Divers Alarums and Excursions OPEN

Roleplaying as Hans Jenssen

For once, Hans was going to be humble.

Ha, if that was possible, of course. But Hogwarts was also proving firsts itself, acting in his favour by hosting this, although fairly dodgy, water sports competition. Racing could move aside, he had been swimming since he was five, and entered enough competitions to confidently claimed he was better than literally everybody else in the room. If he could get one over-powered, main character moment, this one was just waiting for him.

He could see himself finding the tallest, most perilous ledge to jump off of, somersaulting into the water with a large splash. He would call out to his fellow swimmers playfully, “Hope none of you are cold!” He himself would hardly feel a sting — if he could swim in Laplands’ waters he certainly had no qualms with Scottish lochs. Not physically, at least. Not mentally either, for as rigorous as his programmes were he loved them.

Emotionally, the sport carried a weight of eight years. And while he could go diving into the depths… it was beautiful weather for sentimentalism. One of the many downsides of spending so much time with his dorm mate.

Giving a sidelong glance towards the student who seemed to be hosting the gathering, Hans deemed Colin irresponsible. He had platinum blond hair like Nikolai but the similarities ended there, for as stupid as his best friend could be sometimes this newcomer managed to beat him. An ignorant pureblood, and not even the open-minded kind that grows on you. His question was one quickly ignored.

Soon Hans’ attention was snagged by another, a distant figure who sat lone at the edge. Picking out a route throughout the gathering crowd and their towels, he asked, looking out over the boathouse, “Not a fan of the water?”

Current Characters: @Archer Duncan @Colin McCoire @Avery Gray @Kaitlyn Connor
@Maisie Gemmell @Clark Baird @Avis Marlong @Lyanna Oak @Pamela Graham

Extra:Italics= thoughts

Extra Mentions:None!

“Not a fan of the water?”

Graci jumped when she heard the voice behind her, almost falling into the water.

"Oh dear, you scared me. But no, I'm not afraid of the water." Graci was tempted to leave it at that, but she was hoping someone would come up and talk to her so... she was asking for it. Literally and figuratively.

"I actually quite enjoy the water, but this is much colder than I'm used to. Just waiting for my body to get used to the temperature." She paused, "I'm assuming you aren't scared of the water, I mean, you came here did you not."

She looked up at the boy, arching her neck so she could actually see his face. He seemed older, maybe second or third year?

Graci looked away, her neck smarting, and looked around at everyone else.

A few girls splashing in the water, a few standing around talking, a group of boys goofing off.
She twirled her her feet through the rippling water.

Decided, Graci eased herself off the ledge, making sure to keep her head out of the water so she could tell if the boy just went away or not.

Augh, never getting used to this, but so be it. Shoot, I forgot to put my hair up, silly me.

She treaded water, putting up her hair with an elastic and shucked off her bracelets onto her bag.

@Colin McCoire @Kaitlyn Connor @Pamela Graham

April 5th, 2025

Pyxis was an evening swimmer. As with most other kids from southern England, the sun was his best friend. It kept his hometown of Eastbourne warm for most of the year, just like the young lad preferred. But during the summer months, when the beach water was just right for bathing, the sun became the bane of his existence. The scorch of its rays was genuinely painful and he was most definitely not a fan of turning red from a burn. So, whenever the chance to take a dip in the ocean presented itself, Pyxis always chose to get in while the sun hung low in the sky. That was why he tended to avoid those rule-breaking bathing sessions in the Great Lake, other than the fact that the water was freezing.

But as soon as the notice for a boathouse swim meet caught his eye, Pyxis began to gather his swim shorts and the t-shirt he used to swim with for an errand last year. Sure, it wasn’t an evening swim, but the roof of the Boathouse would shoo the pesky sun away. And surely the McCoire lad would be able to gather enough people so that Pyxis wouldn’t feel terrified like he did whenever he thought about swimming at Hogwarts in the evening. Something about the place was eerie and he imagined that the lake’s permanent residents were more active with the sun out of the way. Thus, he would have to do with a morning swim in a boathouse that was probably teeming with algae.

He didn’t think he was late, but a decent amount of people were already there by the time Pyxis entered. In another room - say, The Great Hall - this wouldn’t have been a large crowd at all. However, the boathouse was generally smaller and the amount of people present brought up memories of stuffy galas and pointless get-togethers. Hopefully this one wouldn’t be pointless. Pyxis tossed his robes and other belongings where a pile was gathering and then observed the participants. He could see two of his classmates and only recognized the duellists from the first years who made up the majority of the group.

