I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
A Taste of Magic
85th Course – Into the Depths
"There, finished." Lavender set her essay to one side with a sigh of relief. "Thanks for doing this, Harry."
"Of course," Harry smiled. "I mean, seeing my friends and cooking is such a hardship normally," he said with an insincere expression that made the others laugh. Despite having already done his summer work early in the summer, he had suggested having people over who have yet to finish it so they could all work on it together. A few friends took him up on that and there was a small group of people eating and doing work together with plenty of time spent laughing and not doing said work.
"And now we still have several weeks of not doing anything before school starts officially," Parvati said smugly.
"Speak for yourself, I already started reviewing for O.W.L.s," Hermione snorted.
"That's a whole other standard of insanity," Parvati sniffed. "Only people like you and Padma have done that."
"I bet Harry has," Hermione protested.
"No, don't say that's true!" Parvati gasped.
"Technically I haven't," Harry said, making Parvati beam and Hermione sigh. "I did learn a lot about magic when I was in France though. Grandmother and Grandfather make it really interesting though."
"Well I guess that's fair," Parvati conceded. "They must know a lot."
Harry nodded. "It's intimidating how much they know. But they're really good at explaining things sometimes. Grandmother Penny is a good teacher. Grandfather Nicky sometimes takes for granted what he thinks is 'common knowledge' but when he has to teach something out, he's good at it too."
"Did they teach you how to make crepes?" Padma asked, watching him.
"They took me to their favorite creperie and the owners were very nice and taught me," Harry said. He poured a thin layer of batter onto a hot skillet that he had brushed with oil moments ago. He swirled it slowly, and watched the batter cook. When the edges lifted slightly and the surface was golden brown, he flipped the crepe with a thin spatula and cooked the other side. Deftly, he lifted it out onto the board and filled it with whipped cream and sliced bananas and strawberries before rolling it gently. He dusted it with a little confectioner's sugar and handed it to an eager Padma.
"Mmm! So good," Padma said after she sliced herself a bite of the sweet and creamy and fruity crepe. "Better than Fleur's!"
"Aww thanks," Harry grinned.
"You really learned a lot of new cooking stuff this summer," Hermione said admiringly.
"These and consommé are the big ones," Harry nodded, already making another. "And some more traditional goblin things. It's been nice."
"I really like savory crepes," Pansy said, munching on her ham and mushroom one. Harry had filled it with cheese, thinly sliced ham, and sauteed mushrooms. "I like the sweet ones too. I guess I like all crepes," she laughed.
"I made mille crepe earlier too," Harry said as he filled the newest one with sliced bananas and dollops of Nutella and whipped cream. He handed it to Lavender. "That's a cake made with lots of crepes and layers of cream in between. It's chilling in the icebox right now."
"We're really going to need an exercise regime," Sue sighed.
"It'll be worth it," Lavender said, chewing and smiling as she ate her crepe.
"Oh and if you guys are still hungry, I brought something else to try if you want." Harry went to the icebox and removed a long and closed container and carried it over.
"I can always eat," Ron said. He blinked when Harry took off the lid. "What are those?!"
"Caddoks," Harry said. He pulled one out. "Cave catfish essentially. I got a bunch from the Gringotts supplier."
"Oh those look a lot less frightening than the one Hedwig caught," Lavender said, looking at the much smaller fish.
"Wait, Hedwig caught one?" Ron asked. He blanched at the picture that Harry showed him. "That fish is huge! And Hedwig caught it?!"
Hedwig flew into the kitchen and dove, nabbing a caddok from the container and held it up easily in her talons. She hooted brightly, shaking the fish before dropping it back into the container. She then landed on a towel and daintily wiped her talons and feet clean before settling down on Harry's head.
"I honestly still don't know if she did or didn't," Millicent said, looking at Hedwig.
"She's very talented," Harry said and Hedwig hooted in agreement. They all watched as Harry expertly cleaned and butchered the caddoks, being careful with the spines and whiskers. Soon the fillets were sliced into thin strips and dredged before laid carefully in oil, frying in a cast iron pan.
"That smells and looks amazing," Tracey said as the pieces were laid on wire racks to drip and cool.
"Help yourselves," Harry said happily after they cooled a little. They needed no extra urging and they all bit into the crisp fried fish.
"Wow, that's a nice crunch," Parvati said, fanning her mouth. "Mmm, that's a flaky dense fish too."
