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

Side Dishes

35th Course – Different Kitchens

Takes place after the last chapter, after Harry arrives in Japan.

Harry's first impression of the restaurant when he walked in was how proper it was.

Granted, it was during the morning and the restaurant had not opened yet, but it was still very quiet. Even when La Brasserie was not open, there was still plenty of noise either from the kitchen or from the workers cleaning it, or even the busy streets of New York that were never completely quiet either.

Shukaku, Akari Morimoto's restaurant in Kyoto, was in one of the quieter parts of the city as well as one of the quieter parts of the magical district. It was surrounded by other buildings and businesses that dated back many years and all of them approached their livelihood with an intensity and dedication that was easy to see.

The wood within the restaurant was polished to a mirror shine, gleaming in the light. The air was fresh and clean, barely scented by the flowers that grew in certain key places around the establishment. The floors were also cleaned to a shine, not a scuff or stain to be seen. Most of the sitting places were small rooms with low tables and guests sat on cushions on the floor on traditional tatami mat flooring. Like most buildings in the city, the space within the building was more confined and definitely smaller than places Harry had visited back home and in New York and other places around America.

"Ah Harry, good to see you." Akari walked out of the kitchen and smiled at Harry. She wore a blue chef coat but it was tied at the side and not buttoned up the front like the French chef coats he wore at La Brasserie, and long blue pants.

"Good to see you too, Chef!" Harry said, smiling back. "Thank you again for the opportunity."

"You are welcome. I was impressed with your abilities during the Rising Stars and would like to see them honed further. And you just finished your time in America and with Tony? How was that?"

"Yes Chef and it was really good. I learned a lot from Chef Tony," Harry said. "And got to see a lot in America."

"He is a good chef," Akari nodded. "Follow me, let us get you outfitted in one of our uniforms." She led him to her office and had him change into a set of clothes the chefs and cooks wore there. She then used her wand to adjust them to him and nodded when they fit properly. Then she led him into the kitchen.

Harry's eyes moved all around as he took it all in. It was laid out very similarly to La Brasserie in some ways. There were long work counters nestled alongside the stove. A large sink dominated the back for cleaning dishes and the like and refrigerators and a pantry was beside them. Everything eventually came to a long table at the front of the kitchen and it was the place where dishes came to be finished under Akari's watchful eye before being sent out. Unlike La Brasserie, the kitchen was also open to the floor at large. A long counter separated the kitchen from the floor and that was where the servers would come to pick up the food and take it to the small rooms and to the guests.

"My restaurant in Tokyo is similar in layout to this," Akari said, noticing Harry looking around carefully with approval. "However there is a full sushi bar setup there with the rest of the kitchen more behind."

"You serve different styles of Japanese cuisine between the two, right Chef?" Harry asked. "I tried to do some reading before I came over."

"Very good," she said with a bigger smile. "Yes. Here in Kyoto and the Kansai region, the food and local flavors are different from Tokyo and the Kanto region. In Kanto, there is more of an emphasis on seafood and stronger flavors. Here in Kansai, lighter and more subtle flavors are predominant. Beef is also more popular here whereas pork is more popular in Kanto. There are also different variations of common dishes between the two regions as well as different ways to treat and eat them. Calling one by one name but treating it like the other is a fast way to cause trouble and conflict. People take it very seriously."

"I bet. People in New York fight over who has the better bagel and they can be on the same street," Harry said. "Same with pizza."

"Precisely," Akari said, nodding solemnly. "That is why I enjoy having my two restaurants where I can cook with both regions' flavors and enjoy the differences and similarities between them."

"That's so cool," Harry said. "What would you like me to do, Chef?"

"You will start with basic preparatory work and you will be coming with me to both restaurants," Akari said. "In time, you will do more but I will be treating you like any who would work for me normally. Therefore, I wish to evaluate your skills and see what you are capable of."

"Ready," Harry said, patting his knife roll.

"Good." She took Harry to the back corner of the kitchen and showed him an example of the way she prepared certain ingredients. She then had him mimic them and she watched carefully as he did. While he was nervous being watched by the master chef, he was more used to working under close scrutiny by this point and worked smoothly. The knife cuts, while familiar, were different enough and he took care to do it correctly and well.

"Very good," Akari said with approval after he did a little of each. While he was working, another person dressed in the blue uniform appeared. He was older than Harry and his features were sharp and severe. "This is Chikao Nakamura. He is my Sous Chef at this location and is the one in charge when I am not here. Chikao, this is Harry Potter, the one from the competition."

