Okay, things didn't feel quite as bad now everyone else had piped up and begun sharing their theories on the flood. That was it then.. the key.. as long as he didn't have to make any speeches or anything, he was alright. Discussions he could handle. Just about anyway.

"I didn't know about Masterson's hut," he commented with a blink. Whoa, when had that happened? And more importantly.. how had he missed such big news!? "And there was a wall of water?" Oh gosh, that sounded like his worst nightmare.. GULP. "Did he get out safe?" Masterson and his acorn obsession freaked Clifford out a little, but he never wished any harm on the groundskeeper dude.

.. wait, were they safe having this meeting in a bathroom? Clifford's paranoid gaze moved to the giant bathtub and he unconsciously clung tight to Evangeline's poor hand.

"Why - Why would anyone want to do this?" WHY!?

"Lyra and I were out by Mr. Masterson's hut, and we heard loud banging and muffled yelling. We could see Mr. Masterson through the windows, and...and...it was horrible," she said, her face falling. "Satine went to get help, and that's when she found that Professor Vindictus' office was flooded, too. Someone...somehow...found out that Professor Kazimeriz was in the office, too. Anyway, Professor Lawson came to help us with Mr. Masterson, but we didn't really succeed at all. The door unlocked itself, and Professor Lawson pulled Mr. Masterson out. He's alright now, but Rachel's right---the water was a wall!"

"I'm actually not sure how to explain the situation with the squid. All I know is what I saw. Oh, and the squid can talk. Mr. Masterson was holding a conversation with it," she said, shaking her head in wonder. "It's possible that the squid could have enchanted the water, since he can talk...," she said, trailing off on that last statement. She glanced over at Clifford and shot him a sympathetic glance. He, like everyone, was completely freaked out.

The freaking water had formed a freaking wall?! That must've taken a quite powerful magic! Goodness, then maybe all of this wasn't caused by the lake. It couldnt unless ... the lake's water was magical to start with? Hmmm.

Her thumb drawing comforting patterns on Clifford's tight hand and dearly hoping he wouldn't just cut off her blood circulation, Evangeline listened to all of her Prefects companions opinions, a small frown forming on her forehead. This was all confusing. At least Greingoth hadn't went into one of her ramble modes.

Yet, at least.

"I hate to sound like the only one disagreeing here, but I don't see what's the point in making the figuring out why the flood is happening and behaving that way our main concern." She told them calmly, looking around at them as she used her free hand - the one that wasn't holding Clifford's, that was - to brush a cheeky strand of hair away from her eyes. "I think we should mainly worry ourselves with supporting the students affected by the floods - the Slytherin's and the Hufflepuffs." She looked at Vanessa as she said that, sure that the Huffie girl would agree with her. "How can we actually help them? Would it be reasonable to owl the supplies shops at Diagon Alley and ask for some supplies borrowed or given, even?" As if the shopkeepers would accept THAT. Haha. She still thought it was worth the try, though. "I don't know. The flood's not something we can avoid and the staff is already working hard to figure that one out. I'm not saying we shouldn't worry about it or even try and find out the reason behind it, but doing some damage control sounds more like a pressing matter to me." And having said that, the seventh year girl shrugged her shoulders lightly, clearly sending the signs that she was done with her intervention for the time being and that her words were now in discussion.

She totally had spoke too much, hadn't she?

Rachel, after having voiced her opinions quite plainly, had planned to just sit tight and let others discuss the matter. After all, she had turned this thing over and over countless times over the past few weeks and had come up with a slightly frustrating NOTHING. Yep, a big fat zero - it annoyed her to no end...

"Thing is," she said, unable to hold it in, "are we sure that it's a person? I mean, could it be some'thing' rather than me some'one'?" Rachel emphasized her words precisely, feeling like a broken muggle tape recorder. Just repeating herself over and over and over and over again until she was sure that she was going to go absolutely nuts!

Wait, what?! The squid could TALK? "Are you serious? It talks?" Rachel repeated, completely dumbfounded. "Wow... But still. He's a creature - can they cast magic?" she asked, a little rhetorically since she wasn't expecting anyone to answer her with a positive response. After all - SHE had never heard of giant talking squids who were able to control water magically and make it do weird things... And she had read TONNES of books on this particular subject - and I mean, TONNES.

Rachel listened quietly as Evangeline spoke, nodding her head silently in reluctant agreement. While her brain totally rejected the Slytherin's idea to focus on the students' well-being, her heart told her that it was the right thing to do. Because, let's face it, the only reason why they were trying to find out what was causing the flooding was to return the situation at Hogwarts to normal.

