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

A Taste of Magic

80th Course – Pleasantly Passing

"Come in," Dumbledore called out, not looking up from his desk. He finished what he was writing and then looked up at the person half-way across his office. "Oh, Drake, hello. Good to see you. I did not know you arrived, I would have met you at the station."

Drake nodded genially. "No problem. Filius came to fetch me, as if I could not find my way to the castle. My sense of direction is better than that."

Dumbledore sighed and sat back, waiting for Drake to sit across from him. "You are upset at me."

"Upset? Me?" Drake asked mildly.

"Yes. Or irritated. You are not being overly dramatic right now."

Drake smiled. "One might say my usual temperament is dramatic, so me acting more or less than that would be overly dramatic."

"Quite. Well go on then. Get it out of your system."

Drake snorted. "Fine. First, the formalities." He handed a rolled piece of very ornate looking parchment to Dumbledore. "You are officially and cordially invited to this year's International Scholastic Showcase. You and a selection of your students will be the guests of the ICW and will have the opportunity to show the world at large the educational abilities of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Head of Education at the ICW wants to share her sincere congratulations. It has been many years since Hogwarts last participated."

Dumbledore took the scroll gratefully, smiling down at it. The denizens of the portraits of previous Headmasters and Headmistresses cheered and clapped at the news, looking happy. "I never thought I would see the day," he said soulfully.

"The Head was quite impressed with the actions of Hogwarts and what she saw when she visited during the Triwizard," Drake said. "I offered to bring the invitation to you sooner so you may then have more time to prepare."

"Thank you, my friend," Dumbledore said gratefully.

"Of course." Drake said nothing more, staring at Dumbledore with slightly red eyes.

"Now is the time for informalities?" Dumbledore asked.

"Indeed. Give me one good reason for me to not go out and find this Quirrell and drain him of every drop of blood." Drake's eyes became blood-red and he leaned over, his lips peeling back to show very sharp fangs. "And if you tell me a prophecy, I will tell you where to shove that crystal ball."

"You spoke to Nicolas and Perenelle then?" Dumbledore sighed.

"Of course I did! I am also insulted that you did not consult with me!"

"It is much harder to get a hold of you! I was waiting for you to visit and I was going to get your opinion as well!"

Drake hissed and waved his hand. He took a deep breath through his nose and looked about. "Is it here then?" He looked at the locket closely when Dumbledore gave it to him. He turned it over and over in his hands, gazing at it. "It is disgusting," he said at last. "Whoever made this was equal parts too careful and too careless. The vessel is powerful but the magic around it is surprisingly fragile."

"I did some looking through my memories and some investigations with Alastor," Dumbledore said quietly. "We think that locket belonged to Salazar Slytherin."

"One of your school founders? Then that would account for why the object is so strong. Probably one of the reasons the horcrux is stable." Drake put the locket down and wiped his hands clean on a handkerchief. "I hate horcruxes. Vile things. So many ways to lengthen your life and the fact people choose that option never ceases to astound me."

"When you say fragile, what do you mean?" Dumbledore asked.

"The magic feels fragile, underneath the protections and the like," Drake said. "The fragment of soul within is also very fragile. I have handled horcruxes in the past and this one is especially strange. It is very venomous in many senses of the word. I caution you from wearing it."

"I was not planning it," Dumbledore said dryly.

"I wanted to make sure, since your thinking process seems to be bit off right now," Drake said with a very broad smile.

"Thank you, my friend," Dumbledore snorted.

"You know you can rely on blunt honesty from me."

"I do," Dumbledore said sincerely.

"So what exactly is preventing me from killing this Quirrell then?" Drake asked.

"You are," Dumbledore said. "Your position in the ICW and the world at large."

Drake sniffed. "I do not need to be in the ICW."

"Yes you do. You know what your presence means and what your absence would do," Dumbledore said quietly. "And I know you do not care for prophecy and the like, but you also know what happens when genuine ones are ignored or flouted."

"I do," Drake said glumly. "Damn it all."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said quietly. "If things come to it, I will come to you for help."

