Christmas smiled and said "Yeah i would like that Lux it would help me out a lot cause i am stressing out about my exams"

Awesome! "Well, just let me know when you want to do that." Though of course she had no objections of doing it with Christmas right now, since she really did not have anything else to do at the moment and the library was nice. She also though that the librarian was really nice.

Christmas smiled at Lux and said "Yeah sure i will let you know when i am free to do some studying"

Awesome. Lux gave her a thumbs up. She was glad to help when someone needed it. "So what did you do over the Christmas holidays?" she asked curiously. Maybe she had gotten up to some fun. Lux knew that she had a blast during hers!

Christmas smiled and said "Well i did not get up to much i had to stay here during the holidays as well my dad is away with work and my sister is at my grandparents in France but i had a nice birthday during the holidays"

Aww, that was a real bummer. But at least Christmas seemed to not mind that she didn't have a very eventful Christmas holiday. "Oh, when was your birthday? Happy belated birthday!"

Piers had been hiding in his office as much as possible as of late. He had run out of hair dye and wrinkle smoothers and he was afraid to admit that it had even become a problem. But his hair was greying, his face was wrinkling, his bones were aching, his eyes were blurrying, and he was passing gas more often than--

Hold on a second...

How did he end up on the fourth floor? Piers squinted at the walls and looked up at the staircases above him. Well, that was curious. The slightly hunched-over charms professor shook his head and started for the stairs again. Old man was losing his mind.

Adelaide was heading back from the library to study when she saw Professor Fuller. Well, she thought it was him. He was definitely looking a lot...older. Then again, all of the professors were. Something was definitely wrong here.

She walked down the steps and stopped next to him. "You all right professor? Do you need some help?" Because sometimes old people needed help up stairs. Poor professor pretty.

Muttering to himself, Piers put a hand on the rail and took a deep breath. Boy, these staircases were long. Just when he was about to start making his journey down the stairs, he heard something or... someone mumbling beside him. Goodness, didn't these kids know how to speak up?

"Eh?" he shouted, craning his neck to look at the girl. Oh did he need help? He. "No, no, I'm finedon'tlookatme." Piers waved his hand and started down the stairs. Only a few steps down, he missed his footing, skipped a step and tuuuuumble-tumble-tumble-tumbled doooown the stairs.

CRACK!

"HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHH!" Piers howled, rolling onto his back and clutching his hip. HIS HIP.

"MY HIIIP. SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE. MY HIIIIIIIP." IT WAS BROKEN. IT WAS DISCONNECTED. IT WAS PROBABLY SHATTERED INTO A MILLION PIECES AND NOW ALL THE LITTLE HIP BONES WERE SWIMMING INSIDE HIS BODY.

HE WAS PROBABLY GOING TO DIE.

You know what elite magical school had way too many stairs? Eh? Probably all of them. PROBABLY ALL OF THEM, but right now, the one bugging Mo Branxton was Hogwarts. Especially because they sent him all over the school for classes and then he lived in the tower and ate practically in the dungeon and sometimes they had classes outside.

He was going to die, basically. Of a heart attack. His fingers were tingling.

All of this very grouchy internal monologue was happening as Mo trudged up the stairs toward his common room. He stepped over Professor Fuller, and added 'loud, unprofessional, broken hairy-men' to his internal list of things that were going to make him die today.

OHHEYWAIT. "You need a hand, Professor? Should I get the Healer? Or is this performance art? You have facial hair like one of those guys who seals himself inside a box with a rotting pumpkin and calls it art, so I need you to make a sign if this is for real."

LA LA LA LA LA LAAAAA.

Caterina had been skipping. Even if the school was full of people getting weirdly old, she had not been affected and so she was still able to skip. She did, however, stop doing so when she spotted a man laying on the ground. And yelling and OH. Oh. It was Professor Facial Hair! And he was wailing like a baby about.... his hip? Cat nudged herself closer to the trauma and peeked. She WAS going to ask if he was okay, but obviously he was not okay. "It's okay if you want to cry, sir." She offered helpfully, wiggling her fingers and stuffing them in her pockets. "I won't tell anyone."

Mo would though.

Hi boyfriend.

"Did someone go for the Healer?" Should she? Since she was like... not old?

Adelaide just blinked staring at the professor. Fine? He was far from fine. She watched as she started walking again...and her face went from confusion to horror in seconds.

Omigosh. The professor just fell down the stairs.

