Quote:
Originally Posted by
Anna Banana 
Wow. Maybe she really did have a record for always being in the right place at the right time. No wonder Professor Kazimeriz was so leary of her. Even though she did mean well and was only trying to help, she indeed was always near the scene of the crime, so to speak. She glanced over at him, then slowly nodded her head. "I---I was indeed in the Great Hall during that time, sir. Only, I arrived just after the water froze. It remained in that state for quite a while, and my friends and I were even able to assist a few students during that time. There were a few quite unlucky in getting their feet stuck in the water when it froze over," she replied. "Once it melted, though, the water rose at an unbelievable rate. There were grindylows. It was horrible, sir." She shivered and closed her eyes, trying hard to block out the memories of the grindylow attaching itself to her robes and trying its hardest to pull her down. Thank Merlin Cope and Rob had been there to pull her safety.
"I have a few ideas as to what's causing this flooding, though," she said, opening her eyes again. "Myrtle was in the Great Hall during the time the water was frozen over. She and I briefly talked, and I ended up asking her if she'd seen anything unusual that may be associated with the flooding. She told me that she hadn't seen anything, but she had heard something," she continued. "It was just the way she stressed the word heard that made me think the answer to this flood lies within something we can hear better than we can see."
She took a deep breath, then added, "A few days ago a sort of loud wailing noise could be heard from down by the lake. I remembered what Myrtle told me, and I thought that maybe...just maybe...she's heard the wailing sound, too. It's hard to explain, but there were cries...and a sort-of...maybe...a word. I've been thinking about this a lot, sir, and...I think we need to search the lake. Only, we don't need to search the lake for water...we need to search the lake for a creature. Why would a creature make such horrible wailing sounds in the lake? I think...because maybe it doesn't belong there. I think the lake is currently a home to a creature it's not meant to serve as a home to. I think that's what's causing the flood." She grew quiet and simply stared at him. He probably thought she'd literally lost her mind at this point. "Will...will you all come search with me at some point? Maybe after we finish in here?" she asked, looking at all the students and at Professor Kazimeriz.
Kazimeriz raised an eyebrow, feeling a why-am-I-not-surprised bit of disdain.
Of COURSE the girl had been there. She was always at the scene of every crime, and perhaps even had a hand in this whole mess. Still... It was an interesting story, to be sure. And an interesting theory.
Unless of course it was Greingoth herself... who did she hang out with? Was she close to Truebridge or Lawson? Could she be possibly even under an imperius curse, working for them to undermine the investigation and continue this mad flooding? !!!
That was
it! The Greingoth girl was there, at the scene of every crime...er... flooding. She was interested in DADA, as he had recalled when he taught her. Lawson and Truebridge could
easily have coerced her -- knowingly or magically-- to assist them. It all made perfect sense. And here she was, perhaps attempting to undermine their investigation with talk of wailing creatures in the lake!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
She-Who-Is-Not-To-Be-Psycho! Diane tilted her head. Myrtle again. And there was that other fact. Wailing, wailing... "What if," she began, "It is not water to begin with indeed. What you said about a creature, what if it is... body fluid?" She paused in consideration, but just noticed it could be read either way. She gave a little cough and elaborated: "Tears, that is."
Which, again, could be confirmed by the presence of salt in the flood water. Her eyes turned again to the two glowing samples. When troubled like this, the spell seemed to take an eternity to finish up.
"Ah, miss," she addressed Aislynn again. "What about the hot air charm the professor mentioned? Could you perform it? It would need to be 100 degrees celcius exactly. Or use your method, I am sure the professor possesses anhydrous crystals. Whichever way is easier for you."
ooc: Just a reminder, I am waiting the narrator again to confirm again the no-water part, and for the results on lake water.
(Also, people, we are bouncing ideas back and forwards, so those who are silent, dont be intimidated to participate.)
He considered Greingoth's story coupled with Entelequia's theory. It would be good to humor Greingoth, lest she suspect he was on to her, Truebridge and Lawson. And perhaps she
was an unwilling victim, under the imperius curse. Truebridge possibly even had been the one responsible for the killing of the Avis child
last term... Perhaps he had unwittingly learned too much about Truebridge's plan, and had been about to let the headmaster know of it...?
One thing was clear: there was something truly insidious afoot. Truebridge was the most obvious suspect. Perhaps the former actor was 'acting' even now, while gathering his forces to try to take over the school and ...perhaps he was even seeking a magical archaeological artifact, something truly dark so that he could gain power. That would explain why he had taken Kettleburn under his wing, arranging for his internship...
It all makes sense. the potions master thought.
Perhaps Truebridge had visions of himself as the 'next' dark lord. Many had tried to bring the Death Eaters back over the years, perhaps he was another of these ambitious fools. But he wouldn't succeed. Not on Kazimeriz's watch!
Kazimeriz furrowed his brows. He could 'act', too. And it would be necessary if he were to stop Truebridge's ascent as an evil leader. He watched the spell reveal the contents again, thinking quickly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
The Narrator The water stirred again... another hue of vapor hovered above the water. Again, it displayed many of the potions that had been spilt in the dungeons, glass fragments, algae, lake kelp, hair potions, the remains of a dead fish, ink, green soot from the slytherin fireplace, lamp oil, muffin traces and the shedded skin of a grindylow which seemed to be shredding to pieces.
It would be best to investigate all angles... besides, perhaps there
was a creature in peril, crying, somehow involved in this as Entelequia and Greingoth surmised. It was never good to eliminate possibilities in an investigation, even if he was certain in his heart that Truebridge was behind it all.
"The contents reveal what we already knew: this substance is lake water, contaminated due to flooding. But your comments about odd sounds and Myrtle's observations intrigues me; I suspect we are dealing with something sinister here... something dark. I suggest that you form a search party and seek out Myrtle. Bring her here, that we might..."Interrogate her."interview her." He waved his wand, returning the water samples to their respective phials.
"She may be the key we need to solving this mystery."
He nodded; this was the most logical course of action. In spite of the possible danger, Kazimeriz began to feel like his younger self again, excited at the prospect of action-- of facing down a potential dark foe and conquering him. Just as he had so often when he had been young-- when he was an Auror.
Hogwarts needed him. And he was ready to fight for the school-- for the students.
For the first time in a long time, the old man truly felt
alive.