Errand Mass Thread Sink or Swim? Closed

Mentions: @Linda Ramirez
Date: December 10th, 2023

WHEN I had first heard about this errand, I was pleasantly surprised. I mean who wouldn't be? Swimming? In the Great Hall for gods sake? And why was this an errand? Sooner or later, I found out why. Rumors of constant drownings had been spread throughout the school and they turned out to be true. Recently, people had almost drowned in the Great Lake in the Fall Ball while going boat riding. People had gotten hurt really badly. I guess that was why we were swimming in the Great Hall.
So, the school nurse had took it into her hands, with the help of the potions professor and her prefect to teach the kids of this school how to swim. And now, here I was lining up to grab a noodle to head into the pool for the second errand this year. The good thing was, I was not alone. Linda, my bestie, would also be doing this errand with me. If I could find her that was. There was a huge crowd of people as people from all years were coming to participate in this errand.
I scanned around the Great Hall looking for a familiar face and a familiar streak of red hair. I sighed when I saw nothing. I spotted many others who I recognized, Badgers from my year and others as well. But no Linda. She would be here soon. For now, I needed to get my noodle. And then, I would look for her once again.
The line slowly dispersed until I was the one up front. I grabbed my noodle after being assured the rules and safety measures. There were plenty of lifeguards around so it should be pretty safe. Finally, I got to see the pool for what it actually was. It was nothing spectacular but it was huge. Bigger than any pool I had seen before. Many people were already in it. I looked around for my bestie Linda. She was no where to be found yet.
That was when I noticed the hands. Someone was sinking into the water. They still could breathe but it sure looked like they were sinking. I stood there frozen watching this sight before my eyes. Someone was going to drown. No they weren't. A lifeguard would rescue them right? I sure hoped so. I waved my hands around hoping a lifeguard would notice. Sure enough a lifeguard jumped right in with a flotation device and urged the person to stop thrashing.
I guess I was right. I sighed in relief. Was this going to happen to me? No, I'd swam before. Suddenly, I felt a bit scared. No, no backing out now. You were going to participate in this errand, that was what you came here for. Plus, you were a broom racer. You had done many things that were much more scarier than swimming when there were plenty of lifeguards around. I decided that I wanted to wait for Linda before going into the pool though. Although there was no guarantee that I would not almost drown even with Linda there. But I trusted the lifeguards though after watching someone be saved by them. I sighed once again. I set my things down on a chair and scanned the crowd once again. The crowd had thinned as most people were already in the pool.
Then, I spotted a flash of red hair and a familiar face. I smiled. "LINDA!" I yelled. "Over here!"
Now, the party was really starting. With Linda here, I was comfortable enough to go into the pool and swim. My nerves slowly started to melt away and I was ready to swim.

Word Count: 626/600

Tes had done a couple of the eccentric errands around the school; catching chocolate frogs last year came to mind, but this one was certainly something special. Usually, the errands were about cleaning the school, fixing a problem, or showing care and support for the people in your life. Not so much were they lessons like this one was. Which wasn't to say she wasn't interested or excited. In fact, she thought it was a great idea!

She could comfortably doggy paddle (no pun intended) and had spent many hot summer days splashing around in the river near her home, but she wouldn't consider herself a good swimmer. As she entered the great hall, beaming and looking around with excitement at the giant... casserole dish? That sure didn't look like any muggle pool she'd seen in her mum's old picture books, and she wouldn't be surprised if it was an actual dish, and not just a wizard habit of using dish-shaped pools in their dining halls.

She was dressed in a tight black tank top and althetic shorts, bandana still around her wrist, realizing that she didn't exactly have a bathing suit laying around in her luggage. She figured it would work for jumping in the water and puttering around. She saw some people she recognized, as well as some other students jumping into the water confidently, for better or worse. She had no such plans of doing so herself, because while she could confidently not drown, she certainly wouldn't be winning any medals for her swimming talents. It would be far better for her to gravitate towards where the potions professor and new nurse were, helping some students with their basic swimming techniques.

