The Boathouse
 

https://i.postimg.cc/s2jSDHMq/theboathouse.jpg

Every September first, the first years arrive at Hogwarts via boat, traveling from Hogsmeade station across the Black Lake and into the boathouse. The boathouse has three official entrances: the path outside the courtyard, the hidden stairs going down the cliff from the Great Hall entry, and, of course, the lake tunnel that also runs beneath the castle.

The boathouse stores the boats for the arriving first years and departing seventh years, but with permission from the Groundskeeper, you may be permitted to use one of the boats for an afternoon adventure. Life vests, oars, fishing tools, nets, and everything else you might need are either hanging on hooks on the wall or lying on the splintery wooden bench.

Please put everything back in its proper place, should you move stuff around. It's common courtesy to treat this old structure with respect.

For Olive (Ollie)
 

Ollie had learned about the boat house by accident. She had overheard a third year talking about it in the library. Apparently no one really goes there. Thats whats she needed, a private place to herself. She wanted to work on casting the spells she was learning to better herself. Not that she was bad at them, but because there is always room for improvement. She had brought a few of her text books and her wand and a map she checked out of the library. She made her way over to the boat house praying that no one would be there to see her, and opened the door peaking in

Stifling a yawn, Ingrid slipped her sketchpad off of her knees and placed it beside her on the cold, hard ground and stretched her legs out in front of her tentatively. Today she was in her muggle jeans and if she was being honest, she regretted it fully now. Full of dirt and dust, she looked like she’d been in the boat house for centuries but she supposed the house elves would be able to get it out. Mental note, next time, wear her dungarees.

Ingrid was about to get up and stretch properly when she heard footsteps echoing across the courtyard as someone made their way over to the boathouse with was strange because one, it was still waaaaay to early for someone to be up and two, who else would want to come to the boathouse at this time? “Hello?” she called out, as the door squeaked open slightly and a pair of eyes peered into the room, her hand quietly going to her wand which had been next to her on the floor.

Ollie heard a call. She opened her mouth to reason but watched as the girl reached for her wand. Scared that she was going to cast some crazy spell, Ollie exclaimed "No!" She held her hands up taking a step into the boathouse. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you" She thought no one was supposed to be here. Maybe she had misheard them. Maybe this was a popular place to hang out. Still Ollie didn't think anyone would be here this early, even if it was popular! She looked down to see her wand on the floor which she had dropped in her actions.

Eyes on the door, Ingrid squinted for a moment, her wand in front of her ready to stun the first dark creature than decided to flop out in front of her all of a sudden, a worried yelp echoed around the boathouse. Keeping her wand in front of her, Ingrid edged towards the door as a girl walked in.

Wand still pointed at the first year, she eyed her for a moment before lowering it and bending down to pick up the first year’s wand. “What are you doing down here? You know it’s a little too early to be wandering the grounds if you don’t know where you’re going” she replied, stretching out her hand to hand over the dropped wand hesitantly. She figured that any wrongdoer who drops their own wand wasn’t too much of a threat.

Ollie accepted her wand back from the girl. "Well, I do know where I'm going, I just didn't know someone else would be here." She didn't mean to sounds like a know it all, even though she definitely did. She just wanted to hold her ground with the older student. "Thanks" She pulled her lips into a tight smile. She was a bit irritated that the girl was telling her where she could and couldn't be. Its not like they were instructed not to come in here.

Eying the girl a little for the moment, she weighed her reply carefully because she wasn’t exactly in the mood to deal with some first year thinking that they knew it all. “Mhm. Cool. Well, I was more thinking of the things that you could bump into on the way but sure, I’m sure you’ll be fine” she replied, her voice neither friendly or unfriendly. Just simply pointing something out to the wee firstie.

“Well, I am indeed in here. You’re more than welcome to hang around here though, although if you want one of the boats, you’ll need permission from the Groundskeeper”, not that she particularly cared if she did or didn’t have permission.

