I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
A Taste of Magic
70th Course – The Uncommon Room
"You look happy, Professor," Harry said with a big smile, "and for you, that's saying something."
It was true. Flitwick's usual expression was a smile that spoke of genuine happiness and delight. The smile he had now was from ear to ear and it was full of good cheer. "I'm very happy right now," Flitwick confirmed. He threw his arms wide at the bustling clubroom. "I've never had so many people in Household Charms before! Not even when the club was first founded!"
The first club meeting of the second term was a busy one. Not only were the usuals there, Harry and his friends, there were new Hogwarts students as well. Mostly first and second years with a scattering of others. There were even visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, the friends and acquaintances that Harry had made at the end of the last term. People chatted and laughed and the majority of the newcomers were listening to the original members as they demonstrated spells and things they have learned from being in the club.
Things had started off on a positive note and had only gotten busier. Susan had appeared and she had asked if it would be okay for her to return. She had apologized to Harry, Sue, and Pansy and Millie for her absence, explaining it was due to the slight by Draco, which meant Slytherin despite him representing Sanguis, and a desire to show solidarity with Cedric. They had forgiven her easily, understanding why, and while she had goggled at Daphne and Tracey and Blaise's presence, Susan had jumped back in whole heartedly.
Then the new students had arrived, surprising everyone and it was a little awkward at first before Flitwick appeared and got things organized.
"I'm surprised that it got so popular all of a sudden," Harry said.
"Apparently, you are responsible," Flitwick smiled.
"What did I do?" Harry asked, suddenly concerned.
Flitwick chuckled. "Your performance at the Festival of course. You made quite the impression with your cooking being so open to the masses. Most of the students at Hogwarts are unaware that your recipes have been showing up on the tables. Tasting your food directly, seeing you cook there, drew their eye. Others are here because of Miss Brown and her sewing, while others liked the teamwork you and your friends had. Look, some are even interested in Miss Davis and Mister Zabini's dancing and Miss Greengrass' musical talent."
"Wow, didn't mean for that to happen," Harry grinned.
"Happy accident I'm sure, and a welcome one," Flitwick chuckled. "I didn't think we'd have the visiting students either."
"I'm sort of friends with a few of them," Harry said, nodding at Fleur and her group and at Viktor and his friends.
"Quite impressive, but it shouldn't be, you have a talent for making friends," Flitwick said proudly.
"I didn't do anything special though," Harry protested.
"You were being yourself, which is quite special," Flitwick said solemnly.
Eventually the club came to an end and the majority of the people left in good spirits. Harry and his friends stayed behind to help clean up. "That was a lot of fun," Lavender said brightly.
"Yeah, lots of new people," Parvati said. "I'll admit though, kinda sad we weren't able to just sit around and eat and all."
"Yeah," Harry said, slightly wistful. "But still, more people in the club is good. Means it'll keep going well."
Flitwick listened in on their conversation and hummed thoughtfully to himself.
-0-
"Hello there Harry."
"Hello Professor," Harry said, smiling up at Dumbledore.
"Do you have a few moments?" Dumbledore asked. "Splendid, come with me please," he said at Harry's nod. They walked down the hallway at a leisurely pace. "Thank you again for coming over during your holiday to work at the Hog's Head."
"Oh it was genuinely my pleasure. And we had to have our Christmas Tea before that," Harry said brightly. "I'd hate for us not to do that. I like that tradition."
Dumbledore's smile was broad and warm. "I would miss it very much as well. I am glad we have that tradition and we were able to continue it." He had been very delighted when he was summoned to the Hog's Head that day. When he arrived, he discovered a large tea spread laid out and he enjoyed a very nice time with Harry, Aberforth, Ariana, Fawkes, Hedwig, Willie, and Nillie. He had stayed for the rest of the evening and night while the Hog's Head was incredibly busy with Harry there.
"How are things?" Harry asked. "You look a bit tired."
"I am a bit tired," Dumbledore admitted. "Thank you for asking. I have had a lot on my plate with ensuring the regular work to keep the school going as well as all the extra work for the Tournament. Not to mention there have been some legal things to take care of with the appearance of Sanguis Verus."
