.... He was right and she was wrong. A pang of embarrassment rolled over her and she bit her lip in an attempt to help stop it from showing all over her face. This was why she didn't always raise her hand in classes. "You're right... it's a rubbish idea. We'll just... yeah. We'll just do it manually." she pushed out a smile and a cheery exterior toward the end there, burying it all back down.

She followed him, still putting out the cheery exterior and added in a little hop in her step for effect.

But upon reaching the section, she let her guard fall a little as he dove into the shelves with an efficiency she couldn't say she'd ever seen before. An actual smiling tugging at her lips, she began her own search, skimming the titles of the books with her finger tip, squinting at the small fonts and even leaning in closer until her eyes were merely an inch from them.

And that's when it popped in her head.

A book Cristo had showed her once... a sort of series of darker fairytales. Something... Something that started with the letter E, maybe? No... no, that wasn't it. Something brothers... no....... brothers something..... Brothers Grimm! Hah!

"A little. Help me search for the Brothers Grimm. I can't remember if that's the book title or... the authors title."

Coral hid a smug grin from the boy and scanned the shelves faster.

Gabriel had gotten through a good many of the books, more and more frustrated with the task of finding a book for a professor who could've just asked the Librarian herself. Was this meant to be more busy work?.....or would there be a specific purpose for it during the next lesson? it was likely....Logical, even.

.......What?

Hearing CB speak up, Gabe moved around shelves, peeking over to look at her.......

STARE. How had...he forgotten that?! OF COURSE, it'd be with the Brothers Grimm collection....but did Hogwarts have one? He offered her a slightly bigger smile than before and took her lead; focusing on finding the familiar title.

He looked in the G's. Would it be sorted by 'Brothers' or 'Grimm'? Grimm seemed the more likely answer...

Okay so... maybe she could stop kicking herself now because she'd gotten another smile. See that?

There was no more phoney grinning. However, there was a very realistic one aimed at him in return of his own smile. She scanned the shelves faster, inching closer to him in the process because she too believed the G's would be where the thing could be found. Being smaller had it's advantages here because while he was scanning the upper shelves, she was scanning the lower ones when-

AHAH!

She found it. Tugging the book out from it's resting place she flipped it open and scanned through the chapters, spotting the one about Snow White. Inching away from him, she lightly used the bookshelves to help herself up and offered the book to Gabe. They'd found it.

Homework done.

..............

CB had found it....which was okay with Gabe. He was okay with a girl besting him....if it was her specifically. Other girls.....eh. Well, he'd have been slightly put out.

This had been a joint effort, though.

Pulling some parchment, Gabe made notes about the book for the professor and tucked it into the front sleeve. There. Now...they were finished. Now...it could be dropped off.

Noel eyes shifted from the shelf now and then to see if the librarian was coming to kick him out because he was pretty sure Lamb wasn't suppose to be in the library with him. "Go away, lamb" he said, trying to pull a book from the top shelf, while the crup named Lamb wiggled his tail and looked at him expectantly.

"What is it?" he asked, as if the little guy would tell him exactly what he wanted. "I did feed you .... and we go on walks in the afternoon .. so why .. why are following me so closely today? You know it makes you seem clingy" the boy asked, eyes on the pages he was skimming through. Now and then he enjoyed having idle conversations with his crup.

"He's CLEARLY telling you that you have company, Wallace." Maddie had been walking by when she heard the Hufflepuff's voice and she decided a chat was in order. Y'know, since they were meant to be FRIENDS now and all.

The second year wandered over and knelt down, ruffling the crup's fur. Her eyes then traveled up to the blonde boy and she tilted her head to the side, observing him. "Haven't seen you around much."

It was HER.

Noel grinned. "Hello to you too, Ms Cooper," he greeted her, looking up and closing the book. Because clearly no studying would happen now. It was her.

He watched as she knelt down, and he leaned on the shelf beside him. "I have been uh .... here, this term has been kind of a snooze," It sucked but it was the truth. Or maybe he was just old now.

"What have you been up to?" he asked, because it really had been a while since he saw her. He wasn't sure if he liked that. "... besides missing me, of course"

A snooze, huh? Maddie raised her eyebrows as she stood up straight. If it was a snooze, he clearly wasn't having enough adventures.

"You WISH." The second year grinned, shaking her head at him. She'd only recently discovered what it was like to miss people and she didn't like the feeling, nor would she admit that she HAD missed him. But only a little. Teeny tiny bit. Yeah. "I've been hanging out with Dot more. Red head with freckles. Mermaid enthusiast. Slytherin." Did he know Dot? If not, he should. She was good people.

"What brings you to the library, hm?" She stepped forward then, trying to peek at the book in his hands. Hopefully it wasn't anything boring.

Noel grinned yet again .. he kinda, sorta did wish. But that was besides the point.

