Just as Anna was about to take a seat, Will began questioning her about sitting down with the group and working together. Anna wrinkled her brow in confusion, wondering where he came up with the idea that she wasn't going to work alongside everyone else. Oh, wait. He must have thought she was heading off to go somewhere to work on her reading instead of sitting with the group. "Oh, I'm not leaving," Anna said, flashing him a smile before sitting down. "I'm just a little tired of standing, so I was heading down to the floor to sit down and read."

Anna opened her book to the first page, getting ready to read. "You just misunderstood, Will. Sorry about that."

Anna blinked when she received a rather nasty look from Seymour. What had she done now? She was starting to feel a little scared to even move or speak at all, for everytime she did one of those things, there seemed to be a big misunderstanding. She honestly meant no harm...really. Anna just opted to smile politely at Seymour and begin her reading.

"Oh, hey, Biff!" Anna greeted. "We're not sure what this is that we're reading, but we're about to find out." Anna held her book up and shrugged. It was true...she really had no idea what this book was all about or what the group would find in it.

Anna blinked a few times. Did they actually think she meant that Cale couldn't get his own book? Yikes! They really did have it in for her, and honestly, she really had no idea why. "Well of course he can get his own," Anna politely replied. "I'm honestly sorry if I've offended anyone here. Cale and I are very good friends, and I just simply offered for him to come sit with me and read."

Anna looked down and began her reading. That seemed to be the safe thing to do. She was done with speaking and moving around for the time being. She didn't want to get anyone upset with her.

Seymour shook his head. "Not everything is a misunderstanding. In fact, I think Will understands your intentions all too well." Anna couldn't fool him with her polite little smiles and claims of misunderstanding on the group's part. No, no. It was all too clear what her goals were. "Sire, she's likely just gathering information so she can turn on the spot and hand it over to someone else. Someone else who wants the treasure all to themselves." It was probably that Herbology teacher... Seymour could easily see Anna being a secret member of an army of the undead anyday.

Rapunzel turned a page in the book she was reading, for she was getting really intrigued by all the mystery in the book. She looked up though, when the other Slytherin introduced himself.

"Nicholai, it's a pleasure to meet you at last," Punz replied, flashing him a brilliant smile. "I'm Rapunzel." She leaned forward to offer him a handshake, since that was the proper thing to do, when she noticed a certain kid hovering right behind that side of the table.

Again? Rapunzel's eyes widened as they took in the sight of Dominic Denton. Well well I'll just kill 'em with kindness...

She turned her smile on again and gave the boy a little wave. "Ello, Denton. Care to join us?"

Obviously he wasn't looking for a book; looking for some trouble was more like it...but she was going to give him a chance. After all, he could be somewhat social if he tried...right?

Cale blinked at Will's sudden change in attitude. "I don't think that's what she meant...hadn't we all just agreed we were going to go back to our common rooms and read the letters over?" he asked, wrinkling his dark eyebrows. If Will was about to go all Slytherin on him--well, Cale wasn't going to be nice to him for very long. In fact, his entire behavior was startling him. Will had always seemed alright, in Cale's opinion, and now he was acting just as his house had been sterotyped...selfish and cunning.

Oh no, Cale was having none of this. This kid had already bugged him enough, with his earlier remarks and constantly calling Will "sire"...whatever that was about he honestly didn't care but he found it rather annoying.

"It was all a case of misunderstanding, dude," Cale told him, nodding to emphasize his point. "You know you can trust us...we're Gryffindors, remember? Noble and all that jazz. I promise you that if we find anything interesting out from our letters we'll let all of you know ASAP," he assured them, turning to Will and smiling. He was the only one out of the group Cale thought he had a good shot at convincing...maybe Nico too. Even though he didn't like him, Cale had a good feeling Nico trusted Anna at least.

Cale looked at the book that Nico was offering him and tapped his chin. "Is it really wise to hand out a billion copies of this book? What if it falls into the wrong hands?" he questioned. "I could just use Anna's book if you'd like. We share the same common room, we can work together on this, as I'm sure you'll be working together in your common room, right?" he asked with a smile.

