Lavender held out her arms to present the canoe she'd taken from the boathouse and tied to the deck earlier. Parvati frowned and raised an eyebrow at it.
"Are you sure that thing is safe?" she asked.
"Of course," Lavender said, waving off her best friend's concern. "I think there are charms on it to keep it afloat, and it may be old, but there aren't any holes in it or anything. I checked."
She leant over to pull out the items she'd stored inside when she'd gotten it out.
"And," she said, presenting the box she'd packed to Parvati, "I've got everything we need to fish too. There wasn't anything in the boathouse, but it was easy enough to get poles, bait, and such by owl order. Maybe I'll leave them here for future students when we're done. I don't know why more people haven't gone fishing down here."
Parvati snorted.
"Did you stop to consider that it's for the reasons I told you when you first suggested doing it? There is nothing that we want to catch in that lake."
"How can you be sure of that if we've never tried before?"
"You think anything good survives in that lake with a giant squid around?"
"Well, the squid has to eat something every day, right? That means its food source is still around."
Her words did nothing to prevent Parvati from looking at her as if she'd lost her mind.
"And why would we want to compete with the giant squid for its food?"
"Relax," Lavender said, waving around a hand and climbing into the canoe. "The squid isn't actually dangerous. Have you ever heard of it harming a student? I think we're safe."
"Most people aren't stupid enough to go in the lake," Parvati muttered, but despite her words, she approached the canoe.
Lavender held out her hand, trying not to let it shake, and Parvati took it, carefully stepping into the boat and dropping onto the seat.
"Oh," she said, hands shooting out to grip either side of the canoe. "It wobbles. I don't like this."
"That's what happens when things float on water," Lavender said. "But don't worry. I used a charm that my dad used when I was little and we went fishing together. It would take a lot to tip over this canoe."
Parvati nodded but couldn't stop looking at the water as if she'd fall into it at any moment.
Lavender didn't pay her friend's fears much mind as she rowed towards a shallow edge of the lake, hoping that staying close to shore would assuage Parvati's fears.
Once they reached what seemed to be a good spot, Lavender stored the oars at their feet and pulled out the fishing rods instead. She showed Parvati, who was still looking at the rods as if they weren't trustworthy, how to attach the hooks and the bait.
Parvati began giggling as Lavender taught her how to cast the line, both of them letting their touches linger longer than necessary.
"Do we really just sit here?" Parvati asked once their lines had been out for a whole three minutes. "The fish actually bite the bait? Just like that?"
"If we're lucky," Lavender said.
Truth be told, she wasn't sure what kinds of fish were in the Black Lake. She was more prepared for total failure than she was success, but she didn't share that with Parvati. It had been hard enough to convince her to come.
They sat together for another minute, enjoying the companionable silence, before Parvati stiffened.
"Oh, no. Lavender!"
Lavender didn't have time to process what was happening before the entire canoe shifted violently with the water. Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening a split second before it did. The canoe flipped over, sending the girls and their fishing gear into the water.
Once she was in the lake, Lavender felt the squid's presence. Her entire body felt cold, both from the water and from her proximity to the giant creature. She heard Parvati sputtering beside her.
"Come on," Lavender urged, swimming towards the edge of the lake.
The entire way there, she could hear Parvati's panicked strokes behind her. She made it out first and tugged Parvati onto shore, not dropping the other girl's hand once she was on land.
"I'm so sorry," Lavender said, wrapping both of her hands around Parvati's. "I didn't think that would happen."
Parvati shook her head, but she was breathing too heavily to say anything.
Tugging her wand out of an interior pocket of her robes, Lavender dried both of them off. It didn't get rid of the goosebumps that had erupted across Parvati's skin.
"I really am sorry," Lavender said.
"It's fine," Parvati said through her shivers.
She gave Lavender's hand a squeeze to emphasize her words, which alerted Lavender to the fact that she hadn't dropped the other girl's hand. She tried to let go, but Parvati held on, giving her a small, hesitant smile. Lavender smiled back, entwining their fingers together. She felt warmth settle in her stomach that counteracted the chill from the water.
Parvati stepped in close, and Lavender relished what she could feel of the other girl's body heat.
"Can we go back up to the castle," Parvati asked, "and agree to never go into the Black Lake again? In a canoe or otherwise?"
Lavender nodded.
"I've been persuaded."
The girls smiled at each other and began their trek back up to the castle, fishing gear forgotten at the bottom of the lake as they both let their thoughts be consumed by their linked hands.
Prompts:
Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments
Fortnightly Challenge - The Boyfriend Checklist: He Holds Your Hand in Public - include a meaningful moment where the couple holds hands
Fortnightly Challenge - Ship in a Bottle: tugboat - (action) fishing
Seasonal Challenge - Autumn Challenge: (word) goosebumps
Word count: 939