Out of the corner of his eye, Heath caught the look Claudine sent him and returned it with a confused one of his own. He didn’t know what had inspired Ash’s enthusiasm, but he was glad to see it nonetheless! At any rate, there was no time to speculate. They had a job to do! As Claudine spoke, his eyes shifted to the gillyweed in his hand, and he wrinkled his nose a bit. “Ugh, they really do!” he said, trying not to imagine rat tails wiggling in his hand.

He looked to Professor Flamsteed, awaiting an answer to his question. He’d already begun to remove his shoes and Star Wars hoodie, but the shirt underneath was staying on, thanks! Claudine’s suggestion and later Ash’s got a nod in reply. It was a good idea, so good that he mentally berated himself for not thinking of it! Merlin, why did he have to go and overthink everything?! “Okay, we’ll do that,” he said.

Gillyweed in hand, he started toward the lake, periodically looking back to see if Claudine and Ash were following - or if Professor Flamsteed was going to tell him to do things differently. As he neared the shore, he saw other students heading into the water and felt more confident that he was doing the right thing. Stopping as his toes touched the water, he eyed the gillyweed in his hand. “Cheers!” he said to his partners, popping the gillyweed in his mouth. The slimy texture reminded him a bit of jelly slugs, but it didn’t taste sweet. The taste was unlike anything he’d ever had before! The only word he could think of to describe it was disgusting!

Somehow, he fought the urge to gag long enough to chew and swallow it, and he looked down at his hands and feet, anticipating the change to come.