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Side Dishes

51st Course – Speaking With Words 18: The Seventh Year Part 6

As per tradition, takes place all over the timeline with the first instance starting at the 156th course of Taste, after the Entertainment Challenge of the Rising Stars and after Harry met Edwina Bathory.

"Oh the owl is back," Pansy said.

Harry opened the window and the stately eagle owl walked in from the window sill. He hooted at Harry, looking a little more friendly, and gave Harry a wrapped parcel. Harry once again offered owl treats and water that the owl ate and drank happily. He bobbed his head at Harry gratefully, bowed gravely to a suspicious looking Hedwig, and flapped away.

"Hey! Who was that?! Chick! Explain yourself!"

"He delivered something the other day when you weren't here," Harry said when Hedwig gave him a look. He scratched her head and fed her some different owl treats. "And no, I didn't feed him any of your personal ones, just the ones I make for your snacking and for owl guests." He smiled when she was mollified by his words and actions, and walked back to his friends with the wrapped package.

-0-

"Hello Chick! I have returned."

The window to the Uncommon Room opened and Hedwig flapped in. She did a circuit around the room, barking greetings before landing in front of Harry. She looked at his slice of pizza covetously, licking her beak. Fluffing up, she waited for him to remove her harness and give her due affection before munching on the slice of pizza with gusto.

"Mmmm pizza! Give me kisses and cuddles and then give me pizza please! Yum yum."

"Oh, it's from the World's Kitchen," Harry said, taking the envelope out of the harness. "It came sooner than the other times."

"Might mean you will need the extra time to prepare," Pansy said.

Harry opened it and started reading. "'A cook works under direction, a chef cooks with direction. A chef must be able to do more than cook. They must plan, they must attract, they must direct. They must be able to cook alone and with others to be a proper chef.'"

"Sounds like you're going to be in charge," Sue said.

"Chick's always in charge! Except when I'm in charge, but then I delegate my authority to him."

"In charge of who though?" Tracey asked. "What if they put you in charge of people who don't want to work with you?"

"Or worse, will actively sabotage you," Daphne frowned.

"That's the danger," Harry agreed. He hummed softly. "I think you're right. Sounds like I'm going to have to take on a leadership role too in this one."

"Good thing you've been teaching in Cooking Club," Lavender smiled. "Not to mention for Clover and Aster and the others when they want to learn."

"The only problem is that they want to learn and work with Harry," Millicent said. "I don't think you can blame your people if you don't put out something good."

"You can, but it weakens your credibility and authority," Blaise said. "It's a fine line."

"Have you had trouble when working with others?" Susan asked.

"Not trouble really," Harry said. He absent-mindedly petted Hedwig as he leaned against the counter and thought. "I mean, I never asked any of the Crew in the beginning to do anything because I was very new and more than a little intimidated."

"How about since becoming Junior Sous?" Padma asked.

"They give me the business but do as I ask," Harry said, grinning. "Lots of back talk and banter which is what I like and expect of course, but they don't fight me on it. They definitely fight with Amy more but not when it matters like during service."

He put another slice of pizza in front of Hedwig. "As far as Hog's Head, well, don't think that really counts either. The house elves always do what I ask and Mr. Abe never argued with me on cooking things unless he knew a faster or better way or was teaching me something. Same with the kitchens here and back home at Grimmauld."

"The Hunters pretty much deferred to you as soon as they tried your cooking," Ron said.

"And they were nice too, same with the Tribe," Harry said. "Eager to teach me something I didn't know which is awesome, but any disagreements were always friendly. And every time I cooked with your mum, or Mrs. Li."

"Grandmum tells you what to do," Parvati, Padma, Ivaan, and Divya said together.

"As she should," Harry laughed and they laughed with him. "I don't think I'd ever have the confidence or the right to tell her to do something."

"She'd roll her eyes at you and ignore you," Parvati snickered.

"As she should," they said together.

"I wonder what they mean by plan and attract," Neville said. "I've noticed they try to be sneaky about what they say but everything they say is important to the challenge."

"Good point and it could mean anything," Harry said. "That's part of the problem. They're good at being vague and things not making sense until you are being told what the challenge is exactly." He looked at the paper. "It's going to be a long challenge too. It's going to last all day instead of just a small part of it. They say so here at the end."

"Looks like you're going to have to just try and prepare for anything," Lavender said sympathetically.

Harry nodded. "Well it could be worse. Could be just a challenge that I would find really hard to do."

"You have to only give small portions," Hermione smiled.

"Make something bland," Sue laughed.

