I'm Sorry! I Can't Swim...

[Scarlett Vittori]

Scarlet Joussane wanted nothing more to do today but draw. Lately, the whole semester had been nothing but tiring for her and her schedule filled to the brim. After all, she was already a third year and was taking electives. She really was supposed to take only one elective this semester, which was Muggle Studies. Though thanks to Jake practically dragging her to Care of Magical Creatures, it already seemed as if she was part of the class in the first place. And she had to admit that while it was a bit fun, it was still tiring since it was taking up her supposed time for rest. And then there was also Quidditch practice, since she had to practice way, way, way, way more than the rest of the team considering that joining the team was a shotgun decision. And so, there she was barely having enough time to do what she enjoyed the most: drawing. But now, with her resting thanks to a certain worried person, she was not practicing with her broom and instead walking towards the Lakefront.

It was an early morning with the sun barely reaching high above the sky, its rays still not in their painful state to the skin. It was the perfect time to draw. The young redhead began to walk along the lakefront, her gaze concentrated into the calm waters and her attention purely on the scenery. It was early after all, surely no one was by the lake at this hour. But of course, she was dead wrong with that assumption. One step was all it took for Scarlet to find that out. The Hufflepuff was walking steadily, until she stepped on a soft lump, trip and fell over a figure. The redhead panicked and scrambled to get up. "I... I... I'm sorry," she said meekly as she tried to take in the state of the thing, or rather, person she had fallen on top of. It seemed as if the small lump she had stepped and tripped on was not a lump at all. But rather the legs of this towel-clad person who was... dressed in a bikini? Wow. That was weird. Scarlet was sure this was not a beach, but she would not be one to judge. She was merely focused on trying to apologize to this girl and when she said her apologies, the Hufflepuff turned to leave.
​

 

[Esme Lancaster]

With Winter finally behind them and Spring already beginning to blossom, Esme decided to take advantage of the sudden rise in temperature by taking an early visit down to the Lake for a morning swim. It was a weekend and she didn't have any classes scheduled until late in the afternoon, so the young Slytherin had most of the day to bludge. She knew she could have spent that time studying or getting around to the stack of assignments she was letting pile up, but there was nothing she wanted more than some time to herself, away from the other students and professors. It was hard to get any personal space in a castle full of children and teens who ventured to every corner of the grounds they could find. There was almost never any escape. Thankfully, few people got up early if they could avoid it.

Wandering down to the Lakefront, the sun barely risen above the distant mountains, Esme dropped her bag in the grassy patch that surrounded the sandy bank, her towel, its fabric depicting the symbol of her favourite Quidditch team, spilling out across its green blades. She kicked off her sandals and stripped down to her swimwear before trudging barefoot across the sandy shore, toes sinking into its fine grains with each step she took. The girl stopped just before the water and tentatively tested out the temperature with her foot, dipping her toes into the clear liquid and sending small ripples out across its surface. It was cool, but not unpleasant. The Slytherin continued slowly forward, giving her body time to adjust to the change in temperature, until the water reached just above her waist. There, she leaned back and kicked up her legs, swimming a short distance away from the edge before stopping to let herself float and drift along. She made sure not to get too far away, however. Apparently there was a giant squid deep within the lake, not to mention the city of merfolk.

After almost half an hour of being in the water, Esme returned to the land and shook out her wet hair, spraying flecks of water in every direction. She made her way back to where her bag sat waiting and snatched up the towel, using it to briefly dry herself before laying it out for her to lie across, letting the rising sun do the rest of the work. The Slytherin withdrew some sunglasses from the open bag by her side and gently slid them on and readjusting for a more comfortable position. The sand beneath her shifted to match her position. Content, she closed her eyes and relaxed.

