"Can't argue with that." The man conceded easily. He was a Gryffindor, calmer than a lot of Gryffindors he'd known back in his days and now within the castle but a Gryffindor all the same. Silence when he was going off, perfect ammunition. Killed him every time. It was the ultimate frustration. "Granted, depending on the who, they'll argue anyway and like McCarthy said, when provoked enough they may attack...lash out in aggravation but yes, silence...perfect way to set people off." She could do with that what she would. She was likely far more acquainted with her peers and their level of reactions than he ever would be.



Another fair point. "Aurors do have to exercise a bit of silence out in the field from time to time, yes. Sometimes it's the difference between life and death in high stakes situations and while the library isn't particularly high stakes, I'm glad you mentioned it as well." He wasn't often in the library but on occasion when he did visit...there was always that one kid.

Bless that kid, silencing charms were the only real solution--not that he'd encourage that. The students had a habit of taking an inch and dragging it for 10 miles.



Very interesting she'd say that given...well....ahem, that was a matter for later. For now, Malachi nodded along to the Gryffindor's words.

"Correct. When it comes to certain creatures, it pays to be cautious. Frighten them and there's no telling which direction the adrenaline will kick in." Many creatures had a flight reflex but there were certainly those that were ready to rip you limb from limb.



Ah hide and seek. That game took him back. He was never very good at it. "Good point, Mallari. Hiding does require a proper dose of silence to be effective. In high stakes situations where you're likely to get yourself killed, it pays to put a little extra into keeping yourself quiet."

They'd...learn that soon enough.

Moving on!



"Glad to hear it." He really was. This being her last year here at Hogwarts, it paid to get that sort of thing sorted as soon as possible to avoid complications during the transition into the "big world". That was scary enough on its own.

"Absolutely. When tracking anyone, if the idea is to be successful then it pays to not have them know you're tracking them in the first place!" Another good point, indeed.



"That it does, Bell. Taking the time to silently observe can yield a lot of interest results." Some people could talk from morning til night. He tended to notice a decrease in their awareness. When you were constantly running your mouth like a motor, you tended to miss out on a lot.



...

....

No...no he didn't think he'd respond to this one. The students in the castle did not go around snogging each other. They did their homework, they read books, they went for jogs by the lake then they went to bed. Suffice to say the man did NOT need that image in his head and had been unfortunate enough to run into such things on occasion. His brain was still trying its darnest to remove those, there was no need to add more. Malachi nodded, then quickly moved to the next student.



"You do hear more when you still yourself and welcome the silence, yes. No doubt there." He would refrain from commenting on the "hunted" part. It wasn't time for that yet, they still had a ways to go first. [b]"When trying to be evasive, the last thing you want to do is draw attention to yourself and sound happens to be one of the easiest ways to do that.



...

".....Yes." Forgive his hesitation but the lack of context left the man quite wary. Despite his most optimistic overview of the students, responses like this never ceased to remind him that they DID get up to things. What they were doing half the time, he didn't know...and something told him he didn't wanna know either.

"Hopefully not too much of that going on." Did the boy hear the hope in his tone? Did he hear the skepticism too? They were both equal parts there.



This response was far less worrying. It showed thought and the understanding that you could die in dangerous situations. An understanding of consequences was always a good based for which to build your defense tactics. Nothing worse than a person who fancied themselves invincible. "Yes. There's a reason the motto cautions tickling a sleeping dragon. Sound can be quite a bit more jarring for a creature and a startled creature can be infinitely more dangerous. It pays to be careful."



"Good, yes. There's a lot more to be gained from observation and one of the most effective methods of observing is in silence. Avoid distractions that might prevent you from seeing the whole picture for what it is." A similar point to one that had already been raised but no less accurate.

Sometimes it just paid to shut up.



"Right. Chae. I'll remember that." He would have, eventually, but students offering up their names certainly helped that along. It hadn't been meant to be an offense but it sure worked out well. This was one less nameless person within the room. That would prove useful, surely.

"Snakes?" The Headmaster fixed her with a curious look, not sure he was entirely understanding. "I suppose to prevent yourself from panicking you could go silent but snakes are able to detect thermal energy. If it really wanted you, chances are it'd find you anyway." So maybe running? Apparating? Getting out of dodge quickly? All more reliable alternatives to remaining quiet in the presence of a snake.



Malachi had noticed the unusual silence, but like with the spooked look of some of the others, he attributed it to the Gryffindor finding out the room was soundproof. Of all the things that could go wrong in a room like this, it being soundproof seemed the least consequential.

"A good point, Walsh. Tasks that require a fair bit of concentration are better done with silence. Noise, as everyone can agree, has a way of being a terrible distraction. It can literally prevent you from getting things done."



What...?

Had she...was that really....The Headmaster all but melted. "You precious bean, stay this way forever. Don't turn out like the lot of them." With responses like snogging and sneaking. One on swiping cookies, it reminded him of his little Mavis. What a gem.

Ahem. Back to the lesson.



"That. Yes." While he wasn't trying to get students to pick a particular response--quite the contrary, he liked the out of the box ones...even the ones that left him questioning his students--this one was essentially the nail on the head for the lesson.

"Dueling becomes a lot easier when you aren't constantly announcing your intentions to your opponents." That was true for a lot of things in life and encompassed some of the things his classmate had mentioned.

It was the same basic principle.



"I've never been but I'd imagine bird watching does require silence ye--what?" Malachi blinked at the Ravenclaw. It wasn't that he was wrong, it's just not the sort of response he'd expect from him specifically.