"You better," Drake said. "I will not allow some shattered weak wraith to hurt Harry."

"Neither will I," Dumbledore said. "As best as I can prevent it." He rubbed his eyes. "I had a few questions. Once you put a piece of your soul into a horcrux, can you remove it?"

"Yes. Either by breaking the vessel or the owner of the soul fragment reclaiming it," Drake said. "Of course if you break the vessel, the soul fragment dissipates and is lost."

"What happens to the vessel after the soul fragment is removed?"

"Depends on the strength of the vessel. Some break from the strain. Others are unchanged. Some are changed based on the strength of the soul fragment within it and how long it was used as a horcrux."

Dumbledore turned thoughtful. "And do they still have magical abilities after the soul fragment was removed?"

"Yes, again depending on the strength of the soul and the vessel. For example, there are books in Alexandria that can tell tales or share memories of the souls they once housed. It leaves an imprint or an echo." Drake frowned. "What, what's wrong?"

"I believe there was another here," Dumbledore said in a shocked voice. "The affair involving Blinky. We found the basilisk being tortured by a book. When I took the book however, it immolated itself. Blinky told Harry that the book was forcing her to do its bidding and that it commanded an older basilisk to kill itself."

"I have heard of accounts that are remarkably similar to that," Drake said, shaking his head.

"But if the book destroyed itself-" Dumbledore asked.

"Then it was no longer a full horcrux," Drake answered. "Or if it was, then the soul piece is gone."

"He must have made multiple," Dumbledore said sadly.

"What a mad bastard," Drake said disgustedly. "That never ends well."

"Why would a person reclaim the pieces of their soul that they broke?" Dumbledore mused.

"Well we know true and genuine remorse can repair the damage to one's soul," Drake said. "We also know that magical strength is somewhat tied to your soul. Not exactly how much but there is some correlation. Forceful reclamation is dangerous." He snorted. "Everything about horcruxes is dangerous, but that is too."

"What does it do to the person?" Dumbledore asked.

"Instability," Drake said quietly. "You take an already unstable state and make it even more chaotic and weak. Your magic, your body, your mind, all of it. It would become quite unstable."

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Thank you for confirming a few things."

"You are welcome." Drake rubbed his face. "I will go and find a sending stone or a mirror or something and bring it to you. Been meaning to do that anyways, so you can get a hold of me if the need arises."

"Thank you." Dumbledore rose from his desk. "Are you hungry?"

"I suppose I could eat," Drake said, blinking at Dumbledore.

"Harry is at the Hog's Head," Dumbledore said.

"Then what are we doing here?" Drake asked, climbing to his feet.

"You were bringing me the official invitation and we were discussing something delicate," Dumbledore said. "Are you having trouble with your short-term memory?"

"Do not start, I am still peeved at you," Drake said, pointing a finger at Dumbledore. He shouted when Fawkes flashed in, bursting into fire and setting Drake's cloak alight. "Damn you! Today is the day I pluck you bare you fat flying rat!"

Dumbledore walked sedately after Drake chasing a happily singing Fawkes down the hallway. "Thank you, Fawkes," Dumbledore said with a smile.

-0-

"You look ruffled," Aberforth grinned.

"I have had it up to here with Dumbledores," Drake said irritably, holding his hand to eye level. His face was daubed with soot and his hair was indeed ruffled and mussed. He smelled strongly of smoke and burnt feathers. "All of them."

"Ari isn't even here yet either," Aberforth said admiringly. "What did you do?"

"To be fair, it was mostly Fawkes," Dumbledore smiled.

"I thought the bird looked happy when he flew in," Aberforth said.

Harry walked out of the kitchen with Fawkes sitting on his shoulder, giggling musically. "Hi Mr. Drake!" he said brightly before looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Hello Harry, so good to see you," Drake smiled. "I am fine, the damage is mostly cosmetic." He glared at Fawkes. "Do not think that Harry will save you from my ire."

Harry got a bowl of warm water and a clean towel for Drake. "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"I am sure he does," Drake grumbled, wiping his face clean. "Thank you. And how are you doing, my fine friend? You look well! I heard all about you and your friends' performance for the Winter Festival. My colleagues were most impressed."

