Open It's Only Science if You Write it Down

[Indira Khatri]

(Open after Ana posts with Weston)

Indi knew this day was coming eventually but she had just hoped it would be warmer when it did. Weston had been begging for her to try and get a picture of the eel since she had met him. Despite all her effort, that no one could confirm or deny, she had come up empty handed. So that was how they found themselves at the lake the moment the weather showed it's first sign of being tolerable. But at least she had convinced Weston that her talent were better served on the shore of the lake documenting their findings then splashing about in the frigid water. She had even had the foresight to pack some things from home that would help to bring a level of scientific integrity the school was sorely lacking. "What do you see out there?!" Indi shouted and even cupped her hands around her mouth to make sure the sound traveled. As she waited for Weston's response she checked the thermometer and logged the temperature before noting the time in the chart she had diligently drawn during breakfast. @Weston Stirling

 

[Weston Stirling]

It was finally happening. They were going to find the man-eating eel today. After two long years of waiting for Indi to capture a picture of the creature, Weston had decided to take matters into his own hands. For a second, his belief in the eel had wavered, but Simon's warning about the creature at last year's lake party had renewed Weston's interest. Since Indi couldn't sneak him into the Slytherin common room, they'd gone directly to the lake. The prospect of coming across the eel in person (in eel?) was a bit terrifying, but at this point, Weston was so desperate to see the creature that he was willing to take a bit of a risk.

But not too much risk. Weston was currently crouched in knee-deep water, wand in hand, face submerged. The chances of the eel coming this close to shore were very low, but he didn't want to risk getting eaten. He would have much preferred that Indi was in the water with him since she would definitely be able to stun the eel if it came to that, but she'd convinced him that someone needed to document their discovery. And she'd said a lot of stuff about the "scientific method" that he didn't quite understand. So far, however, he hadn't discovered much beyond some small fish and a lot of rocks.

Weston heard some shouting, and he jerked his head up, looking around frantically in case Indi was trying to warn him about the eel. But no, she just wanted to hear his observations. He spat out the snorkel mouthpiece. "There's a lot of fish, but I don't think they're magical!" he yelled back. He remembered that he was supposed to be specific when describing his observations. "They're like this big—" he held up his finger and his thumb a couple centimeters apart "—and they're silver!" Hopefully that was specific enough. "The water's really cloudy, so it's kinda hard to see! Are you sure you don't want to come in?"

 

[The Golden Eel]

The arrival of the warmer months was always a welcome one, the eel waking slowly but surely from its long sleep in the depths of the lake. But Spring also meant the end to the blessed quiet as the shore dwellers also returned, as sure as the sun rising. The eel had been stretching out as it swam, enjoying the sun rays near the surface when the sound of shouting shattered the quiet. The disturbance sent a shudder through the eel's entire body and it flung its tail upwards as it dove back down, breaching the surface in a shower of water before disappearing into the dark depths in the center of the lake.

 

[Indira Khatri]

Indi tapped her pen against her notebook as she waited for Weston’s status report. Eventually he heard her and took his head out of the water just long enough to tell her about the no magical fish. She wrote down what he said and sighed. Maybe she should go in? At least that way they’d have a chance at getting accurate data. “Maybe later-” she started to say but the words died on her tongue. She had only looked up briefly to check the thermometer again when she spotted a shape moving under the surface. Indi blinked once wondering if it might have been her mind playing tricks on her but it was much much too large to be a trick of the light. A second later she scrambled to her feet and was flailing her arms around to get Weston’s attention. She knew she should shout or scream or something but her throat was too tight to get any sound out. In the end she just kept pointing out at the water until the creature finally breached the surface. “Look!” she screamed at the last second and kept pointing as her heart pounded in her chest, and was only moderately aware of the danger her friend might be in.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston squinted at Indi. "What? I can't hear you!" he called back, almost positive she had tried to say something. Indi got blurrier, and he realized that his mask was fogging up. He swiped a finger along the outside before noticing the issue was the inside of the mask. Weston tucked his wand under his arm and pulled the mask off. Using a bit of fabric from his shirt, he started to carefully wipe off the condensation, his head tilted downward as he focused on his task. It was only once he heard as strange splashing that he looked up. There, just a few meters away, was a slimy, monstrous something rising out of the water. For a moment, Weston was frozen in fear. Then Indi's scream broke through.

"AHHHHHHHH!" he shrieked and fell backwards, dropping the mask and his wand. Weston accidentally gulped down some water during the brief second he was underwater, and he pulled himself up in a sitting position, spitting and coughing. He looked around frantically, trying to see if he could spot the monster near him. Oh god, he was going to die. He was going to get eaten. "HELP! HEEEELLLLP!" he called as he scrambled backwards as fast as he could using his hands and feet, like a crab. He didn't stop until he could feel grass, at which point he stood and all but threw himself onto the shore, tucking his legs close to him so that he was fully out of the water.

