"Don't stand there gawking and asking useless questions, Blaze. Get to work helping to set it right." The Headmaster said, moving by the girl and further into the room. It was exactly this kind of time wasting that saw them in this current situation. Time didn't stand still while everyone stood around pretending they were useless.

Perhaps not pretending.



"That goes double for you, Ms. Prefect." Asking if the man was alright when she should be working to make the room right. Did he have to tell them everything? Did they need to be hooked up to strings with someone else leading their actions.

Not a bad idea, actually. Some of these students still didn't know how to act.



"That seems a rather obvious question, Fox." Did the Professor want them to fix the room? .....

...

No he was just going to let them sit in this mess and learn nothing for the entire hour. Children. "Get to work, and I'll remind you your Professor is not a dude. You will address him with respect, moving forward."

Her first and last warning with that.



"Someone with a functioning brain. If only your limbs functioned, too. You'd be the perfect package."

Suggesting they get the place clean while standing around. Real genius this one. Real helpful. Someone should give her a medal for her ability to tell everyone else what to do.

Read: Sarcasm.



Like this one here.

"At least you know what to do when you've walked in and seen a mess. Your classmates could learn a thing or two from you."

Especially the pair of Gryffindors who'd chosen to sit in the chaos.



"Get out."

It only took one look at this one to see he was not well put together. Was it honestly so hard to look into a mirror before leaving the dormitories? Was his eye sight failing in some way.

"Get yourself presentable, uniform as it should be, then you'll come back to help."

Honestly, the entitlement on this kid never ceased to baffle him.



"The elves have many things to do on any given day of the week, Grantham. This will be your mess to clean. You and everyone who decided to stand around and wait for the magic cleaning fairy to get it done. At least you've shown some initiative."

The same could not be said for several of her classmates who chose to stand there asking if help was needed.

Children these days.



"Thank you Captain Obvious." He liked this one well enough but it didn't erase the fact Upstead was standing around like he didn't see this mess around the room.

Standing around was fine for a time but there was a class to be had.

"Get fixing."



"No." The Headmaster responded with a heavy dose of some good old fashion sarcasm. "You should just stand here like a worthless flobberworm and wait for someone else to do it for you."

But in case she, like many others, could not wrap their mind fully around the spoken form, the man looked over the blonde. "Get to work James. You'll do well to teach your sister that in these situations, one does not sit in the middle of chaos spouting foolishness."

The girl was hardly a good example as it was.



"I think the answer to that question is rather obvious. Someone's made a mess."

Had all these students always had such a penchant for speaking the obvious when it wasn't at all necessary? This was why he didn't allow for incessant chatter in his own class. It prevented things like this.



This was...this one made him facepalm.

"Get to cleaning, Luck. This isn't a show." That the boy thought THIS chaos would be the beginning of a lesson was beyond him. There was an obvious mess. The Professor was on the floor looking worst for wear and there was a gaggle of students all asking if they should help while doing nothing at all.



"But you will." The Headmaster flicked his wand casually, causing the little girl's chair to lift off the ground before it entirely upended her onto the ground.

"I don't know if you think you're above it all or just better than everyone else in this room, but you will clean, Cambridge. You will clean with everyone else."

And he wouldn't be saying it again.



"A mess I see you've taken no steps to make better. You'll fix that." Walking about would not get the job done. She would need to grab a desk or chair and begin putting things back the way they should be.

Honestly, these children didn't do anything unless given a direct order. No initiative. No sense of duty.

Nothing.



....

And there was the other one.

Like with the first half of this problematic equation, the Headmaster flicked his wand to upend the girl from her seat as well.

"Anarchy has clearly already taken place. You will help to set it right, then you will move your chair to the opposite end of the room."

They did not sit together. They were a problem when they sat together. There was a reason, in his lessons, he didn't let them sit together. The fact they did so in other classes was nothing short of a bad idea his colleagues had not yet figured out.



"It better not have been a student." The Headmaster replied, pleased he at least did not have to remind THIS ONE that when there was a mess, you should try to fix it. Some students just didn't get it.

Vance, thankfully, got it.

