Yes, Chef

Harry rolled over in his own bed to turn off his wand alarm, groaning as he stretched his muscles with several pops from his bones. He felt rejuvenated and light after their trip to Ibiza and Madrid, thinking how he hasn't gotten a better sleep than he did the past few days in years . Harry reached over to his nightstand to grasp at his glasses and notebook, rubbing the sleep away from his eyes before placing his glasses on his nose and opening the book. 

Notes: 

*plate presentation with artsy looking designs. Maybe get new plates? Study some unique plating ideas. 

*steps of service need to be tightened. Anticipate the guests’ needs. Maybe hire a host so Blaise can focus on implementing tighter steps of service and assisting better when needed?

*any glassware or silverware on the tables wiped down again to reduce fingerprints or smudges… spelling them clean might work fine after polishing 

*upselling and recommending cocktails to finish the night or if they didn't want the wine package, trying to quickly and efficiently determine what kind of drink they would like 

The list of ideas of how to elevate the guest experience were scrawled messily on the paper and under were ideas for different flavors or dishes he wanted to try and pull together. He ran a hand over his face and snapped the notebook shut and threw back his covers, getting out of bed with a grunt as his feet hit the cold wooden floors. His toes curled a bit at the temperate difference between his nice and warm bed and the absolutely frigid air that comes with getting out of bed as the weather outside becomes colder. He made quick work of showering and getting himself ready that morning, still taking care to curl his hair with product and his finger before taking the steps two at a time to the kitchen. He had his knife roll and a malachite green chef coat tucked in his bag all ready to go at the table as he busied himself with making a coffee and checking some of the mail that had been neglected over the weekend. 

Most of them were invites to events from the Ministry which he disregarded. It did seem that he received one from Mrs. Weasley who reminded him he was expected at The Burrow for lunch on Christmas Day. She had gotten in the habit of reminding him an entire month before the actual date due to the 2003 incident where Harry was in America and had pulled a fourteen day work week due to callouts and the first seven days of that stretch was littered with exams as the semester came to a close. He, in the process, forgot to book himself an international portkey, had forgotten to ask if he could have Christmas off , and had pulled three back to back open to close shifts right up to the day. 

Harry was dead asleep that morning, cheek imprinted from the crinkles in his pillow, one arm flung over the side of his bed while the other was gripping his other pillow to his chest. It had been seven in the morning when an insistent tapping began at his apartment window. Harry had groaned and rolled onto his back, only having gone to sleep three hours before due to going out with some of his coworkers for a Christmas Eve drink. That’s when Harry realized it was bloody Christmas and it was now noon in England. 

Harry had let the owl in that morning and skimmed Ron’s letter saying that his mum was pacing lines into the floor, trying to wait to start lunch. There had been a joke of Harry just not waking on time due to the time difference and guilt had knotted in his stomach almost immediately. He had thrown on a pair of joggers, t-shirt, and a thick coat, apparating to Wizarding Manhattan to rent a floo to firecall Ron. 

He never missed a Christmas lunch after that with the scolding he got from Ron, Hermione, and Mrs.Weasley through the floo and when the connection ended, he had wearily gone back to his apartment, he found a lumpy package on his doorstep that contained his yearly Weasley sweater. 

Harry shivered a bit at the memory. 

He poured his coffee in a paper takeaway cup and grabbed his bag, about to apparate himself to Oxford when his floo chimed with a firecall. Harry groaned before trudging up to the living room to see who it was, finding Andromeda’s head poking out of the flames. 

“Good morning, Harry,” she smiled warmly as Harry returned it with a grin of his own. 

“Good morning, Andy. Did something happen to Teddy? Are you both no longer able to come tonight?” Harry asked, feeling that twist of guilt in his gut from not visiting his Godson in the last couple of weeks. Andromeda let out a laugh, a small glimmer of amusement in her eyes. 

“No, nothing like that. We’re both fine and I was calling to request if a third chair could be added to our reservation this evening,” she replied. 

“An additional chair shouldn't be an issue, who else is coming with you?” Harry asked, racking his brain to think of one of Andromeda's friends who she might bring. 