"Cook for only snooty arseholes," Parvati gasped.

"No bacon," Millicent said.

Hedwig's head shot up and she gasped, the bite of pizza falling from her beak. "NO WHAT?!"

Harry laughed and scooped her up and hugged her. "Don't worry. Those don't apply to you." He smiled when she nuzzled him with great relief, opening her beak again and munching when he fed her more pizza.

"Oh thank goodness. I should know Chick wouldn't do that to me. Still, what a terrifying thought."

-0-

"Hey Hedwig?"

"Yes Chick?" Hedwig cheeped, looking up at him.

"I have a question."

"I have an answer."

"I can be spiteful, right?" He sighed when Hedwig fell over in her nest, laughing her head off and kicking the air with her feet. "Why does everyone respond like that?!"

"Chick, I love you, but no. You're not spiteful at all," Hedwig cheeped after regaining her composure. "You don't need to be spiteful. You have me! I am your Representative of Spite, your Delegator of Displeasure! If you need your negativity delivered, I will do it in the best way I can!"

Harry sighed but smiled as Hedwig plumped in his arms and head butted him. "I guess I have you to help me with that, right?"

"Exactly!"

-0-

Harry looked up when the window rattled and opened, letting Hedwig come swooping in. "Hi girl," he greeted as she flapped to him, butting his head back against hers when she head bonked him hello. "What did you bring me?" ("A letter silly.") He fished the envelope out of her harness and looked at it. "Oh, the World's Kitchen."

"Already? You still have more than a month before the challenge," Daphne said.

"Yeah, I hope it's not the clue already." Harry opened the envelope and read the letter within. "There's going to be a party before the final challenge."

"Really?" the others said, looking interested.

"Yeah. A gala. To celebrate the coming finale and how much attention the Rising Stars competition has gotten. It's apparently been one of the biggest ones they've ever had with tons of interest and coverage," Harry said.

"That sounds fancy," Parvati said. "I just had a thought, who caters for fancy food parties about food things?"

"Whoever it is must be very stressed cooking for people like that," Pansy remarked.

"Do you think this is a fancy hidden task thing?" Millicent asked.

"I wasn't before but I am now," Harry said, tilting his head and thinking.

"Sorry," Millicent said sheepishly, scowling when Pansy smacked her in the shoulder.

"It's okay," Harry smiled. "It really wouldn't surprise me if it turned out to be." He went back to reading the invitation. "They don't say anything about it so let's hope not. I'm allowed to bring a personal guest as well as my usual guests." He looked at Lavender. "Would you like to be my date to the gala?"

"Yes!" she squealed, hugging him strongly. "Oh that's so exciting!"

"Hey look at that, you finally got her as a date to a fancy ball type thing," Parvati smiled, sticking her tongue out at Lavender in a reciprocal gesture.

"I got better at asking early this time," Harry said, beaming with insincere pride, making his friends snort.

"That's my Chick. And people say you don't learn. Ha! Of course you do."

Lavender took the invitation from him and read it. "Oh it's next Friday. Okay, I'll work extra hard on studying so I don't miss out on it. I'm sure Daddy and Mum will say yes."

"And you'll get to tell us all about it the next day," Sue said happily.

"Definitely," Lavender promised.

"I have a question," Harry said after some companionable silence. "I can be spiteful, right?" He sighed after a beat of silence turned into hysterical laughter coming from his friends. "Why does everyone react like that when I ask that?!"

"I knew my response wasn't unreasonable!"

"I'm thankful you're not spiteful," Ron said easily.

"You're not even spiteful to your worst enemy," Pansy laughed.

"I thought we agreed that Hannah wasn't an enemy and he didn't start it," Parvati said. She smiled at Sue and Susan's flat looks.

"Harry, you're like the polar opposite to spiteful," Hermione snorted.

"But I could be, right?" Harry persisted.

"I think that is the one thing we have not been able to teach you," Daphne smiled. "I mean, succeeding to spite, yes. But to be spiteful? No."

"Why do you want to be spiteful?" Lavender asked, still giggling.

"I don't want to be spiteful really, but I think I could be," Harry pouted. "It started with me asking Mr. Abe if I could be and he said I was as spiteful as a cinnamon roll, which is to say, they aren't."

"I like you as a cinnamon roll," Luna said, hugging him. "You and they are soft and nice and sweet."

"And a little spicy when need be," Padma said. "That's actually a really good comparison."

"I guess it could be worse," Harry sighed, relenting while Lavender and Luna hugged him.

