“Hey Harry! Do you have a moment?”
“Sure.” Harry waited for Parvati Patil, one of the girls in his year in Gryffindor, to catch up to him. Classes were done for the day and as they were leaving and going off in different directions, he heard her call out to him.
“Thanks! I had a question if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll answer it if I can,” Harry said honestly.
“So since you know how to make some sweets,” Parvati said, “have you ever fried stuff?” Hermione had told Harry that Parvati and Lavender Brown, the third girl in their year in Gryffindor, had seen the sweets that he had given her and she had shared some with them. Harry had not minded and was happy to hear that the other two girls had liked them as well.
“Fried candy?” Harry asked, shaking his head. “No, but I’ve seen a chip shop near where I grew up fry candy bars. Always wanted to try it if I’m being honest.”
“That sounds awful and I want to try one now,” Parvati said before shaking her head. “I meant like fried sweet things in general.”
“Oh! Like doughnuts? I’ve done that,” Harry said, nodding. “I’ve baked things too.”
“That’s great! If I get a recipe and maybe some of the trickier ingredient things, do you think you could make something?” she asked. “I assume you have a place here since you made the other sweets.”
“I might need to ask permission from who owns the space,” Harry said, thinking. “Shouldn’t be a problem though. Will have to make extra for them too. And you’ve made them before? They want someone who knows what they’re doing close by to watch.”
“I’ve helped before,” Parvati said somewhat evasively. “Never made them from beginning to end by myself, technically.”
“That should be fine then,” Harry said. “Oh and sure, if that wasn’t obvious,” he added sheepishly, making her smile. “What are they? Something fried I assume since you asked.”
“Yeah! They’re called jalebi. You make a batter and fry them in ghee or oil and then do a sugar syrup sauce thing on them.”
“They sound great and yeah, I’d love to try it,” Harry said enthusiastically. “Is it one of your favorite snacks from home?”
Parvati hesitated for a moment before nodding. “They are and uhm, well...” She looked up and down the hall and lowered her voice. “It’s for Pads too, Padma, my sister. She’s in Ravenclaw and she’s been having a tough time of things.”
“Aww, I’m sorry to hear that,” Harry said. “Is she okay?”
“For the most part yeah. She’s just not making a lot of friends right now and Ravenclaw apparently is super cliquey and she’s been a bit down. She likes reading and school stuff so she’s still been mostly fine but…well,” Parvati shrugged a little. “Just wanted to cheer her up some, I guess.”
“I think that’s really wonderful of you,” Harry said sincerely. “It’s really nice that you want to help your sister like that.”
Parvati flushed a little but smiled. “Just don’t go telling everyone.”
“That you like your sister?”
“Hey, no one said anything about me liking Pads,” Parvati gasped.
Harry smiled but there was a trace of confusion in it. “Okay, well I won’t tell anyone.”
“Thanks! I’ll write a letter and send it with one of the school owls later.”
“You can see if Hedwig will fly for you,” Harry offered. “She likes going to new places so she might send the letter for you and bring back the other things.”
“That’d be great! You don’t just tell her to do something?”
Harry shook his head. “Not really. I prefer to ask her and she hasn’t ever said no to me but she’s refused to listen to people before. Like really ignore them. If you really irritate her, she’ll go after you.”
“I like her already,” Parvati grinned.
Harry looked up from his cauldron and fought the urge to flinch while also thinking how to respond. He finally decided to do what worked for him in the past: be literal. “Working on the potion…Sir?” He gulped when he saw his reply had done the opposite of what he had hoped for. “I’m adding the bladderwrack in now.”
“Can you read, Potter?” Snape asked, glaring down at the boy.
“Yes Sir,” Harry said, looking at the board.
“Why are you adding whole bladderwrack instead of crushed then, if you are able to read.”
“I thought since the end product is making a burn soothing potion with a foam top, the whole bladderwrack would be better because when it’s whole, it foams and bubbles more,” Harry said, looking at a second book he had opened on the table.
Snape looked at it too and he bristled slightly when he saw it. “Where did you get that index?”
“It was recommended to me and I bought it,” Harry said. He sat up a little straighter and looked at Snape directly. “From the teaching assistant for the Potions Club, Sir. She is really helpful and nice.”
