Gwen continued to examine the piece of parchment but as soon as she heard her bestie say something, she raised her eyes, looking back at the Gryffindor. ‘Yes, my mother’s name was on the first page’, she said with a small nod. ‘That, if I deciphered the code correctly’, the fifth year went on talking.

But back to the name they were trying to figure out. ‘Right’, the Ravenclaw mumbled, as she heard Ari tell her muggles didn’t have such original names. Well… for a person who couldn’t even understand how people could live without magic for more than three days, that came out as unexpected news. Mehh. So Ulric is out of question.

While her bestie was working on the first name, Gwendolyn tried to figure out what the last sequence of numbers meant. Hmm. Lloyd Gallagher. ‘There you have it’, she mused, drawing her attention back to Ariadne. She waited for some sort of a reaction from the Gryffindor, but all she got was another question.

Errr.

‘Isn’t it a bit odd to ask a Professor to help you out track down a person?’ Just asking. ‘I don’t want to be pessimistic…’ Guess what- she was. ‘…but I don’t think it’s the best decision. What if she asks why it is so important to find this Lloyd Gallagher? Anyway, if you want to try it this way…’ She didn’t support this idea, because Gwen knew hat she herself was a lousy liar. And yes. She wanted to go with Ari, even if it was just for moral support. She did want to help her bestie until she’ll manage to find her dad. ‘Or, maybe it would be better to ask someone who has lived in the muggle world until coming to Hogwarts’ A student. Those people had to know a lot about the ways of finding people without using spells. ‘It’s up to you’, Gwen concluded.

Gwen's mother's name being mentioned on the first page represented proof in Ari's eyes that this diary was genuine. At one point, she had briefly considered the possibility of it being fake. 'There's no way this is a joke, right?' she still needed to know what her best friend thought. 'I mean, who would go to so much trouble to use a code for something that's not true?' Simple logic.

Ariadne couldn't really understand why Gwen was so against the idea of talking to a Professor. 'I don't think it's that odd. They're here to help us, no?' Or at least that was the idea she got. But Gwen's idea deserved some credit too. 'Hmm...a student? We'd have to be good friends for me to entrust them with this big a secret.' And she didn't really have many close Muggleborn friends. Except for...'Jory.' Nah. It wouldn't work. 'But I can't talk to him about this now. How would this conversation go? Hello, I love you, I'm gonna kiss you now, by the way, can you help me track down a Muggle?' Ridiculous. Out of the question.

Gwendolyn only looked back at her best friend as she heard the Gryffindor ask something. A joke? ‘Impossible’, she answered honestly. Yes, well, of course no one would go through so much trouble if it were nothing. And besides, what were the odds that Ava Marchbanks would have seen this coming? This, with her daughter searching for any clues around the house.

‘Right’, she mumbled, realizing how silly her suggestion was. Though she didn’t think about Jory at first, unlike her bestie. Even though Gwen expected the Gryffindor to start talking about him, and most likely make her feel all sick again, the next thing Ariadne said surprised her. Gwen just burst into laughter.

‘So I guess the only way is to ask the Muggle Studies Professor...’, the girl mused, deciding to wait a moment before offering herself to help Ari. She worked on the code until now, better get through with this. The whole plan. She had to help her bestie find her father. She just had to.

‘I’ll come with you-‘, she started saying, but then another thought crossed her mind. ‘-I mean... if you don’t want to go alone, of course’ Whatever worked for Ari. Waiting for a reply from her bestie, Gwendolyn folded back the piece of parchment.

Sarah touched the volumes gently and her eyes scanned the titles. One particular book caught her eye: Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy. Sarah was very into Genealogy... Maybe Edwards was in it.. She pulled it out and paged through it. It was about ancient wizarding families who were extinct in the male line - that means Edwards probably was not there.Perhaps this book was a legacy to those ancient family names. A certain Peverell family name was one of the first to die out... That was not going to happen to the Edwards family name -Sarah hoped.
She was going to take it out and look through it. She clutched it close to her chest and walked purposefully over to the front desk.

Ernnnnnn <3
 

A few days after the first History of Magic lesson where Milton failed so miserably to try and get the train moving (although he would never admit it), he found himself searching for more information about the Hogwarts Express. For some reason, the fact that the train had stopped so suddenly on the way to Hogwarts still bothered him. And for some reason, he figured that somehow he could figure it out.

Or maybe he would just give up after not finding anything because he had no idea if it was even important. Zipping his coat up more, he strolled in and out of shelves looking for the right section. How was this blasted library organized anyway?

That Muggle Studies professor had to be a nutter, or else someone had come ahead of her and checked out all the... comic books, because Vivi was certain there wasn't a glossy-covered booklet anywhere in this dusty old place.

