[Hermione Granger]

Hermione bent with her nose inches from her reading material, shoulders hunched, bushy hair trailing the parchment. The hazy glow of her lantern was an island of light amid the dark, deserted library. Every few moments, the quill in her hand twitched readily, an interesting tidbit or promising fact rising up from the tiny type of the old Prophet before her -- only to settle back down, as Hermione scrunched her nose in disappointment and moved on to the next box of archival documents.

She rustled agitatedly in her seat, disgruntled that her weeks of searching for the identity of this so-called 'Half-Blood Prince' had resulted in the most unpromising leads: a self-proclaimed Romanian troll whisperer and an obscure 3rd-century Gobstones champion. Hermione had resorted to combing through old records of the Daily Prophet, hoping someone by the name of Prince and a connection to Hogwarts would turn up somewhere.

Piled up at the edges of Hermione's lamp light, recently rifled through and thrown hastily to the side, lay a mountain of Hermione's school textbooks, a well-thumbed copy of Hogwarts: A History, and a sizable selection from the Restricted Section: books about dark magic, horrible things. Hermione had been switching between research subjects all afternoon, thoughts of this dangerous Prince's true identity, looming end-of-term exams, and Horcruxes buzzing through her mind. A thorough session at the library usually made frightening things less scary. Turned them orderly, made her feel armed against what was coming. But amid all this stress... the war against Voldemort... Hermione's dark circles and frantically tapping leg were evidence enough that the stress was getting to her.

Was it past curfew? She wondered idly, rifling through to the next page of the Prophet and hunching over it, so close her nose almost touched the parchment. Hermione usually told time in the library by how badly her back ached, and god, did hers; but she still snatched feverishly for the next folder in the box. The lantern beside her sputtered, low in its wick... she'd be in quite some trouble if anyone found her out here at this time of night...

[Markus Green]

He hadn’t planned on staying late, usually he was back to the dorms long before the needed time to stay out of trouble. The difference was, he’d read this book and felt no need to re-read it fully. He had five other potion books in his room ready to be read with all new information. No he had just needed one bit of information... only, which chapter was it again?
‘Mark, you have about ten minutes before we’re rushing back to the dorm... or I’m talking a teacher out of handing you a’[\i] Markus’s little ticks of a warning from inside of his head We’re ignored, until the last bit...
“You usually get my into detentions Markus... and even so... all I need is know what that one ingredient is.” He said knowing what point was coming next...’just rent it again’ or, ‘and why waste your time making a useless potion?’... Markus seeming to have no idea of how schooling would set them up for a much easier life.

“Did you hear that?” Now that Markus has gotten him out of his concentration he could hear the fire slowly burning out across the room.
“Should we check it out?” He hear a grunt, and what sounded like Markus slamming his dark arts book down in their mentally designed personal rooms.
‘For merlins sake Mark, your already pushing the time! What if that’s a teacher?!’[\i] if this had been anyone else... he’d be a puddle of tears and embarrassment, Markus seemingly the only one aloud to scream at him.

He did heed that warning though, as he ducked under a table incase it was the castles caretaker.... or under taker, he was still trying to figure out what the mans job actually was....after all with how the man kept himself he looked more like the latter. Markus had his two cents,
‘I think he could be classified as both.’[\i]

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Peeves had been idling the days away with mischief, wondering if he should plan something special for the end of the year. Things had becomne strange in the castle. There was an energy around here that Peeves didn't much enjoy. He was supposed to be the chaotic energy around here, and people would do well to remember that, lest he have to remind them himself. Maybe that was what he needed to do? Not nearly enough people were hung from the chandelier anymore. Shame. Maybe some poltergeist ought to change that?

The library seemed to be a quiet place to upturn wastepaper baskets, Peeves figured, a night time activity that always brought him quite some pleasure. When he got there, though, the spirit found something a lot more interesting than rubbish bins. Students! Out of bed at this hour? Surely they could only be up to baaaad things.

Invisible, the poltergeist floated above the rows of books for a moment, gathering some in his arms, then couldn't resist any longer. He appeared with a loud, wet pop, and started hurling the books at the Gryffindor's head. Out of the two of them, she was the most fun to annoy.

'Granger danger! Granger danger!' Peeves screeched, the books flying wildly.