"Hello Nakamura-San," Harry said politely, offering his hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Chikao looked at the offered hand and shook it briefly. "Potter-San," he said, his voice cool. He looked over Harry's work with a critical eye and looked at Akari without saying anything.

"I already gave him my approval and as long as it does not diminish from this, I think it will be fine," she said. "Go ahead, Harry. Just like that and prepare all that is here."

"Yes Chef." Harry bobbed his head at them and got to work, focusing on the task before him.

Akari walked away and Chikao followed her. "I still do not know why he is here," he said, his tone soft but the words hard.

"Because I invited him," Akari said, looking down at Chikao. "It worked out. With us shorthanded at both locations, he will be helping us while we take the time to find new people to replace Asashi and Ayumi while we wait for Chiaki to return."

"He has no experience with Japanese cooking," Chikao said accusingly. "And no, some simple dishes taught by a child does not count."

"He will learn fast," Akari said confidently. "He grew incredibly from challenge to challenge, learning much within months. And that was while he was a student. Now with him working full time, under direct tutelage, he will grow and be more skilled. Not to mention he learned at the direction of Gabriel Robuchon and Anthony Banks."

"French cooking, not Japanese," Chikao scoffed. "This is a traditional Japanese restaurant."

"I am aware of that," Akari said sternly and Chikao bent his head slightly in contrition. "He will learn and he will improve. If he does not, then we will change accordingly. Give him a chance."

"Yes Morimoto-San," Chikao sighed.

"He also has a device that translates Japanese for him," she added, tapping her ear. "Do not talk ill of him around him. And do not allow the others to do that either. I won't allow it. Am I clear?"

"Yes Morimoto-San," Chikao repeated, lip curling a little.

"Do you really think I would endanger the restaurant?" she asked with some heat. "That I would invite a useless person here to imperil things?"

"Not on purpose, no. However, you are not immune to being misled," he said coldly.

"No, I am not," she agreed. "But I have faith in him. Much like I had, and have, faith in you."

Chikao bowed at the waist, saying nothing. He looked over at Harry when Akari walked away and after staring at the young man for a long moment, he snorted inaudibly and walked off, shaking his head.

-0-

Service at Shukaku was very different from La Brasserie.

Even during the busiest times, during the rushes, there was always some unrelated noise at the restaurant in New York. Usually it was a few people having a conversation while cooking, of Anthony shouting out orders and asking for estimated times and things. Leslie would come in to talk to him or bring news or something. Important guests and friends would come in and out. Music played. A pleasant cacophony of noise.

At Shukaku, there was a focus that was professional and intimidating. There was no extraneous noise, no loud sounds. Akari did not shout, instead speaking calmly or raising her voice ever so slightly to pitch it to the back of the kitchen. The other cooks worked swiftly and smoothly and mostly silently, usually only conversing about the food and the dishes, focused on their tasks. They were not nearly as loud or boisterous as the crew at La Brasserie. And all had looked at Harry with a polite professionalism that bordered on coldness.

The servers came to the counter and inquired about their orders or asked questions, speaking softly before leaving with trays of food. There was no ribbing or joking like there was at the other restaurant, at least not in a way that Harry could understand it easily.

The food was so very different as well.

Portions at La Brasserie were large and generous. The plating was clean and neat while keeping a casual almost rustic feeling to it. If some garnish fell to the side, or if the sauce pooled a little differently, that was part of the charm. Each plate went out looking full and hearty and two plates of the same dish might not look exactly the same.

At Shukaku, the plates were very carefully made and arranged. Harry had gaped when the first orders went out and they looked almost identical. Nothing seemed or felt out of place and the portions were smaller and looked elegant. They also looked and smelled delicious of course, in a way that evoked a different sense of hunger.

The majority of the guests ordered a kaiseki meal which he learned was very much like a multi-course meal. There were several courses, ranging from seven to fourteen, and each course had a specific role and theme to it. The food was arranged on small plates and sent out on small lacquered trays. Others ordered certain dishes that were specialties of the restaurant, large bowls of soup with noodles and boxes of steamed rice and fragrant eel layered on top, as well as others.

It was cooking that was completely foreign to Harry and he adored it.

-0-

"You are pretty fast."

Harry looked up. "Thank you," he said.

The young woman gave him a quizzical look. "Do I have something on my face?"