Tes didn't consider herself in need of floaties and direct supervision necessarily, but the kicking and floating being taught was certainly more dignified than her own flailing technique. Her go-to being that she'd stick her head in the air to keep the water from touching her face, and desperately scoop through the water with her hands and feet, slowly making her way through around. Attempting to be a bit more aware of her body in the water, instead of simply trying to stay afloat, she tried floating simply on her back and kicking around a bit.

Forcing herself to get her hair wet was the worst part if she was being honest, grimacing and wrinkling her nose at the feeling of her clothes clinging cold and wet to her skin, and her ears becoming weirdly muffled under the water. Even though the water was by no means frigid, it certainly wasn't a relaxing soak in a bath tub, and she couldn't help the bit of grumbling she let out as water touched her face as well. She enjoyed playing in water plenty, but she wasn't all that certain she enjoyed the initial process of getting wet.

After she got over her discomfort over her cold hair and clothes and she began to warm up and acclimate, she was reasonably proud of her back floating technique. Flipping onto her stomach, she tried to copy the way some students were moving through the water by kicking their legs like frogs, pulling their hands from their chest to their sides at the same time. It wasn't the easiest for her, struggling to keep her head from slipping below the surface as she was, but it wasn't too difficult either. She was thankful she wasn't nervous about the water, as she couldn't imagine trying to learn how to do this if she was unfortunate enough to be afraid. At least she had that going for her, small comfort though it was as she accidentally got water up her nose and flailed around, coughing and shaking her head, kicking herself over the side to take a breather.

That was enough learning to swim for her! She might spend time with a friend if she saw any show up, but she certainly wasn't just going to paddle around in circles with water up her nose all by herself.

Siobhan was so excited to hear that there would be elective swimming lessons. She had missed being able to swim within the Loch of her home in Killarney and during the youth Swim Team season. Swimming was practically second nature to her, and if could she choose to come back as any reincarnated beast, she might have to pick a mermaid. Even though her textbook mentioned that they were far different from the muggle interpretation, she was happy to know they existed.

Siobhan padded into the Great Hall where the makeshift swimming pool had been set up. Sure it was no Loch but she did enjoy a swim or two now and again. Plus she'd heard that the Great Lake was crawling with vicious Grindylows that seemed to have it out for the students so she figured she'd stay far far away from it. Maybe one day when she knew some better protective spells she'd attempt to venture within it.

Siobhan slipped her shoes and coverup off, standing in her one piece swimsuit. She'd packed it just incase because upon hearing about the lake she figured it wouldn't hurt. Many other students were dressed either in swimsuits as well or in some variation of shorts and t-shirts. Some students were swimming perfectly and others were just learning to kick their feet and move their arms at the same time. It reminded her of the community recreational center where she and her siblings would go for swim team practice and when the Loch's algae content was too high.

Siobhan tied her hair up in a loose bun and fixed a swim cap over her head to protect her hair even more. Almost 2 feet of thick hair was not fun to wash at the end of the day, and she had just washed it earlier that week. There was no point in getting her hair wet if she could help it. But she did feel a little self-conscious when she saw that she was the only one wearing a swim cap but her hair was important to her and she wanted to protect it. She attached her swimming goggles to the top of her head, prepping for the water and began to walk over to the ladder.

Upon approaching the pool, she was reminded of the rules and told to demonstrate her ability to swim the length of the pool twice. Siobhan declined the offer of a pool noodle and took an empty spot on the deck where she could safely perform a controlled starting dive. She knelt close to the water to minimize the splash, and maximize the pounce and took off into the water.

The break hit her first and a chill filled her senses as she maintained a needle-like pathway through the water. She had always been talented at the Butterfly stroke and sought to maintain her talent by demonstrating it in her test. Really it should be called the Mermaid stroke as her legs whipped up and down similar to how mermaids swam. She finally broke her head over the water and began to encircle her arms within the water. She felt the glorious burn of her muscles as she flew through the water. It was like soft butter, cutting through with ease.

