?"
"I think you're right," Pansy blanched.
"No wonder they're using a harpoon cannon thing," Lavender said. "Well, Dee isn't. She can't possibly just harpoon it by-oh my goodness she can. And she's dragging it by herself!"
"I better take more pictures because no one is going to believe us," Hermione said while doing just that.
They had gone to the beach closest to the Spire, a private one belonging to the StoneHeart Clan. The sand was soft and warm and the water right around the shore was pleasantly warm as well. Diglin had pointed out the undersea vent that heated the vicinity. A little ways away was a popular hunting and fishing spot and a claw of crakes had ambled about, fighting for food and each other for sport. The girls watched as Dee took a small crew with her for a spot of fishing and hunting and they saw her attack a ginormous crake that was the size of a large minecart.
"And there goes Hedwig," Parvati said. They watched as the owl joined the fray, barking and keening a hunting cry. "I thought she couldn't take her sword out of Grimmauld."
"That's Harry's hunting knife," Pansy said, looking through a set of omnioculars. "She looks like she is having a lot of fun. Harry and Luna are too."
Eventually they came back over, towing several of the very large crakes as well as some other things they hunted and gathered and fished. The crakes they caught were indeed larger than the giant one they saw in fourth year and they had to be towed by the boats.
"You know, I believe that Hedwig can catch her own giant caddok," Pansy said solemnly. Hedwig barked loudly, flapping her wings as she sat on a very large specimen. Harry's knife was embedded right behind the eyestalks and she roosted on it proprietarily.
"How are you even going to cook these?" Lavender asked, hugging Harry and kissing him on the cheek.
"Normally you'd take them apart and cook the pieces," Harry said, hugging and kissing her back. "But I read about a thing they do in the States. It's called a clambake or a lobster bake. You take shellfish and cook it in the sand with vegetables by building a fire and then covering the food with seaweed so it all steams together."
"Sounds like fun so we're going to try it here," Diglin said. He and the others brought corn on the cob, potatoes, baskets of clams, and other things down from the Spire. Minla, Jaspyr, and Granite started digging several holes and lining them with rocks and starting fires in them while Diglin, Harry, and Cuttlyr began preparing the ingredients and breaking down the crakes with others using specialty tools that looked like elongated and exaggerated saws and axes.
"We're only doing one with the crakes," Harry said to his friends. "There're goblins who are also allergic to crakes actually and even those that aren't don't love them either. This one is going to have lobster instead as well as regular crabs for you Hermione, and the ones that don't like them like you Lavender." He smiled when Hermione hugged him gratefully with Lavender doing the same.
When the stones were hot, they piled shellfish and vegetables in layers with piles of wet seaweed that grew in the Undersea. They then covered the mounds with tarp that had been soaked in water and they relaxed and chatted with one another. Eventually the air was filled with tempting savory smells and when they pulled off the tarps and seaweed, all the shellfish had been cooked perfectly as well as the vegetables. They pulled the food out and laid it on long tables they set up and all started eating hungrily, passing around large containers of melted butter and bowls of spice mixes.
"Oh hey, these taste different than the crake close to Hogwarts," Parvati said as she ate the steaming hot crake meat. "Like noticeably. It's less tough somehow and the taste is definitely more sea-like."
"Crakes definitely depend on the quality of where they are and live," Diglin nodded. "These are extra good today and I really like this presentation and way of cooking them."
"Mmm the corn is so sweet and delicious," Lavender said. "Perfect against the seafood."
"Are the clams and lobster from underground as well?" Pansy asked.
"Yes, these are underground varieties," Rubi nodded. "The corn is above ground but grown by goblins on the surface or in special areas close to the surface. Mushrooms are our kinds of course. Potatoes grow anywhere underground and these are goblin ones too."
Harry cracked open a very large claw segment and took out the dense and flavorful crake meat and put it on a plate for Hedwig to chomp on happily. She tore off pieces of the meat and dunked it into butter before noisily enjoying them. "Eat some veg too, not just meat," he said and Hedwig nodded, barking through a very full beak.
They ate slowly and leisurely, enjoying the atmosphere and company. As the SunDrop faded in brilliance, they threw the shells back into the Undersea to be taken away and used by the other denizens of the deep, while saving the nicer looking pieces and parts for their own use.
Pansy laid back on the still warm sand. "Thank you, for letting us come," she said happily. "This is more wonderful than I thought it would be."
"I'm glad you're all here with me," Harry smiled as Hedwig snored in his lap, having eaten herself into a food coma. "It's so nice traveling with friends and going to new places together." He fully enjoyed the moment, on an underground beach by the Undersea, with his friends and those he cared very much about. Despite the slightly alien surroundings, the feeling in his heart was completely familiar and welcome.
Contentment.
-0-
"Thanks again for having us," Lavender said, trying and failing to out-hug Dee.
"All of you are always welcome," Dee said brightly as she crushed Lavender in her arms. "I'm so glad you all came and you were wonderful guests and like I said, as close as family now." She and the other StoneHeart members were there and they shared fond sentiments and farewells with them. Emmie was slightly upset at Harry leaving, but was soon cheered with the knowledge that she would be moving to Thalga soon and would see Harry on a regular basis. Finally the train back to the surface left and they sat back and settled in for the trip, pleasantly tired from all they did.
"I'll definitely send you all copies of the pictures as soon as I get them developed," Hermione said.
"Awesome, I can't wait to see them," Parvati said. "This was such a cool holiday."
"I definitely want to visit again in the future," Pansy said. "There is so much to see and experience. The world is even bigger than I imagined before."
Padma smiled as Hedwig walked across their laps. "I can't believe you made her a crake hat."
"She wanted it and it looks so cute," Lavender laughed. She had taken the brilliantly red shells from the crakes and after being taught by Minla how to treat and preserve them, made a hat for Hedwig out of the shell of her catch. It was a small flat brimmed hat that was sloped back and had two tiny claws sticking out of the top.
"I can believe that you're wearing one though," Padma giggled.
Luna adjusted the larger version of the hat on her head. "It's wonderful," Luna smiled. "I can feel it absorbing my crabby energy already."
"It's really growing on me and I kinda want one," Parvati mused.
"You're crabby enough," Padma said.
Harry smiled and leaned back in his seat, chuckling with Flitwick, and petted Hedwig who was fluffed in his lap, feeling warm.
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Arnie1701 - Indeed.
odonnellzoo99 - It was fun showing the two different chefs off and revisiting Gabriel. Harry's wardrobe will definitely be impacted.
alix33- I really need to try and make a pie like that one day.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Spite is an incredible motivator. Something many characters live by. It was fun showing how the two professional chefs were similar and different. Fun fact, I didn't think of lion axe. I wanted to use a mining tool and started with Leo as in Leonardo as in homage to Italian naming but Italian and Goblin.
TheSphynx - Well said and I agree. Harry's the perfect student for this.
Hands Off MY Wolfie - I only care about plating my own food when I am taking a picture of it for social media haha. Otherwise I don't really think about it. And I agree, some fancy plating things really confuse me. Harry has some of the best teachers for it but he will make it his own. Thanks for reading.
poka - I do agree that you eat with your eyes first but at home, I can't be bothered for myself sometimes haha. Yup, it was fun showing the different chefs off and how they approached things.
DarkRavie - Thank you.
Guest - Thank you.
Jah Ith Ber - He just isn't relevant anymore, as he should be in this setting.