I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Hello all, hope you are doing well. Looking at the comments about posting on both here and AO3, it seems almost roughly even. So I'll split the difference and do an occasional extra post every other week or so. Have a lovely day! As always, thank you for reading.
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A Taste of Magic
157th Course – Round and Wound
"Thank you, Harry," Pansy said, hugging him hard about the middle.
"Of course," he replied, hugging her back. He brought over more pizzas and they fell upon them hungrily, eating with focused intensity for a few moments.
"Wow," Astoria said, eyes round. "You lot look terrible. Some more terrible than others."
"Care to explain that?" Blaise asked, rolling his eyes at her.
"You know in which category you belong," she retorted.
"I knew N.E.W.T.s level would be hard but it's really getting intense," Lavender said. "Especially since it will be test time soon. And I'm not taking as many as some of us are."
"I feel bad for you prefects and Heads," Sue said sympathetically.
"We study as we patrol sometimes," Padma said. "Using flash cards and things like that. Easy to do while walking." She yawned and bit into another slice of pizza in the same gesture. "Still a lot to do," she said, chewing.
"How are you in the not looking as terrible category?" Aster asked Harry. "You're taking a lot of N.E.W.T.s classes and doing morale stuff and having to train and compete in the Rising Stars."
Harry smiled. "I don't know honestly. I guess I can sort of focus on one thing at a time and bounce back and forth and the one is sort of like relief for the other. Plus I've always liked reading, just mostly about something that interests me." He waited for a moment and then added, "Plus Padma and Hermione were good influences on me early on and I built good studying habits with them."
"Aww, you waited for Parvati to be eating when you said that," Hermione smiled. She scowled when glowing scarlet letters floated into the air from Parvati's wand, loudly proclaiming her and Padma to be 'Ruiners'.
Harry chuckled as Padma blew the words away with a gust of wind. "I'm sure I'll be losing my shite when it's closer to the end of the term. Well, if I make it past the next challenge that is and end up in the finale."
"You will," several of them said confidently.
"And we can collectively lose our shite together," Parvati said, swallowing her food.
"It's always nice to share moments with friends," Harry quipped and they laughed appreciatively.
The window to the Uncommon Room opened and Hedwig flapped in. She did a circuit around the room, barking greetings before landing in front of Harry. She looked at his slice of pizza covetously, licking her beak. Fluffing up, she waited for him to remove her harness and give her due affection before munching on the slice of pizza with gusto.
"Oh, it's from the World's Kitchen," Harry said, taking the envelope out of the harness. "It came sooner than the other times."
"Might mean you will need the extra time to prepare," Pansy said.
Harry opened it and started reading. "'A cook works under direction, a chef cooks with direction. A chef must be able to do more than cook. They must plan, they must attract, they must direct. They must be able to cook alone and with others to be a proper chef.'"
"Sounds like you're going to be in charge," Sue said.
"In charge of who though?" Tracey asked. "What if they put you in charge of people who don't want to work with you?"
"Or worse, will actively sabotage you," Daphne frowned.
"That's the danger," Harry agreed. He hummed softly. "I think you're right. Sounds like I'm going to have to take on a leadership role too in this one."
"Good thing you've been teaching in Cooking Club," Lavender smiled. "Not to mention for Clover and Aster and the others when they want to learn."
"The only problem is that they want to learn and work with Harry," Millicent said. "I don't think you can blame your people if you don't put out something good."
"You can, but it weakens your credibility and authority," Blaise said. "It's a fine line."
"Have you had trouble when working with others?" Susan asked.
"Not trouble really," Harry said. He absent-mindedly petted Hedwig as he leaned against the counter and thought. "I mean, I never asked any of the Crew in the beginning to do anything because I was very new and more than a little intimidated."
"How about since becoming Junior Sous?" Padma asked.
"They give me the business but do as I ask," Harry said, grinning. "Lots of back talk and banter which is what I like and expect of course, but they don't fight me on it. They definitely fight with Amy more but not when it matters like during service."