"Delicious," Lavender said, biting into a second piece hungrily.
"Do you ever get tired of cooking or can't be bothered to cook something?" Ron asked seriously. "Like you just don't feel like it?"
"Sometimes," Harry nodded. "Not often but sure, here and there I guess."
"What do you do?" Millicent asked.
"I love bread and butter anyways so I'm lucky there," Harry laughed. "Or just put some cheese between bread. I never find it troublesome to cook some bacon. The only problem with cooking bacon sometimes is Hedwig gets to it first." He smiled when Hedwig giggled, wiggling on his head with satisfaction. "But I make extra for her anyway so it's not an actual problem."
"What are you doing now?" Pansy asked.
"Frying the bones," Harry said. He dredged the bones of the caddocks and fried them until they were crisp. "Some fish bones you can eat like this. Hedwig loves them." Hedwig flapped and landed on the counter top and licked her beak, waiting for the fried bones to cool slightly before she chomped on them enthusiastically. "I think generally you want smaller bones for regular fish but like most slightly magical animals, caddoks are weird that way."
"It's a Chinese and Japanese thing too," Sue nodded. "If you fry the fish well, the little bones are tasty."
"Oh, you're right," Hermione said as she nibbled a small piece. "It's really crunchy and actually quite nice."
"Hedwig always makes food look delicious," Lavender smiled, enjoying Hedwig's noisy enjoyment.
"She does love to eat," Harry said lovingly, rubbing her head. "Even when she's eating her normal prey things. Doesn't make me want to try eating rat or mice or other things she's caught despite her sharing, but she is always an enthusiastic eater."
"Does she still hunt a lot?" Padma asked.
"Here and there. More for exercise and fun and when she wants something simple. Other times she eats what I make. Even requests things sometimes. She's the best taste tester and helper for sure."
"I've been meaning to ask, do you teach her things?" Tracey asked.
"I don't think I've taught her to do anything technically," Harry said thoughtfully. "She just does it."
"So even you haven't explored all she is capable of?"
"Not really. Let's find out. Hedwig." Harry smiled when his owl looked up at him, cheeping thickly around the fish tail she was munching. "Shake."
Hedwig turned and waggled her butt at Tracey, making them all laugh.
"How much is one plus two?" he asked.
She swallowed the fish tail and barked three times, giving him a flat condescending look.
He laughed when she thwapped him with her tail feathers. "Sing!"
Hedwig fluffed up and took a deep breath. She began to cheep musically, elongating notes with long hoots.
"Is…is that Ave Maria?" Pansy asked, her eyes round. "She's singing Ave Maria?!"
"She's very talented," Harry whispered. He led the applause when Hedwig finished and the owl plumped even further, bowing and looking smug.
"Wow, that's incredible," Lavender gushed.
"Plus she looks good in accessories and she's the best dancer I know," Harry said. "Oh and she's gotten really good at something else over the summer."
"What?" Ron asked, reaching out for another piece of fish. He blinked when half of it went flying. "Did…did she just kick it?"
"Wow, that was an impressive kick too," Sue said as Hedwig balanced on one foot and waggled her other one.
"She's been training," Harry nodded.
"I'm not warning Blaise about that," Pansy smiled and Tracy and Millicent smiled too.
"I bet you can easily kick doors open now," Lavender smiled.
"Oh she can. She was chasing Dora the other day and Dora slammed the door shut and Hedwig kicked it open," Harry said.
"I was talking about the cage door," Lavender gasped.
"Oh she can probably kick that even more easily," Harry said.
"Hedwig, I know you've been teaching Sunny things, but please don't teach her that," Pansy begged.
"Oh no, imagine what she could do if she did," Millicent gasped.
"I'm glad Crookshanks is really lazy," Hermione gulped.
-0-
"Potter, how do you feel about dark places and tunnels?" Diglin asked.
Harry thought for a moment. "Are they bigger than a broom cupboard?"
Diglin paused and blinked. "Yes?"
"Then I'm fine with them."
Diglin looked at him for a long moment before nodding. "Right. Follow me then. We're going on a trip."
"Where are we going?" Harry asked but following Diglin willingly.
"We're going to an underground mushroom farm, a goblin one." He smiled at Harry's happy gasp. "It's not too deep down but it's one of the better farms and it's close to the bank. Our carts actually take a path to it so the trip will be easy."
"I've always wanted to visit goblin places," Harry said excitedly.
