A/N: I honestly do not know how I feel about "Imperfectly Capable" surpassing "Unbroken Silence" in terms of numbers of alert lists it's on. *shocked*

The first part of this chapter is basically the description of Harry's apartment and bakery café. I feel it's necessary to explain the basic formats, as I am unable to post pictures of such. Feel free to skim the first part. My original character will be introduced in the second part of this chapter.

Note: Harry's name will be Harry

Please enjoy, and please review!

Chapter 1

The apartment was the second floor of a recently renovated building, the first floor being a bakery café. Though not luxurious by any means, it was the perfect size for a disabled wizard and his house elf. There was a combined kitchen and dining area, a living room, a study, a complete bathroom, and a small laundry room. The wizard had a moderately sized bedroom while the house elf had his own miniature bedroom. A staircase and an elevator connected the two floors.

"What do you think of our new home Dobby?" Harry asked as they arrived in the living room by portkey. It was their very first time in their new home as the place had just been finished the day before.

Dobby looked around. "Master Harry showed Dobby the plan, but Dobby did not expect this!" Dobby turned to Harry with bright, teary eyes. "Master Harry, this is perfect!"

Harry chuckled. "I'm glad you think so. Why don't you take a look at your room Dobby? You remember where it is from the floor plan I showed you, right?"

"Of course, Master Harry! Dobby could not be forgetting!" The house elf bowed gratefully even as he began to take steps backwards. After the fifth step, and consequently the fifth bow, Dobby took off to see his bedroom. Harry listened to Dobby's light footsteps as the elf ran, and he soon heard cries of utter joy.

Harry chuckled once more. He called out, "Dobby! I will be downstairs. Be sure to unpack everything!" Harry could barely discern the cries of assurances amidst Dobby's enthusiastic shouting. He was happy Dobby was so pleased with his bedroom.

Harry moved to the elevator and pressed the button to open the door. It did so with a quiet ping! He moved inside, and the door closed after a few seconds with another ping! The elevator began to automatically take him to the first floor. It was an odd feature, the automatic transportation, but Harry thought it was pretty handy. He left the elevator and moved into a brand-new, full-sized kitchen. Everything a baker could possibly need was in this room. Harry thought it was one of the most wonderful sights he had ever seen.

Harry pulled aside the curtain on the right wall and moved out into a small area. He was now behind the café's counter. Near him was the water station, where a customer could get his or her own glass of water. The cash register was on the left side, with three counter seats in front of it. The glass display was currently empty, but that would soon change. Harry moved to his left, ignoring the second curtain for the moment. It led only to a small resting room, and he had no need for it now.

Harry pushed open the small swinging door next to the cash register, moving out to the actual café area. The café was small, but Harry felt its size was just fine. There were booths and a few small tables for customers to sit and enjoy their orders. He did not expect to have too many in-café customers, so he felt the limited seating was fine. He called out, "Dobby! Could you come downstairs for a minute?"

"Yes, Master Harry?" Dobby appeared next to him with a slight pop.

"Your notice-me-not charm is still working perfectly, right Dobby?" Harry asked.

"Of course, Master Harry! Master Harry's ward is also being activated." Dobby replied, referring to Harry's illusion ward. Bill had helped him create a special ward around Dobby. When activated, all non-magicals would see Dobby as a young adult with the muggle, medical condition dwarfism, a midget simply said.

"Good. Step with me outside, Dobby." Harry requested. Dobby opened the door, and the elf followed Harry outside. Harry turned Dobby around, and together, they got their first look at the café's front. The sign had in bold letters:

Tickled Happiness Café

"Tickle the Pear"

Both windows had the café's name painted on them as well. The actual name, "Tickled Happiness Cafe," was in Japanese, but the phrase below it was in English. Harry had initially wanted the café's name to only be "Tickle the Pear" in English, but he quickly realized that the café would need a proper Japanese name. The name was indeed unusual for a café, but he could think of nothing else that would relate to his wanted phrase. Harry looked at the fidgeting house elf. "So, what do you think Dobby?"

Dobby burst into tears and threw himself, once more, at Harry. He could barely make out the elf's words, but he understood well enough. He smiled. "Well, I wanted the phrase to be up there for a few reasons. For one, my specialties are desserts that use pears as the main ingredient. Two, it's a funny phrase people will always remember when they think of our café, and I hope it does bring them "tickled happiness." My third and final reason… I believe you can figure it out on your own." Harry hugged Dobby back.