Noel tilted his head. Did he know this girl? He probably did but he honestly couldn't recall her face. He was terrible at remembering things - unless it affected him directly.

"Well. Contrary to what people believe, I do do my homework, so that yeah," he told her, letting her see the astronomy book. He liked Professor Space, he liked doing his homework. "And what are you doing hereee?" he asked, seeing that she had no book. But then she was a ravenclaw .. this was probably her sanctuary.

Sitting down on the carpeted floor, Noel patted the space beside him - gesturing her to sit. "So tell me .. anything" he said, because yeah they should be talking. And telling each other things.

"You DO?" The second year feigned surprise for all of TWO seconds before cracking a smile. She wasn't sure why other people would assume Noel wasn't into doing his homework. He didn't strike her as dumb or anything so it was a curious remark to make in HER opinion. "I like astronomy. It's my third favorite, I've decided." So she approved of the book and the subject matter which was clearly important. Clearly. "I just like it here. S'quiet." Shrug.

She settled down beside Noel and crossed her legs in front of her, leaning her back against the bookshelf. Her eyes remained trained on the shelf across from them as she started to talk. "I've decided I'm going to get my first kiss soon. Dot used her birthday to get thirteen. Well, maybe more like six. I'm not sure on HER count but I only want one. A proper one. For science."

Ophelia hadn't been here in a while. Actually, the small blonde couldn't remember if she ever had been here, although there would be a good reason for the previous indiscretion. However, there was a first time for everything, and now the first year was wondering around the books like a lost child. All of them seemed so interesting and yet so foreign, as if there was another world in each of the pages that the girl was slightly afraid to enter. And that was true.

Reading. Yes, she had to get along with her reading. The blonde had promised her mom she would improve on this, and because the Clarke's all had a steely sense of determination and a slight sense of wit about them, this was GOING to happen. There was no negotiating with mom when it came to the children's education. Or candy. But mostly education.

The first year spent minutes running her fingers across the bounds and looking at the titles both close and then from the opposite end of the isle, as if that would help her read them better. Of course it wouldn't, but it was a superstition that the five foot girl refused to let go of. Especially after picking out all of her books over the summer like this. It just..... seemed to help. And yes, after telling her family about this, they all discounted her and said it was 'mind over matter' and 'not scientifically profound' but whatever. Who needed them?

Finally selecting a title that peaked her interest, the blue eyes girl picked it off of the shelf smiled, finally looking less tense. At least she knew she could read this one. And if not, well Austin could help. After he stopped being so sad of course. But until then, they were going to read whatever this book was and enjoy it, or her name wasn't Ophelia Marie Clarke. -named opposite of her next eldest sister, Marie Ophelia Clarke.-

"Third? I am outraged!" he said, small grin still in place. "What could you possibly like more?" He was curious. He always curious about Maddison Cooper.

See, she liked the library just cause. Only ravenclaws could say that.

If Noel would have been drinking something, he would have sprayed it all over. And since he had nothing in his mouth whatsoever, he simply stared as a reaction to what Maddison Cooper had just said. For a moment he thought he might have heard it wrong but what could she possibly have said that he misunderstood it as the word 'kiss'. An inappropriate chain of words ran through his head that rhymed with the word 'kiss' and he mentally kicked himself to listen to what more she was saying.

"Um. A proper kiss ... for science?" he repeated, making sure he heard it right - but somehow his voice wasn't all that Noel-y when he did.

"I don't think .. it works like that" he said, eyes somewhere that was not her. "You can't just kiss someone .. for science"

The corners of Maddie's lips tugged upwards and the brunette smiled at Noel, amused. "Potions, of course. Defense Against the Dark Arts too. Astronomy is third." That's JUST the way it was.

The Hufflepuff's reaction to what she'd said was strange and Maddie scooted so that she was facing him. Better this way if she wanted to gauge his reactions properly. "Yes, that's what I said." At least she knew there was nothing wrong with his hearing.

"You can TOO." There was no law stating such a thing, she'd read up on it. "See, I have this theory that kissing is fun based on the fact that older kids are always doing that or complaining about having no one to do that with." It was written down in her notebook and EVERYTHING. "Also, my older brothers say I'm NOT allowed to snog." As IF they were in charge of her or something. "And they never want me to have fun so that's ANOTHER fact towards the theory." Was he paying attention? "The ONLY way to test this theory is to actually kiss someone so THAT'S what I'm going to do." Once she found a proper candidate, that is.

Nothing else mattered except what Maddison Cooper was saying. Did she know that? When she suddenly scooted, Noel almost moved back because - yeah. He HAD to look at her then, which was a real ordeal because while she spoke - his eyes kept shifting to her lips. And it was awkward.

"But I don't want to kiss someone for science," he said, shaking his head light. He hadn't really given this topic much thought, but at least now he knew he didn't wanna kiss for science.

