Journey Home by Jardyn39
Chapter Five: Fruit Cake
"Dobby said it made more sense to do the place up and rent it out rather than selling it outright," said Harry as he and Hermione made their way to the Headmistresses private dining room.
"Well, he would know," agreed Hermione. "I suppose it would be nice knowing we had a place to go back to if we wanted."
"If you agree, I'll get him to draw up the papers. The elf co-operative will manage the building for us."
"How much is Dobby charging?"
"Don't worry, I won't agree anything until I've beaten him up to at least ten percent."
"Good. I'll write to Ginny and Neville and let them know what is happening. Ginny mentioned inviting us over to dinner when we can manage it."
"That would be nice."
"You did have a word with Dobby, didn't you? I mean, he knows not to barge in on us like that again."
"Yes, he got the message."
"But you didn't upset him?"
"Well, you know Dobby," Harry said. "He does get enthusiastic about things."
They reached the highly polished door and Hermione stopped to straighten her dress.
"You look beautiful, Hermione," he said, leaning in and kissing her gently on the neck.
Hermione smiled warmly and Harry knocked on the door.
*
"So, young Carmen really hasn't played any tricks on you yet?" asked Flitwick with a wry smile.
Harry smiled and shook his head no.
"She's obviously planning something significant. I am rather glad I'm retired!"
"I may want to join you!" Harry replied laughing.
Harry poured them both another glass of red wine.
"Mm, thank you," replied Flitwick appreciatively. "This is an excellent wine you brought."
Across the room, Hermione and Professor McGonagall were quietly chatting to each other. They had both limited themselves to a single glass over dinner, leaving Harry and Flitwick to finish the bottle.
"Do you miss teaching?" asked Harry.
"I do," he admitted. "But I don't miss having to be on call for every little thing. No, on balance, I prefer being able to rise late for breakfast! These days I rather enjoy a slower pace; indeed the weeds do tend to creep up on me."
"It must have been difficult, balancing having a family and the demands of being Head of House."
"Oh, we managed to get by. You get into a routine after a while."
Harry nodded and smiled. Flitwick had taken retirement just after he had been widowed, a couple of years before.
"Minerva tells me you've settled in nicely with your Defence Against the Dark Arts classes."
"It's going well, although I'm a little worried that I'll be good enough to get the OWL and NEWT years through their exams."
"Nonsense. I've seen the results of your teaching. I remember saying to Albus that I might have misjudged Delores Umbridge from some of the OWL and NEWT practical performances before she departed. He quickly told me what really happened, though."
Harry smiled, remembering the pride he'd felt.
"Dear Albus," mused Flitwick sadly, "I do miss him terribly."
*
Harry stepped out of the fireplace into his office, the klaxon bells still ringing in his ears. He had just been rudely awoken. It was around two in the morning.
"What is it, Brian?"
"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you," said the nervous First Year.
"It's no problem."
"I got this message, Sir," he said holding up a piece of paper.
Harry took it and unfolded the paper. It was a message calling for the boy to return home immediately. His younger brother had been hurt in a car accident. It sounded serious.
"I'm sorry about your brother, Brian," said Harry, returning his note. "You can Floo home from here. I'll unlock the hearth so you can travel out."
"My family aren't wizards, Sir. We don't have a Floo connection."
"How did you get that message, then?"
"It was sent by telegram to the Hogsmeade Post Office. They sent me an owl. It only arrived a few minutes ago."
"Okay," said Harry, thinking fast, "go and get dressed and then meet me down in the entrance hall. I'll meet you there in a couple of minutes."
"Thank you, Sir!" he shouted, dashing off.
*
"Honestly, Harry," said Professor McGonagall with a smile as they sat together at breakfast the next morning.
"It was all I could think of doing," he admitted.
"Yes, but now they'll all want to do the same. You'll never get a moment's peace!"
"I can't understand how everyone found out so quickly, though."
"No?"
"Well, he just gave me a note to give to his friends to say he was okay and why he'd gone. How was I to know it was also a blow by blow account of our little adventure?"
McGonagall laughed and shook her head.
"He's never written half as much for one of my essays," Harry added with a smile.
"Well, flying by Thestral was probably quite inspirational, as well as terrifying." she responded.