She reached the end of the "pool" and flipped around kicking with more power to make it back. Each stroke brought released more and more tension in her body as she reoriented herself in the water. She only had a few more feet to make it to the end.

Finally her fingers grazed the edge of the pool and she broke out of the water with a deep breath. She removed her googles and hauled herself up onto the deck of the pool. Now that was a swim!

Date: December 10 2023 Time: Unknown

Interacting with: @Tesla Stone Mentions: @Astra Norrick

English | French Thoughts

There was a giant casserole dish in the great hall.

Mahlioz, having grown up in a relatively magical household, thought she had seen some crazy things. Coming to Hogwarts had proven her wrong last year, of course, but by now she felt she was used to its weirdness. And now she'd walked into the great hall to find a giant casserole dish. She was going to have to stop assuming she was used to magic. It kept taking her by surprise.

She'd known she would be swimming. It was an interesting event to plan in December - the only place she knew of where you could swim at Hogwarts was the great lake, and that was... not very enticing, in this weather. But then she'd been told it would be in the great hall. Still, she'd been expecting a rectangular, sleek swimming pool that they had somehow teleported there for the event, and not exactly a casserole dish. She wasn't complaining, though. This would be... interesting.

Mahlioz had her plain green swimsuit on, and though she was pretty self-conscious as she made her way into the great hall, the feeling evaporated when she saw everyone else swimming around. It felt just like the swimming pool she used to go to with her family in Aberdeen. Everyone splashing about, some trying to learn to swim, some already finding it easy, and others still just messing around. Mahlioz couldn't help grinning. She slipped into the water after listening to the new nurse tell them all instructions.

The young Slytherin had swum before, of course. She'd even done a few lessons a couple of years ago. It hadn't all stuck with her, but she knew her basics. The front crawl (with her head out of the water - otherwise the water kept getting in her nose and she also couldn't see) and the back one were what she was best at, so she did a lap of back crawl to prove to the teachers that she could swim, before looking around for something more fun to do. Laps were fine and good, but they were also boring, in her opinion, and though this event was supposed to teach her to swim, she wanted to have fun while doing it.

She didn't see anyone she knew of very well, so she plunged underwater to swim somewhere new. She hadn't gone completely underwater yet, and she had forgotten how much she loved its sensation. It just felt like a great big hug, but not too warm, and where everything else was muted - all the sounds and echoes and overwhelming everything. It was all less. It was magnificent. And not only was it quiet, but it was also slower. Everything was in slow motion under the water. She didn't have to do too much. It was... relaxing wasn't the right word. It was peaceful.

She came out of the water a few meters further than her original place, and spotted Astra a little ways away, which surprised her somewhat, after the events of the Fall Ball. Had Mahlioz fallen in the lake then, she never would have been able to gather the courage to be here today. But then again, she knew all too well that Astra was much braver than her.
The girl seemed to be talking to someone, rather disgustedly - a blonde girl who seemed like she was having a hard time. Mahlioz debated going up to say hello, but decided against it. Astra looked busy, and the second year didn't want to bother her.

On the other hand, there was a different blue-eyed swimmer that Mahlioz recognized, who was on their own. She hadn't seen Tes in a while, and she decided to swim up to her, smiling. "Hey there. How's the... swimming going?"

WC= 629/600

Interactions ❯❯ @Alyssea Brown | @Zach Zaphiere | @
Mentions ❯❯ @ | @ | @

❂《 ⌜ December 10, 2023 ▎ --:-- ⌟

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Of course, chaos unfolds when they are just getting started. Zach jumped in but didn't resurface. Instincts told Raizel to go after him, jump in but before she could make that reckless decision, two people were already helping him. She sighed in relief at that. Lucky there were others looking out for possible students that could drown. "Glad they helped him." Her head turned towards Alyssea, seeing her going into trance while staring at where Zach was. She went silent, wondering what was up with her before calling out. "Lys, you okay?" She called out. The Hufflepuff girl seems to have snapped out of it and thanked the ones who had helped Zach.

