SPOILER!!: Hiii :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Once upon a time, someone had R U D E L Y voted for Bernadette O. Grantham with the superlative MOST LIKELY TO KEEP AN OVERDUE LIBRARY BOOK FOR SIX YEARS BEFORE RETURNING IT.

And here she was, living up to her legend, returning an overdue library book that she had checked out FOR FIVE YEARS ONLY, j'excuse you all. (The j'excuse is because technically her first year of school was in France, and she could not be held liable for any fees and fines from there. Also because she was suspended that year. Also though, none of this has anything to do with this book, which is actually in fact from Hogwarts itself from her time as a second year.)

Anyay, it was verging on being overdue for six years, and on account of how Bernie didn't really attend Hogwarts anymore, she was still here to return it. So she slid the tome across the counter and cleared her little throat.

My, this place was dry.

Was this how Ravenclaws felt?

It was a question only vaguely crossing her mind as she set five books down on the counter for checkout. With NEWTs hovering around the corner, Claudine was determined to get proper grades at the exams so that getting into University would be a breeze.

The Snakette was paying no attention at the moment to anyone around her. Not until that throat clearing happened, anyway. That’s when she looked around and found herself standing beside Bernadette. Claudine’s gaze moved from the girl to the book before the Gryffindor.

“I remember that book. Are you borrowing it again? Or wait… don’t tell me. You’re now returning it?’’ It would be such a Bernadette Grantham thing.

Kamran Kazmi had just about_H A D_I T.

Actually, he'd just about had it several months ago. Several months ago, he'd also been a lot less knowledgeable about magical vine plants. In doing his part researching, Kamran knew a lot more about vines than he had ever wanted to know, and yet very little about the school's particular problem. Nobody else seemed to have answers for them either.

So the investigation had continued. The Hogwarts library had its own treasure trove of secrets, hidden away in the books, and no doubt one of them... somewhere... could tell them something. Surely. Hopefully.

Entering the library, Kamran headed towards the Restricted Section, stopped suddenly, and rerouted to look for Meda. One, because she had the key, and two, because several sets of eyes were better than one. Even if it was unlikely that just the two of them would be able to comb the entire library all that effectively, and that they'd do better, and faster, with many more eyes than just theirs.

Also, if it looked like he was limping, it was because he was attempting to walk off a nagging pain in his leg; one of those nasty little vines had grabbed his ankle on the way up the stairs. He'd tripped. Fallen. It had been a whole thing. He didn't want to talk about it.

All of his free time went to a personal project, and researching the vines. He'd paused on the vine portion for awhile, but following the aggression displayed in Herbology it was back in full force. Evan was currently on a break from the vines, compiling four years worth of his Charms notes into a neat notebook for easier studying. Something he also played on copying and distributing, for all subjects really, for everyone to get a kickstart on their OWL preparation.

Was he a little extra? Absolutely. At least in this area.

Setting down his quill for a moment, Evan stretched his arms high above his head and glanced off to the side to see Professor Kazmi. Limping? The Ravenclaw frowned, before pushing away and heading off after his Professor to approach. "Hello, sir. Are you alright?" Because if not, he'd certainly be willing to run fetch him whatever book or whatnot he was here for.

Apollo had surprisingly found himself returning to the library more frequently this year. There was something comforting about the books and the fact that they seemed to be a good distraction from feelings and stuff that he did NOT want to deal with.

But what he hadn't expected to see was Kazmi ... headed toward the restricted section ... with a limp??

Evan was two steps ahead of him though in inquiring if he was alright, which well, wasn't it obvious that their flying professor WAS NOT ?? Like flying professors should be in top physical form and yet ...

"Surely we can summon whatever you need, right? So you don't need to put unnecessary weight on it." Apollo suggested, before even realizing he had spoken.

He didn't want to talk about it.

What, you may ask? The fact that the left side of his face was still a bit swollen and he had this dull muddy puple-ish-green around his left eye from the fall and subsequent collision with something on the ground.