"Kingsley made it very clear how much trouble I'd be in if I got another reprimand so quickly. I didn't think I should risk a Portkey."
"So is his brother alright?"
"He will be, although it was touch and go for a while."
"You weren't detected?"
"Have you any idea how difficult it is to perform healing magic from the other side of an observation window while the patient is connected up to all those monitoring machines and being surrounded by security cameras?"
"I'm sure his family were very grateful."
"Actually, they thought I was some kind of nutter. You're probably going to get a letter about me as well."
"I look forward to reading it."
*
Harry's Third Years were now about halfway through their systematic destruction of their Slinkhard text books. Harry had instigated a reward system where the prize was for the student to have their textbook destroyed.
As the bell went to signal the end of the period, Harry said, "Well done. I want you all to practise that spell and write me two feet describing the uses you can put it to."
As the chairs scraped and chatter increased, Harry vanished the tattered remains of the book covers with some satisfaction.
He put away his things and was about to leave himself, when he realised Carmen was still present.
"Anything the matter, Carmen?"
"No, I just wanted to tell you something."
Harry raised his eyebrows enquiringly.
"Um, you know that Hermione is still very keen on promoting House unity? Well, I've decided to begin a cross-house project."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Well, good luck with that. Is that it?"
"No. I've decided that you've had time to settle in now, and so you should be prepared for a little welcoming to mark the event."
"And this is your cross-house project?"
"Absolutely," she said smiling at him.
Harry smiled wryly and said, "Well, so long as you remember, I have no problem giving cross-house detentions either."
Carmen grinned widely.
"Please also remember," warned Harry seriously, "if anyone gets hurt, it will be your responsibility."
Harry showed Carmen out of the room. As he watched her walk down the corridor, he felt more than a little trepidation. He wasn't worried about himself and he knew Carmen wouldn't deliberately do anything too dangerous.
Although Harry knew he had to let Carmen make her mistakes so she could learn from them, he felt sure that it was almost inevitable that the whole thing would get out of hand.
Harry made his way to the staff room, and on his way mused what she might be planning. There would be a couple of false alarms, he was sure. If she was clever, and Carmen certainly was clever, no school rules would be broken. By the time he got there, Harry decided not to bother worrying about it.
*
"Welcome back, Brian," said Harry as he paused at the Gryffindor table before going up to the staff table. "How's your brother?"
"He's fine now, thank you, Sir," he replied, "although he's still very nervous of traffic. Professor McGonagall wrote to my Mum and Dad and explained what you were doing and they understand now. They say they're sorry for the way they reacted."
"It was quite understandable," Harry replied with a smile, "after all, they had more important things on their minds. I'll see you later this morning."
"Yes, Sir," replied Brian before returning to his breakfast.
*
"Sir?"
"Yes, Brian?" asked Harry as the First Years exited the classroom.
Brian was standing before him with a small, carefully wrapped brown paper parcel tied together with string.
"Um, Mum packed me a few things before I went. She usually gives me some cakes or something for the journey. Anyway, I found this inside. I think this is just something to say thank you from my parents."
He nervously offered the parcel out to Harry.
Harry was immediately suspicious. This was exactly the opportunity Carmen would use to trick him. She could easily have overheard their conversation this morning, and Brian hadn't mentioned anything then.
It also didn't help that Brian was handling the parcel like it was an unexploded bomb.
Harry chided himself. Brian was nervous at the best of times. Carmen also hadn't given him any false alarms yet and his classmates hadn't reacted at all. If they knew something, surely one of them would have given the game away. Unless, Harry thought, Carmen hadn't told them. She might even have hidden the package for Brian to find and think was from his parents.
Harry decided to accept the parcel.
"Well, it really isn't necessary, but please be sure to write and thank them for me," said Harry taking the parcel.
It was surprisingly heavy.
"What do you suppose it is?" Harry asked casually. "It seems rather heavy. I do hope it isn't anything expensive."
"Mum's cakes are often on the heavy side."
"I'm sure it will be excellent," Harry replied with a smile. "If it's okay, I won't open it here. I think I might share it round in the staff room. Professor McGonagall is quite partial to home baked cakes."
Brian didn't react.
Harry was sure either Brian wasn't part of anything. He wasn't that good an actor.