As he caught Nico winking at the Hufflepuff girl, Cale felt a stab of relief somewhere deep in his heart that caught him by surprise. He hadn't noticed till now that Nico seemed to be a serial flirt, winking at any girl that walked by. Maybe he had an eye twitch--either way he had better stop soon or his eye would get stuck like that. But as Cale saw him wink at the Hufflepuff in their girl, he found small comfort in the fact that Anna was not the ONLY girl he was doing that to.

Hopefully he was just being paranoid again. Hopefully...

This kid was REALLY getting on Cale's nerves. Clenching his jaw and reminding himself to breathe, he turned to the kid once more. "Look kid, if Anna says she's not going to turn on you, why don't you believe her? Who are you to judge anyways? Hellooooo, we're prefects! We wouldn't be in this position if we were lying and scheming all the time, would we?" he asked, finding it harder and harder to control his temper.

"I know Anna better than anyone out of this group and I know she would never turn on any of you. She wouldn't hurt a fly! And if you still don't trust us--well, tough luck. You're stuck with us now," he told him, crossing his arms and sighing again to calm himself. There. He had gotten through his little rant without yelling at anyone. Talking rather harshly, yes, but this silly little boy had it coming to him anyways.

'You know you can trust us?' Just because they were Gryffindors?
Seymour shook his head, scoffing slightly. "An excellent point... you are Gryffindors. Another reason not to trust you. You may be 'noble', but you don't have the cunning abilities our house is known for... You'd probably be so noble that you would report us to another source if they asked you and said that it was for the greater good." He glared. It was likely that either Cale was in on this plot of Anna's, too, or she had just brainwashed him. That wouldn't be too hard anyway. No, if Seymour found anything, it wasn't going to be reported to any Gryffindor. That was for sure.

He put on a very fake smile. "Welcome to Five Minutes Ago! I'll be your tour guide." Had this bloke even been listening? That's exactly what Will had pointed out not too long ago. He glanced at Will. These Gryffindors couldn't be trusted with their own books... Only the Slytherins should have been trusted with them when they parted. And maybe the Hufflepuffs. Rapunzel had seemed nice, after all, and weren't they supposed to be loyal?

Seymour turned to Cale again and glared. "I do not believe her because I have no reason to believe her... and she has proved herself not to be trustworthy during this meeting. Yes, you're prefects, but that doesn't mean anything." He merely shook his head, looking at Cale. That wasn't going to fool him.

"Sure, she wouldn't hurt a fly... probably because said fly was irrelevant to her plots and therefore not worth her time." He glared again and returned to reading the letters. Those Gryffindors weren't going to distract him from his first quest!

"Well, you know what? You're Slytherins, and because you are so cunning, it's a miracle I even considered trusting you lot for even a minute," Cale snapped back at him. Oh, so this little kid wanted to play with fire, did he? Well, he didn't know who he was messing with. Cale stuck up for himself when he was being ridiculed, and Merlin help him if he actually chucked his stupid book at that kids face. "Don't think I don't know the thoughts going through your heads right now--if given the chance you'd turn us in just to get a piece of the glory! Maybe even members of your own house! You lot are just soooooo predictable."

"You know what Anna? I think I've decided we're just wasting our time here. We've tried to corporate, apologized for allegidly being rude and blah blah blah, and I've just been shown that I can't trust any of you as far as I can throw you," he grumbled, glaring and wrinkling his eyebrows. What was with Slytherins and always being so downright nasty? Did they have any emotions at all?

No, they were just filled with greed and sarcasm. Pssh. He was starting to feel ashamed that his father had been in that house.

"So, if you excuse us, I think we're just gonna take our books and leave," he said, yanking the book he had previously turned down from Nico's grip. "Such a shame that it didn't work out with us, really--all the information we had gathered last year, you know, being involved with actual members of these Orders and all, would have been of real help to all of you. Guess you're just gonna have to grope around in the dark now looking for a place to start. Fortunately for us, we already know where that is," Cale said with a devious grin.

