Leopold shook his head.  He was certain that the heads of the other houses had their problem students but he wasn't sure whether any of them ever took the time to sit down with any of their students, let alone the problematic ones and Seto Spalding was certainly going to be one of his problem students.

The boy wasn't bad, far from it.  The problem was, he wasn't really anything other than lackadaisical.  He did just enough to get by and no more.  Leopold had to figure out how to motivate him, if that was even possible after five years of being allowed to just get by.  This wasn't going to be  a simple meeting for tea.  He was going to have to figure out what made Seto tick and if there was any way to wind the boy up so that he'd tick with a little more enthusiasm.

When his sixth year had started Seto expected to be able to just coast through with his head down like he always did. By now he expected all the teachers to just accept it and move on. None of them had other been able to convince him to work harder and Seto never expected that any of them would. He was his own person and would go through life as he saw fit. But of course, he was also counting on the fact that the same teachers would be sitting at the staff table during the feast. He hadn't expected an entirely new head of house. Great. Just great. Seto could see it now. He would be called into the blokes office to discuss his future and his 'untapped potential', blah, blah, blah, etcetera times infinity to the moon.

And sure enough that was exactly what had happened. Now, Seto normally wasn't so prejudice as to dislike someone without getting to know them; hell Sandusky seemed nice enough during class, he supposed. But for the love of God why call a meeting on a Saturday morning? That was Seto's time to sleep in and then go jump in the lake. A most likely pointless meeting with his head of house would just cut in on that time and Seto reflected that with slight grumpiness.

So sleeping through breakfast, again, and getting up at the last minute, Seto ducked into the kitchen, grabbed some food from the always friendly house elves and made his way into Sandusky's office. Still munching on the bit of toast he knocked on the door and opened it, popping his head in.

"Sup mister professor boss man," Seto said casually as if it was how he addressed every teacher. "Ya wanted to see me?"

"I did, Mr Spalding.  Come in.  Sit down."  Leopold poured himself a cup of tea, ignoring the young man's familiarity of address.  "I didn't see you at breakfast.  Can I assume you slept in?  There are fresh scones, if you are interested.  Butter and black currant jam as well.  Mind that you remember to put the lid back on the jam pot, otherwise we'll have Howler into it before you know it.  I don't know about you but I prefer my jam without fur in it."

Leopold had deliberately picked the early morning meeting because he wanted the young man out of his comfort zone.  No doubt he was expecting a hard sell on improving his marks and participation.  Leopold intended to throw him a bit of a curve when it came to catching the quaffle.

Seto did as he was told, taking a seat and slouching horribly in it. It wasn't done to be rude, it was simply how he sat. He would have put his feet up if he had the chance, now that he thought about it. That would probably be rude though. Seto did straighten a little bit, however at the offering of food. "Oh, thanks sir," he said nicely, taking a scone and biting into it. It didn't go unnoticed to him, however that he wasn't offered any tea. Interesting. What was it his father had said about something like this before? Was it dominance? He couldn't remember... It didn't really matter anyways. Seto didn't drink tea all that often.

"And yea, I slept through breakfast," Seto admitted calmly. "I normally do on weekends." He stifled a yawn and finished the scone, picking up and biting another one. It didn't seem like the man was going to get to the point anytime soon. How bothersome. Guess Seto had to be the catalyst. "So, uh, what'd you wanna see me for?"

And please make it quick, he thought to himself.

"I'm making a point of meeting all the students in my house," Leopold answered, not realizing he hadn't offered Seto any tea.  "It gives them a chance to get to know me and allows me to get to know them.  I like to be able to put more than a face to a name, as it were.  Your file doesn't tell me a great deal about you but it tells me that you are the type of student who puts the barest amount of effort that is required to get yourself a passing grade.  That is what your file tells me.  I'd like to hear your side of things.  Is that true?  Would you call that an accurate description?"

Howler's head peered out from the bed he had on the top shelf of Leopold's bookcase.  He sniffed and began slowly making his way down towards the food on Leopold's desk.  If there was anyone in the room that might appreciate Seto's lifestyle, it was probably the monkey.

As good a reason as any, Seto figured. He didn't know of any other teachers doing that as there were so many students in every house. But still, it was a nice gesture, he supposed. Although he wasn't entirely sure it would be worth it, in the long run. Teachers had a habit of not lasting and getting replaced at odd times during the year. Tawse had shown up in, what? April? And he was already gone. Dusty Sandusky must feel pretty confident that he'll last.

Seto merely shrugged. Leaning back he popped the last part of the scone in his mouth and placed his hands behind his head. "Yea, sounds about spot on," Seto replied. He doubted his record was that exact, but it didn't take much thinking power to figure out what he was doing. He was about to comment on why when he saw a monkey hop onto the table. That was certainly... weird. Who the hell owned a pet monkey?

He frowned slightly at the creature and shook his head. "I dunno what else I could say about that," he continued lazily. "If my record says that then the thing's sharper than I figured."

Leopold chuckled.  "Come now, Mr Spalding.  You can't expect me to believe that you're just going to sit there and tell me that this little pile of parchment is an accurate description.  According to this, you are the product of two Muggle parents, the first wizard in your line, yet you're taking Muggle studies at the NEWT level.  If it isn't too intrusive, may I ask why?  If you were a wizard interested in Muggles, I could see the point but you grew up a Muggle.  You could probably have passed the NEWT finals in that subject in your first week.  I'm curious as to why you're pursuing something you already know."

Seto let out a laugh. "Yea, that's probably true," he agreed sitting up and placing his arms on his knees. "It's been kinda a breeze in that class. If I had put any effort into it I probably coulda got an O on the OWL." Again he laughed. It hadn't occurred to him at the time, but now that he thought about it, it was a sort of strange how he only got an E on that test. He must have really not tried at all.

