Summary: Sirius and Peter were tasked to rent a boat for James and Lily at the resort boathouse for the evening. How hard could it be?

Rated: K

Genre: Friendship

Kayaks, Canoes, and Rafts—What's the Difference?

"So we need to get a what again?" Peter asked Sirius as they headed toward the resort's lake docks.

It was James and Lily's sixth month wedding anniversary. The couple invited a few close friends to a muggle resort to celebrate over the weekend, but James had pulled Sirius aside to enlist his help in taking Lily out on the water for the evening to get away from the noise for a while. Though he happily agreed, James had Peter tag along to help and keep Sirius in check, so to speak.

Sirius refrained from rolling his eyes at the question, not understanding what was so confusing to Peter about reserving a boat.

"A boat, Pete," Sirius repeated as they neared the boathouse. "Why do you keep asking?"

Peter shook his head. "Because I am pretty sure James called it a specific name, not just a boat."

"Well, all I see are boats. I'm sure it won't be that difficult to figure out," Sirius assured, giving Peter's shoulder a pat.

"I hope you're right."

The man standing behind the counter offered a toothy smile at the pair as they entered. "Why hello there! What can I do for you two today?"

Sirius tapped his knuckles on the hard counter as he spoke. "l need to rent a boat for five-thirty tonight, please."

The man's smile widened just a bit more. "Sure thing! What were you looking for? A sailboat, party boat, speed boat—"

"A party boat sounds perfect!"

"Uh, no," Peter cut in, "Just a um… we only need one of your row boats, actually."

"A rowboat, huh?"

Sirius huffed, sending a pointed look at his friend. "You don't think James and Lily would enjoy a party boat? It has the word party right in it, and last I checked anniversaries are a party of sorts."

"James specifically said a row boat of some kind, not a crazy Mug–motorboat," Peter reminded him. "It's supposed to be simple and peaceful, remember?"

The man listened to their debate for a moment before flagging their attention back to him. "I think I know what you are needing. A simple boat for a quiet occasion. Follow me!"

The two followed behind the man as he walked away. "Be careful, it can get a little slippery."

Stepping onto the docks, they passed the large motorized boats and made for another dock that branched out into a more secluded area of the lake.

"We have all our manual boats over here where they won't get banged up by the motorized ones," the man said, turning to face them while waving a hand in the boats' direction. "We got pedal boats, kayaks, fishing boats, rafts, and canoes. There's a river that forms a ways down over there that is great for kayaking or river rafting, if that's your thing."

Sirius saw Peter perk up at the mention of the canoe like it sparked his memory of what they were there for and scanned over the various boats lined up beside him. He fixated and pointed out the one they needed, but Sirius rubbed his chin in contemplation.

"You know, I think that they were wanting to go on the river, right Pete?"

"I don't think so?"

Sirius ignored Peter's question. "Let's take a kayak."

"Alright," said the man, pulling a pen and notepad from his pocket. "Two one person kayaks or a double?"

Sirius raised a brow. "Huh?"

"What my friend meant to ask was; are the canoes safe to be on the river as well?" Peter inquired, giving Sirius a hard nudge and an 'I got this,' look.

"No it wasn't," Sirius stated. "Wait, what is the difference?"

The man looked between the two, seeming just as lost as they were now. "Difference between what?"

"A canoe and a kayak?"

Peter nudged his side harder, quietly wanting Sirius to shut up.

"Uh, well, as you can see the canoe over there is open, has multiple single-paddle oars, and can fit one to four people depending on weight. They're good for going out on quiet waters." The man pointed out the kayaks beside them. "Kayaks are enclosed at the top, with only the opening where you'd sit, and typically can only hold two people at a time. They're ideally used for sports like whitewater rafting or fast paced river racing. They have long, double-ended oars to steer with."

Peter seemed unsure at which to pick again and looked at Sirius for assistance. "Do you think he wanted the kayak? I don't think he mentioned the river, he said that it was supposed to be a quiet little boating over the water. White rafting sounds a bit intense."

"We also have rafts! They are great for river rafting," the man interrupted, to which Peter placed his hands over his face in frustration. "That sounds like what your friend seems to want, yeah?"

"Give us a moment?" Peter asked.

"Sure."

Peter grabbed Sirius' arm and pulled him away some to get out of the man's earshot. "I didn't think there were so many choices," he muttered. "I thought they were all like the boats we rode on our first year. That was how James described the one he wanted."

Peter glanced around at the boats. "None of these look like them, and I am tired of playing this weird bargain game this guy is spinning."

"Muggles like to make everything complicated," Sirius said.

"Which one do you think Prongs will want, then?"

"I still think we should get the party boat," Sirius stated

"He said no motors," Peter snapped. "Ugh, why does he want to give Lily a boat ride anyway? Seems so dangerous."

"I don't know, Wormtail. I guess it's supposed to be all that romantic mushy stuff from muggle movies, you know?"

Peter bit his lip. "I don't. Look, we got to pick one. James entrusted us with it, so we can't mess it up."

Sirius let out a loud sigh as he looked at the boats around them again. He then turned to the man with a confident smile.

"We'll take a raft."

"Alright! Great! Let's go back and get the paperwork sorted out and—"

A large boat surged by suddenly, it's wake shifting the dock the three were staying on. Some water sloshed over the edge. While Peter was attempting to steady himself, he pushed a little too heavily on Sirius, causing him to slip on the fresh water puddle and fall head first into the slimy shallow lake waters. While Sirius was under, Peter quickly turned to the man.

"We want the canoe."

Peter was laughing his head off when Sirius resurfaced. The man quickly knelt down and offered him a hand, pulling him up on the docks.

"You alright?" the man asked.

"Yeah," Sirius said, refraining from shaking like a dog. "I'm good."

"I'll go get some towels and we can, uh, finish the paperwork." The man hastily headed back for the boathouse.

Sirius gave Peter a hard slap on the back. "Accidents happen, right Pete?"

"Sure," Peter replied, holding his side as he calmed himself down. "But I think you forgot something."

"What?"

Peter gave Sirius another quick push into the lake before making for dry land, half-laughing as he did so. "Your lunch!"

"You suck, Wormtail!" Sirius yelled, scrambling back onto the docks, seaweed dangling from his hair.

Peter felt a little bad for shoving one of his best friends into the lake, but for once he wanted to show James that he could do something right despite dealing with Sirius' shenanigans.

Originally Written For:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges & Assignments)

Monthly Challenges for All

The Houses Competition

Word Count: 1,261

Originally Written: November 2018