She harumphed as she turned the corner from one aisle to another, nearly running into the taller Ravenclaw boy lurking there. That's it. After Vick and Max, and now Milton, Vivi was absolutely certain that all Ravenclaw seventh years were creepers. Now, so long as Milton wasn't creeping around her, she'd let him be.

"What's up, Cap? Are we spying on the competition?" She poked aside two books and peered through to the other aisle. Nope. No one there.

Not knowing how/if the library was organized was making Milton's hunt quite difficult. He was just wandering down the line of shelves, skimming through titles that might have to do with trains. He almost jumped when a blonde suddenly came around the corner, but it was more of a little twitch. Hardly noticeable, right?

Cap. Smirk. He liked the sound of that. "Branxton," he said with a nod. Spying on the competition? "No... But now that you mention it, maybe we should." Hmm. Milton wrote that down on his mental to-do list. "I'm actually just looking for some books about the Hogwarts Express. Scabior's lesson got me curious." Even if there was the possibility of it being pointless.

"I'm an excellent spy," Vivi refiled the books so there wasn't a peek hole anymore and turned on her heel to face her captain again. Researching the Express? That was awfully Ravenclaw of him.

"Have you tried Hogwarts, a History? Or maybe some books on Muggle mechanical thingamabobers? Or books on transportation in the post-Industrial Age?" Breathing needed to happen. "I'm looking for comic books so I'm not such an idiot in Muggle Studies next class."

"Teach me your ways," he said with a sly grin. He wanted to spy on other teams, yes he did. He wanted to know all their secrets on the pitch to make sure the Cup was theirs again this year.

She talked a lot. And kind of fast. Blink. "Hogwarts, a History just has basic stuff - as far as I can tell." He wanted to know every detail about how the train worked. Mechanic thingamabobers? "Errr... Yeah, but I don't know where to find said 'thingamabober' books. Or post... whatever you said." Darn libraries. Organized in a way that didn't make any sense. Milton snorted quietly and put a book back onto the shelf. "I didn't take Muggle Studies for that very reason." He knew hardly anything about muggles and didn't want to make a fool of himself in class.

"Not to spoil the moment, but they all have open practices. You can get a pretty good idea of their strengths and weaknesses just by showing up in places you're already allowed to go," Vivi offered, logical and helpful as always.

He was sort of sad and pathetic in his inability to find the right library books, and Vivi took pity on him. She put her hand on his elbow and steered him down the aisle. "Bet you could accio the books you wanted if the librarian isn't watching," she whispered. "But let's start with history books, maybe. And for your information, I take loads of classes where I don't know things... that's how I intend to learn."

....... "Right." He knew that, obviously. He was the quidditch captain of Ravenclaw, after all. Milton plucked a book off the shelf, glanced at the cover, and then put it back. "Well, maybe you and I will have to go scope the other teams out sometime." He wouldn't mind the company. And Vivi seemed somewhat normal. As far as Hogwarts students go, anyway.

Milton did not like it when people touched him, but he didn't mind this time, for some reason. "Wouldn't I have to know what the books were called to accio them?" he whispered back? Or was that not a rule of summoning? Meh. History books! "Brilliant," he muttered under his breath. Another girl making him feel like an idiot. She had a POINT though, and he hated when people had those.

"Whatever you say, Cap," Vivi was game for reconnaissance, if that was what Milton thought they needed. She paused at the end of the row and leaned against the nearest shelf.

"Hmm, that's an interesting dilemma. Couldn't really tell what would happen if we don't try it." But since she was opposed to losing more house points this close to the start of term, Vivi was willing to let that particular experiment pass without completion. "'Course I am." Brilliant, that was. She was a 'Claw. Bet he was brilliant too.

She pointed at the history books. See? Right there.

Another smirk was given. "Indeed." Whatever he said. He felt POWERFUL when people called him Captain. Or Cap. He liked it very much.

Hmmm. "You have a point," he said slowly. Then he glanced around for the librarian. "I'd rather not risk it though. I'll keep the few house points that I have." He would have had MORE if the stupid groundskeeper wouldn't have stolen some from him. Grumblegrumblegrumble.

And look! History books! "I think I'll keep you around, Branxton." She officially had the stamp of Shacklebolt approval now. And THAT was something to be proud of, oh yes. Milton's eyes searched all the books, skimming over titles until he found one that looked interesting. He opened it and flipped through some of the pages.

Well...that visit to the Headmistress' office had not gone according to plan. Kurumi actually felt really embarrassed as she made her way towards the library and it took a lot of effort not to allow her hair to turn some burnt orange color.

Entering the library, Kurumi scanned through the rows of books, looking for ones specific on jewels and jewel mining. Perhaps she would have some luck on ones referencing goblins and their trade routes or something. History of Hourglasses and Timeturners...that seemed rather...dry...but maybe it was worth a peek. Kurumi ended up shelving the book she has pulled out earlier on goblins and set it back on the shelf so she could thumb through this new book. It looked promising enough, so the Gryffindor tucked it under her arm and headed towards the front desk.

