Chapter Twenty-Six

Goals to Achieve

The next weekend was going to be busier than normal for Leu. After football practice on Saturday morning and making arrangements for some time in the lake before Quidditch practice on Sunday, he then arranged to spend Saturday afternoon with Andrew and Laura, who were taking them out on one of Laura's grandfather's boats for a few hours.

It was a much smaller boat than his mother's motor-sailor the Wizard's Temptation. This boat, simply named the Waveskipper, was a hybrid fishing boat with both a diesel engine for docking at non-magic ports and a magic-based prop engine to use while at sea. It only had one cabin with cots that pulled out from underneath the benches and a single counter with a portable cooker. Leu was glad that this was simply an afternoon trip where they'd be spending all of their time on the deck to do some bird watching.

"I know exactly where to go, actually," said Laura, their pilot for the day. "St. Kilda is a ways out, but it's well known for its seabirds. It's migration season, but it's been rather warm this year, so if we're lucky, there will still be a wide variety that haven't left yet."

"They have puffins, don't they?" Leu said with interest.

"Well, yes, but I'm not sure how practical a puffin would be for you, Leu," Laura said. "Considering you are going to be working in deep ocean, what you really need is a bird that's both a diver and a really strong flyer that can handle long distances."

"True," Leu agreed.

"We should be seeing both fulmars and gannets today, and either one would work. Let me see if I can find some," Laura said. She turned her attention on driving the boat, while Andrew stood next to her, watching with interest.

"So what all is involved in becoming an Animagus, anyway? I suppose it must be pretty hard," Leu commented.

"Oh, definitely," Andrew agreed, flashing Laura a wicked grin. "First, you have to put a mandrake leaf in your mouth for an entire month." Leu looked entirely confused.

"How do you eat and drink?"

"Just stick it in your cheek," Andrew shrugged. "And every morning while you have the leaf in your mouth, you have to recite an incantation to prepare yourself for what is to come. If you miss even one day, you have to start over from the beginning. And then and only then, if you've done it correctly, you're to spit the mandrake leaf in a phial in the direction of full moon rays and then brew a complicated potion. Then you must keep it in total darkness... until the night that you can drink it while standing in a lightning storm!"

Leu stared at him.

"Bullocks! Come on, you're having a laugh, right? There's no way in hell you did any of that," Leu said incredulously. Andrew laughed so hard he had to wipe tears out of his eyes.

"You're right, I didn't. That's just what the Ministry tells people so that they don't have too many applicants every year. Here, let's find you a good candidate," Andrew winked, handing Leu a pair of Omniculars. Laura worked the boat closer to a remote side of the island.

"Oh, look! There's some gannets there feeding," Laura pointed out, switching to the magic engine so they could come closer with less of a wake.

Leu watched as the giant birds floated on the air and then suddenly drew their bodies close as if they were a dart or a dagger, piercing the water with their bodies.

"That's amazing," Leu said, quite impressed as they watched them dive over and over again.

"The adult garrets are really pretty, aren't they? Some of the larger seabirds aren't much to look at," Laura said.

"It doesn't matter what it looks like. What matters is if it's right for Leu," Andrew replied, and Laura nodded at that.

"Fair enough," Laura said.

"I love them. I think they're amazing... look, there goes another one!" Leu said as he watched watch dove from on high, pulling itself in once more with knife-like precision. "It'd be worth it just to be able to dive like that."

"Then I guess it's time to find somewhere to anchor and observe. The more you know and understand the animal you want to be, the better," Andrew explained. Leu nodded and Laura coaxed the boat into a better position.

When the three of them got back, it was Laura who had a message to see the headmaster this time. After walking Leu back to the Ravenclaw rooms, Andrew helped Laura shortcut through the nursery. The two of them walked into the Study to find Severus, Anna, and Quintin getting ready for dinner.

"I see you're back. How did it go?" Severus asked, offering them both a seat as well.

"He seems to be interested in trying for a Northern Gannet, so we spent the day watching them get ready for migration," Andrew explained. "It'll be easier for him to attempt it if he knows the subject well, of course, but now I need to get his Transfiguration skills up a notch so that he's ready to try it. We might have to track the gannets in the Mediterranean if it takes him too long, though."

"If that happens, take the Temptation instead. Our crew knows those waters very well and will probably have an idea where to look," Severus suggested. "Also, I have another student for you who is interested in becoming an Animagus, Andrew, but I'll discuss it with you later. I asked Laura up because I thought you might be interested to know that I finally received word from the Otherworld."

"Really?" Laura asked brightly.

"Yes, Albus reports that everyone is there safely and that he and Minerva are accompanying Zoe and Aubrey Lynn to Caerbrenin. The Gardener, as Merlin is called there, is taking the rest of them to Caer Danaan to 'save time' and 'clear up any possible questions as to their arrival.'" Severus explained as he glanced at the Teledim in his hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laura laughed.

