"Good morning." Came the brisk but not entirely impolite response. This one was a pureblood and was therefore slightly less a nuisance than some of the others who would be arriving soon. From his memory, she was also not one to necessarily make waves. It would take her a long way this year.



Ah and there was the first of them.

A scourge on the school's population and one who thought they were stupid enough to believe it. The nod was ignored entirely but the man did concentrate on the girl. She would feel a searing pain in her forehead, one that felt like a harsh stinging sensation and when it was over, she would find a four letter word clear across her forehead in large print.

L I A R.



And there was Fuller. No antics today? It was a good look on the boy, one he should consider wearing more often. It would certainly do him well in these changing times.

"Hello, Fuller." Decent enough boy, based on blood status. Decent enough.



This one was not so decent--though she was more so than Fox. At least Grantham hadn't thought them stupid enough to get away with a lie on paper. She was muggleborn filth but she was honest muggleborn filth and as such did not earn herself the scare her classmate now wore.

It was good she did not try speaking to him. He did not mingle with her kind unnecessarily.



Then there was this one. Brazen with his inferior genetic makeup. A stain at Hogwarts who seemed...seemed...proud. The Headmaster scowled at him and gave nothing more than a grunt in response.

Just...that was all.



Ah yes, one of the Prefects he had stripped. His squad was a much better replacement for that sorry lot of them. "Good morning." He returned, already looking past her to see whoever else may have entered the room.

He was keeping an eye out for the ones who proved exceptionally stupid among them.



He squinted at this one, openly squinted. Her records were somewhat inconclusive. Not a muggleborn....no. But it was a matter that bothered him all the same. "Good morning." He said, finally. Whatever was the case with this one, he would have someone figure it out soon enough.



Luck, or rather an unlucky boy. If memory served, he was the first to be cursed by one of his men and it served the stupid boy right. Self preservation was something he would do well to learn unless he wanted further repeats.

"Good morning, I trust you'll be on better behaviour today."

Only if he cared what happened to him. His choice.



The problem child, again.

There was a reason Rosier did not like either Trent child. They were loud, whiny and lacked common sense in droves. Mavis, however, was not the one he was currently wishing dead. On the contrary, it was the older one who should have been trying to stay alive to keep his sister safe that worked his nerves for egregiously.

Y'know, the one he had casually thrown a "crucio" at in response to the shoe being hurled at him. That kid. The one he expected to be writhing on the ground in seconds. There was a lot of intent. He had been waiting a LONG time to hurt him. This was overdue.



"Headmaster Rosier." The less aggravating of the James girls, though that was debatable in the moment. The one who at least knew how to shut up. Rosier thought perhaps she would try to defend her sister, as she had a habit of doing just the year before but he was pleasantly surprised to find she was keeping quiet.

Good. It was a good look.



Another one. Another who dared to lie on the form provided. Just how stupid did they think the alliance was? Much like the girl before, he concentrated on the Ravenclaw.

The boy would feel a searing pain in her forehead, one that felt like a harsh stinging sensation. When it was over, he would find a four letter word clear across her forehead in large print.

L I A R



"Good morning." This one did not fall on his radar, for the simple reason she was not scum but was not the cream of the crop either. Quiet as she was, it was all too easy for the Headmaster to almost immediately look past her to see who else was coming.



It was a good thing he was paying attention because the other of the LIARS was entering now and as before, the Headmaster had just the thing for him. Eyes on the boy, he did not respond but instead focused a moment on the Slytherin.

The boy would feel a searing pain in her forehead, one that felt like a harsh stinging sensation. When it was over, he would find a four letter word clear across her forehead in large print.

L I A R



"Good morning." He nodded in the HUfflepuff's direction but his attention was not on her. She fell into the category of "neither", so to speak. Not to be treasured but not to be loathed and punished for existing.

Just...there.



"Put that away unless you plan to get hurt." The Headmaster coolly advised. These students were always so quick to draw their wands at the wrong times, yet when they were needed, they were too busy protesting right and wrong.

Trent's actions may have been shocking, but he had effectively dealt with the situation on his own.

He wouldn't give him a second warning.



"Save it." Came the only answer from the Headmaster. He did not care for the boy's greeting. What he DID care about was the blatant lie the boy had dared to tell just the night before.

Fithy mudblood.

Lucien set his gaze on the boy, doing what he had done to the other liars.

The boy would feel a searing pain in his forehead, one that felt like a harsh stinging sensation. When it was over, he would find a four letter word clear across his forehead in large print.

L I A R



Another filthy mudblood, but one with the decency to not outright lie when given a form. Perhaps it was a sign of some degree of intelligence. It worked in her favour only in that she would not be publicly called out...yet.

The Headmaster scowled in her general direction but otherwise did not respond.



Bless, the only child worth the air they breathed in this entire castle. A real prodigy with much potential and much room to grow. The Slytherin was splendid. Were Lucien another man, he would offer a smile--but he was not.