"If you see or hear anything suspicious, you report it straight away. We'll deal with whoever did this accordingly."



And another--no surprise yet another first year Gryffindor--who simply sat and waited for the chaos to right itself.

The Headmaster flicked his wand in her direction, causing her chair to rise then dump her onto the ground. "You've got no servants here, Nichols. You'll help right this classroom with everyone else." What did she take this for? Others were cleaning and she thought it was okay to just sit.

These Children.



The man was mid scowl when the next student entered and began asking about what had happened. To her credit, she did begin cleaning. It was a better look than many of her classmates had shown and it saved her a few words from what would've been a rather displeased Headmaster.



And another who got straight to work. Perhaps the entire class wasn't a lost cause afterall. It was clear there were still some students who could think independently and knew that when they saw a mess, it was best to make it right.

The boy got a small nod of approval before the Headmaster turned to see who else was in need of a wake up call.



The Headmaster rolled his eyes before he spoke to this one.

"You see your classmates cleaning and choose to stand there uselessly instead? Honestly? Does someone need to look you in the eye, say your whole name and direct you before you figure out what you're meant to do?"

These first years were honestly something else.

When they weren't sitting and waiting for others to clear up their messes, they were standing around like lost cruppies who hadn't a functioning brain in sight.



"I assure you, if we knew the answer to that, the student would not be in a position to sleep for weeks. Don't just stand there, make yourself useful."

Asking useless questions when there was work to be done. Did all the Professor's allow such pointless chatter when they began their lessons?



"Good to know." The Headmaster responded dryly.

"Now get to work." Why these students felt it necessary to come in and waste time was beyond him. "If you do find out who did this, it will be in your best interest to say something."

Until then, this room was a mess and there was a lesson that needed to begin.



"Get to work, Kitridge. Why does someone need to tell you to be useful?" Why did more than H A L F these students need to be told what to do in such an obvious situation.

"There's no time for your meaningless chatter. The class needs to begin and the room is a mess."

Get. On. It.



"No scavenger hunt, just a mess in need of cleaning and students like you standing around not cleaning it." Hint hint.

"There's work to be done. Get to it."

It had become rather clear to the man that these students would not do anything useful unless they were directly instructed to do so.



He would need to calm down.

Not all the students were useless. In fact, this one seemed to understand clearly that when you saw a mess, you didn't sit around waiting for someone else to fix it.

It was a good look for the Hufflepuff.



And another that knew it was better to clean. In truth, another that saved themselves being told off.

It was beyond his scope of comprehension how some of them could come and sit in this mess. Thankfully, Nam knew better.



"I'd worry more about getting this room clean than securing yourself a seat." He commented dryly to the Hufflepuff. Priorities, she needed them. Mess first, class after. This was not rocket science.

Back to cleaning."

There would sort the rest out after.

"Yes."

A basic reply for a basic answer. Pulled right out of the textbook probably. It was listed as one of its uses. The Headmaster nodded once at the First Year. Neither impressed nor disappointed by her response.

It was fine.



....

"....What...are you on about, Taylor?" The Headmaster asked, fixing the girl with a look as if she'd gained another head or several other limbs. Staircases? Attics?

"What textbook have you been reading?" Nevermind what books she was reading, it was better she stopped altogether. "Ascendio propels the caster upward. It most certainly does not reveal anything." Did he need to assign her some extra reading? Were he another man, he may have been concerned.



Ah, another rambler. He was wondering when that would begin. His own classes with these students taught him that if there was a long way around a bush to say something, that was the route the students would take. It was like they couldn't help themselves.

Blackthorne was going well until the pack of wolves comment.

"Going off your own logic of hurting yourself on the way back down, I know you understand you'll come back down. What will you do once you hit the ground with broken limbs and wolves still waiting?"

The other half of the equation she'd just created.



"Focus on the lesson at hand. I won't say it again." This was not about Professor Fuller-Thompson. Should the man need help, he knew how to cast a patronus to have Recard over here. The fact he had not meant he was not in serious need of help.

"Perhaps if you focused more, you wouldn't come up with such ridiculous responses. The spell propels you upward, it does not keep you there. Cleaning is hardly a reason to use it."

