Ashley stood quietly staring into the fountain. She was trying (and failing) to do homework, and she just settled into staring at her reflection. Water. It was so interesting. Especially if there were waves involved. Surfing. It was so great. Ashley was determined to be a lifeguard one day. She wondered how she could incorporate magic into that. Some of those healing spells would be so helpful. But muggles weren't supposed to see magic. She knew there were reasons for that. It was sad, really. She did 50 push-ups to clear her head. It didn't work. She went back to staring into the water. She sighed deeply, wishing someone she knew would come and talk to her. Or annoy her. Anything would be better than thinking about this obsessively.

Mamie had looked out the window and saw the weather was okay, and bam! it was suddenly time for a break from homework. She had packed up her books and beelined to the courtyard.

She took a deep breath as soon as she was outside, reveling in the fresh air.

The she spotted one of the other first years she had seen in her classes, looking kind of distracted, and made another beeline toward her. It was never a bad time to make a new friend. "Hi!" she said brightly. "I know you from my classes, but I don't know your name. Mine's Mamie!"

Ashley jumped. There was someone talking to her? Well she couldn't complain, that was really what she wanted. Oh. She turned around to see a fellow first year who was maybe a hufflepuff. "Hey. I'm Ashley." She smiled. This girl seemed so friendly. "You've seen me in class huh? Were you there when my arm caught on fire? That was pretty epic. How are you liking Hogwarts?"

Mamie's grin grew when the other girl smiled back. Ashley. Yes this could definitely be a new friend. "Maybe? There's been so many crazy incidents in classes, it's hard to remember." She was pretty sure she would remember somebody catching on fire, though.

"Hogwarts is so neat! I'm Muggle-born, so it was a bit of a shock at first with the moving staircases and paintings and all, but I'm getting used to it," she said. Was this other girl also a first year? Mamie always had difficulty telling. "How do you like it?"

"Oh it's fine. There is no ocean and not much sunlight here, but it's fine. It's fun to incorporate magic into my life. And I enjoy my classes. I don't even mind detention. But like seriously, there is no ocean here." Ashley was a bit hung up on the no ocean thing. It was a bit of a change for someone who was used to surfing every day. But she moved on for the sake of conversation.

"But-but there's a lake!" Mamie exclaimed, gesturing wildly in what she thought was the direction of the lake. She really never knew where the lake was when she wasn't looking at it. It was no ocean, but she was small enough, it wouldn't make a difference in the amount of water she could cover. "I haven't swam in it yet, though...I heard there's things living there."

Things...like fish? People? She couldn't remember.

"You got detention already?" Mamie was surprised. She had lost her wand for a week, but no detention yet. "From-from that first Defense class or did you do something bad?" Did Mamie want to be friends with a troublemaker? Probably. She at least wouldn't hold it against Ashley.

"Yeah but like, there are no waves. And yes, there are merpeople in there I think. The lake is over there though." She pointed in the opposite direction. "Well, the only thing I did was I had two sacks but I didn't send anyone to detention. Which is really a good thing, but the headmaster likes to believe that everyone else should be as selfish as he is." She laughed darkly and threw a rock far, far away. She could care less about what the headmaster thought. "Defense class is dumb. So many punishments going on. Getting your wand confiscated, getting detention, getting essays, getting set on fire... sometimes in combination." She grinned. "But I refuse to get upset or change to be more selfish, because then I would lose. So I've decided to be as selfless and kind as possible," she paused. "Even more so than usual, because Trent hates when people do that. Which is why Nemesis Upstead is his favorite student, in case you haven't noticed yet." Deep down, Ashley was very angry, but she was a bit of a pro at remaining calm and squashing her feelings down, and she hardly even noticed when she did it. But she did notice. She scowled and threw another rock. "YoU KNow whAT TheY REALLY need? AN OCEAN!" Oceans made everything better. Fact. Because the water was so angry, and rough, and unpredictable, and she could use it as an outlet. She took a deep breath and smiled again. SUBJECT CHANGE ALERT. "Surfing is fun."

Mamie quickly nodded in agreement with Ashley about all the wild things going on in their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "Yeah," she chimed in. "I like the other classes a lot better."

As to the ocean vice lake dilemma...."If no waves is your only complaint, I bet-I bet there's a spell someone knows, you can make wind and like waves for surfing!" she said. She knew nothing about surfing herself. It was hard to swim when there were waves, in her own opinion. She turned to where Ashley had pointed, squinting as if she could almost see the lake. "I bet the merpeople could help!"

