Gemma opened the door slowly to the staff room...usually it was full of other professors and she always felt odd just barging into their conversations all awkwardly. She was surprised however to find it empty....this was a first indeed. The professor clicked across the room and opened the top cabinet and pulled out her personal mug that she left in the room. She then poured water in it and grabbed a strawberry tea bag and took a seat in a chair facing the door. She hated when others walked in behind her and she couldn't see. She dipped her tea bag in the water letting the flavor soak out into the water slowly. Gemma was literally staring off into nowhere and in her own little world....something she had been doing a lot lately. She was to that age where she over analyzed and over thought every decision in her life that got her to this spot.

Leobald headed down the stairs with his mind set on refilling his tea supply and to make a short break from the library. He couldn't very well leave the library unattended for very long since there was no telling what the student's could get up to. The incident with the water from several months ago now was still very fresh in his memory.

Pushing down the door handle to the staff room Leobald slowly walked in. It was so quiet in there. Picking up a small tune he sang it softly to himself as he walked mainly to fill out what he thought was an empty and quiet room.

Coming into the kitchen he stopped singing abruptly when he happened upon Gemma sitting in one of the chairs. "Good day Gemma." he greeted with a smile.

Hanging on the wall right next to the little corner where all the teas are kept is a poster arriving just this morning with more a few red lipstick smears on the edges.

Hearing the door open, Gemma glances up from her glass and smiled at the Librarian...was he singing...did he even realize she was in there. She cocks her left eyebrow up and tilts her head to the right a little bit with a little smirk on her face, "Well hello to you as well Leobald....I didn't know that you had such a lovely singing voice...I'm thinking we should host a talent show and let you be the main act..." she says with a little wink.

She glances a the colorful wall of posters, "Interesting...I don't remember that being in here yesterday..." she says pointing towards the posters and reading out loud finishes..."Not sure if TerrorTours is a very calming name for a travel endeavor...."

So the plan was set in motion. They had their secret weapon to lay out. And now, all they had to do was wait for that chaos creator to come out and show his cowardly face.

The Friar slinked into the staff room and glided in between the cushions in the sofa, his head sticking out slightly as glanced around the room. Shouldn't be too long now. Right?

The Baron floated from the broom closet to the Staff room. He was a BARON! Thank you very much! He wasn't going to be stuck in a broom closet. He would come into a a staff room. And as soon as Peeves would come he'd make him pay!

Nicholas wafted through the wall into the staff room, his pearly eyes canvasing the furniture and the room in general. He hoped this plan would work.

Gliding toward the corner to plaster himself behind the bookshelf, he waited... time to see what Peeved had to say for himself. All efforts at diplomacy were not yet lost... key word being yet.

Toddles didn't knock, nope he didn't need to.

"Masters and Mistresses, Toddles is here to give you your candy...."

O___________O

Who were these silvery masters and missus?! "Pardon Toddles but who are you?" He eyed them as after dropping the bag of candy infront of the random barrel in the room. They were scary persons. Toddles didn't like them and didn't remember that they had asked him to come.

"Bye bye silvery people..." *SNAP*

Peeves didn't hear Toddles' discussion with the... whoever was in the staff room, as he was still easily distracted by all the candies.

"Ooh, piece of candy!" he continued to exclaim with each fresh piece he found. "Ooh, piece of candy! Ooh, piece of candy! Ooh, piece of candy!"

Wait, what was that? He had just passed through the door of the staff room and his greedy eyes narrowed in on a giant BAG of candy on the floor. OH EXPLODING SNAP! This was just what he needed - a great big bag of candy to replace all the ones he'd pelted at that pimply Gryffindork girl!

"Ooh, BAG of candy!"

Peeves fell for Toddles' unintentional trick and zoomed straight at the candy. Once he was near the salt barrel, however, both he AND the bag of candy were sucked straight inside.

He was trapped. Trapped like a raccoon in a cage. Poor Peeves!

