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**Wilber Winterbottom** · #1 (**permalink**) 12-27-2022, 12:45 AM

Graphic credit: Felixir

The large freshwater lake of Hogwarts is located just south of the castle. About half a mile wide in diameter, the lake dominates much of the school's landscape, a steely and ominous mass of icy water in the winter, yet an inviting and refreshing sight once the weather starts to heat up. On one of its banks, a towering beech tree stands sentinel, and is a popular location to meet and relax. Castle-side of the lake stands the boathouse.

You may swim in the lake, but be careful, and also mindful of the creatures that reside here. Merpeople, grindylows, and the Great Squid, to name but a few, call these watery depths their home. You would do well to leave them in peace. If they feel like it, they'll come to you; the Giant Squid, who goes by the name of Bartholomew Henry, has been known to bask in the shallows on sunny days.

OOC: Please do not RP for the Giant Squid.

*squidnie* · 01-11-2026, 01:00 AM

Cat was (to her great relief) de-bearded. And her hair was de-blued. That one was a bit sad, since he had wanted the blue hair. Alas, here she was, back to her normal state of head and facial hair. She was celebrating by bringing a small picnic to the lake to enjoy the fair weather before it turned cold and rainy.

She found a nice grassy spot and sat down. Pulling her food from her bag, she set it in front of her. It wasn’t much, but it was fun, and the lake was beautiful. She’d heard about the merpeople and the giant squid and she was fairly determined to get a glimpse of one (or both) this term.

**Giant Squid** · 01-15-2026, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squidnie

Cat was (to her great relief) de-bearded. And her hair was de-blued. That one was a bit sad, since he had wanted the blue hair. Alas, here she was, back to her normal state of head and facial hair. She was celebrating by bringing a small picnic to the lake to enjoy the fair weather before it turned cold and rainy.

She found a nice grassy spot and sat down. Pulling her food from her bag, she set it in front of her. It wasn’t much, but it was fun, and the lake was beautiful. She’d heard about the merpeople and the giant squid and she was fairly determined to get a glimpse of one (or both) this term.

Barty would have loved to see the blue beard on the girl. The Giant Squid had seen and experienced much magic during his extensive life span and though nothing surprised him, he would have enjoyed the blue sight. Who knew what he would experience today. Hopefully a good conversation.

With calmness Bartholomew ventured closer to the Lake’s sure. Three tentacles lifted in friendly greeting.

“Hi there.”

*squidnie* · 01-15-2026, 03:25 AM

Cat was biting into a sandwich when movement at the surface of the lake caught her eye. She watched closely, eyes narrowing, trying to determine from her vantage point what it was.

… ITWASTHEGIANTSQUID.

And it was… talking to her?? She had no idea that it did that.

Cat hurried to her feet, then took a tentative step forward. She didn’t want to spook it or anything. “Hi,” she greeted, waving her own (one) hand at the animal. She couldn’t keep the excited tone out of her voice. “You must be- I mean, obviously, you’re-” She had no idea what the etiquette was here. Was it appropriate to tell the giant squid that he was a giant squid? Cat assumed that, most likely, he was self-aware enough to know that.

“I’m Cat,” she said instead (for once remembering to introduce herself). “I’m so excited to meet you.”

WhittyBitty · 01-15-2026, 08:54 PM

After hearing about the infamous incident with the blue hair, Aurora had decided that she was going to offer to make Cat some real hair dyeing potion if the younger girl was still interested. It was a very basic potion and would take very little time. It didn’t last for very long, unfortunately, but she could always keep using it.

Finally having a moment to seek her out, Aurora had been trying to find her. She had looked in all the spots she thought she might find Cat and hadn’t had any luck yet. Hopefully she wasn’t in the Ravenclaw common room, but if she was it just meant that she’d have to try again later.

Turned out that it wasn’t necessary since there was Cat! Beaming, Aurora began making her way over. That’s when she noticed… ”Bartholomew Henry.” Aurora froze, in awe. One of the things she wanted to do during her time at Hogwarts was have a conversation with him. So far the most that had happened was catching glimpses of him from a distance. She finally had her chance!

Slowly she made her way over to them. ”Hello! I’m Aurora. I’m so happy to finally meet you!” What an exciting day. She was definitely not going to forget about this. Ever. Grinning, she turned her attention to Cat. ”Hey!” The hair dye could always wait until later.

