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Since Apollo shuffled into the library there was A LOT that was happening. Including his dormmate with a badly injured face asking Kazmi about his leg? You were one to talk? There was commotion about an overdue library book from his older housemate, but really nothing was as concerning as the fact that he - Apollo Grimm Adara-Stark, was about to be admitted into the Restricted Section for the very first time in his life!!! Sure he was with a group and there were enough professors here that meant that he couldn't cause TOO much trouble, but still. There were dark secrets kept in here that one could only dream about. Just as soon as Euka would unlock it - which apparently when something was anticipated, things seemed to move in like 48 frames per second slow motion. Which was finally complete with Kazmi telling them to make sure they stick to the herbology books. Got it... His eyes widened as they scanned over the titles he could see comfortably, picking off one from the shelf that had a leaf picture on the binding. Not quite sure what he was meant to be looking for, he opened it randomly somewhere in the middle ... a plant jumping out from the page to pinch his nose. In which Apollo instinctively shut it. "Nope." He said to no one in particular. |
*joins in the book search in the res section* Quote:
Leaving Claudette, Bernie, Ash, Violet and the others Bella trailed after Apollo over to the nearest plant books. Reaching up to take down a book she paused as Apollo quickly shut a book closed. Turning she asked worriedly "Hi, are there vines here too?" Taking down a book on moonlight plants Bella opened it somewhere in the middle and began to scan the page for vine clues. |
At least Professor Kazmi was well... enough. Evan stayed pretty quiet as everyone else joined, glancing around at the collection of students and unconsciously giving a small nod at... really nothing much. This was a large amount of people and perhaps that would make searching go even easier. And truthfully, entering the restricted section? He'd be a liar if he wasn't to say he wasn't as excited as some of the younger years appeared to be. He was just much better at keeping his emotions locked tight so no one knew. Following after the others as they headed towards the restricted section, he zig zagged a little to not bump into the other students but also to try to catch up towards Professor Flamsteed. Or... any of the Professors who could answer anyways. "Professor Flamsteed, we were attacked before you could tell us but... you mentioned knowing what these vines are? Could you tell us so that we could better narrow our searches as well? Is it a breed of Devil's Snare?" Knowing the type of plant could make it a little less of a needle in a haystack type of search. Though he certainly wouldn't discredit anything else that might pop up that looked like an option as well. The Ravenclaw's eyes slid over towards the other teachers as well, inviting them to advise too if anyone happened to know. |
What was that? Don't be alarmed - or do, if that's your thing. The sound can evidently be traced to a heavy book tumbling down from one of the higher shelves in the Restricted Section, one laden with Herbology tomes, and landing heavily on the aisle floor. Could it be that the castle itself has also grown tired of these invading vines and decided to lend a hand? Maybe; it certainly has history. Or perhaps it's just pure happenstance that this particular book - more like half of a book, its front matter lost, title and author unknown - happens to dislodge itself at this particular moment, and now lies open, face down on the floor, at the centre of a cloud of dust. The world may never know. Could this book have the answers? Go ahead and investigate. With caution. |
This was happening for real. Just a year ago he had been planning to steal the key to the restricted section together with Lisa and Alfie and now he was entering with permission! A small voice in the back of his mind told him to find Lisa so that she could live this historic moment too. But if he did he'd miss his opportunity so he followed the rest of the group to the restricted section. Once they stood in front of the door, Daniel wasn't surprised at all that it not only opened with a key but also with the use of magic. Too bad he didn't know what kind of spell the librarian used but he was certainly going to remember this little detail. For possible future use... Daniel was a bit disappointed that professor Kazmi mentioned that they had to stick to the herbology books but to go against it now, with so many professors present would be a dumb thing to do. He wistfully stared at the rows of books, his hand wanting to pick some randomly out of the bookcase but he didn't. With a sigh, the Hufflepuff figured he was lucky enough to even be inside of the restricted area at the age of twelve. He was SO going to write about this to Minjae... *THUD* If he had been standing only a few steps to the right, the book that had fallen off of the top shelf would have landed on his head. This was his lucky day, wasn't it? Becoming curious, the second year walked over to the book and stooped down to pick it up. Maybe the school was trying to help them out? "Professor?" he called not caring who would answer. "Is this something that we need?" he asked as he flipped the pages of the title, name and authorless book. |