Morimoto zu Maketto, Akari's restaurant in Tokyo, was almost the opposite of Shukaku. Located in the bustling magical part of the Shinjuku district of the city, it matched the local mix of the modern and the traditional. Still a smaller restaurant, the décor was warmer and more comfortable compared to the genteel of the Kyoto restaurant. The tables and chairs were like ones Harry was used to and there was a generous amount but there were several floors where diners sat and ate. The ground floor was the biggest and there was a small sushi kitchen that sat between the kitchen and the main floor proper with a bar counter for people to sit at and eat. Other dishes were made in the kitchen behind and were sent out via server to the waiting guests. The sounds and the feeling of the locale and the restaurant were very different as well.

Hinako Chiba was also very different compared to her counterpart, Chikao. She was younger than Akari, still older than Harry, but instead of looking sharp and foreboding, she was more friendly. She was in charge of Maketto as the sous chef of the restaurant. The apartments where Harry lived in had a central Floo room and Harry was added to the protections for Maketto and he was able to take it there.

Much like his first day at Shukaku, Akari had shown him around and given him a slightly different uniform to wear. Then she went over the menu at Maketto with him and it was also fairly different. There was no kaiseki meal option, instead a variety of different dishes were available. They were mostly popular Japanese foods with Akari's tastes and influences applied to them. There was a selection of izakaya style foods, their version of tavern style eating and cooking, and other things like sushi and ramen and the like. It was a more laid-back style of restaurant but the food still had that attention to detail that was obviously Akari's sense of style and how she approached cooking.

"No, sorry," Harry said weakly. "Just that, you're actually talking to me and are nice."

Hinako looked at him quizzically before she nodded in understanding. "Ah, I understand. Nakamura-San is a talented chef but, well," her voice lowered and she looked around some, "he's a Nakamura."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean exactly," Harry said slowly. "Oh, uh, is his family kind of…does Wizarding Japan have a Society or your version of Purebloods here? Magicals that really care about manners and rules and things?"

Hinako listened to Harry give a brief explanation and she nodded. "Yes, that is what they are like. The Traditional Clans care very much for propriety and tradition and look down on others who do not have such history and family pride. Some names matter a lot to some here, and the blood within the family."

"And the Nakamuras are one of those?"

Hinako snorted. "Yes. They are one of the oldest Clans and care very much about that." She shook her head. "I always thought it was strange. There is a saying where Kansai people are more friendly and loud and Kanto people more businesslike, but that is not always the case. A lot of the Traditional Families have holdings in Kansai and Kyoto especially and they care more about that sort of thing. The Clans and families that live predominantly around Tokyo are more modern but they still care too."

She summoned her own cutting board and set up beside Harry and got to work beside him. "One time I worked at Shukaku to help Morimoto-San and I never want to do that again. The pressure there is too much. The feeling is too sharp. Makes me feel like I am on the cutting board as much as the food is."

"Yeah, I got that feeling too," Harry confessed as he chopped. "But I was really enjoying learning so it didn't bother me too much."

"That is good," she said, giving him an amused look. She frowned a little and lowered her voice some more. "I am afraid to say you will have even more difficulty than others. You are not Japanese."

"I get that," Harry said slowly. "But I'm here to learn and to work so I'll try my best. I always seem to be able to make friends somehow so I'm hoping I can keep that going."

"Good," she replied. "But try not to take it too personal if you do not over there. They have, how you say, something up their rears." She smiled at Harry's surprised chuckle. "Do not tell Morimoto-San I said that however. She does not like it when the two restaurants say such things."

"I won't," he promised. "Are you usually friendly with new people too?"

"Not usually," she said. "But I want to learn about other cultures and plan on asking you many questions and you do seem strangely easy to be friendly with."

"I'll answer any as long as you answer mine," he smiled.

"Good!" she smiled back.

Service at Maketto was very different too. It was louder and more relaxed than Shukaku, mimicking the more relaxed feeling of the restaurant and the area around it. Akari also seemed more relaxed, but no less focused with a still strict attention to detail. Also like at the other restaurant, the staff at Maketto deferred to her and showed nothing but respect to her, but they also chatted a bit more and smiled and joked a little more. While not with Harry directly, they were still friendlier than the staff at the other establishment.

Harry still enjoyed being there, however. He was learning so many different things and while sometimes he was doing things how he was taught before, he was learning the differences between the different cuisines and slowly getting used to how they cooked in Japan.

-0-

"Hi Hedwig," Harry said tiredly as he walked into the apartment. The owl had flown to the door as it opened and she landed on his shoulder cooing and nuzzling him. He smiled as she rubbed her face against his. "Thanks, girl."

He put his things down and opened a box of food that he brought from Shukaku on the table for her. As she ate, he showered and came back and sat on the couch. He blinked for a moment, watching her drag the box towards him and he smiled as he picked it up and held it and she sat on his lap and fluffed up, munching enthusiastically.

