20 Friday

Swimming in the lake wasn't strictly against the rules. It was unlikely the students would get in trouble for it, unless they got themselves hurt or caused an issue. However, it was highly discouraged for this reason.

In the lake resided fish, the giant squid, grindylow, and selkies. The first two were hardly a cause for worry as the fish were more afraid of the students than vice versa, and the squid was sometimes friendly enough that it let students pet its tentacles. The latter two, however, well, it had been seen the year before just how dangerous they could be.

During the triwizards tournament these two had been seen and nearly drowned and killed several of the competing wizards.

In DADA, they'd learned that grindylows were most commonly found in weed beds, and though their diet consisted mostly of algae and fish, they had been known to eat humans. They were also considered aggressive against just about anything which invaded their territory. Selkies were a cold-water Scottish merfolk with rows of sharp teeth and green-tinted skin. Noelle didn't feel they needed anymore explaining than that.

Besides the creatures which lived in the lake, there was simply the fact that the water was known to be cold year round.

Despite everything, Noelle knew there had been students who'd swam in the lake, both for fun and for the triwizard tournament. And so, she worked to convince her friends throughout the day to come with her to meet Azraeyn.

Brooke had declined, though, she claimed it was due to the cold water and lack of a suit, and, because she had declined, so too did Paul. Kade however, was down to at least go with her, though, he was also worried about the cold water.

Neither of them had planned on swimming at Hogwarts, and so they each wore a shirt and pair of shorts. Noelle had attempted to use magic as a solution, but hadn't been pleased with the results. She also wanted to be able to focus more on fun and staying alive rather than constantly adjusting a skimpy suit.

Stopping once they were in sight of the docks, she nudged Kade. "There he is. Looks like Faith and Yori are here too." She couldn't help but feel relieved that there would be a group of them should anything happen. Especially if Kade really didn't even get in the water. It seemed they had also had similar wardrobe problems.

Noelle waved and they returned the gesture. She heard a splash and looked towards the water, seeing that there were a few other students there that she didn't recognize. Azraeyn came up to meet them from the docks.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it."

"I didn't realize there'd be other people." Noelle casually mentioned.

He made a face. "Yeah, Yori invited them."

Clearly he didn't think much of Yori's friends she thought. "Well, how's the water?"

He smiled. "Great." Turning, he led them back down just in time for Yori and Faith to jump in. "You guys ready?"

Noelle nodded and she and Azraeyn both watched as Kade dipped his toes in and shook his head. "That's cold."

"Come on Kade! You'll be fine!" Noelle grinned and stuck her own toes in, trying not to grimace as her body agreed with Kade's statement. "See?"

He frowned. "Maybe I'll watch for now and work my way in."

She laughed and looked at Azraeyn. "On three?"

"On three." He agreed. "One."

"Two."

"Three!" Together the two of them jumped into the lake.

The cold water rushed over her, but, as she knew, it was best to get it over with than do as Kade was and work into it gradually. She resurfaced, shaking her hair out. "Brr!"

The others laughed and they all swam about for several minutes, splashing and staying close to the docks. Kade watched and tried to edge himself down into the water, but wasn't making much progress. Occasionally Noelle would stop and encourage him, but short of pulling him in, it wasn't making much of a dent.

"Why don't we swim deeper and see if we can spot the giant squid?" One of the students Noelle didn't recognize suggested.

"Yeah!" Yori said enthusiastically.

"Everyone remember to use the bubble head charm!" Another added. This was a spell that they'd all made a point of learning two years prior after it was used in the triwizard tournament.

Noelle felt aprehensive about going deeper but also strangely excited, and didn't want to spoil anyone's fun. She turned to Kade, treading water. "You sure you don't want to join?"

Kade looked disappointed. "Sorry, I think it's too cold for me. But I'll wait here in case there's any trouble."

She nodded, more than a little disappointed herself. She'd hoped for some backup down beneath the water should she need it. Turning back to the group, they all activated their bubble charms one-by-one and submerged themselves. Here and there Noelle would see a foot reappear above water and kick as they all dove and swam further from the docks.

