I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
A Taste of Magic
159th Course – Rounding Out
"'While I was not there for the first time Mister Potter made pies for the competition, I can say that this time the pies were as good as any you would find anywhere in Britain, and honestly better than many I have had,'" Pansy read. "'It was lovely to see something British be presented to the international community in such a positive light. It was unashamedly what it was: something comforting and honest and very delicious. It held its own against the other two and while I agree that the decision could have gone any way, it was still heartening to see that the pies had it and that Mister Potter would be moving on.'"
"This reporter sounds a lot nicer," Millicent said. "Fucking finally."
"And he's not laying it on thick," Parvati said. "You'd think they might do it given what Banters did to you before."
"I'm happier he isn't," Harry said honestly. "And I met him during the challenge event and he was nice and polite."
"He would be almost fatally stupid if he wasn't," Blaise snorted. "Seeing what happened to the last one that tore you down."
"Well that one did write an even ruder article after the skewering he got from Rita the first time," Padma said.
"He was actually fatally stupid," Blaise said and no one disagreed with him.
"It feels better that he didn't lay it on," Hermione said. "Seems more sincere and objective."
"Anything else in the article?" Aster asked, holding a towel in front of her face like a shield.
Pansy smiled wryly at her little sister. "Nothing of note. Just some more comments on how the whole challenge was, how nice it was to be a part of an international event, and a sincere appreciation for Harry's efforts and wishing him luck on the finale. All in all, quite pleasant."
"That's good," Harry sighed. "I guess I'm still a little wary of articles and things about me, despite Rita being great and Miss Edwina being nice."
"No one blames you for that," Daphne said with a very light and genteel snort.
"I still think you should have won the challenge," Marigold said grumpily.
"Why didn't you win?" Clover asked grumpily.
Harry shrugged lightly. "Celine's galettes were better I think. They looked really good and it's not easy getting that perfect runny yolk, not to mention getting it on so many orders."
"But you had very good teamwork with the person that helped you," Blaise argued. "And had a solid theme."
"True," Harry said. "But it is a cooking competition and if the other stuff was close, then it makes sense that the better food won. I'm just glad the pies were a lot better this time and better received."
"He did win the vote of the crowd though," Sue said. "That says a lot there."
"Yeah, shows that people like Harry for being him," Parvati said. "And that he's not one of those fancy types that are so haughty and all that." She made a snooty hand gesture at the Slytherins.
"Oh but he could be," Daphne smiled. "And he would be amazing at it."
"I do like the fancy clothes here and there," Harry smiled.
"That's how they get you!" Parvati gasped. "Sartorial seduction! Ohhhh wait, that actually makes a lot of se-EEK!" She fell off her stool with a shriek when Lavender pushed her very hard.
"Oh I'm sorry!" Lavender cried insincerely as others laughed. "I tripped! Let me bandage you up." She waved her wand and a long length of fabric wound all around Parvati, rolling her up.
"Oh I like this," Padma said, poking a wiggling and wriggling Parvati that looked like a very colorful mummy.
"Aren't you supposed to be helping correct improper treatment?!" Parvati asked indignantly, flopping about with her legs tied together and her arms bound to her body.
"Not a healer yet," Padma said and continued to poke her sister.
"Mother was really proud of you saying you remembered what Pansy did for the TriWizard festival," Aster said as others joined in on the Parvati poking.
Harry smiled and returned Pansy's very fond embrace. "It's the truth!"
"Did you really have the Patroni help you delivering pies?" Hermione asked, smiling.
"I did! Gwendolyn made a comment about attracting people and I remembered that Auntie Ari made a comment about looking cool with magic, like how Mr. Fontaine and Grandfather do too. I'm not that confident with the flame whip to deliver pies or things like that, and the next thing I knew, the Patroni were out and helping." He smiled at the silver snowy owls as they roosted on his head and shoulders. "They're the best, they even started doing some really silly things as the day passed."
"Like what?" Tracey asked eagerly.
