Anna followed Madame Kohan over to the restricted section, stopping when the trio reached the locked and barred gates. Anna gulped. Wow. There really must be some serious books in here for them to be behind such large measures of security. Hopefully all this hard work would be well worth it. Anna looked up at Madame Kohan and waited for her to make the next move.

Looking at the barred and locked gate along with the sign, Nicholai couldn't help but sigh in satisfaction. Even if most of the books they wouldn't even get to touch, there was something about being near them that really appealed.

As Anna gulped, Nicholai put his hand on her back for a moment and offered her a smile before running his hand through his hair and looking at Madame Kohan, unable to hide the excited glint in his eye. It was better than being in the library at home.

Carefully withdrawing a key from her robes, Madame Kohan unlocked the gate and pulled it open. It was rather dim inside, and so she looked towards the two students before speaking. "You may want to use your wands for light." She suggested before stepping across the entrance to the Restricted Section and beckoning them to do the same.

Anna stole a glance over at Nico, having heard his sigh just seconds before. He seemed just as excited as she was to be in the land of the forbidden, so to speak. There was no telling what kind of adventures lied before them. There was also no telling what they would find. Would it be any useful as far as the treasure hunt was concerned? Hmm...only time would tell.

When Anna felt Nico's hand rest on her back, she smiled and took a deep sigh of her own. Nico had really become a close friend of hers these last few weeks. She was grateful that he'd come around, and she only hoped he would stay around.

When Anna heard the sound of keys jingling, she looked back over at Madame Kohan, only to see that the librarian was now, finally letting them inside the restricted section. Anna did as she was told and retrieved her wand from the inside of her robes. "Lumos," she whispered, watching the tip of her wand emit an immediate beam of light. At Madame Kohan's beckon, Anna stepped inside the restricted section and then nodded for Nico to do the same. "So, Madame Kohan, are we free to look about now?" Anna asked.

While waiting for the two to step into the Restricted Section, Madame Kohan ignited her own wand, and then closed the gate behind her, locking it again so that no curious minds could sneak in.

"You are free to look around..." She began. "After you tell me the truth." She gazed amusedly at the two of them. Perhaps the bit about Professor Myers father being a historian was correct, but there was something quite fishy about their story.

Anna jumped when she heard the sound of a lock click behind her. She whirled around to discover that she, Nico, and Madame Kohan were currently locked inside the dark depths of the restricted section, the only light being that emitted by the tips of their wands. "NICO!" Anna fussed, nudging him in the side. "Cast lumos!" she said. "I can barely see as it is."

"Oh, thanks, Madama Ko---," Anna started to say. "The truth? I don't understand. We...---" Anna looked over at Nico, silently asking him to speak up and get them out of the current mess they seemed to be in. Anna never expected to get locked inside this restricted section with a librarian who didn't believe her story. Anna sighed. She should have known this had ended up being too easy. She may as well tell the truth. The chances of them getting out of here anytime soon were slim to none otherwise. Not to mention the spider currently crawling up the wall near Nico's head didn't look too friendly.

"Here's the deal, Madame Kohan. Last term, a few of my friends and I were involved in getting Hogwarts back. We wrote a letter to the Minister of Magic telling him about a hidden treasure here at Hogwarts. One of the girls in our little group had overheard mention of a treasure, and then we got the idea to write this letter to the Minister and bargain with him. We told him that if he reopened our school, we would help him find the treasure. So now he's held true to his side of the bargain, and I believe we're expected to hold true to our's. Madame, one of my friends told me that a Ministry official was here at Hogwarts the other day, and that she went to speak with the headmistress. I have reason to believe this is dealing with the treasure, and that the Minister will be heading to Hogwarts soon to see about the status of this treasure. My friends and I spoke with the headmistress last term, and she knows about this treasure. I'm not sure how much she knows, but she spoke as if she had reason to believe the treasure, which may or may not be a book, is hidden inside this library. I'm thinking this book will assist us in securing Hogwarts...for everyone. Those who walk through it's doorways now, and those who will one day walk through. Our present and our future depends upon this book. Do you understand the situation that I'm in now?" she asked.

Nicholai didn't bother saying anything, he just looked at Anna with his eyebrow raised.

