Cam blinked his eyes wildly at Diane and Anna. Why did girls have to be so smart most of the times?! They used... large words but somehow, he understood most of it. But he had to agree, the water from the flood was "magical" because it just seeeeeemed to flood that Quidditch Pitch and made the Great Hall an ice rink...? And then like Diane said, it stopped at the broomshed which quite made the water "magical" or just plain right weeeeeird.

Theories. He had TONS of theories but he was too scared to say 'em all. Most of his answers were all so silly sometimes and he didn't wanna make a fool of himself in front of Annaaaa, and a few other people in the laboratory. Eh, his ideas ranged from the squid being a double agent, secretly behind all of it to the Selkies of the lake revolting out to Hogwarts and using their mermaid skeeeelzzz to bewitch the lake water and make trouble on ALLL.

Right. Crazy ideas. He zipped his mouth and looked at Diane, and then at Kazimeriz and then at Diane and then back at Anna and then finally at Diane.

"Ya think we should try the Prior Incantato spell on the flood water?" he suggested, staring at the samples of the two different kinds of water.

Professor Kazimeriz
 

Daniel was looking at the Professor and was waiting for the response on the approval of his request. He then looked around and looked for a place where he could set up and wait.

Diane turned to the boy with a bright smile... and stayed like that for a while. There was this kind of warmness in her eyes that was rather self-explanatory. And it gave out the impression that being looked at with that warmness in the eye could melt your cornea. "That is a most wonderful idea," she finally said. "I love it. That is a harmless enough spell and it may be two birds with one stone. Don't you agree, professor?"

She handed out the sample vial in her hand to him. "As it was you idea, I think you should try it," she said. "I don't think any odd reactions will come out of it. But please use the protective gloves and goggles and stay a good distance from the sample when you do, just to be safe."

"Hi there, you came to experiment on the flood water as well?" Diane asked a boy that was standing by them.

Daniel smiled as the Slytherin talked to him. He hesitated a little and then spoke "Ahmm, actually, I came to make an experimental slug and bug repellant for my dragon tulips." he said with a pause, "but that sounds cool. Count me in on that." he said and then joined the group.

Kazimeriz was about to give the boy approval on his repellant work when he decided to join the experiment group. He nodded to the boy in approval, then shook his head at his suggestion.

"Actually, prior incantato is a spell cast specifically on a wand to find out what previous spells were used. Scarpin's Revelaspell would be more effective to find out the contents of the samples. And as you said, Ms. Enetelequia, the first step for you all is to don your gloves... keep in mind that the floodwater sample will likely contain a minute quantity of dangerous potions ingredients, as it was contaminated when the dungeons flooded. Unless your sample came from the herbology professor or flying professor's office, that is."

Selena made her way over to Karimeriz, Anna, Diane, Cam and an unknown Gryffindor. She listened quietly to the debate on which spells they should use, then also reached out for the protective goggles and gloves. Touching that water again was soooooo totally not an option because she had an armful of that since poking into the water in Bunbury's office.

WOOHOO!

So Diane thought it was a good idea and he felt a lot better than before actually. It was Professor Kazimeriz though, that outsmarted him and told them that the Prior Incantato spell only worked on wands. NUUU. His moment of smartness had been gone in less than 10 seconds. Bleh. Cam frowned and now wearing his gloves, gently passed the vial of flood water back to Diane.

"Soooo Scarpin's Revelaspell then?" He waited for either another student or the professor to do the spell on the flood water because obbvvioously, he didn't know how.

"Dragon tulips, you say? How nice," Diane commented. "Can you show them to me -- Ah, but welcome to our study group first. What's your name?" Which reminded her...

Diane turned to the Gryffindor girl from before at that point, "That's right, I don't know your name either. I'm Diane." Her eyes moved where hers were. "Is that a friend? You can invite her over, if you wish."