Blaise Zabini looked up at that, giving Harry a curious look. Pansy looked at Blaise with mild surprise too before turning to look at Harry while Draco and his closest friends snickered and made faces at Harry from behind Snape. The potions professor stared down at Harry for a long moment. “In the future, Mister Potter,” he said with a trace of heat, “you are to ask me before you make any modifications to the instructions. Your actions, however correct you think they are, could impact the rest of the potion and cause disaster.”
“Yes Sir,” Harry said stiffly. “I have tried asking you questions before, though, Sir.”
Muffled gasps could be heard from the other students and some looked at Harry with surprise and awe while others winced while Draco and his friends looked positively gleeful at Snape’s thunderous expression.
Snape bit back a retort. “I know what I have said, Potter,” he finally said. “And as long as you ask applicable questions during class, I will answer them as I see fit. 5 points deducted for your cheek.” He walked away from Harry’s table and others instantly looked down at theirs to avoid making eye contact and draw attention.
Harry gritted his teeth but went back to work, carefully reading the instructions on the board and following them to the letter. He ignored the muffled chuckling and laughter from Draco and the others and soon finished his potion, pouring out a sample into a vial. He took it up to Snape’s desk and was gratified to see that his vial had a thick layer of foam on top where the vast majority of the others did not.
“He really does have it out for you,” Ron said, joining Harry along with Hermione.
“It’s not fair,” Hermione said, frowning back down the hall. “And your sample looked really good too.”
“Should give you points for it but no, takes points away and rewards Malfoy for making something that doesn’t look as good,” Ron grumbled.
Harry sighed again. “Not much I can do, is there?”
“He’s refused to answer your questions before?” Hermione whispered, looking scandalized.
Harry nodded. “I did ask him outside of class and it was technically about an unrelated potion, to be fair.”
“Why be fair, he isn’t,” Ron said.
“Just saying,” Harry shrugged. “But yeah, said he didn’t have to answer questions that wasn’t the immediate material.”
“I’m glad the other professors don’t think like that,” Hermione said. “They like it when I ask more questions.”
“It is so satisfying to see people taken down when they deserve it.” Draco appeared with Crabbe, Goyle, and Theodore Nott beside him, all four of them grinning happily at Harry and Ron and Hermione. “About time you were reminded of your place, Potter.”
“I don’t need help with that, thank you,” Harry said blandly. “But I appreciate your ‘help’.”
That took some of the wind from Draco’s sails and he sputtered for a moment before he sneered. “You should have taken my help on the train.”
“Still don’t think I need it,” Harry said, narrowing his eyes back.
“Hanging with the wrong sorts still,” Draco said, looking Ron and Hermione up and down, making them bristle.
“Not from where I’m standing and looking,” Harry said coolly, looking directly back at Draco.
Draco’s pale features flushed. “You pathetic-“ A loud grunt drew his attention and he whirled. “What-?!” He stopped and looked up, realizing that he was first looking at someone in the chest before he craned his head back, going pale once more.
Marcus looked down at Draco and looked at Goyle, Crabbe, and Nott with an equally cool disinterested expression, making the Slytherin boys shrink slightly. “Go on,” he said in his deep voice, nodding down the hall away from Harry and his friends.
“What?” Draco blinked slowly, as if having trouble understanding what Marcus just said.
“Go. On,” Marcus repeated slowly, looking down at Draco. He stood there with arms crossed, looming over the boys. After some more sputtering, Draco walked away, trailed by the other three first year Slytherins. He shot a hateful look back at Harry and Ron and Hermione but said nothing further. Even when Ron smirked at him and gave him the salute. A loud grunt from Marcus made the boys scurry away, disappearing around the corner and their footsteps fading.
Marcus snorted deeply before he looked back at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ron looked up at the big burly boy with a gulp and Hermione did not quite quail like she did the other day, though she still looked at him with some trepidation. Harry returned the nod from Marcus, causing Ron to gape at his friend. “Alright, Potter?” Marcus asked gruffly.
“I’m alright,” Harry said, a little surprised by the turn of events but not upset by it at all. “Thank you.”
“Malfoy thinks highly of himself and is annoying,” Marcus said in a low voice, snorting again at Harry and Ron’s delighted looks. “Ignore him when you can, that’s what I do.” He reached into his robes and pulled out a bright yellow envelope and gave it to
Harry, making Ron and Hermione both look at it with surprise. “From my little sister,” Marcus said with a hint of embarrassment in his expression. “She wanted me to give it to you.”