They swam close to the surface for awhile, watching as the earth beneath them dipped lower and lower. The water was pretty clear and they could still see the bottom until they reached where the seaweed grew tall. Looking up, Noelle saw the Slytherin common room windows, and then the bottom sill of her own window. She hoped no one was home to see them go by. Azraeyn caught her looking and smiled.

The others began to dive deeper down and Noelle paused. The seaweed made her nervous. That's where the grindylows had gotten students for the tournament, because, she suspected, it was hard for one to see anything around them. Still, that's where everyone went and so she followed.

Popping her ears occasionally as the water pressure changed, Noelle quickly became fascinated by all the life teeming around them. She'd always loved swimming and everything that accompanied it, save the scariness already mentioned. There were fish darting by and shells on the sandy bottom. And then they entered the seaweed.

The feeling of the soft, slimy plant rubbing up on her arms and legs was repulsive but she pushed the feeling away, trying to appear as brave as the others were. She was at the rear of the group, with Azraeyn, Faith, Yori, and the others in front of her respectively. She felt something wrap around her leg and she shrieked, turning around rapidly.

Azraeyn appeared at her side and looked with her, for them both to see only more weeds. She blushed furiously, but he only helped untangle her and then moved on, clearly unfazed. Up ahead there were sounds of excitement.

The weeds faded away into a little sandy clearing at the bottom on the lake, not very large around in diameter, but enough so they could see a vast amount of the water around them. Noelle quickly saw the reason for everyones' excitement.

High above them, and yet still quite deep in comparison to the surface, was the giant squid. Its tentacles would arch and then straighten as it propelled its way through the water. It glided underwater as birds flew above. Noelle had spotted it from time to time from her window, but never viewed it entirely as she could now. The students watched in amazement until it disappeared around the middle island where Hogwarts stood. Then they all turned to each other, grinning.

She had forgotten her worries for a moment, but now she recalled them as she counted heads and came up short. She pointed to the others, calling their attention to the fact that one of the girls was missing. They too looked around, everyones' eyebrows furrowing in worry. Then they heard her scream nearby.

While Noelle's first instinct was to swim the other way, which one of the other boys and Faith both did, she wasn't going to leave the girl out here to whatever she'd stumbled into. Quickly she swam headfirst into the weeds once more in the direction of her cries. Azraeyn, Yori, and the other boy followed behind.

Through the weeds, tan flashed by. A leg, followed by an arm, tangled in the weeds. Noelle reached forwards to help untangle the girl and then saw she was being yanked down further and further. Noelle struggled to see through the green what it was.

Grindylows. Just what she'd been afraid of.

The small, gremlin-like creatures had latched onto the girl with tentacles and arms and were pulling her down, their numbers increasing rapidly. She reached out towards Noelle, eyes pleading for help.

Noelle sprung into action, pulling her wand out and pointing it towards a group of them. "Relashio!" Boiling hot water streaked towards the creatures and they released their hold on the girl. Behind her, she heard the others catch up and pull their own wands, repeating the same charm she'd used as well as "Flipendo" to keep the creatures at bay.

Once the girl was completely free, Noelle turned her wand on her. "Carpe retractum!" The girl was pulled towards Noelle and she grabbed onto Noelle, gripping hard with her fingers. She winced as Azraeyn put up a shield in front of the group, which the creatures struggled to push back.

"Protego!" He tried to hold it as they all swam backwards away from the gremlins, but Noelle could see them getting nowhere fast. And then, something large wrapped around her waist. She screamed, thinking now she'd been grabbed by the beasts from behind.

Twisting in its grip she saw one very large eye staring back at her and a large grey tentacle around her hips. This was no grindylow.

She was flung from the water, the pressure almost too much to bear, and then found herself falling through the air, facefirst towards the docks. She heard her friends screaming around her and suspected they'd met the same fate. Throwing her arm out in front, she shouted, "Arresto momentum!"

The group slowed and stopped just inches from the dock and a face full of splinters, as well as a very upset looking Professor McGonagall and scared looking Kade. A second later, the group dropped the last few inches and lay on the deck, recovering. Noelle closed her eyes, knowing that McGonagall planned to have a long talk with them and not even caring as she relished in the knowledge that she was alive.