"It's a little suspicious that it just appeared like that, right?" Harry asked.
Dumbledore nodded. "Quite suspicious." He shook his head. "Let us save that for another time. I do not want to let that sour what I have in store for you. Ah, here we are." They stopped at a door and Dumbledore unlocked it with a key. "After you."
Harry entered the room and looked around with interest. Lanterns flickered into brilliance when he walked in, revealing a large room. A tiny hearth sat against one wall and the rest of the space was open and clean. Desks and comfortable chairs and a few bookcases were on one side and the other had been turned into a small kitchen. An oven sat against the wall next to a stove with six hobs on top. A line of racks held cooking things and plates and cutlery and a large pantry cupboard sat beside a very long and deep ice box. "Wow! What's this?" Harry asked, awed.
"Professor Flitwick was telling me about how the Household Charms club is on the rise," Dumbledore said, looking pleased that Harry was pleased. "And while he was happy about that, he was a little worried that you and your friends would find it difficult to continue to use the room for your efforts in events and other things. I agreed and after some planning, we set this room aside for you and your friends."
"That's so much," Harry gasped. "Really?"
"Really. I, and Professor Flitwick and the other Heads, trust you," Dumbledore said seriously. "Now, there will be some rules for this."
"Yes Sir," Harry said, looking attentive.
"You will be responsible for what happens in here. Of course everyone you choose to be here will have to be responsible for their actions as well, but you will be inherently responsible. Also, you may not, obviously, break curfew in here." Dumbledore's lips twitched at that. "Returning to your common rooms after curfew from here will not be an acceptable excuse."
"Yes Sir, that makes complete sense," Harry said.
"The Heads and I will be able to enter the room as needed, but you will have the main key as well as a few keys for others. Make sure you trust the ones you give them to." Dumbledore handed a ring of keys to Harry. "Otherwise, the room is well protected with copious charms from the House Elves, much like the ones we had when we moved the Household Charms clubroom the first time, and we even exchanged the equipment in the clubroom to be placed here since you like them so."
"Thank you, Sir," Harry said, looking at the keys with reverence. "Are…are you sure about this? Is this favoritism for us?"
Dumbledore laughed. "Some would call it so, and they would not be wrong necessarily, but such rooms for specific situations have always been available to the deserving in the past." Dumbledore looked at Harry proudly. "Your performance at the Festival was stupendous, I cannot say that enough. You all did incredibly well and I have always admired your friendships with the others. This room was chosen because it is more or less central to all the common rooms. Well, it is a touch closer to Gryffindor but do not tell anyone that."
He and Harry laughed together. "That and I wanted to provide a safe and convenient place for you and your friends to continue to do your good work and prepare for the other events of the Tournament. And of course you will have the room at your disposal after the Tournament. This is to show that I and the Heads of Houses trust you and believe in you and your friends. It is as much of a reward as it is an investment into your time and future."
"Wow, thank you so much," Harry said, eyes shining. He raised an eyebrow. "All the Heads? Really?"
"To varying degrees," Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh and before I forget, the usual unwritten rule applies as well."
"Make extra for you and Professor Flitwick and Fawkes, got it," Harry smiled. "No problem there, and for the House Elves too."
"Might need to make a bit more for Professors McGonagall and Sprout," Dumbledore snickered. "I might have received a few…miffed statements about them going without."
"Of course," Harry laughed. "How about for Professor Snape?"
"If he does not eat it, it will not go to waste," Dumbledore laughed. "Oh and that small hearth in the corner is specifically for Floo calls. No abusing the privilege please, but it is there if needed."
"Yes Sir." Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I can't thank you enough for this, Sir. It's amazing."
Dumbledore patted Harry on the shoulder warmly. "No extraneous thanks are needed my boy. That said, if you're so inspired to make more food in way of thanks, well, I suppose I can accept that."
"You make it sound like such a concession," Harry grinned.
"Never. Eating your cooking is a privilege and a delight."
-0-
"Wow!" Lavender and Parvati exclaimed when they looked around. "This is awesome!"
Harry had gotten his friends and had brought them to the new room and everyone walked around, looking at everything with awe and anticipation.
