I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
A Taste of Magic
115th Course – Merry Preparations
"Hey, I think I'm getting better," Daniel said, climbing to his feet. "Though can Floos be different?"
Leena cleaned him off with her wand. "Oh yes, certainly. Like most things, the quality of the craftsmanship can make the trips feel different as well as how they're cared for. The Cauldron Floo is actually not bad for being such a well-used public Floo. But compared to Sirius', there's a difference."
"At least I don't throw up anymore," Daniel said proudly. "And I don't even get that dizzy!"
"Good job Daddy," Lavender smiled, hugging him.
"Come on, let's go!" Marigold and Clover said excitedly, hopping up and down.
The Browns had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron to go into Diagon Alley to buy the Hogwarts things. They received their lists and it was Clover and Marigold's first year. They had lived vicariously through stories from Lavender and Leena, and Lavender's friends, and they were beyond excited now that it was their turn to go. Despite it not being their first time there, they and Daniel still loved visiting and seeing all the wonderful sights the Alley had to offer.
"How does the Alley compare to the Foro?" Leena asked.
"I like them both, they feel different but good in their own way," Lavender said. She had gotten a stack of photographs from Tracey a week after coming home from the Showcase trip and everyone had enjoyed them. "It's a lot bigger because it's not like the streets here. All the major stores and things were all together in the big space with some small side streets for the specialty shops."
Like most families, the Browns went to Gringotts to exchange some Muggle money into Wizarding money and pull extra from Leena's vault. As they were finishing up their transactions, the teller working with them was approached by someone else who whispered in their ear. They nodded and looked up at the Browns. "Please wait over there," they said, pointing to the wall at the side of the teller windows.
"Is there something wrong?" Leena asked worriedly.
"Not at all," the teller said with a smile. "Just one thing is coming."
"Did we do something?" Daniel asked as they stepped to the side.
"We shouldn't have," Leena said, frowning slightly.
"Harry!" the twins cried. They jumped on Harry and hugged him enthusiastically, making him stagger slightly. He had come out of a hidden door in the wall and walked over to them.
"Hi everyone!" Harry smiled. "Lavender told me you all would be here today. Is it okay if I tag along?"
"Of course," Leena smiled, hugging him. "But aren't you working?"
"I came early and did all the prep work and Chef was fine with it," Harry said. He patted a bag over his shoulder. "I made us lunch too."
"Thanks," Daniel smiled. "We were a bit worried, they said one thing was coming and thought we were in trouble."
"They called you a thing!" Clover and Marigold said indignantly.
Harry laughed. "Sawtooth likes things, thinks things are useful unlike people."
"I was trying to keep it a surprise!" Sawtooth said loudly from the teller window. "Come on Harry!" He puffed his cheeks out and snorted at Harry's laugh but waved brightly as they left.
"Wow, they all really do treat you nicely," Leena remarked as they left the bank. Many of the goblins on the main level greeted Harry warmly and were more cordial to the Browns.
"Not all of them but that's okay," Harry said. "There's some personality clashes and that's normal." He smiled when Lavender put her arm through his and squeezed it. "Where to first? If you like, I can tell you of a few different stores to get things. I've learned a lot about the stores in the Alleys and Streets. Some have better things but are a bit more expensive while others are worth the cost. And where not to go."
"Lead on," Daniel said warmly.
It was a fun shopping trip. Harry took them to his favorite trunk maker, Trenton's Transportables, and they got a good deal on two new trunks for the twins. Madame Malkin still made the best school robes and no one could beat Flourish and Blotts for books. Harry had already done his shopping, technically one of the goblins had done it for him happily, so he did not have to get anything for school.
"Oh, Harry, I want to show you something!" Biblia Blotts, current manager and co-owner of Flourish and Blotts, pulled him to a new display by the counter. "Look!" she said proudly.
"Are these cooking magazines?!" Harry asked delightedly, seeing the new bookcases and magazine racks.