Nicholai shrugged and non-verbally cast Lumos, turning to look at Anna and gesturing for her to continue.

After Anna had said her piece he nodded in agreement and added,
"If nothing else, Madame Kohan; we hope to find some information that can help us figure out where else to look. The events of last year indicate that whoever it was helping the students to get Hogwarts back were part of an organisation with a rich history. A rich, but secretive history; there is nothing in Hogwarts; a History regarding any of this that we could see." And he had read that book cover to cover several times.

"But I was wondering if Hogwarts has changed much? Are there old maps...?" Nicholai paused, "Mysterious and unexplained occurances; deaths, missing persons and the like?" Nicholai's eyes flickered hungrily around the shelves before turning back to regard Madame Kohan.

"And with respect," he inclined his head slightly, "If there is anything else you want to ask us, we will happily answer."

As Anna attempted to cover up her surprise at being asked the truth, Madame Kohan simply leaned against the gate, watching the two of them. There was something definitely going on here besides wishing to be more informed about pirates.

Listening carefully as Anna launched into a long-winded explanation of why exactly they were here, Angela couldn’t help but feel a mix of emotions. So, this all dealt with the re-opening of Hogwarts?

Scowling lightly at the mention of the Minister, for the mere presence of the officials he had appointed last year still weighed heavily on her mind, she continued to ponder over this revelation. So the Headmistress did indeed know about this treasure; and now it seemed as though the students were eager to search the library for any clue to find the treasure.

Well, then, who was she to stop them? After all, it was rather nice to see that he students intended to remain honest to a bargain they had made; very smart as well for the Minister was no man to mess with.

With a chuckle as Anna ended her speech so passionately, Madame Kohan spoke again. “Very nice speech, Miss Greingoth.” She began. “And very interesting indeed. So, you’re believing that the clues or the treasure itself may lie within the library? Well, I can honestly say that I don’t know of a particular book that may help you with so few clues to go on….”

When Nico spoke up, continuing Anna’s spiel, Madame Kohan turned her attention to him. “Oh?” Now, perhaps they were getting somewhere. “Any idea what the name of that organization was?”

Chuckling lively again as Nico tossed out a few possibilities, Angela shook her head. “I’m sure Hogwarts has undergone perhaps some renovations in the past, though I’m not certain if there are old maps or blueprints that would show you that. And, if you have read Hogwarts, a History, then the deaths, mysterious occurences, and missing persons would have been recounted there.”

“I appreciate that, and I’m sure that questions will come as this bit of treasure hunting continues.” She added. “Just be sure to keep me updated on the hunt. Of course, I’ll keep an eye and ear out for anything useful.”

Anna finished her speech and then took a deep breath. Whoa. That had actually been a lot more lengthy than she'd intended. She only meant to give Madame Kohan the basics --- just enough to get by, but then she'd decided that the librarian would probably have more and more questions to ask in response to an abbreviated speech, so Anna had just spilled everything out all at once.

"Oh, thank you, Madame," Anna said, giggling on the inside at the very thought of how startled the librarian must have been upon hearing such a lengthy speech. "Yes, ma'am. We all seem to believe that the clues lie within a book here in the library. That's where the headmistress seemed to think it would be, at least." Anna frowned when the librarian mentioned that she'd never heard of such a book; but then it hit Anna --- of course she'd never heard of such a book. Why would it be considered a "treasure" and something to "hunt for" if it could be easily accessed with the help of the librarian? Hmmm...?

Anna smiled at Nico as she noticed him silently casting lumos to add the necessary additional lighting. When he finished a speech of his own, Anna listened as Madame Kohan questioned the organization Nico had talked about. "Oh, I know what it was called," Anna chimed in. "There were four separate orders - The Orders of the Mane, Stripe, Talon, and Fang. Each organization represented a Hogwarts House. The four houses worked together to...do something, I don't know. Anyway, then the four orders combined together made up a fifth order called...well, I don't know that either. Do you, Nico?" Anna asked.

"So, Madame," Anna said. "Should we even continue to look in here, or have you casted this place off as a lost cause?" The librarian seemed to consider what Anna had first thought of as a good lead to be a dead-end.

