Alteration (Book 3 of The Corruption Sequence)

Chapter 4. Things that were Lost

"Everything all right, Harry?" Dumbledore asked as Harry stared at the cup trying to isolate the fleeting sensation.

"Um, what?" Harry responded, rather dazed at his reaction, "oh, yes, I'm fine, thank you. That was just a little intense."

The headmaster's response was his usual benevolent smile and Harry had no doubt his entire performance had been catalogued for posterity. It was then that he remembered that the calming field he was sure had been in place before did not appear to have been working all day.

"Did you remove the calming charm that was on the room?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, Harry," the headmaster replied, "I felt it necessary to assist with your transition to here, however, I am a strong believer in not allowing oneself to become reliant on artificial means of support."

Harry had not expected quite such a straightforward answer, but he could not ignore the logic of it. Nodding slowly in agreement he glanced at the goblet one more time as he went over what he had been feeling as he had drunk the blood.

"Would you mind terribly if I joined you for dinner, My Boy?" Dumbledore asked politely. "I believe there are some things we need to discus and if you are willing, now would seem an appropriate time."

Harry was in two minds as to whether he really wanted to have this conversation, but he knew which the sensible, adult answer was. Reluctantly he nodded. He sat down at the desk just as Dobby reappeared and then, in an instant, there was a table between him and the headmaster, covered in food.

"Thank you, Dobby," Dumbledore said cheerfully, before Harry recovered from his surprise, "you have outdone yourself. Please carry our thanks to the kitchen elves."

The house elf disappeared with a huge smile. It was all Harry could do not to stare at the table. Even at the school feasts he didn't think he had seen so much food crammed into one place.

"I think I should have been more specific," he said rather lamely.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to eat while it's hot," the headmaster suggested with a smile and handed Harry a plate.

The blood had settled in Harry's stomach nicely and he was quite surprised to find that he did, in fact, feel hungry in a very human way now. He was beginning to suspect that the headmaster knew exactly what he was about, and he really didn't feel like second guessing his mentor.

Accepting the plate, he decided that Dumbledore could test him all he liked; nothing he could do would stop it, so he might as well just let it happen. Knowing that he was being watched, he ignored the headmaster for a while and set about deciding what he could and could not eat from the incredible spread in front of him.

In the end, he sat back with a nice helping of some sort of stew, some green beans, and a large helping of carrots, while Dumbledore had chosen an eclectic mix of shepherds pie, sprouts and a large stick of celery he was using instead of a fork, chewing the end off when he felt like it. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes and Harry felt himself starting to relax, despite his anxiety.

"Well, Harry," Dumbledore said eventually as he reached for a second stick of celery, "I think perhaps we should consider you continuing your lessons, we wouldn't want you to fall too far behind."

That confused the magic out of Harry and pushed all thoughts of eating from his mind, he froze, mid bite.

"Um, how?" he asked. "I can't leave here, and I don't have a wand."

"Ah, yes," the headmaster replied, fishing in his pocket in a superb impression of a forgetful old man, which Harry knew for a fact he most definitely was not, "I believe this is yours."