Harry beamed. "We worked hard on that. Glad they liked it. We actually have the dragonfyre stew here today as a special. Would you like it?"

"Yes please! And a selection of whatever else you have made. I find myself hungry for good food and better company." He watched fondly as Harry went into the kitchen with Fawkes while he finished cleaning his face and took a few moments to comb his hair. He peered at his reflection in the bowl of water. "There. Back to perfection."

Aberforth poured a large glass of thick red wine. "Are you going to threaten any of my customers?"

"I can if you wish for me to," Drake replied, nodding his head in thanks and sipping the wine.

"Not right now. I only said that because Nick scared the hell out of Wilkins. I haven't seen him since." Aberforth shrugged. "I don't really care, but if you need someone to threaten, I can tell you who to go after."

"Oh no, I will save my ill will for the FAT FIRE PIGEON." Drake pitched his voice to go through the kitchen window. He gritted his teeth when Fawkes stuck his rear into view and waggled it at him. "Where did he learn that?!"

"Hedwig," Dumbledore and Aberforth said together.

"Harry's owl," Dumbledore continued.

"I am going to do it one day," Drake growled. "I am going to eat that damn bird. I am going to savor every bite."

"He will probably give you heartburn," Dumbledore said and Aberforth snorted richly at that.

Harry came back out with a tray of food. "Big bowl of dragonfyre stew for the both of you. Here are some firepepper pods if you want to breathe fire. Soda bread, and some cheese and dried meat to share too. And pickles. And here's a breakfast platter for you two to share too, unless you want one each."

"I will order more if I wish for more, thank you so much Harry," Drake said, smiling easily, looking at the food appreciatively. "It looks and smells wonderful."

"Fawkes is eating in the kitchen. He kept trying to take your food so I overloaded a plate for him to distract him," Harry said.

"Oh by all means, fatten the beast. More for me to devour later," Drake sniffed.

"He is kidding," Dumbledore assured Harry.

"No he is not," Drake growled. His mood mellowed after a spoonful of the stew. "Mmm, the description does not do it justice. This is wonderful!" He delicately ate a firepeppercorn with another spoonful and breathed an elegant ring of fire. "What fun!"

"I hope you are not spending too much on dragon meat," Dumbledore said as he ate.

"No Sir. Actually I figured out how to make it stretch. We can take the regular cuts of dragon meat and as long as we braise it with the tail and shank, it picks up the taste and texture really well still. So there's still plenty of dragon meat per portion."

Harry took a deep breath and smiled slightly. "Still make it without the dragon meat too, a regular beef stew. It's good."

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "I am sure it is. Well done, Harry."

Ariana walked in, waving to the other patrons before sliding around the bar and hugging Harry. "Hello everyone," she said merrily. She looked at Drake and sniffed. "Why do you smell like burnt feathers?"

"I am going to eat that damn bird and use his feathers to decorate a hat," Drake growled.

"He'd probably give you heartburn," Ariana smiled, making Harry and the Dumbledore brothers laugh.

"Up to here!" Drake held his hand to the crown of his head. "All the Dumbledores!"

-0-

Diglin chewed slowly, holding a piece of the meat to the light. He licked his lips and took another bite, comparing it to the former. "It was close, but Hacker has this one. His steak is just a little bit better. I like your sauce a lot Harry but your meat was over."

"I come from a family of butchers," Hacker said, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "I better know my way around beef or else I get hacked."

Harry smiled, not upset at all. "Teach me the tricks?"

"And lose my job? Get out of here," Hacker snorted, shoving Harry playfully. "Cooking steak is simultaneously the easiest thing and the hardest thing. Everyone has an opinion on what a steak's doneness is and more often than not, the customer is wrong."

He leaned over and cut Harry's steak. "I'd consider that more medium-well instead of medium."

"Oh, that's what I was told was medium," Harry said.

"Well whoever taught you that was wrong," Hacker snorted. "Your center is barely pink and the meat around it is very firm."