Harry thanked Brian again and made his way to the staff room.
*
"So who wants some cake?" asked Harry to guffaws of laughter from the other teachers in the staff room after he'd explained how he'd received his gift.
The parcel remained unopened on a small coffee table in the middle of the room.
"I can't believe you carried it all the way here," said one. "It may have exploded in the corridor!"
"I don't think so," said Harry. "Carmen wouldn't want to get students by accident."
As Harry advanced on the parcel, several staff members found they suddenly had other places to be urgently and the remainder retreated and took cover behind various items of furniture scattered around the room.
Harry aimed his wand and cut the string. The brown paper loosened slightly.
He gingerly picked up the parcel and removed the wrapping paper.
It was a plain cardboard box.
He carefully lifted the heavy lid and peered inside. There was a layer of white greaseproof paper.
Harry picked off the paper to reveal a large fruit cake.
A collective sigh of relief went around the room, but if anything, Harry was now more suspicious.
There was no note, other than his name that had been written in pencil on the wrapping paper in an unfamiliar hand.
The smell from the cake was quite mouth-watering. This cake looked every bit as good as one of Mrs Weasley's creations.
*
"Enjoy your cake, Sir?" asked one of Carmen's Third Year friends.
"It was delicious," Harry replied. "I can thoroughly recommend Brian's mother's cooking. Enjoying a piece of her cake at lunchtime was a very nice treat," he added so that Carmen didn't need to get that information out of him.
Harry continued up towards the staff table.
He was sure Carmen would now be working out the expected time when whatever she put in the cake would activate. There would be a margin for error, since she didn't know the precise time they ate the cake.
There was an unusually high degree of secretive whispering in the Great Hall that dinnertime.
Harry sat down and was immediately interrogated by Professor McGonagall.
"What is going on?"
Harry quickly explained about the cake.
"Not that fruit cake in the staff room. The cake I had a slice of this afternoon?"
"Yes," replied Harry with a smile. "Nice, wasn't it?"
"I'd better get up to Poppy. Whatever is going to happen, I don't intend to make a spectacle of myself in front of the entire school."
She started to rise, clearly annoyed with Harry that he should have left such a cake out.
"Just sit and enjoy the show," said Harry reassuringly. "I ate some of that cake as well. Actually, I had two slices."
"You neutralised whatever it was then?"
"No, I've no idea what it was. I'm rather intrigued to see the results, actually. I think it will be timed to activate towards the end of dinner for maximum effect."
Professor McGonagall frowned at him, but then relaxed again into her seat.
"Well, at least I'll be in good company if anything happens."
Harry smiled at her and passed the potatoes.
*
As he poured himself another after dinner cup of coffee, Harry noticed another wave of whispered messages flow through the Great Hall, which had remained surprisingly full.
Harry had seen Carmen give the signal.
The effects of the cake would begin in a couple of minutes.
He burped discretely and muttered, "Pardon me," while patting his stomach in an exaggerated manner. The whole school was waiting for something to happen.
Professor McGonagall looked at him with mild alarm.
"Should we make a dash for the Hospital Wing?"
"Oh, no, thanks. I'm fine. By the way, I happen to know that a small group of Gryffindors also enjoyed some rather fine fruit cake this lunchtime."
"Really?"
"Indeed. I think you should know that I feel terribly guilty now. Swapping the cakes back wasn't a very nice thing to do."
"Well," Professor McGonagall said as the signs of a small commotion began at the Gryffindor table, "so long as you feel a little guilty, that's the main thing."
Howls of laughter echoed around the Great Hall as students scrambled away from the stricken group.
Harry estimated that there were around a dozen people affected, including Carmen. He was glad to see that Brian was fine. Clearly, he had nothing to do with it.
"If you'll excuse me," said Professor McGonagall, smiling and getting up, "I'll see if I can spot those that might have been involved."
She got up and made her way over.
Harry didn't think she would have too much trouble picking out the individual students, although he was rather glad he didn't need to get any closer. The smell was quite extraordinary, even at his distance.
Gradually, the stricken students got up and made their way to the entrance doors. It looked like Carmen had indeed managed to involve people from each of the Houses, although about half of them were Gryffindors.
