I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

A Taste of Magic

171st Course – Building the Dream

"And sign here, and here, and there," Doran said, pointing out the spots on the very official looking document.

"Didn't I sign all this already?" Aberforth asked, frowning down at the parchment, reading the words again.

"Yes, twice before," Doran said patiently. "This is the third, which will fill the triplicate part of the procedure."

Aberforth glared at a snickering Ariana and smiling Dumbledore who looked very amused and had already filled out their parts of the forms, in triplicate. "What do you want next? Some of my blood?"

"Aberforth," Dumbledore sighed.

"No, we already have samples of that," Doran said, taking the signed documents and rubbing it with a slim rod of metal. "Taken surreptitiously and tested to ensure identity of person." His smile was very broad and full of teeth as the three older magicals looked at him. "That was a joke," he said at last.

"Or it might not be," he added in an off-handed way after seeing the three of them visibly relax. He smiled again as they looked at him again.

"I honestly don't know if he's joking or not," Harry said when the Dumbledores looked at him. "I mean, I've never seen them sneakily take a blood sample and have seen them very obviously take a blood sample, so it could go either way."

"Would you like to see my blood sample taking knife? It is very big and very good at taking blood," Doran said eagerly.

"Okay now he's joking because I've seen that knife and it's not scary at all," Harry said confidently. "Unless he got a new one," he added hesitantly.

"And they said goblins don't have a sense of humor," Ariana laughed.

"Almost all goblins do, just different kinds and degrees," Doran said. He piled all of the documents together and slipped the rod of metal into a bracket that was secured above a metal slate. He fed parchment into one end and the parchment slowly came out the other with writing on top. When it all finished, he handed everyone a copy. "Here we are," he said brightly. "All finished! Everyone has a copy and we have the original to be secured in the main vault with additional copies to be put into each of your personal ones."

"Congratulations," Dumbledore said warmly to Harry. "You are now the primary owner of the Hog's Head."

"It doesn't feel real," Harry said, looking at the deed and documents.

"It is as real as it can get," Doran said smugly. "The best parchment for official documentation, on Gringotts legal material, ironclad and steel forged policy. None can claim that it does not exist in this state."

"I still think we got too much for it," Ariana complained. "Especially considering we have investment and business ties to the restaurant now. We're family for Merlin's sake."

"Family is as precious as gold, but gold is as precious as gold," Harry and Doran said together and they both laughed, soon joined by the Dumbledores.

"Meaning it's better to do things proper and make sure no hard feelings," Harry concluded.

"Fair enough," Ariana smiled and hugged him. She gave Aberforth a look. "So now you're unemployed."

He snorted deeply. "No I'm not," he said, giving her a look that she ignored. "I have my place on the farm now and will be growing things and brewing things. Not to mention I'm still running the bar side when the place opens. Even after all I did for him, Kid still has me working."

"As if you could simply sit somewhere and do nothing at all and not go mad," Dumbledore snorted. "You would go off to find trouble of some sort."

"Just saying somehow I'll be doing even more work and I'm getting old," Aberforth grumbled.

"You've been old even before you had a beard," Ariana sniffed. She scowled at Aberforth after he pushed her. "Maybe you should fire him, Harry. You'll lose business with him haranguing the customers."

"Wouldn't think of it," Harry smiled. "The place wouldn't feel right without him, or any of you, around."

The siblings beamed at that. "It's your place now, Kid," Aberforth said comfortably.

"Our place," Harry said firmly. "Family is more precious than gems."

"Depending on the family and the gems," Doran finished to even more amusement.

-0-

"Wow, this whole place is yours now," Lavender smiled as she and Harry and the others walked into the Hog's Head.

"Ours," Harry said, his arm around her shoulder.

"Yours to run," Lavender amended, kissing him warmly on the cheek.

"I bet the others don't like the sign," Millicent remarked, pointing at the sign on the door saying that the Hog's Head would be closed for renovations until further notice.

"They'll wait, somewhat patiently," Harry smiled.

"We already have people asking us if we know how long," Parvati laughed.

"So how are things going to work for the most part?" Pansy asked eagerly. She and the others gathered around a table that Harry put out drawings and plans he had worked on for the last year while abroad.