He put another slice of pizza in front of Hedwig. "As far as Hog's Head, well, don't think that really counts either. The house elves always do what I ask and Mr. Abe never argued with me on cooking things unless he knew a faster or better way or was teaching me something. Same with the kitchens here and back home at Grimmauld."
"The Hunters pretty much deferred to you as soon as they tried your cooking," Ron said.
"And they were nice too, same with the Tribe," Harry said. "Eager to teach me something I didn't know which is awesome, but any disagreements were always friendly. And every time I cooked with your mum, or Mrs. Li."
"Grandmum tells you what to do," Parvati, Padma, Ivaan, and Divya said together.
"As she should," Harry laughed and they laughed with him. "I don't think I'd ever have the confidence or the right to tell her to do something."
"She'd roll her eyes at you and ignore you," Parvati snickered.
"As she should," they said together.
"I wonder what they mean by plan and attract," Neville said. "I've noticed they try to be sneaky about what they say but everything they say is important to the challenge."
"Good point and it could mean anything," Harry said. "That's part of the problem. They're good at being vague and things not making sense until you are being told what the challenge is exactly." He looked at the paper. "It's going to be a long challenge too. It's going to last all day instead of just a small part of it. They say so here at the end."
"Looks like you're going to have to just try and prepare for anything," Lavender said sympathetically.
Harry nodded. "Well it could be worse. Could be just a challenge that I would find really hard to do."
"You have to only give small portions," Hermione smiled.
"Make something bland," Sue laughed.
"Cook for only snooty arseholes," Parvati gasped.
"No bacon," Millicent said.
Hedwig's head shot up and she gasped, the bite of pizza falling from her beak.
Harry laughed and scooped her up and hugged her. "Don't worry. Those don't apply to you." He smiled when she nuzzled him with great relief, opening her beak again and munching when he fed her more pizza.
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"I think your assessment is correct," Gabriel said.
It was the weekend and Harry had gone over to the teaching kitchen that he and Gabriel trained in. The older man had read the message and agreed with Harry's guess.
"There have been multiple challenges where the contestant must assume the primary leadership role," Gabriel continued. "One of the more popular challenges is where teams create a restaurant from the ground up and then they compete against each other where they are judged on everything: theme, design, food, and service. This challenge can make or break a contestant."
"The leader takes the brunt of the responsibility and the end results, right?" Harry asked.
"Correct," Gabriel nodded. "If service is flawless, the leader is praised and heaped with accolade. If any part of it fails, then the leader will be lambasted and if the collective problems are egregious enough, then they will be the one to fall upon the sword."
"Even if someone else sabotaged them? Not very fair," Harry frowned.
"It is assumed that the leader was the one that approved everything," Gabriel said sternly. "It is their vision and their direction that is being executed. Yes, outright sabotage is possible and very much frowned upon, but a leader accepts the good and the bad. The leader can try to overcome the shortcomings of the ones beneath them, but it is their responsibility to try and prevent such things from happening. Or if they do happen, they must show their resourcefulness and flexibility to fix the problem."
Gabriel smiled a little at Harry's slightly irritated look. "A critic comes to your restaurant. Your commis does a bad job of mincing. Your line chef overcooks the protein. The saucier's sauce breaks. Your sous is not in command. You are too busy trying to fix one of the many other daily problems that arise. The critic is less than impressed and their scathing review ruins your restaurant's reputation and your business falls. Any one of those could be a death knell. Together, they bring ruin without recovery."
He sipped his glass of wine. "Yes, each of them did wrong. However, who hired them? Who was responsible for training them? Who inspects the dishes before they leave the kitchen to ensure quality?"
"The head chef," Harry said, nodding.
"Precisely. That is the responsibility of the chef de cuisine. The chef is the boss of the kitchen, the leader. They are the reason for the success and while they may not be the reason for the failure, they are responsible for it."
"That makes sense," Harry said. "What do you do when you have someone that can't do what they need to?"
