The groups returned their reports for Wizzlethorpe's research challenge. The results/prizes were:
Miriam/Isolde/Tamsin group would have won, but Caoimhe burned their report last session, so they got third place for having an incomplete report and took the bag of tricks prize.
Declan/Callum/Elias group won. They chose the disappearing dust prize.
Otto/Finlay/Caoimhe (the party) group took second and chose the brain elixir.
Prim/Thad/June group got last; the report was terrible and Bixby was disappointed.
The party wanted the disappearing dust to get back into the restricted section. They approached Declan's group and overheard them whispering about how they would use it and "still needing to buy Polyjuice." The party convinced them (after insisting) to show the dust and figured out that Callum was the one holding it. They concocted a plan to steal it. First, they convinced Wizzlethorpe to let them brew a forgetfulness potion, Caoimhe making up a sad story about it being the anniversary of her cat dying and wanting to forget the next day. They brewed one potion of forgetfulness.
At the Ravenclaw common room, they tried to distract Callum so they could take his dust. They had some pumpkin juice that they smuggled out of the dining hall and put the forgetfulness potion in one of them. Then they tried to get Callum to drink it and were unsuccessful at first. But then Otto commented on Elias's arms and how he had the arms to be a Beater on the Quidditch team. Otto proposed a toast, and he drank the pumpkin juice. Otto kept trying to compliment him, then Caoimhe eventually got him to stand up and show what exercises he does to work out his legs, distracting him enough so that Otto could pickpocket the dust out of his pocket. When he tried to replace it with a puffing pixie powder, he dropped it. But then he was able to convince Callum that the disappearing dust had just fallen out of his pockets—and he believed it. So the party got the disappearing dust. While all this was happening, Finlay was distracting Prim and noticed she was sad and studying a book carefully.
That night, the party used the disappearing dust to sneak past the guards on the first level of the restricted section, and Agatha on the second level, eventually reaching the Firefly Cellar at the end of the third level, where Blithe and Professor Bixby Wizzlethorpe stay.
Caoimhe noticed something about one of the walls with runes on it, and there was a door in the middle. They went through into a cave. Through the cave, they found themselves in a cavern with Seylon's Tower.
On the first level of the tower, they went through the alchemy lab, accidentally summoning two mud mephits and releasing poison gas before finding the right combination to give them an ethereal form. They passed through the stone wall at the top of the stairs to the next level.
On the second level, they looked at the different pools and figured out that they needed to bring water from the little pools to the big pool, then stick their face in to experience some sort of vision.
First, Caoimhe took some water from her pool and poured it into the big pool. She saw a happy memory of her dog Slytheris rolling around on his wheels.
Then Otto put his head into the pool and saw a vision of Juniper going down a hallway and opening a passage—a secret passage with a spell that ended in "Mercantis".
Then Finlay poured his liquid in and saw a vision of himself going up the stairs and pressing a crescent-shaped symbol. The stone wall opened. He saw a bunch of rooms in a chaotic sequence and finally a library with swirling books and a cloaked figure.
In the scrying pools, the party found a note talking about going down memory lane and seeing Lyra playing in the field.
They also found a potion of dreamless sleep.
On the third floor, the proctor (floating robes) forced them to take a test.
Otto and Caoimhe were caught cheating and sent to the back room. Otto found an old hall pass there and convinced the proctor he had already passed the test.
Caoimhe passed the test but Finlay failed. The proctor made him go to the detention room and said that, because of failing, he should wither and die.
Caoimhe and Otto convinced the proctor to let him retake the test, saying his dog died. The proctor has a soft spot for dogs (they like to curl up in his robes).
Finlay retook the test and got the answer right. Caoimhe hand-gestured an answer to him, but the proctor didn’t notice.
It’s now about 7:00 in the morning, and the party decides to stay the night on the third level in Seylon’s Tower instead of returning.