“Oh, that’s very nice of her,” Harry said, accepting the envelope. “Did she like them?”
Marcus softened. “She did,” he said fondly. “Wanted to know where I got them and wants more. Didn’t say I’d get her more though.”
“I don’t mind making more when I can,” Harry said with a smile. “And I guess for the same price?”
Marcus looked at him for a moment before nodding. “Alright, but not too often. She eats too many sweets as it is,” he said, shaking his head. He coughed gruffly. “But yeah, wanted to pass that along and say thanks. She really liked them and said it made her birthday better.”
“I’m really glad to hear it,” Harry said with a wide smile.
Marcus nodded awkwardly. “Right then.” He walked away, leaving the three Gryffindors behind.
“What was that?!” Ron gasped. “You’re friends with Flint?!”
“Friendly, I guess,” Harry said, looking at the envelope in his hands. “Sold him some sweets for his little sister. Talked to him in the Potions Club room.”
“But he’s the enemy!” Ron said.
“No he isn’t,” Harry said, shaking his head. “Well, maybe on the pitch but we aren’t on the pitch and he was nicer in the clubroom, and he helped us now.”
“He was surprisingly nice in the clubroom,” Hermione nodded.
Ron stared down the hall where Marcus went. “That’s so weird,” he said.
“Yeah, but at least it’s a nice kind,” Harry said, opening the envelope and pulling out the card within. He read it and smiled.
“Aww, a thank you card?” Hermione asked, smiling too.
Harry nodded and tucked the card away in his school bag carefully. “See? He can’t be that bad if he’s that sweet with his little sister.”
“So weird,” Ron repeated, shaking his head.
-0-
“I appreciate you asking for permission first,” Sprout said with a smile, chuckling at Harry’s sheepish expression.
“Didn’t want to assume,” Harry said weakly.
“Again, I appreciate you asking first,” Sprout repeated, winking at him. “And yes, you may use the room for that purpose.”
“Thank you!”
“I look forward to seeing what you will be making,” Sprout said eagerly.
“Me too, I love learning about new things like that.” Harry hesitated for a moment. “Professor, you don’t mind when I ask you questions about other things, right?”
“Not at all,” she said, looking at him questioningly. “You haven’t asked me anything inappropriate or completely outside of my expertise, so there’s that.” She thought for a moment before she winced a little, nodding with understanding. “Ah. Uh, well, I’m sure you are fine, Mister Potter. Don’t fret.”
Harry nodded, remaining quiet.
Sprout rested a hand on his shoulder. “How about you come and help me with the flutterby plants? Their flower petals flap and can fly about too, much like the thistle feathers.”
“Oh, yes please,” Harry said with genuine enthusiasm.
Sprout led him to one of the greenhouses, half of her mind on the task before them and the other half thinking of the other task behind them.
Bianca nodded. “Yes Sir, I did suggest the index,” she said, looking at Snape without remorse or reservation. “It’s a good one and one you typically recommend to older students anyways. I figured it would be worth recommending now.”
“I see,” Snape said, seething slightly. “Generally, it is more information than they need right now, and can incite delusions of competency.”
“But he didn’t do anything wrong, did he?” Bianca asked, just barely able to keep from flinching slightly at the look of displeasure on his face.
“Not this time.”
“And was his potion decent?” she pressed.
“It was adequate,” Snape said begrudgingly.
Bianca hesitated for a moment before she decided to try her luck. “Then I don’t see what the problem is. He seems pretty decent for a firstie and a Gryffindor. If he was a Slytherin, I doubt we’d be having this-“ This time she did flinch when he turned and glared at her.
“Careful, Zabini,” Snape warned. “You can be removed from the role and that would have an impact on your future here at Hogwarts.”
“Yes Sir,” Bianca said crisply, schooling her face into a bland mask and standing at attention.
“That will be all,” Snape said, turning away. He did not turn back, listening to Bianca turn and leave his office. For a while longer, he sat and stewed in his chair, his emotions and thoughts bubbling just beneath the surface.
Parvati took it from him eagerly. “Yes! That was fast.
Thanks Hedwig!” She smiled when Hedwig opened her beak expectantly and fed her a piece of bacon. The girl opened the package and looked inside the box. “Looks like what we need is here.”