"Well I was thinking that I needed to do something specific to account for guests that don't live in Hogsmeade," Harry said. "I don't want to ruin the feeling and the atmosphere of the village, don't want people to feel uncomfortable from having too many visitors coming in. I also don't want things to be too busy with other guests where the people who live here don't feel welcome either. So I'm making things reservations only for non-Hogsmeade residents. They will be able to contact us for same-day too but it's a possibility, not a certainty. People who live here in Hogsmeade can always come by and eat in if we have space or get take-away."

"That is a very elegant solution," Daphne said approvingly. "You can control the influx of that clientele while maintaining the village feel."

"Question, we count towards the Hogsmeade side even though we don't live in Hogsmeade, right?" Tracey asked.

"Of course," Harry smiled. "Friends and family are always welcome."

"Thank goodness," Hermione said and they all laughed.

"Dress code for all of you is casual too. I made Dora a promise years ago," Harry said.

"Brilliant," Millicent smiled.

"I'm thinking of keeping the main floor here as the general dining room," Harry said. "Going to open up the window so I can see out and people can see in, but food will be taken out via server. I'm going to have some outdoor tables along the western side and put in a garden out there too. I'm thinking of taking the side nook there and making it a more private dining room for like a private party."

"You put a lot of thought into things," Pansy said, looking at his plans.

"What helped me keep going some days," Harry said. "I was having a lot of fun learning, don't get me wrong. Seeing how different professional kitchens worked and exploring different cuisines. But seeing how happy the other chefs were, how satisfied they were with their own places, made me really want that. Working towards that goal, getting back to you all here, that was what kept me going towards the end."

"We really missed you too," Lavender said, hugging him.

"How do things look logistically?" Millicent asked after hugging him too with her being the last.

"Good. I am going to get my supplies through a combination of a Gringotts backed suppliers, Greengrass shipping, and the Rangers," Harry said, making Millicent and Daphne smile. "Other things will be grown at Mr. Abe's farm and I have a deal already with the Hogwarts Farms for some of their surplus too."

"And staff?" Hermione asked.

"Willie and Nillie are staying of course," Harry said. "Mr. Abe will manage the bar for most nights at the start but I'll eventually want more to help and to give him time off. Inky wants to come work with me and I'm happy to have her. I figure I will want at least three more people in the kitchen with me as full cooks to start and I know I will need a front of house manager or maître d' and a few servers on top of Willie and Nillie."

"How are you going to look for them? Open interviews?" Tracey asked.

"Well actually, I already have someone lined up for the maître d' position to interview," Harry said. "They were recommended by Mr. and Mrs. Delacour. Chef Diglin told me he has someone who wants to interview for the kitchen, and there were a few people who had their resumes passed to me by the other chefs for people who want to move here and are looking for a job."

"That's handy," Parvati said.

"Seriously. And since they were recommended, I'm less concerned about it. I was worried that I wouldn't be taken seriously again due to my age and everything."

"Despite the fact that you are incredibly experienced and have international acclaim from both the Showcase and the Rising Stars," Daphne snorted.

"Well, yeah," Harry said sheepishly and they laughed.

"He's not wrong. I can think of plenty of people who would balk at listening to others for some silly reason or another," Blaise said.

"Actually, yes, I agree," Hermione said. "You should hear how some people argue with Mistress Tonks. They think they know more about enchanting or how some things work despite hiring her to do the job."

"What's Hedwig's position?" Millicent asked as Hedwig flew about the room before landing on the table.

"Owl de Cuisine," Harry said and Hedwig nodded emphatically. "She's going to raise morale as well as keep an eye on things, quality control, that sort of thing."

"And what're Lavender's positions?" Parvati asked cheekily, waggling her eyebrows before shrieking as Lavender pushed her over.

"I'll help out some nights if I'm not tired from the Thread," she said to the laughing others while kicking a prone Parvati. "Just serving stuff on the Hogsmeade side. Wouldn't want to risk anything for others." She shrieked when Parvati pulled her down and the two started to push and scrap with each other, rolling under the table.

"You know, it's kind of refreshing when you see how some things don't change," Hermione smiled and the others laughed harder.