"I can't believe we have a room like this," Pansy said. "This is wonderful!"
"Seriously," Sue said. "Thanks for sharing it with us, Harry."
"Of course, we're all friends here," Harry said stoutly. "Plus we got it because of what we did for the Festival together."
"It's okay if we're here though?" Ron asked weakly.
"You would have helped if you weren't helping the twins," Harry said. "Besides, you're still friends." Ron, Ginny, Terry, and Susan looked happy at that.
"Wow, there's even cat beds," Millicent said, smiling at Sunny and Crookshanks claiming one each. "And a roost and nest for Hedwig."
"It was really nice of them to bring the things from the clubroom here and replace the clubroom ones," Luna said as she looked at the stove and oven.
"Yeah, I got attached to them," Harry said. He hung his aprons and his knife bag on hooks from the wall and put the scales, the self-stirring cauldron, the portable ice box, and the wok down on a rack next to the others. "This is going to be great."
"We should call it something," Padma said. "The room. That way we know where people are and where to meet and all that."
"Good idea," Hermione said. "But what?"
"What do we all have in common?" Neville asked.
"We all kinda think Draco is a prick," Ron said, making everyone laugh.
"Ugh, let's not ruin this place by relating it to him," Blaise groaned.
"The Uncommon Room," Harry said all of a sudden. "It's sort of like our new common room, where we can just relax and study and hang out while doing things."
"I love it," Lavender said brightly.
"It's got a fun feel to it," Tracey said.
"Awesome," Harry smiled when everyone agreed. "Now let's celebrate by eating together. How do burgers sound?"
"Delicious," Millicent said happily.
"I'll also make some sausages for sausage sandwiches," Harry said. "And no slapping or throwing them about."
"Tell her that!" Parvati and Hermione said at the same time, pointing at each other.
"I've missed things," Susan said wryly as some people laughed and others looked equally confused.
They split up into various groups. Harry started preparing the food, aided by Padma, Pansy, Millicent, Susan, and Sue. Lavender, Parvati, Hermione, Neville, Ron, Daphne, Blaise, and Terry started organizing the other side of the room, moving chairs and tables about and organizing the bookshelves and the fabric and other equipment cupboard and cabinets. Luna and Tracey and Ginny started decorating the room with various things. Soon they were sitting around a few tables pushed together, eating happily on burgers and sausage sandwiches with piles and piles of chips.
"You look happy," Lavender said to a very happy looking Harry.
"I am happy," Harry said softly. "We have this wonderful new place to hang out and be together. And I've always wanted to eat like this, a part of a group of people who are just happy to be there. It feels nice."
She smiled. "It really does."
-0-
"I brought a copy of the next event announcement," Pansy said, walking into the Uncommon Room.
"Ooh nice, let's see what it is," Parvati said.
"Basically, it's academic in nature," Pansy said, putting the copy down on a desk and the others clustered around to look at it. "We will be grouped by year and we will be quizzed as well as having to perform practically. The nice thing is, you don't necessarily have to compete in both parts, but if you only compete in one, you'll earn less points."
"But if you work as a team, you won't," Hermione said, reading on. "You can split things up that way. And the top one or two of the year groupings can compete in a mixed one with different years included."
"That'll be tough since you could be quizzed on things you haven't learned," Sue remarked. "Definitely a challenge."
"We should put ourselves in as a team," Padma said. "They never said how big the teams can be. We can split up into things we like and are good at and anyone that wins, is a win for the team."
"I like that idea," Luna said. "I like being part of a team."
"I'm not the best on the quiz side, but maybe I can be a part of the practical side," Lavender said. "I'm decent at some charms at least."
"We can see what we're good at," Parvati said eagerly. "Then divide and conquer. And if a bunch of us like a specific topic, we stack the competition and have a better chance at winning."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Daphne said. They made lists of the subjects and people signed up for the ones they liked and if they preferred practical, academic, or both. Daphne looked over the lists carefully. "We have a good spread and representation."
"And preparing for this event will be good for our usual studies too," Hermione said happily.
"The only bad part is that we're studying even more," Parvati sighed.
"I'll make it better for us," Harry smiled. "There's foods that are good for your brains so I'll make them for us."