“I was going to bring- what was that? ” Andromeda’s head left the flame and the muffled words of ‘Merlin, that hurt!’ came through the floo. Andromeda’s head came back through the floo. “Harry, darling, I’ll see you tonight. Teddy decided it would be a grand idea to slide down the banister. I’ve got to go, but thank you,” she said in a rush before ending the connection. Harry felt a smile twitch at his lips as the trendle of wondering who Andromeda was bringing left his mind as he disapparated to Oxford and then to Canis, Lupus, Et Cervum to meet with Rich.   

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“Alright, budge up, we're having a pre-shift meeting,” Harry said as he watched everyone begin to slide into seats. Harry stood in front of the front of house staff and waved his hand, ink appearing on the parchments in front of them. “The next two weeks will be Mexican inspired. For the next two weeks I want to try something a little different. For the tables who don’t choose the wine package, try to upsell and suggest drinks that might pair well with each dish. Goldstein, you’re an excellent mixologist, I want you to get with Black to start creating a rotating cocktail menu for each new menu. How have we been liking the menu changing every two weeks?” Harry asked, opening the floor to his staff. 

“I think it’s been great,” Angela spoke up, wringing her hands a bit. “You’ve also seemed less stressed since we’ve been doing it. Don’t get me wrong, I rather enjoy the weekly rotating menu, but this way lets us get more acquainted with the menu and able to properly suggest alternative drinks and seem more knowledgeable in what we're serving. I would like to see it continue and maybe before we leave for the weekend before the menu change happens we could get a copy to study so we're more familiar when we come back to work?” She finished. Harry looked around and saw nods of agreement from the other servers. 

“I think that could be arranged with the menus, Angela. Would we want to continue the biweekly schedule when things resume as normal?” Harry asked and watched as they all gave different degrees of agreement. “This gives me something to think about,” Harry muttered, pulling his notebook from his back pocket and jotting down ‘ maintain biweekly menu changes?’ below the preexisting list. “Do anticipate some things changing here in the near future. I do have some ideas on how to make service run a bit smoother, but it's still in the works,” he announced. 

“Harry, I think maybe tonight I could run a drink special? We have the ingredients for me to make a Mexican spiced chocolate martini with some of the spices I've seen in the kitchen. I may have gone ahead to infuse some of them into a simple syrup, but I thought it would pair well with the menu as an after dessert drink?” Anthony suggested, looking over the menu. “I thought it could be a do now and ask for forgiveness, but I think it would be a nice follow up from the chocolate tepache,” he said, looking up to meet Harry’s eyes. Harry gave a nod of approval. 

“Very well, run it tonight and get descriptions out to everyone. What's the name of the drink?” Harry asked. 

“I thought maybe the Decadent Lady?” Anthony replied, eyes flashing with excitement.

“Sounds good to me, now let's go ahead and get situated, service starts in fifteen!” Harry declared, pulling Blaise aside before he went back to the kitchen. “Listen, Teddy and Andy will be coming tonight. They requested a third chair be added to their table and before you ask, I don't know who is joining them. Just make sure to come get me when they arrive, I haven't been able to visit for a while,” Harry said, glancing over at Draco who was chatting with Goldstein. 

“I would give Draco a heads up. She is his aunt, but I don't know if they've ever met. Am I right to assume his family situation is a bit tetchy? I don't think I've heard him talk about his mother once since he's worked here,” Harry finished, voice kept low so no one could overhear him. 

“You would be right to assume. I'll inform him that they'll be coming, but what slot are they coming in for?” Blaise asked, raising a brow. 

“Five. They'll be here in,” Harry checked the time, “ten minutes. I've got to get back to the kitchen, but keep an eye out, yeah?” He said before walking away before Blaise could reply. He pushed his way into the kitchen and rechecked that everything was prepared at each station and began to pull out what was needed for the amuse-bouche. 

It was 5:05 when the kitchen door was opened with so much force that it banged the wall behind it and an angry yet panicky looking Draco Black stepped into the kitchen, allowing the door to swing shut behind him. He had himself pressed up against the door, chest rising and falling rapidly with his hands splayed behind him. Harry looked up and raised an eyebrow in question on what was going on. 

