Grounds: The Great Lake

[Wilber Winterbottom]

The large freshwater lake of Hogwarts is located just south of the castle. About half a mile wide in diameter, the lake dominates much of the school's landscape, a steely and ominous mass of icy water in the winter, yet an inviting and refreshing sight once the weather starts to heat up. On one of its banks, a towering beech tree stands sentinel, and is a popular location to meet and relax. Castle-side of the lake stands the boathouse.

You may swim in the lake, but be careful, and also mindful of the creatures that reside here. Merpeople, grindylows, and the Great Squid, to name but a few, call these watery depths their home. You would do well to leave them in peace. If they feel like it, they'll come to you; the Giant Squid, who goes by the name of Bartholomew Henry, has been known to bask in the shallows on sunny days.

OOC: Please do not RP for the Giant Squid.

[Zoe]

Sixth year felt like a reward after the grind of OWLs. Despite the obvious disappointment his Ma had in him regarding his results, there was a hidden benefit to his scores not being the greatest. While she had lectured him on the importance of taking his studies seriously, his less-than-stellar results meant fewer courses to worry about, which, in Beauden's mind, was a win.

This left him with all the time and energy to pursue other, more interesting ventures. His schedule wasn't too overwhelming; four out of the five classes he was taking were subjects he found fascinating, so he breezed through them. Potions, however, was something his Ma insisted he take and have remedial lessons to nudge that Acceptable grade up to an Exceeds Expectations, but Beauden wasn't particularly concerned.

Arguably, he had too much freedom now, which led him to fill his days with spontaneous adventures. On this particular day, with the sun shining and the air still warm, the lake called to him. A swim while the weather still permitted seemed like the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

His belongings—a tank top, footwear, and wand—had been left on the shore, abandoned in his haste to dive in. Beauden was already in the water, wearing his swim trunks and feeling the cool, refreshing embrace of the lake. He floated lazily on the surface, staring up at the sky, wondering if the giant squid, a merperson, or even a rogue grindylow would make an appearance.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zoe

Sixth year felt like a reward after the grind of OWLs. Despite the obvious disappointment his Ma had in him regarding his results, there was a hidden benefit to his scores not being the greatest. While she had lectured him on the importance of taking his studies seriously, his less-than-stellar results meant fewer courses to worry about, which, in Beauden's mind, was a win.

This left him with all the time and energy to pursue other, more interesting ventures. His schedule wasn't too overwhelming; four out of the five classes he was taking were subjects he found fascinating, so he breezed through them. Potions, however, was something his Ma insisted he take and have remedial lessons to nudge that Acceptable grade up to an Exceeds Expectations, but Beauden wasn't particularly concerned.

Arguably, he had too much freedom now, which led him to fill his days with spontaneous adventures. On this particular day, with the sun shining and the air still warm, the lake called to him. A swim while the weather still permitted seemed like the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

His belongings—a tank top, footwear, and wand—had been left on the shore, abandoned in his haste to dive in. Beauden was already in the water, wearing his swim trunks and feeling the cool, refreshing embrace of the lake. He floated lazily on the surface, staring up at the sky, wondering if the giant squid, a merperson, or even a rogue grindylow would make an appearance.

Spring was arguably Anna’s favorite season because of the way the earth was covered in a colorful blanket thanks to flowers and just that je ne sais quoi the rays of the sun bathed the world in. That being said, there was something so magical about fall at Hogwarts and autumn’s color palette. Sure, it wasn’t her preferred shade of rainbow but with fall came an appreciation for oranges and browns that she had rarely considered before. It was especially magical right now on the cusp between summer and fall with shades of brilliant green woven in with everything and a crispness in the air like the perfect crunchy apple.

Seventh year was certainly starting out complicated and Anna found herself willingly distracted by her own pressing issues in favor of comforting her closest friends and sorting through the onslaught of ‘teenager’ that had taken her world by surprise. Even studying for NEWT’s was becoming complicated as her eyes wandered between her tutor and textbook. All small delightful dilemmas compared to what she had learned from the Department of Mysteries over the summer and what more she might learn from the Department of Magical Accidents & Catastrophes once she plucked up the courage to make an appointment.

She had come to the lake with the intention of journaling or doing some reading for History of Magic, but the smooth stones along the bank captured her attention and she discarded her bag on the grass along with her shoes and socks to begin collecting these perfect skipping stones. Despite some efforts to teach her, the Hufflepuffle still was not so good at bouncing stones across the lake and more often than not they sunk with the initial throw with a satisfying plop.

The way the sun’s light danced over the surface of the water, covering portions of it in a blinding white halo, meant she did not notice that there was someone floating just offshore. Pocketing the rest of the stones, Anna held one between her thumb and index finger and tried to remember the ‘best’ stance to take with her shoulders leg width apart…or had it been legs shoulder width apart? In any case, she found a comfortable stance and flung the rock out into the water with the expected kerplunk. She tried again with with the same result, two whole skips the second time, another kerplunk on her third attempt (clearly not the charm like so many claimed), but on her fourth try her stone miraculously skipped once…twice…three times and continued to bounce across the surface of the lake…

[Zoe]

Beauden barely registered the rhythm of the water as it lapped against him. He floated aimlessly, his arms spread wide, legs dangling below, eyes half-closed as the peaceful lull of the lake rocked him. His thoughts drifted lazily along with the current, savoring the moment. With no classes to worry about at the moment and Potions far from his mind, this was exactly the kind of day he loved—unpredictable and unplanned.