Time Skip- a Saturday

The bell above the door jingled. A girl of senior high school age walked in, paying no attention to the "Closed" sign on the door. Although her clothes and hairstyle were not particularly attention grabbing, there were two things about her appearance that caused people to look twice. One, her large black sunglasses remained on her face even when she was inside. Two, a long, thin, white walking stick that was always in her right hand. "Good morning Harry-kun!" The girl said as she approached the counter.

"Oh, good morning Hikari-chan." Harry said, appearing from behind kitchen curtain.

Hikari walked through the gap between the counter and the wall. "Today will be special, Harry-kun, because for the first time, I will go without my walking stick!" Harry's jaw dropped slightly, and his eyes went wide. Hikari smiled before ducking into the resting room. She went over to the shelf and leaned her walking stick against the wall. She pulled out her apron, tying it behind her with deft hands.

Harry limped in. "Hikari-chan, are you sure that's a good idea?" He was very worried about his only employee, aside from Dobby.

"Don't worry Harry-kun. I've been working here for a month already. I've completely memorized the layout of the café. I don't need my walking stick to help me get around." Hikari took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. She smiled. "Let's have a good day."

Hikari left the room and confidently walked out to the café area. She flipped the sign over to the "Open" side before taking a seat at the counter. Harry gave her one of his Looks and sighed as he shook his head. "I want you to be extra careful today. You never know when something might happen."

"Of course, Harry-kun." Hikari replied. Harry limped back into the kitchen, most likely to put the finishing touches on various desserts.

It wasn't long before the bell above the door jingled again, announcing the arrival of their first customer of the day. Harry came out from the kitchen while Hikari approached the customer. "Welcome!" The two said simultaneously. Hikari helped the old man to his usual table. Harry asked, "Would you like your usual order Ishikawa-jii-san?"

"Aa, thank you." Ishikawa folded his hands on the table. Hikari brought the tray with his usual order over to him as well as a glass of water.

Hikari said, "Enjoy!" She began to walk away when Ishikawa gasped in surprise.

"Ah, Hikari-chan, you are not using your walking stick today!" Ishikawa exclaimed.

Hikari turned around with a smile. "That's right. It's quite liberating."

Ishikawa smiled. "That's very good. I'm glad you don't need it, if only for a while. A young girl like you shouldn't need a walking stick. Only old men like me should need one." Ishikawa's smile then grew softer. "And Harry-kun? How is your rehabilitation going? Will you be able to walk without your cane as well?"

At Ishikawa's questions, Harry smiled very sadly. Ishikawa was not the first person Harry had lied to about his legs. He had told everyone who asked that he had been involved in a car accident, which had severely damaged his legs. He had also said he was training in a rehabilitation center to help him walk without aid once more. If only that were fully true.

"No, Ishikawa-san. It does not look like I'll be walking without my cane anytime soon." Harry's voice was quiet and subdued; the sad smile remained on his face.

He screamed at the pain. He looked down to see the sickly indigo light from Bellatrix's curse consuming his legs with frightening speed. He hadn't heard the incantation, but he had an idea of what the curse could be. He didn't know the proper spells, but he knew what he had to do. Forcing himself to work through the pain, he simultaneously amputated his right leg and froze the stump. He watched in horror as the light moved from his decayed flesh to his left leg, and the curse began to move much faster. The pain was worse, but he was able to repeat his actions. He looked down at his uneven stumps. As his vision went black, he thought he could see Madame Pomfrey running…

Harry shook his head slightly; now was not the time to have a flashback. He had a shop to attend to after all.

Time Skip- the following Monday

"Welcome!" Harry and Hikari said as the bell above the door jingled.

"Hello," the new customer replied, removing a pair of sunglasses. Hikari returned to cleaning the tables, but Harry could not help taking a closer look. The physical structure would point towards the male sex, but the clothing led Harry to confusion.

'A cross-dresser then,' Harry thought. Although he had nothing against cross-dressing, he could not understand why a man would wish to dress as a woman. But each to their own. He smiled invitingly at the customer. "How may I help you? Is it your first time here at Tickled Happiness Café?"

"Yes, a friend of mine recommended this place. I am looking for a strawberry cake for my daughter and her friends. What would you suggest?" The customer came closer and bent down to look in the display case.

"I apologize, but whole cakes must be ordered in advance. Would you still like to order one?" Harry asked, reaching for his ordering pad.