"You fire them," Gabriel said plainly. "Hopefully without rancor and after you have given them a proper chance. Everyone can have a bad day but in a kitchen, one bad day can ruin things forevermore. And not only do they ruin things for themselves, but for everyone. Remember a kitchen does support just one, but supports everyone. The servers, the owner, the staff in the front and the back, the cooks, everyone. If there is one that is not supporting the rest, they must be cut off before they can destroy all that you have worked hard for."
"That also makes sense." Harry rubbed his neck. "What if you have someone that did things badly out of maliciousness?"
"Gut them and make an example of them," Gabriel said just as plainly.
"Literally?" Harry asked, half-believing any answer.
"Mostly figuratively but sometimes literally," Gabriel said. He chuckled at Harry's look. "Gut their reputation, display their character, ensure they cannot work in the profession again to spare others. Cooking and running a restaurant is difficult enough without people with ill-intent."
Gabriel shook his head. "Speaking of those with ill-intent, you should be pleased to know that Martin's escapade is not without consequence." His smile was cold and satisfied. "His reputation has suffered and his restaurant has received reciprocal suffering."
"Is it bad that I'm kinda happy to hear that?" Harry said weakly.
"Not at all. I am very happy to hear it," Gabriel snorted. "Why are you not as happy?"
"I generally don't like seeing people deserve it unless they really deserve it."
"And trying to ruin your reputation on your budding career out of spite because you defeated two of his in honest competition does not warrant 'deserving it'?" Gabriel asked incredulously.
"It does," Harry said. He sighed. "I just, I guess I thought adults would be more professional and the like."
Gabriel snorted deeply and richly. "Really? You thought that? With your grandparents?"
"Oh right." Harry laughed. "Good point. Also my godfather and family. Kinda silly for me to think that I guess. I suppose I was used to seeing pictures of professional chefs and while there's a lot of banter in Gringotts, Chef Diglin runs a tight kitchen."
"You should not feel bad because you try to think kindly of others," Gabriel said. "It is a part of your painful naivete and what makes you, you."
"Thank you, Chef Mentor," Harry beamed, making Gabriel snort again and forcing him to smile a little. "How should I try to train for this challenge?"
"Do you think you can order me about?" Gabriel asked mildly.
"Never," Harry said immediately and emphatically.
"Good," Gabriel said. "Sadly there is no time for me to ask my staff as volunteers for you to direct. I would say continue to work on your cooking and flavors and prepare a few of your simpler recipes in case others will be needing to cook them."
He looked at Harry seriously. "And when you are in the position to be in command of others, remember that it is your name and reputation on the line. Compromise, to a degree, is acceptable. Encouraged even. But if they refuse to work with you, it is better to work alone than to depend on those who will work against you."
"Yes Chef," Harry nodded.
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"He's not wrong," Diglin said. "The head chef is the Head Chef. You listen or you leave, willingly or not."
Harry was in Gringotts Main One, practicing his plating. Diglin was there along with Dee, Rubi, and Emmie and they were also joined by Leomattok and Rocko who had come to visit and help Harry.
"Well done," Rocko said approvingly, admiring the plate of caprese that Harry had assembled. The slices of tomato were layered with slices of creamy white mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of dark balsamic vinegar and pale yellow-green olive oil ringed the plate with leaves of basil carefully arranged around the other ingredients. "You are improving."
"Thank you, Chef Rocko," Harry smiled. "Have you two had to deal with people like that?"
"All the time," Diglin said and Rocko nodded in agreement. "You get the people that think they know anything and you have to hammer some sense into them. Some get the hint, others don't. And if you come and don't work right, you don't stay."
"You have to put personal feelings aside sometimes," Rocko said. "I have unfortunately had to let go of individuals I liked on a personal level. Some I was able to find more suitable employment elsewhere. Others I was happy to see go and even more happy being the instrument of their displeasure."
"Not just in kitchens and restaurants either," Leomattok said. He happily took a helping of the caprese salad and ate hungrily with impeccable manners. "Any business is like that. And sometimes you must remind yourself that it is in fact a business."
"That's tough," Harry said. He sat down and after a moment, helped Emmie climb up and she settled in his lap happily. He pulled a plate of the caprese closer for her to eat.