Older kids were doing it? Noel's stomach churned - how was she speaking about this topic so easily. Just when he had learned to be comfortable around her ...

"Uh. So it's kind of like a adventure for you?" he said, trying to understand her theory. She wanted to do it for fun, to experience something she had no idea about. Yeah? His eyes shifted yet again to her lips when she said she would kiss someone. Why was his throat suddenly so dry? "So um. Do you have someone in mind?"

It wasn't THAT awkward. Or at least Maddie didn't think it was. She was quite comfortable discussing the topic at hand because she was so curious about it. She had ALL the questions and her need for them to be answered FAR outweighed any underlying sheepishness about having someone else's lips touching hers. So when Noel kept eyeing her lips-something she CLEARLY was aware of-she did the same to his. Sizing them up, if you will. How did you know if lips were GOOD lips?

"But that doesn't change the fact that I do." They were different, her and Noel. That was pretty clear from day one so she wasn't all that surprised that his opinion on THIS subject was different from hers.

"More like an experiment." Adventures were meant to take longer than the time it took to steal a kiss, weren't they? As for his next question, the second year shrugged. "Not really. I've decided on some ways to narrow it down, though." Did he want to hear because she was going to tell him anyway.

"It can't be Dima or Kyroh because if I kiss ONE, I'll have to kiss the OTHER to compare." She just DID. Science, okay? "Whoever it is HAS to take care of their teeth. They also CAN'T have eaten anything weird before said kissing takes place." In the event that the kiss might taste like whatever the person ate. "And it has to be someone I know." No strangers for reasons.

Of course it doesn't change that fact because she was Maddie. She was a VERY determined person, he knew that. When she said it was a experiment, Noel couldn't help but feel that ANNOYING itch that made him want to question everything she said. "So ... you don't want to wait and actually WANT to kiss someone?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

So clearly she had thought about this a lot. He could actually see her in his head sitting and thinking and then making a list of all the possible people she could kiss. Noel wasn't sure HOW he felt about this information. And she was talking more.

So no Dima and Kyroh. That was kind of a relief - he knew they were his besties. He wasn't sure he knew any more of her guy friends that could be possible candidates. He really wanted to know now though - who else she hung around with.

When she told more of her .... rules, Noel stared and then frowned slight. "The more you speak .. the more I feel you are taking the 'FUN' part out of this experiment of yours," Feeling a little of his head kick start again, he spoke: "I think it would be fun .. if it is spontaneous and not something you plan so much"

"I DO want to kiss someone. I want to know what it's LIKE to kiss. And I DON'T want to wait around for someone to decide that they want to kiss ME." And maybe that made her impatient but she didn't much care about that.

The frowning thing caught Maddie off guard and she raised her eyebrows. "Why are you doing that?" She mirrored his expression and raised her eyebrows, confused. What he said after only added to that confusion. "Before you said you don't want to kiss for science and now you're saying it'd be fun if it wasn't planned? I don't get you." Per usual. "Besides, I like to plan. Do you know how germy a mouth is? I need to be sure the mouth I kiss is a GOOD one." Made perfect sense to HER.

"Aren't YOU curious about it?" Kissing, she meant.

Noel was so confused. He tried not to show it because he hated feeling dumb in front of her but he really really felt confused. Why would someone wait to want to kiss her. She was .... HER. Besides why did she have to wait for someone to kiss her? "I don't think you need to wait, why can't you WANT to kiss someone and then kiss them?" he asked - wondering if he made sense, because in his head he did.

Ah. She caught the frowning thing, didn't she? Noel just shrugged - not sure if anything he would say would make sense to her.

He shook his head when SHE did the 'I don't get you' thing. "See .. what I mean is: I know you say everyone else thinks it fun, but fun is always something spontaneous" Did she understand that? "I DON'T want to kiss someone for science. Or ... let me put it this way, I don't want to kiss someone .. in such a planned way. Or think if their mouth is good or not when wanting to kiss someone"

"But," he paused, "the way you wanna do it, it does feel like a science experiment. So maybe you can do it, but trust me you won't actually know what the fuss is all about until you do it right"

Was he curious about it? Um.

Noel sorta shrugged and sorta totally avoided her eyes when he replied: "I suppose ..... Yeah"

Zhenya had walked up to the book shelves and was doing a front to back, up and down approach. She was at the first book shelf, she looked up as high as she could, thinking that surely Professor Cassie had hidden her book only where she could reach it? Maybe she didn't have to look way up at the top of the bookshelf. She'd get a sore neck, surely. She decided to look only as high as her arms could reach, looking across the row, then down to the next shelf, and so on. Once she had finished with one bookshelf, she'd move a few steps to her right and repeat. Getting slightly panicked, as she reached the last few bookshelves, she began to think 'what if it's not here and the map is playing silly with me?' Yes, what if?