**Giant Squid** · 01-23-2026, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squidnie

Cat was biting into a sandwich when movement at the surface of the lake caught her eye. She watched closely, eyes narrowing, trying to determine from her vantage point what it was.

… ITWASTHEGIANTSQUID.

And it was… talking to her?? She had no idea that it did that.

Cat hurried to her feet, then took a tentative step forward. She didn’t want to spook it or anything. “Hi,” she greeted, waving her own (one) hand at the animal. She couldn’t keep the excited tone out of her voice. “You must be- I mean, obviously, you’re-” She had no idea what the etiquette was here. Was it appropriate to tell the giant squid that he was a giant squid? Cat assumed that, most likely, he was self-aware enough to know that.

“I’m Cat,” she said instead (for once remembering to introduce herself). “I’m so excited to meet you.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhittyBitty

After hearing about the infamous incident with the blue hair, Aurora had decided that she was going to offer to make Cat some real hair dyeing potion if the younger girl was still interested. It was a very basic potion and would take very little time. It didn’t last for very long, unfortunately, but she could always keep using it.

Finally having a moment to seek her out, Aurora had been trying to find her. She had looked in all the spots she thought she might find Cat and hadn’t had any luck yet. Hopefully she wasn’t in the Ravenclaw common room, but if she was it just meant that she’d have to try again later.

Turned out that it wasn’t necessary since there was Cat! Beaming, Aurora began making her way over. That’s when she noticed… ”Bartholomew Henry.” Aurora froze, in awe. One of the things she wanted to do during her time at Hogwarts was have a conversation with him. So far the most that had happened was catching glimpses of him from a distance. She finally had her chance!

Slowly she made her way over to them. ”Hello! I’m Aurora. I’m so happy to finally meet you!” What an exciting day. She was definitely not going to forget about this. Ever. Grinning, she turned her attention to Cat. ”Hey!” The hair dye could always wait until later.

How lovely. He had been spotted. This made old Barty as happy as the young girl. One could see this quite clearly. Bart came to a halt close to the shores but enough to still have a good portion of his tentacles lounge in The Black Lake. He was unsurprised by her flustered behavior. “Yes I’m the Giant Squid,” Barty supplied unnecessarily. His eyes twinkled as though he were smiling with them. Which was exactly what he was doing, you see.

“Hello, Cat! I must say it’s quite lovely to meet you too.” Bartholomew’s eyes shifted to the next student who had approached but seemed to have lost the use of her limbs temporarily. This did not in any way offend him. He had been used to this reaction the majority of his life. Not to mention he knew he was a lot to take in. “Hello Aurora. It’s charming to meet you both. Are you planning on doing something in the water? Boating, maybe?”

*squidnie* · 01-24-2026, 02:42 AM

Cat very deliberately took a deep breath. Okay. The giant squid was talking to her, and she most definitely did not know what the giant squid could talk, so this pretty much changed everything.

No exaggeration. It shifted her entire worldview.

She watched as the squid settled closer, and hurriedly took her shoes off so she could step into the water. Just up to her ankles. She wanted to meet him where he was, you know? She smiled even brighter than before when he said it was lovely to meet her.

This was unreal.

Cat’s attention was momentarily distracted by the arrival of Aurora. Oh, good. Someone else could verify that Cat wasn’t having a very vivid hallucination. She appreciated the validation. She smiled at the older girl, giving her the smallest wave. GIANTSQUID. See??

“I had no plans at all,” she answered truthfully. She hadn’t yet had the free time to determine how to go about boating (really, she’d never even considered the possibility). She glanced at Aurora to see if she had plans, since she’d just shown up. Then Cat turned back to the squid. “I’m sorry,” she said, curiosity getting the better of her, “I don’t think I caught your name.”

WhittyBitty · 01-30-2026, 03:22 AM

Bartholomew Henry was just as nice as Aurora heard that he was. And she wondered if she would get another chance to talk to him before she graduated. But if she didn't she was just glad that she had the chance to talk to him now.

"I can't say that I had any plans to go into the water." Though she did think that the idea of boating in the lake sounded like fun. Especially if she managed to spot other creatures under the water. But that wasn't something for today. "How are you, Bartholomew Henry? Everything going well in the water?"

She turned to Cat. "And has everything been going well with you?" After the hair incident that is.

**Giant Squid** · 02-05-2026, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by squidnie

Cat very deliberately took a deep breath. Okay. The giant squid was talking to her, and she most definitely did not know what the giant squid could talk, so this pretty much changed everything.

