"Yes, I've read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy," Faustus said with a grin. He had no idea how Ben managed to stay so cheery but it was kind of fun to watch. "Mum liked them and let me read them. I always liked Gandalf." He laughed. "She can't have a real dragon. Real dragons are huge and kind of unpleasant and a lot of them breath fire. They'd eat you."
Faustus winced when the first house elf to approach them immediately started scolding them. But he wasn't surprised to see Ben rather blithely ignore that. The house elf... Dobby was its name apparently... seemed to fall for it too.
They were just about to leave when he caught sight of Titchy and the house elf saw him. He saw Titchy's eyes narrow then he hurried over.
"Titchy is my name," the house elf said to Ben with a small bow then he turned to Faustus. "Master Faustus, your father is looking for you."
"Is he angry?" Faustus asked resignedly.
Titchy's lips twitched and he looked exasperated for a moment. "Master Severus is... irritable."
Faustus sighed. "Can't you tell him you haven't seen me?"
"Titchy cannot lie to Master Severus, you know that," Titchy said dryly then he frowned. "But Titchy can... misdirect. Titchy can say he saw you in the kitchens so Master Faustus had better be a long way away from the kitchens." A tiny smirk washed across Titchy's face. "Titchy will wait for a while before going to Master Severus."
Faustus gave a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Titchy."
Titchy bowed and when he straightened his expression was odd. "Master Severus perhaps does not always remember what it is like to be a child," he said cryptically. "Master Severus did not know much about being a child when Titchy first met him. Perhaps Master Faustus needs to be patient and remind him." The house elf clapped his hands and made a shooing gesture. "Master Faustus and Master Ben should be far away from here."
Faustus was fairly sure he knew what Titchy was trying to say but now wasn't the time to contemplate it. He grabbed Ben's hand and pulled him towards the door. "Let's go. I don't know how much time Titchy can buy us but we don't want to be here when Dad gets here."