"Ah, I see," Diane said without a flinch in her smile. "No, I'm afraid it's water from the dungeons. That's most unfortunate, but not to be discouraged!" Diane said patting Cam in the back, (even knowing how this boy was to demonstration of affection from girls...) "We may find another way to produce the same results to that the Prior Incantation spell.

"I'm thinking... Finite Incantatem can be used in objects other than a wand, correct?" she was looking at the professor, "then if we inspect and compare the flood water with two samples, one before Finite Incantatem, and one after Finite Incantatem, we may find differences that may prove the water has been affected by a spell."

"Ah, but I suggest that experiment for after we go through the safety precautions and Scarpin's Revelaspell. Finite Incantatem will alter the water composition almost surely. And I still hold some belief that the water composition has been altered or isn't the lake's at all. The worst case scenario first," she said with a bright smile.

As she took the vial back, she leaned over to whisper something, "The professor mentioned a previous step. Do you reckon is the gloves only?" She was doing a lousy job at being inconspicuous. You could not tell if she actually meant to be or was just playing.

Better to get things going. She put that vial down and brought a standard 2 cauldron... then walked to a station furthest from them to get the fire going, poured flood water to fill a vial, labeled it: 'flood a'. Then she explained, "I want to try heat first." Then she repeated the process with lake water.

She took another vial, labeled 'flood b' and poured water on it. Then from the utensils took a thermometer, and put it on the vial. "Then I do the same with regular lake water. We can test alkalinity, acidity, gravimetric and electrochemical tests, microorganisms. Please, tell me what other experiments you would like to carry out."

"But first," she said suddenly, taking the first vial with flood water and adding a "X" to the label, putting a drop of it down on the table on a glass sheet and bringing her wand out, "is it okay if we try Scarpin's Revelaspell?" she asked the professor.

Kazimeriz nodded. "You may indeed. It could not hurt to determine what is in the water samples... And may prove to be quite intriguing." Kazimeriz eyed the dungeon water sample, curious to know what secrets it held.

ooc: Just a friendly reminder- once you guys cast the spell, the narrator will decide what is in there if anything and whatever the results of the spell or any tests on the waters will be. :D

Grace had just seen the notice board and had run to the experimental area immediately. She wasn't a bit as smart as Diane and she was now hesitating at the door. She wasn't as smart and she didn't want to be surpassed. But she still thought she shoukd go in and she went in.

However, they had already started. She was very angry with herself that she hadn't checked the board earlier. She was still panting and asked "Did I... did I miss enfin? Can I... joyn?"

*plays catch-up*
 

Gloves. She needed gloves. That had been a practice stressed by a good many of her professors lately, so Anna had taken to shoving a pair into the pockets of her robes every morning before leaving the Common Room. As she pulled out her gloves and pushed her hands into them, she caught site of a familair face nearby. "Hey, Aislynn. You're welcome to come join us if you'd like. We're looking into a few water samples from the flood and from the lake," she said. "We're really just getting started, so you haven't missed a lot at all."

...then she suddenly had the weird feeling that she was being watched. Her eyes flickered away from Aislynn and then met with the eyes of the professor. She'd gathered that he didn't trust her, but really, what'd she do now? She wanted to sort of fuss with him, but she opted to keep her mouth close and just nod at him instead. The fact remained that Anna was only trying to help, not only as Head Girl, but also as just a student with the school's best interest in mind. She really did need to comment in some fashion, though. "You're right, sir. I do always seem to pop up in the most unusual places. It's just...I've been here for seven years, and I love this school and the people here. If something's wrong, then I want to try my hardest to help make it right," she said, eyeing him for a few more seconds, then turning away.

"We need to make sure everything's documented, too," she said, looking towards the group as a whole. Maybe we should document exactly what we started with, how much of the samples we've obtained, and...exactly where the samples were gathered from," she suggested. Diane had already taken out a notebook, though, so the girl seemed to be on the ball and ready to go. She smiled over at the young girl, impressed with her vast amount of knowledge at such an early age. She accepted a phial from her and, as she requested, labeled it 'Lake'.