“I wouldn’t say we have houses exclusively for swimming, but we’ve got indoor pools. My parents’ hotel has one. I mean, wizards surely have them too, right?” he threw his inquiry at Colin, slightly wincing at his own use of the word ‘we’. Even though he was a part of this wizarding world now, Pyxis still felt tethered to muggles in an inexplicable way. It would take a while to stop tying himself to them in speech. Ugh, I don’t want to think about that. So instead, he settled on the ground next to Kaitlyn and hung his feet over the ledge. He wasn’t ready to get in yet, especially after feeling the cold air drifting right above the surface of the water. “Hey Katie! How’s it going?” They hadn’t spoken much recently and Pyxis was meaning to do a check in with her. She seemed to be in conversation with a blonde girl, probably younger, so Pyxis offered her a smile and a nod. “What’s up? I’m Pyxis.”

Interacting with @Novalie Moon ♥ ♥ ♥♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Date & Time: 5th April, Morning
Metamorphmagus: Not Active ♥ ♥♥♥ ♥ Outfit: Black swimsuit and shorts

♥♥♥ 10 in the morning was a little early for a Saturday, in Xiomara's opinion, but she was quite keen to go swimming. It was something she used to do back in primary school and she would often go with her grandmother too. However, since joining Hogwarts, it was also not something that they did much. For starters, the Great Lake was the main body of water to swim in and it was FREEZING in the winter - to the point where it might have even iced over - and for another thing, there were creatures in it. Of course, it was also off-limits but she did not really care about the rules. They existed, sure, but eh, rules were meant to be broken right?

Xiomara approached the Boathouse, bringing a shoulder bag with her that contained her wand and a towel, as instructed by the signage that she had seen in the common room. Perhaps she ought to have asked more questions - such as, who put it up? Who would be there? Was it really that warm in the water just because it was Spring? Why did they need a wand?! But she did not bother. She figured she would learn the answers to the question when she got there and if she disliked the answers that much, nothing prevented her from turning around and leaving.

As she entered, it seemed like there were plenty of people around. She recognised a few faces - other first years, specifically those in Ravenclaw - that she had shared classes with but she was not particularly close to anyone. Sighing, she dropped her bag in the corner, and pulled off the jumper that she was wearing. Underneath it, she donned a plain black swimsuit with a pair of swim shorts on top of it. She pulled off her boots and socks, tucking the latter into the former and shoved the jumper into the bag after taking out the wand. She gripped the wand and then took a running start before cannonballing into the water.

It might have been freezing. She was pretty sure it would be freezing but it seemed like other people were having fun in the water and she figured, if she did not just cannonball in, she would probably opt out and she did not want to chicken out so soon!

Wow. People actually turned up. Joseph's eyes widened, his face betraying his surprise as he quietly observed the group of daring rulebreakers-to-be clustered together near the boathouse, a few impatient ones already frolicking about in the water. The small assembly comprised eager folks of every house - or rather, people he was fairly certain weren't Hufflepuffs - suggesting the mastermind behind all this had found a way to sneak the notice into each common room. How peculiar.

Gosh, they're all clad in proper swimming outfits, Joseph noted dully, gazing down critically at his simple t-shirt and shorts combo. Not that he could do anything about it. The Hufflepuff boy tragically wasn’t advanced in magic enough to conjure a set of proper swimming attire for the occasion, and given his past experiences he'd much rather chew on a ton of rocks than plunge into the freezing waters of the lake topless. Well, at least he didn't show up in school robes, but that didn’t stop him from feeling like a fish out of water among the rest. That wasn’t about to hold him back, though. Joseph tightened his grip over the wand resting in his pocket, flashing the fluffy towel draped over his shoulder a glance as his grin broadened. He was here for some fun, and nothing was going to stop him. The last thing he wanted was to miss out on a great opportunity to practice his swimming skills again, especially not on a day with such glorious weather.

“Well, no use standing here and overthinking it. Time to warm up,” Joseph muttered, stretching his arms as he yawned, strolling towards the rest. He could pick out a handful of familiar faces now, much to his pleasure. Maybe he wouldn’t have to go diving into the lake with utter strangers, after all.

841.200 |action: being just a little daft, and reading about fire. ooc: interaction is most certainly open, and anyone is welcome to push Brooke in or really anything

ℬrookline took her wand and a couple books, sticking the books in her Enchanted Satchel, stuffed with parchment and quills, while her chestnut wand stayed hidden in her black sleeve. She strolled, slowly, through Hogwarts’ big, heavy doors, and out onto the school’s beautiful grounds. She had her nose in the book, her mind grasping at straws as she read that book, which was about fire. The Ravenclaw girl recently started a new love for fire, it’s golden flames and embers. She was curious and desperate and quite peculiar for anything that help this crazy, and queer, new and mad obsession of hers, and it just had to be fire.