......June wasn't entirely sure how they could get any research done if the kids kept chattering and not actually ... researching, you know. Fortunately Kamran was around to answer their questions as well. Once Euka let them in the restricted section, she wandered off - looking where they hadn't already and tuned most of everyone out. Though that didn't last long -- because soon after someone was calling her again, namely one Mr Nam, "they are the most general kind, Mr Nam, no - not the devil's snare. They are found in most common gardens - but they are not behaving like them" she clarfied a bit, as she flipped through the pages of the book she was looking at. And then there was another - she turned to look at Mr Yoon, and eyed the heavy book in the second year's hands for a moment, "I don't think we have seen that book yet, Mr Yoon. Go on, go through it, see if you find anything useful" she added before turning toward the other students, "Mr Nam? Atlas? Why don't you both help, Mr Yoon as well" |
Claudine was inclined to agree with Paszek. Splitting up would speed up their progress. Her gaze drifted to Daniel and was pleased to see that he had calmed down. In his excitement, while researching he may miss something important. The Snakette was disappointed though, to hear that Euka had not come across anything. Hope soon bubbled up in her again; perhaps Euka had missed something? She watched as the woman unlocked the Restricted Section. Having used there already, the security measures didn’t surprise her. Claudine followed Kazmi in, still holding onto her want. Surely if the vines sensed that their potential doom was approaching they would attack? It wasn’t even set down when she grabbed the first Herbology book in sight. The Snakette scanned each page as quickly as she possibly could and was so absorbed in the task that that thud made her jump. Obviously she thought the vines had come to attack. It turned out to be a book. Claudine’s grip on her wand relaxed a hint. As Daniel scooped the book up, she eyed it suspiciously. Was it so easy that they find a book that might be helpful? She set the book she had been holding back on the shelf then moved closer to Daniel peering over his shoulder. “Let’s search the pages thoroughly to see if there is any mention of those vines, Daniel. Maybe even a drawing of them.” And the more eyes, the better. |
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No on heard that. That high pitched shriek that sounded like a kneazle with its tail rolled over by a rocking horse. Nor had anyone seen the way that a particular third year Gryffindor blonde had nearly jumped right out of his robes. And it CERTAINLY was not because the book this particular Gryffindor was leafing through had absolutely nothing to do with Herbology and therefore not even remotely on task and they thought they were busted (though maybe they were a little since Auntie June was redirecting him soon enough). Nor did it have anything to do with the sudden thud Absolutely. No one. Saw. Or. Heard. Anything. And, for the record, it felt utterly superfluous to have so many people on the same book...especially with Claudine hovering right over Daniel's shoulder when just minutes earlier she was being all unreasonable banshee at him and his excitement for being in here. Look who was appreciating and mooching off that same excitement now, hmmmm???? Refraining from rolling his eyes, Atlas nonetheless listened to the Herbology professor's instructions and slinked up to Daniel's side with a look of "don't get your wand all in a tizzy, just following instructions." They could both blame his aunt for their forced bonding through research. So...here they were. A Gryffindor, a Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, and a Slytherin all mulling over the same book and the same text. It was symbolic and whatever. "Something that modifies vines ... or flora in general ... seems more appropriate," he mused aloud as he checked over the right ride of the tome in Daniel's hand. "Since my aun--- Professor Flamsteed explained that she has identified these vines and its not the vine but their behavior is out of the ordinary." Lips pursed in concentration, giving him a soft set of duck lips in juxtaposition to his hard square jaw, Atlas hovered his finger above each line of text as he read. |
