Closed The Unrestricted Route

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney knew there was no way any member of staff was going to give her permission to get into the restricted section. The fact that the school even had restricted books was barbaric, but Sydney was starting to get used to how the school felt about what magic was "age appropriate" and had decided to just work around it.
Finding the most secluded spot she could adjacent to the restricted section, she had set about de-shelving a section of books. Her hope was after she cleared some room, she might be able to get through to the other side of the shelves. It might take a little creative destruction if the shelves were solid in the back, but she could improvise. Checking over her shoulder for any wayward librarians or prefects, Sydney was working on moving a particularly large volume on fungi, which was definitely going to be a too handed affair. The last thing she wanted to do was drop the damn thing and draw any unwanted attention.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha was walking around the library to find a book to help for her Defense The Dark Arts homework when she heard some scruffling of something a few aisles down from where she was. She walked towards the end of the aisle she was in, looking right and left, to see if anyone else noticed this. But no one else had seemed to notice. So she went back into the aisle to look for her book she had been looking for. After searching that aisle for a good minute or so she decided to go to an aisle near the restricted section. She then heard that scuffling noise again, so Samantha decided to follow the noise. Once she got there, she noticed that someone was... pulling out many books out? Samantha wasn't sure. Samantha being her curious self wanted to know what they were doing this. She decided to clear her throat. "Excuse me, sorry to interrupt whatever mission you're on, but uh, what are you doing?" Samantha says with curiosity.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Carefully setting the massive book down, Sydney looked up when a girl approached and interrupted her. Sydney remembered her from class, Samantha or something. She was pretty sure she was friends with Amy Jewel and rolled her eyes at Samantha's dumb question.
"I'm liberating some books from the restricted section," She said simply. "You can help if you want, unless you enjoy being complicit in the deprivation of knowledge from students in this school," She said simply. "Otherwise go away, you're blocking my light." Sydney squinted into the gap she'd managed to clear on the shelf, running her hand along the back of the shelf and tapping the wood contemplatively. Maybe the nosy girl could help her bust through. If she didn't turn out to be a snitch.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha nodded at what Sydney said. She obviously wasn't going to tattle on this girl. Samantha looks behind her, making sure no one was watching them before she puts her bag on the ground. "Fine, I'll help," Samantha says with a shrug. She comes closer to the girl. "I have nothing better to do anyway," Samantha says with a small smile. "What do you want me to do?" Samantha questions. Samantha needed some mischief right now, and she felt like this was the perfect opportunity.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney was a little loath to admit she was surprised when Samantha actually agreed to help. She'd expected the other girl to scuttle off rather than get involved in something that could potentially get her in trouble, so when Samantha dropped her bag and asked what she should do, Sydney had to pause her investigation of the shelf just to look at her for a moment. "Uh right. Okay. Light your wand and help me check out this shelf, there's gotta be a weak spot along the back here somewhere we could break through," She instructed, lighting her own wand and hastily pointing it into the space she cleared before the light drew too much attention. Sydney wasn't adverse to a more direct approach, but if they could find an easy to exploit gap it would be preferable to any more dramatic (or loud) methods. "You know, I'd rather expected you to be the more rule abiding type." She added off-handedly, not looking up from her search.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha nods when the Slytherin girl asks Samantha to light her wand and instructs her wand to do so. Once her wand lights up with the small light charm she quickly puts her light into the bookshelf, looking for some sort of weak spot at the back. Samantha shrugs her shoulders."What made you think that? Is it because I'm a Hufflepuff" Samantha questions with a smirk, as she was still into looking for any way to get through. "Sydney is your name right?" Samantha questions, she didn't know the girl's name as she had seen her in some of her classes.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney watched as Samantha followed her instructions, trying to return her focus back to the task at hand and not the girl next to her. She didn't like it when her judgements of people weren't accurate. She'd have to pay a bit more attention to Samantha in future. "I try not to buy into house stereotypes," Sydney said primly, though if she was being honest, the Hufflepuff thing did kind of play into her opinion. "You just seem to hang out with the goodie goodie types," She said with a shrug, trying not to dwell on it. "It's a compliment, don't worry about it so much," She mumbled, sticking her face further into the shelf.