"And some cookbooks! It's taken a bit to get them printed in English, you know the translating charms are temporary, but we've been working on it and I'm happy to say we finally got enough to set up a place for them." Biblia smiled at his happiness. "I still remember when you asked about them the first time you came and I was shocked to be asked frankly. No one ever cared about them before and I actually felt a little bad at how crestfallen you were. But with what you lot did for the TriWizard and the Showcase, there's been a genuine want for them now, made all the more by Rita Skeeter's articles."
"That's amazing!" Lavender said.
"It sure is! It's been so long since there's been an interest in things like this that weren't strictly magical. Of course all the books here have magical elements, but it was genuinely looked down upon before and ignored but now we're getting requests and orders!" Biblia smiled brightly. "It's so exciting!"
She looked fondly at Harry. "You get a discount of course."
"I can afford them," Harry protested.
"Nonsense! Like I said, I did feel a little bad for you then and well, I leaned into the interest since the Showcase and I'm blown away by the positive reception." She winked. "If it makes you feel better, we can barter a bit. Discount for say…goods of another nature?"
"An edible one?" Harry asked, amused.
"That sounds fair to me," she said.
"Won't Mr. Frank be upset?" he asked, laughing.
"Only if I don't share!"
Harry bought a few of the magazines and promised to return to look through the books at another time. Leena looked at the receipt when Biblia finished ringing the books up for the girls. "I thought the prices were a bit different."
"Only a bit," Biblia said airily. She winked at Leena and Daniel. "Harry's a dear and it's clear that your family is very close to him. We take care of each other here in Diagon, depending on the person of course." She smiled fondly as the twins shrieked when one of the Monster book of Monsters snapped at them and they hid behind Harry who laughed, preventing them from pushing Lavender into the book cage.
"He's a good kid," Daniel said with the same fond look.
They continued on with the shopping and purchased just about everything save for the wands before taking a break. They sat at one of the picnic style tables that dotted the Alleys and Harry unpacked the lunch basket for them. They tucked into corned beef sandwiches, homemade crisps, pickles of many different kinds, small onigiri, and lemonade.
"Aww, you're making them more now?" Lavender smiled, munching on an onigiri.
"I really like them, they're a hit," Harry nodded. "Sota sent me a bento book and I wrote a bunch of our recipes for him. I've been slowly trying the different fillings too but just a little salt on the rice with nori is so good, especially with some pickles."
Lavender nodded happily. "And are these corned beef sandwiches?"
"Yeah, they're good," Harry said and he and Lavender started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Leena smiled.
"Ron and I actually got off on the wrong foot when we first met," Harry explained. "He shared his mum's corned beef sandwiches and I thought they tasted good but different to how I was used to corned beef and he took offense. I don't blame him though. This was before we learned that magic leaves a taste in things."
"They do taste a bit different," Daniel nodded. "But not in a bad way at all."
"It's a good recipe," Harry said.
Lavender tugged his arm. "Is that what I think it is?" she whispered, pointing at the pickles. At his nod, her smile turned mischievous. "Hey, you two might like this." She sliced the small round pink pickle in half and gave half to each girl. She shrieked with laughter when they immediately popped them into their mouths and made twisted faces with puckered mouths.
"Eat some onigiri, it helps and tastes delicious," Harry said hastily but also laughing.
"Hate you!" Clover and Marigold said when they could speak again, pinching Lavender who retaliated.
"Is it a magical thing?" Daniel asked, poking another round pickle.
"No, it's a Japanese pickled plum," Harry grinned. "It's super sour but it tastes great with rice. We got some here from a purveyor and I am hoping to learn how to make them too."
"Oooh that's sour!" Leena shuddered. "But you're right, delicious with rice!"
They finished the trip off by getting the wands from Ollivander. Clover and Marigold had been so happy to find the wands that chose them and Leena, Daniel, and Lavender looked on proudly as they waved them, conjuring sparkling lights and glowing light trails.
