Coconut Custard Pie
1992-First Year
When Elizabeth got to the second year’s potions class, it was still rather empty. Students were starting to file in and taking their usual seats. Elizabeth found a spot in the back and sat down. She was in the farthest corner; almost fading into the darkness. It was rather dark in there.
The bell rung again and people rushed to their seats. Professor Snape walked in from his office in the back and started presenting the topics for the day. He didn’t mention Elizabeth in the class in which she was thankful for. Some students had noticed her, but barely gave it any thought. It was a class of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. They just assumed they had never taken the time to look in her direction before.
The topics that they were covering weren’t anything revolutionary in Elizabeth’s opinion. For most of the summer, she had gone through her uncle’s books and read through them. The use of rat tails in a hair-raising potion was not at all a mystery to her.
“Miss Blanchet, can you explain the best method to prepare the rat tails?”
Oh mon dieu. Why did he call me out, she thought. Everyone is looking at me.
“Specifically, for hair-raising potions?”
He nodded.
“Usually, rat tails are inserted just like that after being thoroughly washed, but a hair-raising potion prefers that it be sliced down the length not fully cutting it in half. It’s so that the liquid can penetrate the inside of the tail much faster. It needs to be faster so that the billywig stings don’t disintegrate before the tails do.”
Snape looked at her with eyebrows furrowed. He turned his attention to his notes for today’s presentation and sighed.
“Thank you, Miss Blanchet.”
She doesn’t think he was expecting that kind of answer. She was pretty sure she was right and Snape would have taken the opportunity to tell her otherwise. Why did he seem disappointed?
He never asked her another question. The class continued on. It was more complicated than her own class, but not by a large amount.
The class ended and she stayed behind. Snape gestured for her to come to his desk.
“How did you know about the slit in the rat tail? Not very common knowledge.”
“My uncle says that most reactions will happen quicker if something has more surface contact with another. That’s why he almost always cuts into things, but not fully. From your explanation of the potion, I assumed that would be the case for it as well.”
“Your uncle? What’s his name?”
“Todd White. He works as a chemistry professor at a university and potions expert for the French Ministry of Magic.”
“I see. I assume he has been teaching you then.”
“Here and there I supposed. Did you know him?”
“We crossed paths from time to time. What did you think of the class? Do you want to join it?”
“I don’t think I will actually.”
“Why not?” he said somewhat angrily.
“I think it’s better that I stay with my friends and also… I don’t think I’ll be exactly learning much more than what I am already.”
Snape looked taken aback. Elizabeth didn’t think much of what she said, but on later thought, it probably came off as rude. He sat there in thought for a bit. He seemed to contemplating whether to say something or not.
“I will only offer this once, but… Would you prefer having extra work to do? I can always make your assignments more difficult if you find them too easy.”
“Oh, yes that would be much nicer actually.” Elizabeth much preferred just doing more work than having to move classes.
Snape gave an exasperated sigh.
“Perfect. More work for me. That is all Miss Blanchet. Please leave.” He turned around and left for his office.
Okay then, she thought.
She walked out and, in the hallway, was none other than Parkinson and her little friends.
“What’s a half-breed doing in the dungeons?” Parkinson said in her pitchy high voice. The others laughed. Elizabeth would describe the sound as one made by a gaggle of hyenas.
Liz went to walk by them, but one of them grabbed her sleeves and pulled her back. The light-haired Slytherin didn’t let go.
“Listen to us when we’re talking to you.”
“Please let me go.” Elizabeth pulled at her sleeve.
“Not till you apologise.”
Elizabeth went to push her hand off and she barely touched the girl before the girl recoiled back.
“You dare touch me!!” The witch screeched. “Filthy half-breed!”
“Miss Greengrass, Miss Parkinson and Miss Bulstrode. Please keep a hold on your noise level. This isn’t a school for screaming banshees, now, is it?” Professor Snape had left his office and classroom, presumably to go to dinner.
The three girls turned around in huff and kept walking down the hallway. Elizabeth watched them go and wondered what made them so annoying. Surely, they weren’t born that way.
“Miss Blanchet, I advise you to move along unless you would like to continue to be ridiculed.”
She nodded to him and scurried away. Not exactly a full out run, but a very brisk walk. He was right. She did not want to be continued to be called half-breed.
…
The first week back was generally quiet. Most teachers were a bit lenient with most work, but Professor Snape. He made good on his promise and her workload increased. Elizabeth had an extra essay to write on certain ingredients for some common antidotes for poisons. Any experimental potion time, he made sure that she had to do another one right after so her window of time for each was much smaller. It was rough, but she kept excelling despite him being hard on her. She thought that sometimes she could see the shadow of a smile on his face after she completed something. However, it was always gone in a matter of milliseconds. It made her think she imagined the whole thing.
It was Sunday and the overwhelmingness of the past week was getting to Elizabeth. Going from almost doing nothing everyday during the break to going to classes and doing homework. The talking to people. It was a lot. She knew she would just have to get back in the groove of things, but she needed to release the stress.
