He was actually still VERY intimidating, and Dot clasped her hands behind her back and rocked a little as she tried to understand what he was saying. With a mother who said too much and a father who said too little, Dot was a good listener and knew how to read between the lines like a pro, but this... he was confusing.

"I'm always weird, sir." Her eyes went a little sad when she said it, since it was one of those things she didn't know how to help and it made people not like her when she really was trying to make friends. "But I don't... remember a class like that. And I don't remember being bit by anything."

She held out her hands again, just in case. "Maybe?"

Oh. Was she, now? He looked at her weirdly.

...he frowned in confusion.

"What do you remember last?" Amnesia wasn't in werewolf symptoms, and anyway, someone definitely would have noticed.

Remember last before... when? She didn't remember his class, so obviously he meant even earlier than that. Dot stared up at the professor with her nose scrunched, trying to remember what she couldn't remember.

"We were having a meetin' in the common room and we were reading a pretty book?" That was it. Did she get bit in the common room, or was it after? "Can I apply to be your favorite after Sophie?"

Something must have hit her head, then. Clearly Dot wouldn't remember that, so Cosgrach had to find someone that had been with her. But even then... it didn't make sense. If something fell, surely someone would have realised Dot was suffering amnesia? He couldn't figure it out by himself. He made a mental note to meet Jasmine and Leo to talk about this. He opened his mouth to tell her she had been in his discussion class, but then he decided against it. Until he found out more, he didn't want to frighten her.

That made him smile. "'Course you can apply. But it's a tough job to be my favourite. First, y'gotta be super cool'n'also successful." He tried to look aaaaall serious to see what she was made of.

The angry caterpillar eyebrows disappeared when the professor smiled, and it made Dot smile in response. See? She'd already moved about four spots up the list. Maybe more... she didn't know how many people in the school had never made him smile.

Without even meaning to, though, since Dot had been totally serious about wanting to be his favorite. Not a joke.

"Super cool and successful." Dot crossed her arms. Was she up to the challenge? "Maybe you can teach me how to be those things?"

Oh, these little ones took everything so seriously, didn't they? Though, he had to admit, it did sound sweet to be a 'favourite' of a professor.

Cosgrach pretended to think. "I can... but tell me, why do you want to be my favourite?" Hmm?

Whyyyyy did she want to be a favorite? Because... because... why because? Dot really thought about it, and she rightly discarded a few answers in the search for the right one.

She obviously wasn't going to say it was because she wanted house points or to do well in Potions, although there was probably some truth in that. Or that she felt competitive with big Sophie, although there was also truth in that. The real why, though?

"I want someone to like me best. Sir."

Oh.

That touched Cosgrach's heart right in the spot. The softest one. He remembered his own youth and yearning to be loved and appreciated. Sigh. He knew the feeling.

"It's pretty easy to be my favourite, really," he said in a soft tone, "y'just pay attention and be cool. And make sure you're not bitten by a werewolf." Yeah. That too.

Dot clasped her hands behind her back and gazed up at Professor of the Eyebrows. It sounded so easy to be a favorite, but really it also sounded very hard. Being cool was hard. Being successful was super duper hard, even if you were already cool or had rich parents.

"I'll stay away from wolves and forests and anything with teeth except people," Dot took a hesitant step toward him. And then another. "I am going to hug you now, sir."

Cosgrach nodded solemnly. Yeah. Werewolves were barely anyone's favourite, after all. He hoped Dot wasn't one, but he had to be sure. He would speak to Leo and Jasmine, first thing after Dot was gone.

Then he smiled and opened his arms.

"Okay."

He did this 'professor' thing well, didn't he?

"I didn't skip meeting you," Dot repeated it again, because it was SO distressing to be accused of something you didn't do. Especially when you were twelve. Then she flew against him and wrapped her arms around him as far as they would go (not very far) and buried her face in his side.

He felt like Oggie and smelled just a bit like him too and she missed her Oggie, and maybe she sniffled a bit out of all the missing she was doing. Dot let the professor go and stepped back.