A common vine? Well, he supposed then the name really didn't matter so he nodded his understanding and gave the Herbology a small smile in thank you, before turning back to look through books on the shelves behind him. He was looking for anything that maybe would outline magical maladies of herbage or perhaps something even referencing magical fertilizers. Though now he couldn't remember if they'd used anything but... no stone left unturned, right? He had just reached for a book on the shelf that the title was worn on, when he heard the thud and spun around to see Daniel picking up a book and everyone moving around him. He couldn't tell if that was suspicious, coincidence or relief. But either way, with as peculiar as Hogwarts was... it was worth a look. He reached again for the book on the shelf, figuring enough people were already crowding the Hufflepuff and yet when he heard his name specifically called, he abandoned that and moved closer towards the others. "Of course, Professor." The symbolism of it being one of each house was also not lost on him, though he still chalked that up to being more coincidence than anything else. He moved to stand on the other side of Claudine, the person of the quartet he was thus far the most comfortable with. "Fertilizer is something that comes to mind, which can sometimes be infused with certain plant foods which is good for some and yet... not so much for others. But I can't remember if we used anything other than Hogwarts own dirt when we were planting." Which was why it had not been something he'd entertained too too much. |
Meda was listening as she walked, just taking things in. She had always tried to be more of a listener than a speaker when she wasn't an expert and she was certainly not a plant expert, so she would leave those discussions and listen to learn. "The vines are everywhere." She gave the student a look that had asked if they were there. Just as they entered the restricted section a thud could be heard and a book. She eyed it and the conversations about looking through it. "Please be careful going towards it. These books have been known to have a little fun.' She used fun lightly since some screamed, some bit, you just never knew what some of these blasted old things could do. She heard a boy say about plant food and it made her think of something, she turned and went down a different aisle of the restricted section, something she remembered when in there last. |
As the students flip through the pages of the newly discovered book, eventually they come across the following passage that seems to almost jump off the page at them. Perhaps this information is what you're looking for? Quote:
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Daniel heard Professor Euka's warning about being careful about picking the book up but the Hufflepuff had already done so. He held it in one hand while he flipped the pages with the other hand. As Claudine hovered to read over his shoulder, Violet tiptoeing on her feet to try and see and Evan stood beside Claudine to read as well, Daniel felt uncomfortable with being crowded. Maybe he should place the book on the ground so that they could all read it but he kind of didn't want to. He had found a clue and he alone was going to flip through these pages! But they weren't people that he disliked. Atlas though... He tried his best not to roll his eyes as he stood next to him. He let the others speak as he flipped the pages of the book and as Atlas hovered a finger above the text, Daniel had the sudden urge to snap the book shut. Hard. Just for fun. He would have done so if there had been no professor's around but he had learned from his talk with Professor Schmoe last year. So he flipped to the next page instead and stopped. "Pharaoh's Triumph?" He asked as he began to read. "Guys read this bit" he said to the students crowded around him. "Makes sense right?" It checked off everything they were dealing with for the past few months. "A vine-like invasive and harmful plant with mesmerising flowers leeching life from all other plants and becomes more aggressive over time" he remembered seeing the flowers at the front gate .... "...Shrouding itself in a poisonous, magic-dissolving fog which spreads through the land..." he mumbled. "I think we should show this to the professors" |