"Well if you insist," Parvati smiled. "Wait, we're not actually going to eat brains, are we?"
"It's a delicacy in some places," Pansy said. "What, it is," she said when people looked at her, horrified.
"Whose brain did you eat?" Parvati gasped.
"I didn't eat any brains!" Pansy shouted, throwing a roll of parchment at Parvati.
"One of the vampire lines eats emotions," Harry said. "Mr. Drake told me about them briefly. I wonder if that counts."
"How does that even work?" Hermione gasped while others looked queasy.
"Is that what you mean by 'eating your feelings'?" Luna asked.
Sue flushed. "No, that's uh, a joke about overeating sweets when you're upset."
"Oh that makes sense," Luna nodded. "And sounds much more pleasant."
-0-
"Well well well! So good to see you again."
Pansy groaned softly and watched as Rita walked towards them. "Miss Skeeter," she said with her most genteel smile plastered on her face.
Rita chuckled. "You do that very well. You look almost natural. Why the hostility however? I thought I upheld my end of the bargain."
"You did," Harry confirmed. "Sirius and Auntie Andi were pretty impressed."
"Oh good, I have no desire to get on their bad sides." Rita's eyes sparkled as she looked at Harry. "And I would love to know how you became a ward of the Flamels of all people. Now that's a story people would want to read."
"I'm really not as interesting as you try to make me out to be," Harry said with a slight flush.
"Oh but I could make you incredibly interesting," Rita said, almost rubbing her hands together.
"And how did the article do, may I ask?" Pansy asked.
"Surprisingly well. That edition of the Prophet was universally sold out and it was reprinted a few times, as well as in other publications. Color me surprised that it is in my top five articles I've ever written." She tapped her lips with a painted nail. "Which leads us to now. How would you like to continue our arrangement?"
"Meaning?" Pansy asked, eyes narrowed.
"You provide delightfully diverting stories to write of strange mundanity that is somehow engaging and charming, I write said stories and rake in the prestige and the gold, and we mutually profit." Rita's smile was wide and had more than a hint of sincerity in it.
Pansy and Harry looked at each other. "She did keep her end of the bargain," Harry said. "I'd be willing to continue in good faith, until it's lost."
"Very smart of you Harry dear," Rita said boisterously. She took Harry's hand and shook it, holding onto it. She noticed the look of displeasure on Pansy's face and smiled sweetly. "I'll even add to the arrangement. I promise to warn you if I do end up writing something less than ideal about you and yours and give you ample opportunity to counter said writings through any means you desire. In exchange for something of course."
"And what is that 'something'?" Pansy asked, her look of displeasure becoming deeper.
"Oh I don't know…maybe more of your cooking? Nothing terribly grand but perhaps something every now and then?" Rita asked, her expression metaphorically and literally hungry.
Pansy smiled. "I think we can accept that."
"Sure," Harry said easily. "How about this for the next article. I can cook the stew for you, I still have some dragon meat. We can share how we thought of it and what we did to test it and came to the final product. And you can take the stew with you. How does that sound?"
"Positively delicious," Rita said with a very wide and very sincere smile.
-0-
"What is she doing here?!" Daphne hissed, shocked.
She and some of the others arrived at the Uncommon Room and gaped when they saw Rita there, standing beside Harry as he cooked and talked to her. She had quill and parchment floating beside her and it scribbled as they talked, her attention firmly on Harry's cooking.
"It's fine," Pansy said.
"No it isn't, we got lucky the first time," Tracey whispered. "We keep messing with the dragon, it's our fault if we get burned!"
"No, it is fine," Pansy said firmly. "We have a means of control."
"Said everyone and anyone that has ever 'worked with' Rita," Blaise snorted.
"Except in this case, we really do. Our arrangement is as follows: she will write more pleasant things in regards to us, on what we do and actually say. She even gave us the guarantee that if she is going to write anything that will not be positive, she will give us warning beforehand and a chance to head it off."
"That sounds too good to be true." Daphne crossed her arms. "For what?"
Pansy smiled. "Harry's cooking."
