The Wizard's Guide to Timelords and Other Demons Book 1: The Forgotten War

Lunch With A Werewolf

It was mid-afternoon and Elise had not yet eaten. As she sat patiently on the hard wooden bench in the corridor outside the Hospital Wing, she wondered if perhaps Professor Dumbledore had already forgotten about her. She watched longingly as a tiny house elf heaved a large, heavy cart of delicious pastries and other assorted desserts right past her and through the door of the hospital, which magically opened to admit him. Snack time for the patients? she thought. It only reminded her of how hungry she was.

This was the second house elf Elise had encountered since her arrival at the school and they were not as she would have expected. The elves of her world were tall, majestic, powerful, and incredibly gorgeous. This elf, like the other she had seen, was small, shriveled and a very poor dresser. She had been told that, in the past, the house elves of Hogwarts had normally worked in hiding and that a student might pass through all seven years at the school without ever having seen one. Recently, however, they had apparently been given additional freedoms and had become more visible. This was especially true during winter break when the temporary reduction in staff gave the elves opportunities to perform a larger variety of duties which made encounters with humans more frequent.

Elise's thought returned to her current situation. It had been over half an hour since Professor Dumbledore had asked her to wait for him outside the hospital while he spoke with Professor Trelawney, and she was now pretty sure she had been forgotten. This is a waste of time! she thought angrily. She had a mission here and sitting around waiting for stodgy old professors with memory issues was not part of it. She arose from the hard, uncomfortable bench and had started to walk away when a snide, waspish voice hissed to her from behind,

"Going somewhere Miss Winchester?"

A bit startled (though she didn't show it), Elise turned around to see a tall, thin man with greasy black hair and a crooked nose wearing a long black cape. Although they had not yet met, she knew exactly who he was from what Kendra had told her.

"Professor Snape," she said with some surprise in her voice, "I was asked to wait here but it seems that Professor Dum..."

"Professor Dumbledore was unfortunately detained," he interrupted curtly. His voice was cold and unhurried. "He requested that I escort you to my office where he will meet us shortly."

Elise quickly sized-up Professor Snape and was both impressed and amused by the exactness with which Kendra had described of the Potions Master. He seemed mostly harmless and obviously the part about following him to his office was not going to be a problem. Still, she was rather intrigued by how he was able to sneak up on her so easily undetected. Very few had been able to do that with her.

I'll need to keep an eye on this one, she thought, giving him a mildly stern look for a moment. Whether or not he had noticed her expression was unclear, as the only response he provided was a single raised eyebrow.

"Lead the way then," she said with a forced smile, gesturing her willingness to follow.

She followed Professor Snape as he led her through various corridors and down some steps until they had finally made their way to the Potion Master's office deep within the castle dungeon. It was a dimly lit room filled with gloom and lots of musty, old odors that mercilessly assaulted Elise's well-tuned sense of smell. The paneled walls were lined with tall wooden shelves filled with hundreds of glass vials and jars of every shape and size, containing various potions, powders, and a vast assortment of slimy, repulsive things. Elise was fascinated by the subject of potions and gazed in wonder at the cluttered shelves.

Situated at one end of the room was a large wooden desk about which were arranged several padded wooden chairs. On one of the chairs at the head of the desk sat Professor Dumbledore, who had arrived before them. He looked up at Elise and gestured for her to take a chair at the table.