Claudine would have laughed had she known that Atlas had compared her to a banshee. She’d have laughed in his face to be precise. Would she have cared about that comparison? Not in the least because it was quite inaccurate. She knew Daniel quite a bit, and knew that his overenthusiastic attitude would have gotten him stuck outside. At least she wasn’t getting in the Hufflepuff’s way by jabbing a fat finger at the page. “I’m not sure either but I’d like to think that we use dirt from elsewhere as well,’’ Claudine replied to Evan. It was the first time that she had actually considered that. “I think there’s something,’’ the Snakette told Violet. Peering over at the girl, she doubted the fourth year could see a thing in the book. Mainly for the benefit of Vi, Claudine read the passages out loud which Daniel had indicated - The Pharaoh's Triumph. “It certainly seems like it. Go on. Show it to the professors.’’ That was her agreement to Daniel’s remark. “I did suggest fire during Herbology…” That latter sentence was murmured to herself. Anyway. She had been right, hadn’t she? And Ash had agreed with her. Speaking of which… where was that Ravenclaw? |
ANCIENT man et. al Oooookay, librarian, guess she was just going to have to take your word for it. :lookingeyes: Bernie shoved her belated library book across the desk so that it was clearly in librarian territory and not student territory, and then trailed after the rest of the group, though mostly she was busy looking at other Restricted books that caught her eye. What she was getting out of this search party nonsense was that 1) Hogwarts was being infested with nasty vines at the moment, and 2) It was all due to a curse?! Again? "I dunno about you," she replied to no one in particular, "but I'm out. Ash, remember that one time we were cursed?" Bernie vaguely remembered trying to burn down the Forbidden Forest and also trying to strangle a Hufflepuff. It had been a kinda cool experience but she was WAAAAY too old for that stuff now. Curse the curses, she was so old and mature she could be a cursebreaker. |
Text Cut: Book excerpt Ha! quasi-sentient! Violet knew it! Also the fact that it gave power to whoever planted it--it was a plot for sure, she didn't care how much the others twitted her about conspiracies. And....but wait...that part about the fog! Violet's heart sank--she had seen just such a fog out by the greenhouses the other day... "But it's already started to put out a fog! Over by the greenhouses--I saw it just recently, it was leaking out from under the charmed barriers Professor Flamsteed had set up. It smelled awful--like something corrosive." |
young at heart ;; ish For his own peace of mind, Kamran did a silent headcount of the students entering or lingering near the Restricted Section, reasoning that even if he couldn't keep an eye on all at once, he could at least make sure they were all accounted for once they were done here. He'd be lying if he said the thud of a dropped book did not spook him just a little, and that the Kamran was just running a finger down the index - alternately flipping back to pages which held any mention of 'fog', 'invasive', 'life-draining', 'poison', 'rapid regeneration', 'vines', and at one point, just out of sheer nonplused curiosity, 'rubber duck' - when quiet talk of 'professors' instantly made his ears prick up. "Found something?" he asked, putting his own book (deemed useless) back on the shelf and hobbling over. ... in time to hear the young lady - the one he did not really recognise, but who seemed well known by most everyone else here - speak up. "Good point. Whatever this is, we need to sort it, but don't go throwing yourselves into something that's likely to be a problem for you." But also literally. Poison fog. Caution And, from what Blackthorne was saying, the fact that that had appeared at all sounded even more concerning than it already was. Kamran braced for the bad news. |
HIS FINGER WAS NOT FAT! IT WAS STURDY AND NIMBLE AND PRECISE - AND IT NEEDED TO BE ALL THESE THINGS FOR THE VERY DELICATE WORK THAT WAS REQUIRED WITH ROBOTICS! ...just because he needed the indicator while reading...was...well...anyway. It was a whole thing but no more fourth wall breaking here to be seen. Anyway...the problem with his side of the tome he was looking at started midsentence with something else...but he had committed to that half of the page and so he pressed onward despite it not making any sense...that is until Daniel spoke and Atlas found himself muttering 'Pharaoh's Triumph' to commit the name to memory. Why did it seem like all the cool things came out of Egypt? Anyway, eyes darting now to the spot that Daniel was indicating, he leaned over and used his NOT FAT finger again to read along the passage and felt a little tiny burst of validation with the whole invasive species mention. Even if that had been a very obvious term to attach to this particular plant, it was still nice to see in a tome. Though this natural curse bit was...pretty freaky...and imagining this falling into the wrong hands was...a lot. "...thought to be extinct..." That was suspicious, for real. "This is