"Do you think she'd listen to you?"

Sasha didn't have to directly answer the question.  The obvious hopefulness in his voice was answer enough.  Why hadn't he considered this option before?  Well, if he were being honest, he'd have to admit he wasn't sure Professor Trishna could convince her.  After all, it had been his class Ms. Biladeau had first dragged Sasha from. 

"Can you also remind her, I'm almost seventeen.  I can actually cook-"  Professor Trishna had already seen Sasha's dependency on delivery and frozen entrees at home.  He was already plenty familiar with Sasha's culinary prowess - or lack there of.  The man knew well enough that Sasha actually couldn't cook spaghetti.  "I can actually find food for myself.  I don't know what she's trying to do but she's going to make me fat." 

His own mother hadn't possessed much of a maternal instinct.  Like his sisters, his care and upbringing had always been delegated to those who were hired for such a task: Edith, the staff and hall monitors at his previous boarding school.  Though others might have recognized Ms. Biladeau's mild brand of mothering and dotting for what it was, it felt unnerving and stifling to Sasha. 

That...was a good question. Would she? Only one way to find out, he supposed. Tapendra smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure I can work out a compromise," he said, fairly sure the easiest compromise was to simply change it so it was him chasing Sasha down and making sure he ate. It was easy enough to time so he could make him eat, anyway, without intruding on the boy's regular schedule.

He smirked in response to Sasha's claim of being able to cook. "There aren't any microwaves at Hogwarts, Sasha," was all he said...and all he needed to say, really. Sasha was no gourmet cook. He probably wouldn't burn water, at least.

Tapendra let his breath out, reaching down to pat Baldur, long fingers scratching behind the dog's ears. "I'll talk to her. See what I can do. Maybe I can get her to chase some other student in exchange. Got any ideas for new targets?" His eyes shone with amusement - he was clearly kidding, though he could think of a few children at this trouble school that could use the reminders.