"Business is business and it is cruel and impartial," Dee said, smiling at the sight of Emmie and Harry together. "You have to be tough to a certain degree to make it. To acquire gold, one must be as cold and as unfeeling as it."
"There's degrees to that of course," Diglin said. "And hopefully you'll be able to keep to a level you're comfortable with."
"Makes sense," Harry mused. "I've seen Chef run Main One a lot and I'm not there yet. I don't really inspire respect like he does."
"We respect you very much," Dee smiled. "But you're right, it's a different kind of respect."
"A mark of a leader is one that inspires respect, yes," Leomattok said. "A leader must be responsible for others and must try to find compromise when it can be while not compromising their ethics or ideals. They must also have the strength to deal when compromise cannot be obtained."
"Never thought about how complicated things can be," Harry said wryly. "It's not as simple as just cooking."
The others chuckled at that. "No, it isn't," Diglin said, amused. "And it definitely depends on the situation. I'm lucky where I don't have to worry about rent or space and that I have access to a lot, but then again, I have to manage other parts of the bank and have to sit in on director meetings and the like. Some chefs own multiple places and have to balance the care of them."
"And if you are a chef that works for an owner, you do so at their whim," Rocko said. "So you do not have to worry about certain things while having to consider others. There are many stories where the owner and the chef fight and things end terribly."
"You own your main restaurant, right?" Harry asked.
Rocko nodded. "I do. I also manage the kitchen side of a few smaller places, working with others."
"Is that what you wanted to do when you decided to be a chef?" Harry asked.
"Not originally," Rocko said. His smile turned sharp. "I was given an opportunity to stage at a human restaurant but the chef there was not happy about it at all. They allowed me to work there but made it a miserable experience. After one particularly terrible and insulting day, I swore I would have my revenge. I worked hard, managed to found one of the first goblin owned and ran restaurants in the city, right across the street from that place. It took me years, but I eventually stole all their customers by basically doing everything they did, but better. In financial ruin and desperation, they sold me the restaurant, thinking I would keep it running and allow them to stay there."
"Judging from your smile, that didn't happen," Harry remarked.
"I burnt it down myself while they watched," Rocko said smugly. "I turned it into a small garden and it improved the view from my restaurant so I won in many different ways."
"So motivated by spite then," Harry smiled while the other goblins laughed appreciatively.
"Like most things," Rocko nodded. "Well seasoned and savored as well."
"What happened to the owner and chef?" Diglin asked.
"I believe they went to work for a company," Rocko said with a negligent shrug. "I do not remember anymore. I got what I wanted."
"Have you a lot of experience at directing others in the kitchen?" Leomattok asked.
"Not really. I don't think Mr. Abe counts as being directed and neither do the house elves. I've been teaching at my school's cooking club," Harry said. "As Junior Sous, I can sort of tell the Crew what to do and they do do it, most of the time."
"With a lot of chatter," Diglin said with a smile. "They probably do it without push back because they like you and not because of your position. If it was coming from a human they didn't know or like, they'd definitely would barely do it unless I specifically told them otherwise. And it'd be marginally better from another goblin."
"That's because the Crew are all hard-headed and stubborn like their chef," Dee said fondly.
"And Dad rules them with an iron fist," Rubi laughed.
"I'm not that bad," Diglin protested.
"Harry, is he that bad?" Dee asked.
"Chef and the Crew are great," Harry said with utter loyalty. "Chef's tough but fair."
"Thank you," Diglin said, preening and giving his wife and daughter a look of smug satisfaction.
"Blink twice if you need help," Rubi whispered loudly, making them laugh.
"You could always go the other route to inspire competence," Rocko said. "Bribery is a form of cooperation and compromise. It just so happens that it can backfire."
"A bribery is a lien of ownership," Leomattok sniffed. "If one accepts a bribe, they are more likely to accept another when it least conveniences you."
"There's the danger," Rocko nodded.
"I'd rather not go that route," Harry nodded. "I guess I'll just have to keep an open mind and hope for the best when it comes to the challenge."