Warm, comfortable and barely aware of her surroundings, Esme didn't hear another girl approach until she'd literally tripped over her feet and fell into her. Pain shot through the Slytherin as the force of the girl stepping on her bent her leg awkwardly. Gritting her teeth, she sat up with a start and shoved the girl away, removing her sunglasses with her free hand and resting them atop her semi-dry hair. Her eyes narrowed, glaring daggers at the redhead. If looks could kill, she'd have been obliterated on the spot, nothing more than a smoking pile of ashes. As Esme surveyed her, she realised the girl looked familiar, definitely in the same year as she was. Didn't she hang out with Jake? Whoever she was, she thought she could just injure someone else, apologise, and all would be forgiven. Hah, no. Screw her. The Slytherin wasn't going to let her off that easy. "Watch where the hell you're going you stupid ditz." The witch hissed, kicking sand at the back of the girls head once she'd turned away. She immediately regretted it, as pain still throbbed through her leg and the movement had only made it worse. She tried to ignore it, keeping her voice venomous and her eyes narrowed. "With a face as ugly as that, it's quite clear that this isn't the first time you've run into something. I doubt there is any potion in the world that could fix that mug of yours up."

 

[Scarlett Vittori]

Honestly, Scarlet had two options for today now that she had a screw-up. Either she continue with her plans to draw or she could crawl into a hole and never come back out again. Both sound equally tempting in her opinion and she had just wanted to decide now. However, if she crawled into the hole and never come back out, that would mean that she would rarely see Justin and Cris and Guils and Jake. That could be a really hard situation so the second option proved to be rather unpleasant. She really had to improve on her walking skills though and probably her carefulness. Especially since she was already a player for the Quidditch team! Which she was yet to tell Jake of course. Shaking her head from the number of inappropriate for the situation thoughts that were entering her mind, she merely turned away from the girl she had stepped and fallen on. After all, she had said her apologies, and it was not like there was anything more she could do besides that right? Well, she could take the girl to the infirmary, but with the girl's outfit and Scar's petite frame, she doubt they'd make it. Besides, the girl might want more sun to indulge in, right?

"I... I'm sorry," the redhead meekly said as the other girl hissed at her. Scarlet felt sand hitting her back and head and though it did not do any damage to her, this girl scared her. Obviously, she was violent. Like her classmates back in muggle school. And the thought and memory scared her. In her two years in Hogwarts, Scarlet had not had a fight with anyone, especially anyone violent. After all, she mostly stayed by herself or in the company of either Jakobe or Armin. Well, there was also the Nightray twins, but they never hurt her. This, however, was a first for the young Joussane since she entered wizarding school. The redhead slowly turned around and faced the girl. After all, it was rude to not face the person talking to you. Perhaps, this girl deserved that much courtesy at least. "I... I trip frequently. I'm sorry. A-and, I don't have any mugs that need fixing," the redhead said quite confused. Well, English wasn't her first language after all and still their metaphors and whatnots confused the small girl. "I only have one mug and it's back home and I'm pretty sure that it's not broken. I'm sorry. M-maybe you're confused and need your own mug fixed," the Hufflepuff replied as she hugged her bag closer to her petite figure. Why did she have to get caught up in this when she only wanted to draw?
​

 

[Esme Lancaster]

Esme wasn't sure what kind of response she'd expected from the red-headed girl, but it certainly wasn't the one she got. The Slytherin had spent the start of the year getting kicks out of bullying around some of the younger students, second and first years specifically. It gave the witch a thrill. Coupled with her growing distaste toward muggles as a result of a few particular history lessons, and her family drilling into her mind that her blood status made her practically royalty, Esme had grown to be a little too superior in the way she treated others. In her eyes, she was too good for everyone else.

So of course it came as a surprise when the Hufflepuff girl somewhat unsurely threw her insult back at her. Esme was livid. How dare she. This cheap two-bit ginger had no idea who she was speaking to. "****ing what did you just say." the witch responded through grit teeth. Someone must have confunded this incompetent brat. One mug back at home? She did seem to have an accent, not one Esme could pin-point, but that wasn't going to excuse her. In Esme's opinion, if the girl didn't have a firm grasp of the English language she shouldn't have been enrolled in the school to begin with.

Not willing to let the Hufflepuff go without a consequence for both her clumsiness and inadvertently insulting response, and ignoring the fact that Esme had insulted her to begin with, the witch reached into her open bag and withdrew her wand. The Hawthorn wood immediately grew warm at her touch, familiar with it's owner's presence and ready for action. Without hesitation, the Slytherin struck at the air in front of her, yelling out the first incantation that popped into her head, a repelling charm, in hopes to knock the red-head backwards and into the dark lake water behind her. In response, a jet of bright light emitted from her wand's tip, crackling aggressively in reflection of her angered state, and arcing straight toward Joussane.​

<i></i>