"Really?" Blaise asked, both eyebrows raised. They looked over when Pansy pointed and they gaped at a happy Rita eating a mug of stew eagerly and asking questions in between bites.
"It really does look like she's enjoying it," Tracey said. "And she came up with the parameters herself?"
Pansy nodded. "Unprompted."
Daphne hummed softly. "Perhaps this will not blow up in our faces then."
-0-
"Ahh, that smells good," Viktor said, rubbing his hands together eagerly.
Harry removed the gyuveche pot from the oven and set it on the table. He flicked his wand and the lid floated up and away, to be set down gently beside the pot. The air was filled with a deep rich meaty scent that made the mouth water. He took an appreciative sniff. "Mmm, smells spicier than our beef stew. The tomatoes add a nice tang to it as well."
"It is very good," Viktor said. "Also, the gyuveche pot is very important, makes it traditional and taste that much better."
"Are you sure I can keep it?" Harry asked.
"Of course! It is a gift for you to keep and use. You must. Only proper gyuveche can be made in one and you can make other things in it as well, like kavarma too." Viktor took his bowl with barely restrained enthusiasm and downed a spoonful, piping hot. "Mmm! Very good! Tastes like home."
The inter-school Quidditch tournament had their first game. Hogwarts had three teams, Beauxbatons had two, Dumstrang had two, and Sanguis had one. Viktor's team had come out victorious against the Sanguis team, something everyone in the Uncommon Room found very pleasing, and one of the Beauxbatons teams won and Cedric's and Angelina's teams for Hogwarts won.
Viktor had asked Harry to make more food for him and his closest friends, after learning that Harry acted as team cook for Angelina's team. Harry had, of course, obliged willingly, especially when he learned that the dish, gyuveche, was considered a very traditional and popular Bulgarian dish. It was a stew that was made in an earthenware ceramic pot with the same name. Ingredients of all sorts were mixed and precooked on the stove before being transferred into the pot and then put in the oven for a few hours. It created a very flavorful and aromatic stew. In this case, it was slices of beef mixed with tomatoes, peppers, onions, and lots of spices cooked together into the savory gyuveche.
"Thank you, Harry," Viktor said warmly as he refilled his bowl. "You do not know what you miss when you do not have it as you do normally." He looked over at Fleur. "You have something to say?"
"Oh no," Fleur said demurely, looking at Viktor with an almost condescending look, "just thinking about what you said."
He looked pointedly at her cup. "Is that tea that you got from the kitchens?"
Fleur raised her coffee cup and raised an eyebrow sardonically. "Touche," she said.
"Hey, keep that out there," Harry chided gently. "Remember, no enemies."
"Of course," Fleur said with a dazzling smile that was just a trifle overdone. "I was only doing some…friendly teasing from one competitor to another. Needling, yes?"
"She has needles," Viktor said, pointing at Lavender. "Perhaps you need some to fix your skirt from the First Task?" He held up his hands when Harry looked at him. "Sorry, I am done."
Fleur shielded her cup from Harry. "Yes, I am done as well, sorry."
Harry snorted. He waited for her hand to move before refilling her coffee cup and offered some to Viktor. "How are you two feeling about the Second Task?"
Viktor shrugged. "Okay. It will be difficult, if I have the clue from the egg figured out." He leaned over to a friend who hissed at him in Bulgarian. "Relax, Ana, I said nothing more than that. I have no desire to aid her." He smiled blandly at curious looks from others.
Fleur's smile was equally bland. "I will agree to that."
"The egg was a clue?" Lavender asked, intrigued.
Fleur nodded. She and the other French witches had been very kind to Lavender. After learning what Tomas had done, they had been compassionate and promised revenge for her and had done so. The last time they saw him, he was still suffering from considerable spell damage that had not gone away. "It held a clue for the Second Task for us to translate. And it will sound tediously difficult."
"I don't suppose you mind telling us," Parvati asked. She smiled disarmingly. "We won't tell anyone, we're just nosy."
Viktor chuckled. He gave Fleur a look before shrugging. "If translated right, we will have to go through your woods for one portion and across the lake for another."
"That is what I believe as well," Fleur said slowly.
"At least I got that right," Viktor said, making the others snort and chuckle.