You couldn’t tell whether the young Quinn was trying to kill herself or just trying to learn a new Charm, the way her nose was stuck in the large book, the way her steps were so quick, and nimble, her dull dark blue eyes stuck to the words, and her small chapped lips parting every so often to mumble so softly, you barely hear it. But you could still hear.

And to make matters worst, eyes still trained on the book, dear Brookline would whip out her wand, and call, “Incendio,”, her voice a bit dull, and her Welsh accent clear. It made her look so naive. If the old Brookline was in charge, she would never cast a spell, so foolishly. It almost look so mental! It wouldn’t be a surprise, if someone would yell at her, and tell her to look up and stop reading. A orange flame rose from her grassy target.

Her gaze would flick from her book, to the cracking fire. Dark blue eyes would grow huge, as she looked on wonder. It... it was remarkably interesting and she just had to look at it.

“Ooooo.”

It was no wonder she was a Ravenclaw. Man, was she curious.

Brookline beamed, her split lips spreading as she gazed into the fire.

Then something snapped.

In herself.

She shook her head, and approached the flames, her boot stamping upon it, scuffing it out. She stuffed her wand in her sleeve once more, and flicked her gaze on the book. She didn’t look back, didn’t flick her glance back to the black singe, the darkened grass crackling. Brookline wouldn’t dare look at it. It reminded her too much of the dark on herself she always tried to forget.

The Quinn would trod over to the Boathouse, her eyes still trained upon the book, and her steps decided carefully. Never hearing the splashes til too late, she stepped onto the firm wood floor, small raps from her boots, as she strolled along.

Then, finally, her eyes flew open as she saw the splashes and the students, clothed in swimming costumes, instead of the usual daily school-robe. Merlin, how empty-minded am I, to step foot in here, without even realizing it. I should get out of here while I can.

There were a few familiar faces. Avis. Pamela. While a few of the others were faces she’d seen once or twice in the hallways. Brookline decided that she could stay a little while. She did need some cheering up. And what better than right here?

She smiled, rather weakly, and gave a little wave to the Hufflepuff, Pamela, the girl she met not too long ago when she dropped her plate during breakfast, and another wave to little Ravenclaw, Avis. The smart girl whom Brookline followed into the Forbidden Forest, way back in January, when Avis, Brookline and Emmy received the black mark on their fingers.

Brookline still had it, and it was still a harsh reminder of what that awful fourth year did. She gazed down at it, and frowned at herself. She pushed her book into her satchel, and went to the edge of the waters where the wooden floor ended, and if she took another step, she would be drenched, and treading water. There was a platinum-blonde lad in the middle of the water, seemingly the host of this water-event or really whatever why everyone was here. He was accompanied by another lad, who had the same face and hair as he did. They are twins, Brookline figured, as she hitched up her beige wide-leg trousers. There were puddles everywhere, and she had no intention of her garb getting wet.

She studied the Boathouse, her eyes trailing across the boat-launch, wondering who had such an idea of swimming in the Boathouse. Altthough it would be quite fun, if she had brought her own cossie, and if she was her old self. Brookline would wonder about how long the boat-launch had been here, it would be such a pity, if this was here before and she hadn’t known about the delights of swimming here. Well, what she seen of the delights...

The Ravenclaw only went to a dry corner of a ledge, and grabbed her book. It wouldn’t exactly fun, but she couldn’t swim about, could she? She would just have read, and desperately hoped she wouldn’t fall in.

Interacting with : Reducio @Maisie Gemmell, @Clark Baird, @Lyanna Oak, @Pamela Graham, @Colin McCoire, @Pyxis Hellebore, @Brookline Quinn

Date: Reducio April 5th, 10 am

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Outfit: Reducio

At Colin’s greeting, Kaitlyn waved at him with a smile. Seeing a younger girl come over, she giggled quietly at her question about the water being too cold. “I haven’t tried yet,” she smiled as she watched the girl jump in. She spotted Clark creeping up to Liam. Another giggle escaped her lips when Lyanna talked to him about some … fire? That sounded alarming. She waved from her spot. “Hi, Clark,” she called out to him. Lyanna had already broken whatever Clark had been trying to do.

