I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
A Taste of Magic
90th Course – Leading
"Hey, can I ask you two a question?"
"I didn't eat the last sausage roll you had in your bag," Parvati said.
"Oh, uh, wasn't my question but good to know," Harry said, wrong-footed. "Do you know who did?"
"Is that your question?" Parvati yelped when Lavender pinched her.
"She's actually telling the truth," Lavender said, giving Parvati a stern look.
"Why are people surprised when I do that?" Parvati complained.
"Only because I saw you open the box and it was empty already," Lavender said. "So you're still guilty! Just slow!"
"You're guilty! We were going to split it!"
Harry grinned. "You two are great."
"Glad you think so," Parvati smiled.
Lavender shook her head. "What's up Harry?"
"I had a question about prophecies, have you learned about them in divination yet?"
"Oh yeah, sort of. What do you want to know?" Lavender looked up at him quizzically.
"How do they work, exactly?" Harry asked slowly.
"Well, if it's a true prophecy, as in made by an actual seer, then they're basically fated to happen," Parvati said.
"An actual seer?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, divination is a lot less concrete than other schools of magic," Lavender said. "A bunch of it is open to interpretation and there's been a lot of people who claim to be seers but aren't. So their predictions and prophecies don't come true."
"Are there a lot of actual seers and prophecies?"
"They're really rare," Parvati said. "But there are a lot of recorded proofs of actual prophecies."
"And if it's an actual one, it has to happen or be true?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yes and no," Lavender said. "We've learned that the substance is true, but how it becomes true is really up to debate. For example, if you're fated to lose something-"
-like your last sausage roll," Parvati added.
"-like your last sausage roll," Lavender said, poking Parvati, "then it will happen one way or another. But if the prophecy said that it will be done by a dark-haired individual-"
"-hey don't profile me!" Parvati said
"-then while it will be a dark-haired individual's fault, it might not be the one you think it is," Lavender finished, sticking her tongue out at her friend.
"Oh yeah, it could be the dark-haired individual's sister," Parvati said brightly.
"Padma would ask," Lavender sniffed.
"She doesn't ask me," Parvati retorted.
"So say it's prophesied that I'm going to break a cup," Harry offered slowly, "I can either just smash it but it could happen completely on accident?"
"Right," Parvati nodded. "Or you might not be the one that directly breaks it, but you might start a chain reaction that results in the cup being broken. Like you put the cup on a table and someone else bumps into it and it falls."
"Gotcha, that makes sense. Divination is kinda nebulous, isn't it?"
"Great use of the word, and yeah it is." Parvati waggled her hand. "It's literally how you interpret things. There's so many stories of people thinking they can predict everything and it only happens because they make it happen, thinking it's fated. Which of course there are stories of people who try to avoid their fates and end up making it happen anyways. So there's always the argument over what is fated and what isn't."
"That sounds maddening. How do you get good marks then?" Harry asked with a big smile.
"You claim to see them of course," Parvati laughed.
"Are you okay?" Lavender asked. "Why are you curious about prophecies?"
"Just something I heard recently," Harry said evasively. "Wanted to check with the experts."
"Yes, compliment us more," Parvati beamed.
Lavender rolled her eyes. "Well, okay. Just making sure."
He hugged her. "I appreciate it." He reached out for his bag. "I might not have any more sausage rolls, but I should have something else here." He grunted as he pulled it to him. "Whoa, this is a lot heavier than I thought it was." He undid the flap and looked in and smiled.
"Hi Sunny," Lavender smiled, seeing Sunny poke her head out of Harry's bag. "How long have you been in there?"
"Wait, she's chewing something." Parvati gasped. "You've been taking the last treats!"
Harry grinned and rubbed Sunny's head. "Well, guess you're right. A dark-haired individual indeed."
"You're a seer!" Parvati exclaimed. "Tell us your next prophecy!"
"Oh let me think." Lavender screwed her face up and held an index finger to her temple. "I see…a plate of treats. Yummy ones."