 

[Indira Khatri]

Indi stood frozen at the edge of the shore, watching in horror and amazement at what they had just witnessed. The way everyone talked about the eel there was a part of her that was sure it was just some kind of superstition the professors spread to keep kids from swimming too far out without supervision. That was half the reason she had never really tried to get a picture for Weston in the first place. But it was real, definitely real. She finally snapped back to her senses when she heard splashing and Weston screaming like he was fighting for his life. He was flailing in the water like he might actually be in trouble. Her mind was racing and she had to make the decision fast if she was going to act or stay put. But when Weston called for help she abandoned her supplies and rushed towards the water to help drag him out, soaking her pants to the knees instantly. When they were both on solid and dry land she collapsed next to her friend too shocked to say much of anything. “You ok?” she asked faintly. While they couldn’t see the eel anymore that didn’t mean it was gone and she watched the surface of the water with unwavering scrutiny.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston was so focused on getting out of the water that he barely registered that Indi had entered the lake and was trying to help him. He continued to flail all the way to shore, where for a brief, terrifying moment, everything went black. Had he died? Had the eel gotten him? Then he opened his eyes. Indi was sitting next to him, and she looked just as shocked as he felt. It took a moment for him to understand her question, and he nodded reflexively. He was still alive even though— "The eel," he croaked. Weston scrambled up and took several quick steps towards the lake, stopping at the edge. The water was calm, no sign of the strange creature that had broken the surface just minutes before.

He frantically turned back to Indi. "You saw it, right? The thing. The eel! It was so big! It just rose up. Just out! The water..." he babbled on, unable to think, much less speak, coherently. Weston looked back out at the lake and stood on his tiptoes, hoping to catch another glimpse of the creature. After years of staring at the lake — him from above, Indi from below — they had finally spotted the eel. Finally, his thoughts settled into something less muddled. "Indi! We saw the eel! We're going to be famous." There had been sightings before, but as far as he knew, no one had ever gathered proof. They would be the first. Grinning, he turned towards Indi. "Did you get a picture?"

 

[Indira Khatri]

Indi sat next to Weston on the shore, her clothes soaked and she shivered. She nodded absentmindedly, her eyes still trained on the surface of the lake, as Weston finally tried to find his voice. Her mind was racing a mile a minute but her thoughts were a tangled mess, too shocked to come up with any real thoughts about what just happened. “I did.” she said and tried to let the sound of her own voice and Weston’s rambling ground her so she think. Indi blinked a few times and came back to herself suddenly as he started to say something about being famous. She looked at him curiously but when he asked her if she had gotten a picture something in her snapped. “A picture?!” she asked incredulously, nearly yelling. "You were almost eaten and your asking me if I thought to grab a picture?!" she said as she stood up quickly. Her previous panic switched to anger. She brushed some dirt off her clothes, not that it would do anything about the water. She wasn't sure why she was so mad but her heart was still racing and the adrenaline was making her jumpy.

 

[Weston Stirling]

This moment, Weston decided, was basically the pinnacle of his Hogwarts career. He and Indi had finally found the man-eating eel. He could die happy now (though ideally not at the mouth of the eel). Adrenaline was still rushing through him and his heart hammered wildly in his chest, but all the fear was gone now that he was safely on shore, leaving just pure excitement. So he was shocked to hear Indi yell at him. Weston gaped at her for a second before trying to reassure her. "I know, but I'm fine now. The eel didn't get me. See?" He raised his hands, palms facing up, as if to show her that he still had all his limbs. "Indi, don't be mad," he pleaded. He hated when people were upset with him. "We saw the eel. We finally saw it!" They'd done more than just see it; they'd basically survived an attack by it. But Weston decided not to remind Indi of this, and honestly, he didn't want to dwell on it either. Those seconds in the water had been the scariest moment of his life. That wouldn't stop him from mentioning it to Eoin later, however. Eoin didn't believe the eel was man-eating, but now Weston had first-hand experience that said otherwise.

 

[Indira Khatri]

