Closed Untold Depths

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan was still getting used to being at Hogwarts. Sometimes it felt like a dream and he would wake up and be back with his mom in some new town. It was a bit overwhelming, all the kids and professors and magic. He found it was easier to spend his time outside when he could. The grounds were amazing and he could hardly believe they had free reign of the place. Well except for the forest. He hadn't gotten the courage to go in yet but he knew it would only be a matter of time. But today he was focusing on the lake. Ethan knelt along the edge of the water and precariously held his notebook open to take some notes. The water seemed calm for now and he wondered what kinds of things lived in it. For a place that was supposed to be magical you'd think there'd be some thing odd lurking in there.

 

[Birdie Atwood]

Birdie was, once again, on the grounds of her new school. This time though, she decided it was time to explore the lakefront. At home, there were a couple of small lakes scattered around however this was probably the biggest one she had seen. And the most beautiful. Walking around, her eyes were trained on the stillness of the water. Sometimes noticing the small fish that would pop up randomly. Looking at where she was walking, she notices a boy about a metre away from her that she would've definitely bumped into if she didn't look when she did. He had a notebook in front of him and was looking out at the water like Birdie was doing moments before. She had only ever appreciated the beauty of her surroundings by herself and thought she might enjoy it with some company this time. Although unlike her, Birdie sat down beside the boy who seemed to be the same age as her, and said, "Isn't it beautiful?"

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan had been focusing on the surface rather intently as if just looking at the water would make something appear. The lake wasn’t large enough to hold a creature like the Lock Ness monster but it would be really cool if it did. It wasn’t until he heard the crunch of the ground shifting next to him that he noticed someone joining him. It was a girl from his year but he didn’t remember her name. He wasn’t very good with names. Ethan glanced around to make sure she was talking to him even though they were the only two out here. "Yeah. It's really nice." he said with a bobbing nod of his head. He hadn't seen a lake like this since the summer he and his mom lived in a little cabin in the woods. "Do you like...lakes?" he asked uncertainly. Ethan wasn't sure what to say next but was doing his best with what little he knew about talking to kids his own age. "Like swimming and fishing, I guess? Do you think they'd let us fish in here? Or do you think that's against the rules?" he thought out loud and looked back to the water.

 

[Birdie Atwood]

"I love lakes," Birdie replied with a grin, gazing out at the sun reflected water, "and forests, and fields and hills." Birdie picked up a tiny rock and threw it into the lake, watching it make a plop! and sink to the bottom until she couldn't see it anymore.

"I don't know, haven't thought of it," Birdie answered, throwing another rock in, "Probably not though, probably have some rule or two about it." She picked up another rock, "Don't go swimming in the lake, it is dangerous" Birdie said low and serious, imitating that of a teacher, "I don't get it. Why would they keep dangerous animals around students?"

It annoyed Birdie that she could only look at the forest and lake and not actually be in it. It's not the same. "Oh, I'm Birdie by the way.".

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan watched as the girl started to toss rocks into the lake as she talked. "Yeah." he said in agreement and sighed. They probably couldn't fish in the lake, not that he really wanted too. He had tried once but found it boring. And when he finally caught one, a tiny catfish, he had felt bad watching it flop around until he could let it go. It would be a shame not to swim in the lake though. He knew summer was fast approaching and knew it would probably be really nice when it finally got hot. "Maybe to keep us from breaking rules?" he offered as an answer to her question. "I've walked along the edge of the forest a few times and it doesn't seem nearly as dangerous as they all make it sound." he said, and picked up a rock of his own before tossing it into the lake. He really wished he had learned how to skip rocks. It looked so cool but he had never gotten the hang of it. Ethan blinked when she introduced himself and he remembered he should do the same. "I'm Ethan." he said simply. "Birdie is a cool name."

 

[Birdie Atwood]

"I know," Birdie agreed, the forest did't seem as dangerous as put out to be and it didn't sit right with her. Another rock in her hand, she tosses it into the ocean as the boy gives her his name. "You have a nice name too," Birdie responded to the compliment. She liked her name, she thought it suited her perfectly since her love of the outdoors, and the fact that she was always intrigued by them. She had always wanted to fly, and they always looked so majestic doing it too, "If re-incarnation is a thing, I want to come back as a bird," Birdie shared randomly, throwing a rock into the water. As it sank, she saw the reflection of a bird on the water and looked up as it soared across the lake and away, it's wings wide as it glided beautifully, " So I can fly as high as I can, without a broom, and admire the forests and lake in all their beauty. What about you? Any animal you would want to come back as?"

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan smiled when she said he had a nice name too. He wasn’t sure what to do with that kind of complement so he just nodded his head a few times before looking back to the water. But what she said next nearly made him lose his balance. “What kind of bird?” he asked. “Like an owl? My…uncle owns the owl shop at the harbour.” Ethan half lied, but he wasn’t sure what to refer to Ernie as. He wasn’t his dad, he wasn’t even related to him. But he was taking care of him and he was learning a lot about owls from being around the shop so much. He watched her rock plop into the water. He spared her a glance as she started to talk about flying and turned the conversation towards him. “Huh, I never really thought about that.” he fumbled, and frantically started to come up with an animal that wasn’t an owl after thinking about them. He didn’t want to make it seem like he was just copying her. “Uh, maybe a worm.” he blurted out. “I could live in a garden and help plants or something.”