*
Harry pushed open the doors to the Hospital Wing and made his way up to the only bed concealed by a privacy screen, positioned to ensure that the patient was screened from viewers standing at the entrance.
He peered around the screen and asked with a smile, "How are you doing?"
Carmen was sitting up in bed, looking utterly miserable, looking at herself with a small hand mirror.
"What does it look like?" she spat.
"Well, you look much better than a while ago. It hardly notices now."
"Sure," she replied sarcastically, looking up at him for the first time. Her skin now only had a faint green tinge, but the red and white Sickle sized spots all over her face were still quite noticeable.
"How are the others?"
"Fixed up and gone. Teach me to have a second slice."
Harry snorted.
"That was a really mean thing to do, though. Swapping the cakes back like that."
"But it would be okay for me and the rest of the staff to eat it?"
"I didn't make you offer it around, did I?"
"What exactly did you put in the cake?"
"Oh, just something I concocted over the holidays. It was more of a challenge to duplicate the cake and all the packaging, actually."
They heard the entrance door open again and then the footsteps of someone coming over to them.
Hermione came around the screen, wearing a wide sympathetic smile for Carmen.
Carmen smiled back.
"How are you?" asked Hermione warmly.
Carmen shrugged.
Harry was about to excuse himself so they could talk when Carmen asked coldly, "Is that all, Sir?"
Hermione gave him a small understanding smile.
"Goodnight, Carmen. I hope you fee better soon," said Harry gently, before leaving.
*
"I'm sure Carmen will get over it," Hermione said reassuringly to Harry back in their suite.
Harry had found that Carmen's last words had upset him even more than he realised at the time. Even after a long night-time walk around the lake, he couldn't get her words out of his head. He returned late to find Hermione waiting for him.
"She's just a little upset. Not really with you, but she'll probably take it out on you anyway."
"Really?" Harry said miserably.
"You have to realise, Harry. Girls of Carmen's age are very sensitive. Small things like a bad hair day or wearing the wrong thing can mean so much. She's torn. She wants to stand out and yet blend in at the same time."
"Hermione, perhaps you could assume I've no idea what you are talking about."
Hermione sighed.
"Harry, I'm not sure I should tell you too many specifics. About Carmen, I mean."
"Okay," Harry said lifting his arm and pulling Hermione closer. "Tell me about what you were going through at her age."
"Me? That's hardly a reasonable comparison. Carmen is actually quite pretty."
"You're beautiful too, Hermione, but what I meant is that neither of you appeared to be obsessed with girlish things like some of them."
"Don't you believe it, Harry. I still wanted to have nice hair and clothes, even if I couldn't spare the time. I still cared what the others were saying about me, both to my face and behind my back."
"So, if I'd given you cake that made you turn green and emit foul smelling gasses for a few hours, I wouldn't be too popular with you either."
"Well, obviously not. But that's not all. I'd have been mortified to look like that in front of someone I was crushing on."
"Who did you fancy then?" Harry asked in surprise.
"I would have thought it was obvious, actually. That's what Ginny always tells me, anyway."
Harry frowned slightly and Hermione said, "You were trying to understand how Carmen's feeling, remember?"
"Okay, so she fancies someone?"
"She may do. The point is that she's now thinking there is no way they'll ever like her back now."
"That's silly, Hermione. I'd still fancy you if you were green and smelly. Actually, if there's any cake left I'll let you prove it."
Hermione laughed and said, "That's so nice of you, Harry!"
*
"You look much happier this morning," observed Harry peering around Carmen's privacy screen the next day.
Carmen was smiling but gave a start when Harry spoke. She hurriedly tucked a small, "Get Well Soon," card under her sheets. Harry realised that this was probably why she looked in a much better mood.
"I wasn't sure how long you'd be staying, so I brought you a couple of books to read."
"Thanks, but hopefully I'll be discharged this morning."
"That's good," said Harry, noticing that her green colouring and spots had not improved noticeably over night. "Perhaps you'll start a new fashion," he observed before adding, "or perhaps someone in particular doesn't mind that look."
Carmen smiled and blushed deeply, despite her colour.
"So are we okay?" he asked.
"Yes, we're okay," she replied. "Thanks for asking Professor McGonagall not to punish us."