She could tell that the girl wasn't taking Ollie in with ease.
Maybe it was how strong she had come on, even if she didn't mean to. She eyed the supplies that sat near the girl. "I see you look busy. I don't mean to be a bother, I'm just trying to practice spells." She hoped this came off more poliet than before. "If you need quiet I can go somewhere else. I really didn't expect anyone to be here."

Shrugging, Ingrid replied simply “It’s fine. I’m not taking up much space. But it’s up to you”. Let it be known far and wide that Ingrid Luck reached out to first years and offered to share the vast boat house even if the first year was a tad cheeky. “There’s enough room to cast spells over there” nodding to the space across from her. “Luckily, I don’t need quiet. I’m just here because I wanted to go somewhere different”.

Settling down on the floor again, Ingrid picked up her sketchbook and eyed her drawing for a moment with a critical eye. It didn’t look quite right. Or maybe she was simply being overly critical because she was not in a very meh mood. Leaving it for now, she turned the page so that she now has a fresh canvas, so to speak, and then eyed a variety of things around her before finally settling on the first year. “Mind if I sketch you? I need to clear my artistic palette and draw something that isn’t dresses of nature”.

Another offer to model for someone? Of course! This was fun! Maybe she'd request the girl do an action shot of her this time. See how well her's compared to the painting Ash had done. "No I don't mind. Paint away!" She smiled. She reached into her bag she had brought with her and walked over to the empty area across from the girl, setting up an apple she had brought with her. This would be a good enough Dummy for Ollie.

"I'm Olive by the way." This would be the first person she'd introduce herself to as Olive instead of Ollie. Then she returned her attention to the apple she took a few steps back from it, setting her bag behind her. No need getting that in the way. She held her wand out in front of her and practiced her first spell "Diffindo!" She cast, ripping the apple in half. Perfect.

Getting settled, Ingrid simply smiled and nodded a little as she watched the girl for a moment. There was no true way to sketch her unless she stood still so she simply waited for a moment that struck her as special? No, something that inspired her. What that was though however is another thing. Quietly, she waited, pencil in hand as the girl bent low into her bag and walked over to the space opposite her with an apple. Okay, this was slightly better?

“Nice to meet you Olive, I’m Ingrid” she replied, her voice full of concentration now was she began sketching Olive with her wand out in front of her. She wouldn’t draw the apple in pieces because it didn’t look quite as satisfying but the pose was dramatic enough and it seemed to suit Olive’s prickly personality. “Good job”, her eyes still on the thick paper in her sketchbook for the moment, her hand now slowly moving around the page.

She had to stop herself from squealing with excitement. She had been trying to perfect this spell and she finally had! Maybe she just needed an audience. "Thank you." Her lips formed a smile, keeping her focus on the apple. Okay time to put it back together. She focused in on the apple's broken pieces and readier her wand again. "Reparo!"

But nothing happened. The apple didn't fix itself back to an apple. Did she say the spell wrong? No way. Maybe she wasn't waving her wand correctly. She bit the inside of her lip. What had she done wrong? She readied her wand a second time..."Reparo!" But again, nothing. Now she was getting frustrated. "Grrr. What am I doing wrong?" SHe said loud enough for Ingrid to hear, but hopefully not loud enough to disturb her peace.

Ingrid looked up at the thank you and simply nodded. It was always nice when one of the younger students finally got a spell they’d been trying to do. It made magic feel a little more real. She remembered her first year and how…well not useless because it seemed to come easy to her at times but how difficult some of the more difficult spells were and how it had taken her many hours of practice, most of the time alone. “You’re welcome”.

Continuing her sketch for a moment, she didn’t see the failure of the Reparo spell but had managed to put together the pieces judging from the growl that had come from that direction. Looking up again, she smiled and put down her sketch pad, the drawing that she’d been sketching quickly was almost done but not quite, and pulled out her own wand before heading over to the shredded apple. “Here, let me have a go. Watch my wand movement. You seemed to be focused and the wording was correct” although she wasn’t even sure of that because she’d been so focused on her own outcome. Moving her hand in a slightly curved, triangular motion, Ingrid spoke the incantation clearly and watched as the pieces of apple quickly began zooming back together as though Olive’s spell had simply been put in reverse.