"I think that's a self-fulfilling prophecy," Harry laughed. He stood and settled his bag and Sunny around his shoulder. "And I think there was a plate of treats left in the Uncommon Room. Want to go?"
"We need to make sure the prophecy is fulfilled," Parvati said, rising too.
"Maybe your specialty in divination will be food related," Harry teased.
Lavender giggled. "Maybe! I can predict if it will taste good or not. Or imagine how much more exercise we'll have to do to account for it."
"I can always make less sweets," Harry said.
"I don't see that happening though," Lavender said. "Can't come true then."
"Does it work that way?" Harry smiled.
"Yep, best not tempt fate," Parvati giggled.
-0-
"Gotcha!"
Harry whooped as he was tackled from the side, right after entering the room. He recognized the form right before impact so he did not fight back as he was wrapped in a tight embrace. "Hi Dora!"
"Hi little bro!" Dora hugged him close.
"Hi Auntie Andi, Uncle Ted! Hi Sirius!" Harry blinked a few times. "What are you all doing here?"
"I invited them over," Remus said warmly. "The Headmaster told me that he told you a few things."
"Oh right, he did," Harry said soberly.
"So I told the others and had them come over to answer any questions and to provide reassurance," Remus said softly.
"Thank you." Harry felt warm inside. "I really appreciate it."
"How are you feeling?" Sirius asked, looking concerned.
"I'm okay, really," he said. "I think, mostly."
"Well that's a relief, I think, mostly," Dora said snarkily.
Harry laughed. "I mean, it was kind of a shock to hear why my parents died and everything that happened before and leading up to it all. I'm still processing it really."
"Understandable," Ted said sympathetically.
"But if we don't do anything now, things can get bad again, right? And bad things will happen to more people and us," Harry continued.
"Unfortunately, that is very possible," Andromeda said sadly.
"I'll do what I can," Harry said. "And well, I trust all of you and the Headmaster and the Dumbledores, and the Flamels, and Drake. And with all of us together, we can handle anything, right?"
"Hell yeah," Dora said loudly.
"Thattaboy," Sirius said proudly. "You're handling this really well. I'm proud of you."
"Sometimes I scream a little on the inside, that's okay right?" Harry asked with a weak smile.
"I scream a lot on the outside, it's fine," Dora said.
"Yeah, what she said," Sirius smiled. "Well, we just wanted you to know that you weren't alone Harry. We're with you."
"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better," Harry said with evident relief. His countenance fell a little. "Tom…Voldemort…he did some really bad stuff. A lot of the problems today are because of it, right?"
Remus nodded. "Not all, it would be unfair to blame everything on him. But yes. His actions had long-lasting consequences."
"Which is why we need to be proactive now, to the best of our ability," Andromeda said. "To prevent any more from occurring."
"Right, it has to be done," Harry said with conviction.
"It has to be done," Sirius echoed.
The silence that grew was heavy, but not impossibly so. There was an undercurrent of uncertainty, but overall, it held a determination that Harry found comforting.
"Want to stay for dinner?" Harry asked.
"Is the Minister of Magic bad at his job?" Dora asked.
"Uhm…maybe? I have no idea." Harry said while the others snorted and laughed.
"Yes, yes we would," Andromeda smiled. "And more importantly, enjoy it with you." She shook her head at her giggling daughter. "You really should not joke like that with your job."
"Is anyone here going to rat me out?" Dora countered.
"I certainly hope not," Remus chuckled. "Not terribly fond of them that much anymore."
-0-
"Here you are Sir," Pansy said, handing the parchment to Snape. "The notices from the House."
"Thank you." Snape paged through them swiftly. "Well done. In fact, very well done. Your work is commendable."
Pansy blinked. Snape was the type of person to be lavish with his critiques and sparing with his praise. Even to the members of his own House, he was more reserved compared to the other Heads. "It was only to obtain the notices from the students. Even Zabini could do it correctly."
