At Swim, One Girl

[Louisa Clark]

This was what she missed most about home, the water. To be fair, she'd always preferred swimming in the river back in Hamilton. The lack of current in the nearby lake had made the whole thing easier. That wasn't proving a problem today however. After her flying lesson, she'd down to her dormitory and returned with her swimming gear. The rain had only gotten heavier, which made the lake more choppy; a bigger challenge. Her mother had been a champion swimmer when she was at school, and Louisa had inherited her skill, or rather been taught it. Her Dad had loved the water too, but he'd been more into water-sports, Louisa's other love. She preferred not to think of that thought. Swimming helped with that. When she was slicing her way through the water, she didn't have to think about anything. Swimming was instinctive for her. She barely had to remind herself to move her head, or change her course. She never had to check the depth. It was almost an instinct. She knew when she needed to turn because she'd gotten to an area that was too shallow, she knew when she was at the deepest part of the lake. Those moments, when she knew there was a vast expanse of water beneath her filled her with a strange excited feeling. There were merpeople down there, and all manner of other creatures. It was thrilling, knowing there were other living things sharing the lake with her.

The weather was improving, she noted as she turned over into a back-crawl. The rain was becoming lighter, almost a drizzle now. That was kind of sad, she'd enjoyed the pelting of the rain, the choppy waves. Now, you could see the impact of each droplet on the lake's surface. Slowing, she began to tread water, looking around. She'd done a fair number of lengths, losing count around the twenty-mark. It was probably time to head ashore. She'd left a towel and some clothes to throw over her suit for the return to trip to the castle on the castle-side of the lake. Deciding to take it easy, she switched to the breast stroke as she returned to shore.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie would have never expected to like jogging in the rain, but as soon as she got out there with the cold water hitting her face and the wind in her hair, it was almost like being on the ski field at home. She was really feeling the lack of active activities at Hogwarts, constantly itching to get outside and do something athletic... ski, fly, anything, and she had finally resorted to jogging just to get her adrenaline pumping again. And it was certainly working, a grin spreading across Lizzie's face as she finally started to feel normal again for the first time in a while.

Running not being her preferred form of exercise though, Lizzie found very quickly that she couldn't quite tolerate it for too long. Slowing down as she neared the lake, Lizzie decided this would be as good a place as any to rest and stretch and catch her breath, and she flopped down onto the grass with a contented sigh, stretching out and closing her eyes and just resting for a moment.

When Lizzie sat up to stretch she cast her eyes over the lake and noticed for the first time that there seemed to be someone swimming around in it, a girl Lizzie recognised from flying class earlier that afternoon. She didn't think she had met the girl outside of class, but that was no reason not to be friendly to someone. Sitting up a little straighter as the girl approached the shore, Lizzie gave a friendly smile and small wave. "Hi! How's the water?"

 

[Louisa Clark]

The swim had put Louisa in a good mood. She always felt better when she was outside. As she approached the shore, she could see a girl from her year sitting on the grass. She couldn't remember what house the girl was in, but it wasn't Slytherin. When a question was posed, she answered truthfully. "Cold, but good. It's calmed down a bit now, I prefer when it's stormy." That was the most information she'd volunteered about herself since coming to Hogwarts. The prefect she'd met in the tower had been right about one thing. Pushing people away was lonely. It was starting to get to her. She still didn't want to tell people about herself, didn't want to answer questions. Maybe, though, it wouldn't be so bad to have a few casual acquaintances. Someone she could chat to before classes. Not a friend. She didn't want friends, that was too complicated. It was too much. Friends wanted to know about you, and you cared about friends. She didn't ever want to care about anyone again. The only person she could permit herself to care about now was her Mum.