"Go on," Harry smiled and Hedwig hopped off the table daintily. "She also breaks up fights," he said as Lavender and Parvati shouted loudly while Hedwig barked at them, nipping and hair pulling.

"While sometimes causing them," Daphne added as Lavender and Parvati fled from a happily hooting Hedwig.

"That too," Harry grinned.

-0-

"Hello!" Harry walked into the room from the kitchen and smiled at the person there. His smile turned into an expression of confusion when she jumped out of her seat and saluted him

"Mirra from Clan IronSides, reporting," she said loudly and clearly with a trace of nervousness. She was tall for a goblin, still shorter than Harry though, and had broad shoulders and her grey hair was braided, hanging over one shoulder.

"Uh…you really don't have to salute me," Harry said, wrongfooted.

"I don't?" Mirra asked, giving him a surprised look.

Harry looked at her resume. "You were sent over by Chef Diglin, right?"

"Yes Sir."

"And you worked with the Crew in Main One?"

"Yes Sir."

Harry grinned ruefully. "Seriously, you can relax. Let me guess. Flynt told you to salute me because otherwise I'll do something terrible and Hacker told you to call me Sir and to not look at me directly or else something bad will happen."

"Uh…yes Sir," Mirra said, looking at him with a slightly surprised expression.

"Whatever they told you about me is probably a lie when it comes to not cooking things," Harry said, laughing. His laughter seemed to put her at ease and she relaxed a fraction. He sat down and waited for her to sit opposite of him. "They were more than likely messing with you."

"Oh, that's a relief," she said, relaxing a little more. "You do look a lot nicer than they said you would look. Said you had a naturally angry face and were really intimidating."

Harry snorted deeply. "I was intimidated by them for over a month when I first started. They just wanted to mess with me now by using you."

"I see that now," she said, smiling a little.

"Chef recommended you," Harry said, enjoying her look of pride. "He said you're a good cook, you listen, and you work hard. That's high praise from him."

"He's great."

"Yeah he is, I learned so much from him," Harry nodded. "Why are you interested in working outside of Gringotts?"

Mirra took a breath. "Well, cooking is a new career for me. Most of my family and clan don't do cooking related things really. But I always was interested in it and so my parents said if I want to try it, to learn from the best. I got a job at Gringotts and worked there for the year and I ended up liking it more. And it was so incredible to me to find out that some of my favorite dishes there weren't originally goblin dishes at all. When Chef noticed that he told me to wait and then a few months later, he told me about you opening a restaurant and encouraged me to try and apply for a position here."

She looked at him directly. "He said that you were the first really good human to work in the main kitchens and you taught them all the different foods and learned a lot about goblin cooking. Said you would know what it's like to really expand your horizons and that I'd learn a lot about lots of things if I work with you."

Harry felt incredibly warm from hearing all that. "Chef is one of the best teachers I've ever had and one of the best cooks and chefs I've had the honor to work with. You're going to be okay with working aboveground and with other people?"

"Being aboveground doesn't bother me. The village was really nice when I walked through it from the Floo hub at the train station. As far as working with other people," she shrugged lightly, "I can handle myself."

"Don't worry, I won't allow any intolerance over backgrounds and things," Harry said firmly.

Mirra blinked a little and smiled more. "That's what Chef and the Crew said so that's great." She looked around the restaurant that was being renovated and remodeled. "I like the feel of it in here. There's a lot of stonework."

Harry smiled too as he looked around. "I got used to having it around. My friend Tracey's construction company is doing a lot and Clan StoneHeart is helping me with the stonework and things. My friends Luna and Blaise are helping with decorations."

"No wonder you and Chef get along," Mirra said, eyes wide.

"He's the best and so is his family," Harry smiled lovingly. "Right. Let's see you cook something, shall we?"

"Yes Sir," Mirra said eagerly. She followed him into the kitchen and she whistled appreciatively. It looked more complete and finished compared to the rest of the building. The floor was wood with comfortable mats scattered about where people would be standing more. A large six burner stove sat in the back alongside a long flat top grill. Two large ovens were put against the corner and there were ample long prep tables in the middle. Large racks along another wall held equipment and general produce and there was a door to the main pantry and another leading to the ice room. "The layout is so similar to Main One!"