"It's good right?" he said and she nodded in agreement. "Japanese cooking is amazing. A lot of trying to keep the natural flavors as possible and not a whole lot of processing, much less compared to French cooking." He petted her gently as she ate, feeling tired. His thoughts wandered and then he realized that she was holding a piece of fish in her beak and looking at him expectantly. "I'm not that hungry," he said.

After she smacked him gently in the face with it a few times, he relented, taking it from her and eating it while she continued to eat. When she finished, she took the box to the kitchen and flapped back to him, sitting on his chest and pressing her body against his face. She barked a question, looking at him.

"I'm okay." He smiled as she pecked him on the forehead. "No really, I'm okay. It's just, the kitchens are so different, both from each other and compared to all the others I've worked in." He sighed as she tugged on his hair gently, preening it. "I don't think most of the people at Shukaku or Miketto like me all that much."

She hugged her as she hissed and she made a vaguely threatening talon gesture and looked offended on his behalf. "It's not entirely their fault, I am very new and from a vastly different culture and have no experience in it aside from what little I've learned from Sota. And I thought I was a little familiar, but I'm not at all really. It's impressive and intimidating."

She tilted her head at him, hooting softly.

"Well Hinako is nice. But her and Chef are the only ones," he said. "I know it'll take time but I guess I was spoiled at La Brasserie. Leslie was super friendly from day one and Callie and Andres became friends with me after like a few days."

He laughed when she blew a raspberry and shook her talon like she was holding a rattle. "You're right, it took Adam a bit and while we never got really close, I think we worked well together." He sighed again. "I don't expect to be friends with everyone really. But…I don't know." He smiled at her. "I'm glad you're here with me. I'd be so lonely without you."

Hedwig cooed lovingly and headbutted him directly, making him laugh. She fluttered off and returned, dropping some parchment on him.

"Oh hey, messages from Dora, Lavender, Auntie Ari, Pansy, and even Andres and Leslie!" He smiled at the small stack and looked at the clock on the wall. "I can spend some time replying to them, right?" He smiled when Hedwig nodded and she flapped off once more, bringing him quill and ink. He felt a little better as he wrote replies to the messages and Hedwig preened and tugged on his hair gently and lovingly.

-0-

"Hmm, Sota is right. You do pick things up swiftly," Akiko mused.

"I told you," Sota said. "It is very impressive and very annoying."

Harry smiled. He was currently working in the kitchen at Boto alongside Akiko, Sota, and a few others. Not everyone who worked there were related to the family, but all were considered to be close friends. Even the part-time workers. It made for a vastly different kitchen compared to the other two and it was much warmer and kinder to Harry. They chatted brightly while they worked, not letting it distract them from the tasks at hand.

At first Akane and Sota's father Ichiro had been reluctant about Harry working there. They had said that he already worked most of the week at two high-level places and did not want him to overdo it, seeing him on the same level as their son. Akiko had said to let Harry work there if he wanted to and since she was the family matriarch, her word was listened to more often than not. That, with assurances from both Harry and Sota as well as the promise that Harry would step back if he needed to, mollified them. Though they did insist on paying him as a proper employee.

They did not have a uniform there, with most people wearing what they wanted and aprons over their clothing. But Akiko had gotten him a Japanese chef coat in the Aikawa family colors and Harry loved it.

"You look tired," Akane said, walking into the kitchen and giving Harry a look. "Are you sure you would not rather be resting?"

"Oh I'm fine, really," Harry said. "I really like being here and learning this style of cooking too. It's a lot more homey and simple compared to the other places."

"Kaiseki cooking is very fancy," Akiko agreed, nodding as she dropped pieces of chicken into the fryer, moving the meat around so they would not stick together. "Many rules. Many people who get very angry if you do not follow them."

"That's a lot like haute cuisine honestly," Harry said as he continued to chop.

"Which do you like better?" Sota asked as he opened a rice cooker and fluffed mounds of steaming white rice.

Harry hummed for a moment. "I don't think I like one better. They're different in a lot of ways and satisfying in them too. I really like Japanese tastes though and I'm getting better at being tasting subtle flavors and seasoning a little less and differently."

"Do you miss eating your food?" Tsumugi asked.

"Sometimes, but I can make it fairly easily at the apartment," Harry said. He smiled. "Or here."

"I do like the sausage rolls," Akane smiled. "And your beef stew is very different from how we do it and it is becoming a popular order for our customers."