As she listened to the conversation about the porssible usage of 'SpeRevelio', Anna noticed a Slytherin girl (Grace), one she didn't really know, enter the room. "Hey there, would you care to join us, as well?" she asked, nodding towards the rest of the group. Jumping back into the conversation regarding the experiment, she said, "Professor Kazimeriz mentioned that the potions from the dungeon mixed with the flood water, so maybe SpeRevelio would be best to see what traces of potions we have in that phial..."

Gasp! Head Girl Anna Greingoth had just talked to her! It was just for some seconds but still... 'OK calm down now Grace.' Being a successful Head Girl was Grace's biggest dream so she simply adored Anna Greingoth. It was true that she didn't know her well, but she saw how people around her treated very gentle so Grace literally adored her. And-she-was-so-successful!

Grace realised that she'd better answer rather than just stare. "I--I--yes." she stuttered, then blushed with anger to herself. She couldn't talk properly. How nice. She decided to shut up and carefully listened to their ideas. And while listening also realised she didn't know much things... She suddenly wanted to leave. But she stayed and continued listening to them.

With a nod, Diane was about to do as she had said with the professor's permission, when somebody came through the door. She paused for a second to gather who she was, and so she spoke. "Miss Enfin? I wonder who may that be," Diane said obviously to herself, looking around for the aforementioned. Now that another person showed up from her house, she started to wonder if the girl she owled had any chance of posting the notice in the Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff common room. She observed their exchange, hers with the Prefect Anna, then she added herself: "Welcome there. I'm Diane, you? Come forwards. We are about to begin with the first experiment."

Not wanting to delay this any further, Diane took a step backwards and pointed her wand at the glass sheet with the sample from the flood. She could be closer, admitedly, but since volatily had not been tested, better not to take chances. Then recited, "SpeRevelio!"

"Oh, I'm Grace." Grace introduced herself and she approached to them and watched as Diane did the spell.

Turning her head, Anna checked to see if the girl she'd made the offer to was going to agree to join the group. She certainly hoped so. This flood was serious business, and they needed the assistance of anyone willing to lend a helping hand. She smiled warmly at the girl when she stuttered a little. She was probably just nervous, a trait Anna tended to have, too, when it came to meeting new people.

"Oh, excellent," she said, happy to hear the girl had agreed. She listened as the girl, who identified herself as Grace, talked with Diane. "Nice to meet you, Grace. I'm Anna Greingoth. I'm glad you decided to join us." Then Diane was casting the spell, so Anna turned to watch and wait and see just what mysteries would be revealed inside the water.

The water stirred... a hue or vapor above it displayed a history of potions that had been spilt in it, 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.

Aislynn looked up, startled that someone actually knew her name. But, with all the commotion she seemed to be stirring these days she wasn't surprised. She looked over and noticed it was Anna. They had rarely spoken, but jumped at the opportunity to get involved in whatever they were doing.

She slammed her copy of Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger. "I would be delighted to join you," Aislynn replied. She moved from her seat gracefully and sat across from Anna. "What exactly are we hoping to discover in the flood water?"

Aislynn was a bit lost when it came to what was going on with the flood, she was too wrapped up in her studies. She supposed she should be concern, it was quite a crisis and seemed to be spreading everywhere.

Cam gave a look at Diane for a moment and then at the new person coming into the lab and then at Anna. Ooooh more people. Yay, it meant less thinking! He took a step back when Diane placed her wand in front of the flood water. Like, something could have malfunctioned and all! That was when another person came to join the group, it was that--that person Reese was going out with. What the heck was his name again? He eyed him whispering something towards Anna and just to be all safe and careful, he took a step towards her just to see if well ya know, he wasn't doing anything to her.

Hmm.

He remembered about the Revelaspell and payed his attention back to Diane who just said the spell. Observe. Observe. Observeeee. Vapor. Ahhhh interesting. Heehee. Cam looked at the things that had "contaminated" it or whatever and payed even close attention.