"It really is, it made sense to me," Harry smiled.

"And the height of things are a little lower," Mirra noticed. "Were you expecting a lot of goblin staff?"

"Expecting, no. Hoping, yes."

Mirra looked at him for a moment before nodding to herself. "What would you like for me to make?"

"Two things. Your favorite dish and an omelet or an egg dish of some sort. You can use any of the ingredients here."

"Yes Sir!" Mirra got to work, opening her knife case and pulling on an apron. At first she was a little nervous because Harry was watching her, but his easy smile put her nervousness away and she lost herself in cooking. She moved swiftly, obviously wanting to impress.

Harry watched her closely, looking to see how she moved and performed. He liked what he saw. It was clear that she learned well from Diglin and the others and she did not waste movement or ingredients, something he appreciated. He knew she would be working at her best and there could be other habits later, but he was happy with what she was doing currently.

"Done Sir," she said, setting two plates in front of him. One had a nicely shaped omelet, browned and folded in half. "My omelet has mushroom and cheese in it. And this is my version of mapo tofu. I loved it since the first time I had it at Main One and really like making it."

Harry smiled at that. "Join me," he said, putting cutlery out for both of them. He dug into both plates without reservation, chewing thoughtfully. "Mmm, great omelet. Egg is good, nice flavor. Like how you cooked the mushrooms first. Really nice mapo tofu too. I like how you minced the mushrooms fine and cooked it out with the meat first to give it more volume."

"I'm so happy you have goblin mushrooms here," Mirra smiled as she ate.

"One last question," Harry said after they finished eating. "How do you feel about owls?"

"Like in general? I haven't had a lot of experience with them but I think they're pretty," Mirra said, slightly confused. She gasped when Hedwig swooped into the kitchen and landed delicately on the table. "Oh wow, you're pretty!"

Hedwig fluffed up and looked pleased, hooting pleasantly back.

Harry smiled and offered a hand. "Mirra of IronSides, the position is yours if you want it."

"Really?! I mean yes! Yes Sir I want it! I mean Chef!" Mirra babbled, shaking his hand excitedly.

Harry winced a little but laughed. "You got a really strong grip," he laughed at her flush. "I think we're going to work together really well."

-0-

"How're things going?" Sirius asked.

"Pretty decent," Harry said. He was at Grimmauld, in the kitchen to no one's surprise, and currently cooking dinner. "I'm most of the way through the interviews and renovations and things are going ahead of schedule if you can believe it."

"That is good to hear," Andromeda said. "And have the interviews gone well?"

Harry laughed. "Well, not as great but not terrible so even I guess?"

"That sounds good," Ted said.

"Well so one of them said they would have problems listening to me because I was younger and less experienced. When I asked if they weren't already told that when they were recommended, they tried to waffle but I wasn't interested anymore. Another refused to cook during it, saying I had no reason to doubt their skills. A third showed up way late and wasn't nice at all."

"Yeah, you don't want people like that," Ted snorted. "And they were recommended?"

"Sort of. These were the ones that the other chefs who told me about them thought they might work out." He shook his head. "The first one isn't going to like hearing from Chef Ripert later when I tell him it didn't work out."

"Hopefully they haven't been all bad," Sirius said sympathetically.

"Not all. Mirra was the best so far and I guess I got spoiled since she was the first one. I think she's going to be great. Eddie is going to be good too I think. His real name is Edward Bolton and I said he should be good because I know a great Edward." He smiled when Ted laughed and hugged him. "He's also Gwendolyn's little brother. It was really funny because she recommended him and was really positive about him and I didn't know they were related until later. They're half-siblings, her mother married his father later and they had him. He was surprised too because he's not used to being praised by his big sister though they get along well."

"That is sweet," Andromeda smiled. "Did he move here from America?"

Harry nodded. "A British magical went to America for mastery work and they're in a relationship and he moved back here with him. He grew up cooking and working in restaurants too and was looking for a new job and Gwendolyn was excited when the dates of me opening and him moving over lined up. He's nice."

"How many more interviews do you have?" Amelia asked.