"You can be overly judgmental like many I know," Parvati said. "Most of whom are in this very room!"

"I thought we established that Harry is not judgmental at all," Blaise said. "He couldn't even judge a sandwich contest."

"I did judge it," Harry sniffed. "It just so happens that no one won outright."

"Fair enough," Blaise smiled. "But my point remains, you are not nearly as judgmental as you could, or should, be."

"I guess," Harry conceded. He smiled as Hedwig hooted at him as he petted her. "I have Hedwig to be judgmental for me."

"And spiteful, and rude, and devastating, and harmful, and ruinous, and-"

"Is she judgmental?" Aster asked. She looked at the others who nodded and snorted.

"You're not fooling anyone," Parvati said, waggling her finger as Hedwig opened her eyes wide and cheeped innocently. "Don't even pretend."

"What? Me? Judgmental? Says who?! Just because I silently and not so silently judge what you say and do and wear doesn't make me 'judgmental'. Words hurt, Parvati!"

"She does have very emphatic facial expressions and eyes," Luna said. "She communicates non-verbally very well."

"I do do that very well."

"She does do judgy eyes perfectly," Harry said.

"I do do that very well."

"Really?" Marigold and Clover said together. They gasped when Hedwig turned her head around and stared at them flatly, her eyes half-lidded and an expression of bored judgement on her face.

"You two could stand to be a bit better about your school work. And while I am amused at how you torture your older sister, you need a bit more variety to keep things fresh."

"Oh hey, that's not bad," Millicent said. "Still, we're Pureblood Society kids so we're immune to lesser judgement."

"We are well used to it," Daphne nodded.

"Are you now? Challenge accepted! Face the wrath of 69% of pure Hedwig Judgement!"

Astoria twitched when Hedwig turned her head more to face them. This time her eyes were even more lidded, showing less than a third of amber. However the magnitude of judgement increased, especially with how quirked her feathers were above her eyes and the way her beak clacked disapprovingly. "Okay, maybe I should stop stealing Daphne's robes when I forget to wash mine."

"I knew it!" Daphne exclaimed, glaring at her little sister.

"She looks like Great Aunt Betania," Aster gasped, staring at Hedwig.

"Dear Merlin you're right," Pansy said, also flinching when hit with the full force of Hedwig's judgmental look.

"I've seen a picture of her at your home. I'm much more better at it!"

"Pathetic," Sue snorted.

"Say what?!"

"You think you can do better?" Daphne asked.

"I'm Chinese, so yes. Every adult judges everything you say, do, or how you look, or how you act. I'm a master at withstanding judgement," Sue said superiorly.

"Go on Hedwig, let us see her withstand you," Pansy encouraged.

Hedwig whipped her head around and stood at her full height, eyes opening wide and she stared right at Sue. Despite standing on the table and being shorter than Sue, she somehow gave off the impression of staring down at Sue, head ever so slightly tilted up and her expression down. "Who's pathetic now?! Face me and quiver in the face of your shame!"

Sue recoiled physically. "Gah! Okay, that's a damn good one. Not even Grandmother's raven can stare like that and that bird is a total bitch."

"Okay, I need to compare this to Grandmum and the Aunties," Parvati said. "Hit me with it, Hedwig."

Hedwig spun dramatically and leaned forward, tilting her head at an angle and glared at Parvati, one eye narrowing and the other eye widening. Padma flinched and even Parvati's first response was to flinch a little and she nodded. "Okay yeah, that's Grandmum grade judgement right there."

"Wow, she really does look a lot like Grandmum when she's glaring at you," Padma said admiringly.

"She's really good at it and that's saying something," Hedwig nodded.

"Wouldn't surprise me if she learned it from Grandmum," Parvati muttered. She smiled slyly. "Okay, now for the ultimate test. Give Harry the Eye of Judgement!"

Hedwig looked down at the table before she whipped around and stared right at Harry with very large eyes full of latent and patent judgement. Harry flinched at the sheer amount of emotion in her gaze but after a few seconds, the feathers around Hedwig's eyes twitched and twisted and she flapped hard, flying into Harry's face. She nuzzled him and cooed contritely, flapping her wings with distress.

"AAAAAAHHHH I'M SORRY! I didn't mean it! Chick it wasn't my fault! I got caught up in the moment! I loooooooovvvveee yooooooooooou!"

"It's okay, I know you weren't really judging me," Harry said soothingly, petting her and coughing and sputtering as she flapped around his face. "You were having fun, I know!" He coughed as she latched around his face, burying her chest into his face and wrapping her wings around his head, cheeping and cooing.