Looking at the water where Lyanna jumped in, Kaitlyn smiled at the younger Hufflepuff. “Don’t worry, that’s all right. I’m glad you’re enjoying the water!” Hearing her name, she looked up and spotted Pam waving to her. “Hi, Pam!” She greeted her with a smile and a wave. She always tried her best to be polite to her fellow students. “It’s nice to see you here,” she continued.

Hearing a familiar voice, Kaitlyn turned and saw Pyxis. “Good, so far. I’ll update you once I’m in the water,” she laughed, “How are you?” She asked in return. It had been a while since she last talked to him. While it was confirmed that she didn’t lose her politeness at the magical school, she was willing to be more lenient with her fellow students and classmates. That, of course, didn’t mean that she had to break her politeness.

Kaitlyn slipped out of her coverup dress and sandals, leaving them in a pile with her towel. Taking a running head start, she jumped as her toes touched the dock, splashing into the water with a giggle. As she floated back to the water’s surface, she giggled again at how cool the water felt. She noticed one of her classmates sitting on the dock with a book.

With a shy smile, Kaitlyn swam over to where the girl was sitting. “Hi!” She called out quietly to her, not wishing to disrupt her too much. “I like reading too by the edge of the water …, especially at the lake,” she continued, attempting to be friendly.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 350 words

SIOBHAN MCCARTY
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Date: 04/05/25 | Time: Afternoon | CC: #041E42
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Siobhan hoped maybe a dip in the water would help her feel better. But truthfully this was probably the worst idea she could come up with given how badly she could see above water. Whose to say it wouldn't get inherenty worse once her face was submerged. And given the extent of her injuries and that her face hadn't fully healed this was a really bad idea.

Yet here she was, sitting on the dock in her wetsuit and wrapped in her towel debating on whether to jump in or not. She made sure to keep her eyes covered and away from anyone who might see her face. She was ashamed to show it off at the moment but didn't want to shutter herself away in her dorm room. It wouldn't do her any good to avoid people. No matter how much she might want to at the moment.

She draped a finger in the water and gently skimmed it across the surface without much of a care. She wondered what the sky looked like at the moment. It only really looked grey and dark to her. Or maybe she wasn't even staring at the sky and was instead just staring at some dirt. She wouldn't put it past herself.

The boathouse was not a place Ariam have been to on any of their previous trips to Hogwarts, in fact, they were completely unaware that there actually is somewhere students can swim, leaving them in this position. The notice for the swimming event at the boat house was certainly enticing, Ariam loves to swim, growing up near a large lake it was one of their favourite past times. Unfortunately for Ariam, they did not bring a swim suit, which means they are currently walking into the boat house as a fully clothed spectator, feeling awfully out of place.

There was more people then Ariam expected, this whole event seem unofficially organized and this whole thing might be breaking a few school rules, who knows? As they looked around one boy caught their eye, among all the swimsuit wearing students was a brown hair boy stretching in t-shirts and a pair of shorts with a towel around his shoulders. Does he plan to swim in that? Ariam wondered, supposed if someone doesn't have swimsuits to wear something like that would be the next best thing. "Hey, do you plan to swim in that?" Ariam walked up to the boy and asked "I don't have any swimwear either but I planned to just watch, check out everyone's moves and whatnot, I'm from Castlelobruxo so we're in the rainforest, I never found a chance to swim there. Are you a Hogwarts student or?"

Word Count 240/200

Roleplaying as Hans Jenssen

Dipping his hand into the water he gave her a sympathetic glance, “ I know right, this isn’t exactly a hot tub.”

Hans looked out over the water, a vast expanse of deep blue decorated with specks of smudged figures splashing about, boys and girls his age and not too different from himself. It was a scene that could have played out anywhere, anytime and any day, unbound by the restrictions, expectations, and inevitably, dangers of this wonderful, terrible world. One day he thought he would never want to see it again and the other he would give everything to return to it; doesn’t matter though, indulging himself in what-ifs would be as dangerous as a drug addiction. Perhaps the mundane was regarded as extraordinary in a world already deemed as such. “ Your assumption would be correct though.” He laughed absentmindedly. “ So whatever,” Hans decided as the girl did too, one hand supporting his weight on the ledge as he jumped into the lake below, “Let’s do this thing.”

Testing out the waters in a relaxed breaststroke he swam further into the distance where the others had gathered. “ I’m not really one for, like, public bathing. If only we had a race....” His words trailed off as his thoughts wandered away from the boathouse entirely. The matter of a mere weeks ago had been his birthday, and whether he had won or loss or was let won, it was for the first time in a long time that he had seen his brother as happy. Even if he had only been putting on a strong face for him, it was one Hans appreciated. Ok, God, fuck it, enough.

“You coming?”