The sky went dark and the hallways quiet as Elizabeth crept back to her favourite spot. The Kitchens. When she got there, Mipsy came bounding towards her and hugged her legs.
“Hi Miss Liz!”
“Hi Mipsy.”
The house elf let go and grabbed her hand. She brought Liz to the counter and asked what they were going to make today.
“Well, I’m not exactly sure. Is there anything that you would like to make?”
“Mipsy does like pies. We have some pie dough in-.”
The door of the kitchens opened. His hair being the most recognisable feature.
“You’re here again.” Malfoy said with a frown. “You do know you’re not allowed down here.”
“I could say the same thing to you.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Does Mr. Malfoy want something? The kitchens are closed.” Mipsy interrupted.
“Why does she get something if the kitchens are closed?”
“Miss Liz bakes most of the item she asks for. Plus, she always lets us have pieces of it.”
“You have to help if you want something,” Elizabeth added. “We were about to make a pie.”
Elizabeth knew he wouldn’t want to do it and so, she was certain he would leave. Considering he never wanted to put in any effort, the chances were on her side.
“What kind of pie?”
Elizabeth did a bit of a double-take. Did he want to help? Best to be cautious.
“We haven’t decided yet.”
“We?”
“Yes, me and Mipsy. We decide together.”
“That’s a laugh.” He chuckled.
“Are you going to join us or not. Because if not, please leave.”
“How about a Coconut Custard Pie?”
“Are you helping?” Elizabeth could not tell what he was thinking. And he had a certain way of annoying her. It was never outright mean, but it was… He taunted her and looked for a reaction. One she never gave or at least she felt she never did.
“Why not. If that’s the only way I’m getting anything I want here.”
Malfoy sat down on one of the benches and looked at them expectingly.
“Are you going to start or just sit there and look at me like an idiot?”
“Yeah, Mipsy said she has pie dough. You can start on the custard.”
“I think you got this wrong, Blanchet. I’m supervising.”
“That’s not helping.”
“Supervising is one of the most important jobs a person can have. Making sure nothing catches on fire or gets poisoned.” He looked at Mipsy at the last part.
The gall of this guy, Liz thought. “Whatever. Sit there if you want. You won’t get any.”
“Hey, that’s not fair.”
“No helping, no food. That’s how it works.”
He seemed to debate his next move carefully. He looked between Liz and Mipsy, unsure what to do.
“Fiiiine, but I don’t want a word of this to anyone.”
“Same here. Now start on the custard.”
Malfoy looked at her in confusion.
“Have you never made custard before?”
He sat there quietly.
“Okay, we’ll make it together.”
They worked together. Elizabeth was doing most of the work while he just watched. He did whisk everything together while she got the right amount, but it was choppy. He didn’t even know what she was handing him when she gave him the whisk.
“It’s like potions, but food. Okay. Now stir. I need to help Mipsy with the pie crust.”
He continued to stir the mixture of sugar, butter and eggs. Liz came back and added the milk and vanilla.
“My arms hurt,” he whined. “I don’t remember potions having this much mixing.”
“Too bad.” Liz answered. “Don’t be such a baby.”
He rolled his eyes again and kept mixing.
“I’m not a baby,” He muttered under his breath.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at that and smiled. He liked to put on airs about being superior, but couldn’t keep mixing a bowl.
It was time to pour the custard into the pie crust and bake it for about 45 minutes.
“45 minutes. That’s crazy. What are we supposed to do until then?”
“Clean up.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“It’s part of helping.”
“Can’t you just wave your wand and it’s done. The elf can even do it.”
“Don’t you ever do things without magic? Oh, and also, we are not your servants.”
He continued to sit there, refusing to get up.
Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh and started to pick up the bowls and spoons laying around. She brought them to the sink and started cleaning. Mipsy was to her right drying them and putting them away. The elf also liked doing things by hand sometimes. More rewarding.
The time went by quickly. Mipsy and her chatting about random things. Elizabeth describing some of the bakeries she would go to and Mipsy would ask an abundance of questions. The elf had never really left the castle. Malfoy still sat on his stool. His head in his hands, eyes flittering close for a few seconds and back open.
They took the pie out and there was nice golden brown top. The center was still a little soft, but nothing disastrous. Her and Mipsy let the pie cool down and cut into it.
Malfoy was asleep on the counter. He was snoring lightly and a little drool was falling from his mouth. Elizabeth decided that she would be a little cruel. He didn’t help clean after all. She grabbed some pans and banged them together near his head.
He shot up with a start. The momentum made him topple off his chair. Elizabeth broke out laughing and so did Mipsy. She put the pans back and put a plate and fork down on the counter for him.
“Pie’s ready,” she said as she sat down with her own slice.
She took a bite and it melted in her mouth. The silkiness of the custard matched with the pieces of coconut. Heaven.
Malfoy righted himself and took a seat back on his bench. He took his own bite and smiled.
“Isn’t better when you know you made it?” Elizabeth asked him.
He didn’t give her an answer. He barely looked at her. He just finished eating and left without another word. Elizabeth didn’t press him. He got what he wanted. That was it. However, it didn’t stop a small sinking feeling pooling in the pit of her stomach.