"No one judges my Chick! Chick is judgeless! Unjudgable! Any who dares has to answer to me!"

"Poor Hedwig and Harry," Lavender smiled as everyone laughed.

-0-

Parvati sighed a little, looking at the large pile of books and notes in front of her. "Kinda hard having so much fun and going right back into studying," she said a little listlessly.

"Yeah," Padma agreed. "But that was so much fun and it was really nice to do it."

"We're in the final stretch," Harry smiled. "Let's go for the win and show off all our hard work from all these years."

"Like when we did the extra work our fourth year, like you said," Hermione said to him. "Good thing you suggested that."

"Hey!" Parvati squawked while the others laughed. "Joke poaching! You poacher!"

Harry chuckled and put a large platter on the middle of the table. "Here, a little something to keep us going."

"Oh those look delicious!" Lavender exclaimed, seeing the cinnamon rolls. Everyone made happy noises at the round rolls flecked with fragrant cinnamon and a light drizzle of glaze on top.

Pansy took one and eschewed her normal behavior of using a fork and knife and taking modest bites, opting to use her hands and take a big bite. Her expression changed as she began to chew. "Wait a-" Something crunched between her teeth and she coughed, sending an extended gout of flames from her mouth, surprising the others. She coughed and coughed, smoke spilling from her mouth and the others laughed uproariously.

"Spicy cinnamon rolls!" Parvati, Sue, and Luna cheered.

"Apparently if you dry roast the firepepper pods in a pan before using them, they make bigger flames," Harry said with a very large smile from ear to ear.

Pansy smiled ruefully at him. "Okay, you got us, you can be a little spiteful."

"I learned it from all of you, so you have no one to blame but yourselves," Harry said, laughing as she poked him first then hugged him.

"About time," Millicent said through a full mouth.

"These still taste pretty darn good," Sue said, breathing fire.

"It does! I just wasn't expecting it," Pansy laughed.

"I have regular ones baking right now," Harry smiled.

"You're the best," Lavender smiled, hugging and kissing him.

"Hmm, this is tasty, but in a weird way," Crookshanks mused as he munched.

"I think I prefer it just sweet like a regular cinnamon roll," Sunny said as she licked her lips clean.

"Me too," Hedwig said. "It's still good though." She crunched a firepepperpod and blew out a little fire. "I really need to get the hang of that though. I can foresee me having a lot of fun with that!"

-0-

"Let's see. I need a good newt. Something big and full of positive energy and ah ha!"

Hedwig dove and snagged the newt off the streambank, dispatching it swiftly. "Thank you for the meal," she said as she flapped away with her prey. She then tossed it up with her talons and caught it neatly in her beak.

"This will be good positive energy for Chick and the others," she muttered with her beak full. She then swooped past the Hogsmeade post office to pick up a letter for Harry before making her way back to the castle.

The window rattled and opened, allowing Hedwig to flap in. She flew around the room silently, bobbing her head at everyone before landing in front of Harry, thrusting her chest out with the harness pocket in front.

"What is that hanging out of her mouth?" Daphne asked queasily.

"A newt tail," Harry said, opening her harness and taking the letter out before undoing the harness from around her chest. "She probably picked one up on the way back to eat."

"Hedwig still hunts despite having you to provide for her?" Blaise asked, interested.

"She hunts every now and then to stay sharp and to have a snack," Harry said and Hedwig nodded in agreement. "But she's been hunting more for newts to eat and to pass us victory energy from having eaten the newts." He smiled when she settled on his head, wiggling comfortably as she munched on her newt.

"Such a good owl," Luna praised.

"Thank you," Hedwig cheeped after slurping the tail up. "I do my best."

-0-0-0-

Hands Off MY Wolfie - I thought that would be a good break in time and show how much they have grown and changed. Felt good to me. I thought that would also show how Harry has matured and grown in this craft. I always like Celine and was surprised how many people didn't like her originally. I was glad to mellow her out some. Thanks for reading.

odonnellzoo99 - I liked how both are honestly. The first competition was showing Harry's coming into his own and this one shows how much he has grown since and how much he's improved. I thought it would be a good way to show their growth and how confident Harry is now.

poka - Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you.

alix33 - If there is anyone that could control Hedwig, it would be Harry.

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles - It was definitely a much warmer and cordial competition. I really like seeing how much Harry has changed as well as Celine and see how they both have grown.

Lucy Elizabeth Dawson - They're hard to write but fun and satisfying if I can get them right.

HoneyBear84 - Thank you.

mike3308 - He did.