Title: The Finer Things in Life pt. 3/4

Author: Deathangelgw

Challenge: Post Hogwarts- Ron and Harry try to prepare Hermione dinner with humorous results.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and co. belongs to J.K. Rowlings. Bless her heart! :P I waaaaaaaaant em!!

Warnings: AU, fluff, humor, sap.

Word Count:1,521 words

Rating: PG-13 at the worst!

Pairing: trio! Hr/HP/RW

Summary: Harry and Ron want to do something special for Hermione. But who knew Muggle cooking was so hard!

A/N: First, thanks to MA for the beta! I wuv yooooou! Secondly, this is for the triofqf on LJ. A special thanks to calliope_14 for 'leading' me here and to tarie for just being a great mod here! This is my first time writing Trio, so be brutal! Much thanks and feedback is very much appreciated! Enjoy!

'thoughts'

"Do you think that this sauce looks right?" Ron's voice floated from the kitchen as Harry came back with another washcloth to clean up the numerous globs of bread crumbs and egg yolk, signs of their latest 'experiment'.

"Um…it's a bit orange, don't you think?" Harry replied quietly, eyes wide as he saw the nearly neon orange liquid that was sloshing against the mixing bowl.

"Maybe. I did put in some more of that havestard," Ron murmured as he ran his finger into the sauce and looked at it as it dripped from his finger in a runny line.

"You mean mustard and I don't think it was supposed to go in this sauce," Harry said in bemusement as he stared at his best friend/flatmate. He looked at the recipe book and pointed. "See? It says to add in canola oil. Why did you put in mustard?" He asked in utter confusion.

"Well it looked the same…" Ron trailed off as he peered at the book, frowning as he stirred. "I thought just adding water to dilute it would help."

"Ron…you amaze me sometimes," Harry exclaimed in astonishment as he stared at his friend. He went back to cleaning up as he added, "I think maybe you better clean that out and start again. Follow the directions this time."

"Yea yea…but what is canola oil anyways?" Ron muttered as he cast a cleaning charm on the mixture. He cried out as it exploded all over him, covering him in runny, neon orange goop.

"What did you do?!" Harry cried in shock as he stared at his friend.

"Musta been the botuber roots," Ron replied sheepishly as he stared forlornly at the ground.

"Botub-Ron, why don't you clean up and I'll start the sauce? You can get the chicken and ham ready for filling then," Harry suggested with barely held calm, trying not to twitch at his friend's cluelessness.

"Yea ok. Be right back," Ron responded with a sigh before heading for the bathroom to get cleaned up.

Harry shook his head as he went about cleaning up, then brought out the thawed chicken breasts as well as the large ham they had gotten for this, having soaked it in water to get rid of the excess salt. That was one thing he remembered from Aunt Petunia…

He smiled as Ron came back in and began reading how to prepare the meat. "We can use that big baking stone that Hermione's mom gave as a house warming gift," he said as he stirred the sauce he was making, smiling at Ron.

Ron returned the smile and went about putting the ham into the baking stone. He stopped then and stared at the ham as he held a couple of chicken breasts, the ever-familiar confusion present on his tanned face. "Um…Harry?"

"Yea? What's wrong?" Harry turned at the questioning tone to find his friend looking at him.

"Um…how are we putting this…" Ron pointed at the ham with one chicken breast, "Into these?"

"Oh…um…" Harry frowned in perplexity as he came over and studied the ham, tapping his chin as he chewed on his lip. "Well um…"

"How about…this?" Ron suggested as he began carefully placing the chicken breasts onto the ham, carefully aligning them like a puzzle until the entire ham was covered in chicken breasts.

Cocking an eyebrow as he felt his eye twitch, Harry watched his friend in quiet disbelief which was carefully schooled into an expression of neutrality as Ron turned to him in a look for an opinion. "Well I…good idea, um…Ron," Harry offered weakly, then bit his lip as Ron turned from him to look at the cookbook.

