Oh good, so she wasn't the only one that had shown up. Medea nodded and smiled slightly to those who arrived, finding the portrait of the fat lady that much more interesting now. Not because of the troubles the common rooms seem to be having, no, but...

Sophia's expression. Ahem.

Oh! The headmistress. Good.

Taking out her wand, the one question that popped up in her mind was answered by Isabelle. Well, that was good to know. Trouble for them but, indeed good to know. "Perhaps not one, but five blasting curses at once could...do the trick."

"Perhaps we shouldn't cast a blasting charm, then, if it's just going to bounce back at us..." Bunz frowned. She didn't like hearing that one of the most powerful spells at their disposal hadn't worked on one of the locked common rooms. It was a bad sign.

"Maybe Leo could cast a shield charm on us and hold it while we try... something," Annie suggested. "And we'll need to take down the Fat Lady as well." She nodded and stepped forward to remove the portrait.

...or to try to remove the portrait...

Hmm? Before long they were joined by other staff members who Sophia nodded at and then finally the headmistress joined them.

So they were going to try blasting their way into the Gryffindor common room? Was she surrounded by Gryffindors or something? Blast first think later?

She cleared her throat quietly. "Perhaps we could try something other than blasting?" She quite liked this dress and didn't want to have it singed.

O____O

They were going to blast the common room door open!

Gulp. At least the Headmistress wanted him to be in charge of holding up a shield charm when the women tried to break in. Leo nodded in confirmation. "I can do that." Hearing Sophia's comment he glanced over and asked "Do you have an alternative method to blasting the door open?"

Well, five blasts at once might make more of an impact, yes. Although the force which hers pinged back had her worried that so many might impact on THEM, even with Leo and his shield charm.

Isabelle folded her arms and started tapping her wand against her chin gently. She looked over at the others and took a deep breath. "I do get the feeling this will require something more intricate from us, rather than brute force." Because, as she's said, that hadn't worked for her last time. "What suggestions do you have?" she asked Sophia, echoing Leo's question. Brainstorming, people.

Sophia frowned and stepped closer to the portrait. Hmmmm...she ran her hand along it then let out a loud 'hmmmm' once more.

"It just doesn't feel...right.." Her frown deepened and she stepped back from the door and looked at the professors gathered there.

"Actually yes I do. I'm pretty sure if we try blasting this door open the spells will rebound right back on us and Leo's shield will do little to stop it from hitting us." She rolled up her sleeves and cleared her throat.

"Lets see what we're working with here..sperevelio" She said with a flick then swish of her wand. There was a barely audible whizzing sound before a writing appeared written in what seemed to be blood on the entrance.

ramnar okran


"Merlin's holey socks!.....who..who would use such a dark spell?" Sophia looked at Medea..."This is dark Egyptian magic..can you undo this Medea?"

No blasting?

Well, better safe than sorry of course.

Medea stood by, glancing from professor to professor, to the headmistress, and back again until Sophia tried something on the door. Good catch. The words, not entirely foreign, but she didn't quite register just what it was until Egyptian magic was mentioned. Then...she smiled.

"Indeed." Her arms crossed, glancing to the group, rather excited. "Some perhaps could say it's a play off of vot vould be a sealing spell, used in precious tombs. Keep things out and in. The counter spell is in the same egyptian tongue: Anfth Eeshtrak Fimbaarah."

Quite the word twister.

Leo gave off an inaudible sigh of relief. He was glad they weren't going to try and blast the door open.

He watched as Sophia used the spell which revealed charms at work and boy it was dark Egyptian magic too. Gulp. Leo glanced over at Medea hoping the resident DADA professor had a counter spell or something they could use to undo the dark magic with.

And she had a real tongue twisting spell. "I still need to protect us with a shield charm, right? The counter spell might rebound or cause other things to shift when the dark magic get's undone?" Leo asked. Dark magic was never simple.

It may have taken her awhile to get the message, but Josephina received the message to come up to the seventh floor corridor. After taken care of a few things, she hurried up the stairwell as fast as her short legs would allow her. Gosh she was so unused to the stairs. She heard talking though as she approached the portrait, where she knew to guard the Lion Common Room and stopped short at the sight of the crowd of professors already there. Why was she like the last person to arrive?

And ... what was that writing on the entrance? Was that ... ".... blood?" Fina spoke, almost inaudible, but enough to alert her colleagues to her presence, that she'd finally arrived.