"A few more for the kitchen and I have my one with the maître d' tomorrow. I'm really hoping that one works out because you really need someone good for the front of house." Harry shrugged again. "Still, compared to how things went for Chef Gabriel's second place opening, mine has been problem free."

"What happened?" Sirius asked.

"So much went wrong," Harry laughed. "The location had to be rebuilt, repairs and things took ages. And he had a really rigorous interview process and part of it was seeing if the new people would work well with others, meaning me. Some did, some didn't. He also allowed them to assume that I was going to be taking over the new place for him so he could weed out people that tried to kiss up and all that."

"I hope you knew that beforehand," Andromeda frowned.

"Sort of? Not quite the full extent," Harry said. "At that point I knew how he liked to have the kitchen be run so I was able to have a good gauge on people and that was valuable experience. I eventually found out that the place that he was establishing his second restaurant was a well-known Cursed location."

"Like lots of bad luck from failed businesses?" Ted asked.

"That and it was literally Cursed. Apparently there was a huge fight there at one point and the wizard who died there Cursed the others," Harry said.

"Why on earth did he pick that place then?" Andromeda gasped.

"Chef is stubborn and says he would make it work," Harry said. "And well, it has been working for the last few months."

"Maybe he broke the Curse," Sirius snorted.

"That and he hired a really good team of Curse Breakers from Gringotts," Harry said. "But the good thing now is that no matter how bad it's getting for me now, it's nowhere near like how his went."

"Thank goodness for small favors like that then," Amelia laughed.

-0-

She walked with the gait of someone very sure of themselves, almost to the level of a swagger with the amount of energy and self-assuredness that was laced into her movements. She wore a grey suit, cut to fit her frame, and her blonde hair seemed to glow within the restaurant. Her eyes took in the interior, looking at everything.

"Hello."

She looked down and her eyebrows slightly, seeing that she had been addressed by a house elf. The house elf wore smart clothing, well made and designed to look professional yet comfortable. "Bonjour," she said pleasantly. "Je suis ici pour mon entretien."

The house elf nodded. "Have a seat at that table please," she said, leading her to a table. "Harry will be with you in a moment." She scowled. "He is recovering from the previous interview."

The woman's eyebrow rose. First at noticing how informal the house elf was with the supposed owner, while still being quite polite with her, and then at what the house elf said. She sat down, making herself comfortable.

"Would Miss like something to drink?" the house elf asked.

"De l'eau, s'il vous plait," she said. She thanked the house elf when she brought back a glass of cool water and watched as the elf walked into the kitchen. After a few moments, Harry walked out, looking faintly annoyed but the expression disappeared when he saw her. She rose to her feet and offered a hand. "Bonjour. Monsieur Potter, je suppose?"

"Oui, Harry Potter. Et tu es Mademoiselle Chloe Pointue? Ravi de vous rencontrer," he replied in very good French, surprising her again. He took her hand and shook it firmly and respectfully before sitting across from her.

"You speak French very well," Chloe said with a small smile.

"I spent a lot of time in France and working professionally, so it was important," Harry smiled. "I was told I sounded like a country bumpkin when I started."

Chloe suppressed a snort. "I speak English as well, of course," she said in lightly accented English. "Seeing how this will be a predominantly English-speaking establishment, perhaps we should speak in it."

"Fine by me," Harry said smoothly. He took out Chloe's resume and looked at it briefly. "You have a degree in hospitality?"

"Yes, from a non-magical school but I have worked in magical locations before, as you see," Chloe said. "I have been an assistant manager before many times and my last place of occupation I was more or less doing the job of the position of manager, but without the pay nor the recognition."

"Which is why you are looking for a new job?"

"That and it has been somewhat untenable for me where I live now and would like a fresh start," she replied coolly. Her eyes flickered slightly in hue, something Harry noticed.

"May I ask if you are Veela?" Harry asked.

Chloe scowled. "Yes," she said shortly. "Will that be a problem?" She was wholly unprepared for Harry's easy smile.

"Not at all! I just noticed that your eyes changed for a brief moment and I recognized it."

"You did?!" Her calm manner cracked briefly, looking at him with astonishment.