“Well, I’ve never known the Headmistress’s hunches lead in the wrong direction.” Madame Kohan remarked. “Unfortunately, the finding of such a book, is quite a monumental task; what with the thousands of books we have here…” If only there were some way to narrow down the possibilities; but unfortunately, at the moment, she could think of nothing.

Orders of the Mane, Stripe, Talon and Fang? Well, this information just intrigued her further. “Hmm, well I suppose that we could attempt to look up those four key words; though they’re no doubt mentioned in many, many books, especially those books dealing with magical creatures or potions, perhaps.” She gave a quiet sigh. “This will certainly be quite the task to take on.”

When Anna spoke up again, asking for her opinion as to whether or not the book lay here in the Restricted Section, Angela took a moment or two to ponder.

“Well, Miss Greingoth, let me put it this way. I would think, that if this organization intended to place secrets about themselves in a book, then perhaps it would be hidden in a place that is hard to access. However, if the purpose were to assist in finding a treasure, then perhaps it would be in a place accessible to everyone to ensure that as many people as possible were searching for the treasure. After all, the more heads you have, the better your chances are.” She answered truthfully.

“It’s really up to you. If you’d rather search out in the main library first, then you’re more than welcome to. Just be sure you keep the books in their correct order.” She reminded them. Always the librarian she was, her books became the forefront in her work.

With a pause, she glanced around at the bookshelves around them before going on. “If you’re unsuccessful in the main library, then perhaps we can take a look around here for any mention of this Order.”

Anna nodded when Madame Kohan mentioned that the headmistress' hunches never lead in the wrong direction. "My thoughts exactly," she remarked. "Now, if the headmistress would only, somehow, be able to figure out exactly where this book is, our lives would be a lot easier. That's just the problem, Madame---there are so many books here, that I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to go through them all in time. You don't even know of such a book, and you'e the librarian!" Anna threw her hands up into the air, almost as if she were accepting defeat.

"Madame, would you help me look up those four keywords and see if we can come up with something...anything?" Anna asked, looks of hope and determination spreading across her face.

At Madame Kohan's words, Anna looked towards Nico, searching his face for any sign that the two should either stay or head on out. When she came up with nothing, she turned back to face Madame Kohan. "You know what? You're right. Maybe I should search the main sections first," Anna concluded. "I tell you what. If I decide later that I would like to come back to the restricted section, may I? I mean, with the same pass from Professor Myers, that is...." If the librarian agreed, Anna would head on out now and search the main sections before she resorted to the restricted section.

Madame Kohan couldn't help but laugh at Anna's obvious determination. "Well, if she knew the location of the book, it would certainly make things much easier. You are correct about that. But since we don't know the location, then I suppose research is in order."

Pausing for a moment as she processed Anna's request, Madame Kohan finally nodded. "Indeed, Miss Greingoth. I shall do what I can whenever I have a free moment." She agreed.

Once the decision had been made to simply search the main library first, Angela straightened up, for she had been leaning against one of the shelves; thankfully not the one with the books that came alive and practically leaped off the shelf when you bumped into it. "That's fine. Just come by and let me know if you need to access it again."

When Madame Kohan began laughing, Anna frowned for a moment before she realized the reason for the librarian's sudden laughter. It wasn't every day a librarian encountered a student this determined to hunt down and retrieve a real treasure supposedly hidden within a library.

When Madame Kohan finally agreed to let Anna back into the restricted section if the need ever arose again, Anna smiled and nodded towards the locked entrance to the restricted section. "Well then, I'm assuming we need you and that set of keys you're holding to get out of this place," Anna said. "Thanks for your time, Madame. I'll let you know if we come across any possible leads. Come along, Nico...we've got shelves upon shelves to search through..."

As the final decision was made, Madame Kohan walked towards the entrance of the restricted section, pulling the key from her robes as she went. "You're very welcome. And thank you for sharing your real purpose in wanting access to the restricted section." She added.

Unlocking the gate, she waited for the two students to exit before she closed the gate again, locked it, and followed the two back into the main library.

Nico approached the gate barring the way into the restricted section and waited for the librarian to let him and Camira inside. He cast lumos ready to light the way and smiled in satisfaction. He hoped that they wouldn't straight away find something so he'd have a chance to flick through a book or two.