"Oh…wait." Ron's statement caught Harry's attention immediately as he heard the sheepish tone. "Um…it says here that the ham has to be sliced."

"Oh…oh! OH…oh…hmmm," Harry trailed off as they looked at each other in bafflement. "So…how do we do that?" He asked and frowned as Ron shrugged in confusion.

"Um…well, maybe a simple slicing charm?" Ron offered, then grinned as Harry rolled his eyes while hitting his forehead.

"OH yea no kidding! Good idea, Ron. You start while I finish the sauce," Harry said with a grin and a nod. Pleased, Ron started the charm on the ham, slicing it into neat piles on the plate. He then scratched his head and stood back. Harry noticed and glanced over. "What's wrong?"

"Well uh…how are we going to get the ham and cheese into the chicken?" Ron asked as he scratched his head.

"Just put a slit into it so it's kinda like a slot," Harry replied with a smile, winking as Ron rolled his eyes.

"Er right…I'm not with it, mate. Give me a sec," Ron shot back sarcastically before he set to the slicing of the chicken. They worked side by side for a few minutes in silence, nothing but the sounds of cutting and stirring interrupting the comfortable silence in between the two friends.

Finally, they set to work filling the chicken breasts, finding a rhythm swiftly as Ron put in the cheese and ham, then Harry placed the chicken on the pan and put the sauce on it. With rising confidence, the two young men put the dinner into the oven to bake and, hopefully, prove to be a success.

*~~**~~*

Hermione stared at the dinner before her with trepidation, then up at the two young men watching her anxiously. Slowly, she dug her fork into the steaming piece of chicken stuffed with green bits of broccoli, ham, and cheese and brought it to her suddenly dry mouth. With a fake smile, she took in the bite and slowly ate it.

Ron and Harry watched her intently, leaning forward nervously as they watched her chew through the bit of cordon bleu. Finally, Harry asked quietly, "Well?"

Swallowing almost painfully, Hermione quickly took a drink of the wine they had served as well before smiling slightly at them. "Well um…it's…chewy…and um…well seasoned…" she said hesitantly, not looking at them.

"Sooo…was it good?" Ron asked in confusion as he looked at Harry.

"Um…I think I need some…water," Hermione said quickly before getting up and heading for the kitchen to get some water as her two flatmates watched her go in bemusement before looking at each other.

"I…don't think she liked it," Harry reported dully as he put his chin on a fist and poked at his own portion of the dinner.

"But why? I mean, we followed the recipe, right?" Ron pointed out glumly as he also played with his portion. He scooped some of it up and put it into his mouth and began to chew under Harry's watchful gaze. He stopped chewing suddenly, then spit it out, coughing as he tried to gulp down wine without choking.

"What? What is it?" Harry asked in concern as he watched his best friend wipe his streaming eyes and clear his throat several times.

"Too much salt and I think there was an eggshell in the breading. And, the cheese isn't Swiss…" Ron gasped out roughly before swallowing another glass of wine.

"I thought I had gotten out all of the shell…" Harry mumbled as he got up to check what cheese they had used. He blinked, then flushed a deep red as he brought over the cheese. "Um, Ron…we needed Swiss cheese. Not the Swiss made version of Brie."

Ron blinked, then looked at the cheese. He flushed as deep a red as Harry and sighed. "Harry…this is hopeless. Maybe we should ask Mum for help or something," he murmured in disheartenment.

"No…I don't think we should bother your mum. But…I think we need help. And I have an idea," Harry said firmly as he placed his hand over Ron's, smiling in encouragement. Ron returned the smile, making Harry's heart flutter at the beauty that shone from his friend's face. "Come on…let's clean up and take Hermione out…again."

"Yea…again," Ron echoed as he rolled his eyes before standing and patting Harry on the shoulder. He grabbed some of the plates and headed into the kitchen, never noticing Harry's gaze locked on his backside.

'Yea…again. Not that either of us minds…' Harry thought with a small smile as he got up to help clean up the dishes before going out for a late dinner.

TBC