If the Grey Lady could, she would've jumped up and down with joy as she watch the dreaded little spirit get trapped. She floated towards the barrel and circled around it.

She glanced at the other ghosts and then said, "Okay, Peeves, now's your once chance to unlock the Common Rooms or explain to us how you locked them or we'll have to let the Headmistress take care of you!"

"But I didn't dooooooooooooo itttttt," Peeves wailed, meanwhile trying to rock the barrel from side to side. This was pathetic. This was low. This was...a prank HE should have SEEN COMING! He was not a happy poltergeist, but he wasn't going to let the other ghosts see it.


"What's the Headmistress going to do to me? She ain't got no power over that lockout! HAHAHAAHA! As IF!" Peeves cackled and successfully made the barrel tremble a little. "I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE A CLOWN, Helena!"

Could he call her that? OOPS, HE JUST DID.

"Peeves!" He said angrily converging on the poltergeist. "You do not speak to the Lady Helena in that manner! Do I make myself crystal clear?!" He calmed himself and pulled back a bit. "Now. Tell me the truth Peeves, and you know how I get when I'm lied to. Why did you lock the students out of their common rooms?!"

The Grey Lady made a funny face and stuck her tongue out at the little poltergeist with his clown comment...she wasn't even going to waste her anger on the little entity....afterall she was the one on this side of the barrel and free...unlike him. This thought made a huge smile appear on her face and then she focused back in on the Barron's words while floated closely to him and gazed at him fondly for a few seconds.

"And tell us how to unlock the rooms so our lovelies can sleep in their beds and not on the floor of the Great Hall!" she said the last part in distaste...she was sooo worried about her sweet Eagles and their safety.

Uh oh, the Baron was mad. Peeves had made him maaaad. In his defense, though, he hadn't known Sir Bloodiness was present in the room, or else he wouldn't have insulted his special ugly lady friend right in front of him. No, he would have waited for the Baron to leave to insult her. As it was, though, Peeves didn't want to make one more peep. And he certainly didn't want to tell them who was behind the lockout.

"Meep!" the barrel made a tiny peeping sound akin to a chick hatching. Okay just one more peep. Peeves curled up in the very bottom of the barrel, where there was an itsy bitsy little crack where the side met the floor of the barrel, and peeked through it to see the Grey Lady tryin' to get all up in his grill.


"I don't know howwwwww to unlock the common rooms," Peeves moaned in his best Myrtle impression, "because I didn't lock them in the first place." He made a loud sniffling sound. "Sorry, Sir Bloodiness and Miss Lady of Greyness, but I did not lock those common rooms."


Didn't they know him by now? Didn't they know he would have been shouting from the Astronomy tower to the kitchens, bragging about this wonderful prank? Just because he knew who had locked everyone out didn't mean he had to reveal the culprit. The little brats and especially their ghosts DESERVED to be locked out, as far as he was concerned!


"All I can say is, somebody's got a REAL problem with you four, and I ain't talkin' about meself." For once. "Lemmmmmme outtttttttt nowwwwww!"

She waited as patiently as she could for his answer and she shook her head left and right in disgust...how had they ever expected the thing in the barrel to tell the truth...but then she did figure he would come clean and brag about this little feat as he usually did....no not when he saw how angry they were with him...and whom in the castle could have a problem with the four of them...they were usually pretty harmless.

"Well the only way to prove that you are innocent is to give us some information about who you are blaming for this little incident..." she said trying to negotiate whatever information the entity felt he had...she doubted it was of importance...he was probably going to try to blame the Headmistress or some random inanimate object.

"But I'm not blaming anyone!!!!!" Peeves went back to shouting, which was just his usual vocal tone. "I'M TELLING THE TRUTH for once! I DIDN'T DO IT AND I CAN'T SAY WHO DID."

He actually had fears other than the Bloody Baron, after all.

