A Taste of Magic

Chapter 38: 38th Course - Pressure

"I knew no one would beat you in cooking!" Lavender hugged Harry tightly.

He hugged her back. "Oh I'm sure many could, but not Draco at least."

"Wish I could've watched, sounded like it was amazing," Padma said. "Terry was really impressed and he's going to come to our next club meeting."

The friends had gathered in the clubroom the next day to celebrate Harry's win. Harry decided to make the wellington for them again and they watched him with interest and listened to him and Pansy retelling what happened.

"Was his recipe really from the chef at Sheen?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know, I didn't get a chance to taste it," Harry said. "It looked like it could have been, and if the Malfoys are as rich and connected as you say they are," he looked over and Millicent and Pansy and Susan and Neville nodded, "then it wouldn't surprise me if they paid the chef a lot of money to teach Draco."

He continued to roll out the puff pastry. "Bouef en Croute is really nice too. Wellingtons are more for English tastes I think, with more salt from the ham and the mustard coating. Bouef en Croute has a lighter profile and you really do need a sauce to tie it together. And the details are more important there with slightly less ingredients to use."

"Hannah was impressed," Susan said. "I could tell she didn't want to be though."

"Is Harry still her nemesis?" Neville asked while Harry groaned.

"Slightly less so," Susan smiled and the others laughed. "More rival than nemesis, I think. She's still on the fence about joining the club. But she acknowledges that you have some skills and it isn't for another reason."

"I'll take that," Harry sighed.

"I'm so jealous of you," Parvati said to Pansy.

"Why, because I was there?" she asked, confused.

"That and you got to slap Draco in the face. Millie said you slapped him so hard; I could read your palm by looking at his face."

Pansy flushed while the others snorted and laughed. "It really was an awesome slap," Millicent praised. "Turned his whole head around and made his cheek bright red."

"It was a lapse in control," Pansy muttered, her own face a little red.

"Yeah but I bet it felt real good," Parvati said. "Come on, admit it."

"It did a little," Pansy finally said, a small smile on her lips.

"There you go girl! Be proud in your slappery. Sounds like he deserved it anyways." She frowned. "I'd do worse if he said that stuff to me."

Pansy had told them what Draco said after some gentle prodding from Millicent. She was not entirely proud of losing control like that and a small part of her regretted it. It was a very small part admittedly. She had been gratified when the others had been upset on her behalf and their support made her feel much better, knowing that they found what he said to be disgusting as well.

"I'm more worried about how his mother will react," Pansy sighed. "I really like Auntie Cissa."

"And she's the scary one of the family," Millicent said.