"You were in my flying class." she stated as she picked up her towel and clothes from where she'd folded them. She approached the girl, toweling her hair. "Do you like to swim?" She shouldn't have said that. Questions prompted questions. She'd always been a friendly, warm child when she was younger. It was difficult to shut that part of herself down. It was only in the last year that she'd isolated herself. She hadn't become used to not having friends. She'd almost attacked the older Slytherin girl who'd suggested it was sad, to cut people off. She wasn't a sad person, she was a pragmatic person. Caring resulted in being hurt. It was inevitable.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie smiled, pleased the other girl seemed happy to talk to her. The girls in Lizzie's dorm were so friendly, but she was itching to get to know people in other houses too, and especially make some friends who also liked sports, which thankfully this girl seemed to. "I've never swum in a lake this time of year, I usually prefer to ski when it's cold, I bet the stormy water is way more fun." She smiled encouragingly, sitting up and reaching for her toes, not wanting to stiffen up now that she was standing still.

"I like to swim sometimes, but usually in summer. My parents run a ski lodge, so there's usually too much to do in winter to really think about swimming..." Lizzie smiled, sitting back up and pulling one arm across to stretch her shoulder. "But I'm from Queenstown, so Wakatipu's right there, we go down to swim pretty often in summer." She smiled encouragingly as she switched arms. "I'm guessing you like to swim, huh?" Lizzie asked, not sure how else to get to know this potential new friend. "Have you ever been skiing?"

 

[Louisa Clark]

She shouldn't be talking to this girl, but the temptation was too great. She was in such a good mood from the swim, and it felt so normal, just talking to someone. It couldn't really do any harm. Not if she didn't give too much away. She just didn't want anyone to pity her, but she also didn't want to lie and say her father was alive. She was honest by nature, and smart enough to know that such a lie would rear its ugly head and come back to haunt her. 'It is. There aren't the same kind of currents in a lake, so a river is better, but the storm makes swimming in a lake more interesting." she admitted, the matter of fact tone of voice in high contrast with the high voice of an eleven year old. Her hair was still damp, but it was no longer dripping. She began to dry her arms and legs, pulling on a tracksuit and hoodie when she felt dry enough. She could bathe properly when she re-entered the castle. "You're not a Slytherin." she stated, looking at her companion. She knew the faces of the first year girls in her house, and this girl was not one of them.

"I love it, my mother is a gym teacher and she loves it too." She hadn't meant to say that, but the words had slipped out. Hoping the girl wouldn't ask about Ella, she quickly replied to the next question. "No, I live near both a river and a lake so it's mostly water sports. I've water-skied. Are they similar?" Maybe if she kept the focus on her companion, things would be easier. Deciding she would see this out, she joined the girl on the grass "It must be cool, to live at a ski lodge. Is there snow all year?" Fingers crossed that would keep her talking.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie was relieved the other girl seemed so friendly. She had worried that she might be interrupting, but she seemed eager to chat, and Lizzie was excited at a chance to get to know classmates outside her own house. "I've never swum in a river, that must be so much fun!" Lizzie smiled, imagining how it would feel to swim along or fight against the current. "I'm a Gryffindor. We're classmates though, I don't think being in different houses should stop people being friends. My dad's a Gryffindor and my mum's a Slytherin, and they get along great..."

"Oh cool!" She smiled when the girl mentioned her mum. "That's kind of similar to my dad, he teaches ski and snowboarding lessons and stuff. Water skiing is sort of similar, but I prefer skiing on land, gravity's easier to rely on than a boat." Lizzie smiled as the girl sat down, pleased to continue their chat, and she leaned back on her hands slightly, stretching her legs out in front of her and wiggling her feet up and down. "It gets pretty warm most places in summer, but my dad keeps some of our slopes cold for people who want to go then..." She smiles. "We only take magical tourists, so they can have fun adventure holidays without worrying about muggles, and so none of the guests think it's strange how our slopes are always in perfect condition..." Lizzie grinned a little cheekily. She loved how mysterious their lodge seemed to muggle locals, succeeding in seasons when other businesses were struggling. It felt special, and she supposed it was, considering the magic involved.