Oh my goodness. This was so exciting. She couldn’t believe the librarian had given her permission just like that. She followed, or more like was dragged by Nico over to the gate. Soon it would be unlocked and they would be free to roam around. Hmm… they’d probably have some very good advanced potions reading.

She saw Nico cast lumos and did the same. It was a bit dim in there, after all. Oh, she hoped the found something. Preferably something good.

Ari berated herself as she walked calmly over to the restricted section, a sense of excitement building in her as she stopped and waited for Madame Kohan to open the gate. the book she was after was probably in the back, where the somewhat dangerous books were. Moving her bag to her right shoulder, she shrugged it into place and looked around, taking her wand out, but not lighting it. She could see fine, plus she knew what the book looked like.

As all three students crowded around the gate, Madame Kohan removed the key from her robes, slid it into the lock, turned it, and then pulled the door open.

"Alright then, let's go." She gestured for them to go ahead of her, and then followed them within. "Ariana, you know what you're looking for, I assume? If so, go ahead and get it, and then come back this way to join us."

Ari nodded, her mind already trying to figure out where it would be in the restricted section. "I'll be back very soon." she replied, smiling before turning back to look in the ominous area. Taking a deep breath she smiled at the two that were there with her and walked in, her wand now a lit with the Lumos spell. Walking along slowly she tried not to look around too much, knowing it would creep her out too much if she did.

Stopping at a section that look promising, she scanned the covers, her brow furrowing as she read the inscriptions, "Okay, don't need that." she muttered quietly to herself as she moved on to the next shelf. The hair on the back of her neck rose slightly and she shivered, feeling the oldness of the books around her. She could swear she heard whispering voices and screaming coming from some of the more older, ancient books and steered clear of them., not trusting those ones.

Finally she stopped as a dark green tinted book cover caught her attention. "Aha!" she said to herself as she carefully eyed it unsure of how to handle it without making it roar. Either way it was going to creep her out when she opened it and maybe the muffliato spell would work to her advantage in this instance. Taking her chance she stood before the book, grabbed it with her free right hand and slowly slid it from its shelf. Gently she took it down, glancing at the cover and nodding to herself.

Holding it carefully, she walked back to the small group and said, "I have it Madame." in a cheery voice, making sure to keep her voice quiet. The book looked normal in her hand. But she knew how normal things really were in the restricted section. Waiting for her next instructions, Ariana waited patiently, her mind already thinking of the exciting stuff she'd learn.

Nicholai shrugged and began to make his way deeper into the shelves, holding his wand high so that the light from the lumos spell would catch anything out of the ordinary. He turned and looked over his shoulder at Camira.

"Do we know what we are looking for?" He doubted it, The clue seemed to be enough to get them there and no more. He turned around again and continued scanning the shelves, his fingers itching to simply grab a stack of books and get lost in them.

Camira started down the other aisle, taking out each book and shaking it to see if anything was hidden there.

"I'm afraid not", she said with a frown. It would have been nice, but that would have been too easy, of course. Wasn't there a spell that revealed hidden things?

Something came fluttering out of one of the books as the Slytherin student began taking them off the shelves and shaking them out.


ooc: You have been PMed.

It was not long that Ariana had disappeared into the darkness before she reappeared, now holding a book. Who knew that such a normal looking book could contain such material worthy of the Restricted Section. "Oh, wonderful! You can wait just outside and read a bit on it until I finish in here."

When she had finished speaking to Ariana, Madame Kohan turned her attention back to Camira and Nico, her interest piqued in the possibility of what they may find here.

It was then she caught a glimpse of something fluttering from one of the books. Goodness! Stepping a bit closer, she waited for one of the students to pick it up before asking in a low voice. "Is that what you're looking for?" It was difficult to see what was on the paper just by wand light. Her position didn't help matters either.

Oh my. Could it be? She tried not to get her hopes up as she picked up the piece of parchment. The second she read it though, she knew it was what they were looking for. "Nico! Nico, over here."

She read it over a few times. It made no sense. owls?

It was then that she heard the librarian's voice. "It is", she said excitedly. She didn't see the harm in telling a staff member, after all. "I have no idea what it means though", she said with a frown. Maybe the librarian would have an idea.