[Hermione Granger]

So deeply focused was Hermione on her research that, at the sight of a thick tome whizzing past her left ear, Hermione shrieked and upended the ink bottle into which she'd been poised to dip her quill. She whirled around, ramrod-straight, to find herself face-to-face with --

"Peeves!" Hermione hissed, shielding her head with her copy of Hogwarts, A History. "Stop! Someone will hear -- no -- argh!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione noticed a figure at the other end of the line of bookshelves. Her heart stopped, spotless disciplinary record flashing before her eyes -- but no, it wasn't Madam Pince, but another student was standing just out of Peeve's sight! Pinned down by the rain of books, Hermione shot him a desperate look from beneath Hogwarts, A History, pleading him to do something before this incorrigible poltergeist attracted every expulsion-prone professor in the castle.

[Markus Green]

He had not expected the ghost to show, though being under the table had seemly kept him from being a target. In his head Markus hummed approval for his fast actions though he could tell Markus found this funny. The ghost that was.
“Markus, this isn’t the time to be enjoying yourself. This ghost could put all three of us in detention.” He mused, though his voice low and timid as usual. He was reminded of spells he could use, but mark didn’t.... fight back. That’s why Markus was even there. Sadly Markus didn’t have the same know how I’d spells.

Markus though was having enough, feeling marks anxiety rise as the woman put pressure on him to help....the ghost helping matters. Mark could feel his consciousness being pulled back as Markus took over dumping him back in his “mind room”.

“Don’t you think it’s rude to bully a lady?” He asked, his voice lower than normal in an attempt to keep his other personality out of detention...
“Why don’t you just let us all leave... so these two bookworms can read in their private dorms... I mean I’m sure mark has at least learned his lesson.” The man under the assumption the ghost was simply trying to enforce the rules. He would have known better if he was in control more.

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Peeves, as ever, was having the time of his poltergeisty life. Cackling madly, he continued to throw all the books he was holding, rotating like some sort of posessed, book-throwing sprinkler.

'Here's a book for you to read!' The spirit yelled, throwing a book directly at the boy. He then floated above Granger, and dropped a very serious, very mouldy book about moulds directly above her head, and started to howl maniacally.

[Hermione Granger]

“Protego!” Hermione cried instinctually as the book fell; her wand, still lying on the table beside her quill, shot out a few feeble yellow sparks. The moldy book crashed against Hogwarts, A History and burst apart into clumps, filling the air with noxious spores.

Hermione cried out angrily, coughed, and ditched her tome-shield as a bad job. She grabbed her wand and leapt up, moving toward the boy who has spoken, as Peeves began to howl.

“We’ve got to shut him up!” She hissed nervously you the boy. “He’ll wake up the whole castle!”

[Markus Green]

Catching the book in midair he looked far from amused, the flinch from the ravenclaw like personality hiding in their head causing his knuckles to grow white as he gripped the book. Though now the slytherin personality currently wearing the original ravenclaw crest carried by the original personality was realizing the ghost wasn’t simply wanting rules to be followed.

“Yeah, obviously. I mean he’s not exactly whispering is he.” His sarcasm strong, Mark now sighing within their head. It took a warning from him to make Markus shit his mouth... for the most part.
“Can you handle it?” He waited getting the confirmation and fading his eyes growing glossy before mark showed bask up pulling up his sleeves and taking out his wand.


His wand moved with grace and ease as he cast the Imperturbable Charm at the door of the library...now they only had to hope no one was actually in the library...
“T-that should do it... I think.... I-unless someone else is in here...” he muttered, “other then-then the ghost of coarse.” He added, ducking as a book about hit him and clambering to the safety of a book shelf.

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Peeves had started to howl like a siren, making a commotion that might have killed Irma Pince if she had been around. There were so many books in the library. So many books to throw around if he felt so inclined. But he'd done that already, and it felt like it lacked diversity. He needed more.

Mind, there were also many bookshelves in the library. So many bookshelves. And they were so, so easy to topple over...

The howling stopped, and Peeves became invisible.

Just when things seemed to have calmed down and the two students could finally catch their breaths, the nearest bookshelf gave a mighty creak, and started to wobble on its base. Alright, maybe it wasn't all that easy to topple. But he had all night.

[Hermione Granger]

“Yes, that’ll stop them,” Hermione said, eyeing the door Markus had just sealed shut. “But he...!” her eyes rose, following Peeves in the air as he vanished.