He shrugged and leaned back again, crossing his arms. "I don' really see what my family has to do with it," he said defensively. Being reminded he was a Muggleborn was kind of annoying. "I mean what difference does it make if I'm a mudblood. Mudblood and proud, I always say. Maybe I just thought it would be cute to see how wizards thought of Muggles? I admit it's definitely interesting what y'all think of electricity."

"But you just said the reason," Seto added with another yawn. "I'm taking it cause it's easy and I don't have to try." What else would be the point of taking it? He could sleep through the class and pass. It wasn't as if this were Runes where he would have to remember a bunch of junk.

"I was told I had to have at least four classes," he continued in a bored tone. "Muggle Studies is an easy option and means I only have to put effort into three classes."

Leopold raised his eyebrows.  "I'll thank you to refrain from using that particular epithet,"  he said.  "You must, by now be well aware that it is considered quite vulgar.  Now, let me get this straight.  There is nothing in the wizarding world that sparked your interest besides transfigurations, charms and care of magical creatures?  The last one puzzles me.  It stands out.  Charms and transfigurations teach you spells that will make your life easier but care of magical creatures requires active participation.  What is it about magical creatures that enticed you when there were actually several other options that would have required less effort?"

Seto snorted. "No, sir," he replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "I have no idea that it's meant to be a vulgar term. Why, this is the absolute first time I've ever heard such a thing. It's not like I've had people call me it for years now." Again he rolled his eyes. He shook his head slightly, this man was a fool. "Words only have as much power over you as you let them," Seto said very seriously. "But yes sir I'll play along sir."

With a sigh he leaned back. "Right on the money again," he said, voice calm. "Only takin' charms and transfig for that reason." what would be the point otherwise. "But creatures, I dunno.  I think it's interestin' is all. I like dragons and unicorns and the like. I'd love a pet phoenix." Seto shrugged slightly.

"Only other thing in the wizardint world would be Quidditch, I suppose."

"I'll thank you not to take that tone with me,"  Leopold said.  "Your sarcasm is not required, nor is it welcome.  Are you considering a career that involves magical creatures or are you planning on something a little less strenuous?"

Leopold filled his cup again.  "Can I top you up, Mr Spalding?"  Much to his chagrin, Leopold noticed that Seto didn't have a cup.  "Or rather should I say, can I offer you a cup and my apologies for having failed to do so when you arrived?"

Seto let out a huff. Dusty completely ignored half of what he had said. Fine, whatever. It wasn't really worth it to him to pursue the topic. The old man was probably too stuck in his ways by this point to listen to a reasonable argument. Hell he probably didn't even notice them when they came along. Probably explains why he jumped on his interest in creatures, rather than Quidditch.

"I dunno, maybe," Seto said, bored tone returning. "I hadn't really thought about it. Guess being a dragon tamer would be neat. But I suppose I'd need to know some more about Defense." At least he wouldn't be overly surprised if he did. It wasn't as if dragons were easy to handle. "Could be a breeder I guess. Work on one of them farms that raise the animals for potion ingredients." If what he had heard was true, it was well paying work if you could supply some of the rarer parts.

"That or join a Quidditch team. Shouldn't be too hard to get on some of them. The Cannons are bad enough, for example. Bet they'd take all the new blood they could get."

He eyed the tea for a second. "Uh, no thanks, sir," Seto said finally. "I'm not really big on hot tea unless it's cold out."

"Quidditch can be difficult to get into on a professional level,"  Leopold answered.  "You'd need a stellar record as a school player.  There are good players showing up every year trying to get the few positions that do come up.  You'd do well not to discount the Cannons.  They've got a few good prospects coming up this year.  Just you watch.  They might just surprise you and go all the way."

Leopold rubbed his chin.  "Now, as far as the breeding goes, it's a fair site safer than trying to train dragons.  One thing is for certain though.  The turnover rate for first year dragon trainers is enormous.  It's one of those careers that looks a lot more enticing from the outside than it does from the inside."

A slight shrug was all he had to say in response. He doubted he needed to be that good, just like he doubted he needed a decent academic record. After all, while he saw Callum Knight as a very good beater, Seto didn't imagine he was the best one out there vying for the spot. Nor would he be surprised to find out he wasn't a star student. Knight had dropped out after all. The comment on the Cannons just made him laugh. Yes, they may go all the way to the cup. After all, they had such a good record of winning in the last century. Oh wait.

But Seto quickly killed his laughter. "Yea, it's safer but it ain't as fun," he said, keeping himself from rolling his eyes. Really? More enticing from the outside? You don't say? Seto always figured that most people didn't realize how bloody dangerous the beasts were. But he had a deep respect for their strength and abilities. He wouldn't ever be caught dead disrespecting a dragon.

Still, Dusty may have had a point. Breeding probably paid better anyways. Not that he really cared, but he knew his parents would. To him, the appealing quality of breeding was that it would take significantly less work than dragon taming. "But I'll consider it," Seto finished, adding "Sir" as a mere after thought.

"If you're serious about wanting to get into dragon taming, I suspect you'll need to give up on the pro Quidditch career," Leopold said.  "Or, if you're willing to do a little pre-planning, you might be able to pull off both.  Play Quidditch for a few years and when you've had enough, take some time off to prepare for the dragon taming.  If you find you've lost the desire to go into that field, there is always the breeding option, which would still be there as a fall back if you decided you'd had enough of dragons."

Leopold was nothing if not practical.  If the boy was as unmotivated as he clearly seemed, perhaps dangling the things he was interested in in front of him might do the trick.  "If you feel that you need to focus a little more on defense to help you deal with the dragons, I'm, sure we could work something out.  I'm here to help you reach your goals, not just to give you lectures about how you aren't achieving your potential."