Snape's lips quivered at that. "Be that as it may, you have been a model prefect. It has been noticed and it is appreciated. Even more so with Slytherin in…its current state." He looked at her with approval. "You are every bit the prefect the House needs and one of the best in the school. Thank you."
"Th-Thank you, Sir," she replied, eyes wide.
Snape looked back at his work. "I confess that at first acquaintance, I had reservations of your character. Unfair to say for someone so young, but it is what it is."
"Yes Sir," she replied limply.
He looked at her again. "Your growth is admirable and you exemplify the positive qualities of Slytherin."
"Thank you, Sir." She gulped. "Are…are you well? Sir?"
Snape looked at her for a long moment, making her fidget before he snorted softly. "Well enough," he said at last. "It has come to my attention that perhaps I was rather…unaware of the humors of my own House. And that is a personal failing, one that I am eager to correct. So, credit to where it is due."
He looked at her directly. "Thank you for all you are doing. The under years look up to you, they have said as much, and I know the others in your year rally to you. I appreciate your efforts. You are a true leader in Slytherin."
"Thank you, Sir," she repeated, softly with wonder.
"That will be all," he said, dismissing her.
"Yes Sir." She left his office in a daze, wandering slowly back to the Slytherin common room. She waved distractedly to the firsties and a few others, eventually making her way to her dorm room.
"What happened to you?" Millicent asked when Pansy walked in, noticing her odd expression and behavior.
"Professor Snape just said I was a model prefect."
"Wow, that's high praise," Millicent said, looking impressed. "And he wasn't under the influence of anything?"
"I actually asked if he was feeling well," Pansy confessed.
Millicent laughed. "And?"
"He said he was." They laughed together. "I was just so surprised," Pansy said. "He said I've grown a lot."
"That's a good thing," Millicent said, giving her friend a look.
"I know it's a good thing," Pansy snorted, throwing a pillow. "Just, well, like I said. It's a surprise."
"Well sure, I guess. But you deserve it. I said before that you're actually acting like a proper prefect, not the sods we've seen before. You actually care about being a prefect."
"I suppose I feel somewhat, oh I don't know, fraudulent in a way."
"You're going to have to explain that. What do you mean?"
Pansy shrugged weakly. "I mean, I sort of care about the firsties and that I feel bad for them, but I also want to do the job properly because it's my responsibility. I want to live up to it, to show that I deserve it."
"Okay, how's that feeling fraudulent?"
"Shouldn't I be more warm and comforting and kinder and all that? Like genuinely so?"
"If you're more warm and comforting and kinder and all that to everyone else and not me, your oldest and best friend, I'd be very miffed," Millicent said and threw the pillow back. She laughed and caught the return throw. "I mean, you're doing the job to the best of your ability right? Not shirking or anything like that?"
"No."
"Then you're doing a great job of it. There're many different kinds of decent prefects I imagine. Not all of them are 'best buddy' types."
"That's true," Pansy said, feeling better.
"You're one of those that'll do the job well and be just a smidge nicer than others while hiding the fact that you're a bitch."
Pansy laughed. "I can do that." She shook her head. "I've had to bite my tongue when dealing with some of the second and third years, especially ones from other Houses."
"Wow, not saying exactly what's on your mind? That's character growth," Millicent said with faux admiration.
"I have to be on my best behavior when doing my duties, sadly," Pansy huffed.
"Just take your badge off and let them have it," Millicent suggested.
Pansy smiled. "Don't tempt me." Her smile faded a little. "I think what's also a surprise is that Professor Snape said the under years look up to me."
"I can see it. You've managed to defuse situations with idiots from other Houses. Not let them bother you too much," Millicent said.
"I guess I never thought I'd have anyone ever look up to me," Pansy said wonderingly.
"If it makes you feel better, I'll never look up to you," Millicent said. "You're shorter than me. That and I barely respect you."
"That does make me feel better actually," Pansy smiled, cheering when she nailed Millicent directly in the face with another pillow. The two friends threw things at each other for a few moments. "Thank you, Millie. You're my best friend."