"I like the butter chicken," Daisuke said as he looked up from a desk in the small office. He did the business management side for Boto and worked on the finances and orders and other things. "It is a little similar to our curry but different enough to be a new taste."

Harry smiled fondly with a trace of wistfulness to it. "My sisters, not by blood but close enough, had a very strong reaction to Japanese curry. But they're Indian so it was expected."

"And what did they say?" Akiko asked.

"That they liked it for what it is and because I made it," Harry laughed.

"We might react like that to some things," Sota snorted. "Like when we learned they put cream cheese with sushi in America."

"They eat very strange things over there," Akiko snorted.

"You like hamburgers," Daisuke said mildly, going back to work. "And not just our hambagu."

"I never said I did not," Akiko said, shaking a hand at Daisuke who shied away a little.

"Hamburgers are really nice," Harry smiled. "Especially with chips, uh fries. I learned how to make some really good ones in New York. Would you like me to make them?"

"Oh yes please," Akiko smiled.

Harry got to work, making chips/fries like he learned from Hector and Anthony. He also went ahead and made hamburgers too, much to the delight of the others. By the time he finished, the restaurant was mostly closed for the day and everyone gathered around the break room table and the prep tables to tuck into hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and fries/chips together.

"Oh these are so good!" Tsumugi said, munching on the chips enthusiastically.

"La Brasserie is famous for them," Harry said, eating and thinking fondly back to his time there. His smile became wistful once more. "One time, at school, we fried one, a whole hamburger. It turned out odd but Luna liked it. She really liked a menchi katsu sandwich though."

"That is a good sando too," Sota said as he ate.

"Thank you for the treat," Akiko said as she polished off her hamburger. "Now come along. It is about time I start making dinner for the family. You should learn some washoku, our Japanese home cooking and not just the fancy ryotei and kaiseki food or the other things that Akari-Chan sells in Tokyo. The popular stuff."

"Mother, let the poor boy rest!" Akane said.

"Mago, do you wish to rest?" Akiko asked fondly.

"I'm good to go!" Harry smiled, tearing his remaining hamburger in half and feeding it to Hedwig, who had already ate her own, and popped the rest in his mouth.

Akane sighed at Akiko's superior look and shook her head as the two went back into the kitchen. She smiled, however, as Harry followed her directions eagerly and easily and the old woman spoke easily to Harry.

"Mago? Grandmother calls him that?" Daisuke asked, surprised.

"I didn't suggest it, she did it all on her own," Sota said, smiling.

"Mago means grandchild," Tsumugi said to Hedwig when the owl looked up at her, tilting her head in question. She smiled when Hedwig nodded in understanding and fluffed up, looking pleased.

"It is nice to see her so happy," Akane said, sighing softly. "And him as well. It is not so easy being a foreigner in Japan. Especially in places heavily steeped in our culture."

"Harry's a good person," Tsumugi said and Azuki and Ebi yipped loudly in agreement. Her expression changed a little. "He does look more tired though, under more pressure. Even compared to how I remember him seeming during the Showcase."

"Working for Morimoto-San must be difficult and under immense pressure," Akane said. "She does not hire just anyone and holds herself and others to a high standard. Not to mention the level of pressure her restaurants are normally under."

"Just as well he can relax here a little then," Sota said.

"He has a work ethic we all can recognize," Daisuke said with a laugh. "No wonder we get along with him so well."

"That and he's a wonderful cook," Tsumugi smiled.

-0-0-0-

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - Indeed. I wanted her to have the same 'old lady with lots of sass' energy that Durga has, but not be the exact same. There will be more snippets of the different locations. I think some of the Japan ones are my best work yet and I haven't even started any France ones yet.

Hands Off MY Wolfie - I think with Floo and Portkey travel, it's so fast you won't get hit with jetlag until you spend time in the place, like it hits you later. Hedwig always asserts her dominance. Thanks for reading.

Arnie1701 - Probably.

odonellzoo99 - It was a trip, thank you. That sounds like a lovely time. Partially, and truly, fanfic is wish fulfillment. I never knew my grandmothers so it's nice to imagine doting loving sassy grandmothers that take no guff. Hedwig can't not assert her dominance and will tolerate the foxes on her terms.

alix33 - Google sure is useful isn't it? Hedwig and her personal little futon made me happy too.

TheSphynx - He has the powa.

HoneyBear84 - Thank you.

Wentley - I hope your flight went well. I must say, I'm proud of the Japan Chapters I've done so far.

poka - Right? Hedwig is the queen of the roost and she has to remind the foxes of it. Hope you continue to enjoy the Japan chapters. I think they came out really well overall so far.