"They did a lot of dancing to bring others but then they did things like this and it's hilarious." He smiled as the three Patroni fluttered and landed on a table. They watched as Harry dropped a few of the firepepper pods on the table and they looked at them with exaggerated care. They alternated bending low and standing tall, narrowing and opening their eyes at the little pods. One took an experimental peck and the other two looked at her, waiting for a reaction. After a moment, the Patroni that pecked swelled alarmingly, making a very round owl shaped form before she spat out a large blast of silver fire, flying into the air from the force of breathing the fireball. She then landed and deflated and swayed back and forth with wisps of silver smoke coming out of her beak and the other two fell onto their backs and kicked and flapped their wings wildly, barking in obvious amusement.
Everyone laughed uproariously with them, enjoying the silly spectacle. It continued with the first Patroni glaring irately at her laughing compatriots and spat another bit of silvery fire at one and her tail feathers caught on fire. She ran around hooting with alarm while the third tried to put the fire out by flapping her wings, making the fire grow and the former watched on, hooting mockingly. They then squabbled with one another when the fire went out, flying around each other and kicking, before bowing dramatically to the adoring crowd of watchers.
"I really want to learn how to cast it now," Hermione said, clapping as the Patroni continued to bow and curtsey, soaking up the attention and adoration.
"I don't think most Patroni are going to be like them though," Tracey said.
"Probably not," Hermione agreed, "but it would be so cool."
"They are the best," Harry smiled as the Patroni fluttered to him and roosted on him once more, looking smugly satisfied and cheeping lovingly at him.
-0-
Lavender sighed and sniffled a little. She rubbed her nose, not opening her eyes, and tried to get rid of the tickling pressure on her nose. She felt something press on her nose and cheek again and she growled sleepily. "Clover…or Marigold…or both of you, go away and let me sleep." She rolled over and tried to pull the covers over her face, frowning when they would not move easily and she started to wake up as she felt something wriggling under the covers with her. "What the-OW!"
Full awake now, due to the bite and hearing the annoyed hiss, she moved the covers and blinked sleepily at a very irritated looking Sunny. "I'm sorry!" she gasped, reaching down and pulling Sunny up and hugging her close. "I didn't know it was you!"
Sunny stared flatly at her before biting her hand again, glaring at her balefully with her teeth set firmly into Lavender's skin without breaking it.
"Ow ow ow okay okay I'm sorry!" Lavender repeated, petting the kneazle some more. Sunny finally relented and purred softly at the apology and the petting. Lavender looked over at the clock on her nightstand. "Still a bit early on a Saturday. What brings you by?"
In reply, Sunny lifted her chin and Lavender saw the bit of parchment tied to her collar. Lavender untied it and opened it, smiling broadly as she read the message. "Oh yay!" She climbed out of bed and hurriedly got ready as Sunny luxuriated in the warm spot Lavender left behind. To further make amends, Lavender tied a golden-yellow ribbon around Sunny's collar, making her purr all the louder. After she had changed and gotten ready, Lavender left her room and Gryffindor tower altogether, carrying Sunny with her.
"Hi!" Lavender said brightly, walking into the Uncommon Room.
"Hi there!" Harry finished putting some things in a basket as she walked in, smiling at her. "And hi to you too," he said when Sunny jumped out of Lavender's arms and onto him. He hugged her while she nuzzled him. "Got my message then?"
"I did, after she bit me for thinking she was my sisters who weren't letting me sleep in," Lavender said wryly.
"Poor Sunny, ignored despite helping," Harry cooed and Sunny nodded dolefully, giving him an exceedingly sad look.
"I apologized and gave you a new ribbon!" Lavender cried. She shook her head as Sunny gave her a superior look. After some more soothing, she took a bundle of treats Harry offered and brushed against his legs, then Lavender's, before leaving the Uncommon Room with tail held high.
"I knew we planned on going to Hogsmeade anyways eventually today, but thought it would be nice to make a date of it," Harry said. "So I woke up early to make a picnic basket. We can shop a bit first, then study and eat and relax together. How does that sound?"
"Perfect," Lavender said. She threaded her arm through his and kissed him sweetly. "You're planning on working at the Hog's Head like usual later, right?"
"I was thinking about it," Harry nodded.
"Then we'll go together when you do early prep, and I'll take some time to bring our stuff back and get some extra exercise in before coming back with whoever else wants to come for dinner," Lavender said brightly.
"Sounds great to me," Harry said, his smile matching hers.
The couple walked to Hogsmeade, eschewing the carriages since it was a lovely day. Their conversation meandered and rambled, no real purpose or end point in it as they simply enjoyed being with each other. They visited a few different stores, replenishing parchment and ink and Harry got a new quill and tipped his stylus while Lavender looked at a few new notebooks for studying.