"Oof, I'm not envious of that," Harry said seriously. "The Forbidden Forest is no joke."
"I have heard that was the name of the forest, it is not an exaggeration?" Fleur asked, her face remarkably calm but she leaned in.
"Nope. I've visited with Hagrid and it's not somewhere you want to mess around in," Harry said. He busied himself with chopping potatoes, slicing them thin. "There're a lot of wild boars there."
"Pigs?" Sophie asked.
"No, boars," Harry said frankly. "They're pigs that are a lot meaner, and a lot more aggressive. With really big sharp tusks." He continued to work when the Durmstrang group and the Beauxbatons group exchanged looks with each other. "There are also a lot of other wild animals, magical and mundane. Hopefully you don't run into the acromantula colony."
"There is an acromantula colony in the Forbidden Forest?!" Daphne cried, aghast.
"Yeah, and uh, no one knows how it got started there," Harry said evasively. "Also, do not mess with the Tribe. They can be really territorial."
"The Tribe?" Viktor asked.
"The main group of centaurs," Harry said. "They're polite if you respect them and they're very impolite if you don't respect them. I've seen them hunt. You do not want them aiming at you with their bows. I've seen them shoot birds out of the sky and pin them to trees."
He layered potatoes in a large dish with bacon, sliced onions, butter, cream, and seasoning, and topped it with rounds of cheese before popping the dish into the oven. He straightened and started cleaning things with Scouring charms. "I know there are mermaids in the Lake, Hagrid told me but I've not met them. He also told me not to mess about in the deep reeds because of grindylows."
"Oh!" He looked at Fleur and Viktor. "Tennley looks scary but is actually really nice. She won't hurt you as long as you don't attack her."
"Who is Tennley?" Fleur asked while Sophie was scribbling something beside her and a friend of Viktor's was doing the same.
"The giant squid."
"There is a giant squid in the lake?!" Aimee asked, eyes wide.
"Wait, the squid has a name?" Sue asked. "And it's a girl?"
Harry nodded. "Hagrid introduced us. She's nice."
"Her name is Tennley?" Tracey asked, looking lost.
"Yeah. Hagrid named her when she was little. Because she has ten tentacles."
"Right," Tracey said, still looking lost. "Sure, makes sense, I guess."
Pansy pulled Harry to one side while the two groups of students from the other schools retreated to corners of the room to converse in low tones in their languages. "Harry, why did you say all of that to them?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Harry said. "I'd tell any of you that if you were going remotely near the Lake or the Forest. I want my friends to be safe."
"Because they are the opposition," Daphne said.
"I'm not competing against them," Harry said. "Well, not Fleur and Viktor personally, for the main part of the Tournament. I don't want them to get hurt."
"I don't see you telling Cedric," Susan said accusingly.
"I'm not friends with Cedric," Harry retorted. "Also, Is he here?"
"Well, no," Susan replied shortly.
"And there's nothing stopping you from telling him, now is there," Harry said in a slightly exasperated tone.
"Oh…yeah, no I guess not," Susan said sheepishly.
"I know it's a school versus school thing," Harry said with a small sigh, "but now that I've gotten to know Fleur and Viktor, they're not that bad and I'd hate to see them get hurt. Especially if I could have prevented it a little. Besides, I'm not helping them really, I'm only sharing what I know. It's up to them to believe me or not."
"If Draco heard you, he might think the opposite out of spite," Blaise snorted.
"And in the interest of fairness, you guys can tell him what I said-" Harry said.
Pansy made a face and Millicent rolled her eyes. Daphne glowered and Tracey shook her head while Blaise laughed coldly.
"-well like I said, you could, not that you have to," Harry continued with his own grin. "But yeah. I'm sure I'm being whatever the pseudo-polite phrase someone in Society would use." He looked at Pansy.
"Naïve," Pansy said with a soft expression.
"Sure, that. I'm sure I'm being naïve and leaning into the whole 'everyone gets along' thing, but like I said, I don't like seeing people get hurt for no reason," Harry said, growing solemn. "Not if I can do something about it. And that goes double for people I actually like."
"You're kind, and that's a good thing," Lavender said, hugging him soundly.