"But how can we help more than has already been helped? Like you said, we could owl the Diagon Alley shopkeepers but even if a few agree, the majority probably won't and we need to provide for half the school and that it a LOT of kids," Rachel said, basically repeating what Evangeline had said but in different words. The fifth year hated to admit so, but she was feeling completely and utterly useless - a feeling the Ravenclaw didn't fancy much.

Jack listened to the talk of the squid and interjected, 'What if the squid isn't a real squid, but an animagus? Just a thought.'

Then he pondered the needs of the displaced students. 'I would think that the parents would have heard by now and anre taking steps to replenish whatever their kids have lost. We'll probably get flooded, oh sorry-bad choice of words- we'll probably get loads of owls here shortly. The Headmaster may be arranging some sort of delivery, too. Has anybody asked the staff what is being done so far?'

As if a cue, Jack's tummy rumbled. 'What I'm worried about is the food supply. I consider that an urgent problem. With the kitchens out of service, is there any way of getting food here ASAP? and has any of this affected Hogsmeade? Maybe some of the folks there would accept packages via Floo for us.'

Anna listened carefully as Evangeline spoke, nodding at all the appropriate places. Discussing all aspects of this terrible flood was indeed necessary, especially the parts concerning assisting the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs. "I agree, Evangeline. That's actually one of the most important topics I hoped to discuss today. Contacting Diagon Alley would be great, however, maybe we should talk to a staff member fist just to make sure they haven't already done so," she said, pausing a little. "If not, we can let them know that we'd like to work on doing just that. Does that sound alright to everyone?"

She glanced around the bathroom, her eyes pausing on each person. She had a feeling that if they all worked together, they could really assist the other students and the staff in dealing with this flood.

"I've actually thought it was a 'something' all along. My first thought was the water from the lake coming into the school by a crack in the foundation or something. That doesn't really explain how the water was able to form a wall, though," she said, tapping her chin in thought as she pondered the idea. "That's when I started considering that maybe it is the water from the lake, but maybe it's been enchanted somehow. I mean, how else would it have gotten into Mr. Masterson's hut without having been on the grounds at all?"

She nodded when Rachel asked about the squid talking. As strange as that concept was, Anna had seen it with her very own eyes. Had she not, she probably wouldn't have believed it. "I have no clue whether or not they can cast magic, but I figure if it can talk, then it can say an incantation," she said, shrugging again. She was doing a lot of shrugging lately. This flood had her, as well as everyone else it seemed, completely baffled.

"Well, that's another reason I suggested talking to the staff first, then owling the shopkeepers in Diagon Alley. Maybe some of the staff know the shopkeepers personally, and they can help us with communicating with them," she suggested.

"Ohhh. Ohhh," Anna said, seriously considering the fact that the squid could be an animagus. "Now that's a possiblity. If he is an animagus, that's one of Hogwarts best kept secrets! I don't think I've ever heard mention of that fact anywhere." Now that was something to think about. I mean, the squid can talk! What else could explain that? Oh, and if the squid was an animagus, then of course he'd be able to cast a spell!

"Oh, yeah, I bet some of the parents have already owled more supplies to their children. Evangeline, Clifford? Vannie, Dom? Do you know if many have received additional supplies from home?" she asked. She turned her attention back to Jack when he brought up the food supply. That was of immediate concern, too. "Food...right. That's important for all students and staff members. I haven't heard anything about plans for that, though. Have any of you?"

Evangeline was smart. And right. Always right. Hehe. Althought the flood and its causes were a hot topic of discussion.. the main concern they really had was how best to help the affected students. The Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs mainly.

OOOH! But food was THE BIGGEST concern and one of Clifford's main worries. He was a piggie.. and piggies needed food. And lots and lots of it too. "I saw Professor Lawson saving the house elves," he piped up, "so we still have our chefs.. maybe they can set up a temporary kitchen elsewhere? Y'know until the kitchens are de-flooded." He hoped that was possible anyway. If Hogwarts had no food.. well, then.. he was outta here. Hmpf.

And that problem with supplies too. Hmmm. Surely the Professors were sorting that out for them? "I've had nothing owled to me," he admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. He hadn't told Brutus about the flood.. nor did he plan to. He probably wouldn't care anyway. Maybe Warren would send some supplies though. Hmmm and Bella would send chocolate.. "I've been living in someones old Herbology work robes." And they stunk of dragon fertiliser.. the smell was impossible to get out.