Oh yes. Cale Newell was generally a nice person, but start throwing insults his way and being just a downright rude little punk--and the fangs came out.

"Good day everyone," he concluded, turning on his heel and walking straight out of the library.

Barry sighed trust Cale to put on a show He muttered "What happened to house unity?" then he said tonthe group"Um please can I have a copy of whatever book that it is because it seems important" then he sighed couldn`t Cale try to help? He took things too offencivly but what did Barry know? he hadn`t heard anything

Anna was starting to feel like she could never win with anything she said or did around these people. They didn't like her---at all, and that much was clear. She'd made an attempt to correct the situation, and even apologized, but she could see these people were having none of that. She really didn't know what to do to make them understand that she meant no harm. She was at a loss as to what she could possibly do.

Just then, like the typical knight in shining armor Anna always saw him as, Cale spoke up and made a wonderful attempt to correct the situation. Anna practically beamed with happiness. He always seemed to know the right words to say to calm everyone down in times of chaos. Anna was sure his words would help now. They just had to...for the sake of anything that was going to be done treasure-wise today.

When Anna heard Seymour's words, though, she knew that she'd been mistaken. These people weren't going to budge and work with her at all. Their minds were made up, and there was nothing she or Cale could do to change them. Psh. Whatever. So much for house unity and working together.

"You know what, Cale?" I think you're right!" Anna exclaimed, standing up from her spot on the floor and standing right next to him. "I can see that we're just wasting our time defending ourselves when we could be actually doing something productive to help solve this mystery. Thank you all for your time, and I wish you the very best of luck, but I'll be heading off now with my boyf--best friend, and we'll work with someone who will appreciate us for who we are."

Anna smiled, politely waved to all assembled, and then turned to follow Cale out.

Seymour just watched Cale go on and on, smirking. The other Slytherins had been right-- there wasn't a drop of cunning abilities in any Gryffindor's veins. "No, you don't know the thoughts running through our heads right now. You're not a mindreader, for God's sake." He snorted. This bloke really thought he was high and mighty, didn't he?

He shook his head, glancing from Cale, to Anna, to Will, and then back. Being roused so much by a mere first year? A mere squire? Some prefect. He gave a sarcastic wave. "Oh, don't you worry... we'll make due somehow." Yeah... sure they already knew where to start. They'd just gotten the books... they weren't that fast. Good riddance, anyway. He rolled his eyes, turning to Will. "Sire! Sire, they're going off on their own, like we had suspected... and will undoubtably betray us. Are the copies of the book permanent? I think they have found the wrong hands already."

So that was a major give away. He had been flipping through the pages excessively fast and he had not taken his sweet old time putting the charms book away. That clearly shows that he did not go to the library much at all over the years. That was all right, though. He did not need books; he had better things to entertain him.

“I will try to remember that for next time,” Seth said sarcastically, chuckling quietly so just the two of them could hear – it was a library after all. The prefect then shrugged his shoulders and stated, “I guess it all depends on how well you know the kid. However, I do know what you mean about being dragged into tense situations. Been there, done that.”

The male was rather appalled when the Ravenclaw prefect said that he was stalking her. No. Seth Paton was not a stalker! He never was nor will he ever be. “First, let’s just start out with that I’m not stalking you – I wouldn’t stalk a single soul. But I came looking for you because … well … I need your help. I met your cousin, the brunette Slytherin chick, not very long ago, you see. And before she left, she left me this piece of paper from her sketchbook that was supposed to say her name. So all I need to know from you is her name, since she obviously didn’t tell me. That is all I’m asking for.”

He smiled weakly at Elizabeth and prayed that she would be nice enough just too simply give him her cousin’s name. It was just killing him not knowing. Not to mention that there was just something about that girl that he seemed to like….

Oh no, this is all getting out of hand..... Rapunzel watched, open-mouthed, as the two Gryffindor prefects bickered with the Slytherins more and more and were finally driven away. No, they didn't leave by choice, they were driven.

