The Black Lake
 

http://i61.tinypic.com/20sxama.jpg

The black lake stretches for some distance along the shores of Hogwart's Castle and is home to the school's own Giant Squid. Some say if you stand out here long enough yelling his name you might catch a sighting of him but some may be lying and you'll possibly end up with a sore throat but no squid to show for it.

Along the edge of the lake is a small swimming dock for the adventurous who don't think walking into the water is a big enough entrance. By the dock are small boats that can be taken out for a lovely afternoon of sailing--after you've gotten the Groundkeeper's permission. Be sure to wear the life vests and no pushing!

There are also several trees by the lake, one with a hole and a hollow inside filled with books that have been left there over time. If you take one, be sure to place one in exchange to keep the system alive.

Ali/Professor Cassie. ^_^
 

for Lyssa/ Margo! <3
 

Adi could see some changes round the Lake. Boats! Though those were not really new. There had been a few of those a year or two before. And was that a swimming dock? Hmmm. Adi could see himself spending a whole lot more time here this term.

But right now he was standing there, hands in his pockets as he gazed out at the water. He wondered how the Giant Squid Batholomew was doing. Here's to hoping he could meet the fascinating creature again and sometime soon.

"Going for a swim, Guster?'' Adi asked his toad. The toad was close to the water's edge so he figured the toady was going under.

Margo didn't really have intentions of coming to the lake. She still thought water was about the scariest thing that has ever exsisted. Now, at least the myth of the Kraken was put rest, it was just the gaint squid, but water was still scary. But as Margo had come out onto the grounds she saw Adi by the lake, and she couldn't resister her Adsters. Smiling she very slowly made her way toward him.

"ADI!!" She yelled waving toward him as she come down the beach. Margo was secretly hoping that he would take a few steps back. She wasn't sure she was brave enough to be at the waters edge.......the thought sent shivers up her spine!

It was a beautiful day and Cassie was out on the grounds just taking in some sun. She was finally glad to be back and her bounce was back in her step. She fully knew now after a few student visits that she belonged right here with the kids. Loving every minute of teaching she vowed to not let little things get in the way of remembering why she was here.

Stopping at the lake she looked around, maybe she'd have a nice little chat with Bartholomew if he was around, though she didn't see him at the surface and she didn't really know how to swim, so maybe she'd just relax on the grass.

Seeing a familiar student close to the water she watched closely. Not knowing how to swim all that well made her cautious when others were near. "Lux be careful you don't fall in." It would really be a shame to get that cute dress dirty if she didn't have to.

For Abby! <3
 

Tyler was bored out of his mind, he really didn't know what to, walking out of the castle his feet wondered down the sloping lawns of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. He didn't know where he was going, but his feet seemed to know exactly where they wanted to go, although he didn't object to it. As he reached the lake, he lifted his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders, it was better than anywhere else. Besides the lake was his favorite place at Hogwarts, the big lake just seemed to calm him down.


Flopping down undeneath the tree he pulled out the apple he had in his bookbag and rubbed it against his shirt before he took a bite of it. Deep in thought he ate his apple as he gotten his book out of his bookbag before reading. Today Tyler was in his glasses, he was way to lazy to put in his contacts this morning, so he was wears his glasses.

Oh. It was Professor Cassie!!

Lux smiled and walked over to the always happy woman. She had actually planned to stop by and visit her office soon, so this was very nice. "Hello! I was just going to splash around in the water a bit. Do you ever do that?" Maybe a silly question, but she was curious! Besides, she could picture the professor liking it as she was fun-loving as opposed to someone like Bellaire.

Looking down at her dress, she wondered if there was a way to make it water-resistant. Hmm.

Abby snuck up behind Tyler and kissed him softly on the cheek and said "Guess who" Abby was glad to be back at school and hoped to meet more people soon

It really did seem like Gus was off for a swim because the little toady hopped, hopped, hopped and disappeared into the Black lake. "Have fun, Gus!'' he called. Hmmm, maybe he could go out in one of the boats Or at least take a plunge from the dock? Yep, the latter idea sounded tons more fun right now.

He had taken a few steps in that direction when there was his name being shouting. Oh, he did not even have to turn around to see to whom that voice belonged to! But he needed to look at Margo to greet her properly, right? So he turned, a huge smile on his face. "MARGO!" he shouted back. Adi was always happy to have her around. He knew she had misgivings about being too close to the water but surely she had gotten over them by now? "Come on!'' He gestured to her to join him at the edge. There was no way he was going to let her have this fear of water forever.

llia and Princess Charlotte!
 

Henric was glancing down on his watch every few minutes, wondering when would llia be coming down with their pet toad and of course..not to forget her pet rock friend so they could meet him by the lake. He had already set up a corner with carefully placed flat rocks for Princess Charlotte to swim about freely if she wanted. He hoped both llia and toadette would like it.He stood there thinking maybe the puddle he created wasn't deep enough for their little toadette. He need it to be perfect so he went onto his knees again, shoveling dirt and adding more lake water into the puddle with his bare hands.

