I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
A Taste of Magic
11th Course – Changing Direction
"Pansy," Padma said. "Pansy Parkinson."
"Do you know any other Pansies?" Parvati asked.
"No, but you can't blame me for being surprised," Padma said. "Pansy is coming to the club. She wants to come to the club."
"Apparently," Parvati sighed.
"Why?"
"We don't know for sure either," Harry said.
"She either is doing something to cheese off Draco, which will work considering how upset he looked today," Lavender said, "or it's a plan for something later on."
"Could be both," Parvati brought up.
"Could be both," Lavender agreed.
"Or maybe she is interested in household charms?" Padma suggested. She snorted at the looks the other two girls gave her. "Right, I knew that was weak as I was saying it."
"She was really pleasant to work with today during Potions class," Harry said. "Like actually nice to work with."
"That's true," Lavender admitted. "And I mean, who hasn't wanted to stick it to Draco?"
"Maybe she's sick," Parvati said. "Isn't Bulstrode out because she's sick? Maybe it's contagious?"
"What does being sick have to do with her wanting to come to club?" Harry asked.
"Just saying. Some kinds of sicknesses addle your brain. One of our cousins got sick and turned bonkers, started doing things really out of the norm-"
"He got hit with a Concussion Curse," Padma explained, glaring at her sister. "And he wasn't too bright to begin with. He cast the curse on himself."
"Why?!" Lavender exclaimed, eyes wide.
"Something about 'knocking the cough out'," Padma sighed.
"He thought that would work?" Harry asked.
"Like I said, wasn't too smart to begin with," Padma said.
Harry and the girls started laughing. "Well, let's just see how it goes," Harry said when the laughter subsided. "If she's rude and mean, she won't be welcome back."
"That's fair," Padma said. "Still, it's kinda weird."
"That's what we said earlier," Parvati said.
-0-
Pansy stood at the closed door, staring at it. She had arrived minutes ago and had stopped just shy of opening the door. She knew she was in the right place; she could hear them talking within the classroom. Normally she would never be this shy.
However, what she did today would not be considered to be 'normal' behavior.
She would never have stood up to Draco quite like that before. She and Draco have argued many times in the past, usually about what they were doing or what to do, but she had never stood against him in such a way. She would never have made a spectacle of herself in front of others before. Then again, she had never been pushed to the point where she did that sort of thing. She had never been bothered to such a degree where she felt like this.
Confused, elated, concerned, frightened, and confused. It was worth mentioning that state of mind twice.
Before she could talk herself into leaving, she opened the door and stepped inside, looking about nervously. The conversation faded when everyone turned to look at her. She flushed, turning bright red, and hated herself for it. "Hello," she said as calmly as she could.
"Come in, Miss Parkinson," Flitwick said with a wide smile. He always seemed to be smiling though, so she was unsure if it had anything to do with her being there or not. "Welcome to Household Charms."
"Thank you," she said and walked quietly over to the other four students. "Potter," she nodded to him. "Hello," she said to the others.
"Hello Parkinson," Harry said kindly. The others did the same with differing degrees of friendliness. "Nice to see you," he added, somewhat awkwardly.
"Nice to be here," she replied, definitively awkwardly.
Flitwick clapped his hands gently, as if physically dispelling the awkward air. "Now then, what would we like to cook today?" He grinned at Harry. "Instead of asking what we would like to do, I figure we should dispense with pretense and just get right to it."
Harry laughed. "I would like to make chicken soup today." He turned to Pansy. "You said your friend was sick, right?"
Pansy blinked. "Yes, Millie, I mean Millicent, she's my best friend and she has a cold."
"Chicken soup is something Muggles make when someone is sick," Harry said. "There's no medicine in it but I think it has a lot of good stuff in it that helps a person feel better and get well better. Plus it's tasty."
"You would make that for her?" Pansy asked, staring at him. "Without you knowing her?"
"Sure, why not?" Harry replied.
"Because you do not know her," Pansy repeated dumbly. "Why would you?"
Harry looked at his friends for a brief moment. "Doesn't mean I can't help in some way if she isn't feeling well. It's only right."
"Oh." Pansy flushed again. "That sounds really nice, thank you."
"I have a good spell for helping us with that then," Flitwick said, once again clearing the air. "It's a modified cleaning charm. It's a sanitizing spell that is specifically for cleaning produce."