"I've seen it a fair bit with some really close friends," Harry smiled. "Also I think that would explain how I got your resume. I'm really good friends with Fleur Delacour and her family as well as Sophie of BeauSoleil."

"Oh! Why yes, I know them as well," Chloe said, even more surprised. "My mother is a part of the BeauSoleil clan."

"Small world!" Harry smiled. "That's so cool."

"It very much is," she said slowly, still processing the information. "No wonder Tante Apolline spoke glowingly of you. She said you would not take liberties and expect anything inappropriate. I confess I did not believe her but I am thinking I can, now."

"I won't ever ask you to do anything you're not comfortable with," Harry reassured. "In terms of customer service that is."

"Thank the Fates," Chloe sighed, relaxing. "That was a problem before. My former employers always wanted me to 'attract' guests and use my 'abilities' to placate them and have them spend. Never mind my allure is rather weak and it does not work that way."

"Oh no, none of that here," Harry said with an equally disgusted look on his face. "If I can't attract them with my cooking, I don't want them here."

She smiled at that. "May I ask, why are you looking for a maître d'? No offense, but your location is not so big and I do not know you would necessitate one."

"Fair question," Harry said, showing no sign of being offended. "I think I will be getting a decent amount of people who don't live in the village coming to eat here. I really don't want to ruin the feel of the village and the comfort of people living here. Also, I have worked at several French restaurants and a really good front of house manager/maître d' is absolutely vital. I want someone who can handle it and that I can work with so I don't have to worry about the front, the reservations, handling things out here. I want to trust them and hopefully be friends with them."

"Why not open your restaurant elsewhere?" she asked, intrigued.

"Because I love it here," Harry said. "It's a wonderful place to live and be and the people here supported me a lot during some stressful times in my life and I wanted to spend my time and life here."

She nodded. "Have you interviewed others for this position?"

"No, you were the only person lined up for it so far," Harry said honestly.

"Truly?" she asked, surprised.

He nodded. "Plus I have it under good authority that the best maître d's are French for a reason." He smiled shyly at her look. "Only the French can be professionally rude and sounds positively polite while doing it."

That shocked a rich laugh out of her, one that he joined in. "That is true," she said, amused. She winced. "I, uh, I must confess that you might hear some…comments on my character should you contact my previous employers."

"I'm not concerned," Harry said. "Tante Apolline told me that your surname is a very good descriptor for you and your demeanor."

"Dammit Auntie," Chloe growled, feeling better when Harry smiled. "And yet you still wanted to give me the opportunity?"

"I like to work with people and see how they are myself in person." He frowned and sighed, looking faintly annoyed once more. "Speaking of, how do you feel about working with house elves, goblins, and an owl?"

"I have no problems working with house elves," she said, slightly confused. "I confess I do not have much experience working with goblins but if they are professional, I will be as well. And…an owl? I have never 'worked' with one but I suppose I could depending on the circumstance?"

"Thank you, that's all I ask." He waved a hand. "Sorry. I had the worst interview of the lot right before yours. The bloke refused to work with 'lesser beings' and called my owl a flying rat." His expression grew especially heated at the last part and Chole had to suppress a shudder.

"Ah, was he the one that was running down the street screaming?" Chloe asked. "Chased by an owl that was holding something?"

"Yeah, she didn't take too kindly at that and he was so rude, I didn't want to call her off," Harry said, scowling.

"I was curious about that," Chloe said mildly. "No, again, as long as we are all polite and professional with one another, I see no problems. At least initially, given personality differences of course."

"Thank goodness," Harry sighed with relief. "Before you make your final decision, what would you like to eat?"

"You are going to cook something for me?" she asked, surprised yet again.

"I figured it's only fair. I want you to like working here and part of it has to be if the food is good enough for you," Harry said.

She blinked a few times. "Whatever you are willing to make then, I would be grateful for." At his invitation, she followed him into the kitchen, looking at everything yet again. She was surprised to see a goblin cooking who nodded politely at her as she moved around. A young man walked out of the pantry and waved cheerily at her as he went on with his duties. He and the goblin girl spoke with burgeoning familiarity and respectfully greeted Harry who exchanged words with them as he got to work.