An arm was held out to her and she ended up staring at it for a couple of seconds. There was hesitation in those hazel eyes of hers, but not because she couldn't trust Alyssea but rather, she was afraid of being a burden by relying too much on her. Come to think of it, what if they fell and almost drowned that time? What if luck wasn't on their side? Things could've been worse. They could've ended up as the victims and caused troubles for others. She shook her head, grabbing onto the other girl's arms. "Okay." She was determined to get out of this lesson with knowledge of basic swimming. She's not just doing it for herself by increasing her survivability rate but also to save time for others and to not be a burden in case a situation where they need to deal with bodies of water arises.

"I can do this." The Gryffindor did her best to keep herself afloat like what Alyssea had instructed her. Kicking and keeping her head up? Hopefully, not a problem. Just have to believe.

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⌜ Sink or Swim ⌟ | ⌜ WC: 297+ (1066 | Prev Total) 1363/600 ⌟
««««« Dialogue | #800000

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sta. 7 • eva. 6 • str. 3 wis. 9 • arc. 6 • acc. 9

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While Lilliana typically opted out of the errands, mostly due to the dullness of the task or her lack of time, the new errand had piqued her interest. Supposedly, there had been (yet another) change in staff, and the new nurse had a spur of the moment idea to provide swimming lessons. It seemed practical in itself, after the events which had occurred at the Fall Ball, it turned out that many students were unaware of how to swim, to Lilliana’s surprise. The witch had self-taught herself in a pond behind her aunt’s manor, and while her form wasn’t perfect, she was still an efficient swimmer.

The lake wasn’t feasible to swim in, and having plunged into the frigid waters twice before, the pale skinned girl was met with solace at the alternative. Waiting until Spring for the lake’s temperature to be amiable seemed more logical than what the indoor pool setup was — an engorgioed casserole dish filled to the brim with water in the midst of the Great Hall. However, Nurse Sabo was prosperous in spreading the word of the errand. There was a moderately high crowd in attendance, as well as a group consisting of self titled lifeguards, which Lilliana found amusing since majority of the pack were first years.

The blond haired girl had been one of the last to arrive, along with her newfound acquaintance, Arianna Swann. The girls shared traits of being in Slytherin, however were in different years. They had an interesting dynamic, though, and there was something about the other witch that intrigued her. The only negative factor was that she was under the impression Lilliana was pure-blooded, due to acquiring her father’s surname. The second year was fully aware she was entering a dangerous game. For all the rest of the world knew, her blood was as pure as the next person.

The nurse commencing her lecture, the room fell quiet. Raising a slight eyebrow at the (presumable) look of disdain and ignorance between the two staff members. Settling her gaze the the largened casserole dish, Lilliana let her eyes flicker to Arianna, “Er. You do know how to swim, right?” She hadn’t felt the need to ask until seeing the others either nervous or struggling in the waters. The team of lifeguards had even started their pursuit already, setting their sights on troubled students. Among them was Remedy Norden , yet another first year she was familiar with, meeting her on the train to Hogwarts. Offering a subtle nod to her,

A black bag in hand, much too small to have been designed to hold it’s contents; a white soft towel and a pair of fresh clothes (including a slipper set). Removing a deep brown cardigan Lilliana had draped around her shoulders, it revealed a lavender hued swimsuit. After Nurse Sabo’s coaxes to go in, the second year angled her head towards the waters, she made eye contact with Arianna, a subtle gesture to come in.

Lowering herself into the dish gingerly, the temperatures of the water evoked a tingly feeling amongst her, and a wave of shivers passed through the submerged parts of her. Once she had gotten used to the gelidity, Lilliana permitted herself to sink deeper in, her hair getting drenched in the process. She slowly opened her eyes to get a slight look of her surroundings. Finally coming up, she cleared the stray wisps of damp hair which had been glued to her wet face.

