The Infamous Dinner Party With The School Board

The day of the year had come again, that the Hogwarts staff invited the members of the school board over for a special dinner.

Professor Dumbledore had hoped Lucius Malfoy would not show up - as he officially wasn't a member anymore - but somehow someone had passed him an invitation. Severus Snape wouldn't be getting any new socks for Christmas this year, that much was certain.

Lucius Malfoy stood in a peaceful corner of the dining room, scrutinising the menu.

'Boeuf d'Hippogriffe au Sauce de Truffe.' murmured Lucius. 'Surely, these low-lives must have heard of Witch Weekly's Weight Watching Project?'

He was interrupted in his culinary thoughts by someone saying, 'Hello!' quite loudly into his ear. He turned and saw it was an extremely shabby young man with greying hair.

'I don't believe we've met yet,' said the shabby man, extending a hand, 'my name is Remus Lupin. I'm the new teacher Defence Against the Dark Arts.'

Lucius eyed the extended hand suspiciously. 'Are you? I thought you were something else, something *quite* different?'

Lupin grew pale. 'That's true,' he said, 'but, don't worry, it's not contagious. At least, not by handshake.'

'Ah!' shrieked Lucius. 'Aha! That's it, isn't it? You want me to shake hands with you, because you have something that IS contagious!'

Lupin looked at him, frowning, then said, 'As if. Don't be so paranoid, it's only a handshake.'

'Ha! That's what you say!' Lucius now cried hysterically. 'Ha! Ha! But I see you through, you monster, you - '

'That's quite enough, Lucius,' Snape's soft voice came, as he caught Lucius's arm. 'I'll take that wine glass from you, now shall I?' He looked at Lupin, who had a very strange expression on his face.

'If I so much as hear that you've breathed one word of this to anyone - I mean ANYONE - there won't be any Potion for you for a month, and you know what that means,' Snape hissed threateningly.

'That's okay,' said Lupin in a low, conspiratorial sort of voice. 'You know, you really miss things, if you don't come to the pub a little more often. These kind of things happen all the time between Flitwick and Filch.'

And Lucius chose that exact moment to empty the contents of his stomach over Snape's robes.