Q swallows and sits down, thinking fast about how best to explain without giving too much away. He swallows again, folding his hands in his lap. "Well, when the headmaster hired me as Defense professor, I didn't have any field experience. Oh I knew from books and all," Q glances at Lucius and looks away, "but I'd never encountered any hags or vampires in the flesh so to speak. I wanted to do the best job possible, so I asked if I could take a year off to get some hands-on knowledge. I went abroad and I was in Albania when I was bitten by a snake." He stares at his hands.
"Oh of course." Q truly doesn't want to do anything to jeopardise this opportunity. "Any time you say Mr Malfoy." Oh yes. "Except I'll have to arrange it around my work with Severus." His face falls a little. "No?" Is he relieved or disappointed? "Well, if you change your mind, you've only to say."