"I mean...if you end up deciding robbing is gonna be the way forward, it does pay to do so silently in case the homeowner is the sort that can easily overpower you and make you regret your choice of housing....yes....silence in robbery--pass your NEWTs and become an upstanding citizen, okay Katharos? For my sake."

He was ready to start claiming plausible deniability thanks.



Another to mention avoiding creatures by remaining silent. Malachi nodded. Some may have thought they could fight the creature but that was not the case in absolutely every situation. Sometimes you just needed your avoiding game to be strong. "When healthy, there's nothing wrong with being left with your thoughts, but if they aren't then you're right, it could become a problem." Ruminating was never a good thing.



.....

........

It was like Tree Boy all over again. Malachi felt his lip tugged downward in a slight scowl. He expected more of the Prefect, even if she wasn't typically one to give more. That badge made it something of a requirement. "You do get more restful sleep in silence, yes...." Sure. "But let's not get ideas while we're here in this silence." Especially not if she was a snorer. Merlin wouldn't THAT be a disaster.



"I'm glad you brought that point up. It's not enough to stop talking. You need to be fully concentrating and in full control of both your body and your mind. One can be silent but panicky and thus nowhere closer to removing themselves from the given situation." One could also trudge noisily and get eaten, but she'd already loosely alluded to as much.



"Both good points." Even if he was slightly raising a brow at the first part. The boy seemed calmer than the sort to lash out because someone was ignoring him but the man was aware he saw these students mostly in a class setting and not necessarily when they were in these situations. "I do sincerely hope you aren't going around hexing everyone who drops an argument with you."

But at this point one could only hope. The respect thing was spot on. Silence when someone spoke was the perfect way to let them know that you had their full attention and cared about what they had to say. Were his classmates listening? Some needed to more than others.



"Meditation is an excellent time to introduce silence. Tasks like that, ones that require a good amount of focus," As some of her classmates had mentioned, "Really do benefit from a healthy dose of silence. It aids in clearing the mind, in the case of meditation, and otherwise remaining fully concentrated on whatever you happen to be working on. "

It was an interesting take, a scenario that focused on the inner self rather than outside influences that forced you into silence.



This one got a raise of his brows too. Eavesdropping he would have to excuse in the moment while he focused on the sneaking out of prison bit. Honestly, never a dull moment with some of these students. "Prison isn't where I wanna see you in a few years, Gladin. That said, breaking out of prison, you'll need a lot more than silence to pull it off. On the contrary, you may just have to go big. Make it hard for yourself to be stopped--not an encouragement, but just something to thing about. Conditions would have to be right, there's a few other things to be considered too."

Oh Merlin why were they even having this conversation??



Silence.

It was fitting given the topic and while Malachi would have preferred if the boy had offered up his own take on the question he could at least see he was attentively listening. He would take it over someone aimlessly daydreaming any day. You actually had to do something about that sort and that would take time that was better spent on the lesson.



So then....no running and screaming and getting everything out ahead of time? That was fine too. He would just have faith that any freaking out later on Dakest's part would be the silent, heart attack inducing but outwardly just shaking kind. That he would accept, that was fine. The boy's response gave him confidence that even that might not happen. Perhaps today would be the day the Gryffindor boldly stepped into whatever the lesson entailed without question or hesitation. This was a new year, perhaps this was a new Dakest too.

"Correct. Remaining calm and thus quiet in a given situation makes it much easier to then work through that situation. You aren't doing anyone any favours while you're panicky and all over the place. Good point."



Sweet Circe, another one of them.

Malachi blinked at the Hufflepuff, not sure how to respond. On the one hand, he was right. A poorly executed prank was just asking for trouble. Those students clearly wanted to be caught and deserved it for being thick enough to be caught. No care, no thought to back ups and contingencies. Mm. At the same time, he didn't need a castle full of pranksters. That got old FAST, as did detentions. The Headmaster solidly didn't want spend the year babysitting overgrown children in the dungeons.

"Silence will be beneficial when pulling off pranks...yes." He finally conceded, cautiously. No need to encourage this. "But as with Gladin's point earlier, I'll have to say silence isn't the only thing you'll need to ensure you pull off a good prank. Concentration and silence only get you so far."




"Is THAT what you've been doing this whole time, Fairfield?" The man asked, stuck somewhere between disbelief and amusement...closer to disbelief but y'know.

"I suppose...you're not wrong, it's easier judging when you've silently assessed a situation or a person....but then I suppose it also depends on if you care that others know you're judging them. No real point unless they know." Or was that just the Gryffindor in him getting louder? Why judge if you couldn't make SURE they knew they were being judged? Was he the only one who appreciated getting a rise out of others when he decided to do things?



"Correct. Both those activities would require and turn out better if you employed silence." He'd already covered the benefits of silence in both scenarios but it didn't make her response less true.

"Meditative yoga would especially benefit. A calm environment where you can clear your mind and focus on your breathing. Noise would only dismantle that."



"Quite alright, my boy." He was still adjusting to the castle life once again himself. Overnight he'd gone from being responsible for four people--himself included--to once again being in charge of hundreds of students in what could politely be described as something near a death trap. Never a dull moment, yeah?

"Bees?" Huh. "Never pegged you for the sort, Botros, but I suppose you're right. You wanna make sure you don't disrupt their environment too much or give them reason to perceive you as a threat." Such an interesting contrast. Beater (the most violent position on the Quidditch pitch) then gentle bee keeper. The world was an interesting place, wasn't it?