This would finally be the year when she'd meet the Giant Squid. She had tried every other year without luck, but this time Kinsay had something she didn't have the first few times. This time she had RESEARCH. Or, well, Evan had research. Or, well, he said he'd have research. Hopefully he kept his end of the deal because while Kins was confident in her skills of persuasion, she was a liiiittle worried about it all.

Just as she lifted her fist to knock on the door to the studio, she paused and lowered her hand, looking back to Evan instead. "You have the research, right?" A last minute check was important. Not that his answer would really change anything because they had come all the way out here... So. Maybe they should just go in either way?

"You should knock." Because Kins always knocked too quietly and sometimes people didn't hear her and then when she'd knock again, it was always way too aggressive to make up for the first, unheard knock. It was hard to find a good balance. But Evan looked like he would be good at balance.

... What in merlin's beard had convinced him to propose this to Kinsay? They could have easily explored some of the Great Lake without trying to do this part as well. But it was a decent idea and he was hoping Professor Flamsteed would grant them their request. Not just because it would make Kins happy and help accomplish her goal, but in reality... the 'research' he had put together was very much something he'd actually like to have the answer for. It wasn't terribly well developed, but the hope was to present this as the rudimentary plan - a beginning and then he'd let the Gryffindor sell how important it was to them.

Good luck, James.

Looking up from the parchment in his hands, a list of different fresh water plants and their properties, Evan nodded his head in confirmation that he did have the research, handing it over to her. "A comprehensive list of all freshwater plants, from all of the world. The goal is for us to be able to confirm which of these plants are actually in our lake. And plants from everywhere are included because the Black Lake has certainly already shown it has it's mysteries, so what if there are some thing in there not normally found in this region?"

A ship appeared in it from nowhere for a long ago Triwizard Tournament. Who was to say there wouldn't even be pockets of warm water where things not usually found in Scotland were growing?

Besides. The main highlight was probably going to be selling their curiosity and thirst for knowledge... which was technically not incorrect.

He raised an eyebrow when she requested he knocked, but took another few steps forward so he was beside her instead of behind and raised his fist to the door, giving a couple of quick raps. "Done."

.... As if she hadn't just seen that.

June Flamsteed was.... distracted - buried deep in research papers and her old herbology journals. So much so that her tea was currently being enjoyed by a gnome in a corner and she had failed to notice. The knock would have gone unnoticed too if it weren't for the meddling gnome tripping over something-something and breaking her fine tea-drinking china.

It was a ... mess.

Sighing and finally looking up, she eyed the gnome scrambling away before turning to look at the door. "Come on in," she called out, waving her hand to open the door before moving to retrieve a broom.

It wasn't just a decent idea. It was a genius one. If Evan hadn't proposed it, Kins would've found an even more chaotic way forward, so really, it was for the best that he did propose it. See? It was a good thing. A good thing that would bring forth many other good things once they got what they wanted and met the squid and helped Evan answer his research questions. That's a win-win-win, if anyone was interested in keeping count.

But Kiz didn't need a count to know this was a good idea. She also didn't need luck, Nam. She had charisma on her side! And a Ravenclaw. Things typically went better when she had Ravenclaw supervision. She was really good at messing things up on her own, but Ravenclaws were good at troubleshooting. Usually.

Taking his parchment in hand, she quickly skimmed over its contents. She had tried to peek at it before, but craning her neck was kind of achey. So. This was much better... Not that she really had the chance to give anything an in-depth look. But um. There were lots of words so. That was as good a sign as any. Kins was pleased. "This is really great stuff, Evan! Maybe we can even get the long-lasting kind!" Because the research was even better than Kizzy could have imagined. It wouldn't surprise her one bit if Professor Flamsteed gave them the REALLY GOOD, TOP SHELF stuff right away!

And it wasn't lying because Kinsay was kind of interested in this plant stuff too. She was mostly here for the squid. But plants were also cool. Duh.

She beamed at Evan, bouncing a little as she stood in eager anticipation. "Here we go." With the confirmation to step in, she took a deep breath and glanced his way, before pushing the door open and walking into the office space. Kins knew better than to jump into business right away, so she was fully prepared to start with pleasantries. "Hi Profess--" Oh. "Can we help you clean up?" Because, um, it looked like something had broken.