"Hey, where did you go?" Lavender asked when Harry reappeared.
"I went to get something and I always thought the first wand was really important," Harry said. "A moment you share with family. I was alone when I got mine, Hagrid went to get something."
Lavender gave him a look. "Harry, the girls look at you like an older brother."
"They do?" Harry asked, eyes sparkling. "I've always wanted a little sister."
Her heart melted and she kissed him sweetly. "Well you have two now and I'll need your help controlling them at school."
"Sounds good to me," he said.
"You have no idea what you're in for," she laughed. Her eyes widened when he held the bag he brought back to her. "For me?"
"Yup! I hope you like it." He looked slightly nervous as she opened the bag and pulled out a stuffed bear. It was light brown and incredibly soft. It warmed when she hugged it, releasing scents of lavender and vanilla.
"I love it! Oh my gosh," she gasped. "It has green eyes and glasses?!"
"I felt like a berk when I asked for that, it feels really…arrogant or something," he said embarrassedly. "But I thought you'd like a Hare Bear." He coughed, embarrassment replaced by a desire to breathe when she crushed him and the bear in her arms. "Glad you…like it," he gasped, patting her back.
"I love it," she repeated and kissed him again. "Thank you, you're the best."
"No, you are," he smiled.
"Thanks for showing us around and getting us some nice deals," Daniel said as they went back to take the Cauldron Floo home.
"Thanks for letting me tag along," Harry smiled.
"As if there was anything keeping you from doing that," Daniel snorted. He hugged Harry warmly. "See you later." After more hugs from the others and another kiss from Lavender, the Browns left and Harry sighed softly, feeling warm. He left the Cauldron with a spring to his step.
-0-
"Right, you can do this," Flynt said.
"Never thought you'd ever say that to me," Harry grinned.
Flynt grinned back. "Me neither! But you got this."
"Right, ready?" Diglin looked around as people standing at their stations nodded. "Go!"
A flurry of movement was accompanied by cheering and taunting as Harry, Salta, and Hacker got to work. At each station they had a whole nicken, a large sack of potatoes, a large sack of mushrooms, and a caddok lying in wait. They were competing to see who could prepare the ingredients the swiftest and the best.
They worked furiously, still doing their best while not going so far to cause self-injury or be dangerous. Harry started with the mushrooms, wanting to prepare them carefully and knowing that it could take extra time for the ones they were given. Finished with them, he moved to the potatoes and peeled them in record time before chopping them and putting them aside. The nicken was broken down into primal cuts and then worked on the caddok. As he was finishing cleaning the last fillet, Salta called finish and he finished right after her with Hacker coming up last.
Diglin inspected all they did, peering through the waste carefully while critically inspecting the finished product. "Good work," he praised Harry as he moved on. "You need to do things that aren't beef more," he said next.
"Yes Chef," Hacker said, shaking his head a little.
Diglin looked through Salta's work and smiled as he touched her fillet. "Left a pin-bone."
"What?!" Salta groaned when Diglin pulled out a long thin bone from the caddok fillet.
"So you finished first but left a bone so that's a ding," Diglin said. "Since the time between you was so short, Harry beats you." Whoops and cheers filled the air with groans and huffs and coins were exchanged.
"Knew you could do it," Flynt smiled, looking through the coins in his hand eagerly.
"You're welcome," Harry grinned.
"You've gotten faster," Diglin nodded. "But you still left a bit more on the peel here. You'd lose a bit of the yield. Still, nice work on the cleaning of the caddok. It's a tricky fish and you're good at it."
"Thank you, Chef, I'll keep working on it," Harry said.
"Oh hey, let's see Harry try to deal with this." Hacker brought over a large crate, puffing from the exertion and lifting a round and heavy object out and putting it on the table.
"What's this?" Harry asked with interest. It was the size of a large coconut, round and solid. It looked like a cannonball even, the surface a dull metallic color. "You're not having a laugh, are you?"
