Harry Potter The Life Of A Chef

"Oh, hey there," Harry said, seeing Pansy and Millicent. The Gryffindors were walking down to the greenhouses for Herbology class and ran into the Slytherins walking up. Pansy and Millicent had been walking in front of the crowd and came up to Harry and his friends.

"Hello Harry," Pansy said with a small smile, making the others look twice at her.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asked Millicent.

She blinked. "I'm feeling better, thank you. The soup was really good."

"I'm glad," Harry beamed.

Hermione looked at the two Slytherin girls with outright shock, and glanced back at Harry and Lavender and Parvati. "When have you been nice to them?" she whispered. "Why are they being nice back?!"

"It's new and yeah it's a little weird but just go with it," Lavender whispered back.

Draco literally growled when he walked up, seeing the two groups of people facing each other but not hurling barbed words or insults. He glared at Pansy and Harry in turn, growing angrier by the moment.

"Might want to loosen your collar," Harry said, tugging on his own shirt. "If you're having problems breathing."

"Or do you need a leash if you're growling like that?" Lavender asked sweetly. She reached into her bag and fished around a bit before taking out a length of ribbon. "Is red okay?"

Parvati burst out laughing and more than a few of the others joined in. Pansy and Millicent not even hiding their merriment.

"You-you-" Draco sputtered, his face matching the hue of the ribbon. "How dare you-!"

"Just offering a bit of advice," Lavender said, her voice dripping with faux-innocence. "When my doggie growled a lot, it was apparently out of anxiety when we were out and she felt better when she had her leash and one of us was holding it."

"We should probably get to class," Harry said, grinning. "Don't want to be late or else Professor Sprout will have a bone to pick with us." That set them off again, filling the air with laughter, and he and his friends waved to Pansy and Millicent who waved back.

"Now that made me feel loads better," Millicent said smugly, watching Draco stomp up to the castle. "I think I might like Potter too."

Pansy watched Draco with a complicated expression on her face. "I told you he was nice."

"He wasn't that nice to Draco," Millicent giggled. "For good reason though."

Pansy smiled. "No he wasn't, but he was nice to you and me."

"Look at those idiots," Parvati muttered as she gave Seamus, Ron, and Dean a sour look. "Celebrating as if they were the ones that took Draco down a peg. Didn't even congratulate either of you and you were the ones that said it."

"Lavender really did it," Harry smiled. "Gosh, that leash joke was amazing."

She did a little half bow and half curtsey. "Thank you! But I was being honest. My dog growls a lot when she's anxious."

"What kind of dog do you have?" Hermione asked.

"She's a poodle named Cokie," Lavender said proudly. "I'll need to bring a picture of her next year or maybe ask for one to be sent. I miss her."

"That's a funny name," Parvati said.

"My little sisters named her. I think they were trying to say cookie but messed up and Cokie just stuck," Lavender giggled. "She's so cute though and a giant cuddle bug."

"Don't mind you chatting, ladies, but keep working while you do if you please," Professor Sprout said kindly as she breezed by. "And you too Mister Potter," she added when the girls giggled.

"Yes Professor," the three girls and the boy chorused.

"So… Pansy and Millicent are nice now?" Hermione asked as they started refilling one of the bins with soil and compost.

"Well this was the first time we interacted with Millicent," Parvati said. "And the third time we really interacted with Pansy, if you count Potions yesterday as the first time she was nice and club being the second."

" Miscere," Harry said, drawing a slow circle with his wand. The contents of the bin started to mix themselves, the old leaves and roots and vegetable scraps combining with the earthy-scented soil and other heavy wet things.

"Well done," Sprout smiled. "Two points to Gryffindor. I am so glad you found that spell. It is quite useful."

"Thank you, Ma'am!" Harry smiled. After she left, he spoke. "I've spoken to her a few times out of class, Pansy I mean. She was nicer those times, not like the beginning of the school year when she was rude most of the time. Well, all of the time really."

"I still think she's up to something, but I don't think it's anything bad for us," Lavender said. "She was genuinely interested and surprised by a lot of the stuff we did in club last night. Asked some questions too."

"I wonder if Millicent is going to come now," Harry mused.

"You think Pansy's coming back?" Lavender asked.

"I think so. And Millicent is her best friend and all. I don't think she'll be that bad." Harry shrugged. "I mean, with how Pansy is now anyways."

"She's kinda scary," Hermione said.

"She can't be that scary if Pansy calls her Millie," Parvati said.

"We can give you a fun nickname," Lavender said with a sly smile. "Like Parvie or Parv."

"Don't call me that," Parvati said, sticking her tongue out. "Or else I'll call you Lavie or Lav."

"Lavie sounds like larva," Hermione said with a small giggle. "You know, like an insect."

"I can't believe you called me a bug!" Lavender said indignantly, throwing a tiny bit of soil at Parvati.

"I didn't!" Parvati protested and threw it back.

"I'm not sticking around and getting soiled," Harry smiled and left with Hermione trailing after, eager to avoid the coming soil fight.

.....

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