"Only for cleaning produce?" Padma asked. She huffed when Flitwick nodded. "That's annoyingly specific and mundane again!"
"Oh do not get me started on this spell array I found that differentiates between cleaning cotton socks and wool socks," Flitwick smiled, making Padma scoff out loud.
"What happens when you cast the wrong one on the different material?" Lavender asked.
"The cotton becomes ruinously sodden and the wool catches on fire," Flitwick said.
"That makes no sense," Parvati giggled.
"Such is the whims of magic," Flitwick chortled. "To be clear, there are plenty of spells that are quite generic and that work well enough on many things. Those are the spells you generally learn. But for the best results, and to flex your spellcasting and knowledge, these specialty ones exist."
He laid a carrot onto the table. "Allow me to demonstrate. Scourgify." Scrubbing bubbles appeared on the carrot and after a moment, it gleamed. "If you would, Mister Potter."
Harry peeled it in moments and cut out thin carrot sticks in only a few more, something that made Pansy look on with astonishment. He doled pieces out to everyone and they took bites out of them.
"Blergh." Lavender stuck her tongue out. "It tastes a bit soapy."
"More than a bit," Parvati said, licking a napkin.
"And if we use this spell instead, it will be less soapy I hope." Flitwick drew a circle around a different carrot. "Mundum crea." The carrot was coated with a thin sheen of liquid before it evaporated swiftly, leaving a gleaming carrot behind. Harry peeled it and sliced it just as fast as he did with the first one and they all ate sticks of the new one.
"Oh, no soap at all," Padma said. "That's nice."
"Really handy if you don't have any water to wash," Harry munched. "I'll try washing one in regular water too, to compare."
Flitwick taught them all the new spell and they practiced cleaning the vegetable that Harry had requested for the soup. Even Pansy took part, feeling like she should and feeling slightly silly for learning and using such a spell. She watched on as Harry washed another group of vegetables by hand. "Why are you doing that?"
"We learned that you can taste magic," Harry explained. "When you use magic while making food, it makes a small difference."
"Truly?" she asked, intrigued.
"Mmhmm. So part of what I like to do is to see by how much and what can be done with magic and what is done without to not change the overall taste that much," Harry said.
"That makes sense I suppose," Pansy mused. She saw the others looking at her. "What?"
"It does?" Parvati asked.
"Well, I've never thought of it when it comes to food. No one in my family prepares food themselves," Pansy said, a trace of asperity in her voice. "But sometimes there are differences in the charms cast by my mother versus my father."
"Oh yeah, we learned that when we compared Wand-Lighting Charms," Parvati said.
After cleaning all the vegetables and practicing the charm some more, they broke apart into their small groups as they usually did. Parvati and Lavender started sewing together, Padma and Flitwick discussed something he had spoken of in class, and Harry continued to make the chicken soup. Pansy watched him for a few minutes. "Do you all just…do what you wish like this?"
"Sometimes," Harry said. "First time we made butter chicken and roti and when we baked biscuits together before the holidays, everyone did cooking things. Other times we all do what we're interested in the moment."
"Should I be helping in some way?" she asked, uncertain and somewhat shy.
"Sure. You can peel the carrots while I prepare the other things."
"Okay," she said hesitantly.
"Peel them like we did the burdock today," Harry suggested. "The skin isn't as rough or thick so you won't need to use as much force."
"Right, okay." Pansy felt a little better, thinking of preparing the root like one would during potion making. She started peeling them slowly with a small paring knife.
"It'll be a bit faster and safer if you hold it point down," Harry said. He demonstrated. "Rest the carrot tip against the board and cut down with the knife away from you."
It was faster and easier to do it that way and she found herself equal parts impressed and irritated. "No wonder you can prepare ingredients for potions easily," she said. "You had some familiarity, despite not ever brewing potions before."
"Yeah, I actually said that to Lavender during our first few weeks. The type of cuts and preparation for lots of the ingredients are really similar to cooking knife cuts." He chopped onion and celery and set them aside, then started working on the spices.
"And you cooked ever since you were little?" Pansy asked, speeding up slightly.
"As far back as I could remember," he nodded. "I used to do all sorts of chores but once I started picking things up in the kitchen and was pretty good at it, the Dursleys decided it was worth more to keep me cooking so they could eat better and entertain others."