So. No. He didn't want to talk about it.

Already in the library, and with a book on magical confectionary nestled on his lap, Atlas happened to glance up as the Groundskeeper made his way across the library in front of him...followed by two little ducks also known as Evan Nam and one of his dormmates, Apollo. Curious, mostly, because of the man's limp...the third year nonetheless found his interest even more tickled when he saw the direction in which he was heading.

The Restricted Section? Well, don't mind if we do.

Also, he would not be asking the man about his leg because that would just be an invitation for him to ask about the Gryffindor's face.

And he did not want to talk about it.

"Did a vine do that?" he asked Professor Kazmi, POINTING at his leg.

What? Sometimes self restraint was hard. Other times his mouth just said what he was thinking without his permission. It was a whole thing.

After dismissing her class, June had wasted no time and had made her way straight to the library. It wasn't like she had much of anywhere to be anyway, her office was engulfed in an unknown fog and all she could think about were these wild vines. So ...library and research it was.

Speaking of, she was not at all surprised to see Kamran already in there. The professors had been at this for some time now, and at this point - they were basically sharing the growing frustration over these vines. "Any luck?" she asked, joining the groundskeeper and Atlas - who received a gentle rub of her thumb on his cheek, because naturally she noticed the swollen side of his face, and she felt less of his professor and more of his aunt in the moment, "did you have that looked over by the healer, Atlas?"

Claudine had followed her Head of House silently. Cautiously too. She had expected more of the vines to come alive and continue terrorising the occupants of the Castle. She had expected to fight her way to the library. It seemed as though the girl was becoming paranoid.

Arriving at the library, she hung back for a bit by herself. Her gaze hovered on Kazmi. Why was he limping? Claudine was genuinely concerned because he happened to be her favourite professor who was still at Hogwarts.

Anyway.

Could they get started already?

Ugh. Vines. Fifty was no age to be having his feet pulled out from under him on the stairs. He wasn't as bouncy as he used to be.

Peering down one aisle of shelves, Kamran heard student voices, and turned to see Nam and Adara-Stark addressing him. "I'm alright, thank you, Mr Nam," he quietly assured the Ravenclaw, and subtly alternated the weight on and off that leg while he paused and considered the other boy's words. Mind still on the books, he was a little nonplussed for a moment, but then it clicked. "Nothing to worry about. Actually I'm here to-" Hold that thought.

Ah, Flamsteed. With a... face situation. "Technically, the floor did it, but there was indeed a vine accomplice." Bitter? No. Yes. Kamran, in his wisdom, did not return the question, nor the pointing - questionable habit that needed addressing, FYI - but he made an educated guess that he'd also run afoul of the... nuisances.

And here was June. Always a relief to have her expertise to hand. "No luck yet. I'm headed for the Restricted Section now; if there's any information to find about this plant business, maybe it's there." This was a good little group that was gathering, too, and he addressed them at large, pausing to direct a hopefully reassuring nod of greeting in Blaze's direction. "It might be more efficient if we combed through those shelves as a group." As in, this was him... tentatively giving permission. Desperate times.

She had been clearing books and going to place a few plant books back that she had pulled out when she noticed a group was forming. "Well hello everyone, was a class moved the library? Could I help with anything?" She knew Neva and Mia had went to find June so when she saw June she felt maybe this was a meeting, but maybe just a lesson.

Slipping the books back into the shelf she glanced through her books to see if anything was missing when she heard the word restricted, "Do you need some help? What are we looking for?" She had the keys in her hand and ready to go if needed.

Violet had been relieved to leave the great outdoors (which was obviously out to kill her) and retreat into the castle, into one of her favorite places, The Library! She followed Professor Flamsteed there without further comment, and when they found Professor Kazmi there, talking about the Restricted Section, her heart gave a jump. The Restricted Section! She'd always longed to have a peek in there.

Perhaps if she just stayed right behind Kazmi, very quietly, she could just follow him in...