No exaggeration. It shifted her entire worldview.

She watched as the squid settled closer, and hurriedly took her shoes off so she could step into the water. Just up to her ankles. She wanted to meet him where he was, you know? She smiled even brighter than before when he said it was lovely to meet her.

This was unreal.

Cat’s attention was momentarily distracted by the arrival of Aurora. Oh, good. Someone else could verify that Cat wasn’t having a very vivid hallucination. She appreciated the validation. She smiled at the older girl, giving her the smallest wave. GIANTSQUID. See??

“I had no plans at all,” she answered truthfully. She hadn’t yet had the free time to determine how to go about boating (really, she’d never even considered the possibility). She glanced at Aurora to see if she had plans, since she’d just shown up. Then Cat turned back to the squid. “I’m sorry,” she said, curiosity getting the better of her, “I don’t think I caught your name.”

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhittyBitty

Bartholomew Henry was just as nice as Aurora heard that he was. And she wondered if she would get another chance to talk to him before she graduated. But if she didn't she was just glad that she had the chance to talk to him now.

"I can't say that I had any plans to go into the water." Though she did think that the idea of boating in the lake sounded like fun. Especially if she managed to spot other creatures under the water. But that wasn't something for today. "How are you, Bartholomew Henry? Everything going well in the water?"

She turned to Cat. "And has everything been going well with you?" After the hair incident that is.

How lovely! Cat was remarkably comfortable with him enough to stand in the water. This made Bartholomew radiate with joy at the warm gesture. Perhaps Aurora would like to step in too? The water was quite friendly for a human. It was not too hot and not at all cold.

Bartholomew waved a few tentacles. The gesture meant that it was okay that the girls had no plans. The gesture was backed up verbally. “Spontaneity works too,’’ he remarked through twinkling eyes. “Or simply soaking your feet counts as a water activity.” Oh no. Had he not introduced himself? “Silly me!” A tentacle lightly smacked his head. “Bartholomew, my dear. You may call me Bart if you please.” That same tentacle was graciously held out to Cat, another to Aurora who had known his name. “Everything is calm and well, my dear Aurora. A Merfolk was just showing me some cutlery they found on the Lake’s floor. She’s going to be adding them to her collection. What have you two been up to at the Castle? Aside from lessons and homework of course!”

*squidnie* · 02-05-2026, 03:23 AM

Cat nodded, smiling just a little at Aurora’s question. “This year is remarkably easier than last,” she answered. She wasn’t sure if Aurora would remember her being ~~most definitely not~~ lost upon their first meeting, but Cat was proud to announce that she hadn’t gotten lost a single time this term (yet). So, save for the start-of-term-feast incident, things were going quite well.

She scrubbed at the underside of her chin. Anyway.

She gently pulled her foot back and forth through the water in front of her. She giggled softly at the giant squid face-palm moment.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Bart!” Her enthusiasm was only doubled when she realized that Bartholomew was (probably??) trying to shake her hand. She stepped forward again, the water up past her knees now, and extended her hand to his tentacle. How surreal.

Merfolk. Cat listened closely as Bartholomew told Aurora about the cutlery. Another smile spread across her lips at his next question. She brushed her fingertips through the lake water as she answered. “I spend most of my free time reading. Or exploring. This is only the start of my second year in the wizarding world, so I’m trying to learn as much as I can.” As quickly as she could, too.

WhittyBitty · Today, 04:37 AM

Happily, Aurora followed Cat’s lead and removed her shoes so that she too could step into the water. It was really pleasant, and if she had been dressed for it, she would have happily went swimming. Maybe another day. For now, she was just happy to have conversation. It still felt unreal to her, and she tried to contain her excitement as she took his tentacle to shake it.

The talk about cutlery in the bottom of the lake made her think of The Little Mermaid, and Aurora would have said as much, but she knew that Barty obviously wouldn’t know what that was seeing as he was a squid. ”That sounds awesome. How long has she been collecting things? I wish I could see it.” But it was nice that Barty got to at least.
”I’ve been spending a lot of time outside.” Because she LOVED being outside in nature. ”And spending time with my friends.” Basically she was keeping herself busy as always.

She smiled at Cat, remembering how she had gotten lost at the start of last term. Now she was a lot more comfortable at the castle. ”Have you managed to find all of the secrets yet? Because if not I can always explore more of them with you.” Exploring was FUN, and she had done a lot of it herself.

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