Pansy said nothing as she continued to peel the carrots. The phrasing Harry used was uncomfortably similar to sentiments she had heard before. For some reason, hearing Harry speak of himself in that regard made the words feel different and not as matter-of-fact.
"Thank you," Harry said when she finished. He took them from her and started chopping them.
"It took me too long," she said, slightly disgruntled.
"It's not a race," Harry said. "No need to prove anything."
She looked at him blankly for a moment. "I suppose," she said slowly. She watched as he cooked the vegetable in oil over the heat until they took on a bit of color. Added herbs, garlic and ginger and thyme, made it that much more fragrant before he combined the mixture with water and increased the heat to bring it up to a boil.
"Normally I'd make a chicken stock with bones and scraps but don't have them or the time," he said. "But while the soup is cooking the veg, I can maybe slow cook the chicken breast in some water on the side to keep it soft, poaching it really, and then shred it and add it in later so the chicken doesn't get tough."
"There are different methods to achieve the same thing?" she asked.
"Yeah, though they have different results. Some better, some worse. I could throw the meat in there now and cook it with the veg but you'd either get underdone veg and overdone meat, or over done on both. I could even roast the chicken or slice it thin and pan cook it and add it at the end. All will give a decent soup by the end, but the process and the flavor will be different."
"Not so much like potion brewing then. Typically one has to stick to a distinct recipe," Pansy said thoughtfully.
"Makes sense. Potions are more finicky usually though some dishes are finicky too." Harry stirred the simmering soup and put the lid on. "There. Now we just have to wait for the flavors to come together. Once they are just about there, I'll add some noodles."
"What do you do while you wait?" Pansy asked.
"Sometimes I sew and do other things with the others. Otherwise, I practice cooking related charms. I actually want to keep working on the charm. Professor Flitwick and I discovered that the better you get at the spell, the less noticeable the taste difference you get." He laid out some more carrots and began casting the spell again and again. "He thinks the more mastery you have over it, the less magic you expend to cast the spell, leaving less of a difference."
"That makes sense," she said quietly, watching him. It was interesting to her to see him work like this. He had already shown that he could cast the spell, yet he wanted to cast it better? Despite performing adequately, acceptably even, he wanted to get better.
And it was not just him. Parvati and Lavender were still working away on their own sewing projects industriously, using a combination of magic and manual skill as well. Pansy watched Lavender undo some stitches and redo them.
"Oh, hi," Lavender said, noticing Pansy standing nearby and watching.
"Why did you undo your work?" Pansy asked.
"They were a bit crooked," Lavender said. "It'd be easier to fix it now instead later."
"Would they show in the final product?"
"Not really, not unless you would go looking for it."
Pansy frowned slightly. "Then why do it over if no one will see it?"
"Because I'd know," Lavender said. "Sometimes I'll let it go, if it isn't something major. But I also want to do my best so it's not a big deal to make a mistake and go back to fix it. If it's for someone, I especially want to make sure it's really good."
"Hey, the bag you gave me last time had crooked stitching," Parvati said.
"That was more you taking one of mine to use," Lavender said, rolling her eyes.
"That is probably the best thing about being in a different House," Padma said. "She can't nick my things anymore."
"Okay first of all, I don't nick your things, I return them eventually," Parvati protested while Lavender and Padma laughed. "Second of all, you do the same to me. Third of all, challenge accepted."
"Don't you dare," Padma said severely.
Pansy sat quietly, listening to the three girls bicker amicably while working on their sewing. Then Harry's voice made them all stop and turn to him.
"Soup's ready I think," he said brightly. He poured out bowls of the steaming chicken noodle soup. "Let's eat!"
Pansy took her bowl eagerly, stomach growling at the herb-filled savory scent. As she was about to start, she noticed that the other three girls were waiting for Harry. Lavender looked pointedly at Harry who sat beside her sheepishly before they picked up their spoons. Only then did Pansy follow suit.
The soup was delicious. The soup was clear but flecked with herbs, tiny drops of chicken rich oil dolloped the surface of the soup, little bubbles that shimmered. The carrots and celery and onion still had texture but were easily broken apart. The chicken was soft and plump. The noodles gave the tiniest resistance before being chewed into pieces. The first sip seemed to warm her slowly, filling her with comfort as it trickled down her throat and into her stomach. The warmth radiated outwards from her core, filling every nook and cranny of her being.
