April Fools' Pool Party Open Closed

Lark had managed to dump her entire bag on the ground at her feet. Sketching supplies...bits of parchment, her journal lay open not far off. Everything that had nestled itself in her bag carefully, all in their proper spot, now lay staring up at her. Groaning she bent down and started to collect her belongings. Of course! All she had wanted was to enjoy some fresh air and not be cooped up inside the castle the entire day studying. Muttering to herself in aggravation she noticed some of her pencils were broken. So much for taking the day to sketch and enjoy the weather.

Gathering the last couple of note pages and her pencil sharpener, Lark looked up as the sound of laughter drifted its way towards the young silver-haired girl. What was that? Blinking into the sun she covered her eyes with one hand and realized a large group was gathered together around some sort of metal.. thing? Seeing a crash of water her jaw dropped. "A pool?!" Lark couldn't help herself she had to investigate. Casting her plans aside to spend the day sketching the grounds at her favorite spot, Lark headed over to the group.

Making her way over to the group she spotted a couple of students she recognized. Some she knew more than others.. although. "Jake!" Lark gave the Hufflepuff a smile and waved at him. Good a friendly face! "H..hey everyone." She gave a nod to the rest of her peers feeling a bit embarrassed if she had stepped into a more private gathering of friends.

Abilities Active: Lovely Creature and Calming presence.

Dale wandered around the grounds, he would rather stay inside on a hot day like this, but a mix of pure boredom and disappointment from his failed thermite experiments drove him to just walk around the grounds. He had lost track of time, and just assumed it had been about 5 hours since he had last been inside, but in reality, it was really like just 30 minutes, and he had a very poor sense of time. Dale contemplated trying to find a good place to nap since he assumed his dorm mates were still in their dorm, he would have to find another place. But before he made up his mind, he was something glistening in the sunlight, we walked over to it, and was surprised by what he saw, "Is that pool?" He wondered to himself, he didn't know there was a pool at Hogwarts, he swore that wasn't there the last time he had been out here. As he drew closer and closer his suspicions had been confirmed. "Where did this come from?" in all of his two years of being here, Dale had never seen this pool, he assumed he looked a bit weird, just standing around and watching. But before he could ask, someone else had already asked the exact same questions he was gonna ask. But Dale wondered something else, "Hey, can I join you guys?" His boredom got the better of him. He even saw a few familiar faces, mainly Jack... Dale felt the need to apologize after basically scamming him. And Lark, who he hasn't seen a long time.

Open to interaction, I don't bite

Interacting with: @Opeila Seilun, @Adohiro Moira, @Willow Anderson, @Ruka Tân, @Persephone Barret, @Annie Morgan, @Breana Oliveire, @Grace Mint, @George Henry, @Jack Warren, @Lark Flaer, @Jake Morris, & @Dale Kurt

"My name's Jack Burnett," the redhead told Adohiro with a smile. "Wow, really? That's such a cool meaning! In what language?" he wanted to know. "What about your last name?"

As he noticed the boy playing with his feet in the water, Jack gestured to the large tin area where he had put his own clothes. "If you want, you can put your robes and shirt over there and just roll up your pant legs. It shouldn't be too bad only getting those wet, right?" It would have been a shame if Adohiro wanted to swim and prevented himself from doing so just because he was worried he wasn't dressed for it.

It was then that Jack realized that it was the first time he was exposing his own chest and back since he had aquired all those cuts, stitches, and slowly-healing scars from a month ago. All over his torso was a latticework of wounds, all closed and healed for the most part, but still rather jarring to look at (Drawn by Selim; not me).

Well, no one other than him had seemed to comment on what he would have considered pretty obvious preculiarities - Alan Vanes' stutter, Selim's slitted pupils, Xailah's eyes, fangs, and prolonged s's - so perhaps students at Hogwarts simply didn't find most things like that strange enough to ask about or bring up at all. That, or maybe they were too shy or polite. Whatever the case, Jack had little reason to think people would start speaking up now if it was only to comment on his scars. He already knew at least three other boys who had them - Selim, Ruka, and Thomas. Why would he have had reason to stand out in the eyes of the other students? A lot more of them probably had a great deal of scars they hid, too.

Jack remembered telling Selim once that his scars were nothing to be ashamed of. So, taking a deep breath, he decided to push aside any shame for his own as well. After all, it had taken him a while to even recall they were there now after a month of having gotten used to them on his own.

"The water?" he repeated, realizing Opeila had asked him a question. "Oh, I just concentrated on englarging both the tin and the contents when I used the spell on it. Took more energy and focus than if I was just going to englare the tin itself, but it was worth it, don't you think?" He smiled at her like he hadn't in a long time; like the day they had first properly met each other at the lake.