"Any time," Millicent smiled. "And you're mine."
"I don't respect you either."
"Don't lie. I'm your idol."
"You certainly are my idle best friend."
"Did you just call me fat?"
"No, if I wanted to call you fat, I'd call you fat. You fat."
"Bitch!"
-0-
"I feel like my brain is boiling and it's going to ooze out of my ears," Parvati groaned, rubbing her temples.
"I do smell something smoking," Padma remarked. "Anyone eating pepper imps? No? Then your brain might be burning." While people laughed, she flushed when Harry looked over at the stove. "Oh no, I mean, I was just kidding about smelling smoke."
"Oh whew," Harry said, relieved, eliciting more laughter. "Here, just in case."
"Ooh thanks." Parvati held the chilled bottle to her forehead and sighed happily. "That actually feels nice. I wonder if that can actually happen or not though."
Luna looked up from her work. "Why are people looking at me?"
"You usually have something to say about the possibility of something happening based on some strange creature," Tracey said.
"Oh well flibbergibbets can worm their way into your ears and rest against your brain," Luna said without hesitation. "You know sometimes you get that tune stuck in your head? That's them humming. There hasn't been any cases of enough of them causing your brain to boil but they might make it hot because they like to sit against them."
"The things that clog up Floo pipes?" Harry asked.
"The very same," Luna said, smiling wide.
"That's not a thing, that can't be," Astoria said, appalled. "Can it?" she asked, looking at Daphne.
"I have no idea, but if Harry has heard of them," Daphne said slowly, "then perhaps?"
"To be fair, I learned of them from Mr. Lovegood," Harry grinned. "Tangentially related, Auntie Ari told me about a Curse called the Brain Burster."
"Oh what does that do?" Parvati asked eagerly.
"She said it's a Curse that literally makes the brain explode, but then Mr. Abe said that wasn't a thing and it's just a localized fire charm and vibration charm," Harry said. "Auntie Ari then tried to prove it by transfiguring something that was 'brain-like' and putting it in a glass jar and tried to burst it."
"That's horrific," Padma said, looking queasy. "I really hope that isn't a thing."
"Doesn't sound terribly useful," Blaise said. "Some people don't have big enough brains to burst."
"What does she teach you?" Daphne asked, looking faintly alarmed.
"Lots of cool stuff," Harry smiled. "She's awesome." He flicked his wand and a magical emerald hand manifested and waved at them before it walked around on the table top.
"I still wish she would teach us the Lip Sewer Curse," Sue sighed.
"She said she will when we turn seventeen," Parvati said. "I asked."
"The what?!" Neville cried.
"Was she successful?" Luna asked. "Bursting the brain, I mean."
"Sort of? She pumped so much power into the spell the whole thing exploded. Mr. Abe said it didn't count but she said it did. They asked the Headmaster later but he refused to comment," Harry said.
"What else can the hand spell do?" Lavender asked. "I love the slap one."
"Basically anything you can imagine it too. It can pick up things and make all sorts of gestures and things. Oh and thumb war."
"Oooh teach me!"
Harry taught his friends the spell and soon there were many games of thumb war and rock, papers, and scissors being played all around the Uncommon Room. Blaise made sure to practice well away from the pet side of the room, shivering a little when Hedwig stared at him all the while, clacking her beak at him.
"Ooh I like this," Astoria smiled, her light blue hand giving Daphne the salute. "This will be really useful. Ow hey!" she squawked when Daphne's gold hand flicked her in the forehead. "That hurt!"
"Good!" Daphne scolded.
"I did find a really fun use for it too." Harry gestured with his wand and his emerald hand picked up a wooden spoon and another lifted the lid off the very large pot. The first hand started stirring the contents slowly and smoothly. "You could just charm the spoon to stir by itself, but this is fun too."
"That's so fun," Hermione smiled. "Does it impart any magic into the food?"
