Eye Out
"Mavis, can I speak with you for a moment?"
"Of course, sir."
Mavis gestured to the chair on the other side of her desk. It was usually reserved for the parents of her students, but it was the only appropriate place for the deputy Headmaster to sit. Surely, he wouldn't want to sit in one of the child sized chairs for her students.
"Mavis," he said with a sigh, "I've come to talk to you about one of your students."
"Which one, sir?"
"Oh for heaven's sake, Mavis," he said lightly. "How many times do I have to tell you? Enough with this 'sir' business. The name's David."
Mavis nodded. She wasn't accustomed to calling her superiors by their first names, even if they were her age. Teaching school had taught her to show proper respect.
"Which student, David?" she asked again.
"Harry Potter."
Mavis wrinkled forehead slightly. She hoped Harry wasn't in trouble. She quite liked the little boy.
"What do you think of him?" David asked.
Mavis took a moment to collect her thoughts. "He's a very good little boy. Quiet, well-behaved, respectful. He seems to love learning and trying new things. I've never met a nine year old so receptive to praise. He absolutely glows; once he's convinced it's for him, that is. One would think he'd never received a compliment or encouragement before."
Unexpectedly, David's forehead creased. "He's awfully small for his age, is he not?"
Mavis frowned, picturing the dark haired, bespectacled boy in her mind. "Well, yes. I suppose so."
"Have you ever seen what's in his lunches?"
"No si- I mean, David. I've never noticed."
David ran a hand through his light brown hair. "That's because he doesn't bring one, Mavis."
"Are you sure? How do you know?"
"I was talking to him yesterday about the incident in Helen's class."
Mavis nodded. The blue hair. Helen had been furious. Needless to say, there had been no more music lessons that day.
David continued, "Afterwards, I told him to go and enjoy his lunch. He said he didn't have one, just like every other day."
Mavis' eyes were wide. "You mean, his aunt and uncle don't feed him?"
"Apparently not."
"That's horrible," she cried.
"That's not all, either."
"There's more?"
David sighed once more. "There is a cupboard in my office that was slightly ajar, when Harry came in. After I explained what I wanted to talk about, he looked at the door and asked if I was going to lock him in the cupboard."
Mavis gasped. "You mean, you think they-"
"Lock him in cupboards? Yes, I think they do."
David's shoulders slumped and Mavis wrung her hands.
"What do we do, David?"
He shrugged. "What can we do? We have no proof, really."
"Then, why tell me this?"
David looked up at her. She could see he hated feeling so helpless. He wanted to help Harry, but didn't know how. She knew how he felt.
"Just keep an eye out for him, all right?"
Mavis nodded. "Of course, I will. The poor boy."
"And keep this conversation between us, please."
"I will, David."
He smiled at her and left her classroom, with the promise of seeing her later.
When Mavis left the school that year to go on her honeymoon, she didn't think about the fate she was leaving to little Harry Potter. Neither did her new husband, David.