"Thank you. For... hugging."

The way she said it made him doubt himself, but he was sure he had said it clearly. Something must have happened to her that evening, had to. Or that day. She had been weird all day.

But she was soon hugging him, so he forgot his worries and huuuuugged her back. He was going to assume she didn't sniffle. He let her go and smiled.

"Thank you for being cool already." He paused. "I'm not holding it against you. If you say you didn't skip it, you didn't." Just so she knew and could relax. Something different was up. He just didn't know what.

She was cool already? Dot grinned properly at the professor and dropped a little curtsy. Or something like a curtsy, since, for all her dance lessons when she was little, Dot had never learned how to do a grown-up curtsy.

"Thank you, sir. I'm gonna... go find some sunglasses and practice being cool and I'll let you know when I'm ready." Dot hugged his arm again and shook it happily before scampering down the hallway.

Hehehe, she knew how to curtsy? Cosgrach approved very much.

"Yeah. I hope you will enter the club." Cossy's favourite club. He looked forward to what she'd do when she was 'ready'. After watching her go for a moment, he made his way to his office to try to find out why she didn't remember his class.

Surfacing in a corner of the damply lit dungeon corridor landing on a bed of cob web and mold the book with the rich golden lettering and inviting pink ribbon sticking out, stopped to listen for new unsuspecting humans to enchant.

Glooowiiiiing brightly like a christmas tree the book overhead a tall red headed woman talking about wanting to find it somewhere close by. Amused the book let out a high pitched airy giggle that resonated around the walls in the dungeon corridor.

But before any humans came to look for it, the book poofed from the corridor.

At this point Zander was running, not very fast because he wasn't fast, but still. The closer he got, the brighter the glowing looked. Except... What was that noise? What was going on..? How come-- Was that-- It sounded like... Giggling?!

Okay. Was it too late to turn back?

Were the others really following them?

And then just like that the glowing had... Stopped?

O____________________O

It vanished?! IT POOFED? WHAT.

And as Zander reached where the glowing looked like it had come from, he came to a sudden halt and !!!! Slipped on some cobbwebs and just yeah. Nothing was going well for this Gryffindor today. First his group. Then being picked to go first. Then the glowing just stopped. Also the creepy laughter. And now, this?

Nodding to the others to follow Zander, Anastasia crept behind him carefully with her wand alit. She held it up as she approached the boy who seemed to have just slipped on an invisible something, and glanced around with a small sigh.

"I don't see it. You did just see something here a minute ago, didn't you, Mr. Adair?" They weren't crazy, right? "Does this book make noises in addition to glowing?" Or did this Gryffindor have a girlish giggle? Either way, they ought to move on up a floor if it wasn't going to allow itself to be found down here...

Zander just sat there on the ground for a little bit still completely shook up by what just happened. It just... It just disappeared? Huh? Kind of like the troll in potions that one time. It just poofed away? Or well- he wasn't sure as to what exactly happened with the glowing book, but one minute there was a dim light coming from the end of the corridor and then the next minute it was gone?

Turning around at the sound of the Headmistress's voice, Zander looked at her with the same shock in his eyes as the moment before. "There was definitely something here," he nodded while looking around in disbelief. How did something just 'go' like that? It was exactly how everyone described it. Hmph. It had to be the book, just had to. "And it just disappeared... But you do hear the giggling, right?" Or was he imagining that bit?

"...... Can books..... Giggle?"

Angel followed closely behind the Professor... she was trying not to giggle when she heard giggling down in the dungeon and the only person down there was her fellow Gryffindor... seriously did the boy just giggle or was there something with him.

Angel thought that if it was the Gryffindor boy then he must be amazing with voices because well that giggle was so girlish and she was so amazed... she realised the boy had slipped. "You okay there?" Angel decided she might as well be friendly. She then listened to what he said the book could giggle that was awesome.

Peeves was just floating around minding his own business when he heard some giggling. Who was giggling down in the dungeons? This was something he was going to have to change, so moving quietly he came up behind the little group. Floating right up behind them he listened for a moment.