"I see... dead fish," awweeee, "some potion thingies, and some soot. Huh. I don't really see anything out of the ordinary..." He stared harder.

Grace watched the vapor. Nothing seemed out of normal. And Grace understood just one thing from the vapor--lake was groooss! From now on she'd prevent anyone who wanted to swim in that filth. Eww!

She continued watching and thought maybe more thing would be revealed. But she couldn't see any. "I agree to--" She didn't know the boy's name, so she just gestured to him (Jack) "--to him. All I can make out that no one should get in that water." She was almost sick with even the thought of dirt.

Kazimeriz watched as they did the spells and the ingredients of the potion hovered, ghostly, above the sample. "Well. That was most enlightening. Sometimes what we do not see is as informative as what we do see. Does anyone care to make a hypothesis based on what was revealed, and suggest the next test?" He eyed Greingoth and Entelequia, then the other students in the experiment, waiting to see what his students would come up with. He found himself oddly entertained, but then he always did like potions lab, even as a student.

Anna continued to focus on the upcoming results of the SpeRevelio until she heard her name being called out from someone who'd apparently just entered. She tore her eyes away from the water for a split second to see that Jack Fritzera had decided to take her up on her offer and come and join the group. "Oh, hey, Jack! I'm glad you decided to come along. Look," she said, pointing to the water sample. "Diane's just casted SpeRevelio..." Her attentione moved from Jack back to the water then, and she waited to see what the results would show.

...then suddenly, a vapor rose from the water, and it showed a wide variety of different ingredients. Anna wrinkled her nose in disgust over a few of those said ingredients. The history of potions was expected, as were the glass fragments. Hmm...algae and lake kelp were, of course, expected, as well. "Dead fish," she said aloud. "ink, soot, and...eww. Is that skin?" She shivered a little, the thought alone just creeping her out.

Aislynn was questioning possible discoveries now, though, so Anna turned from the icky water to reply. "We're testing the samples to see if the flood water is any different from the regular lake water. We're hoping to maybe find some infornation that will help us understand this flood a little better," she explained. Her eyes flickered up to Professor Kazimeriz then, who was inquiring about the next step.

Hmm...what should they do next? She glanced to each of the groupmates, looking for a hint of realization on any of their faces, then looked down towards the water. She really didn't know what to try next, as anything she could think of would be tainted by the traces of potions found in the water. "I know what I would like to find out," she said. "The flood water...it stands up all on its own...but how? I'm just not sure how to find that particular missing link."

Diane took her notebook and wrote down the ingredients. While she did so, she answered, "An ingredient or spell that is affecting the water making it act in an unusual way. Personally, I was going for bones, tissue and dead skin material..."

This was odd. "I don't see the presence of water... in the water." She stared with a puzzled expression. "Neither has any spell been identified by the spell (ooc: just checked that the lexicon says the spell reveals both the ingredients of a potion and spells that affect an object - water being the object in this case)."

She took her notebook once more, underlying those ingredients only found inside the castle. "The test did not reveal substance on a molecular level - I mean, I get the impression there are particles that are not listed." That can't be right. Suddenly, she was a lot more anxious as, as if something bothered her terribly. Diane started looking through her bag and notes, "Maybe we should repeat this step, I may have I made a mistake in my incantation."

"Maybe we're looking at this all wrong," Aislynn suggested. "It has the normal properties of water. It looks like water, but it doesn't act like water." She was very nervous about speaking up. She was terrified of feeling foolish. "What if this isn't water, but something else disguised as it?"

She probably sounded like a lunatic. Everything led to it to be water. "If we add white crystals of anhydrous, also known as copper sulphate, to the water sample and a blue solution is obtained, the substance is water. If not perhaps we have something else. It's a simple chemical test the muggles use to..." She stopped, she realized how ridiculous she was sounding. A muggle technique, she thought, No one would trust it.

"Just forget it," Aislynn said. "It's a silly notion. Forget I mentioned it. It's a stupid idea." She shook her head.