Sir Nicholas hovered mutely as the Baron and the Grey Lady questioned Peeves. The lion ghost listened intently as the poltergiest continued to proclaim his innocence. What Peeves said how much he disliked it sounded truthful and genuine.

'Some who has a REAL problem with you four'

Picking his ear's to see if he had any earwax Sir Nicholas said in a calm tone to his friends. "Listen to what Peeves is saying. For once I think he is telling us the truth. If Peeves was responsible for the lockout he'd have bragged from the top of the Astronomy Tower."

Rounding the Baron, Sir Nicholas eyed the barrel and asked. "Peeves, good man can you tell us something about who has got a problem with us that is not you? Please if not for us then for the sake of the students."

"Yes... I believe Peeves, M'Lady. He would not lie to me. He knows there are consequenses for that." The Baron said... "That is a good question Sir Nicholas... I can't think of anyone or anything..." The Baron narrowed his eyes, thinking...

... no

... it just couldn't be.

And now all of a sudden they believed him. It figured. It just figured that it would take the Bloody Baron and St. Nicholas speaking up for him for the others to believe him. Sniff. Poor Peevsie, trapped in a salt barrel, doomed to die again in a barrel of salt...

...it wasn't even flavoured salt, like sea salt...

...just plain, ugly, blood-pressure-raising sodium chloride....

The Grey Lady was SO heartless!

"You KNOW who he is," Peeves' voice rang out in a dull, recitation-like tone. "He was here before my time, Sain--- Sir Nicholas, Mister Bloody Baron Your Bloodiness." He cleared his throat. "Shan't say nothing if you don't let me out...."

The Grey Lady tried hard to keep from rolling her eyes...she just wasn't sure how innocent Peeves was...he still deserved to be left in the barrel to keep him from all of the nonsense he usually caused. She smiled at the Bloody Baron and then looked back at the barrel trying to keep the irritation out of her voice and failing miserably, "Well, Peeves...we will only let you out if you promise to tell us some more information about this mysterious character...." she paused and then added, "Remember I still have salt and wherever I sprinkle the dust you are locked in, so don't try to run away..." she said as she walked a little circle around the ghosts and Peeves to insure he didn't try to escape before spilling the beans.

Finally she came back to her original spot, "Okay, we're going to let you out now..who wants the honor of this?" she said glancing at the little elf that helped lure him in the first place.

Sir Nicholas thought hard. Somebody who had been at the school before Peeves time. No names rang a bell.. Unless, no it couldn't be.

They needed more information.

It seemed that the Grey Lady although very reluctantly was a similiar mind and asked an elf to let Peeves out of the barrel. It was unfortunatley the only way they'd get more information about the mysterious character with a bone in their side.

The Gryffindor ghost had a feeling. He hoped it was wrong.

The ghost waited patiently as the lid was removed....she braced for impact thinking that Peeves would come shooting out of the barrel attacking them all...she was ready for anything the little thing could throw at them...or atleast she thought she was....

"NOTHING!"


Peeves burst out of the barrel as promised, cackling and trying to zoom off. His efforts were a waste, however, regardless of much he zoomed around and around and around and around and around and around and around the tiny circle the Grey Lady had permitted him.

Damn that salt!!!!!!

"OKAY," Peeves cracked quickly enough, settling down like a popped balloon. "OKAY. His name is Isfret. And he's coming for YOU. You know why. I don't. I'm done, okay? I'M DONE!"


His mean little face drooped even more than his sagging, off-centre, crooked bowtie. "Pleeeeeeeeease let me go now?"

Sir Nicholas floated backwards several meter's as Peeves burst out of the barrel before floating in circles on the same spot for several seconds but it felt like minutes.

When the poltergeist started to spill what he knew Sir Nicholas face changed from surprise to worry in the blink of an eye. Isfret. That was the last name he had wanted to hear from Peeves mouth.

Very concerned he exchanged upset glances with the Baron and the Grey lady before he murmured. "Helena, darling please release Peeves we won't get any more information from him. We have more urgent things to worry about."

Isfret...