"I'll take you sometime in the future," Diglin promised. "One of the bigger cities is below Gringotts."
As they made their way through the back of the bank, Harry was struck with how different things were from a year ago. While a good number of goblins still stared at him with surprise and hostility, they were mostly visitors or ones he had not seen before. The vast majority of the others treated him cordially to kindly and more than a few with genuine warmth. They were the regulars who ate at Main One and they even greeted him by name. Almost everyone treated Diglin with reverence and politeness, though a few were warm or belligerent in a friendly way.
Harry looked around with interest when they arrived to the cart station. This was not the one where goblins took patrons to their vaults. The platform here was solid rock and while not as polished, still professionally made and maintained. Ramps lined the sides of the platform and goblins moved large dollies and trailers around, moving piles of things and large crates and boxes. They shouted over the sound of departing and arriving carts, insults and greetings and commands mixed together in a storm of auditory chaos.
Even the carts were different. They were bigger and rougher looking, well-worn and used. They lacked the seats that the main bank ones used for patrons and guests and there were many that were hooked up to large flatbeds festooned with hooks and rings and straps for transporting goods. Lights dangled over the cavernous space, emitting bright light over certain parts of the cart depot, especially tunnel mouths and the platform itself.
"Diglin," a wizened goblin greeted when Diglin and Harry walked up to him. He wore a uniform with many pockets and straps and held a clipboard in one hand and a long stick in the other. "Potter," he said to Harry, nodding. "Rare to see you two out of the kitchen."
"Phrog," Diglin greeted back. "I'm educating the boy. Taking him to the Grove."
"Yeah? That'll be a good experience," Phrog said, nodding approvingly. "I'll get you two a cart. You picking up anything big?"
"I don't think so. Normal cart should do."
"Right." He scribbled something on the clipboard. "What's the lunch special by the way?"
"The poultry platter," Harry said. "The nickens are soaking now."
"Mm, my favorite," Phrog smiled. He finished writing and held up his stick. The end flared into life, a glowing red light emanated from it and he waved it back and forth.
Harry smiled as he saw two goblins push a large cart their way. They took it off a rack and settled it onto the rails with long jacks that they maneuvered skillfully and the cart trundled to them. "That's so cool."
"Phrog is a good stationmaster," Diglin nodded. "Knows how to keep the carts going, settles moving disputes and jams, stays on schedule. And he has a really important ability that helps a lot."
"What's that?" Harry asked.
Phrog took a deep breath and shouted. The suddenness and the intensity of his voice made Harry jump. It felt like his whole body rattled at the pressure of Phrog's voice and the stationmaster's voice cut through the noise of the station easily. "CLEAR THE TRACKS! IF YOU BASTARDS WANT TO EAT THEN GET YOUR FAT ARSES MOVING! I'M NOT MISSING LUNCH BECAUSE YOU CLUB-FOOTED LAZY SACKS ARE FUCKING ABOUT! ONE TO THE GROVE! MOVE MOVE MOVE!"
Diglin smiled as Harry wiggled a finger in his ear. "That," he laughed.
"I can see how it helps," Harry grinned back.
"Right, one to the Grove. Come back with plenty of food and don't get hurt out there," Phrog said. "Off you go." He hit the cart with his stick and it zoomed off with Diglin's hand on the control stick.
Harry settled back into his seat, enjoying the air whipping by and he frowned thoughtfully. "This is a really smooth ride."
"It has to be. Lots of jostling and that sort of thing can ruin sensitive produce and materials," Diglin said.
"And gold and customers don't count?" Harry asked.
Diglin smiled. "Not as important I suppose," he laughed and Harry did too. He watched Harry look about. "Not the most scenic of routes but don't worry, the Grove itself will be worth the sight."
"How far away is it?" Harry asked.
"If you went straight down, not far at all. Obviously tracks should have a more gentle incline so you don't waste energy coming back, especially considering weight and all. It's about a five-minute cart trip. I'll have to look up the distance later. I usually nap when I take the trip or am thinking about other things."
"Menu things?"
"Yup. The usual when running a kitchen. That and ways to punish the Crew."
When the cart came through the tunnel, Harry's eyes widened as the scenery abruptly changed. The stone walls and ceiling disappeared into the distance and the rock around the tracks became soil and earth. Large mushrooms that looked like trees in size and stature loomed over the track and the air became moist and warm. The air smelled earthy but in a pleasant way, of growth and plant life. Gaps in the lines of bordering mushrooms showed fields of different kinds of mushrooms growing in all sizes and shapes and colors.