Chris listened as the other Prefects were discussing the matters and he listened very carefully to all the subjects and each person's reaction and answer. First to cover the flooding part.
"Well like Anna said, Masterson was trying to get a meeting with the Squid but unfortunately I had to leave before he got a hold of him." he nodded to Anna, he had talked to her and Lyra there. Then he discussed the wall of water part. "Yes, when I left Professor Vindictus's office shortly after you two," He gestured to Clifford and Anna. "As I was walking away the door to the office slammed closed and the office filled with water. We tried and tried to ge the door open, but then it opened showing a wall of water just inside the door. None of it was pouring out. Which as I hear now, happened to Masterson's Hut aswell."

He then thought about something. "Well my original theory behind all the flooding was like most of your all's. I thought that mayeb the Squid or another creatrue in the lake, had caused a crack in the foundation. That could explain the Dungeons and perhaps the Kitchens, but not the above ground offices. I was thinking now, because the water looks enchanted, and it obviously has to be in order to stay in a wall like it does. Maybe it is being summoned to those places by someone? But I have no clue as to who it would be." he said stumped.

He then brought up another point. "I didnt see the flooding in the Dungeons, but I was present, along with Clifford, at the Kitchens flooding. The water there was rushing in, like a large leak. So perhaps the Lake had flooded, but then whoever caused the flood wanted to send more water to the rest of the Castle?"

He then addressed Evangeline's point about helping the students. "I agree one hundred precent. I think that after we approve it with the staff, that we should definately contact Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley shops about the Slytherin and Hufflepuff needs. And maybe also the food situation here." he said thoughtfully, looking around at the others. He wasnt shy, but this was definately the most he had ever spoken in front of a group.

Dominic had drifted off into his own little world as he waited for the Head Girl to arrive and the meeting to begin, considering Clifford seemed unsure of where to begin. It didn't seem to take long before the three missing prefects - females, of course - entered the bathroom. Including of course the fact that his co-prefect had taken seat on the opposite end of the sofa and the sixth year wondered if all was alright. She seemed . . . as unsure as Clifford had.

Nonetheless, Anna entered and Dominic looked up as they jumped into business . . . of the floods that were occurring. WHOA! The groundskeepers' hut and Vindictus' office were flooded? Why couldn't it be Bunbury's? Not like anyone would miss her. Rather, not like it'd be any great loss. And why is Professor Lawson always trying to play superman?

The squid? Dominic knew little about the inhabitants of the lake, but one thing that he did remember was that the former (and much insane) History Professor, Angelica Lainey, seemed to have a connection with the squid. Yes, the sixth year was pretty sure, though he didn't remember most of Lainey's lessons, that there was something with the squid for one of them.

"I don't know about you guys, but really a squid doing the flooding doesn't seem logical. Neither does it seem logical that this is the work of one wizard, or individual. There is far too much involved..." Pressing his lips thoughtfully for a moment, a strange memory about Hogwarts history was coming back. "I wasn't really here for this, but I recall hearing about this from history, and well do you think it's possible that this chaos could be from something similar to a muggle mob? It's much too intense for the work of one person, but many, with the desire to ... well, i don't really know what their desire was, but it wasn't pleasant."

Supplies from home? No, he certainly had not, and nor was he aware of others receiving supplies from home. "No, I don't think many have received supplies from home. I know, I haven't." he shrugged, but then again, he didn't even bother to tell Lena of his loss of many possessions. Lena was far too busy with her experiments and research anyway.

Additional supplies from Home? Vanessa tried to think of if any of the hufflepuff's had gotten any supplies. She didn't think many had. She had herself...but only basic stuff that she hadn't taken with her, and that wasn't a lot really.
"I think...maybe some families won't be able to buy all new supplies again." Vannie commented, sitting up again. "Imagine if some of them have two students, they probably can't get supplies to both of the students." Vanessa nodded, quite thankful that her siblings were not attending Hogwarts.

"So maybe if the shop owners at Hogsmeade, and Diagon Alley would co-perate there maybe there could be a basic package for each student affected, with like a set of robes, and some parchment and quills in. Just to make sure that each student is equipped for the year." Vanessa nodded, having said all she had thought about. Well it would be helpful wouldnt it?

"Someone's old Herbology work robes? Clifford, you don't have to do that, you know. I'm sure we can find a student with an extra pair of clothes for you. Dom? Jack? Chris?" she asked, looking at each boy as she said his name. She'd offer to owl Cale for a set of robes, but she had a feeling Clifford would prefer the old Herbology work robes over anything Cale Newell had to offer him. "I'm sure any of these boys would loan a set. Right, guys?"

