Cheap Thrills

[Andi Forstrom]

This was it. Andi and Aodhan were finally going to the lakefront to find the giant squid rumoured to live in the water. After years of hearing about the squid from other students, and her own researching that lead to no concrete evidence the squid actually existed outside of said rumors, Andi decided enough was enough. She figured the only way she and her best friend would actually know the truth was to discover it themselves. She discussed meeting Aodhan at the lake the day after the house meeting, telling him to show up in swimming clothes and with an expectation they would find something. Then she had gone to bed early that night, to wake up early in the morning and get dressed for what was going to be an eventful and long awaited search.

Though she did not know if their search would lead to something she figured it was better to expect the worst so they were prepared mentally for anything. Andi walked from the great lawn, eventually arriving to the lake's shoreline. The sun had barely risen making her surroundings less distinguishable in the low light but Andi believed this was the perfect time to search. If there was a squid after all, it was probably accustomed to swimming away from the shore during the day with students around. An early morning visit would mean a more likely chance to find what she was looking for (again, if the squid even existed). Though she was impatient to begin the search she waited patiently for Aodhan to arrive, twirling her wand in her hand to occupy her mind as she stared out to the lake in front of her.
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[Aodhan Kaelen]

Aodhan didn't know how she had managed to convince him to get up so early but there he was, changing into his clothes and swimming trunks while every other boy in his dorm was still sound asleep. Tiptoeing he walked out of the dormitory with his wand tucked away in one of his pockets, hoping that she would bring something to eat with her because he was sure that she'd drown him if he turned up late just go get something to eat. As he made his way from the seventh floor corridor down to the lake, Aodhan wondered if today was the day that they were finally going to see this giant squid for themselves. The two of them had been talking about doing this for so long now that he did not want to be disappointed if it turned out to be a hoax all along, but Andi had told him to meet her at the lake with the expectation that they would find something there so Aodhan remained hopeful. When the Gryffindor reached the shoreline he saw that Andi was already waiting for him and shook his head. ''How can you be up this early?'' Aodhan asked when he approached his best friend, letting a yawn escape his mouth.

 

[Andi Forstrom]

The lake was calm at such an early hour of the morning meaning it was the perfect time to search. Andi had been sure of this when she arrived to the lakefront, though as she waited for her friend the decision to swim so early became more of an obvious benefit for their intention to find this elusive squid. Soon enough she heard footsteps crunching on pebbles and looked away from the lake to see Aodhan. Thankfully he had arrived on time and she didn't need to wait too long and risk losing the opportunity they had to swim in the lake before everyone else. He seemed tired as he asked how she could be awake so early and yawned but Andi paid no mind to it, instead focusing on their mission as she said "I'm just ready to get this done." She moved the towel hanging from her shoulder, and placed it on the ground. She then placed her wand on top of it and moved her now free hands to her hips. "Alright. I don't know about you, but I don't know any magic that can help us breathe underwater, so I'll have to hold my breath." She explained. "Figured we could take turns diving under, while the other spots to help in case we have a problem." She nodded after speaking, then turned back to the water. "Ready to finally find this squid?" Andi asked, moving her hands to the hem of her sweater and pulling it over her head. She then took off her sweatpants, leaving her in her one piece. Thankfully the morning wasn't cold enough for her to mind waiting for Aodhan to get ready before going in the water.
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[Aodhan Kaelen]

Instead of placing his towel on the ground next to Andi's, he let it slide off his shoulders and threw his wand on top of it. Aodhan nodded his head at her explanation of what was going to happen and how they were going to do it. He didn't know any magic that could help them either so agreed with her plan to take turns. ''Just so you know,'' he said, looking at his friend whilst he began to undress. ''Next time I'm gonna choose what time we wake up at.'' Aodhan didn't like waking up early at all, normally he would have stayed in bed until fifteen minutes before his first class of the day started, but this was important to his best friend so didn't want to screw it up for her just so he could stay in bed a little longer. He turned back to her once she was done undressing and smiled weakly when she asked if he was ready. For a moment Aodhan wasn't so sure if he was ready anymore. A giant squid was no centaur, thank god for that otherwise he would've turned around immediately without looking back, but still, they didn't know much about the squid other than it was apparently giant and it lived in the lake in front of them. ''As long as it doesn't kill us, I guess?'' the Gryffindor replied, hoping that his friend knew what she was doing.

 

[Andi Forstrom]

Andi nodded silently when Aodhan commented about choosing when they would wake up next time, turning her attention back to the lake. She crossed her arms over her torso as she waited for him to shed his clothes, keeping her eyes trained to the horizon in an effort not to stare at him. She could still barely see a ripple on the water's surface and did not know whether she should consider it a sign their mission would be a failure or think of it as a calm before the storm. Either way she finally turned to her friend when he spoke again, smiling a little at his comment but answering it with honesty. "If there is a squid and it doesn't want us to disturb it, we'll probably get a little shaken up, or hurt, but I doubt we'll die." Andi herself was ready for the search and anything it would entail, giant squid or not. Everything she researched had lead up to that moment and she wasn't about to let it be ruined and the knowledge she would gain from the experience gone if the squid existed and did attempt to hurt them. She wanted to learn this for herself, for her friend, and for any students that went around asking so they could get a straight answer on whether the squid was real or something fabricated through rumors. After taking a deep breath, Andi stepped forward into the water, wincing at the temperature but battling through the cold enough to step in further. When the water was at her waist she felt used to the water enough to dive forward, look around, and then return to the surface after gathering her bearings. As she treaded the water she waited for her friend to join her.​

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Sorry this took so long!!