“Why don’t you blast it back apart and try again?” only this time, her eyes would be on the younger girl. It was almost like she was back home during summer tutoring some of the youngest students again.

Fustrated, she couldn't take her eyes off the apple and hadn't notice Ingrid walking up to her. She jumped a little when she heard her voice, now so much closer than she had been. She watched as the girl put the apple perfectly back together. She made a mental note of the exact triangular movement's the girl's wand had made. She was going to get it right this go-round. She actually hadn't realized that Ingrid was paying her any mind. She had figured the girl was completely zoned in.

She nodded and readied her wand once more. "Diffindo!" And just like before, the apple burst into three separate pieces. Okay, now to focus. She made the movements with her wand before casting the actual spell. She would be embarrassed if this spell went wrong a third time.This is why she never practiced in front of anyone. Was it clear she was a perfectionist?

Okay now to do the spell. She took a deep breath and cast "Reparo!" making sure to copy the exact movements as before. And just like that, the apple began reversing the explosion that had happened moments before. Thank goodness! She thought to herself. Turning to the girl she smiled "Thank you. I guess I should focus more on my movements."She was glad she got it this time. She wouldn't be able to handle the embarrassment from failing again.

Ingrid stood and watched carefully as Olive seemed to be paying attention to what she was doing and saying. Although, she’d seen some of the kids in class use the same expression when lessons were going on too so how sure was she really? With the Diffindo charm coming off seamlessly again, Ingrid watched to see if she could put together the wand movement with everything else.

Part of her did sort of want to see the girl fail again, if only to show her again how to do it right. There was something quite pleasing about helping someone else learn. She herself was always pretty good in most situations except for the first defence against the dark arts lesson but who was really paying attention to that? Eyes paying attention, he watched Olive’s wand movement for a moment and smiled as it reflected her own wand movements but a moment ago. “Wow, you did great Olive! Well done.” and just like that, she was moving away back towards her spot on the floor with her pencil in her left hand. These drawings didn’t finish themselves you know!

“If you ever need any extra help, let me know. I did a little tutoring during the summer for some friends who were behind after last year. You know, if you missed anything” her words were a toss away comment but she meant them alright. The pale pink lipstick that had been so lovingly applied to her lips before she’d left her dorm room this morning wasn’t cheap and working for her father didn’t exactly pay the most.

After the long climb down from the Owlery, Violet decided to take a walk outside to place her next pumpkin. She decided to put one in the Boathouse, just in case someone happened to sail up to the castle. This place always made Violet feel rather solemn and quiet, so she chose the more dignified of her two pumpkins and placed it on a shelf facing a window. She tapped it once and stood there a while, watching it light up and cackle for a while. Then she began the walk back to the castle.

Transfiguration Post 2 (and for Noah!)
 

After dropping off the first pumpkin at the Bronze Knocker, Lisa led the way to the boathouse. She had gone past it multiple times but had not gotten the chance to explore INSIDE since her first night at Hogwarts.

Taking a step into the boathouse was just as magical as arriving. She could see all the life vests and gear ready to go. It was almost as if it were beckoning for them to use THEM. Lisa turned to Noah after placing her pumpkin on the ground. She chose the duck with the top hat assuming it’d be a comical greeting for both first year and seventh years. “Engorgio!” she said, following what she had seen Noah do and trying to reciprocate it. The pumpkin became slightly bigger but it was still what she wanted.

“Noah, do you think we can take one of the boats out for a spin?”

Transfiguration Post #2 (and for Lisa too!)
 

Noah really didn't have much time to converse with the little trooper as he got dragged from the Ravenclaw tower all the way down to the Boathouse with their last pumpkins. He had no qualms with being dragged, as his mind was elsewhere... like the Duck Pond where twin-name Noah asked her girlffriend out. It should be like... a good spot for snogging, he thought. Staircases and lots more after, both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw arrived at the Boathouse. The older student watched Lisa try out the Engorging charm, and afterwards, planted his second jack-o-lantern beside hers, engorging it as well, and tapping it to activate its light.

