Vindictus resisted the urge to smack Jack on the back of the head, and instead, he narrowed his blue eyes at the impertinent boy. "You really don't understand how much trouble you're in, do you?" he asked icily. "One step away from expulsion. And I seriously hope that the task you are performing under my careful watch will get the message through that thick skull of yours." He flicked his wand again and an empty barrel appeared next to the closed one. Another flick of his wand and a Muggle gas mask appeared. This, Vindictus put on and then pulled out his dragon hide gloves. He had another pair, but this one had very long sleeves, and he threw them at the Hufflepuff boy along with a large dragon hide apron and clear goggles.

Then he pried open the sealed barrel. The dungeon cell was immediately flooded with the smell of fresh dragon dung. "Arrived from Romania this morning," he told Jack. "You need to separate all rocks, seeds, and hard objects from this barrel for Professor Bunbury. Put these materials into the empty barrel."