“Potter, care to explain why my mother is sitting at a table with your Godson and my Aunt?” Draco all but demanded as he got ahold of himself and rounded the pass to stand near the stand up cooler. 

“Oh, I thought Blaise told you your Aunt was going to be dining with us this evening-”

“He told me about my aunt who I've never met . I could carry forth with that, but my mother?” 

“Well she did say she wanted a third chair. I asked who she was inviting, but Teddy hurt himself before she could tell me this morning. I should’ve connected the dots, they’ve become rather close since the war ended you know,” Harry supplied, Rich taking over the rest of the preparation for the amuse-bouche. 

“No! I don’t know because I haven’t spoken to my mother in ten years because I was disowned !” Draco shouted, a feral look of panic beginning to glaze his eyes. 

“Rich, you’ve got this? I’ll be just a minute,” Harry said before stepping forward to take Draco’s hand and drag him out the back door into the alley. Harry shook out a cigarette and lit it before he spoke. “I can’t say that I’m all that surprised your mum is here, but is it really that bad? Maybe you should try to speak to her, I’m sure she misses you,” he suggested, watching as Draco began to pace back and forth. 

“I-I can’t. I haven’t forgiven her for the war. All I wanted was for one of them to protect me and instead I tried to kill bloody Dumbledore ,” Draco said, hands coming up to undo a couple of buttons on his, admittedly, very nice black shirt. 

“Oh, fuck we’re doing this now, aren’t we?” Harry huffed before taking a long drag and blowing out the smoke.

"What are we doing now?" Draco asked, eyes wild. 

“Draco, we were children. I don’t know all that happened in that house other than what he showed me, but we were children forced to fight a bloody war . Your father put you in that position and I have no doubt that Narcissa would’ve laid down her life if it meant protecting you. Maybe she didn’t have the means to protect you as much as she wanted because Voldemort was living in the Manor, but she lied to him for you . I died in that forest and when she was tasked to see if I was still alive, she asked if you were back at the castle and alive. She announced I was dead because there was still a chance to save you, ” Harry said, reaching forward and bringing Draco in front of him. “Your father disowning you should not prevent you from speaking with your mother, Draco. He’s in Azkaban. He can’t control you anymore. I’ve forgiven you for the harm you’ve caused my friends and so have they and I know you wouldn’t have killed Dumbledore because I saw it with my own bloody eyes,” He said softly. 

"I was a Death Eater, Potter! I bare their mark on my arm. I-"

"You were forced to take it, Draco. There's a difference between willingly taking it and being forced!"

"It was punishment! It was a punishment because my father failed at the Department of Mysteries! Severus tried to protect me and yet now not only is your Godfather dead, but mine is as well and both because they tried to protect us! I- I'm not a good person Harry," Draco said, voice rising in pitch. "I failed when I couldn't kill Dumbledore and was tortured and she just watched and I just can't forget sometimes," he finished. 

"But you are a good person. They tried to protect us because they love us and just because she watched doesn't mean she wanted it inflicted on you," Harry argued.

“I really was a terrible person, Harry. I let Death Eaters into the school. I couldn’t find a way to voice my thoughts to her because we could’ve fled. We could’ve fled the summer that I was forced to take the mark, but she insisted that father would protect us when he came back. That the task could be given to someone else and then when I failed she didn’t… She avoided me,” Draco rasped, looking utterly broken. “Sometimes I wish that Snape didn’t save me when you cast that curse. I sometimes wish he didn’t find me after I defaced the mark. I don’t know if I can face her …” he said, voice trailing off. 

“None of that. You will never know her side if you don’t try. You’ve been back for nearly four months and I’m sure she knew if she didn’t come tonight with her sister that there was a slim chance of you coming to see her at all, but never say that you shouldn’t have been saved. Draco, I owe you my life for not revealing me when the snatchers brought us to the Manor and I’m so sorry because I didn’t know what that curse did. I read it in that bloody book and I just casted it. If you weren’t here I’d still have Blaise up my arse about wine that I have nothing about and I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to know you,” Harry said, gripping his hand tightly. He took another drag before continuing. “I think it’s great that your mum is here. I really do. Maybe it’s a new door open for you to reconcile with her,” he said, thumb stroking across the back of Draco’s hand. 