“Brilliant,” Harry said, excited. “We’ll try it this afternoon then.” The afternoon eventually came and after finishing their last class, Parvati followed Harry down into the lower parts of the castle.
“Wow, you have your own private spot?” she asked when she followed him into the small test room.
“It’s Professor Sprout’s,” Harry said. “She lets me use it for things like this.”
“That’s cool. And I’m kinda surprised you do this sort of thing too. Thought I shouldn’t be, the sweets you’ve made are tasty.”
Harry beamed at that. “Thanks! What are we making?”
“They’re called jalebi like I said,” Parvati explained as she opened the box and took out the ingredients as well as a recipe written on paper. “They’re a popular snack and treat. You make a batter and fry them in oil, then put the sugar syrup on it. They’re crispy and sweet and awesome.”
“Sounds good to me,” Harry said, rubbing his hands together. With Parvati reading the directions, he poured sugar into a pot and set it over the stove, adding water to it. He stirred slowly as the mixture slowly melted into a smooth syrup. When it reached the consistency they wanted, where a string would form between fingers, he took it off the heat and added some lemon juice and cardamom pods to it, setting it aside.
They then added flour, corn starch, and turmeric into a bowl and mixed it, before adding yogurt and mixing that as well, until a batter formed. Water was slowly poured in as they mixed until they made a smooth batter. A bit of lemon juice was added too before it was done.
“Now we heat up the oil and add a little ghee for flavor,” Parvati said, spooning in some solid yellow ghee into the oil.
“What is ghee?” Harry asked.
“It’s butter that you’ve cooked for a while,” she explained. “Cooking out water and other stuff. We use it a lot for all of our cooking.”
“Oh I think I’ve read about that,” Harry said. “It’s clarified butter.”
“Sure? I didn’t really pay attention when Mum and Grandmum and the Aunties explained it forever ago,” Parvati said, laughing with a slightly flush. “I care more about eating than making.”
“That’s fair,” Harry grinned. “I like both.”
“What got you into making sweets?” Parvati asked curiously.
“Oh, well, sweets are tasty and fun,” Harry said, shrugging. “And it’s satisfying making something.”
“I guess so,” Parvati said, nodding thoughtfully.
“But now that I know magic is real and there’re magical sweets, I really want to learn more magic so I can make more magic sweets,” Harry said.
“You didn’t know magic was real?” Parvati gasped.
“No, I was, uh, raised by family that are Muggles,” Harry said, looking away a little.
“Wow, never would’ve guessed with how good you are in class,” Parvati said, blinking. “But those floating feathers you made are so cute and tasty.” She looked up when the window at the top of the door opened and Hedwig flapped in, barking musically. “She hangs out here too?”
“Sure does,” Harry smiled when Hedwig landed on his shoulder and nuzzled him.
“That’s nice,” Parvati smiled. “Oh, did you make your chocolate feathers look like hers?”
“I did! She was the inspiration,” Harry said as Hedwig opened her wings wide and displayed her feathers proudly.
“That’s cute,” Parvati giggled.
“Makes sense.” Harry added a spoonful of flour to the batter and mixed it until it was smooth once more before he poured some batter into the oil, mimicking what Parvati did. This time the jalebi did not become as flat, puffing up and crisping. “Oh it’s browning really fast, we have to turn down the heat a little,” he remarked and did just that.
“You usually then turn the heat down more to cook it a little more to make sure it stays really crisp,” Parvati said. “But since this is the test one, we can wait.” She watched as Harry fished it out with the skewer and after letting it drain slightly on some kitchen paper, he put it into the bowl of sugar syrup, flipping it for even coating. “Mmm, it smells like the real deal!” Parvati said happily. She took it out of the syrup and broke it into pieces and popped it into her mouth.
“Well?” Harry asked eagerly.
Parvati’s smile was from ear to ear and she puffed a little but held both thumbs up. “It’s good!” she said. “Just like it should taste!”
Harry happily popped a piece into his mouth with Hedwig doing the same to the last pieces, both of them chomping down. Harry savored the new treat. The sugar syrup was sweet but also had a nice earthy taste from the cardamom. The jalebi was crispy and delicious, a wonderful fried flavor that was well coated with the sugar syrup. It was not greasy nor oily and it tasted delicious. “That’s so good,” Harry praised with Hedwig flapping her wings and barking in agreement.