"Too kind even," Daphne said but without heat or censure.
"If there were more kind people, the world would be a better place," Luna said softly.
Harry flushed a little and waved a hand, as if to wave the praise away. "I'm not that kind. Like Susan said, I'm not going out of my way to help Cedric and I'm definitely not helping Draco right now either."
"We all have our flaws," Blaise said prosaically, shrugging. "I won't judge you for yours." He snorted richly. "And not a soul would blame you for not helping Draco."
"Draco might," Millicent said snidely.
"Like I said, not a soul," Blaise repeated to grim amusement. "Well, he probably has one. It must be small and under-used and fairly rotten, but he probably has it still."
"Wow, you guys do not like him at all," Parvati remarked.
"Not anymore," Pansy said quietly. She smiled when Harry hugged her, followed by Millicent, hugging them back warmly.
"Thank you for the information," Fleur said when they returned to the kitchen area. She sounded genuine and she looked at Harry with appreciation.
"Is very good of you," Viktor said.
"Is that a tartiflette?" Sophie asked when Harry removed the bubbling cheese and potato dish from the oven.
He nodded. "Yup, it is. I learned to make it for Grandfather and Grandmother when we first met."
"I still cannot believe that you have the Flamels as your grandparents," Aimee said. "Many would kill for that honor."
"They are pretty great," Harry smiled. "Grandfather Nicky is smart and has a good sense of humor and Grandmother Penny is really nice and warm."
Fleur blinked at that and she exchanged looks with her friends. "After the Second Task, I will teach you our version of a beef stew, pot au feu. Well, you can make any sort of stew with it really. But since you have an affinity for stews, then I think you will like it. Many families have their own version and it is a traditional dish."
"I'd like that a lot, thank you," Harry said eagerly. "Is it made in a special cooking vessel too?"
"Not really but I will get you a casserole pot for making cassoulet. That is another traditional French dish. And teach that to you as well."
"Are you trying to buy his assistance?" Ana, Viktor's friend and fellow Durmstrang student, sniffed.
"As if he was not doing the same," Colette said snidely, nodding at Viktor.
"I consider Harry a friend and gift him things happily," Viktor said coolly.
"Eat it while it's still hot," Harry interrupted, serving up portions of the tartiflette. "Well, maybe let it cool a bit longer, it's more than just hot."
"Mon Dieu," Sophie said, fanning her mouth. "This is better than most that I've had!"
"How did you learn how to make this so well?" Aimee asked.
"The Headmaster got me the original recipe and the Flamels gave me pointers on it," Harry said proudly. "And I've made it a lot. It's really good."
"What's that look for?" Millicent asked.
Daphne had been watching Harry closely as he chatted with Fleur and Viktor and their friends. "I am glad we decided to help," she said softly. "Look at him, he almost literally has them eating out the palm of his hand. He is an international Quidditch star and she is from a very important French family and yet here they are, vying for his attention and wanting to. A boy, of our age, building connections like this on an international level. It is extraordinary."
She turned and glowered at Pansy's smug expression. "Do not say it."
"Fine, I won't," Pansy said airily.
"Do not even think it!"
Pansy's knowing smile infuriated Daphne and she ground her teeth while Pansy and Millicent giggled, laughing outright at Daphne's expression.
-0-0-0-
Hands Off MY Wolfie - Thank you. I worked hard on the conversation, I wanted it to feel warm and sincere but not over-conciliatory. I don't know how I thought of the Hedwig silliness but once I did, it was too funny not to include. Thank you for reading.
alix33 - Hedwig with a sword is a very dangerous idea.
odonnellzoo99 - Hedwig spinning around the top was such a weird and silly idea for me but I knew it would be a crime not to include it. I know it was a while since we had some cooking and even though biscuits are a tried and true thing, I thought it would be nice to see them again in a slightly different light.
poka - Glad you thought so. I wanted to wrap up the arc well and in a good way that wasn't overdone. I thought it would be nice to see the bag again and it would be fitting to the scene and the overall feeling of what I wanted to hit.
DarkRavie - Thank you.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - No he wouldn't, but feelings and emotions always makes your thinking a little muddled. Thank you.