That laugh pleased the older man inordinately. It not only meant the wine was working, but that Cy was capable of laughter, which he'd been starting to wonder about. "Twenty years, yes. I have something of a reputation, if you follow politics."

The Potions professor sipped his own wine, much more slowly than his young companion was going through his. "But you talk about teaching as though it isn't an honorable profession," he added archly. "Why are you here, then?"