"It sure is something," Diglin said, enjoying Harry's wonder.
"And this is a small farm?" Harry asked, looking around excitedly.
"Smaller," Diglin nodded. "It's run well and lovingly maintained by a good family who owns it. Mushrooms aren't just for eating. There's plenty that are used for clothing and processing, the big heavy ones we use for building things. We have our own ways of making potions and solutions and the like and lots of mushrooms are for that too. The Grove here is mostly edible varieties for the most part, but they maintain some of the special stuff for potions and material."
"How many are poisonous to humans?" Harry asked with a wry smile.
Diglin sighed and shook his head. "I'm never going to hear the end of that and those weren't even mushrooms! And we took precautions!"
"I never had any doubts," Harry said. "Then again, I didn't know the dangers so I'm not sure if that counts or not."
Diglin snorted. "To answer your question, a good amount of them so don't eat anything without me looking at it first."
The cart came to a stop at a small station at the edge of a cluster of buildings. The lights here were dimmer than other places and Harry squinted a little to see. He took a small lantern that Diglin handed him. "That's a darklight," Diglin said. "The light it shines is safe for mushrooms and folk who live underground mostly won't be as bothered by it."
"Oh thank you Chef." Harry opened the shutter on the front and a beam of cool light shone, making things far easier for him to see. He hung it off his belt and looked around with interest.
"Diglin." Two goblins approached, wearing broad aprons and heavy boots. One held a sharp sickle in one hand and the other tucked a pair of gloves into an apron pocket. They saw Harry and looked surprised but not hostile or suspicious. "Who's this? Your boy?" the one with the sickle asked.
"Yup. Harry, meet Capis and Gilly." He pointed to the sickle one first. "They're the current main caretakers of the Grove. Capis, Gilly, this is Harry Potter."
"Pleased to meet you," Harry said, holding his hand out. "The Grove is amazing!"
Capis and Gilly smiled brightly, looking pleased and more relaxed. They shook his hand easily. "Glad you think so," Capis said. "It's rare for a human to appreciate a mushroom farm."
"I've always liked mushrooms, even before learning of even more different ones and ways to make them," Harry said.
"I think we'll get along fine," Gilly grunted comfortably.
They showed Harry what they had harvested for Diglin that day, large crates full of different kinds of mushrooms. He learned that they harvested the mushrooms when ready, and then contacted the people they supplied their wares to. To them, it made more sense that way because mushrooms grew at different times and sometimes they had availability, and sometimes they did not. Other types of mushrooms had a more regular growth cycle and those were prepared accordingly.
Harry was able to explore one of the fields that they grew their more common type of edible mushroom in. Pungent fertilizer was mixed with soil and spread out over the field and spores were scattered there and they slowly came up and grew into broad capped mushrooms that were pale brown. The fields were rotated in use so that they could manage a harvest in a timely manner and have a near-constant supply at hand.
"Thanks for showing me around," Harry said as he helped them load the crates into the back of the cart. "It's so cool."
"You're welcome back to visit," Capis smiled. He gestured around. "The Grove has been here for a long time. One of the best mushroom farms around."
"Never mind visitors with genuine interest," Gilly added. "Diglin speaks well of you," she added. "Appreciates our product." She and Capis waved as the cart left the Grove platform, building speed as it clattered and clacked up the track.
"Thanks for bringing me Chef," Harry said. "That was fun."
"You're welcome. It's always good to see where the food comes from," Diglin said with approval. "Not many cooks or chefs do. I always thought it was a mark of a good chef to know where your food comes from, how it was grown, and how to treat it properly and well."
Harry nodded in total agreement. He nibbled on one of the mushrooms they were bringing back. "How about a salad as a side today? Half fresh mushrooms, the big ones, sliced thin, then grill the other ones and keep the small ones whole. Mix in some carrot and spinach with the ginger dressing?"
"Sounds good to me," Diglin nodded. "Little more acid to cut through the fried nicken."
"We can do some pickles then. Mushroom salad three ways?"
"Sounds like a side to me," Diglin said approvingly.
-0-
"That's a lot of mushrooms, and for us, that's saying something," Flynt said.
Harry and Diglin came walking into the kitchen and the crates of mushrooms they brought back were floating behind them, courtesy of a levitation spell by Harry.
"We went to the Grove," Diglin said. "They threw in a couple extra crates for us." He nodded at Harry.