"Yeah, I guess you could call me Syd if you want," She half muttered when Samantha asked her about her name, running her fingers along the wood grain of the shelf as she tried to tell if she was seeing a shadow or a crack. Not a lot of people ever really called her nicknames, and Sydney found she wouldn't mind if Samantha did. "Oh hey, I think there's a gap here. Maybe we could wedge it open with something." She said excitedly, trying to keep her voice down as she glanced around for anything useful for the gap open.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha nodded and smiled a little when the girl mentioned how she tries not to buy into house stereotypes. Samantha was also slightly taken aback when she mentioned that Samantha seemed to hang out with goodie two shoe people, but Samantha shrugged it off and smiled when the girl said to take it as a compliment, which she might take it as one.

"Well, nice to meet you, Syd," Samantha says with a gentle smile. Samantha then looks around the room when Sydney mentions about how there might be a gap and they needed something to wedge it open. "I can't find anything around here that could help wedge it open. Is there a possible spell you know that could help?" Samantha says with a whisper and looking around the room, making sure that they aren't being caught.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney tried not to let the smile on her face be too obvious when Samantha called her Syd. She couldn't let the other girl think they were too familiar just yet, even if she was making an excellent accomplice so far.
With the lack of immediate helpful objects nearby, Sydney nodded and ran through a mental list of the spells knew, discarding them with a few shakes of her head. "Nothing with enough fire power.. Unless-" Sydney dug in her bag, pulling out the exploding quill she'd carefully stored in a secondary pocket. She'd been planning to try and get Eric to use it somehow, and as tempting as that option was, this was probably a far nobler use of the item. "I don't know how effect this might be, but it's worth a shot?" She said to Samantha with a slow grin.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha looked at Sydney with confusion as she dug into her bag for something and when she pulled out for what she was looking for, Samantha noticed that it was an exploding quill. She had heard someone in her house talking about it. Samantha looked around and behind her, making sure that no one was looking at what they were doing before she turns back to Sydney. "Lets to it" Samantha nods slightly. Samantha was slightly getting worried that they were going to get caught, but she put it at the back of her mind.

 

[Irene Holland]

Irene was on her usual library patrol, checking each row for left items, unreturned books, and students who may be in need of assistance looking for some books. With the restricted section up ahead, she usually turned to the next shelf and about to go back since no student would be there. However, the scuffling sound and hushed voiced stopped her in her tracks. Trained to listen even for the slightest sound when she had auror training, plus the morning runs she had with her husband who was an animagus and a quidditch coach, Jacob made sure to include her in his "wolfy" training, Irene became more attuned to her surroundings. In the place where hushed voiced, scribbled pens and flipping pages were all that would be heard, this was supposed to be normal. The place where it occurred was the one odd. Restricted section, or rather the shelf adjacent to it. The woman pulled out her wand as she calmly walked toward it. She waved her wand, silently casting Homenum Revelio, which revealed the human presence in the area. She silently stepped into the row to see two students, Sydney Townsend, and Samantha Jacobs. Sydney was in possession of what seemed to be an exploding quill. She cleared her throat to let her presence be known. "Unless you are looking for a book which I know you are not, would you please stand and put everything you have on the table?", she gestured to the nearby table with her wand. She did not want any trouble or damage to be caused in the library.​

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha turns around quickly when she hears someone clear their throat and suddenly gulped. They were caught and Samantha was slightly nervous and scared about what might happen next. She then slowly turned to Sydney, seeing if she was going to do. But Samantha listened to what the librarian had said and put everything that she had onto the table which was her bag and her wand, which was in her hand and stood back from the table.

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney grinned when Samantha nodded, turning back to the shelf and contemplating how they might be able to set off the quill without Sydney losing any limbs or drawing too much attention. Maybe they could try a silencing charm, Sydney wasn't sure she knew one, but they were in a library so it couldn't be that hard to work out. Unfortunately, their wonderful progress was ground to a halt at the arrival of one the librarians and Sydney grumbled as she stood up petulantly, dosing her wand under her breath. "I don't know why we should put out things out, we haven't done anything but move a few books around," She said heatedly, dumping her bag on top of the quill and looking quickly over to Samantha to gauge the other girl's expression. "I do not consent to this search." She added, crossing her arms and frowning at the librarian. Though she had her doubts about the authority in this school, Sydney was confident she could argue their way out of this as long as Samantha didn't spill the beans on them. After all, they hadn't technically done anything wrong. Yet.