Upstead received a nod, a more courteous nod than others had received...if that sort of thing was even possible.

What a great kid.



Theeeere she was. Paid no attention to the sign, he saw. Just as well, it gave him further reason to do what he'd wanted since the year prior.

Rather than ask her to shut up, he did it for her. Lucien gave a flick of his wand. The girl would find her mouth disappearing rapidly until it was gone entirely. In the end, there was nothing but skin where her lips once were. This was a much better look.

"Keep the noise up and I'll take your voice box next."



The girl's actions, while objectively heroic, were futile. Lucien already took care of the Trent child the way he wanted to and was now entirely satisfied. This was not a free for all, it had not been a free for all and now that he revealed his identity, it would not become a free for all.

"Put it away, Grimm. We haven't gotten there yet. I can handle children just fine."



It was too late, the girl already had the man's attention for an entirely different reason. "You must think me as foolish as you are." Came his only response to her greeting.

As with the others before her, she would feel a searing pain in her forehead. One that felt like a harsh stinging sensation. When it was over, she would find a four letter word clear across her forehead in large print.

L I A R



And another who had lost the privilege of having a mouth. Rather than give any verbal indication of acceptance or rejection of the boy's apology, the man flicked his wand in his direction.

It was a simple but useful hex that would cause the boy's mouth to entirely disappear. There would be nothing but smooth skin where those loud loud lips used to be.

He would not tolerate the nonsense of these children this year.



Lucien squinted at this one as well. He was another with a background too inadequate to suffice. He would have to have someone look into it but for now....

"Good morning." He only hoped he would not regret giving such shallow greeting.



No return nod, none for the girl whose existence was aided by muggles. She was not muggleborn but the connection to a muggle was too close to ignore. The generation over from her parents. It was a stain all the same.

Filth.



"Good morning." This one would not be a problem unless she did something stupid. The man spent the night and some of the morning pouring over the student records. As far as he was concerned, this one had earned the right to be here.



"Good morning." Yet another he would not have to outright ignore. Falling into the "neither" category could be seen as a blessing or a curse. Perhaps in this one's case, it was a blessing. There were enough of them he needed to deal with.



This Flamsteed met the fate of his other half. It seemed neither understood the warning against incessant speech. No worries, he was prepared to take care of that. Like with the brother, Lucien flicked his wand at the boy.

The spell he cast was the sort that made one's mouth disappear entirely. Where the lips should be, there would be nothing but smooth skin.

"That will be your only warning."



"Good morning." His response could easily have been considered dry. He did not care for the students anymore than he already didn't from the previous year. It was good he could now further the agenda of the alliance uninhibited, but that didn't make him enthused to see them.

They were the same whiny snots from last year.



"Good morning." Somewhat less dry than the response to the child before. It was a "perk" that came with this one's blood heritage. She would not be shun, nor would she be treated in any sort of manner that could be considered harsh.

One day, she would need to thank her parents for making the right choice.



...

....

He could not even say he was surprised. Thing 1 and Thing 2 tended to share half a brain between them. If one was causing trouble, the other was practically obligated. No problem. She now had no mouth either.

Congratulations.



"Good morning." He checked the clock on the far wall mid giving this greeting. Time was winding down. They would be beginning shortly yet many of these students were dragging their feet on their way in.



"Good morning." Yet another in the "neither" category. At some point, they would have to figure out what to do with that sort. They were not an issue but were not to be pampered either. It was a strange category to be sure.



"Good morning."

This was taking too long. Time was moving slowly and he wanted to begin now. Lucien had half a mind to shut the door now and let the stragglers suffer the consequences but instead, he chose to wait.



No, it didn't ruffle his feathers in any way when Mordaunt said nothing. It had been the case in the previous year as well. So long as she continued to make no ways, she would continue to be of little concern to the man.



"Good morning." Yet another that did not typically make waves. The boy would find that especially handy in these changing times should he choose to keep it up.

For his sake, he really should.



"Good morning." The hour was drawing near. He would begin the indoctrination soon.



"Good morning." Was that the last of them? At least this one didn't look like she had been run over by an erumpent. These children needed to pull themselves together.

Originally Posted by NiallNIP

Quinn brought his hands to his forehead, crying out sharply as searing pain shocked his system. He sank to his knees, tears flowing as he tried to hold in his sobs (not very successfully). He wasn't crying just from the pain, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Why was this happening to him..?

When the pain subsided, Quinn stayed kneeling, the flow of tears steadily streaming. He didn't have the willpower to get up. He didn't even realize he had lied, he was just confused! And scared! He could hear the man talking from the floor. About Muggles. It was like the man was far away, though. Quinn was dissociating, and he could faintly feel the resistance to the man's words in his head, but right now he couldn't handle being... here. So his mind took him elsewhere.