One could feel the excitement in the air, Professor Brindlemore had brought her class down to the Black Lake for the day and most students were happy to be out of the old classroom for the time being. Most were paying attention to the professor, others had taken a few steps away to work within their own groups, one student in particular spent more time gazing around at his fellow classmates than he did paying attention to Brindlemore. His gaze looking at the odd uniqueness his classmates had, a couple wearing each other’s house scarves, a short witch with an odd look in her eyes standing next to a tall wizard that seemed fixated on the lesson, even two ravenclaw girls sitting on benches by the lakeside… did they conjure those benches? They weren’t here as far as he could remember.
His attention was broken by the sound of water rushing into the air. A horse-like creature leaping from the lake and diving back within. The creature circled the pier, occasionally bringing its head above the surface to stare at the various students. The Gryffindor boy let his gaze watch the water demon with interest, the professor’s explanation that this creature was a kelpie, a particularly dangerous creature of the black lake if handled improperly, sank into his mind. Mild worry crossed his face as she asked if there were any volunteers who wanted to place a bindle on it while she kept it charmed. Most refused the offer, and just as he was going to step forward to do so. The professor said she would do it herself, showing the class the proper way to use the placement charm.
The tension faded afterwards, the class continuing as Brindlemore had her students line up to receive their bubblehead charms for the underwater portion of the lesson. The boy stood near the back to wait for his turn, yet before he was able to move up a single place in line, he was approached by the two students wearing each other’s house scarves. The girl spoke to him first “You looked like you wanted to touch the Kelpie earlier, did you want to?” The boy gave a quick nod in return, looking between the blonde Ravenclaw and hat wearing Gryffindor. “The professor said we can earn extra credit for doing that tonight. You should come with us.”
There was another brief flash of nervousness, sneaking out at night to try something like that? They could get in trouble, they could get hurt, any number of things could go wrong. “Don’t be worried, be brave like the hat told us to. I’ll even help you get down here tonight.” He couldn’t deny that the other boy was right and the offer was tempting. He considered it for a moment, thinking about what could go wrong. This could be a prank, it could be a way to get him in trouble, he might head down just to get pushed into the lake and have to walk back to the common room soaking wet. Yet the temptation to be brave, to be daring, to have courage overwhelmed it. Agreeing to meet them once dinner had ended.
For the rest of the day, that nervousness never faded. As that class ended and he moved to the next, it didn’t fade. As he sat in the great hall eating supper, it didn’t fade. If he was going to choose to back out of things, he needed to do so now. A sigh escaped him as he got up, ready to call all of this off and head back to the common room. Just before he could, a hand grasped his shoulder, the boy from earlier smiling as he asked him if he was ready. That final chance slipped away as he nodded, not wanting to look bad in front of his housemates.
Sneaking past Filch was the easy part, an instant darkness powder exploding in one of the bathrooms got him to rush to go find who had done it. While his eyes were gone both of them quickly ran out of the great hall and towards the lake. Both slowed as they passed behind a row of trees, waiting for a moment or two before heading towards the pier. It seemed like the Ravenclaw girl from earlier was waiting for them, sitting at the very edge of the pier, letting her legs sway back and forth above the water. As the two approached, the boy noticed a shadow circling just below the water, stepping back from the edge as he watched it.
The girl hopped up and kissed her partner on the cheek, showing that she brought a brindle from the classroom. Extending her arm to offer it towards their new friend. The boy took it and looked down at the shadow, watching it stop in front of him. “It’s easy, just get close, wait for him to come up, and cast the charm. I did it before you got here”. That did sound easy, his face turning to look back at them only once as they encouraged him to step forward, taking a deep breath as he expected to get hit by Flipendo.
It never had the time to happen. The rushing of water made him quickly look forward as the kelpie leapt into the air. His hand raised to cast the placement charm only to find his wrist grabbed by a strand of kelp, pulling him forward and under the water before he could pull himself away. Water quickly filled his lungs, arms and legs flailing and kicking to try to bring him closer to the surface. From above the water frothed and splashed with every struggling movement. That brief moment feeling like it lasted for an eternity, limbs bound by the water demon. Every second that passed made the world feel darker, every attempted breath made him feel strangely calm.
Panic set in above, the hat wearing boy quickly ran to the edge of the pier. Looking over at his struggling housemate “W-we need to help him Mari–”, for a brief second he locked eyes with the boy below. Watching his struggle, the desperation in his eyes, the pain on his face, every small struggle of those fleeting moments was like a hypnotic pattern. He felt unable to look away from what was happening as if locked in a trance. Some part of him wanted to help, yet that unnatural urge stayed. Leaving him on his knees, staring as the horrible act was committed.
The girl did not react the same, a soft giggle came from her as she watched the boy be pulled under. Calmly approaching her partner and sitting next to him, her legs swaying off the edge as they had the boys had arrived. Her hand grazed his shoulder, gently rubbing his back to pacify him. She had guessed this would happen, anyone could. Pranks never go quite as planned do they?
Both waited for that abhorrent moment to end. In time it did, the bubbles and splashing stopped and the peaceful quiet returned. The trance broke as it did, the boy shaking his head and looking down into the water. “I-is he alright?” That giggle happened again, the girl's eyes noticing the shadow moving towards the shore, but she said nothing about it. “Does it matter now?”
The question was answered by someone else, his wet footsteps revealing the tall wizard from earlier “No.” The three looked at each other in silence, wordlessly agreeing to say nothing about this night. All three quickly stood to head back to their common rooms, each seeing what had happened differently. A prank that didn't go according to plan, an experience that raised so many questions, The first of many.