"Wow," she whispered, looking down at the bowl of soup.
"Mmm, this is delicious!" Lavender praised. "Perfect for the cold!"
Padma sighed happily. "It's nice and light but still filling."
"I could certainly believe that this soup would help anyone feel better," Flitwick said warmly. "You can taste the craftsmanship and the care." He chewed on some of the vegetables thoughtfully. "Are all the vegetables ones we used the new charm on?"
"No Sir. A mix of them," Harry said.
"I don't think I can taste the difference," Parvati said. "It's all so good."
Inky appeared with a pop. "Mmm, smells good!" she said happily. She brought bread and butter for them and was eager to fill her own bowl, hopping up on a stool to join them.
"Inky is like the club Elf," Harry said when he noticed Pansy staring at her eating. "She brings us things and helps cook when she has time."
"I…I don't think I've ever seen a House Elf eat," Pansy said softly, eyes wondering. "And we have House Elves at home…"
"Most House Elves do not eat with others," Inky said. She slurped her bowl of soup happily. "But Mister Harry is nice and Inky likes to eat with him and the others."
After a while, they finished their meal, with everyone having seconds. Pansy accepted a container filled to the brim with more soup. "All this for Millie?"
Harry nodded. "Hope she feels better."
"Thank you." She hugged the container close. "I'm sure she will like it and feel better." She then watched with amazement as the students competed with each other in using the Scouring Charm. The others laughed as they teased each other, seeing who could use the charm to greater effect.
"I almost got it," Padma huffed.
"Are you mad that Parvati is better at it than you?" Lavender teased.
"Not really," Padma smiled. "She's more used to cleaning."
"I make bigger messes apparently," Parvati said shamelessly.
"Really?" Lavender gasped. "I'm shocked!"
"No, you're not," Padma laughed.
"No, I'm not," Lavender giggled. "HEY!" Lavender shrieked when Parvati aimed at her. "My hair!"
"I was only trying to help!" Parvati squealed as she ran from Lavender. She cackled as Lavender left a trail of bubbles behind as she chased after her.
After Flitwick left and Inky popped away, the students gathered outside of the clubroom to leave for their respective common rooms and dorms. Pansy stood there for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Thank you," she said at last, "all of you. For letting me be here."
"It was nice having you," Lavender said sincerely. "Will you come again?"
"Yes please," Pansy said very softly. She took a deep breath. "I'm going to get Millie to eat this tonight," she said, cradling the container. "See you later." She turned and walked away; head bowed with thought.
"You know, I never would've believed it," Padma said after they heard Pansy's footsteps fade to silence. "But she was actually polite tonight. A bit snippy but definitely way different."
"I'm glad she was nice," Lavender said. "It was weird but not in a bad way."
"I still think something else is going on," Parvati insisted. "People don't change like that so quick and easy usually."
"Maybe," Harry admitted. "But let's hope it's nothing bad."
Parvati smiled, a mischievous expression. "Maybe it's your fault."
"How so?" Harry looked faintly worried.
"It's your cooking, taming the most rude of people," Parvati giggled.
"Hmm now wouldn't that be a fun experiment," Padma smiled. "Perhaps we can feed your cooking to other rude people and see if it turns them around."
"That'd be a waste of good food," Lavender sniffed, making them all laugh appreciatively.
"I don't think it works that way sadly," Harry said, sobering a little. "I'd know otherwise," he added softly.
The girls looked at him. He shook his head, as if to shake maudlin thoughts away. "I rather cook for my friends who appreciate it," he said with a shy smile.
"And we'd rather eat it ourselves and with you," Lavender smiled brightly. "And appreciate you."
-0-
"So, finally returned, have you?"
Pansy looked up. So lost in thought, she had not noticed she had walked back to the Slytherin common room. She had absent-mindedly given the password and walked into the opulent room without paying much attention. Only Draco's scathingly delivered words brought her back to the moment.
"What, nothing to say for yourself?" Draco asked angrily.
"Hello Draco," she said blandly. "Crabbe, Goyle," she greeted in an after-thought.
Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other with surprise before they grunted a greeting back at Pansy.
"Why did you betray me earlier?" Draco seethed. Everything had gone wrong today. First, he almost had Harry truly upset and needed help in breaking him down but the help from Pansy did not come. To add injury, Pansy had gone to work with him. To add insult to injury, they had worked well and Snape had praised them. Then instead of begging for his forgiveness, Pansy had disappeared until now.