"Isn't the Grove pretty?" Amythyst asked as she helped organized the crates.
"So pretty," Harry nodded. "It was so cool seeing mushrooms the size of trees and in so many colors."
"Oh that was your first trip to a goblin place that wasn't Gringotts right?" Hacker asked. "Good place to start."
"Chef said he'd show me around the city that's below Gringotts in the future," Harry said eagerly.
"Oh hey that's a great idea. Won't be too bad for you because most of the people who work at Gringotts live there so plenty of friendly-ish faces," Salta said. "It's called Thalga, or the Port City. It's built by the Undersea and it's a shipping point for other goblin cities and is the city between the rest of the underground places and Gringotts."
"The Undersea?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, basically a sea underground," Flynt said as he helped clean mushrooms. "The biggest in the United Kingdom. Oh we can go crake hunting for the wild ones! That'll be fun." He winked at Harry. "True deep-sea crakes. Bigguns. Ones you need harpoons and a ballista to catch."
"A what?!"
"You don't need a ballista," Salta scoffed. "Harpoons though you do. Diamond tipped or steel tipped preferably."
"What, you think you can throw a harpoon hard enough to pierce those shells? Get out of here," Flynt sniffed.
"You just need to know where to throw it," Salta sniffed back. "Don't aim for the thick armor plates. Like I wouldn't aim for your skull."
"Ooh, or maybe the Honeycombs," Amythyst said. "Lovely wild honey and fruit trees can be gotten there. Just have to avoid the cave bees."
"Let me guess, they're bigger and meaner than regular bees," Harry deadpanned.
"Not that much bigger," Amythyst protested. "No bigger than a small cart."
"That's huge!" Harry gasped. "Regular bees are barely an inch or so in length!"
"Okay, maybe a little bigger," Amythyst conceded. "But you're right, they're pretty mean."
"How old will you be next year?" Hacker asked. "Depending, we might be able to take you to Darkwell-"
"We are not taking him to Darkwell!" Amythyst and Salta shouted.
"Why not? It's a fun place," Flynt argued and Hacker nodded. The rest of the Crew began to join the argument, splitting in half supporting either side.
"Because it's dangerous!"
"Lots of places are dangerous and it's not that bad!"
"Yeah, we'd be with him."
"You would be someone that likes Darkwell."
"What does that mean?!"
Diglin returned and stopped, seeing his kitchen in chaos with the Crew arguing with one another with Harry standing there looking even more lost than usual. "What's going on?" Diglin asked.
"I have no idea," Harry said, eyes round. "They mentioned something or someplace called Darkwell and-"
"Potter is not going anywhere near Darkwell!" Diglin shouted, his voice cutting through the tumult and silencing the Crew.
"Come on Chef," Hacker said sheepishly. "It was mostly a joke and-"
"And nothing!" Diglin bellowed. "Talk about it again and I'll tell Filius!" The rest of them quailed at that and shrank under Diglin's eye and ire. "Get to work and hope I have short-term memory loss and forget all about that stupid idea!" He glowered as they scurried away, hissing at one another.
"What is Darkwell?" Harry asked timidly.
"Technically, a gambling hall," Diglin groaned, rubbing his eyes. "And you're not going."
"Don't worry Chef, don't think I would before all the reactions anyways."
"Good. It's not a place for proper folk. Just idiots and improper asses." Diglin stomped away and muttered in Gobbledegook, making Harry's eyes widen at the words he used.
-0-
"Mr. Abe, I have a question."
"Yeah?"
"Have you heard of Darkwell?"
"You're not going anywhere near Darkwell!" Ariana shouted, head shooting up and looking furious. "How do you even know about that place?!"
"The Crew were talking about it," Harry said, alarmed. "Chef mentioned taking me to Thalga sometime and some of them said depending on my age, we could go to Darkwell. Chef didn't like that idea and half of the Crew didn't either."
Aberforth snorted richly. "Darkwell has a seedy reputation. It's a place with a lot of gambling and not just for money. Lots of dangerous things too. Better if you didn't go. If you want to gamble, there's plenty of places that are better and safer."
"We shouldn't be encouraging gambling," Ariana said severely.
"That's rich, coming from you," Aberforth snorted again.
"We shouldn't be encouraging Harry to gamble," Ariana amended, flushing slightly and kicking Aberforth.
"You like to gamble?" Harry asked.