She watched him with interest. She had done a little research about Harry before coming over for the interview. While Apolline and the others did not tell Chloe much, they told her his name at least and how he had worked with the famous, and infamous, Gabriel Robuchon. She looked more and was delighted to read about him in the most recent competition that the World's Kitchen had for newcomers. Seeing how positively he was portrayed at the time, and the genuine warmth the Delacours and Sophie's family had for him, she took the chance to come over for the interview.

"Steak frites?" she said, surprised when he put the plate of food before her. "And a chicken soup?" She took a tentative bite which became a more eager bite, then successive enthusiastic bites. "This is delicious!" she said, eating happily. "As good as any I have had in Paris, even better than most!"

"It's one of my favorites," Harry smiled. "Simple really. Well cooked steak, a flavorful sauce, and who doesn't like chips or frites? And this soup is a staple of the establishment since I made it years ago."

"What kind of restaurant are you having? I mean what food are you serving?" she asked as she ate. "Not French, completely at least."

"It's kind of selfish in a way," Harry said. "But basically it's food that I personally love and wanted to share with others. It's food that makes me happy and I want others to eat it and be happy as well. So it's going to be a bit of everything. French dishes and training I've had, goblin cuisine, Chinese, Indian, British, Japanese, any kind of food that you eat and are comforted by. With something different or fancy here and there."

A window in the kitchen opened and Chloe's eyes opened wide when she saw a beautiful snowy owl swoop in. Her eyes became even wider when she realized the owl held a very large object in her talons that looked vaguely like a war hammer that she had seen in museums. The owl flew around the kitchen before landing on the table beside Harry, hooting warmly at him and giving her a curious look.

"What is that?!" Chloe asked, pointing at the object the owl dropped.

"Ironnut mallet," Harry said with what she thought was a startling lack of concern. "It's also really good at cracking other things." He looked at the owl. "Did he make it out unscathed?"

The owl shook her head, looking very pleased with herself.

"Good," Harry snorted. "That'll teach him to be nicer to people and owls. Thank you Inky," he said when the house elf took the mallet and cleaned it while walking away. "Oh sorry, this is Hedwig. She's my owl and the reason why I asked if you had any problems working with an owl."

"Pleasure to meet you," Chloe said and meant it. She offered her hand and smiled when Hedwig stuck a leg out and they shook. Hedwig hooted back politely before she plumped back down with a sigh, cheeping happily when Harry fed her a bite of steak and some chips.

"So, what do you think?" Harry asked.

Chloe smiled. "I think I will enjoy working here with you and everyone else. I accept the position."

"Great!" He and Chloe shook hands enthusiastically. "So far the front of house staff is Willie and Nillie, also house elves. Mr. Abe, Aberforth, will be running the bar sometimes. My girlfriend Lavender will probably want to help on slower nights on the Hogsmeade side."

"I can think of a few that might come over from France," Chloe offered. "More or less experienced in hospitality and waiting as well. I will ask."

"Thank you," Harry smiled and she felt herself mirroring the expression. "I think this is going to be great!"

I think so too, she thought as she ate more of the delicious food.

-0-0-0-

Doombreed - Hope you enjoy today's chapter.

TheSphynx - Yes, there will be an extended version of this setting.

odonnellzoo99 - Cut and stabbed even. Time skips can be a little lazy sometimes but I think it worked out well.

TheReader81 - Glad you liked it. Thank you.

Hufflepuffzd96 - There will be.

Hands Off MY Wolfie - No, he's a hard worker and he probably didn't have much time to feel lonely at all. Hedwig is always funny and very protective of Harry. Thanks for reading.

TheMatze99 - Thank you.

alix33 - Harry knows that Lavender cares and he really appreciates the affection.

Wentley - The world of cooking really is vast and incredible if you really think about it. But it was time for him to go home.

DarkRavie - Thank you.

JRSDH1 - There might be.

DOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - There will be announcement about your last point some time this week I imagine.

poka - Spoilers but there might be a chapter just about that very incident coming in the near future. Emmie is such a cutie, she's so fun to write for surprisingly. I really liked that joke that both Hannah and Ron had less than positive feelings about Harry in the beginning. It made me laugh writing that.

karmakarma2001 - Thank you very much.