"Egyptian?" the word slipped from Anastasia's lips before she could think about what she was saying. It was like once she'd heard that word, nothing else mattered. She had quite a connection to the place, having taught there for a number of years and lived in Cairo as well... and now it was all coming back to haunt her. Like, literally. The redhead turned a shade of white normally only reserved for her favorite cashmere sweaters and nearly JUMPED when Fina finally popped up.

"I think..." she swallowed, realizing her voice had come out in a whisper, "I think we'd better make this as quick and painless as possible." She reached up for the portrait and took it off with a muttered counter to its sticking charm. "Sorry, Fat Lady." Annie propped her against the wall facedown. She'd just have to wait.

She gave a nod to Leo and a shrug to Josephina. "I don't know what it is." Did it matter at the moment? None of the students were missing as far as she knew. "Can you also cast a shield charm on us while we four cast the counter-sealing...spell?" Annie mentioned toward the Arithmancy professor.

Toward Medea and Sophia, thank Merlin for them, she added a soft, "Mind repeating that counter-spell?"

Was no one else fascinated about this? Medea had never been to Egypt, so being up close and personal to this magic in action she only read about, was a memory to hold. How unfortunate it was in their school though.

Just whom would...

Oh! Josephina. The more the merrier in this case. "Anfth...Eeshtrak...Fimbaarah." she repeated clearly for them to hear, though uncertainty crossed her features for a moment. "Best not to mispronounce it too much."

Even if they did have shields, dark magic was still dark magic, regardless of where it came.

Egyptian magic.

To Leo that only meant trouble and complications waiting to reveal themselves but to Medea or Sophia it was probably just er fascinating and intriguing.

He was about to raise his wand and utter the incantation for the shield charm when Josephina's voice spoke next to his ear. Startled Leo dropped his wand. Crouching down to pick it up slightly embarrassed he said loud and clear as he held the wand up over them all. "Protego Maxima!"

Now let's get this over it.

Sophia snapped around when she heard Josephina's voice. Yeah it was blood alright. She gave the woman a small nod then turned to frown slightly at Leobald when he dropped his wand. Really he needed to pull himself together and not look shaky in front of all the ladies.

Gah not the time to worry about Leo and his social skills or apparent lack there of.

She didn't miss the look on the Headmistress' face either. She hadn't stuttered yes she had said Egypt and it seemed to mean something to the woman.. a lot of somethings actually.

Hmmmm... The small frown that had formed when Leo dropped his wand deepened.

"I..I don't know much about this charm to feel safe enough for Leo to be the only one casting it..I'll help reinforce the shield." She raised her wand. "Protego Maxima!" She turned to look around at the others..."Can cast the spell on three..." She said after the headmistress removed the fat lady's portrait. "On your count Headmistress."

Gemma hurried up the stairs towards the other professors...o how she hoped they had an answer...her Ravvies needed a good nights sleep soon...she was a little irritated since she had missed them all leaving headed this way to figure things out.

Just as she approached she heard them talking about the incantation...and it wasn't one she was familiar with at all...interesting...she thought as she cocked her head to the side slightly. She watched intently as she approached and stopped to the right of the little group.

She flicked her wrist and her wand shot out of it's wand holster. She kept it at her side and sweetly said, "Do ya'll need my help as well?" she said it tentatively hoping to not be intruding on the little shindig.

Egyptian?

Isabelle bit her lip as she leaned in a bit to get a better look at the words Sophia's spell had revealed. She knew very little about that variation of magic, and the fact it seemed to be written in what Fina had pointed out to be blood, had her even more worried. Looking across at the woman, the chew on her lip got tighter and Issy began fiddling with her wand.

When Medea told them the counter-spell, she repeated it over and over in her head. It felt much like being back in a lesson right then. But she was going to have to help, it would take more than one of them to perform it. Flexing her fingers, she nodded across at her fellow professors, feeling the force of the shield that had been cast. "Ready when you are."

Now, what was it again? Anfth Eeshtrak Fimbaarah...

Ahhhhhh another person was here! Annie nearly jumped again when Gemma popped up, her eyes flicking from Sophia to Medea to Leobald to Isabel to Fina and back to Gemma again.

"Yesss...." she answered the woman as if in a trance, before shaking herself. "Let's... have you cast a shield charm as well. On three, Gemma. Everyone."

