A Taste of Magic

Chapter 114: 114th Course - A Whirl of Gaiety

"Thanks again for getting me an invite," Steven said with a broad smile.

"You're welcome," Harry smiled back. "You're nice and cool and you've been helping Millie and Ron a lot too. Plus like I said, Sue and I are great friends."

It was the Summer Hunt once again and Harry had been invited by the Tribe to take part once more, along with Ron and Millicent. Harry had asked if Steven could come and the Tribe had easily agreed, since he was a guest of Harry's. They went to the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid and had joined the Tribe again as well as some of the Hunters from the previous year that Harry met. That had happily greeted Harry as well.

"I never knew how involved it was," Steven said. He had jumped at the opportunity and had been respectful of the Tribe. Along with the others, they culled a lot of the big boar singulars, what they called packs of boars. They also gathered wild plants and herbs and there was even some excitement when a carpet of wild crakes came out of one of the caves. They took care of that too and now they were at the preserving part of the Hunt.

"Been a good spring and summer," Hagrid said happily. "Hence why that big carpet of crakes came out. Good thing we bagged them all up. Will let the others thrive a bit and we can trade them with Gringotts."

"How'd that happen by the way?" Steven asked, "trade with Gringotts I mean."

"I discovered a lot of the wild mushrooms deep in the Forest are a lot like the ones the goblins like," Harry said. "And that there are wild crakes. Gringotts liked them and now have a steady trade agreement with the Tribe."

"Good for everyone then," Steven said. He took the boar sandwich Harry made for him eagerly and bit into it. The wild boar loin was juicy, flavored with a spicy marinade and placed between bread with thinly sliced cabbage and pickle. "Mmm, delicious!"

"How's Millie and Ron doing at Hunting things?" Harry asked.

"Really good. Both are tough, fast on their feet, and don't back down. All things you need to have to be a good Hunter. I'll put a word in for them in my Hunting Group and when it comes time, I'll probably take them on as apprentices. They're good kids."

He chuckled and chewed, looking over. "That looks mad by the way."

"They like hurling," Harry grinned. "You did say they were tough."

Steven suppressed a wince as Millicent was knocked over and nearly trampled. He gaped when she rolled to her feet and body-checked the centaur that did it, knocking him over. "Tough might be an understatement," he said admiringly.

"Go Millie!" Harry cheered and others joined him in volume and spirit. He turned back to Steven. "So you're part of a Hunting Group?"

Steven nodded. "There's lots of groups actually. Some informal, some formal. Some are pairs or small and others are big firms that handle requests and things like that. Mine is pretty good sized. We have a nice mix of specialties and so we can handle most things as a group. I never liked lone Hunting all that much unless for like a small break or something."

"Do Hunters supply restaurants with the things they get?"

"Some do in the UK. It's a big business elsewhere in the world where some groups can take offense and start a fight if another group tries to poach their delivery places." He winked at Harry. "Already planning for your future?"