"No it's legit food," Hacker grinned. "It's called an ironnut for obvious reasons. You have to break the shell open before you can cook the insides and they make a nice starchy filling for things. Half nut, half potato really."
Harry looked at it, struggling to lift it. He moved it about and stared at it and hummed softly.
"Can I give a hint?" Amythyst asked.
"Sure," Diglin said, amused.
"It's like Flynt's head," she said and everyone hooted with laughter while Flynt glared at her.
"Oh!" Harry walked to the pan rack and reached for a heavy goblin cast iron pan. He brought it over and very gently hit the ironnut with the pan along the side and a large crack formed in the ironnut. A few more gentle hits broke it apart and the others cheered and laughed.
"Normally you hit it with a special mallet," Diglin chuckled. "You can also pour first cold water on it and then hot water and it'll crack, but not a bad way of doing it. Home cooks do it like that if you don't have the mallet."
"You want to hit me with a pan?!" Flynt cried.
"No! When Amy brought me the aebleskiver pan, she said it was made from goblin cast iron and that I could hit you with it and nothing would happen to the pan." Harry's explanation was delivered with wide-eyed innocence and the others fell over laughing.
"Nah, the pan would bend," Salta chortled.
"If it was a bad pan maybe," Hacker hooted.
"Get stuck in a mine shaft, all of you," Flynt sniffed. "Not you, Chef."
Diglin snorted at that. "All right, enough fun, come on, back to work."
-0-
"Do you think it's too late to get them to go to Durmstrang or Beauxbatons?" Millicent asked in a whisper.
Pansy snorted and smiled. "Probably. And you know that we would miss them."
"I wouldn't miss them with a spell or two," Millicent sighed.
The Parkinsons and the Bulstrodes came to Diagon Alley to get their school things as well, for the older two and the new things for the younger three. It was a busy day at the bank so they were waiting for a little bit. Pansy and Millicent were leaning against the wall, watching their fathers at the clerks and their mothers chatting with their little siblings doing whatever little siblings did when not actively annoying them.
"A part of me hopes that Nate and Owen aren't in Slytherin," Millicent continued. "Then another part of me wants to see them in separate Houses." She shrugged a little, looking sheepish. "Then I feel bad and don't want to see either of those anymore. At least until they bother me again."
"You two are good older sisters, I think," Harry said, leaning against the wall with them. "As far as I know anyways. I don't really have much to judge against save for Dora and Lavender. Dora treats me great and Lavender loves her little sisters. I think you two love your little sibs."
"I suppose," Pansy said with a smile. "I won't admit it however."
"That's fair," Harry laughed. "Ji dan bing?"
"Ooh yes please," Millicent said and took a thin rolled pancake with an egg and sauce inside. "What is it?"
"It's a thin pancake pastry thing and there's a scrambled egg inside with a little sauce and a slice of lettuce," Harry said. "Sue told us about it during our lazy pancake day and I got the recipe from her later."
"Mmm, it's good," Pansy said, munching happily. "Thank you, Harry." She and Millicent took a double-take. "Harry!"
He laughed and hugged them both back. "Hi! How's it going?"
"Good! What are you doing here?" Millicent asked.
"Amy saw your families come in as she was walking through and she told me. Luckily I was already super ahead on my prep and things and Chef said I could take the rest of the time off to hang out with you two and your families, if you don't mind me tagging along of course."
"Never," Pansy smiled.
"Harry!" Aster ran up followed by Owen and Nathan. "Did you come to shop with us too?"
"If your parents are okay with it," he smiled and offered them their own ji dan bing, which they happily took and started eating. "Hello Lady Parkinson, Lady Bulstrode."
"Hello Harry," Primrose said warmly, having heard the other three run off and saw Harry there. "No need to call me that. I like to think we are friendly enough."
"Oh okay," Harry said shyly. "Thank you, I like to think that too. Uh…gosh I don't know what to call you. I guess I call the ladies I know and am comfortable with Auntie. Is that too familiar? Or would Aunt be more proper?"