some Dark market trading for sure!" There was a logic path there that had not been entirely filled in. Don't mind him. Or do...since his finger was in the way. Reading along some more, his foot tapping and only half aware that they had drawn the attention of Professor Kazmi to their huddle, Atlas' voice raised in tension. "Did anyone try fire in Herbology to confirm this? The bit here that fire is the only known way to destroy it?" He, er, hadn't really, er, been able to notice. Surely someone had though?! He was tapping his foot against the ground now, nervous and antsy to go DO something and also really really irritated that this plant ALSO had the ability to basically polyjuice itself into another plant. He knew sea animals that did that as a self defense ... so it wasn't THAT unusual but the ocean buds were in appearance only. "DO WE KNOW FOR SURE?! BECAUSE --- " He realized he was shouting and quickly swallowed back his next set of robust words in favor of something more practical and less...well...terrified. "...because it just keeps growing back. The headmaster even said it grew back like a hydra ... so all we have done so far is just helping it grow. We've all just been cutting off its limbs and not attacking at the HEART...where the ROOTS are..." WHICH HE HAD ONLY BEEN SAYING FOREVER AND EVERYONE HE HAD THROWN THE THEORY AT HAD SAID THAT IT WAS TOO DIFFICULT TO DO THAT BUT WHAT OTHER OPTIONS DID THEY HAVE NOW?! Yelling in thoughts was perfectly okay, okay? Okay. "You can't weed a garden by just pulling off the leaves...you have to dig up and get rid of the roots." See, Auntie June. He paid attention! Sometimes. |
While outwardly she was calm, Mia couldn't deny there was a certain level of excitement about going into the Restricted Section. Not that she couldn't have gone in on her own, it was more of a spectacle with an entourage. So she was inwardly excited. She pulled a few herbology-looking books off a shelf, opening one with some vines embroidered in the cover and skimming through the table of contents, then the index. She did try to keep one eye trained on the students nearby. While Blaze and Blackthorne, and probably even Flamsteed could be trusted based on her experiences with them in class, the others she didn't know so well. That was the drawback of being new, and teaching an elective class. Unperturbed by the falling book and the shrieking and the shouting...finally discovering the problem though, and maybe, just maybe, a hint at a solution? That had Mia on high alert, as she quickly closed her own book and made her way down the aisle to listen in on the students' ideas. And Kamran's too. And as Atlas said, if they had to get to the root plant and destroy it...that was not nothing. If they could burn the one plant, maybe that would allow the plants in the lake to recover. Merlin knew the creatures in the lake needed this solution soon. How could they get to the plant, though? She frowned. "We may need to burn the...roots, but can we even get into the greenhouses?" she asked. Not to be a pessimist but...as far as she was aware, they couldn't get in the greenhouses anymore, there was some nasty fog. |
She went to look for the book that she thought had something about plant food, though once she got there Euka couldn't find what she was looking for, so turning back she headed towards the group as she heard them talking. They had clearly found something, but the talk of burning the roots, "We would have to dig them up to make sure we got them all." At least she thought they would, June would have to confirm that bit. She had tried pulling roots in her own gardens and she never succeeded, the bloody things always found a way to grow back. Standing back she kept listening to the others and seeing which direction they would go, she would do whatever was needed to help. |
"No, we were warned not to try fire yet, until we had more information," chimed in Violet, although personally that had been her first choice. "But it says pretty clearly the the only way it can be destroyed is with fire." Not digging it up, which would take forever. "I think the center of it is probably in or around the greenhouses, because that's where the fog is coming from." Right through Professor Flamsteed's wards, which was pretty alarming. Violet went on. "It also says the plant ultimately gives whoever planted it absolute power. So...just who planted it? Was it an accident--a Pharoah's Triumph plant was mixed in with the other things for the beautification project by mistake and planted by someone by accident? Or was it deliberate?" In which case, who exactly was behind it. |