When she talked about the dorm battle, he laughed."Well, I wasn't exactly looking for a fight, but I did see that," Jack acknowledged. "Looking forward to it! Sounded like a lot of fun. In fact, it was because I got so excited thinking about that that made me want to make this in the first place." He watched her blissfully taking in the sunshine, glad to see her happy for the first time in a while, before yet another familiar face and voice caught his attention. And another.

Jack moved so eagerly to greet them that he ended up splashing quite a bit of water. "Hi, Willow! Thanks for joining us!" he told her, sounding genuinely grateful for her presence as he waved her in. "Cool swimsuit!" he commented, eyeing the pattern. "Because you like plants, right? Are daisies your favorite?"

The blonde had already homed in on the new kid, however, and Jack thought about how typical it was of her, as well as kind, to want to make an outsider feel more welcome. Since all the rest of them there already knew each other, it would have made things more awkward for him. It really was a good thing Willow had joined them.

Deciding to leave them to talk, he turned next to the other familiar face - the original fire-dancer himself. Jack grinned and drew close to clap him playfully on the back. "More or less," he answered Ruka in regards to his question about the Impromptu Pool Party. "Get in here, Ruka! While the water's still nice. Doesn't matter what you're wearing if it's just water, right?"

And then there she was - the all too clever, ever-suspicious and cynical 'bitey-blonde', as Erin had dubbed her. But Jack preferred to refer to her as something else - on this fine day more so than any other. Before he could even speak a word, however, she was at his side, speaking so quietly with a proximity so intimate, it made him flush.

"No," he told her innocently once she had asked her questions, granting her an especially humored smile, as if he couldn't have imagined such atrocities as she had suggested in his wildest dreams. "It's just clean, warm water. See?" He scooped up a handful, looked for a moment as though he were wrestling with an inner part of himself that wanted to splash her, and then harmlessly let the liquid slip through his fingers, his moment of mischief passed. "Don't worry. I'll make sure they won't get hurt. Won't you come in?"

As more people began to address him and others close to him, Jack tried to learn new names and put other names to more familiar faces that he hadn't seen close up until now. Annie Morgan...a second year like Ruka? And a Hufflepuff Quidditch player...no wonder she knew Willow. But a Prefect as well? Where did people get the time?

He smiled and shook his head before recognizing the Ravenclaw, Grace Mint, and waved briefly, unsure if she would be unhappy to see him or not. Either way, he was glad she chose to come regardless.

Another Ravenclaw, the talented tap-dancing Breana, was asking if she could join. "Nope; opposite of private," he told her with a grin. "Well, for us Hogwarts folk, at least. Nice swimsuit! Too bad You-Know-Who isn't here, eh?" Chuckling softly, he gave her a playful nudge with his elbow. "Want me to go find them? Bet I could get 'em to come join."

Before he could say another word, someone was yelling "CANNONBALL!" exactly like they used to do at muggle kids' birthday parties. And, also exactly like at those parties, Jack and everyone else nearby were showered with a massive spray of water as the cannonballer - later revealed to be none other than Jackson Warren - made his grand entrance.

Jack had to laugh at that. He laughed so hard, he couldn't hold himself above the water and choked on a little that threatened to overtake him, waves rippling over his head. For a few, breathless moments, bubbles of oxygen were lost to the surface as he entered the underwater world of wading bodies and treading limbs. Then his lungs screamed at him for more air and he pushed off the bottom of the tin to make it back to the surface once more.

More people. This had become more of a party than he could have ever imagined it to be. There was George Henry, the expert flier Hufflepuff from Flying Lessons. He was already mingling with Breana like the natural friend-maker that he was. And Jake - the shy Hufflepuff seemed to have come out to play with the other badgers. The Ravenclaw who had done such a meticulous job decorating the talent show - Lark Flaer - was already saying hello to him. And then Dale, another upperclassman, showed up. It was hard to believe that such a small thing could have brought so many people together in such a short amount of time. For some reason, Jack felt his eyes beginning to sting. Maybe...maybe he needed to get out of the water...

No, not yet. This was a special day; he couldn't back down now. There were too many people here having fun and enjoying themselves like at a real party. He couldn't just run away from it all. Not today.

Climbing back up on top of his twig-branch-log thing, Jack slowly, carefully attempted to address the large body of students now in and around the makeshift pool.

"Hey, guys," he said with a shy smile, waving at them as he gradually looked each one in the eyes. "I know I heard a lot of people asking, so just for the record, this 'pool' is a tin with heated water that I enlarged just for the sake of today. Since it's spring now and it's just starting to get nice out, I thought we could use a little fun in the sun and some time in the water - preferably without fear of disturbing squid tentacles and angry merfolk," Jack added with a small laugh.