Addi quickly ran down them to stand next to the professor. "Are you all right?" Dumb question. The guy just fell down the stairs.

And then there was a Mo and a Cat. Addi completely ignored what Mo was saying and looked up at her dormmate. "No. I haven't had the chance. He just fell."

Oh, look. A passerby to help him out.

Or... not... What was he going on about? Performance art? Rotting pumpkins? He -- WHAT?! He needed a sign to know if this was real?! Piers stared incredulously at the kid in front of him. "I'm writhing in PAIN, you dimwit!" he grunted through grit teeth and was able to move his good leg enough to kick the Ravenclaw in the shin. "Aren't you Ravenclaws supposed to be smart?!"

Oh, look, cupcake girl. Another witness to this tragedy. His hip HURT, man, and they were just hovering over him like he was some display at a museum! "Well, don't just STAND THERE!" He was obviously incapable of walking to get the healer. Sometimes he wondered if these students even had brains outside of class. Merlin, his vision was blurring.

"Uuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhggggg," he groaned. That slytherin girl was turning into a squiggly little blur. This was not how he wanted to die.

Of course. Of course the professor falls, so there were girls (including his girlfriend) fawning all over him. Hadn't anyone ever told them how unattractive drooling was? HMM? Mo squinted at the redhead, who he sorta recognized as the brownie girl from Cat's house. She was ignoring him, so he ignored her back.

Her name was Adeline, he remembered. West gave her one of her brownies. Good, but not up to Moretti standards.

Cat, though... "No, you should go get the Healer, Catty. We'll make sure the professor doesn't hurt himself." More than he already had, of course.

"Yes, and professors are supposed to be well groomed. No one is perfect," Mo snapped, since he WAS trying to help and the man was being awfully cranky about it. "Cat is going to get the Healer, and this other girl is going to promise not to touch you, and I think if you lay still, you'll stop rolling onto your side and hurting yourself."

In spite of the extreme pain to his knees, Mo knelt next to the professor and put a calming hand on the man's arm. Y'know...? They were there for him. Even if he was a bit whiny.

Adelaide listened as Mo started giving orders. Yep. His quidditch captain was showing. Good, good. Cat was going to run and get Tillstorm. Adelaide wasn't going to touch Fuller, unless he needed help or something.

She looked at Mo as he knelt next to them. "Maybe you should keep standing." Because it looked like that hurt him way too much. It was his choice though and he was already down there. Might hurt more to get up.

"Healer Tillstorm should be here shortly, Professor Fuller." Hopefully.

Hope had finally made it to the staircases and with any luck she would make it down them without trouble. Although, the ache in her hip and her pounding head would have to be signs that she should just take a break, she was determined to avoid being stuck on the staircase as it moved back and forth a good twenty times before reaching solid ground again. So, she pushed on, eyes squinted. Where was she going anyway? A glance at a piece of paper in her hand indicated 'Great Hall'. Oh, yes! She was hungry.

Step. Step. Step. Breathe. Step. Step. Step. Breathe. Only two more steps to go, but she felt a jolt as the staircase started to tremble preparing to send her in the wrong direction. She took a deep breath and stepped down a little faster than usual and found herself tumbling the rest of the way. The was a crack and all of a sudden nothing but PAIN!!!

"GAH!!!!!!!" She let out the loudest scream she could manage as her hand went to her hip and tears gathered up in her eyes and began to fall over. "HELP! HELP!" Was she dying? It certainly felt like it. She tried to move, only bring another loud scream to her lips. "SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP!"

"HELP! HELP!"

The girl's screams seemed to echo down the staircase and into surrounding corridors with an eerie reverberation. Was she dying? It certainly sounded like it.

"SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP!"

Surely the noble lads and lasses of Hogwarts castle would never allow one of their own to die....... alone.

Sitting in his office in the library Leo was immerged in his usual day to day duties when an eerie reverbertation of a girls scream reached him. Before he knew what he was doing Leo had grabbed his wand and was out the door. Dear merlin please don't let it be a basilisk attack.

Robes billowing Leo skidded out of the library almost knocking into his kneazle as he tried to discern the direction of the girls screams. Making sure Madonna was still in one piece he quickly made his way down the corridor from the library towards the staircases.

Leo stopped to listen, ears peeled to the echoes of the girls screams. They were getting stronger and louder. He must be close. Rounding the corner that took him in front of the moving staircase where a girl was lying on the floor sobbing and screaming. Hurrying over Leo kneeled down next to the girl. "It's all right dear. You're not alone anymore. What happened? Where are you hurt?"

