"Oh you sweet, summer child." Oh to be so young and optimistic about how things worked. This one...this one hadn't spent much time with the 7th Years had he? Sure, half were responsible--half was maybe a stretch from what he'd seen--but the other half were a walking disaster in the making. How did you justify only letting some students officiate? How did you differentiate someone who was a genuinely bad idea and one that just needed to be given responsibility to prove themselves? "They're still learning, just like you. Sure, they know more than you but it pays to have someone with years of practical and worldly experience when engaging in something that could go south quickly."

But that wasn't the main issue with the response. It was the childlike view of the world where you were either bad and naughty and hurt people or good and therefore never hurt people. "The mean and the naughty aren't the only ones plagued with misfortune. Even those with the best intentions could still accidentally and sometimes irreparably hurt their peers. Even the purest of intentions can go horribly wrong. It only takes one mishap. Hardly worth the risk when the dummies are available and not likely to care if they are disfigured. You see, you don't need another person to practice dueling and improve on your skills, not least of all while you're still trying to refine your own magic. It's an unnecessary risk."

The dummies were quite intuitive. Something they would all see in a moment.



As it so happened, Prichard was there to add a bit more to what he'd just explained to Whitlock. The Headmaster nodded along.

"Precisely. Even a friendly match could end up a nightmare and without someone capable and competent on standby--a healer at the least--things could get messy, quickly."

His students were enthusiastic. For the most part, they seemed to like learning and were eager for more. Sometimes that eagerness could be the problem. Just took one spell.



"A good point, Vance. It's no surprise to anyone that while at Hogwarts, you're here to learn and develop. In fact, you're in the process of learning and developing. Mastering spells takes time and practice. In the heat of a duel, a less experienced caster may remember that one "totally epic spell" and that's really all it would take for the serious injuries you've mentioned. With a Professor on hand, things can be addressed or stopped quickly. Help can be offered on spot."

While, by their actions, the Headmaster sometimes got the feeling his students thought they were invincible, it was in fact, not the case. A moment of focus lost, not enough practice beforehand and there would need to be a trip to St. Mungo's.



"Yep. Also possible." Trent agreed. The man could suddenly and quite vividly remember his lesson on dark wizards where talk arose of Renaldi becoming a dark wizard because Rasting was seen talking to other girls. If there was one thing he'd learned in his time teaching--and indeed his own time as a teenager--that lot....didn't always stop to think things through.

It was the hormones. It was the new found freedom. It was all that exploration they were starting to do. It left some feeling a little too mighty and that didn't tend to end well. They were also still learning how to regulate their emotions and thought processes. It was a big job.

"There can sometimes be a tendency to act on impulse and that in itself is a recipe for disaster. If things get out of hand without anyone there to effectively step in, it could be ugly."



"Yes....absolutely...." The Headmaster agreed, all the time giving the boy a somewhat confused once over. "There aren't many better ways to say it than that but...Ryan...why are you sitting on the floor?"

He'd found it odd and even odder when the boy could no doubt see that literally no one else was sitting in this chair-less room and yet the boy had chosen to plop down and....get comfortable...?

"Up and at 'em. This isn't that kind of lesson."



Oooohhhh Merlin, he'd found a new precious bean!! "Yes, yes, very good. Mordaunt. Yes." What a treat, now he wouldn't have to wallow through the term wondering why the new batch of First Years contained no precious beans to replace the old ones.

He did give him an extra look though, just a warning that the lesson was starting and the talking was now to be directed at the lesson rather than his peers. There would be enough time for them to play catch up once class was over. Now was the time for learning.

"And you are correct. Some spells are irreversible. Add to that the suggestion of one of your classmates that students can be impulsive and you have the worst case scenario in an unsupervised situation. As to increasing spell efficacy, that all boils down to power and intent. The more you focus, the more you practice, the better and more effective any spell will be. That can be learned even outside of a dueling context." Educating the students was fine, but if they intended to do harm, that would only backfire, quickly.



"Stick to the question asked, Jones. No need to jump ahead." He hadn't asked what was supposed to happen during a duel. That was meant to come later but the boy had already raced forward. It wasn't a trait that would serve him well during his exams. When asked a question, answering with another topic could have points deducted.

