The four students readied their wands and with incantations of " Lumos,", four wands were lit. Flitwick cast his own and held his wand up. "Now see between the five of us, there are some differences, right?"
"Mine is a lot brighter," Lavender said. "Parvati's is a little blue and not as bright. Padma's is a little yellow and not as bright either. Harry's looks focused, like a point." She looked at Flitwick's. "And yours is really focused."
"Now granted I have had many more years of practice than all of you combined. As you mature and become more adept, your spells will change a little here and there but your casting of the charm will be different than someone else's, as we see." He waved his wand and with each flick, the light changed subtly but noticeably. "I'm still casting the Wand-Lighting Charm but as you see, I can change the intensity and the shape and the hue somewhat."
After they cancelled the spell with a chorus of " Nox," he continued. "And that can apply to almost every spell. I know that my warming spell will feel a bit different than say the Headmaster's, and it will be different from when you all learn to cast it."
He beamed. "Therefore, if we can see a difference in magic, feel a difference, and I imagine once we learn ones that make noise they will sound different, so why not taste? We just never thought of it before because we had no need to or no opportunity."
He gestured at Inky who had been watching and listening while munching on her potato. "House Elves have their own form of magic, much like other magical beings. So that would be why when she makes food with her magic, it would taste different compared to other House Elves. Isn't that so, Inky?"
Inky nodded. "Some Elves make some foods taste better, so they make them more. Not Inky though, Inky is good at almost all foods."
"So when I did that second batch of biscuits and they tasted… less different, same as the muffins…" Harry said slowly.
"You were practicing the mixing spell," Flitwick finished. "The more you practiced, the better you got at it. So we were tasting less of the magic, and more of your cooking." He rubbed his chin. "Your skill in cooking is undeniable, that is why we heartily enjoy it without the spells. But with the spells, it adds a dimension that is a new factor."
"That's why magical foods taste so different to me!" Harry exclaimed. "I've noticed that!"
"Indeed!" Flitwick smiled. "You have a palate from your cooking that most of your peers do not, so you were able to notice it much sooner than others. For those of us who have grown-up and lived in the magical world for so long, we rarely have the exposure to food that hasn't had magic in it in some way, shape, or form."
"Why haven't Muggleborns noticed it?" Padma wondered.
"Muggleborns are still magical folk," Flitwick mused. "So to them, the magic is welcome I imagine. Goodness me, the avenues for exploration are myriad in this."
"I'm sorry," Harry said weakly.
"For what?" Flitwick smiled broadly. "The sheer amount of testing and experimenting and things we can explore and discover is incredible!"
"Oh, that's good," Harry said sheepishly, making the girls giggle. "I just felt like I should apologize for something."
"Not for this, you shouldn't," Flitwick soothed.
...
"What're you thinking about?" Lavender asked.
After they finished up with the club, Parvati, Lavender, and Harry had returned to the common room in Gryffindor tower. They sat together at one of the small desks against the wall to finish homework together. Harry had been looking out the window, staring at the ground under cover of night silently.
"That magic is interesting," he said slowly. "I never thought that you could literally taste magic. That's wild to me."
"Yeah, same," Parvati said. "And I grew up in a magical household. I'm going to have to pay attention when I go home. I know some in my family cook with spells and some don't. I want to see if I notice a difference."
Harry looked down at his hands. "Now I'm wondering if my cooking is only good because of magic."
"It's not," Lavender said firmly. "I've had your biscuits that you've made without using magic and they taste wonderful and all the other things you've cooked without magic are delicious too."
"Yeah, I agree," Parvati said.
"And you using magic to make them doesn't make them less delicious," Lavender continued, "just different. Your food tastes good because you're good at it."
"Yeah and didn't the professor say that spells were made to make things easier? When you're cooking without them, you're working hard and it shows," Parvati said.
Harry smiled bashfully. "Thanks. It really makes me happy and feel better to hear you two say that."
"We won't lie to you," Lavender said, smiling back.
"I might fib a little," Parvati said. She flushed at Lavender's angry look. "Only on certain things like if you're wearing something you like and I don't think the color suits! Not on actually important things!"
"I knew you were lying when you said you liked my shirt!" Lavender cried.
"Fib! Not lie!"
Harry's laughter broke up the argument.
"Fine, I won't lie to you," Lavender huffed.
"I won't lie or fib when it comes to cooking and food!" Parvati sniffed.
Harry sat back, smiling as he listened to his two friends bicker amicably, feeling just a bit better.
.....
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