Indi didn't get very far before she turned around to face Weston again. She glared at him but she found it too hard to stay mad, especially when he looked so...pathetic. "I know, I know." she groaned and rubbed her hands over her face as he reassured her that he was ok. She hated that she had been so dramatic and she hated even more that he seemed to be worried about her now. "I'm not mad." she snapped, which didn't make her sound very convincing. "I was just scared." she admitted quietly and quickly tried to move on. She let herself get caught up in Weston's excitement and laughed. "We really did." she said laughing again and suddenly remembered her notes. "We have to write down everything we can remember!" Indi said frantically as she raced back to her note book. "How big do you think it's head was? We might be able to figure out how big the rest of it is from there." she said excitedly.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston gaped at her, surprise immediately surpassing the relief he felt that she wasn't mad at him. "But... you're Indi," he said, like that explained everything. "You're not scared of anything." She'd always given off a cool, unflappable air, and he was pretty sure she could stare down a dragon without blinking. If anyone could take on the eel, it was Indi.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for her to cheer up again. "Yes! Maybe we can get our report published in the paper!" They whole school needed to know about this. He considered her question, turning back to the lake as he tried to replay the moment when the creature had breached the surface. "A meter, maybe?" The eel had been quite some distance away, so it was hard to tell. "Or a little smaller than that? I didn't get a great look cause—" he stopped abruptly, visibly paling. "—my mask." He hadn't gotten a good look at the eel because he'd been too busy wiping off his mask. Which he'd dropped. Along with his wand. "Indi, my stuff's still in the water. My wand's in there," he said, his voice rising with panic. How was he going to get it back? There was no way he could go back in the lake. What if the eel attacked him again? What if the eel had found his wand and was hiding in the water, just waiting for him?

 

[Indira Khatri]

Indi scowled at Weston when he said she wasn't scared of anything. It was generous for him to think that and she took some pride in that. But obviously that wasn't true. She was human after all and if she was going to be scared of anything it was an unknown creature that lurked in the depths of the school lake. "Well apparently I am." she snapped. But her annoyance faded just as quickly as it came on and her shoulders sagged. She was tired now and just wanted to get these notes down before the encounter started to fade.

She settled down to take her notes and brushed the hair that had fallen out of her loose braid behind her ears. "That would be a good place to start." she agreed. Indi didn't usually pay that much attention to the Hogwarts Monthly but it did sound like a good place to get the word out about their encounter. She nodded and took down Weston's data but frowned as he started to waver. She started to sketch out a rough diagram of the eel when Weston pointed out to the water and started to panic. "You lost your wand?!" she asked hotly and buried her head in her hand for a moment before getting to her feet. "Of all the things to loose-" she grumbled to herself as she walked over to the shore's edge, careful to keep a safe distance as if it was a train platform that could sweep her away and not a body of water. She pulled out her own wand that she had carefully tucked away in her pocket and cast the accio charm a few times to collect all of Weston's things.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston groaned when Indi got annoyed again. He knew he'd screwed up, but he didn't know what to do. This was his wand they were talking about, arguably the most important thing he owned as a wizard. He would never be able to pass his classes without it. Would they kick him out of Hogwarts until he got a new one? That thought sent a fresh wave of panic through him. "I know, I know," he said miserably. "I had it in case the eel attacked but I must've dropped it and — wait, what are you doing...?" his voice trailed off as Indi headed for the water. He was about to warn her not to go in when she stopped short of it and started to cast some accio charms. "Indi, you're a genius!" He was a bit embarrassed that he'd completely forgotten that they knew magical summoning spells, but fortunately, Indi was there. "Thanks," he said once he'd gotten his belongings back. Weston stepped away from the shore, back to the spot where they could safely watch the water while Indi did all her science-y stuff. "I still can't believe we found it. How many other people do you think have seen it?" He knew they couldn't be the first to find the eel, but hopefully they would be the first to gather proof of its existence.

 

[Indira Khatri]

It took some time but eventually Indi had collected all of Weston's once lost personal items. She rolled her eyes as he called her a genius but she appreciated the compliment. It didn't in fact take a genius to use an accio charm but she'd let him think that for now. "Just keep better track of it next time." she said once everything was accounted for. She waved off his thanks and went back to her things and started writing down everything she could remember about their encounter but she stopped to consider Weston's question about just how many people had seen the eel. She had no idea. "Well at least one person, since people know about it." she started. "Even if it wasn't as up close and personal of an encounter." Indi considered it a well know rumor, or now she realized it was in fact all true, which meant it was probably spread by multiple people. But the more she considered it, it was impossible to say. "Do you think we should try and find others who have actually seen it?" she asked curiously. It would give what ever their little project was turning into a bit more credibility if it came form multiple sources.

 

[Weston Stirling]

Weston nodded as Indi echoed his thoughts about how they likely weren't the first to see the eel. "That's what I was thinking." He liked the idea that they might be the first to have such a close encounter, even if it had been terrifying in the moment. Maybe they were also the first to see the eel in a hundred years. Okay, maybe not a hundred, but the eel rumors were definitely quite old. Weston had learned about them through Bran on the train ride before first year, which meant that the rumors had existed for at least two generations of Hogwarts students. He considered Indi's question. "I think so. Maybe someone's noticed something that we missed. And it'll be easier to find the eel again if we have more information." There was no doubt he would go looking for the eel again, though ideally the next encounter would take place while he was still safely on land. "We'll have to ask a bunch of people, even the professors." Someone out there had to know something.