"Not that I've noticed," Harry said. "Then again I've been practicing a lot with using magic while cooking and while there's still a lot of things I prefer to do by hand, I've gotten good at not adding too much magic into food with the spells I do like to use."
Padma's aquamarine hand slowly carried a roll of parchment to her. "It is fun when you can use different spells to do similar things. Like you could just summon something, but doing it this way is fun too." She scowled when Parvati's crimson hand poked her and she poked her back.
Parvati grinned. "This will be useful to close a curtain or something when someone's snoring."
"I don't snore!" Lavender cried, face pink.
"Yes you do, you just don't know it 'cause you're sleeping!" Parvati scowled when Lavender's violet hand clamped over her mouth and she swung her wand to the side sharply. Lavender squealed when the crimson hand slapped her on the rear and she chased after a silently laughing Parvati.
"What are you making?" Millicent asked, sniffing the air. "It smells nice."
"Another recipe from Sue's family," Harry said. "It's called congee."
"That does sound very pleasant," Luna nodded.
"That was a dreadful pun," Daphne laughed.
Sue laughed too. "It's rice porridge or soup, based on how long you cook it. You can either cook it where the rice is super soft but still has its shape and it's sort of like oatmeal in texture, or a little further and the grains break down and it makes a really nice and thick soupy consistency. You then add all sorts of things to it. It's really easy to digest and it's good for people who are sick or you want something really hot and comforting."
"I cooked it with chicken stock and some spices already like ginger, garlic, white and black pepper," Harry said. "And we made a bunch of toppings like chopped pickles, chopped scallions, I have some sliced chicken ready too. And here's something called pork floss."
"Floss?" Hermione looked at the dried pork in the bowl. "Wow, it actually does look like a pile of floss. That's weird!"
"In Chinese it's translated as loose meat," Sue said. "It's really tasty though. It's pork that's been stewed for a while then it's shredded into strands and then pan fried. You can eat it with bread or on rice or in congee. And we also have my favorite thing to have in congee too."
"Okay, that's weird," Ron said, looking at the oval objects with concern. "What are those?!"
"Century eggs," Sue said. "They do look a little weird," she admitted.
"Those are eggs?!" Ginny gasped. "What happened to them?!"
"They're preserved," Sue said defensively. "Pickled, sort of."
"What do they taste like?" Neville asked, looking at the dark brown jelly outsides and the greyish middles with trepidation.
"The outsides are like jelly and the yolk has a strong taste, like fermented cheese almost," Harry said. "I had some earlier. It's not bad. And I think it will taste good in the congee since the congee is pretty neutral in flavor."
"Are you going to try it?" Tracey asked.
"I will if you will," Hermione said with a hint of reluctance.
Soon everyone had bowls of congee and they added different things to it though the vast majority of them avoided the very strange looking eggs. Parvati, Padma, Millicent, Luna, and Harry joined Sue in adding some though.
"Mmm, this is really tasty," Lavender said. "It is like a combination of porridge and soup. The pork floss is fun!"
"The eggs are weird but not bad," Padma said. "Not my favorite though."
"I like them," Parvati said. "Oh wait, do we have more chili oil?" She added some when Sue passed the pot over. "That's the stuff!" Parvati said happily.
"How is it?" Neville asked Millicent.
"It's good! Weird texture and taste but not bad at all," Millicent smiled.
"Oh, it is very strong in taste though," Hermione said. She tried a little when Harry gave her a tiny bit. "Not for me I don't think."
"Is it weird that I kinda like it?" Tracey said almost sheepishly.
"I think that's the best part of us doing stuff like this," Harry said. "We can try different things we normally don't and see if we like it or not."
"That's true." Lavender smiled. "And it's not like we don't have weird things."
"Like what?" Neville asked. "I can't think of anything weird like that." He pointed at the century eggs.
"I mean, haggis isn't exactly not weird," Lavender said.
"Okay, well, fair," Neville said sheepishly. "But that's the only-"
"And there are chip shops that sell fried eggs, like hard boiled eggs fried in batter, and fried candy bars, and fried pizza," Lavender continued.