 

[Louisa Clark]

Louisa couldn't imagine not ever swimming in a river. She'd learnt to swim in one. Her entire life had taken place on its banks. Her earliest memories featured the Waikato river in the background. "It is fun, but it's dangerous if you're not used to the current." She didn't want to encourage the girl to do something she wasn't ready for. "If you want to do it, you'd need to go with someone who'll teach you properly." She wasn't volunteering exactly, but should the opportunity arise she would have no problem helping the girl. She chose to ignore the comment about friends. "I don't really care much about what houses people are in. I'm not really sure why I'm a Slytherin." She hadn't actually thought about that yet, her only emotion being relief at the fact that she hadn't been in her father's house. The Hufflepuff common room featured in too many of his stories, and she didn't want to recall them every time she got out of bed. In truth, Slytherin wouldn't have fitted the Louisa of years gone by. She hadn't been particularly ambitious for herself, she'd always been generous and friendly. Slytherins could be those things, true, but their trademark was being somewhat self-serving. While they might be generous and kind, they looked after themselves. That had become a large part of how Louisa lived her life now.

"True." Louisa didn't really agree. She loved the water, there was something so comforting about it. Water enveloped you in its embrace, making you feel safe, weightless, as though all of your troubles were somehow not your responsibility and you didn't have to carry them any more. Gravity just brought you crashing down. "That must be fun." she commented, imagining constantly snowy slopes. "So where are you from then? If you're up in the mountains. I'm from here, in New Zealand. Hamilton, actually." Her accent gave her away somewhat. She'd lived in Hamilton her entire life. Somehow, she felt as though she'd seen and done nothing, gone nowhere, and yet she often felt as though she'd seen and done far too much. It was a complicated age, that was her mother's reasoning, but secretly Louisa felt she blamed Dad too, even if she said it wasn't his fault.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Lizzie nodded, realising that while the current could be fun to struggle against, it was also probably pretty dangerous. "I'll keep that in mind! I might ask my dad if we can go down to the river next holidays..." Lizzie pondered the idea, trying to remember if dad was a good enough swimmer to teach her. He was good at basically everything, so surely it would be fine...

Lizzie smiled. "Oh, cool! I've never been to the North Island. I'm from Queenstown, the whole skiing thing kind of gives it away..." She laughed, thinking of her adventure-filled hometown. It got kind of lonely sometimes, living somewhere where most of the people you met were tourists, but there was nothing like living somewhere there was always something to do or somewhere to go.

 

[Louisa Clark]

Out of Character:

I'm sorry I'm so horrifically late!

That was the kind of thing she and her Dad would've done. She'd loved going out on the water with him. "You'll enjoy it. It's easy once you get the hang of the currents." she replied, not really sure what to say. Her father was the person she'd always been closest to. Her Mum was great. but they didn't have the same relationship. She'd spent so much of her time with Matthew, and now she just spent her time alone. "Do most people go home for the holidays?" she asked, knowing she definitely would. She didn't want to leave her mother alone.

"Oh yeah." She should've realised that. It felt like her social skills had gone into a coma. "I haven't really been down South much, spent most of my time in Hamilton." She missed home, desperately. This place felt like she'd been sent to camp. It still hadn't really sunk in that she would be staying here for the majority of the next seven years.

 

[Lizzie Parker-Taylor]

Out of Character:

omg sorry right back at you, I haven't had the time to get on lately and this is SUPER late D=

Lizzie shrugged. "I don't know... I'm definitely gonna go home, I miss my parents so much, and my little sister, and skiing, and... everything!" She sighed, leaning back and thinking of home... the slopes all around theirs would be starting to thaw this time of year, but her dad always made sure they were the last to warm up, keeping the lodge open to the wizarding populace year round.

Lizzie smiled. "Yeah, I'm sort of the opposite, I hardly know anything about the North Island... your home must be pretty warm, right?" Guests always talked about how much colder everything was down south, but Lizzie didn't really have anything to compare it to herself. "People always say it's so much colder at our place than they're used to..."