By now, Harry was a welcome sight and presence in the village. The citizens there greeted him warmly, exchanging genuine warmth and friendliness that was heartily returned. Everyone congratulated him on his recent win and showed support for the coming end to the competition.
"Where do you want to study?" Lavender asked after leaving Scrivenshafts.
"Oh I know a great place, follow me." Harry led her down a side street that the students never went down and she exclaimed with delight when they came to a small garden park that was nestled between streets. "It's a small park that the people who live nearby maintain. They come here for a bit of privacy and to relax," he explained.
"It's so pretty," Lavender said. "Can we be here?"
He nodded. "They said it would be fine. I asked and they trust us to clean up after ourselves and not bring a lot of people here and cause a ruckus." He laid out a blanket against a low wall under a tree and they sat against it comfortably, enjoying the gentle warmth and fresh air.
The morning passed into the noon. They studied fairly diligently, breaking off to chat about something unrelated for moments before getting back to it. Harry had more to prepare for since he was taking more N.E.W.T.s classes than her, but they both managed to get through what they wanted to before they stopped for lunch.
Lavender smiled as they laid the food out. "Oooh, kaarage! And onigiri and tamagaki?"
"Tamagoyaki," Harry nodded. "Thought a Japanese lunch would be nice. I also made takoyaki too, the octopus balls. Not as good fresh from the pan but should still be tasty. And plenty of pickles and some barley tea."
"Mmm, they are good," Lavender said, chewing on a takoyaki. "I like the sauce and the small green stuff. It's nice! Everything's nice and easy to eat with your hands. Ooh and strawberry and cream sandwiches! You're the best!" She kissed him and laughed. "Sorry! Left some sauce on your cheek," she said, wiping his face clean with a napkin.
"I don't mind at all," he said back. The food disappeared rapidly and they leaned back against the wall, cuddling with one another.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"Pretty full," Harry said, grinning when she poked him in the side. "Pretty good overall. N.E.W.T.s are going to be hard but doable. I made up for the pies in the competition and that was really satisfying. I'm in the finale and I never thought I would be, so there's that."
"And you made a couple of friends," she said. "Kaito and Gwendolyn sound nice."
"They're nice," he confirmed. He sighed softly. "Celine's been pretty…professional. Prickly even."
"Can't be friends with everyone you compete against," Lavender said prosaically. "Is she pretty?"
"She's pretty good at what she does, actually she's an amazing chef," he replied, smiling at her small huff and hugging her close. "She's pretty but nowhere near as beautiful as you." He felt warm when she hugged him back very hard. "Besides, you've seen her picture from the compendium and the articles in the paper and the magazine."
"I know, but I just got a little insecure," she said honestly. "And I know you'd be honest with me so thought I'd ask."
"She's actually really intimidating," Harry said. "She's got that intensity to her where I feel like I'm on the cutting board when she's focusing on me."
"And I'm not intimidating?" Lavender asked archly.
"You are when you're holding a needle and shears," Harry said and they laughed together. "I get the feeling she doesn't like me."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, just from passing comments here and there. We haven't really talked to be fair and she was nice to apologize after the sauce challenge for what her countrymen were doing." He sighed. "I hope I didn't do anything to offend her."
"You probably didn't," Lavender said. "When you're focused on the task, you get a little intense too, but not in a bad way."
"I do?" he asked, surprised.
She nodded. "Like, you're focused too and it's clear that it's all you're thinking about in the moment. It's very cool and you're very attractive when you're like that," she added, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
He laughed and they kissed. "Huh, I didn't know that."
"But not intimidating," she repeated. She smiled and snuggled into him. "You're as intimidating as a stuffed animal."
"What kind of stuffed animal, like a bear?" he asked.
She hummed. "More like a bunny. Something soft and squishy."
"But like an intimidating soft and squishy?"
"How about a professionally soft and squishy?"
"I'll take it," he said as she giggled. "Well, like you said, not everyone can be friends, but I can be friendly with most people."
"Until they prove they don't deserve it," she said.
He nodded then rested his chin in her hair. "How are you feeling?"