"OH, It's over there, no it went that way."

Pointing from one direction of the dungeon to the other.

..........Gabe was especially relieved that he hadn't been asked to go ahead of the others....Mostly because he'd have fainted. It would have been embarrassing.......buuuuuut Zander was VERY MUCH a Gryffindor and had agreed; though, Gabriel could see that he hadn't wanted to.

It seemed the house of the BRAVE implied certain things.

.......and Gabe must've been blind because he'd seen nothing.....BUT....Well, he did hear that giggling. It was such an out of place sound in this environment that the hairs rose on his neck.....And yes, he jumped a foot off the group when that voice boomed behind them.

PEEVES?!

Stink. Eye.

"......Maybe we should......check the kitchens now?........" He did not like these dungeons. They weren't alone down here.

"I did hear the giggling," the Headmistress confirmed, quite serious about it all. "A book that giggles is certainly enchanted, and likely not enchanted in a good way, either," she added toward Zander. After all, every fairy tale had a villain, right? She absentmindedly fiddled with the straps on the bag she was wearing and was suddenly reminded of a possible villain/victim who could have come from this very book earlier in the year...

Then Peeves popped up and she literally jumped, her hand falling into place over her heart as the ghost gave her such a fright. "Goodness gracious," the redhead murmured to herself along with a few other choice words. She decided to ignore the poltergeist, as she always did, and made shooing motions to the two boys and the girl still present.

"Let's go to the kitchens, yes, but be quiet about it," she whispered at them. "Go on. We don't want Peeves following us." But they did want Culloden with them. Where had he gone to, not back to his office, surely?!

The Gryffindor looked up at Angel when she had finally made it over. He tried to smile, though really the confused expression remained on his face. You okay there? ??? Huh? What was that supposed to mean anyways? Oh. Wait. He was still on the floor wasn't he? Oh yeah. Uh, oops. Zander nodded encouragingly and slowly got back on his feet, making sure to dust over his robes to get rid of some of the nasty dust and cobweb residue.

So the giggling must have been the book after all. And it was most definitely enchanted. Well, this was getting weirder and weirder by the second. If the book could giggle, Zander could only imagine what else it could do!! A book that giggled was never a good thing. Granted, most things that giggled weren't. Except girls. Girls were good things. Actually no, a lot of girls were good things, but Zahra Kettleburn was not one of them. So you know what never mind they had actual--

PEEVES.

Zander glared. Yes, he GLARED at the Poltergeist. The ghost had been the one to start the whole 'Zandy Wandy' outrage, but more importantly he made fun of the boy's best friend. Bad vibes Peeves, nothing but bad vibes. The worst part was that Zander was ready to believe the wonky directions that the ghost had given the group and had it not been for the Ravenclaw, he might've actually gone on an entire chase around Hogwarts based solely on lies that Peeves fed him for his own personal enjoyment. Except guess what Peeves? Ravenclaws. They had one.

So HA! No wonky direction following here. Ravenclaws RULED. But as for the next suggestion, Zander was the first to jump on board and getting moving. If they were to be anywhere at Hogwarts, Zander felt the safest in the kitchens. 'Cause at least if anything, they wouldn't die of starvation, you know? And there was a fire place there to keep toasty. It was just a good place with lots of chocolate and happy times. And to the kitchens he marched! (Mostly for the food, but also for the sake of the search?)

Did they think they could get rid of Peeves that easily? He cackled and followed. What they were looking for he did not care, he heard the boy say kitchens and that just meant more fun for him.

Cosgrach only appeared when he heard that the book disappeared. He made a face, while celebrating it on the inside, and pretended to be panting as if he did run to catch them. Haha, not in a million years would be RUN to a GIGGLING book that'd possessed him for a MONTH! It also GLOWED - if there was anything he knew of this world, it was that the fancier something looked, the deadlier it got. Just like Peeves there. He tried to make himself a part of the wall when he appeared too, as if they didn't have enough troubles. But they were shortly on the move, so he followed them... after Peeves, although he doubted they would notice it if he just took refuge at his office?