"I wasn't really taught," Harry shrugged. "Just told and if I didn't do what they said, I got punished for it."

"Punished?" Amythyst asked. "And they only told you, not teach you? That's not right."

"Yeah, it wasn't great," Harry said quietly.

"Well they must have been terrible teachers regardless because we rarely have to teach you anything more than once," Diglin said, frowning slightly.

"Like I said, wasn't really taught," Harry said weakly.

"Well, in this case, it's a good thing," Flynt said kindly. "We didn't have to untrain some bad habits."

"Yeah, you actually are pretty good for mostly self-taught," Amythyst said.

"Thanks everyone!" Harry said happily.

"Pretty good though, not like, just good," Amythyst added.

"And you didn't really have any good habits," Flynt said.

"But no, still be proud of your achievements, just not too proud," Hacker said.

"Thanks, everyone," Harry said wryly while the Crew laughed.

-0-

"That went well," Dora said, breathing deeply.

"It did?" Harry was sprawled on the ground and breathing heavily. "Why do I feel like crap then?"

"Because it didn't go good," Dora said, smiling down at him.

Harry groaned and twitched feebly when Dora prodded him with her foot. "Why are we doing this again?" he asked.

"You said you wanted to get better at spellcasting and stuff," Dora said, poking him more.

"I didn't think we'd be dueling and stuff," Harry groaned, trying to roll away from her. "And all the exercising before that."

"Just keeping you in shape. Pudgy chefs are a stereotype for a reason. Hey!" She gasped when Harry conjured a glowing hand to make a hand gesture at her. "First of all, rude! Second of all, teach me that spell."

A few times a week, Dora and Harry would exercise together in the large exercise and duel room in Grimmauld. She ran him around and did physical exercises with him and then taught him spells and tips and ended each session with mock duels. While Harry did appreciate the time and saw how much better he was getting at spellcasting, he still felt exhausted and sore after each session. Dora always looked too happy to toss him about, physically and magically.

"Just seems a bit much," Harry said.

"You gotta treat it seriously," Dora said, uncharacteristically serious. "That way, if you're ever in the mess in real life, you know how to react."

"Will I need to know how to duel and stuff in real life?" Harry asked sardonically.

"Uhm, you were attacked by Dementors multiple times, lethifolds too, went up against trolls, and basilisks." Dora counted on her fingers. "And you had a particularly annoying arsehole who kept trying to drag you into a duel. What do you think?"

"Okay, you make a good point," Harry sighed.

Dora sat beside him. "Just think of it this way. One day, you'll be in a restaurant or a kitchen and some idiot will break in and try to rob you or some big ole beastie will attack. You'll subdue the idiot robber and look cool in front of your adoring fans or slay said beastie and then chop it up and cook it for your adoring fans. While still looking cool. Then you'll be thankful for your awesome god-sister-cousin-person and feed me all the tasty things."

Harry smiled. "That does sound nice. You think I'll have a restaurant or a kitchen like that one day?"

"Definitely! Just don't have a fancy dress code please. I like being comfy when I eat."

"You'll be exempt."

"Brilliant!"

Harry rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself up slowly. "One more go?"

"Thattaboy! Yeah, one more and then we can undo all our hard work with food." She rose too and stood at one end of the practice ring. "Ready when you are."

Harry stood at the other end of the ring and he bowed, making sure to keep eye contact with Dora as he did. The first time when he bowed so he could not see her, she hit him with a Flipping Jinx, sending him flying. As they rose, he took the stance she taught him. "Stupefy!"

Dora moved as soon as hie arm did and dodged the spell easily. She shot two stunners back at him without incanting, still moving. Harry moved too, barely dodging them and cast the Shield Charm, blocking the third one. He dropped his shield and hurled a Bludgeoning Hex at her, still moving.

Dora conjured a stone disc and blocked the spell. She nodded approvingly as the surface cracked a bit and the disc was pushed back. She shattered it into pieces and blew them at Harry with a Wind Blast Charm before pointing at his feet and incanting, shooting a sheet of grease at him.