Backing up, raising her wand, Hermione’s eyes searched thin air intensely, trying to follow the Poltergeist’s invisible bumps and brushes against the nearby bookshelves. As the shelf beside herself and Markus gave a particularly tremulous shake, Hermione flicked her wrist.

“Immobulus!” she cried, sending a jet of light at a patch of air beside the corner of the bookshelf.

[Markus Green]

"he....he's harder to deal wi-" He started just as the bookshelf stared going back and forth. With eyes wide he was frozen due to the ghost vanishing before starting his new form of torment. Did the ghost really find this funny? All he wanted was to know an ingredient! Markus growled in the corner of his mind, wanting to come out though Mark knew that magic was needed and he had to had to handle it....he could handle it...right?

He darted away from it, thankful for he assist, his hand shaking with his wand not knowing where to go. Where was that ghost!!!! What spell would he even use? In his mind Markus sighed, telling him to relax and focus.
"I know Markus....I know...I think...." He looked at the girl, "Know....any spells for ghostly phantoms...or..." Or what? What other spells would work?

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Granger Danger's spell nearly hit Peeves. Nearly. Of course, a spell like that would probably not affect the poltergeist for a very long time. If getting rid of him was that easy, they would have done it ages ago. And if generations of headmasters, Professors and caretakers had tried, without any success, a sixth year student wouldn't have much more luck.

Still, as the spell whizzed a few inches from his nose, he thought it best to get a move on. Maybe her next spell would hit him.

The bookshelf creaked, and started to rock harder and harder.

[Hermione Granger]

Hermione swore under her breath as the spell whizzed past the bookshelf and continued on its path, failing to find a target. She racked her brains for anything she may have come across in her reading about spells that worked against ghosts or poltergeists

"I've definitely read about a few," Hermione said to Markus, "but I doubt they would do much -- Hogwarts, A History certainly has enough horror stories in it about Vanishing and magically trapping him, so I --"

The bookshelf gave a particularly dangerous wobble, and Hermione's eyes widened. "Immobulus!" she called out again, this time aiming not for Peeves, but for the shelf. The shelf froze mid-topple, hundreds of books frozen in mid-air as they slid from the shelves.

She turned to Markus and finished, "I think we'd be better off making a run for it."

Problem being, the only way out that didn't involve tackling Peeves head-on was through the aisle of shelving now turned to a minefield of books frozen in midair.

[Markus Green]

He couldn't see where to even aim, as he stepped back he tried to focus Markus's humms in his head telling him how to focus seeing as it was Markus who was the tactical expert of the two. He just couldn't pinpoint the area of the ghost seeing as a ghost didn't need two hands or even one to do what he was doing. It wasn't like a person who had to be at an exact location of sound.
"Bust those spells...a-are kinda past grade even 7." He admitted. He knew a few spells past grade level 7...but none for ghosts. He wasn't going to admit this though in fear of being seen as a know it all. A useless know it all in this case.

He joined in instantly, survival taking control,
"Immobulus!" He dodged a book as he allowed his consciousness to fade out, Markus taking back over. Markus was faster, stronger than him. Not one for small talk, he didn't outwardly agree like Mark would have. He took control. Grabbing her hand he dodged them through half the shelves of books before he noticed it tipping again as well as the minefield of books. He wasn't sure he could predict where they would fall...after all this wasn't the grown man he was use to fighting. The grown man he could see...no this was an unseen ghost aiming for them personally.
"Granger...I think I have an idea. But unlike Mark...I am not good with spells...I'm more of the muscle and tactical kind. If you could make those stay airborn...I could try to weave us through them."

[Peeves the Poltergeist]

Peeves wasn't lisrtening to the two scheming children, but if he'd been the kind of spirit to do something like that, he would have cackled. They could try to perform all the anti-ghost spells there were, but none of that would be very efficient against a poltergeist.

The poltergeist was too busy trying to make the bookshelf wobble again, but it was no use. If that spell didn't work on him, it had certainly worked on the bookshelf. Ugh, boring. Maybe the best course of action was something else, then.

Still invisible, he floated back down to their level, and grabbed Granger's pile of books, then floated back up. From his safe distance, he started to throw these books around the room. Maybe that would irritate them a smidge.