Ashley sighed. "Nah, it's fine I guess, I can always daydream. Or draw. Or punch something. Or play video games." She took out some chocolate. MUGGLE CHOCOLATE. Ashley didn't eat chocolate frogs, even though they were good. Someone was getting hangry. "What are your favorite places here? I like here and the dorm and the pastures and CoMC and Muggle studies and the tech room and the wherever food is place and also this sounds dumb but the laundry room."

Mamie was mildly concerned about Ashley punching things but focused on the positive. "I like the owlery, and I found this cool garden with lots of butterflies one time," she said. "It's fun to explore all the different places, the castle is so big!" She giggled a little bit about the laundry room. She hadn't even gone looking for a laundry room, her father would probably be shocked at how long it had been since she washed any socks.

"Ooh yes! The owelry is a great place. I've never been to the butterfly gardens tho. I'll have to go someday." Ashley took another piece of chocolate. "Hogwarts is fun."

Mamie nodded enthusiastically in agreement, then moved to scratch her ear, noticed her watch, and sighed. "I agree," she said. "I'm so glad I met you, Ashley!" Mamie pointed her watch and made a face. "I think-I think I should probabably go do some more homework now." She didn't want to do the homework, but it needed to be done if she was going to learn anything.

"Well, it was nice to meet you. I should probably do my homework now." Which she wasn't going to do. She was going to get lost in her thoughts. She could do the homework later. "See you around Mamie." She watched the girl leave. Another friend successfully made! Now time to get back to dreaming. She stared endlessly into the fountain. Then she ran laps around the fountain. Then she tripped and skinned her knee. Then she sat next to the fountain with one knee to her chest. Then she thought about nothing. For like an hour. It was time to actually do her homework.

"Bye Ashlie!" Mamie said brightly, giving an awkward little wave before turning and going back into the castle for the homeworking.

"Alright men, just a few more blocks on this side and we should be done. Yes, yes, this side. Are you blind?"

It was a Sunday afternoon like any other, except, for those who entered the courtyard, they would notice a new addition to the far side. By this point, the construction workers have gotten far enough that you can see Hogwarts is getting a pool! A nice place to go for a swim when you don't want to go all the way to the lake. The tiles were lined with gold, to give a ...richer feel to the area and little pool chairs have been laid down.

Once the pool was done, he'd get those set out.

That chest of gold was coming in handy. The students could look forward to more of these lavish improvements.

The more they had to keep them busy, the less likely they were to bother him. The plan was perfect.

Was Józef looking for any excuse to avoid studying?

Absolutely.

It may have been NEWT year, and he may have had a knock to his ambitions over the summer, but he wasn't exactly ready to start working hard. What was really important was that it was his final year at the Castle, and he was going to make the most of THAT.

He'd been wandering around, trying to find someone or something to entertain him, when he caught sight of the construction workers and their, well, construction. Curious Lion that he was, Józef bounded over there, sidling up to the Headmaster.

"You're moving the Prefect's bathroom out here? They won't be too happy about that, sir."

Sunday afternoon and the Hufflepuff had done all of his homework. LOL if he was Pinocchio his nose would have grown at this point. He'd do his homework in the evening or last minute before class.

Minjae entered the courtyard to get to the owlery and send a letter to his parents when the voice of the Headmaster caught his attention. At first, the sixth year thought about turning around and taking another route, he did not want to be in the same place as that man. But the movements of a construction being taken place made him curious to know what was going on.

So he stepped closer. Quietly and with a slight frown on his face as he came close enough to notice what was being made. "A pool?" he asked. It was about time Hogwarts got its own pool! The Lake was great for a swim but also too dangerous. If he wasn't gaming at home he would spend time at the manor's outside pool, or inside pool....or the one at the makeshift cave....depending on his mood and the weather, really. In other words, Minjae loved swimming and this decision to build a pool was fully supported by him.

Hearing the Gryffindor mentioning the Prefect's bathroom, Minjae let out a snort. He couldn't help it because the thought of moving the Prefect's bathroom outside was funny to him. "Why would he move a pool that's exclusively used for a select group of people to an open place where everyone can use it?" it didn't make sense to him. "But i must say, this is quite remarkable. Did the school receive a donation, Headmaster?"