"Great," she muttered, snapping her copy of the book shut. "Now look what you two have done," Rapunzel glared at Billium and Seymour. "Seymour, that was very rude behavior, you should know, especially for...er....a squire. Maidens deserve far more respect than you showed Anna there." She raised one blonde eyebrow, showing her distaste just slightly before turning her glare on Billium. "And besides that, they had a good point - they were our inside source, they actually knew about the treasure business from last term. These letters aren't telling me anything."

She frowned and settled back in her chair, crossing her arms and looking around at the Slythies left. "Now what's your plan, since you're so certain that no Gryffindor can have a trustworthy role in it?"

Will blinked. "What'd I say? I was minding my own business with a book I found when she got here and demanded I give it to her. She was the one pokin' me and barking orders... and she had planned to go off with Cale -- with the book-- from the outset. I'm just glad they're charmed to self-destruct in about three hours." He gave Seymour a reassuring smile at this. The Muffin Girl was beautiful, but that wasn't enough to make him take responsibility for Anna and Cale's little attitude problem. Still, you catch more billywigs with honey... He calmed himself down.

"But you're right." Girls loved to hear this, his pop always said. "They are a good resource... I'll make amends to them later, but in the meantime, three cooperative houses out of four is pretty good, isn't it? Can't we maybe start to figure this out, if we work together?" he looked at her innocently, his face saying, 'you aren't going to leave us here all Hufflepuff-less, are you?

Rapunzel slowly depuffed a little as the Prefect spoke. Hum I'm right. Don't hear that enough. "Well...you did find the book first..." she had to admit that he was right too though. "You have a point there." Boys loved to hear that, her mum always said.

"Three houses though?" Punz chuckled a little and looked around. "I don't see any Ravenclaws here......unless I missed something...." Not that I really care if any of them show up...like we really need more know-it-alls....ugh!

Seymour crumpled a little bit when Rapunzel glared at him, but otherwise stood his ground. "But Anna doesn't count as a maiden, ma'am. Maidens are lovely and kind... if not with a wrathful side... and Anna is neither of those." He smiled weakly at her. Upsetting friends already? This early in the quest? Niiiice going, Seymour. "And anyways... wasn't there an Order for each house? Surely they're not the only ones who know information..." he said confidently, glancing around the table at the remaining people. They had onlly lost two people... who were Gryffindors anyway. They were much better off now.

"Sire, that's absolutely brilliant!" He beamed at Will. Bahaha. The Gryffindors had officially been pwned. They'd come crawling back to the group soon enough, hoping to get their filthy little Gryffindor hands on the book again... and hopefully, the Slytherins wouldn't be quite as kindly as before. Now that the distractions Gryffindors had left, he picked up his book again and started back where he had left off... though, a thought occured to him. "Sire... do we know exactly what these clues will be? Like... riddles, or places in the castle, or something else, sire?" Aaand Seymour was back to his usual, bouncy self. Merlin save them all.

Nicholai rolled his eyes slightly as Cale and Anna left. He'd talk to Anna later probably. But for now... He continued reading the letters.

"Actually, I have a fair amount of information regarding last term, so if it turns out that they don't feel like being helpful; it isn't such a problem. Besides; my sister," Nicholai glanced around those still at the table, "Is a Ravenclaw and she got one of the letters last term. And she'd do anything to help Will." Nico grinned at Will, "She constantly points out that you'd be a much better brother than I am."

He grinned at her. I've got a point? Don't hear THAT often... he thought happily.

Will stifled a snicker; t'wouldn't do to laugh, lest they upset the girl again. "Now, Seymour, let's not put Anna down... even though she may not seem to be a maiden of the caliber of the two we have in our midst, she can't help it-- these fair ladies set the bar so high.' he smiled respectfully at Camira and Rapunzel. "Besides, she's really a good Prefect; just... a bit excitable."

