Ben did not share his housemate's confidence in the distant, surly headmaster, but did not want to cheapen himself by badmouthing the man who was, technically, the leader of the school. Instead, he shifted the conversation slightly to the left.

"D'you ever think it might be enjoyable to be a professor, someday?" the sixth year inquired. It was a career path that he himself had not altogether ruled out, but was likewise not yet sold on.