Harry used his Shield Charm to block the hail of rocks and jumped, slipping as he could not completely clear the pool of grease. "Aguamenti!" Water erupted from his wand and he sprayed the messy mix at Dora. "Incindio!"

Dora gasped as the floating grease caught light from the fire spell and the entire mess came flowing towards her. More water made the fire rise even higher and she flicked her wand, sending out a thick foam that suppressed the fire. She had just finished when she noticed a glowing green magical hand coming right at her face. She ducked under it and pointed her wand at Harry. "Levicorpus!"

Harry whooped as he was hoisted into the air by an ankle and he hung there, dangling in midair. He gritted his teeth and pointed his wand back at Dora. "Lumos MAXIMA!"

"Ow bloody hell!" Dora said, reeling back from the light that lanced into her eyes. With one hand over her eyes, she spun her wand and Harry spun too, spinning around and around.

"I give!" Harry shouted. "Stop before I throw up, please!"

Dora waved her wand and Harry drifted to a stop, his eyes rolling and feeling queasy. She blinked slowly; her vision full of bright spots. "That was really good," she praised as she walked over.

"Thanks," Harry said. He suppressed a burp and smiled up at her as she vanished the foam and water and burnt grease. "Never use water to put out a grease fire by the way."

"Yeah, lesson learned," Dora laughed as she righted Harry and dispelled the Dangling Jinx. "You've really improved the last few weeks. No longer keeping your feet planted like roots, moving about."

"I've got a good teacher," Harry smiled.

"Look at you being all flattering," she said, pushing him playfully.

"Only when I mean it," Harry said, stumbling. "I know Professor Flitwick is a good duelist too."

"He's better than good, he's amazing," Dora said. "I managed to convince him to teach me a lot and it helped a ton at the Academy."

Harry's eyes widened as he stared at Dora's midsection. "Did your stomach just growl at me?"

"Hell yeah she did. She's hungry. She and I demand food!" She grabbed Harry and hoisted him over her shoulders in a fireman carry. "To the kitchen!"

"Let me shower first!" Harry laughed, squirming a little. "You're so strong!"

"I still remember the time I threw Mad-Eye over my shoulder in combat practice," Dora smiled as she carried Harry out of the practice room. "He was surprised and proud, even when throwing Curses at me for weeks after. Worth it."

-0-

Andromeda walked into the kitchen and stopped, sighing at the sight before her. "What are you doing?"

"Hi Auntie Andi," Harry smiled. "We're seeing how tall of a club sandwich we can make for Dora to still bite through all the layers."

Dora held a very large, many tiered sandwich in her hands and her jaw dangled, her mouth wide open. She held the sandwich up to her open mouth and gently bit down a little, stopping when she made contact with the bread. She then took it out and put it on the plate. "I think I can do one more layer."

Andromeda sighed again when Harry applied another layer of ham and lettuce and bacon and another piece of toast in between the already many layers of the sandwich. She shook her head when Dora did bite through the sandwich, doing it slowly and chewing with her cheeks fully extended. "You look like a chipmunk. A demented one."

She gasped when Dora waved her wand and a glowing pink hand appeared and made a rude hand gesture. "Hey!" She shot her daughter with a stinger, making her glower as she yelped with a full mouth. "First of all, I am your mother and that is rude! Second of all, teach me that spell. It looks very useful."

"I'll teach you later," Harry said. "What do you like on your club sandwich?"

"Chef's choice," Andromeda said as she took a seat and stole a chip off Dora's plate, smacking her hand when Dora tried to take it back. She nibbled on the chip, watching Harry toast slices of bread in the oven and then taking the bacon out of the pan. His knife made clean thin slices of bright red tomatoes and he took out leaves of lettuce from iced water, drying them gently. He spread butter and mayonnaise on the surfaces of the toast and layered ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato before putting down another slice of toast and layered it with cheese, bacon, lettuce, and tomato. A final layer of turkey, cheese, lettuce, and tomato capped off the club sandwich and he carefully cut the sandwich into quarters and stuck a very long toothpick through the layers to keep it intact. With a flourish, he put it before Andromeda after adding a very large handful of chips to her plate.