Not the brightest Prefect in the bunch. Not hardly.



...

.....

What...even?

We are not using spells on professors, today, Grantham and I do not have a yacht. I also don't recommend using the spell on an anchor unless you plan to first tie yourself to that anchor."[/b] Not a half bad idea. He'd wish her well and encourage her til the very end. One less of them to keep an eye on.

"There are better, more effective spells for something like that."



"Right. Yes. Once you've shot past the tree and the cat, I'm sure it will feel much safer. Again, there are better, more effective spells for something like that."

The man was beginning to wonder if these students were getting this charm confused with one that helped with levitating--a more stable charm that wouldn't have you shooting up and possibly overshooting whatever target you were aiming for.

Stuck cat? Climb the tree. Tree too high? Use that spell and shoot right past it then worry over how you'll get down. Either way, it would be a waste of magic.



"Interesting of you to say that." Very interesting. "You're right, if you find yourself stuck down a deep place, this spell--done carefully--may be one of your best bets."

Not entirely useless afterall. Who would've thought?



"In the scenario you've just mentioned." To answer her question on when to choose which. "You'll do more harm than good using ascendio to place a book high. For starters, you're likely to run into the ceiling. If you don't, you've got only seconds to place the book before gravity takes over. Better to use wingardium leviosa. It offers more control and is less likely to get you killed."

She wasn't the first to suggest a scenario that required more control than this charm offered so it was best to explain.



"Just zooooom right up into the ceiling. Brilliant. I wish more people who used libraries would think to use this rather than the effective levitation charm." The Headmaster replied dryly.

And why was she standing so close? Did they need a lesson on personal space? The man didn't care much for her explanation. The girl had entered and seen others cleaning but did nothing to help. Surely if it would've been a problem, Fuller-Thompson would have told them to leave it be.



The Headmaster nodded when the boy walked back into the room showcasing his attire. Yes, that was much better. Much more in line with what he was meant to look like.

As to his answer....

Well...it would've been unusual if Fuller got everything right.

"Good for getting on the roof provided you don't overshoot said roof and break all your limbs in the fall." He replied plainly, not for a second missing the example the boy used. He would not dignify it with a response when he knew the boy was looking to get a rise out of him.

Should the Headmaster find him on the roof one day, he would take it from there.



"I suppose." The man conceded. "If you have enough control to not overshoot your target and land yourself in further danger, then yes, it would be a fast means of creating distance between yourself and whatever you're trying to avoid."

There were....few students in this lesson....he felt had that sort of control....

...The Gryffindors...were not among them.



"Yes you could." A vague answer if he'd ever heard one. While some students were avid ramblers (a problem in their own right), there were others that gave such short answers that they could be applied to several other questions and still technically be correct.

How inspiring.



"While you're not likely to drown or be in too much danger from quicksand, yes, the spell can be used to get you out." Similar to the answer of drowning and depending on how it was executed and what the boy perceived to be dangerous, likely to do as much harm as good.



Another with a mention of steep danger. The man nodded.

"Correct, it can get you up and out in a jiffy." Something that would come in handy in just a few moments so he hoped her classmates really were taking notes.



"Not really." The Headmaster replied. "Not unless you had the student strapped to you and I can't think of a single professor who'd want them." Bad enough when they stood too close while talking to you. No one needed a student right up against them passing on germs.

"Ascendio lifts the caster, wingardium leviosa--and the charm alarte ascendare which would be better for propelling problematic students skyward--would be better when the focus is on things outside of the caster. As well, the levitating charm offers more control when lifting things. You're less likely to hurt or damage whatever you're trying to move."

The difference was simple. One you used on yourself and the other you used on others.



...

.....

"I'm sure the dragon will appreciate you making its job that much easier." Was his only reply to the Gryffindor child. Given her responses in his own lessons, this did not surprise him but it did her no favours in his books either.

There was something truly wrong with that child.



The Headmaster nodded.

"Yes, as your classmates have mentioned, falling down a hill or into a ditch would require a good bit of force to remedy. Provided you don't break a few limbs on the fall--and even then can perform wandless magic should your wand arm be out of commission--the situation might not end in tradegy."