"Probably for the best," Diglin agreed.
"Until then, keep practicing your cooking, your flavors, your arrangement, and your plating," Rocko said. "Come on then, we still have time. Let's make something else."
"What should I make, Emmie?" Harry asked, looking down.
Emmie looked up and scrunched her face up in deep contemplation. "Something with bacon!"
"Sounds good to me," Harry smiled. He got up and handed her off to Dee. "Has Hedwig rubbed off on her?"
"Probably a little," Rubi laughed. "She does love bacon more now."
"Bacon is good!" Emmie said.
"It sure is," Harry agreed. "Hmm, something with bacon. Oh, let's try that dish again," Harry said. He started water to boil and selected pancetta, eggs, Pecorino Romano cheese, olive oil, and black pepper. He sliced the pancetta into small strips and started cooking them slowly in a tall walled pan, rendering the rich oil out. When the water started to boil, he threw in spaghetti after heavily salting the water. Eggs were beaten with extra yolks and he grated the hard cheese into a fine snowy pile, and mixed it with the beaten egg and ground black pepper.
"The compendium was very well done by the way," Rubi said. "Greatly enjoyed reading it."
"They really did do a good job," Dee agreed.
"That one was especially happy seeing you wearing those nice casual clothes," Rocko grinned, pointing at Leomattok.
"Of course I was and am," Leomattok said proudly. "You wear them well and I'm sure it made an impact."
"Miss Edwina liked them, said they were very nice," Harry smiled as he continued to cook the pancetta in the pan. "I figured since it was an interview, I should look my best."
He tested a noodle and liked the texture, taking the rest out. He reserved some of the hot pasta water and put the noodles into the pan, coating them in the fragrant pancetta fat. Taking the pan off the heat, he added the egg mixture and stirred the noodles vigorously, working swiftly. The eggs cooked in the heat of the noodles and the constant motion aerated it, turning the cheese and egg mixture into a creamy sauce. He then added the pasta water slowly and stirred, watching the sauce thin out slightly and becoming silky and glossy. When it reached the texture he wanted, after tasting it, he twirled a portion around a long fork and put it on a relatively shallow plate. The pasta glistened in the light before he added more cracked black pepper and grated cheese on top. With a pair of long tweezers, he moved some of the pancetta around and looked at it all around before nodding.
"Marvelous!" Leomattok praised and the others nodded in agreement.
Rocko used a fork to twirl up some of the finished carbonara and ate it delicately. "Mmm, very good," he said with a smile. "Sauce is glossy and rich and creamy, good amount of black pepper, noodles are a little past what I like but not enough to ruin the dish, pancetta is crisp and meaty. Excellent! And very good plating."
"The height is to reach the divine," Harry repeated, earning another smile. He portioned out the rest of the carbonara and everyone tucked into the pasta.
"Mmm, I like this," Emmie said, wiggling happily as she ate.
"It's really good," Rubi said, eating hungrily.
"Amazing how it is with how simple the ingredients are," Dee said.
"Which makes it all the easier to screw up and do a bad job of it," Diglin said. "Good job."
Harry ate his own portion and enjoyed the flavors of the dish as well as the company that ate with him.
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"What are you doing?" Pansy asked, staring at Harry.
"Frying a hamburger," Harry said with a grin.
"I see that, but why?" Pansy asked, laughing.
Harry nodded at Luna who sat at the counter and was bouncing from eagerness. "Luna was helping me with some color theory and decoration tips and when I asked what she wanted to eat, she remembered asking about if it was possible to fry a hamburger. So we're trying it."
Pansy watched with fascination as a small burger was completely put into batter and Harry gingerly put it into the pot of oil. It crackled and sizzled as the batter began to fry. "That looks incredible but I don't know if it is a good incredible or not," she laughed.
"Me neither," Harry said. "I went with a slider because it's a smaller burger and I figured it would be easier to fry. The burger is already cooked so I only need to think about having the batter cook and it'll be done."
"I'm so excited," Luna said with the biggest smile.