"Okay, so our first plan of action is to talk to a professor about owling Diagon Alley. Which one should we talk to? I say...Lawson, Kazimeriz, or Vindictus. They'd know for sure, I guess. I've seen at least one of them at the scene of every flood. Such heroes, I tell you," she said, nodding her head. "Any staff member would probably know, though." She sighed, thinking once again about the total mess this flood had put everyone in. "I'm convinced this is no natural flooding. The water is forming walls. It has to be a spell..."

Clifford listened to what the others had to say. He would NOT zone out. Baaah, he so wanted to zone out.. meetings really weren't his thing. He'd heard enough to know that the topic of discussion was still on the matter of the supplies they'd lost.

"Huh?" Clifford blinked when Greingoth started going on about his robes. Woah, he hadn't been expecting that. "Oh, uhm.. I'm alright in these.." he mumbled, tugging at the sleeves of the Herbology work robes, slightly embarrassed. He didn't want to take someone elses robes.. and the boy nearest his size was Denton. Meh.

"So that's it then?" He cleared his throat and gave the back of his neck a rub. "We'll ask one of the Professor's about about owling Diagon Alley.. and if they haven't already.. well, then that's a possibility."

Oh.

A small frown made its way to Evangeline's forehead as she listened to Rachel. She was right. About half of the school needed supplies! It'd take the Diagon Alley shops - even the ones that were doing good - to bankruptcy! Not good. Definitely not good. Evangeline didn't want to be the one that gave the idea that eventually lead to the collapse of wizarding capitalist, thank you very much.

But everybody seemed to be kinda into it .. and Anna had it all figured it out already. Well, of course she did.

"Well, maybe we could take a different approach, textbook-wise." Yes, because Evangeline certainly didn't want Flourish & Blotts to have to clooooooose! "We can create a sort of partnership. Every Slytherin student gets a Gryffindor partner and every Hufflepuff student gets a Ravenclaw partner. And they'd share textbooks, at least." That way they'd all have textbooks and F&B wouldn't declare bankruptcy. YAY!

She very, very nearly just slapped Anna when the girl went to ask the other male Prefects if they had a extra set of robes for Clifford to borrow. Now THAT would certainly leave her boyfriend embarrassed! And he was far too proud to accept, anyway. Looking up at Clifford, she took advantage of the fact people seemed to be talking about food to plant a kiss on his cheek. EEEEP!

Back to Prefect mode, please.

But that robes thing HAD given Evangeline an idea. "OH! And everybody, mainly older students, have old, smaller robes at home, right? I know I do, at least. We could ask the older students to get them owled here, so the younger students could have robes to use." WEEE! And that'd keep Madam Malkin's from closing. RESULT! It'd all end up well. "Of course that stationary supplies and such would be more difficult." She didnt want Scribullus to close either! The shopkeeper was quite the hunk!

EEE!!! EEEEE!!!

Clifford GIGGLED like a silly little girl when Evangeline pressed a quick kiss onto his cheek. The giggle was followed by a fierce flush which crept up his neck. Oh goodness. Were Head Boy's supposed to giggle? He didn't think so. It was Evangeline's fault!

But he didn't care. Hehehe.

As his girlriend spoke, Clifford tried to compose himself from further embarrassment. He'd had enough of that thank you very much. Her idea seemed way better than the other one - the owling Diagon Alley. Sharing with a Gryffindor wouldn't be so bad. As long as it wasn't Greingoth.

"I think that's a better idea, y'know," he nodded thoughtfully. "that way we won't have to bother the poor shopkeepers, will we? AND people are always on about house unity and blah blah blah ain't they? This way we'll be able to prove we can all work together and share too! I bet you wouldn't see a Slytherin and a Gryffindor sharing a hundred years ago."

Woah, was he getting more confident or what? YAY!

Dominic blinked at hearing Anna suggest someone to share an extra set of robes with Clifford. Unfortunately for him was that he was the closed to Clifford's size - at least comparatively with Jack or Chris. The even worse news was that he only had the clothes he was wearing and didn't bother to save any others from his dorms. He was limited, you could say, in what he chose to bring.

"I would loan Clifford a set of robes, if I had an extra set. But mine were lost in the flooding and the only set I have are the ones I am wearing." And he didn't fancy no robes at all, thank you very much. Besides, Clifford didn't want to borrow someone else's robes anyway; it would undoubted damage his pride. Already so it seemed just from discussing it, given the flush on the head boy's cheeks. "See. Clifford is content." Dom nodded encouragingly, tossing the older boy a half-smile.