After a visit to the hospital wing and realizing it would be pointless to go to class when it had almost ended, Daniel had decided to do some self-studying in the library. He was seated on one of the chairs near a bookshelf, his Arithmancy book in front of him while the Hufflepuff had been taking notes when he heard voices nearby. And they sounded like the professors and a couple of students. Was there a class in the library and he forgot about it?

The boy scooted his chair back and stood up before he quietly walked to the library bookshelf behind where the group stood when he heard the word "Restricted Section" THEY WERE GOING INTO THE RESTRICTED SECTION?! It was his DREAM to see it!

"I can help!" he said a bit ...too enthusiastically as he stepped around the bookshelf and looked at his Head of House in particular. PLEASE let him go into the restricted section! He'd be good, he promised!

Of course it was the vines that caused Kazmi’s injury. That made sense since it seemed as though they were on a roll right about now. Oh. The Restricted Section. That too made sense because had there been a solution to these vines in the regular books accessible to everyone, then a solution would have already been found.

“Calm it, Daniel,’’ Claudine said not rudely. She had moved to his side, her eyes on Euka. She willed to open the Restricted Section already. If anyone spared her a glance, they would see that her wand was still in her hand. Why? Claudine expected the vines to attack at any second.

V looked through a few of the pages in the book that she actually did NOT want, and she shrugged. "Not...really, no," she lied, but she didn't want to admit to Valentina what she was actually looking for. She had already talked to both Lisa AND Ivy Grimm, and still, she felt ill-prepared for the future. She was looking for something in particular, but it wasn't something she thought she'd find here. So. No need to tell the other girl about it!

"I'm good, too. Just trying to, you know, get through the term. It's been an eerily quiet one ish. ISH. But all of my terms here haven't been too bad...you know, since I started AFTER that horrible war here," she shivered a little bit.

Here was Meda now, excellent. Hopefully they'd all kept the volume at a reasonable level. Library and all.

"Sorry to disturb you, Professor Euka. Seems we're all here to try and get to the bottom of this vine situation once and for all. Could you open up the Restricted Section for us? I can vouch for the students who want to help search inside." He looked June's way, to see if she was on the same page as him with that, and would do the same. The more eyes the better, and Kamran was happy to give all students permission to search the Restricted Section just this once... even if it did mean having to keep an eye on them at the same time.

That went for the youngsters in particular; not necessarily out of distrust, more out of a duty of care. Everyone knew the books in there could be... unpleasant, and every professor knew that half the students were practically dying to get inside purely because it was restricted. But students like Blaze and Blackthorne were more likely to set good examples for their younger peers, enough that Kamran would not have to worry too much about the overeagerness of inquisitive younger students like Yoon.

The sooner they found answers, the better. "We'll be as quick as we can."

AUNT JUNE! WHY WERE YOU NOT A LEGILIMENS?! HE SAID HE DID NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!

Honestly. He really needed her to be cool right now and not push him into a situation where he was forced to lie. So, really, this was all her fault. "Yup and it looks worse than it really is," he grumbled while pushing her hand away That was something healers said, right? He also didn't really want her to feel bad because he HAD been injured in her lesson because of the vines. So, also technically, that too was her fault.

Anyway.

Atlas caught himself shooting Claudine a bit of a nasty glare when she snapped at Daniel like that...which confused him because of most students, Daniel was the one that bothered him more than most. There were a few ranked above him but...not the point. He was not particularly fond of Claudine either after she had burned him in Potions AND as a seventh year she ought to have more tact in speaking to younger students. Obviously. Or something.

Anyway. Hell was freezing over because not only was Atlas defending Daniel in some way...they also shared the same goal of entering the Restricted Section and were bubbling for joy on the inside that the dream was coming true.

Go figure.

When Professor Euka appeared, the Gryffindor thought he would help the plea Professor Kazmi was presenting. "Yeah. We need to get to the bottom of all this before all the creatures in the lake die or the vines actually break someone's leg like they almost did Professor Kazmi or someone's face like they almost did mine." No sense in hiding THAT now that the Herbology Professos had brought attention to it. "Might start throwing people out of windows next time they turn aggressive so they can have Hogwarts all to themselves and nature conquer all."