Those blasted staircases had served another victim.

"I'M COMING, I'M COMING," Fern continued to yell as she ran towards the screams. At last she spotted someone - the librarian - crouched down and before him, the source of the desperate cries for help. A girl. A little old first year girl.

The Hufflepuff slowed to a stop and took in a breath in through her nose before breathing it out very slowly from her mouth. When she was done, her worried expression had changed to a neutral one, and she asked very calmly,"What do you want me to do?"

Dora's hands were occupied with jam jars as she made her way up the staircase with Olly. She had just made, but couldn't keep them on her person while she was hanging out with the Hufflepuff, plus she had something else the girl needed to see. Something that had taken some finding, and finally arrived by owl.

They weren't halfway up the stairs when she heard some scream. Her pace slowed only a little as her hazel-green eyes flicked around in search of the source. Oh. "Look, the librarian's gone and attacked a student." She said causally, gesturing with her head towards the pair. He was out of a job for sure.

Olly was in a good mood today. Which was a very rare thing these days, really, so Dora should consider herself lucky that she got to experience it. The Hufflepuff was even carrying some of the jam for the other girl. NICE HUH? One single jar but still. That was so nice of her. Someone should give her a cookie. Or you know, other nice things. She wasn't that picky.

HELP! HELP! SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP!

This school, seriously! Olly followed Dora's glance and found herself looking at...a couple of people. "I didn't like him anyway." Weird person. He'd always been a bit shifty now that she got to think of it. So she wasn't all too surprised he'd apparently gone completely mental now.

She looked back to Dora and shook her head. "It's things like this that make me look forward to graduation." Though, they still had more than an entire year ahead of them.

Nigel was actually on his way to the library for curiosity reasons on some random things he was researching. Like what actually rhymes with silver. It was something to do when bored that does not involve fire in the common room.

Next thing you know the Prefect hears yelling and more yelling. Too much yelling. Why all the yelling. And it did not help that with his dirty mind he heard only one of the things being yelled. Sigh. And this was happening in his way and there was no way around.

Well, Dora and Olly was already here, plus Nigel assumed the people yelling. And since both Claw Prefects were here with the Librarian. They will probably have to help if asked.

"Sooo...i am assuming we can't just walk on by"

"I've never heard a good thing about him. Maybe we'll get lucky, and his replacement will be better." One could never tell, but she could always hope seeing how she did enjoy spending time in the library. Dora had a LOT of things she needed to research.

She paused only to consider how to get around the crowd without actually being noticed. "It's things like this that make me not want to return next year." Or you know... other things. It was other things that made her consider this. Whatever. Dora shrugged. "We have to get around them."

Oh look, here was her very pretty co-prefect to help figure out just how to do so.

"That's our plan," She nodded at him. "Preferably before a crowd grows." Or, Merlin forbid, they were asked to assist.

Olly had now slowed to a complete stop and leaned against the banister with a sigh. Really? Why did that have to happen NOW? When they wanted to pass and get upstairs as quickly as possible. "And hotter too, preferably." That would definitely be a welcome surprise. If the next libarian were a bit more of an eye-candy than this one.

She DID have NEWTs to study for next term after all.

Wait...what? "You're staying though, yeah?" Dora couldn't just leave. Not in their last year. Think of all the graduation parties. Their last year at Hogwarts. Graduation parties. Olly could think of so many other things she'd rather do instead of coming back here next term too but still she wouldn't.

Olly would've said more but it was right then that they were joined by...whatshisnametheonewiththehairobsession. "I can." Assuming he was talking about them being Prefects. Though she might not be physically able to WALK past them if she had to stand on the same spot for much longer. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other, ignoring the pain that jolted up her back.

So, where they going to keep walking now? Please?

Phew.

Alec and Jun finally made it to the stairs. It seemed like a lifetime considering how slow they were going. Jun glanced over Alec's shoulder and saw that there were already people there. Most of them not doing much. Stepping out from behind, he noticed the librarian with a girl in his house. Oh, was that Hope? Peering closer, sadly it was her. Poor little first year. It looked as if she hurt her hip or something. Jun nudged the Head Boy and whispered, "You should probably go get the healer," Because she still wasn't here which was a bad thing.

"No one should move her too," he mumbled. First thing he learn from his broken bones. Never move the person in pain. Things might be worse.