First course of action? Well truthfully Lawson was the one he saw most helping out. "I think we should speak with Professor Lawson. I'm pretty sure he was the main hero. I could have sworn he was the one to even save the house elves." The sixteen year old nodded.

"I'm with Evangeline. The sharing thing for textbooks would work nicely and would also help conserve resources as well. Plus, I'm sure the library offers several copies of the textbooks as well." And as long as he wasn't the one to use them, then all would be okay. "Oh and not to mention that I'm sure each Professor has a spare copy too, which I doubt they would mind lending for a few hours to students affected by the flooding in need of catching up on the readings."

"Okay, then. If you say so," Anna said, shrugging when Clifford said that he was okay in the old Herbology work robes. She supposed his decision was some sort of Clifford Carden-type thing, though. He'd probably rather stay in those old robes than borrow a pair from Denton or Potter or someone. When Evangeline started talking, though, Anna turned her attention from Clifford and his robes to the Slytherin female.

"I like Evangeline's idea. A partner system seems like the likely thing to do. Since the Slytherin's and Gryffindor's are sharing a Common Room, it'd be easier for them to partner up, since they'd need to use the textbooks for homework in the Common Room," she said. "Same for the Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's. I don't think they'd mind helping one another out." She had to admit it, the Slytherin girl did have some really good ideas. Better than Anna's, actually. She shot the girl a polite smile, then added, "I bet there are lots of students with robes at home. We can talk a few as soon as possible and see if they can owl home for those."

Noticing the time, Anna sort of edged her way towards the door. She had a detention with Professor Kazimeriz. For what, she didn't know, though. It was certain that being late for a bad idea, though. She had to find a way out of this meeting...and fast. "I...erm, I've got to go," she said, opening the door, but glancing towards the floor. This was rather embarrassing for her. "I...I have a detention to get to..." There. That was nice and quiet. Maybe no one heard it. "I'll see you guys around." Without another word, Anna headed out the door and towards the Common Room. Time to get ready for detention...

It had never occurred to Jack that he could now access the Prefect's bathroom. He remembered this little detail as he lay in his dorm room, studying Astronomy, when for some reason, it just popped into his head. So, naturally, he jumped up right away and hurried down to take a look.

He had built up a magnificient picture in his mind that he was absolutely sure no bathroom could EVER live up to, but he was definitely NOT disappointed as he entered that fable bathroom on the fifth floor. His mouth fell open of its own accord as he looked around, taking in the tile and the sinks and the bathtub and just...WOW. If Jack could ever live in a bathroom, it would SO be this one.

"This place is AWESOME!" he yelled, blinking is surprise as his voice echoed off the walls and came back to his ears. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized until this moment that there were PEOPLE in the room. Prefects, of course. How embarrassing!

"Erm...sorry," he muttered with a small chuckle. "Uhh--first time in here, ya know?" he asked, trying to make light of this embarrassing situation. To make it even worse, it looked like they had been in the middle of some meeting or something. "I uh, didn't interrupt anything, did I?" he asked.

Oh no! She had made Clifford giggle infront of the entire Prefect's body! Hehe. After giving him one apologetic look, Evangeline reached down for her bag and pulled out a random piece of parchment, alongside a self-inking quill. Her favourite. It was just so practical! She still carried a vial of ink and a regular ink around, of course, but she only used it incase something happened to her self inking quill. And even then - if the documents weren't big things like homework and stuff, Evangeline tended to go for pens. Yup, Muggle pens.

Muggles, no matter what, were very pragmatic people.

The reason she had her parchment and quill out was to take notes, she always organised her thoughts better when she wrote things down, but she hadn't even written the date when she was forced to look up again. Anna was .. leaving? The Head Girl was leaving because she had detention? Evangeline rolled her eyes.

Talk about wasted a badge.

Plopping herself into one of the chairs around, Evangeline began writing down what had been said in that meeting. "So, so far we have three lines of action. The Gryffindor/Slytherin and Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff partner system, aswell as asking the professors to supply whichever copies of textbooks they have; asking the older students at Hogwarts to lend their smaller robes to younger students in need and contact the Diagon Alley shopkeeper. Before doing the last one, we've agreed to talk to Professor Lawson, I believe." As she finished her notes, she looked back up at her fellow Prefect, eyes questioning if it was all. She thought so, but hey.