Embellishing much? Of course.

Did Lisa ever figure out that her kneazle wasn't REALLY trying to kill her?

Well this was... interesting. First Claudine had popped up, then a whole crowd of other people, and now.........?

Bernie just stared at everyone. Every one of them.

"Can I just return my overdue library book? I don't really need more collection owls hounding me," she announced/asked loudly, looking between the woman, old man, Flamsturd #1 or #2, and Schmoe's ex-girlfriend aka the herbology professor. (She did like her, she recalled.)

Bernie tapped her fingers on her book and wondered if maybe she could also go into the restricted section, like what the old man was asking? Just because it sounded like the good ol' troublemaking days.

Claudine had followed Flamsteed, and Ash had followed Claudine. Huh. They were headed to the library.

Ash didn’t really love the library, despite being a Ravenclaw. It was so inefficient. Who had time to search through a library during an emergency? Wizards needed to make their own internet. Not just use muggle tech occasionally.

She wandered over to Professor Kazmi, her favorite professor. Was he... hmmm. Leg injury? Ash could guess how that happened. She raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing. Or nothing to him, at least. She did mumble something to herself at some point.

She picked up some library books from the regular library, then wandered back over to Claudine, hoping to be let into the restricted section(she hadn’t done stupid stuff in like, a really long time! And never in the presence of books). The first things that she’d be looking for would be magical history and dangerous herbology. Assuming she was let in. Assuming that.

Ivy had also followed Professor Flamsteed from the Herbology lesson, very much ready to help search for an answer to the vines. It didn't seem likely that they'd find it on the regular shelves, but...but!! The Restricted Section!! That would be a great place to look, and she was keen to check it out. Having free rein of the place would've been preferable, but at least it was still access.

Just had to wait for Professor Euka to open it up, so Ivy stopped beside Violet to wait quietly, though her eyes probably gave away the eager curiosity she was feeling.

“Sure you can. Better late than never, I suppose.” Claudine smirked at Bernie but not in a contemptuous manner. She was thinking that it was just like Bernadette to keep a book that long. Anyway. “We’re just about to search for a solution to these pesky vines. In the Restricted Section.'' She had the suspicion the Gryffindor would love that even though as a seventh year, access could easily be granted to that section.

First they needed Euka to relent and it sounded as though Kazmi was doing a good job pursuing her. Even Atlas wasn’t doing bad in her opinion. Surely Euka would not hesitate any longer? Her attention shifted to Ash who was on her way back in her direction with a stack of books. “Would you prefer to stay out here?” Claudine wasn’t sure what was on the Ravenclaw’s mind at this moment. She herself was a little reluctant to have Ash in the Restricted Section. Some of those books were plastered with diagrams that could scar one for life.

It really felt like all she did these days was teach classes and try to keep the barn doors clear of vines. She hadn't been able to bond with the birds in weeks, even now that the weather was...well, she still thought the weather was terrible, but one couldn't expect the weather in Scotland to be in any way comparable to the weather in the Arizona desert.

It did remind her of the Rockies, occasionally, but that was mostly when it snowed.

Fresh off attempting to get vines out of the pygmy puff enclosure, she'd decided to return to the library. Maybe there was a book they hadn't found yet. Maybe.

And it seemed like she was in good company, with the small army of professors and students already gathered outside the restricted section. Including some of the younger students. So...maybe it was good she was here. If they had to keep an eye on the youngsters while also looking through books for something useful. "I suppose we're all here for the same reason," she murmured, slipping her hands into her pockets. "If we divide and conquer, perhaps we'll finally find something helpful."

Yes! Kazmi had said it out loud, he was vouching for them (Violet hoped and assumed that included her). She was going to stick to Professor Kazmi like glue, waiting for the golden opportunity to see the Restricted Section at last (and really, she was of age now, so it wasn't like she was an irresponsible child). Besides, those vines were malignant and probably at least semi-sentient, and Violet had a feeling that any information on them would not be found in the regular books.