“I suppose, but how do I even approach them? I have no clue where to begin, much less with family who I’ve never met before,” Draco said, shuffling a little closer to Harry. 

“Start small. Do your job and if they want to chat, then let them. Andromeda will be stiffly polite seeing how sometimes she goes full pureblood, but I don’t think it’s the end of all things that your mother came with them,” Harry suggested, releasing Draco’s hand to tuck a small piece of Harry behind Draco’s ear.

“I may be able to converse politely if it comes to that. I do apologize, I just was particularly startled to see her,” Draco whispered. “And if anything, I owe you my life. You saved me from the fiendfyre and kept me out of Azkaban. I do deeply feel regret for my past actions, but I appreciate how welcoming you and your Gryffindors have been towards me upon my return.” 

“I think that maybe you should begin to forgive yourself and maybe it would be good for you to speak to your mother and see why things happened the way they did. Hear her out. I don’t think tonight is the appropriate time for it, but I would try,” Harry said before leaning forward and giving Draco a gentle, but brief kiss. “Now let’s get back in there. They’re most likely starting to set up for the appetizer course and it’s colder than tits out here.”

Draco took a breath and gave a small smile to Harry. 

“Since when did you become so wise to give out such sagely advice?” Draco asked as they stepped apart, Harry spelling his hands clean and opened the back door. 

“I saw a mind healer after the war. It gave me a much needed different perspective of the things I had gone through growing up. Perhaps it is something worth looking into for yourself,” Harry suggested, following Draco back into the kitchen. 

“Perhaps,” he said offhandedly before giving Harry one last smile and disappearing into the front. 

Harry didn’t get another chance to step away until almost the end of the first service. When he finally went into the dining room, most guests were enjoying dessert and he was glad to note that several had the dessert cocktail that Anthony had created before the shift. He spotted the table of three, Andromeda sitting straight and chatting with Narssica Malfoy as Teddy eagerly spooned his specially prepared vanilla ice cream into his mouth. He made it halfway to the table before Teddy took notice of him, letting out a loud exclamation of ‘Harry!’ before jumping out of his seat and rushing to hug his Godfather. Harry let out a laugh as he embraced the ten year old, watching as his hair shifted to a bright yellow to reflect his mood. 

“I thought you'd forgotten about us!” Teddy said, leading him over to the table. 

“Of course I didn’t, Teddybear, I just had to cook all the food that you ate tonight and they only unshackled me now,” Harry said as he slid into the booth next to Teddy and across from Narssica. 

“Have you met Auntie Cissy? She said the blond haired man who gave them wine was her son. That means he’s my cousin! Did you know you had my cousin working for you?” Teddy said, nearly a mile a minute. 

“Mr. Potter and I have met before, Edward. You have a lovely establishment here and the food was quite delicious,” Narssica said, sitting up straighter and her hands folded in front of her. 

“Harry, please. I’m glad that you enjoyed the food tonight. The wine pairings were all Draco, but that cocktail was something my mixologist thought of before the shift,” Harry said, gesturing towards the martini glass that was in front of her. Andromeda on the other hand had stuck with the wine pairing it seemed as she took a tentative sip and smiled at Harry.

“Harry, dear, I must say the snapper was perfect. How has trapeasing around Europe been the past few months?” Andromeda asked. 

“It’s been a brilliant time. I’ve enjoyed going to all the different restaurants and seeing how the service and food varies. We’ll be going to Japan in two weeks for an omakase dinner and then America in the following two weeks so we can have a breather for the hols,” Harry said, eyes lighting up in excitement. 

“What’s uma-ka-see?” Teddy asked, looking up at Harry with a look of pure admiration. 

“It’s a Japanese dining experience where we have to trust the chef to create a personalized meal for us. We sit in front of the chef and from what I had read it’s mostly sushi that gets served at omakase. Sushi is kind of like what you had with the halibut,” Harry explained, wrapping an arm around Teddy’s shoulders. 

“Sounds intriguing,” Narssica commented. 