 

[Irene Holland]

Irene just crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for the students to comply. Samantha was compliant with no complaints which was a plus point for the Hufflepuff. Sydney, on the other hand, tried her best to find a way out of it. The librarian inwardly smirked. Being a troublemaker during her student days and married to another troublemaker, Irene knew what she was up to. Once everything was on the table, she just waved her want to make the quill flip Sydney's bag over before it flew to her open hand. "Not to worry, Miss Townsend. A search won't be necessary." Twirling the quill, she knew she was right. She remembered her nephews pranked their father with one, courtesy of her cousin Seth. "I don't want damage to be done here so I have to ask both of you. Especially you.", her gaze fixed on the Slytherin. "What are you planning to do with the shelf which coincidentally, which I know it isn't, adjacent to the Restricted Section?" She wanted to be fair on the punishment so asking them as adults gave them the chance, to tell the truth, and explain. That way, only house points would be affected and she did not need to hand out detentions. She might have to call the attention of @Professor Kalif Styx and @Professor Landon Carter for this. She would decide whether to call both depending on the outcome of this discussion.​

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney bristled when the librarian was able to immediately unearth the quill. Librarians must come with some sixth sense for trouble. They should have been more careful. "There's nothing against the rules about having a quill," She huffed. Truth be told, Sydney didn't know if there were any rules about exploding quills, but if there was, they were dumb rules anyway. At least if she got in trouble for that Sydney could confirm it was her quill she thought, glancing over at Samantha. There was no need for them to both go down for this if it came to that. But she wasn't going to just confess that easy. "We were just looking for some books," She said simply to the question. "Looking really hard for some books." She amended, glanced again at Samantha, trying to gauge the other girl's expression and hoping she had the brains to play along again.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha felt that Sydney was staring at her. She didn't want them to get into trouble. But she also didn't want to lie. She didn't know what to do. She turns to Sydney and then back at the librarian. "Yeah, we were just looking for some books. There are a lot of interesting books here" Samantha says with a reassuring smile and shrug, as she played along. She hoped that the librarian would let it go. Her parents were already disappointed in her brother for sneaking into the kitchens and losing house points. She didn't want to be added into the disappointment list.

 

[Irene Holland]

Irene held out the exploding quill. “Believe me when I know an exploding quill when I see one, Miss Townsend.”, crossed her arms once again. Both students were denying the reason as to why they were by the Restricted Section. This made the woman disappointed. She was about to speak out when she noticed the Hufflepuff’s look. Samantha may have agreed with Sydney but she was not convincing enough. “You will go to your Head of Houses. They are already informed of the reason for your appearance. Miss Townsend, seeing as this is your quill, @Professor Kalif Styx will see appropriate measure for this.” She turned to Samantha. “ @Professor Landon Carter will see you about this as well.” Irene waved her wand, sending two Patronus charms in the direction of the Head of Houses, alerting the two professors of the arrival of the students. The woman then nodded to both of them, prompting them to get moving.​

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney quietly cursed her student predecessors who apparently had not subtly what so ever if the librarian was able to pick out a prank quill so fast. "This is so typical," She said angrily, gathering her things up from where she'd dumped them on the table. "Getting in trouble for just owning an item, this school really is a dictatorship," Sydney glanced at Samantha, trying to quash the feeling of guilt she felt at the idea of the other girl getting in trouble too. Samantha should have known the risks of agreeing to help in the first place, it wasn't Sydney's fault. It was still ridiculous that she was getting in trouble for this too now. "And why is Samantha even in trouble? For standing next to me? The staff here have gone mad with power," She griped, pushing a chair out of the way as she finished grabbing her bag and feeling what small satisfaction she could from the loud scraping noise it made as it slid on the floor. "It's not a crime to be in the library!" Sydney announced, hoping Samantha or maybe any near by students might take heart from her protest.