Ilia took a moment getting ready to meet Henric, because she had to make sure that Princess Charlotte was comfortable and ready to see her other parent. She slipped George, their pet rock, into her pocket so he was safe and she would carry their princess toadette of course. She had put some candy for Henric in her satchel and walked down to the big beautiful lake. Upon seeing a familiar boy, bent over in the dirt , she smiled brightly. "Hello." Her tone was down right almost singing as she grinned. "What is in the dirt?" Was he digging for grubs for their princess , like Ilia did sometimes? She knelt down beside him to see what he was doing and maybe help if she could. She hugged princess as she looked over his project. "Can I help?" That is what co-parenting was about right?

Henric was concentrating on getting the right amount of depth level for the puddle and didn't noticed llia at first when she came.
"Oh hello!Sorry didn't notice you there,"he answered and paused his excessive digging. He grinned and shook his head,no way he was going to let her clothes dirty with all the mud and everything.
"No no...I'm about to finish here,uhh...more or less..right, it will do," he muttered, getting up to his feet so he could wash his hands by the lake. Once done,he walked back to them and grinned.

"I thought maybe Princess will need a new place to swim while we can still keep watch of her whereabouts, so here you go, I set up a corner for her to play in," he explained, showing them the toad 'oasis', if he could call it that."Welcome to toad paradise!"he beamed.

Cassie continued to watch her as she walked closer. Splash around? Well that did sound fun, but Cassie wasn't one to get her shoes wet and she really didn't want to accidentally fall in. "Well when I do, I make sure it's somewhere I'm not going to end up in the water." She chuckled a bit. "I fell into this lake once before and I'm not sure I'd like to do it again anytime some." Though that was the start of her getting to know Leo, so it hadn't been all bad.

"You are a good swimmer?" She didn't want any inexperienced students falling in and having trouble getting back out. "This lake is filled with the most interesting creatures." She listened for any chatter for a moment before turning to fully look at Lux and giving her a bigger smile. "Are you having a good term so far?" She didn't think it was long enough to have a bad one yet, but one never knew.

Chris practically hopped off in the direction of the lake. "Really?" That just sounded weird. "Mum says bird feathers are gross and can get you sick." He nodded and looked around trying to find a good spot to sit and play where he may not be disturbed.

"What do you do with the feathers?" he asked oddly curious. Finding a suitable spot he sat down and fiddled with his guitar.

Professor Cassie had fallen into the lake before? Lux had to giggle at that, and hey the woman was laughing too so there was nothing wrong with it! Just a funny image in her head was all. She herself had fallen into a pool once when she was wearing a dress. Gosh, she could be so clumsy.

"I'm a pretty good swimmer, but I don't swim in the lake. I've talked to the squid before though!" That had been an awesome experience and she still wasn't sure how Bart managed to get him to come to the surface. Maybe she would ask him later, but sometimes it was awkward when he was with Cinna. Lux felt like she was always mad at her for something or another. "Oh, my term is good so far! I'm just hoping nothing weird or dangerous happens." That would be crazy. But she had her friends and the two-way mirrors so that she could talk to Bay. Only two terms to get through then she'd be free.

Feathers can get you sick?? Rusty shook her head. "Well I collect them all the time and I'm not sick. They're good luck." Depending on the bird. But owl feathers were good, so she was excited to find some.

She remained standing as Chris sat down, mainly cause she was in a bouncy mood and she had all this energy. "I'm going to make a charm for my sibling so they don't miss me too much." she explained, glancing over him as he messed with the guitar. Rowan had next to no musical talent, but she thought people who did were awesome.

Ilia watched Henric until he noticed her beside him and smiled once he did. Aww he didn't want her to play in the mud too? She sat still with Princess Charlotte in her lap and watched Henric go to the lake and come back. When she looked down at the area he had been digging, and saw a worm's tail wriggling. Without a second thought, she dug it out of the ground and gave it to Princess. Now that, was a happy toad.

So it was all for Princess? What a good toad dad she had chosen! "This is fantastic!" She beamed back up at him and set Princess down to explore it. "Its a great idea and I think she'll love it." She was going to hug him, but realized that she'd get him dirty with her hands so slipped out her wand and cast "Agumenti" over her hands. There, all clean now. She shook her hands dry , then hugged him tight. Placing a kiss on his cheek, she then let go and stood back smiling at him.

Chris shrugged and worked on tuning his guitar. "Then maybe mum was wrong? Wouldn't be the first time really." Looking at her he grinned and started playing a random song.

"Does that actually work?" he asked curiously. "What if you make it wrong and they forget you?" Oh man that would be bad. Maybe it was like potions and the wrong thing or too much and it would be catastrophic.

my..ohh..myyy....
 

