Students of the Past

[Falchion]

Fal nods, and erases what he had written before. He thinks for a moment, then begins writing again.

Book is with Professor Argiletum... He got... obsessed with it when I showed him.

Couldn't read most of it, but there were... edits, circled parts, egyptian hieroglyphs, and a couple of spells in the margins. The story of Persephone and the seeds was the only one that was.... altered.

Fal looks around, a chill running down his spine.

There were some spells written in there, that weren't too friendly... Professor Bloodthorne was... prickly when I tried to bring the subject up.

[Professor Boudreaux]

Wait. Professor Argiletum has the book? Hold on...

And with a small puff of smoke, he's gone.

[Professor Boudreaux]

A small "pop" signals the return of the Professor.

Interesting, Aleator says again. Professor Argiletum shared a few of the spells written in the margins. These are dark spells indeed, Falchion, especially the first one. It relates directly to an attempt to reanimate the dead. That's forbidden by wizarding law. Inferi are awful creations of only the darkest witches and wizards.

The ghost leans back in thought.

Still, the mere presence of these spells in the margin of the book does not mean that an evil witch or wizard once held it. It could simply mean that someone was curious, as students are wont to be.

A mental light bulb seems to come on above Aleator's head.

An evil witch or wizard once held it...

Ms. Emberwing, Mr. Falchion -- go to Mr. Argiletum, see if you can get him to release the notations on who checked that book out of the library during your search time, 1994-99. It's a long time frame, but anyone who had that book for a long time would be suspect. I saw the book -- whoever had it and wrote those spells in there had it for quite a while.

Report back to me with your findings.

Sound good?

[Amelia Emberwing]

Nodding, Amelia leaned forward and ran a hand through the quidditch plays she had doodled in the dust on the floor before standing and dusting herself off.

"The books all your area of expertise, Fal. I haven't even seen the thing, so lead the way."

[Falchion]

Fal nods to the Professor and Amelia, and puts the chalk down on the Professor's desk, before heading out the door.

[Amelia Emberwing]

"We'll be back."

Smiling, she waved to Professor Boudreaux and followed Falchion out the door.

[Falchion]

Falchion walks to the office of Professor Boudreaux and knocks on the door.

He looks back over his shoulder for Amelia, then looks down at the list he had copied from the Library.

[Amelia Emberwing]

Amelia came up the stairs shortly after Falchion.

"Think we'll actually get answers from any of this?"

[Falchion]

Fal gives Amelia a wry grin. He flips to a fresh page on his notepad and scribbles a note.

I hope so. But with our luck, we'll get a "you did a great thing, we'll take it from here".

[Professor Boudreaux]

Like a ghostly ornament, the head of Professor Boudreaux suddenly pokes through the heavy oak door.

Hello, students, he says with smile. Sorry if I startled you. Please come in, tell me your findings.

The head disappears back through the door, which clicks and swings wide open.

[Amelia Emberwing]

Amelia, who had become accustomed to the ghosts popping up over the years, just smiled at the Professor. "Thank you, sir."

Giving a small nod to Falchion, Amelia made her way through the door into the office.

[Falchion]

Falchion, still not accustomed to ghosts popping out, waits until Amelia enters the office, then takes several deep breaths, attempting to slow his heartbeat.

Regaining a bit of his composure, he follows Amelia into the room, ripping out the page that contained the list. He looks it over, judging it for penmanship, then nods, offering it to the Professor.

[Amelia Emberwing]

After several moments of silence, Amelia looked to the professor, concerned.

"Sir, is everything alright?"