Claudine had been agitated with him before which was why he recognized that her tone was different despite her telling him to calm down. To him, it had not sounded rude but more like a warning. Something that Minjae did from time to time and he wondered if his big brother, who was friends with Claudine had taught her that method. Cause it worked. The boy stopped bouncing on his feet and looking way too eager for someone possibly entering the restricted section. She was right, this was no time to be giddy. But he did not stop staring intently at the professors as if he could somehow hypnotise them into saying that he could enter the restricted section.

Staring at the professors meant that he had completely missed Atlas throwing a nasty glare at the older Slytherin and had defended him right now. Even if he did not need defending. Especially not from someone like Atlas Flamsteed!

More students and a professor joined them but he had no eye for any of them because when Professor Kazmi mentioned that he would vouch for the students Daniel almost gasped. He had not excluded him!!!

HE WAS GOING TO ENTER THE RESTRICTED SECTION!!!!!

Even his Head of House couldn't say no now! she...couldn't right? RIGHT?!

So many were talking and so many were going in different directions, goodness she felt a bit overwhelmed by it all for just a quick second, but then the divi.... librarian jumped into action. [b] "Divide and conquer, yes I do like that idea. She spun on her heel and motioned with her keys for the group headed to the restricted section to follow her. "I glanced at a few books myself earlier after speaking with a few, but didn't come across anything. I just don't understand them." It was nothing like she had ever seen before and nothing that she felt she could find.

"Bernadette just lay them on my desk I will get them checked in as soon as we are done here. You may join the search as well if you would like." She smiled at the girl before turning her attention back to the group. "So what all has been discussed so far, maybe there is something that you have found or that I have found that could be a puzzle piece to put together."

Coming to the restricted section she pulled her wand and worked the charm then stuck the key in to unlock, if the students thought it was just a key that unlocked the restricted section they were greatly mistaken, she always put extra security around it, she was a student once.

... "Let's try to keep our imaginations reined in, just for the moment, Mr Flamsteed." At this point, Kamran wouldn't put it past the vines to turn his embellishments back on him. Get too many ideas. But... they probably weren't that sentient. ... Right?

Full steam ahead then. The less time they spent in here, the less opportunity for any student to land themselves squarely in trouble. The odds of that went up with their number - though that also meant plenty were here to help, likely the majority had come from June's lesson. Fox was also present (he gave a little nod of the head to return the wordless greeting), and Grimm too. And, ah, Mia. Excellent.

As he followed the professor-librarian, doing his level best to keep his strides even - maybe he would visit Neva after they were done here - Kamran glanced back at the students. "I know it will be tempting to wander, but stick to the Herbology books, unless this research leads elsewhere." Just making that clear right away; he was perfectly fine with for any of the students staying near him once inside, all the better to keep an eye out. Meda's question seemed better answered by someone who'd been present before Kamran had joined them, so he just focused on getting into the Restricted Section once the gate was unlocked.

Atlas continued to bounce on his toes as Professor Euka spoke, only half listening to her until she directly addressed someone in the crowd that had gathered. Bernadette? That was a name he had not heard all that much recently and his head swiveled around in confirmation. Oh, hey, looky there.

BUT, on to more pressing matters!

Whatever exchange was had between the adults went in one ear and out the other...and after what seemed like an eternity of slow mo movements from the key slipping into the lock of the Restricted Section (seriously, could she BE any slower with this?! Eager lion over here!), Atlas took off like a pebble out of a sling shot and rubbed his hands together while scanning the shelves. There were so many interesting titles he wanted to open up...but it would be too conspicuous to grab something that had no relevance to plants in the title...but they were supposed to leave no leaf unturned and divide and conquer and all that...so he grabbed a random book off the shelf, flipped to the back, and scanned down the index.

For research in the now and, erm, personal reference for later. Possibly.