Henric watched their toad happily got herself situated in her new swimming area. That was fast! Princess sure adapted really quickly anywhere she went.
"Yeah, look at her now...paddling her wee' webbiee~ feet in the water,"he cooed, not realising he was talking baby language to it. He turned to llia who suddenly conjured up a stream of water from the tip of her wand...ooh... why did Henric thought of that? He could have used the "Aguamenti" charm too instead of going to the lake to wash his hands. He guessed he was used to the muggle ways for far too long, he must had forgotten about it.(:lmao:)

"No probl~"
o.o

Shocked wasn't the word for it..no...Henric was utterly stunned yet again by llia bold move towards him. It was the second time she kissed him on the cheek! His hands subconsciously caught the sides of her waist so he could keep balance from her tight embrace. As soon as he realised this, his face flushed crimson red from being this close to a girl. And when she pulled away,Henric's lower jaw dropped as he touched the side of his cheek.

"Uh uhh...w-what w-was that for?"he stuttered, blinking back at her. Did close friends kissed each other on the cheeks often? He wasn't sure, if it was because of her german culture or did she truly kissed him out of her own free will?

Margo's smiled spread across her whole face. She wasn't sure when exactly Adi became her big brother, it must have happened slowly over time. But she couldn't help smiling when he was around. Adi was one of her favorite people by far! She was so happy he had adopted her as one of his own as well.

But then, Dear Merlin, did he just wave her forward. Okay, so she liked him, but he was nuts! "I'm fine over here thank!" Margo said to him, but she did take a few more steps forward, her feet were at least on the beach now. But she didn't really need to go any further, it wasn't necessary! Margo was at least within distance to not have to shout to Adi anymore. "How's classes been going for you so far?" Margo asked him, they were after all a bit into the term already.

As Abby snuck up behind him and kissed his cheek and asked to guess who she was, Tyler chuckled. [B]"Hm...I don't know, can you give me a hint?"Tyler asked playing along with her. He knew that it was her all along, he was just playing around with her to be funny.

"Grown ups are wrong a lot but they pretend they aren't." Rowan said, leaning down to touch the petals of a daisy that was still in bloom. "Or maybe sometimes people do get sick from feathers just not very often."

Does it WORK? "Yeah, cause it reminds them of all the good bits of me." So then they won't feel sad that she's gone, they'll be happy for her. "I don't think that can happen. It's not the same as the magic we do here." It was different, so it probably wasn't as risky.

When Henric began baby talking Princess she giggled. It was really cute to her and she was glad that she was not the only one who did it. It was their precious toad baby after all, who wouldn't want to baby talk her? Ilia watched her play and enjoy the water, hopping and swimming around. What a happy little girl! Henric was the best friend she could ever ask for and she was really glad that she met him / he crashed into her.

Ilia was surprised to feel Henric's hands on her waist. She was pretty sure the only boys that had actually held onto her had been family, so this was different. More different and odd was.....she didn't mind it. Not a bit. Nope. How strange.When she pulled away, she didn't move very far, right in front of him really.

She was surprised to see that his pale complexion had now become a shade between pink and scarlet. At first she was concerned, wondering what had happened. She watched his jaw drop as he touched his cheek and her eyes probably expressed her confusion. Was....he ok? Was that......blushing? Why did he look so shocked? She looked behind her to see if the giant squid had jumped out of the lake or something. Nope, the lake was still serene and Princess was still playing like a good girl.

When she turned back, he was stuttering. What was it for? Her pretty face tilted sideways as she considered him. What did he mean what was it for? "......I was just......saying thank you." She started to feel slightly self conscious and tucked her long blonde hair behind one ear. He didn't react like that last time....well his cheeks were a little pink....but that was it. "Did I......do something....wrong?" She hugged herself and bit her lower lip. Did she upset him? She just......liked him. Was that not a good way to be affectionate?

Margo was just as happy to see him it seemed. Who could blame her? He was awesome! Haha. We are kidding about that but he did have his moments of awesomeness.

Oh, yeah. Margo still had some fear when it came to the water. But it was solely that, right? Not anything relating to the Kraken as the younger Puffer referred to it? Not wanting to pressure her into going closer, the sixth year jogged over. "Don't you want to see if we can spot Bart again?'' he asked, bouncing on the soles of his feet. But hey! At least Margo had come a bit closer to the edge even though she wasn't quite there as yet. "Classes have been GREAT! It's awesome to be back, isn't it?"

But enough about him and his bubbly feelings. "How are YOU, Margo? What did you do after the field trip? Was everyone good to you?" By 'everyone' he meant her father and brother.

For Astronomy Homework #1
 

It was just after sunrise, and Zhenya made her way down to the Black Lake. She had worn her wellington boots and wasn't in her robes yet. She was just wearing some shorts and a warm cardigan. It was a bit chilly, well very, but she was used to the freezing cold from Russian winters. It was a nice way to WAKE UP. She had, under her hand, a ruler, a flag and a marker, as well as a muggle pencil and some parchment. Sometimes the muggle writing devices were easier to use than a quill and ink, and she didn't have a self-inking quill. Yet.

She walked to where start of the tide was, walking over the still damp sand as she approached the end. She put the flag into the sand, making sure it was in there firmly. Check. Before she left, she undid the lid of the marker she had brought down with her and wrote Zhenya Burton on the flag. That was her flag. She wasn't sure what to write in her log, but she did a quick entry anyway.



She decided that was all she could do for now. She couldn't think of anything to measure, so she packed up and left.