Primrose's smile was broad and warm. "Auntie Primrose is just fine with me, or Rose as well."
"Ah, Harry! Good to see you," Alan said as he and Hugo met the group. "How do you do?"
"Well, thank you Sir," Harry said. "I heard your families were here and I'd like to tag along if that is okay. I know a lot of the best places to shop in the Alley now, having been here so much the last few years."
"That sounds good," Hugo said approvingly.
"I also made lunch if you like," Harry said, holding up a small basket.
"I had no intention in denying your company and I believe I would fear for my life if I did so now," Alan chuckled, seeing the looks on the faces of the others. "And I never turn down expert advice. Lead on!"
Much like with the Browns, it was a fun shopping trip. Aster, Owen, and Nathan were opinionated in their own different ways and while Harry took them to his favorite places again, it was not nearly the same experience. Hugo and Linda discussed the finer things about fabrics and materials with Harry before making their selections at Malkins and they also went to Twillfitt and Tattings. They got new trunks at Trenton's, Owen and Nathan got identical ones save for tiny monogrammed initials, and Aster got one that was the opposite in style and material that Pansy had. They then stopped outside of the Quality Quidditch Supplies for Owen and Nathan to look at something while Aster and Millicent and Pansy went into Elaine's Accessories.
"Thank you, Harry, for the suggestions," Alan said as they waited outside of the two stores.
"I'm glad you liked them. I wasn't sure if you would like them or discounts," Harry said honestly.
Hugo smiled kindly. "We may be well off but do you know how you remain well off? Taking advantage of sales and discounts." That made them all laugh.
"Harry, I hope you do not mind me calling you that," Linda began.
"That's fine," Harry said agreeably,
"Good! I would like to ask a few questions about Hunting. Now we," she gestured at Hugo, "have a fabric and material company as you know and we have to deal with Hunters a lot. However, I never imagined it was something Millicent was interested in at all. I will not lie; it worries me that she is. It really is not something I imagined a lady doing." She looked at Harry directly. "Is she suited for it?"
"Millie's great," Harry said without hesitation. "No seriously. She's tough. She's interested in it. She does really well in Care of Magical Creatures and she's fast with spells. I mean, I won't lie, even hunting boars in the Forest is a little dangerous. I've seen some pretty…intense injuries." He hurried on at the look of concern between Hugo and Linda. "But Millie doesn't back down. She does it because she likes it and she's good at it. She has Hagrid's respect and the Tribe's. And the Tribe doesn't just like or respect anyone."
"The centaurs?" Hugo asked, looking impressed. "Truly?"
"Yes Sir. I asked if Millie could come the first year because she wanted to, and they said yes because they trusted me and then her by association. This year, they asked for her directly because she helped out and listened. They like her a lot. And she impressed Steven, Sue Li's cousin who is a professional Hunter and hunts with a group."
"I have heard of the Li family," Hugo mused. "They are not inconsequential."
"I don't think you have to worry about her. She's great," Harry said with utter confidence.
"That does make me feel better, thank you, Harry," Linda said gratefully.
"You should see her play hurling too," Harry said.
"Oh we have heard about it and watched some of her memories, it is incredibly barbaric and savage and oddly entertaining," Hugo said wryly.
"The Tribe respects her for it too. She's usually the first to get picked on a team," Harry said proudly. "Last game, Birch tried to trample her once and for the rest of the game, she would trample him first. He started avoiding her after the third time."
"Goodness," Linda laughed. "I don't know if I should be proud or appalled!"
"That's what Pansy said," Harry laughed. "We decided on both. I'm proud of her though. I don't know anyone else that'll body-check a centaur without thinking. Well aside from Hagrid and Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey, but that only proves how tough Millie is."
"That is why you got her that very nice set for her birthday," Hugo snorted. "She loves it by the way."