"You can fry pizza?" Luna said excitedly. "Harry, can we fry pizza please?" She gasped. "Can you fry a hamburger?!"
"I vaguely remember seeing that once on a show but I'm pretty sure it was a joke," Harry said.
"Oh there's that one really weird English thing too," Parvati exclaimed. "One of my aunties showed us once. It's the pie with the fish heads looking out."
"What?" Tracey asked, appalled. "That's not a thing!"
"No it is!" Padma insisted. "I remember it too. It has a weirdly adorable name for a frightful looking pie. Something gaze."
"Oh stargazy pie," Hermione said. "I remember that now. It's a Cornish dish and it does look very disturbing."
"Why, because of the fish heads? We eat fish all the time with the heads on still," Sue frowned. "People fight over the eyes too. They're the best bits according to them."
"Well yeah that's not weird," Parvati said, "the eating fish with the head on still bit, not the fighting over the eyes bit, but you don't exactly expect your pie to look back at you, do you?"
"Can we not talk about our food looking back at us right now?" Pansy asked, looking slightly green. "I do not want to tarnish Harry's food by getting sick."
Neville laughed. "Okay, I concede the point. Every culture has food that they might think normal and others think is weird."
"Bill told us about that one weird thing they do in the States," Ron said. "They shove a chicken into a duck and then shove both into a turkey."
"Poor turkey," Blaise said and Daphne choked on her food, needing Millicent to pat her back to clear the obstruction. "Poor chicken and duck too actually."
"That's not just a States thing," Harry grinned. "That's an old French technique, a ballotine. You debone a chicken or some other poultry and then stuff it with another kind of protein forcemeat and other ingredients and then cook it together. There's also the galatine where it's more of a cylinder shape and it's served cold."
"Huh, food's weird," Astoria said.
"Yeah, it's great," Harry smiled.
-0-0-0-
Commando678 - Thank you, I'm glad you do.
odonnellzoo99 - I'm glad you liked the chapter. I have been sitting on it for a long time and I really wanted it to feel like an impactful chapter and try to show how Albus how he is who he is in this setting.
TheSphynx - I really wanted to try and portray Dumbledore in a good and believable light in this setting and story. I wanted him to earn his accolades and reputation while not being perfect. It's like you said, he is human and he has made mistakes. I wanted to not make him perfect but make him a good person that still tries. That he isn't a fix everything sort of device, but a man doing his best how he can.
OtsutsukiRaven666 - The website and the app have been broken for many weeks now. Lots of problems are happening seemingly at random.
poka - Thank you so much for the kind words, I am grateful for them.
I know Dumbledore is a polarizing character and I really wanted to treat him differently from any of my other stories. I wanted him to live up to his myth while showing him to be competent and more caring and more human. I wanted him to logically be the way he is in this setting while trying to keep him in line with his canon feeling. I also wanted to show this Harry as someone who isn't blindly forgiving or too trusting. He has seen Dumbledore doing his best and truly believes in him. I had hoped the actions in the story leading up to this point felt good and plausible for both Harry and Dumbledore's motivations and actions and feelings. And it felt right to have it happen on Halloween.
I know my writing isn't for everyone, so I'm incredibly grateful for those who spend their time reading my writing. I'll always be thankful for it. I definitely intend on finishing this story to the end and will continue to work on Extended. I don't know what else I plan after, but we will see in time. Thank you for all your comments and kindness, it means the world to me.
MarcusTrax - Thank you so much. In the beginning I was going for ''benevolent manipulator', as in, he was still doing things behind the scenes but in this setting, he is genuinely wanting to help while he does. I like a good Dumbledore that has a good relationship with Harry.
DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Yeah, I wanted to have Gellert's death and Ariana's survival to be a key factor in turning Dumbledore into a different feeling in this setting. I had hoped it would make sense and feel reasonable here.
Naienkon - Thank you for the incredible praise.
silentprotector - I have answered this question before. Yes, he is.