He almost rather her fight with him like she did last term than this thrice-cursed bland apathy that she was treating him with. It was infuriating to him.
"I told you, I was tired of it," Pansy said. "Besides, I'm only doing what you wanted me to do."
"What do you mean? If you were doing what I want, you would have helped me destroy Potter instead of work with him," he said, growing confused.
"You told me to leave you alone," Pansy said, a glimmer of heat in her eyes. "So that's what I'm doing, leaving you alone."
He gaped at her like a fish on land.
"Now if you will excuse me." She moved past him, ignoring his stammered attempts at not excusing her. She ignored the curious looks from those pretending not to watch, and the ones who did not hide that they were watching with great interest. Without hesitation, she slipped into the dorm room she shared with Millicent, locking the door behind her.
"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked her friend.
"Still sick but a little better I think," Millicent coughed. "Did something happen?" she asked, noticing Pansy's expression.
Pansy let out a breath. "A lot of things actually, but it can wait. I brought you something." She sat beside Millicent on her bed and opened the container.
"That smells great, I think," Millicent said stuffily. She sat up and took the container. "Soup?"
"Chicken noodle soup," Pansy said. "It might help you feel better."
"I'll give it a shot." Millicent took a careful sip of the still hot soup. "Oh, this tastes good! It's still nice and hot." She ate slowly. "Did they have soup for dinner?"
"No, Harry made it."
"Harry? Harry Potter? Where?"
"They cook in Household Charms club. He made it for you when I said you were sick."
Millicent blinked a few times. "That's…that's really nice of him. Did you have some too?"
"I did. I helped a little in making it actually." Pansy drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees.
"You helped cook?" Millicent asked, coughing with surprise.
"Yeah, hard to believe, isn't it?" Pansy said wryly.
"Just a little." Millicent drank more of the soup. "But I'm not complaining at all. It tastes good and it's easy to eat. I actually want to eat it and I've not really wanted to eat anything since I've been sick."
Pansy smiled. "I'm glad." She sat in comfortable silence while Millicent slowly ate, finishing the container to the last drop and noodle.
"Mm, that was nice," Millicent said. "I feel a lot warmer now." She yawned. "Did you want to talk about things?"
"They can wait," Pansy said. She got up so Millicent could lie down comfortably. "I'll explain everything when you feel better."
"Can't wait." Millicent's voice became sleepy. "Good night, and thank you."
"You're welcome," Pansy said softly as Millicent fell asleep. She set the container on her desk and sat down on her chair. "Thank you," she murmured to herself though she was not entirely sure who she was saying it to, or for what.
-0-0-0-
poka - Yeah. I'm fairly happy with how Pansy and Draco were last chapter. I feel like it felt reasonable while still fitting their characters and it wasn't an all of a sudden shift in personality or temperament. I'm trying hard to ride that line where it makes sense and is still enjoyable while not being over the top.
Zincat - I really like a mature Percy that feels like he does in canon while not being pompous so glad you like him here too. I'm grateful for the kind words. I'm really trying to get Pansy to feel right. I want her to be like Pansy while trying to obviously change her to fit the setting, but still feel like her. I want her changes to be understandable, relatable, and believable.
odonnellzoo99 - I read on kindle a lot without the page count displayed so every so often I'll get caught off guard by things ending when I was fully engrossed, so I can relate. Glad you enjoyed.
Arnie1701 - As of this chapter she has yes.
RJ Griot - Thank you very much. I hope to maintain that level of development and interest.
doRodrigo - I think I can maintain 3 updates a week for a bit so I may continue to do that.
alix33 - I'm sorry you found things to be out of character. I thought I've done a decent job at developing them to where their actions are somewhat understandable.
SvenHPotterFan - I thought it was a risk here for her to show that change fairly early in the story, but it felt right to me.
SolarSolstice - I always liked Daphne and Tracey being friends and Millicent being friends with Pansy felt right to me here. They are both different in lots of ways yet similar in how they were raised.
Doombreed - I'm glad you gave it a shot and still enjoyed it. Hope you continue to do so.
Hands Off MY Wolfie - I think that's normal for people to be somewhat confused and suspicious for changes like that. It will be up to the changer to show that they have and prove it.