 

[Professor Kalif Styx]

After leaving the fifth corridor to have a little chat with his wife, Professor Kalif Styx was on his way toward the dungeons when he noticed some patronus charm coming up to him. Sighing, as this could not be good, he turned and headed into the library, where it came from. Kalif walked along the library until he managed to hear a couple of voices, including a student. Younger student. He approached the three, one being the librarian holding an exploding quill, near the restricted section, and two second years. Townsend had a pretty good mouth on her, from what he could tell. He shook his head and cleared his throat, to announce his presence. "Care to explain what's going on?" His eyes remained on the librarian and his student, unaware or caring what the Hufflepuff's fate would be.

 

[Samantha Jacobs]

Samantha sighed quietly when she realised that she was not convincing enough and that they were in deep trouble. Her eyes widen slightly from Sydney's small outburst, but she liked how Sydney was standing up for herself. Samantha didn't have the courage to do that herself, she wasn't that sort of person. She was in slight shock when the Slytherin girl had backed her up? Samantha wasn't sure. "Don't worry about me being in trouble. It's okay" Samantha says quietly, trying to reassure the girl that she was okay, hoping that she didn't feel guilty about what happened. She would probably ask Sydney about that later or something. Samantha flinched a little when Sydney slid the chair. Samantha didn't think of the consequences of what she had done, but she didn't regret it. Her eyes then widened when noticed that Professor Styx was in front of them. That's when Samantha realised, that they weren't going to get away with it.

 

[Professor Landon Carter]

Landon was in a particularly good mood that morning as he buzzed about in the Herbology greenhouses tending to all of the plants. He stood with a watering can as he poured some water over one of the mandrakes. However, a patronus moving out of the corner of his eye made him jump suddenly and the water in the watering can spilt all down the front of his robes. With a sigh, the man retrieved his wand out of his pocket and cast the Hot Air Charm to make his robes dry out. No, wait Landon thought as the patronus was starting to float away. He quickly put down the watering can and put his wand away as he began running after it back to the castle where it came from. He followed it all the way to the library, and with a smile across his face he wondered where it was taking him. As he turned a corner he stopped in his tracks as he noticed some familiar faces. Two of his second year students stood with the librarian and Professor Styx. He beamed at them. "Hello guys! What's this all about?"

 

[Irene Holland]

Irene inwardly smirked at Sydney’s reasoning. It may be true that it was not against the law to own a prank item. However, it would have turned out differently if the said item was not out of her bag. She could be right about asking about the Hufflepuff’s involvement. “It’s true that it’s not against the rules for owning this.” She held the quill up again. “However, the fact that you took it out of your bag meant a different motive.” She had just sent the patronuses when Prof. Styx arrived by her side. Shortly when he asked about the situation, Prof. Carter also arrived. Landon, who was a good friend of hers, was in a cheerful mood compared to the first professor. “Good day, Professors. I happened to chance upon Miss Townsend and Miss Jacobs crouched by the shelf adjacent to the Restricted Section.”, she glanced back at the students as if challenging them to contradict what she said. “While there was nothing wrong at first glance, a closer look caused me to call their attention and placed their things on the table.” She held up the exploding quill, handed it to Prof. Styx since he was the head of Slytherin. “This particular item, though appears to be harmless, is a prank item and was out of Miss Townsend’s bag and even hidden underneath.” Irene turned to Landon. “Samantha did not have anything with her but I was a tad disappointed about her dishonesty when they were given a chance to admit and explain.” Hopefully, the Hufflepuff head understood what she meant. ​

 

[Sydney Townsend]

Sydney crossed her arms as the librarian explained her side of the story, barely restraining a scoff at her interpretation of the situation. "We were just looking at books, Professor," She said unflinchingly to Professor Styx. Sydney had hoped the librarian had just been bluffing about calling their heads of house to intimidate them, but now they were actually here, Sydney couldn't believe they were going to get in trouble before they had actually done anything. "It's ridiculous that there even is a restricted section in the first place, but we didn't even do anything." She muttered churlishly. Styx had a reputation for being strict, but Sydney had to think he could see reason in this instance.