What Violet reminded them was enough to make every other thought be pushed from Claudine’s mind. The fog had indeed started. “Is there some passage that leads into the greenhouses which the students don’t know about?’’ It was just a musing she threw out there, and perhaps wishful thinking. But the greenhouses were obviously where they all needed to get to. It would be a challenge to dig up each root because there was a very good chance that the Triumph would put up even more of a fight to protect itself. Claudine fell silent then, in her own thoughts. In her opinion, it did not matter right now who planted the Triumph. Or whether that was done deliberately or not. What mattered was that they Incendioed those vines. |
Though she wanted to look at the other sections of the Restricted Section, Ivy did stick to the Herbology one for now. There was much less of a chance she'd be given permission to enter at a later date if she were seen ignoring the professors' instructions now. And she did happen upon a few interesting books in this section anyway, even if none of them had quite the answers they were looking for. That loud thud and then all the voices that followed indicated the rest of the group was having more luck. The Ravenclaw walked back over to rejoin the group, listening to her classmates' comments, but also wanting to see the actual text herself. There were several people crowding around Daniel already, so rather than try to cram herself among them to look over his shoulder too, she summoned a step stool at her feet. Stepping onto it, she was able to peer over, and her eyes quickly scanned over the paragraphs. "Magic-dissolving." That detail about the fog caught her eye. It seemed significant...especially since Violet had said the fog was getting past Professor Flamsteed's charmed barriers.... "So we'll need non-magical fire to use on it, yeah?" So probably no Incendio then, if the poisonous fog kept the area unaffected by magic spells? |
to the greenhouses, one and all Well. "I did try burning them away. They grew back, same as they did however else I dealt with them." The entire problem; nothing kept them at bay. Regenerative powers. Kamran was fairly unabashed. He was glad the students had not been encouraged to set fires around the school, but, as groundskeeper, he had exhausted near every option in trying to get rid of the vines. This talk of roots and weeding rang true, going by what Kamran could tell now that he, too, got a good look at the passage the kids had found. Fire wouldn't work on the vines, but the plant at the centre ought to be destroyed; the vines could withstand what the main body of this Pharaoh's Triumph could not, provided it still lived. "So, yes, we burn the plant that started it all. The root, as Mr Flamsteed has been saying." Not the literal root, necessarily, but the root cause, the thing at the heart of all this. Even if that was all that was necessary to deal with the problem, Kamran would have to agree with Meda that every last literal root needed digging up as well, just to be sure. Blackthorne had the right of it too; if the poison fog also functioned as a defensive measure, that meant they needed to set their sights on the greenhouses. "Unfortunately, Miss Blaze, the fog would still be an issue even if there was a secret passageway." But to even get to that stage was all easier said than done. Mia had verbalised the essential problem here - the greenhouses were inaccessible, and the fog dissolved magic. "Yes, Miss Grimm. Non-magical fire seems like the way to go; we'll have to try and get it from the outside." The who, why, and how was something to consider later. Solving the immediate problem was the priority, before this apparent curse took a greater hold on the castle. "No time like the present, I suppose. Let's make for the greenhouses, and stay well back from that fog. Try and brainstorm ways we can do this en route." He glanced in June's direction, a little guiltily, suspecting what might have to occur in the very near future. "... can't hurt to collect some wall torches on the way." Kamran would, at least, after helping in sure no poor innocent little dove was left behind in the Restricted Section. He knew nobody would want that. |
heading to the greenhouses Ash, who was pretty much just following Claudine around(as IF she'd miss a chance to be in the restricted section), was thrilled to see that setting vines on fire was in the very near future. She squinted at the book that had apparently 'appeared out of nowhere'. Wow, I hope I get a chance to... use controlled flames to get rid of the very unsafe vines(being responsible was so boring). I hope nobody gets hurt. I hope this isn't a trap... oooooh, non-magical fire(even better than magical fire)... could she help? She enthusiastically followed after Professor Kazmi, happy for a chance to possibly Was she nervous? Noooo, of course not. What a crazy idea. Not even a bit. |
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