The Icy Lake Activity Closed

The next step in aiding with the Grand Pepperup Potion-making process was to collect octopus tentacles from the Great Lake. Jack was not very much looking forward to this, but was glad that he could at least swim - unlike another student he knew. He wondered idly what the giant squid of the lake might have thought of students collecting its cousins' tentacles for potion-making, but then decided it probably didn't care. The creature seemed gentle enough to only act agitated when directly affected.

Wishing he'd had a diving suit or something as opposed to just some thick clothing, the Slytherin jumped into the water with a set of long-sleeved pajamas and pants so as to stay as warm as possible in the frigid lake. He tried desperately not to think of the large beast lurking in the depths or other beings such as the Merfolk who resided there, but it was exceedingly difficult. Between his fear and the cold, he was surprised he hadn't frozen himself stiff.

His fear served to encourage him, however, and his adrenaline kicked in, flooding his body and keeping him warm enough to commit to his task. Obviously there weren't just octopus tentacles just floating around or growing like plants, but it kind of made Jack feel bad to have to go capture some live ones just so some humans could be saved.

The boy's pity for them quickly wore thin when he realized just how tricky the slippery little things were to catch. Had the teachers really expected them to wrangle up octopi with their bare hands? Well, he supposed a little magic could also go a long way, but it again made him feel it was unfair to use spells on non-magical animals simply trying to survive. Thus, it took him a good deal longer to catch enough of the cephalopods from the lake and by the end, he was wondering if it wouldn't have been more time-saving to have simply taken one large tentacle from the giant squid. Perhaps there was something about octopi tentacles in particular that made them special.

As he brought up the octopi onto land, Jack placed them in a bucket and quickly removed his clothes behind some bushes so he could dry off and change. Once that had been taken care of, he brought the bucket, his clothes, and his towel to the bonfire where he and the other first years had been encouraged to warm themselves. Jack had half a mind to just go back inside and sleep, especially because he didn't want to think about the octopi tentacles and the castle had plenty of other fireplaces to warm oneself up beside. Deciding to spend at least a few minutes by the bonfire, however, he was reminded of takoyaki and wondered how many other students were familiar with the Japanese food containing the very ingredient they had come to the Great Lake for.

Word Count: 488/400

This errand is now closed to new entries, however those of you who have already posted are welcomed to stay and RP, if you would like.



The following students have reached the word count requirement before May 25th, and have been given 15 unopened chocolate frogs:

@Jack Burnett