“It’s certainly much colder inside than you would think. Might as well just go into the frozen lake and get the same temperature,” Lilliana joked to the first year.

location: great hall wc: 608 mentions: @Arianna Swann

ency: x profile: x outfit: x

Truth be told she didn't want to be out here. She would rather be buried inside a thick blanket, or better yet, indulging in some extravagant shopping at a high-end clothing store. The problem was that it was too loud in the dorms and she just couldn't seem to focus enough to actually process what she read. After the third time of having to re read a chapter she had just given up.

Arianna honestly didn't know why she had thought it would be a good idea to come to the Great Hall. At the time doing an errand to earn a few house points sounded nice. In theory it should have been nice!

But it wasn't.

Oh, she was so tired. Exhaustion weighed heavily upon her as the chill nipped at her nose and tousled strands of hair from beneath her new furry hat. She groaned, pushing white bangs away from her face as she eyed the water's surface. It was pretty; sunlight glittering against the water, shining through the tree leaves filtering in like molten gold.

Initially, the presence of an exceedingly large casserole dish in the Great Hall had seemed like an elaborate prank if it wasn't for the new nurse and Gryffindor prefect standing by the pool. Most of the students had already completed their tasks or were just finishing up. Going into the water fully clothed was out of the question, and undressing in front of a gathered crowd wasn't an appealing option either. She let out a sigh as she weighed her choices. Going back to the dorms and returning seemed like a hassle. How exhausting...

The crowd had significantly thinned when Arianna arrived at the Great Hall, accompanied by a blond-haired Slytherin. Lilliana possessed an intriguing aura; a second year that had left an indelible mark on her. “Naturally.” The girl turned to Lilliana, ignoring Sabo's boring lecture that nobody seemed to care much about. Bundled up in a thick, white towel, Arianna casually made her way to an empty corner to change. With a shiver, she removed her towel to reveal a dark swim dress and white sleeves.

The lecture drew to the end with a incredibly serious ‘be careful!’ from the nurse. Arianna dived into the dish, her form quite lovely to look at. Almost at once, the clamor around her faded into a muffled symphony as her head was buried into the water. Time seemed to dissolve, but it wouldn't be long before the girl's desperate longing for air intensified, compelling her to resurface.

Arianna struggled to block out the water's frigid stings, as she floated steadily in the water, acclimating herself to the temperature before embarking on the challenge of diving into the chill and do a couple of drills. As usual, her classmates behaved like untamed creatures, as if they had never witnessed or set foot in a pool before. With practiced strokes, she trod along the water's edge, rolling her eyes in exasperation. What was it that these ignorant individuals failed to comprehend?

“Agreed.” She responded with the same dry tone, gesturing at the flailing hands and struggling bodies, “Although I would expect some of the idiots to drown.”

Arianna pulled herself up over the side of the dish and simply stood there beside Lilli. She'd had enough of water. And she was ready to call it quits and just go back to the dorms. In a minute is what she told himself. Trying to work herself up to go all the way back. Instead, her breathing evened out, body relaxing into the cool water as insomnia finally seemed to catch up with her.

I have to put my head under the water? Flynn thought to himself, he'd seen others around the dish doing this action however the prospect of doing it himself seemed impossible until this moment, as Flynn reached out ahead of him with the pool noodle in his hand he started to swim with his face almost fully submerged in the water, he hadn't counted or anything and only decided to lift his head when he realised he was feeling a little light headed, to his mistake (mostly due to inexperience but also a little lack of common sense) Flynn tried to take a breath by bending his neck backwards, this was ineffective and hurt his neck as he was only able to get one strained breath in before his face was plunged back beneath the water.