“I’m rather excited for it. I’ve had sushi in America when I was living there, but never tried any of the higher end places they had around. It’s supposed to be an intimate experience and I’ve heard that it’s worth the money,” Harry said. 

“You’ll be spending Christmas lunch this year with Molly, yes?” Andromeda asked, changing the topic. 

“She already sent me the reminder letter,” Harry said, a hint of embarrassment colouring his cheeks. 

“Well, we don’t want a repeat of Christmas 2003. We will be going over for lunch, but we won’t be staying for dinner. Teddy and I will be spending dinner with Narcissa at the cottage. Of course, you will have an invitation if you would like to join us,” Andromeda said, looking over at Teddy and smiling fondly at the boy's excitement for the upcoming holiday. 

“I typically invite Blaise and Pansy over to mine for Christmas dinner since they only celebrate with each other since their families are on the continent. I was going to extend the same to Draco, if you would rather come to mine?” Harry asked tentatively, glancing at Narcissa to gauge her reaction. She blinked quickly as if almost startled by the offer before a dusting of pink brushed her cheeks. 

“I couldn’t possibly intrude if you wish to see your family and friends-” She started.

“None of that. I know we aren’t close and I’ve only seen you in passing while visiting Teddy, but I would like for you to be there if you would like,” Harry said, a determined look on his face. 

“Auntie Cissy, you have to! Then I can show you my room at Harry’s house! It has a big sky on the ceiling and I’ve got all sorts of games! More games than at Grandma’s!” Teddy said excitedly. Harry watched as Narcissa melted to his Godson’s words. 

“If you insist… Are you sure, it would be alright?” She asked timidly, glancing over to where Draco stood by the bar, laughing with Blaise. 

“I think that it would be perfectly alright. I wouldn’t worry about Draco, Mrs.Malfoy. I think he will come around if you talk to him,” Harry said kindly, offering a small smile to her. She nodded her head and averted her gaze as Harry kissed the top of Teddy’s head and stood. 

“I have to get back for service change, but I’m glad you could make it out tonight,” Harry said. He gave Teddy one last hug with a whispered I love you and reaffirmed his stance on Christmas dinner before heading to the loo to relieve himself before heading back into the kitchen. When he exited, he saw Draco and his mother talking off to the side of the bar, Narcissa having a look of anxiety on her face as she spoke. Harry couldn’t see Draco’s reactions, but a look of relief washed over her face and she tentatively reached forward and hugged her son tightly. When they broke apart, she had tears bright in her eyes and kissed his cheek gently before excusing herself back to Andromeda and Teddy. 

Draco had turned around to run a hand down his face, clearly a little shaken when he spotted Harry in the hallway that led back to the loo and the office. He approached him slowly before standing in front of Harry, gnawing on his lip. 

“Christmas dinner?” He asked softly, anxiety flashing in his eyes for a split second. 

“I normally invite Pansy and Blaise over with Ron and Hermione because they don’t have anyone to celebrate with. I cook a roast and we drink wine… I was going to invite you anyways, but they broached the topic while I was visiting and I offered for them to attend as well,” Harry rambled for a second. Draco held up a hand to silence him, taking a breath and letting Harry in on a small smile. 

“I will attend Christmas dinner, Harry. We decided that it’s been a long time and that I will be visiting mother for afternoon tea on Sunday before we meet for our notes dinner to go over the past ten years,” Draco said, placing a tentative hand on Harry’s wrist. “Thank you, Harry, truly as I don’t know if without us talking earlier would have led me to accept it. The least I can do is hear her out and it would be nice to spend Christmas with others rather than alone this year. Thank you,” Draco said, squeezing Harry’s wrist and turning away to start directing the flip of the restaurant with Blaise. 

Harry was speechless as he finally found himself able to move towards the kitchen, beginning to prepare the second round of amuse-bouche for the second service. He knew in that moment that he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco and those small smiles and frantic words when he was overwhelmed. The blond hair and pale alabaster skin that flushed pink when he was embarrassed or flustered. The small cuff of delicate flowers tattooed on his right wrist and scars down his chest and back that Harry had put there, almost marking him as his own. 

Harry knew then that he couldn’t wait until Christmas.