He and Parvati worked on the rest of the jalebi, using up the batter to the last drop and making several batches of it. The sugar syrup had to be made again to coat all of them and he showed her how to make the parchment pouches he used to make separate bundles. “There,” he said with satisfaction after finishing wrapping them all up and tying the ends with cord. He gave the biggest one to Parvati. “I hope Padma likes them too,” he said.
“She will,” Parvati said confidently. “She likes to pretend she doesn’t have the biggest sweet tooth sometimes but she does.”
“Just like you pretend you don’t like her when you do,” Harry grinned.
Parvati snorted and gave him a mock-glower. “I didn’t say that!”
“I know, I said it.”
She rolled her eyes. “What are you going to do with those?” she asked, pointing at the smaller ones Harry wrapped.
“One is for Professor Sprout,” Harry said. “One will be for me and Hedwig and I’ll probably share some of the last one with Ron, Neville, and Hermione and maybe a few others.”
“I really appreciate you doing this,” Parvati said as they left the small room together with Hedwig sitting on Harry’s head.
“Thanks for sharing the recipe with me and helping me,” Harry said happily. “Let me know when you want to make more in the future and we can do that. It’s important to have something nice to eat for comfort.”
“It is,” Parvati said, nodding with agreement. “I better go find Padma. See you later!” She waved merrily as she walked down the hall, nearly skipping as she did.
He watched her walk away with a complicated expression, one laced with wistfulness. He smiled when Hedwig cheeped lovingly at him and tugged on his hair playfully. “Let’s take this to Professor Sprout and find Ron and Hermione,” he said. “They’ll be so excited.”
“Hello.”
Harry turned from the table and looked up a little, seeing someone standing behind him. He wiped his mouth with his napkin and swallowed his mouthful of food hurriedly. “Oh, hello,” he said. “Padma, right?”
Padma Patil smiled. “Yes, that’s me. I wanted to thank you for the jalebi. They were really good.”
“I’m glad to hear it! Parvati told me about them and thought they sounded wonderful.” He dropped his voice. “Are you feeling better?”
Padma blinked a few times. “Parvati told me that you asked her to help you make them because you read about them,” she said, speaking softly as well.
“Oh, uh, yeah, that’s what happened,” Harry said, smiling weakly.
Padma snorted but her expression softened. “They really did help me feel better,” she said, smiling again. “You made them really well.”
“Parvati helped.”
“Lies and slander!” Parvati appeared at Padma’s shoulder and gave her and Harry a deeply suspicious look. “What are you two doing, talking about me?!”
“I said you helped with the jalebi,” Harry said, giving her a bemused look in return.
“Oh, well, maybe a little,” Parvati conceded. “I did eat most of them yesterday too since I helped.”
“She shared them equally,” Padma said with a small smile. “Thanks,” she added, hugging Parvati.
“Ahhh what are you doing?!” Parvati squealed. “You’re touching me!”
Harry smiled, watching the Patils starting to argue in a different language. “Is that what it’s like at home for you?” he asked.
Ron shrugged. “Less hugging and more punching, but actually, not too different,” he said.
“Sadly, he is not wrong,” Percy sighed. “That was not permission!” He buried his head into his hands when George and Fred immediately turned to each other and punched each other in the opposite shoulder, starting another fight, amusing everyone around them.
“You miss a lot as an only child,” Hermione said, shaking her head but smiling.
“I think it’s nice,” Harry said softly. Then it was his turn to smile when Hedwig headbutted him directly and playfully buffeted him with her wings, barking happily as he laughed.
The last scene was my favorite. Parvati saying that 'you're touching me'. The twins starting a fake fight. Then Hedwig picking a comfort fight with Harry.
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FangirlWriter1 on Chapter 7 Thu 18 Sep 2025 09:32PM UTC
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FangirlWriter1 on Chapter 7 Thu 18 Sep 2025 09:32PM UTC
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FangirlWriter1 on Chapter 7 Thu 18 Sep 2025 09:33PM UTC
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FangirlWriter1 on Chapter 7 Thu 18 Sep 2025 09:33PM UTC
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WokFriedIce on Chapter 7 Tue 23 Sep 2025 12:25AM UTC
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FangirlWriter1 on Chapter 7 Tue 07 Oct 2025 10:01AM UTC
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