An approaching sound of something skipping over the water cut through the calm, but before he could react, a flat, smooth object hit him squarely on the forehead. "Oi!" he exclaimed, jerking out of his relaxed position and shifting from floating to treading water. His hand instinctively flew to his head, rubbing the spot where the stone had made contact. It didn't hurt much, but it was just enough to startle him. He scanned the shore, his eyes narrowing as he searched for where had come from.

That's when he noticed her: a girl, standing by the lake's edge with her arm still extended, clearly in the middle of her stone-skipping attempts. She didn't seem to realise what had happened yet, so Beauden swam closer, the water parting softly as he approached, and let his presence be known with a deliberate splash.

"Oi! Watch where you're skipping!" he called out, though there was no real bite in his tone, just a playful edge and a hint of irritation as he rubbed his forehead once more.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Anna was apparently in her 'easily startled' era because the appearance of a, seemingly, disembodied voice caused her to jump back and slip in the wet ground beneath her feet. Thankfully not enough for her to completely fall back but enough so that she nearly performed a perfect split before she composed herself and pushed her wild curls out of her face. "Bar...Bartholomew Henry?" she stage whispered as she tiptoed ankle deep into the water and peered around for the giant squid. Or was her trespassing even more severe and she had just offended one of the merprinces and then she would never get to see Atlantis because she would be outcast for marring a royal of their kind?

Swallowing thickly, Anna reached down and held her skirt up so she could wade out further (just a little over knee deep) and offer her apologies to the merprince without shouting from the shore. "I'm so sorry... I-I didn't see you! The sun's golden path danced across the water in such a way that its honeyed glow camouflaged you in its light," she explained as she continued to get closer but not TOO close that she risked plunging into the lake because, well, she still was not the strongest of swimmers. "I've also never been particularly good at skipping stones...and maybe I should be considering Gobstones after all...but it also really was an ill-timed fluke... so I am nearly as surprised as y---- oh, you're a boy?" She hadn't meant to sound too disappointed but she had just been building up this whole narrative in her head about merpeople and, well, her imagination had entirely taken over and her cheeks were now a pair of blossoming tea roses because of it. "Or...are you hiding a glorious tail beneath all this watery shimmer?"

[Zoe]

Beauden raised a brow, entirely amused as the girl rambled on. His irritation faded, quickly replaced with the same carefree grin that often crept onto his face during moments like these.

As she wove this elaborate story about the sun's golden path and camouflaging glows of light, Beauden chuckled, pushing back his wet hair. "Sorry to disappoint," he said, his tone still lighthearted. "Just a Gryffindor boy taking a swim. No tail, just me and probably a slightly bruised forehead." He paused, letting his words sink in as he waded a bit closer, his grin widening. "But, hey, if you'd rather think I'm some kind of majestic aquatic creature, I won't ruin the illusion."

Her blushing cheeks didn't go unnoticed, and Beauden found himself laughing, though not unkindly. "You nearly had me convinced I was some lake-dwelling royal with all that poetic talk of shimmering light and honeyed glow. You sure you're not a writer or something?"

He reached the shallow part of the lake, standing now, the water just below his waist. "Anyway," he added, with a playful glint in his eye, "next time you're aiming to skip stones, maybe aim away from my head, yeah? My Ma would probably thank you for sparing me." He winked, clearly finding the entire situation more entertaining than anything.

[sweetpinkpixie]

More than a bit of panicked blush painted itself across her face. "Oh, no, not disappointed," she stammered with some not-so-casual flailing of the arms, crossing and uncrossing them in front of her to write flustered X upon flustered X in the air. "And I really am sorry about the skipping stone and, well, I don't have any bruise paste or anything on me and I will certainly be more careful in the future so I don't knock you...or anyone...again...hopefully..." Even though he was showing every indication that he really was not that bothered by the whole ordeal - something she could make out more and more clearly as he approached shrouded in a halo of sunlight which really DID make him look like a mythical being and causing her brain to work even more sluggishly - Anna was already adding 'make it up to The Gryffindor Mermish Prince of the Black Lake' to her mental to-do list. Despite her memory issues, these sorts of things tended to stick so it was highly unlikely she would forget too.

"Oh, well, not a writer just..." she laughed sheepishly as she tucked some stray curls behind her ears and the blush continued to accentuate her freckles - or maybe it was just standing in direct sunlight that should receive the credit rather than the boy in front of her. "I have quite the overactive imagination and it sweeps me up often...and as long as your lower half remains submerged the illusion remains somewhat intact. Well, that is until you use your Mermish magic to give yourself legs so you can join a simple land dweller like myself."

Anna's posture relaxed a bit and her fingers steadied themself by lacing together across her stomach, his carefree spirit and impish smile alleviating much of her distress over the whole situation. Maybe in a little she too would find the whole thing amusing. "I promise," she smile and unlaced her fingers just enough to hold up her pinky for the Unbreakable Vow that was a pinky swear. "Can't be the reason your crown no longer sits upon your head properly."