But then, on the middle row of the second-to-last bookshelf, right in the middle of the middle row, she saw the familiar old and worn spine. She was delighted she had found it, a smile stretching across her face. There it was! She pulled it off the shelf and gave it a hug, then opened it to the middle, pressed her face in and gently inhaled the aromas of the book.

Well, now she had better tell Mr. Kitridge she was taking the book out of the library, and that it was in fact HER book. She didn't want him to think she was stealing from the library!

Okay, the library was huge, so Lux had a large area to cover in her search for Teddy. Crystal in hand, her gaze fell over each aisle in turn. Time to get to work.

Approaching the first aisle, she asked, "Is my teddy bear in this aisle?" using an indoor voice so as not to disturb anyone or get in trouble with Mr. Kitridge. Watching the crystal, she nodded when it began moving back and forth. Right. No teddy bear lurking among this aisle of books.

Moving onto the next aisle, she repeated the question with the same results. That happened again and again at each aisle. So Teddy was definitely not located in any book aisle which meant that he was maybe in the study tables area, or the corner room. The area with the stain glass windows was also a possibility. The Restricted Section was definitely out of the question, so she didn't even entertain that idea. With all these search areas, Lux decided that it was a good idea to ask the crystal about each location and narrow down the search right off the bat. If only she had thought of that before going from aisle to aisle, but at least she got a little exercise out of it.

"Is my teddy bear at the study tables?" After a moment the crystal started moving back and forth, so that was a no. "Is my teddy bear in the corner room?" Another no. So Teddy was definitely by the stained glass windows though maybe it was a good idea to double check; it would only take a moment. "Is my teddy bear by the stained glass windows?" AHA! The crystal moved in circles.

Pleased with herself, Lux headed off to the next search area.

Noel really DIDN'T understand where she was going with this which was made clear the more that he spoke. Maddie simply listened intently, eyes on his. She wasn't going to argue her point anymore than she already had. They simply had different views on the subject, HERS being the RIGHT one.

"WELL, I guess YOU can go about kissing YOUR way and I'LL go about it MINE. We can compare notes later, yeah? See who had the better time." Seemed like the only logical way to sort this out. That and she wasn't throwing away her plans because Wallace had a problem with them. She just wasn't.

See? He was curious. It was only natural. Maddie smirked then, satisfied. Seemed maybe they would get to compare notes and sooner than later.

Compare notes?? Noel gave her a look. "Well, okay then. We will do that" He agreed, because somehow he really really wanted her to know that she was wrong. You couldn't JUST kiss someone, you needed to WANT to kiss someone. There was a difference. He knew it.

There was a pause in between, and Noel wondered if she was actually going to enjoy the random kiss with the random person she chose. It seemed stupid to him, of course, because how could you? But then she did enjoy libraries and books and science - so maybe her kind of kiss was exactly how she was picturing it.

Lamb proceeded to place his head on her lap indicating her to pet him some more, and Noel simply watched.

And then he asked: "Besides Kyroh and Dima, who do you have in mind?"

It was a plan, then. One that Maddie was actually looking forward to. Once she'd followed through with HER plan and Noel had follow through with HIS, she could compare and contrast their experiences. Then she'd have a better idea of which way was best where first kisses were concerned.

Lamb was quite cute and his need for attention amused the second year. She found herself smiling at him as she scooped him up to pet him. Zeus would surely smell the crup on her clothes later and be annoyed but she wasn't too worried. Not at the moment, anyway.

"Well I had thought about you, actually." Maddie's tone was casual as her eyes traveled from the Hufflepuff's pet to the Hufflepuff. "But since you're against my experiment, I've mentally crossed you off the list." No biggy. "M'sure I'll have opportunities over the summer if I can't find someone here."

"Oh"

OH.

....

Noel chose to say nothing more.

Because he was honestly wondering how her brain worked. It ALWAYS threw him off. And because of it now he had all these images in his head that made him uncomfortable. He was EXTREMELY uncomfortable.

And when he was uncomfortable, he frowned and crossed his arms across his chest. He wasn't just uncomfortable, he was annoyed he realized when he could not stop his brain from running wild.

"I need to leave" he suddenly announced.

Maddie just STARED at him. Really? He was going to leave? WELL. She had questions, of course. Like she wanted to know WHY he had to leave all the sudden and WHAT was making him frown. She'd been honest with him which is what friends were meant to do, or at least that's what she'd learned from HER friends. So what was the problem? Something told her that asking any of these questions would only earn her more looks from the blonde boy and looks weren't exactly telling, especially if you were as confusing a human as Noel Wallace was.

"Okay." That was her response as she placed Lamb on the floor in front of him and stood, smoothing out her clothing. "I'll see you around, then. Bye." And because SHE refused to be the one left sitting in the aisle, she wandered off FIRST.