"Here and there. It can be fun in the right place and atmosphere," Ariana said weakly. "Lots of magicals do really."
Harry smiled, putting her at ease. "I'm not judging. I don't think I'd ever want to gamble though."
"Nothing wrong with that," Aberforth grunted. "I'll play a game with friends but no real desire to do it elsewhere or with strangers really. At least not with money."
"What else do you gamble with?" Harry asked.
"Well, more like the game of it," Aberforth said. He smiled softly. "We used to play this game called mystery pies. Made a bunch of different ones and you got one at chance to eat because they looked the same on the outside. That and Bernie's beans you know."
"Oh that does sound more like fun," Harry agreed.
"It made meal times fun," Ariana said with the same soft smile. "When we didn't have much to smile or laugh about, we'd do it and it always made things silly for a while." She giggled. "Remember the time you got the chicken gravy bean with the ham pie?"
Aberforth laughed. "Best luck I ever had that night. Al got screwed though. He got the soapwort bean with the bean pie."
"He turned green!" Ariana hooted.
Harry smiled, enjoying seeing the Dumbledore siblings laugh like that. "We haven't decided on a special tonight…"
"I could run to Honeydukes and get some Bernie's…" Ariana said brightly.
Aberforth chuckled. "Why not?"
-0-
"It certainly sounds festive in here tonight," Dumbledore remarked as he sat down at the counter.
The Hog's Head was full of people and there was a lot of laughter and groans. A general sense of light-heartedness filled the air as people smiled and laughed though a few looked perturbed or even disgusted. Despite looking that way, the individuals would rapidly go back to looking happy and enjoying themselves.
"Special menu tonight," Harry said brightly. "Chicken soup of course but we have mystery pies! Don't know what they are until you bite into them and served with some Bernie Botts Every Flavour Beans."
Dumbledore smiled softly. "Ah, I see Ari and Abe told you about that. What a trip down memory lane." He looked around fondly. "Give me an array of pies please. But you pick them." He glanced over at his siblings serving others. "I have my suspicions."
"Big brother Al doesn't trust us!" Ari gasped.
"I trust you to try something," Dumbledore countered. He smiled when Harry brought over a plate with small pies sitting on it with a bowl of soup on the side and a small simple salad of greens. "Thank you, they look wonderful." He winked. "I hope they taste wonderful."
"All the pies are good," Harry smiled, not insulted at all. "No joke pies. As far as the beans go though…"
"'A risk with every mouthful'," Dumbledore quoted. "Very well. To your health." He bit into the pie and chewed. "Mmm, steak and kidney? Lovely hand pie." With some trepidation, he picked up a brown-colored bean and popped it into his mouth. His look of worry became a look of delight. "Mmmm, gravy and mashed potato! Perfect combination."
"Not fair!" Ariana cried. "I had an ink bean earlier! My tongue is still black!" She stuck her tongue out and there was a streak of black on it.
"I got a cotton candy bean with my vegetable pie earlier," Aberforth chuckled. "Looks like you won this time, Al."
"Harry's my good luck charm," Dumbledore said warmly.
"You're supposed to like me more!" Ariana pouted, poking Harry as he walked past.
"I told you not to take the black bean!" Harry said, fleeing to the kitchen. "I said it didn't look or smell like pepper!"
Dumbledore continued to eat, enjoying the sights and the sounds of his siblings and Harry among the general happiness in the tavern.
-0-0-0-
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Maida is Ronan's wife and Rell's mother yes. I have fun exploring the other cultures in this fic, like the goblins and centaurs. Glad others like it too. I don't think they really made that connection, that was more of another clan not realizing Harry was Perenelle's and panicking once they found out.
odonnellzoo99 - I imagine it was like after a very substantial Thanksgiving meal and Dora overeating and food coma-ing. It's been fun imagining other cultures and things, and you'll see more of that in today's chapter. Thank you.
kaya - Glad you liked it.
poka - I'm glad people aren't tired of seeing people be surprised by Harry's relations and friendships. That would be intense if that happens.
alix33 - Hedwig is an apex predator and all around MVO, Most Valuable Owl.
scpotter - Thank you, glad you liked it. I like the idea of Millie being just plain tough and not backing down from physical activities like that and enjoying herself.
TheReader81 - Thank you.
Hands Off MY Wolfie - I doubt anyone would want to miss a Harry party for many reasons. I really like how Millicent is growing as a character too. Thanks for reading.