On three. Three would be casting the counter-charm, and four would be casting the shield charm. So many threes.... "One," she started counting, hoping this would work. "Two." This HAD to work, because she was all out of ideas otherwise. The redhead raised her wand and pointed it to the common room door, "Three!"

"Anfth Eeshtrak Fimbaarah!" she shouted in time with Isabel and Medea.

On three, they would cast. The shields did little to help her uncertainty, but what had to be done, must. With a glance to each professor, Medea took a deep breath and readied herself as the Headmistress counted down. Wand aimed to the doorway, gaze flickering to the others out of the corner of her eye, anticipating the moment when the final number would be said...

Here's to hoping nothing blew up?

"Anfth Eeshtrak Fimbaarah!"

Gemma blinked and in that moment realized that maybe she hadn't really had wanted to help...she had just been being polite...but now she had already offered and was involved.

She smiled at the other professors...and instantly realized there were mainly the woman professors here...o yes send the women to do the job to insure it was taken care of correctly...WOMAN POWER!...she suppressed a little yelp in celebration and focused in on the task at hand.

The professor stepped forward beside the other professors and held up her wand and waited anxiously as the countdown came down...what could go wrong....right?

She fought closing her eyes and she flicked and said, ""Anfth Eeshtrak Fimbaarah!"

Isabelle had her eyes fixed on Bunz, waiting for the woman to start the countdown. When she did, Issy turned her gaze to the door and listened intently as the number increased. Her fingers tightened around her wand, and she held it forwards, ready to cast.

One... Oh gosh, this'll work, right?

Two... This was going to work.

Three... "Anfth Eeshtrak Fimbaarah!"

With a thrust of her wand, Issy added her voice to the chorus coming from Bunz, Medea and Gemma.

Of course Sophia knew that they were all competent people there, they were Hogwarts professors after all but that didn't ease her mind one bit about the outcome of the situation. If they shield that her and Leo cast didn't hold and the spell somehow backfired they were in a world of trouble. Dark magic like this was not one to mess around with.

Her eyes closed as the headmistress got to the three count and she felt the energy from the spells cast by her co-workers...one eye opened and then the other. There were no ricocheting spells, only a soft 'psssh' sound from the Gryffindor entrance. Sophia looked around at everyone gathered....yeeeah she wasn't going to be the first to go near the door again..just in case..

She looked at the Headmistress....the captain was suppose to go down with her ship right?

Leo stood next to Sophia and watched as the 4 women on the count of three released their spells. His grip tightened on his wand as a soft 'pssh' sound was head from the Gryffindor common room entrance.

None of the spells had ricocheted and now other traps seemed to have been triggered. Had they unlocked the entrance? Exchanging a long glance with Sophia, Leo asked what was probably on everyone's mind. "Did it work?"

"Maybe we should check by using the 'sperevelio' spell again? I mean there could be other spells or worse traps we haven't seen." Leo asked the ladies. Caution was always good yes?

"I think it worked," Bunz breathed, stepping forward and touching the door before Sophia's words fully sank in. Well, it looked like she'd crossed the barrier so far.... now to see if the rest of the common room was unlocked.

The Headmistress turned the knob of the Gryffindor portrait hole, a knob that was usually controlled by the Fat Lady...

Leo watched with anticipation as the Headmistress dissapeared through the door and a few minutes later came back out unharmed.

He heaved a sigh of relief before he picked up the Fat Lady and placed her back in her proper place. Turning on his heel the librarian left the Gryffindor entrance.

Well, at least they hadn't been blown up.

As the Headmistress moved forward to try and open the door, Issy held her breath. She finally let it out when the woman walked in to the common room unharmed. Poking her head in slightly, Isabelle watched as Bunz walked around and started shouting to them. "Thank Merlin!"

Moving out the way as the woman came rushing back out, she watched as Leo replaced the Fat Lady portrait, before rushing after them both, towards the next common room.

That was a particularly strange noise, especially for countering a spell. Lowering her wand arm, she watched as the headmistress walked into the common room. Medea stood on her tippy toes and leaned to the side a little to see what was going on, if anything.

Yet it seemed everything was fine! As far as she could tell. Nothing forcing the Headmistress into saying something positive, right? Grinning, and waiting for the few others as Leo place the portrait back where it belonged, Medea followed along to the next location.