Harry fished the fried burger out using a slotted ladle and chopsticks. He let the oil drain from the finished fried product and blotted it with a paper towel before putting it down in front of Luna. "Here you go! Be careful, I have no idea what it's going to be like."
Luna eagerly cut into it with fork and knife and popped the bite into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. "It's very odd," she said at last. "Not unpleasant, but not entirely pleasant either." She sliced it into more pieces and offered it to the others.
"I can't decide either," Pansy said, chewing.
"It's very strange," Harry said. "Let's try a different tactic." He put a breaded patty into the oil and watched it fry. "There's a Japanese dish called menchi katsu which is a mince cutlet and fried. I bet that'll be good. It's essentially a fancier patty." When it finished frying, he took it out and let it dry while he prepared the bun. A bit of mayo, butter, and some thinly sliced cabbage went onto the fried menchi katsu and he served it to Luna.
She sliced it up to share before taking a bite out of her piece. "Oh this is very nice!" she said happily.
"I like this a lot," Pansy smiled as she ate. "Much better."
"I agree," Harry said, chewing and swallowing happily. "That works."
"I'm glad we tried frying the whole burger though," Luna said. "Now we know and I have faith that you could make it tasty one day." She clapped her hands. "Now for the other?"
"You got it," Harry smiled.
"You are not!" Pansy said, laughing as she watched Harry dip a slice of pizza into batter.
"Luna wanted it too!" Harry said, gently slipping the battered pizza slice into the oil.
"Why Luna?" Pansy asked, still laughing.
"Why not?! We don't know until we try!" Luna beamed.
"There is truth to that," Pansy smiled. "At least it looks fairly appetizing," she remarked when Harry took it out of the oil.
"Yeah the whole fried burger just looked concerning," Harry grinned. He put it in front of Luna who once more cut it up and took a bite of the front part of the slice.
"Oooh hot!" she exclaimed, fanning her mouth. "Very melty cheese."
"I'm having conflicted feelings about this," Pansy said as she ate.
"Me too. It feels like it should be bad and it's not amazing but I kinda like it?" Harry said as he ate.
"Fun once in a while, but it doesn't add too much," Luna concluded. She blinked a few times. "Can we do another slice?"
"Sure but I thought we just said it doesn't add anything and it's not amazing," Harry said as he put another slice into the batter.
"No, but perhaps we won't get much from it as someone else might," Luna said.
"What do you mean by that?" Pansy asked when Harry put the second slice into the oil. Right then, the door opened.
"Are you frying pizza?!" Blaise yelled, staring at the sight. "Why?!" He gaped as Luna, Harry, and Pansy dissolved into laughter. "This isn't funny!"
"Bless you Luna," Pansy chortled, hugging her friend.
"I never said someone else would get something positive out of it," Luna said, giggling and hugging Pansy back.
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odonnellzoo99 - Edwina surprised me with how much fun she is and how 'normal' she is, given her Eld status. The best defense is a good offense I suppose.
DOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - The goblin version is probably a lot rougher than others which fits the bill.
Hands Off MY Wolfie - They're still at school after all, didn't want to completely neglect that and it was fun to see them be kids again. Students rather. Size matters not. Sometimes anyways. Thanks for reading.
TheSphynx - Yup. A worthy person is someone who sees the power and is not tempted by it.
Guest - You will enjoy today's chapter.
poka - I like to think that Edwina is just like Drake in many ways, and being hilariously petty is one of them. It'll still last a while yet but sadly, the end is coming.
justanfanboy - I also prefer to have a bank of chapters, I don't like writing and then immediately posting.
Doombreed - Hope all is well with you too.
eleonor1 - Thank you.
TheMatze99 - I have not decided on what I am doing after. I'm focused on this and maintaining Extended right now.
Lady of the Snakes - He's not important enough for that, but they would certainly do terrible things if they could.
nypism - Thank you.
alix33 - All owls know to treat Hedwig with respect or else.
Jaysto - Thank you.
Wentley - I really need to get a steak soon. Been writing too much about them and not eating any.