"I wondered the same, so I consulted Merlin's painting after getting that message. He's already in the portal, but he did stay long enough to make sure they were welcomed in Caer Danaan and were allowed to continue their pilgrimages without too much interference from the local aristocracy. Apparently, Merlin has a house in the village that is large enough to accommodate all of them. But he also said, Laura, that your father and mother wasted little time in finding a Daoine Sidhe guide to lead them to them to the local pack, so I doubt we'll be hearing from them for a while."

"Oh. Well, at least we know they're safe at the moment," Laura reasoned.

"Yes, and Merlin said that he arranged for an escort to take Delia, Mike, and Sirius to gather flowers for Aepheri. They probably haven't even reached the edge of town yet," Severus explained.

"I suspect the escort is to make sure Sirius gets out into the field instead of inspecting the local taverns," Anna said dryly.

"I wouldn't be surprised, considering it's very hard to get lost in that town, because you can always use the hill and the river as a reference to where you are," Severus admitted. "Even if you're new to the area, once you're out of the woods, it's quite easy to navigate. I'm sure they'll be well taken care of."

"Do you suppose Aepheri will speak to them like she did to you?" Anna asked.

"Aepheri has a soft spot for a lost soul, and I was feeling quite lost at that moment," Severus explained.

"Oh. Well, if that's the case, she'll probably take to Sirius straight away, won't she?" Anna concluded.

"Yes, actually, I'm counting on that," Severus replied, then turned their attention towards setting up for dinner.

The next morning bright and early, Leu put on his wetsuit and walked down to the boathouse with Noah and Dasher to find Sagittari standing nearby in his normal form. As they came closer, they could see Arcadia across the lake, waving at them as they came near. Viorica, Summer, Amy, and Diana walked up together, followed behind by Charles and Chris. Diana was wearing a wetsuit made of a silvery material that Leu didn't recognize; it didn't appear to be Goblin-made. Dwarven perhaps, Leu decided, then turned his attention to Sagittari.

"You should probably get acclimatized to the water, Llewellyn. I have checked the area and called back the Kraken, but perhaps you should take your wand and do one last check to make sure there are no hazards before the race," Sagittari suggested.

"Yes, that's probably a good idea," Leu agreed. Diana nodded as well, and the two of them went into the water wearing a wand pouch across their shoulders just in case they ran into anything.

"This is all a bit weird, swimming in that lake," Charles commented. "Is anyone allowed to do it?"

"With parental permission and the proper attire, I suppose," Sagittari replied. "But do you truly want to race Diana?"

"I wouldn't stand a chance even if I wanted to," Charles admitted, watching as the two of them reached the other side, spoke to Arcadia a moment, then worked their way back again.

"Everything looks to be clear, Doctor," Leu said as he came out of the water, Diana right behind him.

"Very well. You may take your places at the end of the dock. I will blow my whistle to start, and you will race over to Arcadia," Sagittari said. The two of them nodded and went over to the dock.

Sagittari waited until both of them were in a good starting position and then blew his whistle, the students erupting in an encouraging cheer as the two of them dove into the water and raced for the other side. With all the girls shouting excitedly for Diana, Chris and Charles found themselves shouting for Leu to try and balance it out; the two were swimming so close to the same speed that it was very hard to tell who was in the lead, especially when they got further across the lake.

"We should have been on the other side of the lake," Viorica decided.

"Or brought brooms," Amy ventured. But at that idea, Charles and Chris both brought out theirs from their cloaks and returned them to their normal sizes. Viorica did the same thing, and the three of them raced across while the other three girls kept shouting from where they were on the docks. When they raced over the lake, the two were still swimming super close, but it looked to Charles as if Diana was pulling ahead ever-so slightly as they charged towards the other shore.

As they reached the boat platform on the other side, Charles wasn't surprised when Diana's hand came up and touched the edge half a second before Leu's and as they shook the water out of their faces and eyes, Leu looked over to see that Diana seemed strangely serene for having just won that race. She seemed disappointed somehow.

"That was amazing!" Arcadia said enthusiastically. "Great job, Diana! Leu, I can't believe how well you were able to keep up with her!" Leu blinked and stared at her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Leu asked flatly. Arcadia hesitated, belatedly remembering her promise.

"I mean that Diana is such an amazing swimmer, I didn't think anyone could keep up with her!" Arcadia improvised. Charles frowned at that. How would Arcadia know anything about it? Did Sagittari say something about the Junior Olympics?

"He's not fast enough. We'll try again next week," Diana decided.

"Next week? But we have games next week. How about we just race back to the other side again?" Leu suggested.

"No. Only one attempt," Diana said firmly and then dove, swimming underwater to get back to the other size.

"Sorry, she's really strange sometimes," Leu said.

"How about all of the time?" Chris said. Leu shrugged a bit and then dove himself, heading back to the other side.

"I think I agree with Chris on this one," Viorica decided. "There's something really odd about that girl."

"You're one to talk," Charles retorted. "Come on, let's head back over," he suggested, and the three of them took their brooms back while Arcadia opted for the boat she had moored there.

Leu was too busy wondering why Diana was so determined to try again next week. And why did she want it to be only one attempt? Diana had always seemed to have very specific rules when it came to competitions. Maybe one of his goals, he thought, should be simply to figure out what those rules actually were.