"This looks delicious, thank you love," Andromeda smiled.

"Mum's not going to be able to eat that," Dora said, still chewing her massive mouthful. Her eyes widened as Andromeda picked up a quarter and very delicately but very accomplishedly bit clean through the layers with little trouble.

Andromeda smiled smugly at her gobsmacked daughter. "You were saying?" she said, after swallowing and clearing her throat. "Also mind your manners, love." She smiled at Harry as she continued to eat. "As delicious as it looks, thank you. I do like a good sandwich."

"You did better than Sirius," Harry said, eyes bright with mirth. "He kept stretching his jaw and he popped it. Went to get a pain-relief potion."

Sirius appeared and sniffed at a hysterically laughing Andromeda and Dora. "Yeah yeah, make fun of me why don't you."

"We do," Dora said.

"I know," Sirius sighed. He grinned when Harry slid another sandwich to him and he took a carefully measured bite, chewing happily. "By the way, just got a letter while going past the Floo. From the Flamels. They very politely but very firmly request we tell them when we're going to visit them in France. If I don't reply in an 'appropriate time-frame', they will invade Grimmauld Place and abscond with you in the night after replacing all my décor with French positive motifs."

"Whatever that means," Dora said sandwichly.

"Probably lots of flags and baguettes or something like that," Sirius shrugged. "Probably an improvement honestly. Anyways, how does the end of the month sound? I'm actually being asked to represent part of the Wizengamot to the French Ministry since relations have improved a bit due to the Triwizard. I can cast two spells with one wand movement that way."

He took another big bite. "We'll come back right before your birthday so we don't have to worry about missing out with your friends."

"I'd really like that!" Harry frowned a little. "Will it be expensive?"

Sirius waved a hand. "Don't worry about that.

"I'll help pay for it, I'm getting paid at Gringotts and Hog's Head," Harry said eagerly.

"Sure. What do you have on you?" Sirius asked. He took the Sickle and Knuts that Harry had in his pocket. "There, that's your contribution in full."

"That doesn't seem fair," Harry protested, smiling.

"Fair enough to me," Sirius winked.

"Just nod and say yes, love," Andromeda smiled. "We can afford it easily."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it," Harry said, hugging Sirius.

"You're welcome," Sirius said happily, hugging him hard. "You deserve it, Harry. Just enjoy! Accept the affection."

"Accept my affection!" Dora took him from Sirius and kissed his cheek messily, leaving crumbs and smears. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and snuggled him close before reaching out for her giant sandwich, holding him while he laughed as she attempted to eat around him.

"You're covering him in crumbs," Andromeda laughed, brushing them off him. "Let the poor boy go."

"It's okay, I can stay here a bit longer," Harry said comfortably, leaning back into Dora with a big smile on his face.

-0-0-0-

Arnie1701 - Indeed.

Kaya - Thank you so much.

Hands Off MY Wolfie - I thought it would be a nice way to show the Pureblood families a little differently, and how to appeal to them in a slightly different way. You have to admit, Hedwig sitting on a giant fish where no one is sure if she caught it herself or not would be really cute and funny. Thanks for reading.

TheReader81 - I'm glad they are happy.

SvenHPotterFan - Good food is always a good icebreaker. Also thought it would be a logical way for Sirius and them to make their argument and how it would fit.

alix33 - Hedwig sitting on the caddok was my favorite part of the chapter too.

- Thank you for the high praise, I'm glad you enjoy it so.

Uber Ghidorah - He already has Hedwig though. Granted she is more of an eater than a cooker, but still.

WriternotAuthor - The website has been really funky lately. Some people can't even post reviews which is a bummer. I need the validation haha. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.

poka - As Sirius said, he knew one day he would have to play the Game eventually. But he does play it, only on his own rules. I wanted to show a slightly different side to the other pureblood families, and how they aren't all the monsters that fanfic can portray them. I thought it would make a lot of sense to appeal to them through their children and at the visible positive changes. And then comparing it to their own pasts. Since the families are so focused on their legacies and the like, it made sense to me.