"And that is why we like to start apprentices young." He smirks faintly. Children are a lot more apt to listen to their elders. "I was only eight or nine when Merlin bought me. I'm sure, given a few more years, I would have made a poor apprentice myself."

He leans forward with a grunt to take another cookie, and as soon as he settles back again, the tail wraps back under his chin. "And please do? It's much easier to go into things knowing what you're doing than to clean up the mess after magic gone awry..."