He shifted his weight back and forth on his feet while Kinsay took the list, peering over it and complimenting it, before he nodded and gave a small smile. "It was kind of fun to look into." At least now if anyone ever asked him for examples of fresh water plants.... he could give so many examples. More than anyone would probably actually desire but... y'know. "That was the hope. It's why I made the list so incredibly long." It was worth a shot, right? If they were asking, they might as well shoot for the moon.

Even if they had to then settle for the stars, it would still be something.

Hearing a call of come in, while the door began to open, he ceased his nervous movements and schooled his face - smile dropping out of place as he nodded at Kinsay's words. He followed along after Kins, also noting the mess immediately and the broom Professor Flamsteed was going for. "Hello, Professor. I could sweep for you if you'd like." He liked doing mundane chores like that. Plus, it didn't hurt to offer to do nice things for the Professor either with the favor they were going to ask for.

Despite being ... utterly distracted, June somehow managed to smile when the two walked in. "Oh not at all, it's just a small thing" she assured sweeping away the mess. A small mess of ... many, but who was counting? Waving her hand to let the broom take care of the rest, she turned to look at the two - and gestured at the stools in front of her desk.

"Miss James, Mr Nam" Nodding a bit in greeting, she moved toward her own seat. "How are you? and what can I do for you two?"

Kins wasn't sure that she and Evan had the same definition of fun, but she offered him a grin despite. It was good that he liked doing the research. That's what made them a good team, right? And if he really wanted to shoot for the moon and settle among the stars, Kins would be equally enthusiastic about taking a trip to outer space next time. They'd probably need even more research to convince their professors to let them do that. But. Kiz had faith.

And it was nice of Evan to offer to sweep and with the way Professor Flamsteed smiled at them, Kins was sure they were already off to a good start. She tried to give Evan a sneaky thumbs up to convey this as she moved to sit on one of the stools in front of the desk. "I'm good, just a little tired," but wasn't she always? Here, she paused to let Evan answer the question too.

And now it was time to work their magic! Only figuratively, of course. They'd be doomed if Kiz actually had to work magic. "Well, Professor Flamsteed, Evan and I, the two of us," she motioned between herself and her Partner in Discovery. "We have a project and we were kind of hoping you'd help us out as we endeavor on the path to pursue our academic journey in scholarly discovery." How was she doing!? "I'll pass to my colleague to explain. Evan, the floor is yours." Because Kins couldn't really contribute much yet. Her role would come in only afterwards. If needed. Research first. Then persuasion. And then begging, if they must. Kiz expected Evan to join in on that last one too. It was imperative.

He had went to take a step forward towards the broom after offering to clean the mess, but since Professor Flamsteed had declined and she was about done anyways, he halted his motion and instead straightened up next to Kins again. Still, it was polite they'd both offered. And he would have happily done it if she had wanted. Pausing to let the Gryffindor answer question of how they were first, Evan then offered a small smile as well. "I'm doing fine as well. How are you, Professor? Start of term starting easily? The Slytherin's are lucky to have you this year." Now that Recard had moved on.

And then Kinsay was starting, and Evan was fully content to sit back and let her take control and do her part now. So much so that he was planning on looking interested but spacing out while she sold their task. Until he heard the words, 'Evan the floor is yours'. The look he shot her was most akin to betrayal, because he had NOT been expecting to do any talking. He was terrible at talking. It was part of the reason he'd been able to go a full two terms with next to no friends, since siblings obviously did not count.

He forced himself to recover quickly though, turning eyes away from Kiz and back to their Professor. He didn't know how to upsell what he wanted to do, so he figured short and sweet and to the point was probably best. Besides, they didn't want to waste all of Professor Flamsteed's time. "Yes, we do. After the gillyweed lesson in the lake last term and talking about aquatic plants, Kinsay and I started thinking more about them as a general and made a list of every freshwater plant we could think of." Eyes went back to the other fourth year, glancing at the paper in her hand to signal she should show it to Flamsteed since he had done the work on it. "They're separated by region, and even those not native to the Scottish Highlands are listed. Kinsay and I were hoping to do more of a deeper search to mark off each of the plants to see exactly which can be found in the Black Lake. We could only cover so much ground during class last term. And the Black Lake is so... mysterious, what if some of the plants not normally found in this region ARE in there?"

... So much for short.

Violet was out of breath by the time she reached Professor Flamsteed's studio, but there was no time to waste, so she immediately began knocking loudly on her door. "Professor Flamsteed? ... Professor Flamsteed! Are you in there? Please, it's an emergency." I think, Violet added to herself. She was going to look pretty stupid if it turned out to be nothing after all.