The breath wasn't enough to sustain himself as he again struggled with a lack of oxygen, he became disorientated as his focus went to finding ways to get the vital oxygen into his system, this consequently made his kicking turn into the erratic flailing it had started off as as Flynn's mind races with possibilities to combat the lack of breathing happening in his body, as he started to feel dizzy an almost survival like instinct kicked in as he forced his head to the side, ah he'd figured it out, with his head in this position his nose and mouth was just above the water to take a deep breath while his neck remained in a more comfortable position, as the soothing oxygen rushed his mind he was able to think more clearly and with his newfound ability to actually breath his kicking calmed down as he started to move more efficiently taking intermittent breaths whenever his body told him to.

As he'd finished what felt like an eternal lap around the pool he grasps at the side to catch his breath properly, to his surprise Harmony had somehow kept up with him without getting battered by his erratic swimming style and also somehow still found him as a good enough prospect to hang around him instead of finding other more proficient swimmers who she could interact with.

"That was pretty graceful aye?..." Flynn chuckled to himself as he acknowledged his own incompetence "So whats next professor? am I going to do some underwater backflips and handstands?" Flynn joked, while it strained him mentally and physically Flynn had enjoyed the swimming he didn't quite know why but he did so he wanted to see what else Harmony had in store for him.

Interacting with @Harmony Hollins
word count 436 + 1,176 (previous posts) = 1,612

She heard that there were drownings in the Great Lake, so although she was finding it strange in winter, she was happy something like this event was taking place.

As was expected, there were a lot of students here. And so somewhere here was Reyna. While searching for her, Linda noticed some of her friends: Delainie and Alyssea. She also noticed Kim, but where was Reyna?

At that moment Linda heard her name been called. She looked at the direction from where the voice came and finally found her bestie. Hey, I thought I won't find you here among all of them. Btw, do you swim well? Even if no, it's okay, I'm good at it. She smiled sincerely and calmly looking at Reyna.

If you are ready, join me in the pool. Linda said after putting her clothes close to Reyna's. With this done, she went into the pool and started to dive. It felt really great to do it again after so long time. It almost felt like something she really needed now.


Joy and happiness filled Linda letting her stop thinking about sad times she was going through. She looked around to see where Reyna was and swam in her direction. It truly feels awesome to swim again after so long. How are you doing so far?

Linda decided to keep diving more, only hoping that no one would mistake it and interrupt her. She tried to not bump into others, not intending to get into any sort of interaction else.

After some time, however, Linda started to feel bored. It felt rather strange that it was so calm and quiet here. She decided to swim around the pool, coming closer and far from Reyna.

Some more minutes and Linda stopped, finding less crowded place. She turned on her back and stayed laying like that looking at the ceiling. For a first time in so many days she had no thoughts inside her head. Her heart stopped hurting her either. Even if it all was temporary, Linda enjoyed it.

He didn't expect this unfortunate event to happen to him. He should be having fun with Alyssea and Raizel but the fate wanted to play with him. His right leg was so much in pain. Not to mention the panic he had when all the water entered his body through his mouth and nose. His hands kept waving, grabbing attention with the splashing noises, hoping someone would immediately save him from his misfortune. He wouldn't mind if his waving hands hit anyone near him nor care if anyone looked at him funny. His body naturally made the rumpus to get help as fast as possible. And luckily, he got the help he needed.

Someone, a girl with straight black hair, brought a floatation device for him to grab. The boy stopped flapping and grabbed the device quickly when she pushed it at him, holding the thing tightly for his life. He gasped, looking for more oxygen he had missed from the drowning and the energy loss from his flapping. Now, the water that entered his body didn't bother him anymore. However, his face showed that he was so much in pain. His right leg was still hurt from the strain. "My leg... I'm cramping," he whimpered. "Eugh... It hurts so much." His face might be looked so ugly in pain. But he couldn't help it. Even though he was a duellist who was hit with many spells multiple times, a pain is still a pain.

Interacting with @Remedy Norden
Mentioning @Raizel Voltrouz; @Alyssea Brown