"Anyway, I just wanted to say that anyone's free to use it so long as everyone stays safe, so don't worry about asking permission or anything like that. The tin cover is right over there, so you can set your dry clothes and towels and things there while keeping an eye on them. Obviously we can't keep this pool up forever, so at least for today, as long as we can, I hope you all have fun and make the most of it as only Hogwarts students can do."

He was about to stop there when he caught Persephone out the corner of his eye and his grin broadened. "Oh - also, please do pay the Goddess of Spring your respects. I've learned goddesses can get pretty frightening if you manage to incur their wrath."

Jack turned to Willow. "Demeter, Goddess of Agriculture, is here. God of fire, Hephaestus, is over there," he added, nodding toward Ruka. "Ever the life of the party, Dionysus," he commented, smirking at Jack Warren. "And...is that Apollo I see?" The redhead squinted his eyes and shielded them with his hand, as if to make out Dale.

"Hmm...seems you might find a good many more ancient gods and goddesses traversing and mingling with mortals here than I realized. In any case, sounds like there'll be no shortage of a good time. Remember, stay safe and have fun!"

Laughing, the first-year jumped from his twig-branch perch and into the water, swimming under toward the edge of the pool to avoid cutting into, interrupting, or imposing on any congregating groups of friends. He felt ridiculous, like some wacky talk show host...but it still felt weirdly pleasant to be a part of something so much bigger than himself, and not just because he felt like he had to because someone was going to get hurt otherwise. He hadn't felt like that that in a while.

Interacting with @Jack Burnett @Adohiro Moira @Jack Warren @Annie Morgan

Willow couldn't deny that she was surprised when Jack had addressed her so pleasantly. It's not that they didn't leave off on bad terms, but the last time he saw her she was having a full mental breakdown during a birthday party. Her eyes drifted to the scars that littered her body and she wanted to reach out and hug him. She wanted to show him the words etched across her back and let him know that she had been there too, while not as bad, but she understood and felt for him. Maybe that was a conversation for another day. For now she quickly put her smile back on and made a dramatic pose to show off her swimsuit, "Thank you! I do love plants, especially flowers. My favorite are gardenias but no one really makes swimsuits with gardenias on them, so my second favorite is a good alternative!"

She turned to the new boy, Adohiro, that seemed to be wanting to get to know people and she was happy to oblige. "I'm from a small town in England called Willen. I also enjoy painting, friendship bracelet making, though Jack has an affinity to call them death sentences, and I also really love baking." Her attention was pulled with a familiar voice calling her name, and she quickly swam back over to the edge to greet him, Jack happened to join her as well. Which made sense since they seemed to be really close. "Ruka! The weather is perfect, you have to get in." A grin was plastered on her face, absolutely adoring the ability to swim in such lovely weather, thanks to Jack of course.

There were so many friends showing up and Willow didn't know how to deal with the excitement bubbling in her, her prefect and also fellow Quidditch player had joined in, and was so excited to have a fellow badger with her. "I'm glad you're here Annie! This is a nice break isn't it?" While she was talking she seemed to take in the moment of warmth, and she noticed a couple of other people joining. Someone she didn't recognize and then the Ravenclaw girl from the day of flight they had taken that she ended up hanging out with a bit before she left.

She was opening her mouth to greet them when a certain pestering badger that was starting to grow on her joined them... with a cannonball. Turning her head to avoid the majority of the splash, she grinned mischievously and dove underwater to meet him where he had jumped in. She arrived behind him and as he was getting his bearings from returning to the surface she used the power in her small legs to boost her up and latch around him. Her arms went around his neck and her legs locked around his chest. "Hey string bean! Fancy to meet you like this again!" She ruffled his now soaked hair. She noticed a timid Jake walking up and waved to him before trying to use her fellow badger like a mighty steed to bring her forth closer to Jake to say hello.

When Jack spoke again she gave him her full attention as it seemed like he was addressing the entire pool. Her hands moved from around Warren's neck to rest atop his head, laying her head on top of her hands. It was awfully kind of Jack to set this all up, and she'd have to thank him personally for it. A furious blush spread across her cheeks when he referenced her as the Goddess of Agriculture, Demeter. It was high praise in her eyes. She addressed the Jack she was clung on to after Burnett has finished speaking. "You hear that string bean? I'm a goddess so you better make sure to treat me as such. Or you'll have to face my agricultural wrath!" Pure joy was filling her heart in a way that she hadn't felt in a long time. For a moment she could believe they were all local neighborhood kids, no wizards, no muggles. Just kids. Finally getting to take a deep breath and let their worries wash away in the comfortably warm water.

Interacting with @Jack Burnett and @Willow Anderson
Mentioning Everyone Else

Interacting with @Lark Flaer @Ruka Tân @George Henry
Mentions @Jack Warren @Willow Anderson @Jack Burnett