And... take the boats for a spin? "Of course, but not right now I'm afraid." he said grinning. He would love to go out and sail the boat onto the lake and just sail away. "Maybe when it's warmer, yeah? For now, we should head back. We have a long way to go." Like... literally.

It was a good thing that he was athletic, so running up the stairs wouldn't be a problem. The problem though would be Lisa. They took a while to get to the Boathouse. "Come on, hop on my back. I'll be Luke Skywalker, and you be Yoda." Flying back would be so much easier, honestly.

Lisa pouted momentarily at Noah as he said that they shouldn’t take the boats for a spin right now. He was probably right. They should return to class and not miss it by getting preoccupied with the boats. “Okay but we should come back here!” she said giving him a big, excited smile. She had a lot of things to do with her newest friend and Jedi mentor that she was looking forward too. “Though it could be a nice place to take a ‘special friend’ on a date so maybe you should come back here...” and she of course would casually show up with a boom box to ‘serenade’ the date because she didn’t know how to play ANY instruments.

It would be a long journey back to the classroom. Lisa patted her pumpkin and then turned around to face Noah. She tilted her head at his offer, almost wondering if she should refuse because she was eleven, and of course, eleven year olds DONT accept piggybacks. Psh... She threw that mature thought and notion out of her head and readied herself to be carried. This was Jedi training CONTINUED..... duh!

“Of course!!! So now you are going through training, Padawan!” she cackled.

Devin!
 

Ash was sitting very calmly. Breathing in the fresh air, feeling the gentle breeze in the air, thinking about beautiful things like waterfalls and ocean waves and the smoothness of the undisturbed lake surface. Tiny little birds and fluttering butterflies and loyal dolphins. Stuff like that.

She wasn't sure how long exactly she had been there, but then there was someone else. And rather surprisingly, she didn't jump when they spoke to her. She was in a relaxed state, not scared or uncomfortable at all.

So instead of freaking out, Ash just turned her head to the side to look at Devin and moved over in her seat on the boat. "Sure." She smiled peacefully. "Are you watching this too?" She looked back out over the lake. "I think it's beautiful." It was soothing. It almost moved her to tears. Tears of hope. Wasn't that lame?

It was true though. Ash always felt glad to be alive when she looked out over the water. The waves back home made her proud of herself. And this lake made her feel grateful for the good things in life. Every body of water was different. Didn't that sound extra lame?

Her face turned a little bit pink as she pulled out her sketchbook to draw the scene. This was super lame, and you know what? It didn't matter. She was even gonna put the two of them in the picture, because they were a part of this too. She didn't care how stupid this was. It was amazing and beautiful and hopeful, and nobody was gonna tell Ashley Fox otherwise.

Ash cared about what people thought of her. But she told herself she didn't, and she believed that lie. Who cared if this was lame? Not her. She "didn't care" about what other people thought.

"It's not silly to have wanted that. It's just unfeasible. Honestly, it would be silly to not want to run away." She had wanted to do it too. She wanted to swim, fly, teleport... anything to get away. Anything...

"Hey, nice fox!" She didn't notice the joke, but she liked the art. It was cute! It was a fox! It was on fire!

Ash laughed. "I bet we look ridiculous right now. But you know what, I don't care." She was gonna draw scenery. She was gonna sit in boats. She was gonna hang out with her friends. She was gonna admire the view out over the lake. And she wasn't going to be self-conscious about it.

Nobody was here to see but Devin anyway. Devin wouldn't laugh at her for this. Wasn't it nice to have good friends? Ash had gotten lucky. She had good friends like Devin, she had a good boyfriend, and she had an absolutely awesome little brother. Some people liked to mess life up for her, but they couldn't take everything.

Ash started drawing the surface of the water first. "What are you up to out here so early?" It was a question that could have easily been asked of her, but Ash already knew why she was here. Obviously.