"But yes, having someone around in case things go wrong is always a solid plan. It ensures that everyone walks away relatively unscathed."



There...was an intentionally awkward half chuckle in response to the joke. Just enough to let Kaiser know the joke was received but little enough for him to know the man was CONCERNED. He worried. He always did. He liked his students--most times--believe it or not.

But class was no time to address what might end up being a personal issue so Malachi simply moved on...to the Slytherin hitting another nail on the head.

"You're absolutely correct. Might start out casual, friendly like... but tempers can be like a switch. Frustration can suddenly override reason. There could end up being a lot of "I didn't mean to" moments that could've otherwise been avoided."

Teens were impulsive and not always as emotionally developed as they needed to be for the situations they sometimes found themselves in.



......."True. Won't deny that." The paperwork involved would be insane. The investigations that would follow. The inquiry. No thanks.

"But let's go a step further. The parents and relatives of those that might end up seriously or fatally wounded. What do you say to them when they ask why no one had been watching these children left in our care? How do you console a woman whose baby is gone forever because two students got into it and didn't know when to end it? It's not worth it."

And uncomfortable besides.



"A refreshing twist, Lindsay." Yes, there was the talk of things being dangerous and getting out of hand but the Gryffindor had provided another layer to the answer that he hoped the others were paying attention to.

"With a professor present, you can do more learning than on your own. Having someone who knows what they're doing give you feedback you can work with makes the practice far more effective." Which went back to Whitlock's point about practicing to get better. Even then, it was better to have a Professor around.



"Precisely, Kim." The students seemed to be getting the gist more or less. It meant he wouldn't have to spend much time on it after.

"In the absence of control and guidance, there needs to be someone who knows what's up. Someone who has the necessary experience and ability to control the situation."

That was why they couldn't have students watching students. They wouldn't necessarily be able to put a stop to something that blew up big...depending on the scenario.



The Headmaster gave the Slytherin an unimpressed look. "You could make an attempt, Fairfield. All the question requires is a bit of thinking." Nothing tremendously difficult. Didn't even require their textbooks.

Tsk tsk.



"Well......yes....somewhat." But with good reason. He knew that he DID consider the students to be somewhat irresponsible hooligans. There were love potion mishaps ala Zoryn Spinnet, attacking the French Headmistress (regardless of feelings there), half the things Chosen ever did, RUNNING BLINDLY INTO MIST YOU WERE TOLD TO AVOID. The list went on. So yes, Malachi had reason to doubt the level of responsibility among his students.

"And you're right about that. Sometimes, while still learning, spells seem cool and without the right handle on it, that can be the start of a horrible end."

Not something he liked to think about.



"In a sense, yes. The Board of Governors does want the students to be safe, but so do your professors here at Hogwarts. There are too many things that can go wrong in an unsupervised setting. Granted, things could go wrong with supervision, too, but at least then there will be someone present who can do a substantial amount more about it."

It was all a matter of who you wanted to be around should you suddenly find yourself with a hole blown through your arm making you cheddar cheese.

It was an easy enough answer.



"You might be right about that." He couldn't say for sure. The rule had been in place since he was going to Hogwarts making it something beyond his years but it was a logical conclusion. Some rules DID get made because someone decided to happen.

He could think of a few rules that came about that way actually.

"Sometimes a precedence needs to be set to avoid unfortunate fallouts in droves."



"Yes." The Headmaster affirmed. "As some of your classmates have mentioned, children and teenagers aren't always known for their level heads and clear thinking. In the absence of these, it helps to have supervision to avoid the potential issues that may arise. Consider it us looking out for you until you get to the point where you can look out for yourselves." Aka graduation.

Sometimes...even then things were a bit iffy but most of them settled enough by then.



"Another good point, well done." It was another unique perspective he hoped the others were listening to. "Being young witches and wizards, your magic is still normalizing. Still developing, still needing to be learned and controlled. That's why you'll occasionally mess up on spells, making them not strong enough or way too strong for what's warranted. It's all a learning process and until the process is complete, it's just not a good idea to be casting on each other away from supervision."



Ahhhhh, we see where you're going with that, Precious Bean #3.