"Warm and full," she replied and they laughed. "Pretty good. I'm not expecting Outstandings on all my tests but I'm pretty sure I'll pass them all and get a couple of Exceeds Expectations here and there. I'm hoping for one Outstanding."
"I think you can get there for Charms and Enchanting," Harry said confidently.
"Thanks! I think I can for Charms maybe, so I'm trying hard for it. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with everything else. Parv and I have been working on a business plan and both our parents like it. They might be helping us a little in investing and helping us to start," she said.
"That's great! Add me too, in the investing thing."
"You want to take the risk?" she asked, looking up at him. "A lot of businesses fail, you know."
"I do, I hear a lot about it from the goblins," Harry said.
"Oh right, you probably do." She sighed a little. "I guess I was a little worried that you'd think I expected you to help and all that and what if things go wrong."
"You're not thinking of breaking up with me, right?" he asked, voice uncertain.
"I worked too hard to get you," she said, hugging him tighter. "With me being my own worst enemy I might add! I'm not giving up at all."
"Oh thank goodness," Harry said with genuine relief, making them laugh. "I know you would never expect me to help like that. But I can help like that and want to, really."
She buried her face into his chest and he imagined he could feel her smile against him. He felt her lips move. "I love you too," he said into her hair.
"And I'll help you with the restaurant too," she said, sighing happily.
"Probably shouldn't be in the same building though, unless we brush up on stain removing charms and spells," Harry mused.
"Probably a good idea to know those anyways," she giggled. "Besides, a little distance between them will be good. Daddy and Mum always said it's nice to have a little distance for personal time and I'll need the exercise to work off all the tasty food."
"Things are going to be great, aren't they?" he asked.
"I know it," she said confidently.
"From divination?" he asked cheekily.
She climbed up to look down at him. "No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm going to make it happen, one way or another."
"Sounds great to me," he said briefly before her lips met his.
-0-
"Is Master Abe feeling well?" Nillie asked.
Aberforth looked at her. "I'm alright," he said, slightly confused. "Why?"
"Master Abe is not complaining," Willie said as he walked past.
"I don't complain a lot," Aberforth said defensively.
"But Harry is here and you is not complaining even though you like it when he is here," Nillie said accusingly. She and Willie burst out laughing at Aberforth's look of indignation.
"I get picked on when I complain, get picked on when I don't," he complained sourly, throwing a towel at the laughing house elves. "I don't complain about everything! I can go for hours without complaining!"
Harry smiled when Aberforth looked at him beadily. "I'm not complaining," Harry smiled, enjoying Aberforth's huff of annoyance. "Your complaints never bothered me. It was actually kinda comforting to hear you talk about stuff, when I was getting used to being here."
"First time it's ever been said that it was comforting," Aberforth snorted. He poured out a measure of ale and put it in front of Harry. "Here."
"Oh this is nice," Harry said, sipping from the glass. "Citrusy."
"It's a hefeweizen," Aberforth said. "German origin, wheat beer, yeast forward. Takes brighter notes better."
"I like it," Harry said. "Thought I shouldn't be drinking in the kitchen."
"Not during service and not overdoing it," Aberforth said, snorting at Harry's smile. "Besides, you actually like to taste things and we can chat about it so it's nice."
"Speaking of, I brought you something." He pulled several bottles from his bag and gave them to Aberforth. "Mushroom beer."
"Oh that sounds good." The older man popped one of the bottles open and poured it into a glass, looking at the deep dark brown beer with interest. "It does smell like mushrooms," Aberforth said, taking an experimental sniff. "Not in a bad way."
"Chef and I were talking about making a stew with it," Harry said.
Aberforth licked his lips after sipping. "That's pretty good. Not too strong, slightly bitter, definitely mushroom flavor. Yeah that would be good in a stew. Thanks Kid." He drank more as he watched Harry chop things. "You looked good up there by the way, cooking against the other two. Good job."
"Thanks! I'm glad the pies worked better this time."
"Yeah, nice that it worked out," Aberforth agreed. Aberforth picked up a knife and started cleaning and chopping as well.
"Do you think I still have a chance?" Harry asked after some companionable silence.
"I always thought you had one, a small one, but had one," Aberforth said honestly. "After seeing you cook against them and trying your food against theirs, it's a better chance." He looked at Harry. "But you kind of had a familiar environment on that challenge so that made it better for you."