Will blushed at this. "Well, I'm sure you're a great brother. But it's good news at least... we've got our own, trusted source of knowledge right here in Nico and Celadine." He grinned at his fellow Slytherin. "Have you found anything in the letters yet that sticks out to you?" he started skimming it again.

Mari entered the library absent mindly and headed directly to the book shelves. It was her safe place,were nothing could bother her. Everyhting in the school seemed to bug her at the momento. Too many people, too many problems, too many letters form her mother. At the thought she placed her hand inside her robes and damgaded a little but more a small perchment. She needed something to clear her mind up, something that had nothing to do with Sebastian or anything important at the moment.

Looking around she headed to the quidditch section looking for anything about the sport. She grabbed the first book, a handsome with a green leather cover and golden letters and headed to the tables already reading absolutly absorbed in the book.

"They do indeed, sire," Seymour squeaked happily, nodding. "But I'd say that excitable is an understatement. She makes my sister look like a saint. And... that Cale... he's not exactly my favourite person, to say the least, sire. Do all Gryffindors have such tempers?" He snickered slightly.

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. "Celadine?" Who was that? He hadn't seen a Celadine in the group so far... but the name sounded somewhat familiar. Wasn't that some type of perennial plant? Maybe it was some sort of Audrey II-like-business... only the person being named after the plant, not vice versa. Who knew? He'd never been good in Herbology.

Glancing at Will, he flipped to the letter he had been looking at previously. "Well... sire, do you think these clues are supposed to be places throught the castle? Or something a bit more complex than that?"

"Anna, what do n't you, I and Cale read the book one after the other" Biff told her. "This way, there could be three opinions or one universal opinion on it" he told her. " I am friends with you all the time and Cale, you are cool, too" Biff told them. "Do not leave just yet you two" Biff looked happy but alas it was no use as they left.

Camira had watched the exchange with a mix of annoyance and amusement. Gryffindors could be so...rude. And the Huffie girl had the nerve to call Seymour rude. My word. And that Cale boy. He would have to go. "Good riddance", she muttered quietly when the two left. Figures drama girl would harrass Will until he shared the book with her and then just run off.

She sighed wearily, skimming through her copy and reading parts she thought to be important. She would read the whole thing eventually, but for now, she just wanted to get a general idea about what these letters were about.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the first words out of Seth's mouth. "It probably would have helped you out if you'd known that in the first place," she said in a low voice, leaning forward like she was saying something secret. "Then you wouldn't have to worry about people thinking you're a stalker." She grinned as he said he'd been dragged into tense situations. "I can imagine, since you were quite the prominent person in the situation in the lounge."

She raised an eyebrow as he once again argued that he wasn't stalking her. "So you're not a stalker, but you were going around looking for me. It's not like there's that many places where you could look. Even less when you consider we're both prefects, and therefore the odds of us having to talk are even higher." It was apparent she didn't really believe him, and that got even stronger when he explained why he had been looking for her. " Brunette, Slytherin, female. Wouldn't happen to be French, would she?," she asked, making it sound like she might give him an answer. But then she leaned back against the shelf, crossing her arms and looking rather formidable for her five feet four inches. "I'd imagine if she wanted you to know her name, she would have given it to you. Did you make her think you were a stalker too?"

Rapunzel simply shook her head in response to little hyper Seymour, smiling a little. She still disagreed with his assessment of Anna but honestly, they didn't need to argue any longer. And he was too adorable to stay angry with.

"Good question there...." she mentioned in reply to Seymour's questions about clues. "Will's pretty much our leader here..." Heheheh.

"You do?" Punz turned her blonde head towards Nicholai. "Your sister, eh? Good thing we have at least one inside source...." she grinned at him and flipped her book back open. "So are you gonna show her a copy of these letter thingys?"

Kairi walked into the library and over to the library bookshelves. She had to find out about herself, who she truly was. She was walking, and then suddenly she was on the floor, she had bumped into a first year ravenclaw, "Sorry, hun, I'm blind, didn't see you there," she said with a small grin, "The name's Kairi by the way, Gryffie first year,"