"You do not have to tell us about Pansy," Alan smiled. "I have done practices with her this summer and she has sat in on consultations and she is very good. I am very proud of her."
"She's had a lot of practice," Harry said stoutly. "She's probably one of the fairest prefects in the school, and I'm friends with almost all the prefects in our year. She always listens to both sides before rendering judgement." He shrugged a little. "Granted she can be a bit snippy in replying, but practically everyone likes her and knows she'll be fair at least. If a little insulting while doing it."
Alan and Primrose laughed. "We have had nice messages from Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore complimenting her, but she is that good?" Primrose asked.
"Yes Auntie Rose," he said, making her smile with delight. "Like, she won't pretend to be nice if she doesn't feel like it and she won't hold back on making fun of someone if they say or do something wrong. But that's what makes Pansy great. She's honest. You know what you are getting from her."
"Hmm, not the usual way of how someone in Society does," Alan mused. "Typically it is, 'hide what you are thinking and say something different'."
"I guess she used to do that when we were first becoming friends," Harry conceded. "But I trust Pansy. I know I can rely on her for anything and she'll help me to the best of her knowledge and she's really smart. Maybe not book smart like Hermione and Padma, but she knows how things work and she's always thinking."
"Thank you for telling us," Alan said with evident approval. "I do wonder how she became so open and openly honest however."
"Do you?" Primrose asked with a raised eyebrow and a small smile.
"Oh no," Linda sighed, seeing Owen and Nathan waving at them from inside the Quidditch store. "I bet they think they can bring brooms to Hogwarts."
"Might as well go disabuse that notion," Hugo snorted.
"I know that look too," Primrose sighed, seeing Aster trying to get her father's attention. "She wants something outside her budget."
"I'll go see what it is," Alan said.
"We will go see," Primrose corrected firmly. "If you go, she will get it. Excuse us for a moment, Harry." The adults left, leaving Harry alone. He was not alone for long however, and whooped with surprise when he was suddenly embraced from the side.
"Hi Millie," he coughed. "Need to…breathe."
"Sorry," Millie laughed with slightly teary eyes. "We overheard you talking to our parents." She squeezed him one more time before Pansy hugged him almost as strongly.
"Thank you," Pansy said, her eyes also glinting.
"Of course, I meant every word," Harry said, hugging them back. "You two are some of my closest friends." He smiled when Pansy pouted a little. "Best friend even."
"Ha, see?" Pansy beamed at him. "You can never have too many best friends."
"No, I guess not," Harry said happily. When the others returned, they went to Rosa Lee Teabags and Shop. They got a private room to sit down in and have lunch. "Is it okay to eat outside food here?" Harry asked worriedly.
"Perfectly fine, she only sells boxed biscuits," Primrose said. "We also have a share of the business here and she will not complain about us eating here with food from elsewhere. If she does, she can complain to me about it and I will take her complaints with due consideration."
"Oh it's the luwowhatsit!" Millicent said excitedly.
Harry gave everyone a tied bundle of leaves that smelled fragrant and rich, "Yup, the luwombo," Harry smiled. "Dembe and Akin weren't kidding though, steaming the plantains takes a long time but it is really good." He opened a container of the steamed and mashed plantains for everyone to take as much as they wanted. He also brought an array of tea sandwiches and baked treats that everyone enjoyed.
"Mmm, this is very good," Linda said, eating the savory steamed stew. "It is Ugandan?"
"Yes Ma'am," Harry nodded. "Learned it from the Uagadou students. It's really nice."
"Sue said it was similar to a dish of theirs?" Pansy asked, eating her plantains and luwombo mixed together.
"Yeah and I'm excited to learn about that too. She promised we'll make it together once school starts," Harry said eagerly.
They walked together back to the front of Gringotts after lunch. "Thank you for your company and expertise," Alan said warmly, shaking Harry's hand.