"Hm, when can I pick it up?" The customer stood and eyed him. The man (woman?) was taller than Harry by a few inches.

"It depends on the size of the cake. A standard cake has eight slices, and you can pick it up the day after tomorrow. The larger the cake, the longer it will take to bake." Harry replied.

"A standard cake would be fine then. What kind of strawberry cakes do you have?" The customer asked, pulling out a cell phone to check the calendar.

"Hikari-chan?" Harry called. The cake order menu was below the cash register, and he could not retrieve it without causing himself pain.

"Yes, I'll be right there." Hikari took the cleaning supplies and walked behind the counter. She places the supplies on the bottom shelf before pulling out the menu from the one above it. She handed it to Harry. "There you go."

"Thank you Hikari-chan." Harry looked at the clock. It was about four thirty. "I think it's just about time for your break. I'll call you back out around four forty-five."

"Sounds good!" Hikari replied and ducked into the break room.

"Here you go." Harry handed the menu to the customer, who accepted it with a nod. The customer flipped through it lazily. However, he (she?) perked up when he came across Harry's quadruple strawberry cake. The strawberry cake itself had strawberries baked into it and had a creamy strawberry frosting. There were fresh strawberries on top and sliced strawberries separated the two layers of cake.

"That is amazing! Yes, I definitely want this." The customer said, pointing at the picture.

"Alright. One standard-sized quadruple strawberry cake it is. You'll pick it up on Wednesday, I presume?" The customer nodded. "You can come anytime on Wednesday, and you'll pay at the time of pick-up. May I have your name?" Harry asked, as he filled out the order form.

"Put me down as Fujioka Ranka, but you can just call me Ranka. The customer smiled and threw an exaggerated wink his way.

Harry chuckled at the gesture. "Thank you, Ranka-san. Please come again!"

Time Skip- the following Thursday

"Now that club is officially over with, can everyone stay for a bit longer? My father bought us a strawberry cake to share." Haruhi said, bringing out a cake box from their snack refrigerator.

"Waa! Strawberry cake!" Hani bounced over to the table. He eyes went wide as Haruhi opened the box. His jaw dropped once the cake was fully revealed. He had eaten countless cakes in his lifetime, but he had never seen a strawberry cake look as delicious.

"There are eight slices, so everyone can have a piece. It's already pre-cut, fortunately." Haruhi removed the serving knife from the top of the box. She accepted the stack of small plates from Mori. "Thank you Mori-senpai." He nodded.

At this point, the other Host Club boys gathered around the table. The strawberry cake truly looked fantastic. Haruhi served her fellow club members, and they all ate eagerly. Hani in particular was purely and utterly delighted. He thought he had died and gone to heaven. There was no comparison to this wonderful ambrosia. As he finished his piece, he could not help but eye the last slice.

Oh, how he wanted it. He wished he could have it. Maybe, maybe if he said Usa-chan wanted to share the eighth slice with him? His fork still in his mouth, he began to unconsciously lean towards the lonely piece. His eyes grew large and wanting, his arms tightened around Usa-chan. He looked up at his kouhai; they knew what he wanted. However, it was up to Haruhi. He turned to her with the best puppy eyes he could manage.

Haruhi, the angel that she was, simply rolled her eyes and gestured for him to have it. Hani cried, "Waa! Thank you Haru-chan!" He grabbed the last slice, and it was gone in under a minute. Hani looked down at the empty plate with sadness. He had wanted to savor the flavor, but he could not have helped himself. The cake was too delicious. And he wanted more. His eyes took on a fierce look then.

"Haru-chan, where did your father buy this cake?" Hani asked.

Haruhi replied with a knowing smile, "Tickled Happiness Café. I have a business card with me if you want it." She retrieved a small, white card from her bag and handed it to the excited senior.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Haru-chan! Takeshi, let's go soon, okay?" Hani asked. He climbed up his cousin as if the taller senior were a tree. He sat happily on Mori's shoulders, placing Usa-chan on his cousin's head. Mori held onto Hani's knees to ensure the boy would not fall.

"Aa." Mori nodded. He too had enjoyed the cake after all.

A/N: I know I had said I would not introduce the Host Club boys until the third chapter, but I added the last scene in as an apology for my late update. I apologize for it being so late... In fact, I'm supposed to be doing school work at this exact moment...

Please review! Let me know what you think!