Vivi nodded as he searched for the book in question, her eyes already following the line of the shelves in the direction she believed the comic books were located. It was unfortunate that Vivi was here, in her NEWT year, trying to read children's stories intended for Muggles, but her lack of understanding in that class was just so frustrating.

"Keep me around? I can assure you from personal experience that I'm hard to get rid of. It's in your best interest to give in and let me stay regardless." She turned back to him with a grin.

Milton continued to flip through the pages of the book, skimming over the words. He gave up and put it back into its spot on the shelf before finding another and giving it a try. "What are you looking for again? Any old comic book?" he asked, flipping through the pages of the history book. Not that he could help any. He was simply curious.

His attention turned back to Vivi when she spoke, though. Hard to get rid of? Milton looked up from his book and gave her an amused smile. She was definitely something else. An interesting girl, indeed. "Then I suppose it's a good thing I like you enough to do so." Shacklebolt stamp of approval was still there. AND something to be proud of.

"Maybe the history of comic books, a few examples over the past century, and a complete list of heroes and their powers. Why are Muggles so interested in superheroes but so scared of us?" That wasn't really a related question, but she did wonder. Most super powers were things they could do magically, after all.

"Don't go sweet on me, Shacklebolt. I'm not sure I can keep myself from falling for your charming ways," Vivi finally responded, her tone dry. She followed it by pulling a face to let him know that he was safe from her developing a bizarre beater-crush-on-captain. It happened, probably... but not to her.

Milton didn't know a whole lot about comic books. In fact, he knew nothing about comic books. He had heard of the most famous superheroes like Superman and Batman and whatever, but he had never been interested enough to research them. Like most muggle things, actually. That was why he didn't take Muggle Studies. That and it was totally boring. "Can't help you there," he said, putting yet another book back on the shelf. But to her other question: "Maybe because superheroes aren't real?" That seemed... logical.

.... Heh. Milton could tell from her tone that Genevieve Branxton was not one easily wooed by the charms of attractive quidditch captains. His eyebrows raised and he gave her an amused smile, because it WAS indeed amusing. "I'll remember that," he said with a wink. If she had red hair, he might even be scared of her.

"Just seems odd that they're interested in fake powers and scared out of their heads about real ones," Vivi tossed her ponytail as she turned back to the shelves. She was going to have to look on her own, as Mr. Shacklebolt wasn't interested in helping her look for the garish things.

"I suppose I'll leave you to your research, Cap. If you need me, just whistle." She'd totally stolen that from some ancient Muggle movie.

Hmm, good point. It might have had something to do with the fact that muggles thought witches were hairy old hags with warts on their noses. And some of them were... but not the majority of them. Milton spotted another book on the shelf and began flipping through the pages. There we go, actually useful information!

Huhwhat? "Oh." Milton said dumbly, coming back to reality. "I think I found what I'm looking for." He raised the book in front of him. "Thanks for the help, though." Now he just needed to check it out and read it. Wooo.

"See you on the pitch, Branxton," he said with nod before heading for the check-out desk.

A few books are lying face up on the ground, ripped pages around the books are scattered all around them.

Sarah was in the library AGAIN... She was often in the library in fact... She had just selected the book An Advanced guide to Transfiguration. She had recently developed an intense liking to the subject... it was a thing that Gryffindor's had naturally after all. It was then that she noticed a strange array of books, upon closer inspection she noticed that the book had a few loose pages which seemed to have been ripped up... Being the curious girl she was she picked up the ripped pages and the books and began reading the pages... hmm... interesting

Laura was walking around looking at the books when she suddenly saw Giddeon with books all over the place. "GIDDEON what happened here?" Laura was wondering if the Prefect was involved, maybe that was why he let Oakey go after hurting her because he was a troublemaker as well.

Gideon and laura
 

Sarah looked up when she saw her prefect. "Hi Gideon!" she said. "I don't know what happened either... yet Mr. Kitridge will not be happy I assume... Perhaps we should try piece these books together"
It was then that Laura-always-in-detention showed up. Sarah could not understand why Laura was not wise enough to not be caught. Sarah had done plenty of things that remain secrets to the day. Now she was speaking as if accusing Gideon of doing things. One thing about Sarah was her sense of justice as well as loyalty to the pride of her pride. "It was not Gideon who did it I presume, he is a lion and lions don't do such things" well there were a few exceptions to that... But generally lions are not irresponsible and respect the property of others cough.cough. Alexa Cambridge... yet she was an exceptiopn all right. Yet she was young and immature and Sarah is still her friend.

Meanwhile she went back to the ripped out page she was reading.