Ashley was very excited. THERE. WAS. A. POOL. AND YOU COULD SWIM IN IT. Epic. Ashley loved swimming. And surfing. But swimming too. She could exercise in WATER. Ashley's expression at the moment was one of absolute happiness, even if she had a suspicion that the pool might have been bought with the probably-cursed gold they found on the grounds. There. Was. A. Place. To. Swim. Ashley bounced up and down as she watched the pool installation. She didn't understand why there had to be a gold-tiled pool, but there was a pool and that was all she cared about in the moment. THERE WAS A POOL, OK.

What Carsyn was really hoping for was a quick flight around the quidditch pitch. She needed to keep her flying skills sharp if she had hopes of going pro after this year, which even as is was a SUPER slim shot considering she was a seeker. On her way down to the grounds given that it was a lovely afternoon and probably one of the last clear weekends before it became unbearably cold, the Gryffindor prefect doubled back at sight of something different.

And what was Józef saying now about the Prefects Bathroom?? Her eyes gazed over to see the monstrosity that was a swimming pool and her eyes widened.

"Uhhh...yes... why are you moving our bathtub, sir?" Had they done something to warrant taking away these perks?? Sure she hadn't been focusing as much as she could have been in her first month of school, but call it senioritis if you will because she definitely caught the bug.

Charlie had been watching the whole thing with a bored expression on her face. But seriously hearing that someone thought it was the prefects tub made her roll her eyes extremely hard. Seriously that was way more work than what the headmaster had actually done.

However there was no way in Merlin she was going to ask the Headmaster a question about it or even think about asking him about his reasoning for the pool. That was a surefire way for her to get a detention, points lost, lets be honest the list of things that could go wrong was endless. She just kept her distance and watched the other students as the continued to badger the headmaster for information.

It was a nice sunday afternoon and Cole bundled up and headed outside with his broom in tow to take some laps around the pitch. It'd clear his head and it give him som flying practice. However the sight of something new and big and shiny and weird looking got Cole's full attention. His plan to ride his broom was quickly, put aside as he curiously made his way over to the courtyard to see what was going on.

Headmaster Trent and some guys were installing a SWIMMING POOL in the courtyard, was this real or was he seeing things again? The closer Cole got the more real it became. They were getting a pool. He stopped silently next to Carsyn with a warm nod in her direction as he waited eagerly to hear what the headmaster was going to answer.

The Headmaster watched the last of the blocks get laid into place, nodding when the foreman indicated they were done. It was about time. He needed this done before the start of the new week and it seemed the ones it was intended for were already arriving.

The man kept a cool expression, hands still buried in his pockets at the comment of the first Gryffindor. He did not care what made the prefects happy or angry. If he did move the tub out here, there would be nothing they could do about it--but it wouldn't do to say that. The man may have ignored the question but then an actual Prefect showed up using the same idiotic thought that nearly caused him to roll his eyes.

"Yoon is correct." He told the pair of Gryffindor airheads who'd enquired of a tub. Did this LOOK like a tub? It was clearly a pool, a pool the men had now begun magically laying the ceramic tiling in. Not very observant children. It was no wonder they tended to die. "There's no reason I'd do that. This is a pool for all. For the days you don't want to walk all the way out to the lake to have a swim."

Most considerate Headmaster they'd ever have, obviously.

"In winter, it will be charmed warm." His good deeds never ceased. "So yes, you could say the school has come into some money and I intend to put it all into student welfare. You're welcome."

By the end of the explanation, water was being added. "Why don't you all run back to your dorms for some swimwear and we'll have a little pool side opening, hm? My treat."

Seriously? Since when was the headmaster nice? There had to be a catch. But Ashley didn't much care. THERE WAS A POOL. EPIC. She ran back to her dorm to get her black wetsuit, which was the only swimsuit she currently had. There was a pool. And she could swim in it and everything. YAY! Ashley was practically giving off waves of happiness as she waited for them to finish putting water in the pool.

So, the pool was really happening, huh? It seemed excessive. Very excessive. It also meant that the students would be having FUN and yelling, which he would be able to hear down in his hut, he was SURE of it. Though, at the same time, perhaps making the students happy wasn't SUCH a bad idea.

It was still a bit excessive though. But he supposed that's what happened when you came upon a chest of gold. Hogwarts could use the updates, too.

"Well, would you look at that?" Piers said, coming in to stand next to Trent. "Looks nice." Yes, very nice. Very shiny. Very expensive. "What's next, a spa? That would be a nice addition. I vote we put that as part of the staff room." There was no way he'd go swimming in this pool with a bunch of teenage hooligans, so surely the staff should have a thing of their own.

He was kidding, though.