So now they needed to decide who did what. Of course that the Head Girl had just got herself rid of work by quietly slipping out. Bleeeh.

"How do you guys think we should organise the partnering system? Who should pick the partners? Us, students or professors?" She asked, a crease between her eyebrows as she looked up at Clifford. She figured letting the students decide would be simpler, but i could create some troubles.

But then .. it seemed like a audio tsunami had hit them. Alarmed, Evangeline looked up to see the apparently new Gryffindor Captain being all spazzy about the bathroom. With a roll of her eyes, Evangeline returned her gaze to Clifford and the other Prefects.

Gryffindors.

The door to the prefects bathroom opened, and Anna Greingoth...followed hopefully by Jack Fritzera...walked in. She didn't waste any time getting right to the point either. The group needed to find Myrtle, and they needed to find her quickly. "Myrtle!" she called out, her voice echoing off the walls. She hadn't intended for it to be so loud, but she supposed that was what tended to happen when one was calling out to someone in a bathroom. "Myrtle! If you're in here...do you mind coming out, please? We'd like a word with you. Oh, and we have a surprise for you!"

Jack hadn't been in the bathroom all that much, since he had never really found the need to be in such an extravegant loo just to go to the bathroom or check to make sure his hair looked presentable. Any bathroom would do just fine, in his opinion, so he usually just stopped in whichever one was closest.

But they were on a mission today...they needed to find Myrtle, and pronto. Hopefully the arrival of a male would manage to make her appear--she was, after all, still just a teenage girl.

Jack couldn't help wishing it were any guy BUT him at the moment, though. Ghost hunting kind of gave him the chills.

"MYRTLEEEE?" he called, his deep voice echoing off the walls and bouncing back into his ears. EEP he was loud! "Are you here?" he asked, a bit softer this time so he didn't deafen himself and Anna. "We'd really like to see you--please!"

Anna waited a few moments, hoping that luck would be their's, and Myrtle would just simply fly in from one of the walls and come soaring up to them. Nothing, though. She frowned, then glanced over at Jack, who was doing a bit of pleading himself. "Maybe we should try again?" Anna suggested, shrugging her shoulders as if to say 'It couldn't hurt'... "Myrtle! Myrtle, if you can hear us, please come out!" she called out, her voice once again echoing off the walls. Hopefully anyone else still present in the bathroom wouldn't be too offended at the volume of their voices. "We need to speak with you, please! We've got...a surprise for you!"

"Just to clarifty...I'm not the surprise, am I?" Jack asked in a worried whisper. "Don't think I don't know the reputation of this ghost, Anna...you're NOT offering me up as her new boyfriend, just to get her to talk to us!" he told her with a grin, keeping his voice hushed just in case. Sure, he was kidding--kind of. He WAS a little worried though.

"MRYTTTTTTTLEEEEEEEEEEEE? We need help and you're the ONLY one in the WHOLEEEEEEE school who can help us!" he cried, trying that approach instead. Maybe if they made her feel really important, she'd show.

Anna sighed in defeat. She and Jack had been calling for Myrtle for quite a while now, and the ghost still had yet to show. By now, it was more than clear that the ghost was somewhere else in the castle...or at the lake, of course. That only left one more place for them to search---the bathroom on the second floor. If they headed there now, they may be able to help Diane and anyone else who'd gone there. "I don't think she's coming," she finally said. "How about heading down to the second floor and seeing if Diane's had any luck? If not, we can all head down to the lake."

Just in case, she decided to try one more time. "Myrtle! If you can hear us, please come out!" she called out. She glanced around and around the bathroom, waiting...and hoping...for Myrtle to show. "Myrtle! We really need for you to come out now! Please..." Quite a while later, it was clearly evident she wasn't going to appear. "Alright, Captain Jack...I'm outta here. If you want, you can follow me to the second floor. You can wait outside while I try the girl's bathroom. If she's not in there, we can always join the group at the lake." With that, Anna pushed the door to the bathroom open and stepped back out.

Chris was exhausted!

The Gryffindor Prefect opened the door to the spacey, empty Prefect's bathroom and walked over to the sinks. He turned the faucet on and splashed some water on his face. He had studied for the last three hours straight getting ready for the fast-approaching finals.

He decided to take a bath. He filled up the tub and took perhaps the most restful bath he had ever had. After getting out he dried off and dressed in some lounge clothes, his gray sweats and a faded gryffindor t-shirt. Just as the last of the water drained out of the massive tub, Chris was on the bench along the wall relaxing and pulling out a book to read.