Harry nodded at that, agreeing.
"Their food wasn't that much better than yours," Aberforth continued. "And you won the other challenges by being who you are. But it'll depend on what the last challenge is and how you'll go against whatsherface. She's a pro, you can tell from just looking at her."
He put the chopped vegetables in one of the containers and started another set. "So yeah, I don't know honestly. You still got a decent chance 'cause you're a good cook and you're a good kid, but it'll still be a fight and the odds are against you."
Harry sighed and nodded. "That's fair."
"Rita said it wasn't necessarily about winning, right?" Aberforth asked. He continued to work as Harry nodded. "There's another part to that too."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, intrigued.
"You can decide on how you lose," Aberforth said.
"Like…with good sportsmanship?" Harry asked.
Aberforth snorted. "Well, yeah, that," he said, genuinely amused. "I mean you could lose by quitting, or throwing the whole thing altogether." He gave Harry a stern look. "Don't do that though. It's not fair to you or to the person you're competing against, much less the people who got eliminated."
"I wouldn't consider it," Harry said.
"Good. But there'll be times where you can't win it all or win at all. That the odds are too high and the circumstances too much against you. So you pick one thing you can do, one way you can win for yourself. If you can do that, say you tried your hardest, and are satisfied with what you did do, that's a fine way to lose."
Aberforth drank deep of his bottle of mushroom beer. "Just because you lose doesn't mean you lost it all."
"Huh, I kinda like that," Harry mused.
"Al would say something about losing with your head held high and with grace. Ari would say that you winning something meant you spite the other person so they didn't win it all." He grinned when Harry laughed.
"And how do you look at it?" Harry asked.
"In the end, you have to live with yourself," Aberforth said after a moment's thought. "You're the one that will hold you to whatever level of accountability that only you can determine. If you can go to bed knowing you did your best and you walked away having learned something, then it wasn't a complete loss. If you can wake up the next day and do better than you did the day before, you didn't lose everything."
He looked at Harry soberly. "The day you wake up and can't do that, that's when you've really lost."
"Trying counts, right?" Harry asked.
Aberforth nodded. "Trying counts."
"I like that," Harry said with a small smile.
"Good," Aberforth grunted.
"Auntie Ari sure likes to do things with spite, huh?" Harry asked.
"She really does," Aberforth chuckled. "She says it's better to lose out of spite than win with none sometimes. And don't let Al fool you. He can be very petty and spite driven too."
"Really?" Harry asked, smiling. "I can't see him like that."
"Trust me, he really can," Aberforth said, chuckling knowingly. "He's just good at hiding it."
"How about you?" Harry asked cheekily.
Aberforth chuckled more. "Depends on how annoyed I am."
"Maybe I should try doing things out of spite more too," Harry mused.
Aberforth's snort was deep and rich. "Kid, I mean this sincerely, but you're as spiteful as a cinnamon roll."
"How are cinnamon rolls spiteful?" Harry asked.
"They aren't," Aberforth said, walking into the pantry.
"I can be spiteful," Harry said. "Nillie, Willie, I can be spiteful, right? Hey, why are you two laughing? I'm being serious!"
-0-0-0-
TheSphynx - I'm glad you.
DOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - It's something they do in other shows for good reason.
Hands Off MY Wolfie - I thought it would be really satisfying that way. Seeing how Harry has done similar things before, and how he adapts to the current challenge by using what he learned before. Yeah and Kaito didn't have a bad teammate either, just a bit too different in skill set. Thanks for reading.
odonnellzoo99 - I was hoping people would like that, showing the subtle teamwork ability between Harry and Gwendolyn. I also thought it would be cool to show Harry's growth as in using what he learned before from Luna and Pansy and learning from his past mistake and redeeming himself.
poka - Unfortunately it was Kaito's time and I hope people like what happens after. He didn't do badly, he just didn't do as well as the others and that happens. I thought the Patroni having fun would also be nice.
l4w - Apple pies are tasty.
alix33 - Patroni pie delivery is the best pie delivery.
Wentley - Yeah, she took advantage of the situation by adding to her efforts with another technically sound product, and was hoping that and how good her food was pushed her slightly in front, but Harry's was more appealing to the crowd so that's why he won fan favorite. He put more emphasis on everything else and her food was just a bit more technically better than his.