Padlock on Plans

[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

The lakefront was certainly very interesting. The Hufflepuff had tried to find out as much about it as possible (not from older students, however - Merlin knew what they would tell him). He trusted his papi to be able to dig up some more... believable accounts of what occurred at the lake, and for the most part, it all seemed pretty positive. He had told him very sternly to be careful, however. Considering there was a memorial just a little further down to a previous student, Wilfred didn't need to ask his papi any further questions as to what he should be careful of.

Wilfred wasn't exactly planning on having a swim right now, anyway. He had not ever swam without a bubblehead charm before (cast by a family member), and so his lung strength with regards to holding his breath didn't quite match up to his desires. He feared his Papi' fury more than he liked swimming, so remaining dry (within reason) was his priority. That didn't mean he couldn't look for merpeople from the surface, however. They could function decently enough above water, though they couldn't speak. That didn't really matter, because he wasn't planning on interviewing one anyway. He just wanted to have a look!

The Hufflepuff knelt at the rocks and grasped the edge with both hands, leaning forward to peer into the water. His nose was barely an inch away from the glistening surface.
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[Eva Reed]

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With a mind whirling full of thoughts of shame, embarrassment, and cartoonishly large eyes, Eva Reed took her small steps across the lakeside and ferociously rubbed the corners of her leaking eyes. She was now, after a short lesson of Potions, deeply against getting into the subject she was so deeply interested in. Mr Pendleton had made her cry and she could hear her older sister's angry swears in the back of her mind. "That #$@&%*!" She wiped her eyes free of the blubbering tears and attempted to quell the sniffling and snot running from her pointed minute nose. She hadn't known where she was wandering, but she wanted to escape the laughs of the other classmates, whom she thought were mocking her. Of course, they weren't, but her trained mind had decided anyone who laughed at her was bullying her. Past experiences had tainted her once-innocent mind, and she managed to always find the worst in people. When walking across the lakeside, she couldn't help but admire the deep colours, her favourite - blues and greens and a darkness to the bottom of the lake. She'd heard older students talk about others getting caught "dipping" in the lake one time, though she didn't know what that meant. Eva didn't dream of swimming in the lake - the reeds at the edges would grab her feet and pull her in. That was why children drowned in the lakes, you see. As she approached a more open area of the lakeside, she saw a small figure hunched over the side. She believed this would be his crying-place too. Eva's worries were quelled by the need to be humanely kind, and she approached the little boy. His golden locks shone in the overcast sunshine. She liked those, Eva thought they were pretty. Like a sunflower. "A-a-are you al-alright?"

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[Wilfred Lichester-Raven]

The Hufflepuff lent forward just enough to boop the water with his nose, before deciding that if there was something in the lake, it would probably be best to not go in face first to meet it. Pulling back, Wilfred wiggled his nose to encourage the water to slip away, and then wiped his mouth dry on his sleeve (a 'bad habit' he mimiced from his tata, to his papi's disgust). The water had been near-crystal clear, he was even able to look at the shining rocks at the depths of the lake. Whilst he spotted some more mundane wildlife, such as unidentifiable fish, there seemed to be absolutely no merpeople in sight. Perhaps it just wasn't the time of day for them - he would have to ask his papi if he knew the optimal time to meet a merperson - after all, he did know everything.

The ground crumbled and crunched in such a way that suggested someone was approaching. Becoming immediately excited at the prospect of having help in his mission, the Hufflepuff turned so suddenly that he nearly slipped right off his rock and into the water. With a yelp and some quick reflexes, the Hufflepuff was flat on his front, gripping the ground around him like a fearful cat. "I am now!" he assured the young girl, retracting his limbs and returning to a seated position. There was sand and small rocks sticking to his uniform, but he ignored them for now. "Have you swimmed-wait, swam, in the lake before?" His eyes immediately looked over the quaint, suspiciously uninteresting-looking surface. "My papi said that there merpeople in here, so I walked around to the side to try and look at some deeper water, but I haven't really seen anything yet." He wasn't quite disheartened yet, but some of his anticipation was starting to go away.
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