"Thanks for letting me come with you," Harry smiled. He shook hands with the other adults and hugged Millicent and Pansy once more. "Better give this to Sunny too," he said, handing Millicent a wrapped box.
"Yeah or else she'll be a terror when we get back," Millicent laughed.
-0-
"Bonjour Harry!"
"Hi!" Harry hugged Fleur and Sophie. "It's so good to see you!" The apprentices had accompanied the Flamels to the Grimmauld and Harry was pleasantly surprised to see them. He had been cooking in the kitchen and the cousins had come walking in. "Helping Grandmother and Grandfather?"
"Yes. Since we still recall classes and things, they wanted our input to develop a curriculum for their Alchemy class," Fleur said.
"Master is a trifle miffed about it," Sophie smiled. "He does not want to be held accountable for his teachings."
"Sounds like him," Harry laughed. "How does he teach you?"
"Many odd non-sequiturs and tangents," Sophie said. "It was a bit difficult to get used to at first. I am used to having learning laid out and organized. But now, it is a really interesting way to see how Transfiguration interacts with other things and I have learned so much and my skills have improved."
"Mistress is more organized," Fleur said. "And we usually stick to what she has planned out for the day, though she also goes off on tangents. I enjoy it too, however." She smiled and took the espresso cup from Harry and breathed in the rich strong aroma. "Mmm, delicious! Thank you so much. You have improved. Italian influences?"
"I learned during the Showcase," Harry nodded.
"We heard about your performance from former schoolmates," Sophie said, taking her own cup. "They were very impressed."
"Wish I could have seen you punish that boy of bad faith," Fleur sighed. "He is very unpleasant."
"It got intense," Harry said quietly. "But I have to agree with Auntie Ari, a Flame Whip spell is impressive. Will you two be coming to help teach the Alchemy class?"
"Sometimes," Fleur nodded. "And help tutor. They say you learn by teaching and that is a correct statement." She sniffed the air delicately. "What are you making? It smells incredible."
Harry moved the tray to the girls. "I'm making karaage, Japanese style fried chicken. I'm trying some with nicken, cave chickens, and some regular ones."
"Oh that is delicious," Sophie said, chomping on one eagerly. "I was going to come challenge you to a cooking contest but I need to train more before. I have been meaning to polish my kitchen skills up some."
"You had quite the impact on her," Fleur smiled as she ate. "She really did throw herself into her mother's café before putting more work into her mastery."
"I can do both, just need to find the balance," Sophie said.
"I'll look forward to it," Harry smiled. "Cooking with people is fun and I like having small contests like that."
"We will have ample opportunity since we will be visiting regularly," Sophie smiled.
"Are you ready for going back to school?" Fleur asked.
"Pretty much. I'm excited to see what the year will bring. Last time we had the stress of Sanguis and preparing for the Showcase. Hopefully nothing like that will happen this year," Harry said.
"Here is to hope," Fleur declared, holding her espresso cup in the air. She and Sophie tapped their cups against Harry's water glass and they chatted away as they ate and cooked together.
-0-0-0-
odonnellzoo99 - I have been waiting for that joke for a very long time. I thought it would be really funny. I get oddly attached to my OCs. I never thought Emmie would be so cute and so well received and I'm all for it.
alix33 - Interesting. I never found mangoes to have such a strong scent like that, but then again, I really like mangoes.
poka - Me neither. We've seen so many versions of people getting surprised by Harry's friends and acquaintances and it's funny every time to me. I'm sure one day I'll find it not as funny but this day is not that day. For me, the long fics aren't about the second war or dealing with Voldemort for too long. I want to see a proper happy ending and fun for Harry. That's why I want things to end sooner than in canon in regards to Voldemort and just let Harry live and grow after, especially in this fic because there's so much food and culture I want to play with. Glad you like that.
DarkRavie - Thank you so much.
TheSphynx - Poor recovering purebloods, always with their sensibilities being shocked. I'm sure she will get a nice title and something shiny to wear. She loves shiny things.