"Yes....quite responsible....." Hardly. Well, some were but in his experience there were more of them that preferred not to be for whatever reason. A few certainly came to mind. "You're right, though. There is etiquette and rules that need to be followed. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, those rules may be forgotten or plainly tossed out the door. With supervision, that can be either prevented or ended as necessary."

Very good.



Well.....at least she was alright. Malachi turned his gaze to her, waiting to see if she'd offer up a response. When none came, he moved on to the other student. Regardless of what she'd want him to believe, it was clear she hadn't been okay when she entered the room. For that reason, he would let this answer go by. Ease her into the lesson.



"Yes. In a nutshell. Things can go wrong." That was the gist of it, more or less. A LOT of things could go wrong and when there was no one in charge around to fix it then things progressively got worse and worse. It wasn't a cycle anyone should've wanted to find themselves in.



Oh, so he'd been wrong. Ryan hadn't been the only one sitting on the floor, it seemed the hard surface was tempting even to the Hufflepuff Prefect. She he expected to know better as everyone else was standing in this chair-less arena. "Do get off the floor, Rose. It's not where the lesson will be taking place." The fact some just walked in and plopped down even in the absence of seats or their peers sitting was rather odd to him.

"You raise a good point. If it was allowed, it could quickly spiral out of control. Less talking, more fighting to settle matters." Entirely stunting their emotional intelligence while they all learned that your wand could solve all your problems--as long as you won.

"Anarchy."



Theeeere was the look he was waiting for. Worth it. Absolutely worth it, though truly, Dakest had nothing to worry about.

Except....

"...Calm down, Dakest. It'll be fine. Nothing that'll send you to the hospital wing." Nothing he did every sent them to the hospital wing, did the boy remember that? It would be fiiiiine.

Just something to get their blood pumping.



....

.......

There...was something wrong with her, he was sure.

The hair at the back of his neck prickled at the idea of dueling Desmarais last term. It wasn't because he thought he'd lose but rather, he was imagining how FAST they'd be KICKED OUT. Faster than that decoration debacle even. The shrill screams. The ranting. Merlin, spare him.

"You're response proves Rose right. Allow dueling and suddenly it's the only go to when things go wrong. It's a dandy idea until someone has to live the rest of their life with a fish head because someone didn't say the incantation right and was full of zeal while casting." And he didn't wanna sit through THAT conversation with the would be livid parents.

"If it's practice you want in the art of dueling, I am available and as I've told Whitlock, so are the dummies. They could likely whip you six ways from Sunday, but with practice, you could eventually beat one." His dummies were, afterall, intuitive. "So there's no need to cast at each other and risk maiming. Not while as your other classmates have pointed out, your magic is still developing and somewhat unpredictable." Even a friendly duel could go south quick.



....

"......" His mouth opened then closed twice before he finally spoke. "Yes. I'd like to think 7th years would pick on others their own sizes, at least, but you're right it's a plausible outcome that would further spiral from there. While some are responsible, most students are keen to forget the rules once they've gotten heated enough and have no one there to rein them in. Good."

He'd just rather not think of his students actually murdering each other on or off his watch. He'd already seen enough paperwork to last him a lifetime.



"Correct. You and James are right. Students tend to need someone there to remind them of and enforce the rules when they themselves forget them. Sometimes, we can get so wrapped up--especially if there's a competitive streak. That can get nasty and you'll want someone competent around if that ends up happening."

No one wanted to be involved in an accident, let alone when there was no one to help them after.

That was a recipe for irreparable damage.



Malachi nodded, accepting the boy's apology. Good he'd had the sense to apologize. It did take some of the edge off the offense. "Let's just ensure it doesn't happen again, hmm?" It was an unnecessary fuss, one easily avoided.

As to his response, there was another nod.

"Rules can and incidentally do often times get bent when there's no one truly around to enforce them. In these cases, the worst things get is sometimes the less likely they are to seek help because of all the trouble they'll rightly fear getting into. It's not the sort of cycle you want to find yourself in."



Each time he'd been listening to a student, his attention would suddenly turn back to the Slytherin and her sneezes. Was it possible to feel guilty because of a student's sneeze because Castillo was laying it on thick. He'd been tempted to cast the bubblehead charm on her himself but...Castillo was a fussy one....and he didn't think it was worth the fight it would inevitably cause so....he'd just....leave her to evacuating her nostrils in peace. Right.