Squid hunt

Iridia followed along as she was, sort of, dragged to the lake. Although she was eager to go with him as she listened in wonder as he spoke about, what was it, origami? She thought about it, was it difficult? Perhaps she could ask mother to look for a book on it, she was sure there was a book on it, especially if it was a type of art.

“Can you make a thestral? Have you seen one of those? Or maybe a Puffskein? I love Puffskeins! Or perhaps a Keazle? Could you teach me how to ori-origami? How to do it? Not now of course, but another day!”

She asked, eyes wide in complete wonder as he spoke, she had half forgotten about the giant squid for now, especially when this ori-origami thing, had her absolutely hooked. She had never heard of it before, mostly because all her family and family friends had been Purebloods, and she had not met many muggleborns, let alone any that spoke to her, especially with how terrifying her mother could be. Her mother didn’t hate muggles, but she was just wary of them sometimes, as she didn’t know what to expect from them.

When they got to the lake, her giddyness got to her again and she was quick to keep up with him, eyes surveying the water, trying to spot maybe a giant eye, or a ripple in the water. She wondered if the squid got along with the merpeople or grindylows she had heard resided in the lake as well.

“How are we supposed to know where the squid is? Will we see it’s eyes? Will it grab us?”

She asked him with wide eyes, she had a lot more questions. But most of them were left unspoken as she continued to stare at the lake while they walked, a slight bounce in her step.

@Nicholas Lazarus

@Iridia Calathes

Nick didn't have answers for most of the questions, but he nodded vigorously no matter what. "I can make all sorts of animals! I've made a super big dragon the other day, it's in my dormitory right on my bedside table!!"

He found a path to the lake on the right side of the grass, it seemed less slippery and not as muddy. "Over here!" He said as he slowly made his way down the grass to the lake.

When he got down there, he stopped right at the edge of the lake, staring at the deep dark water right in front of him. "From what I've heard it comes to the surface every once in a while, it said the eye is as big as a carriage!" Probably a old student tale, or even a rumor spread by teachers in order to stop the children from dipping into the water without supervision of a adult.

Nick couldn't swim very well, so he preferred to not even try to get closer to the shallower parts of the lake. "I haven't seen it yet but it's probably nice!" He hoped so, at least. He hoped that the school wouldn't have a bunch of scary, dangerous creatures just chilling around in close proximity to a bunch of curious kids.

Iridia followed his path, as he seemed to find a good spot on the side of the lake for them. She gripped her book with excitement at the thought of seeing a giant squid, and she listened intently as he spoke. Although her eyes widened when he said that the squids eye was apparently ‘as big as a carriage’, that was huge! She was surprised the giant squid could even fit in the lake and be comfortable, if just it’s eye was that big. She hummed at the thought, as she looked around for a sturdy bit of grass, before she sat down, starting at the lake, waiting.

“But I heard that there are grindylows that live in the lake too, and my book said that they are really territorial! So i wonder how the squid was able to get them to let it live there, do you think it’s because the squid is so big that they are scared of it?”

Iridia looked on at the lake, eyes widened in fascination and excitement. She honestly couldn’t quite believe she would get to see a giant squid. Her parents had never mentioned such a thing. She wondered if maybe they had never heard of it while they were at school either. She would need to send them an owl later, with all her questions and thoughts about it.

“Are you a fan of quidditch? My mother wants me to have a go at getting on the team for Huffepuff, although I have never really been a fan of it myself, I suppose it does look fun, but I think I would much prefer duelling.”

@Nicholas Lazarus

@Iridia Calathes

"Well- I think the squid is just too big for them to be angry about! Grindylows are super tiny, so I think they just can't do anything about it!" He examined the water expectantly.

Oh, but alas, the water was far too deep and far too murky, it was almost impossible to even see anything down there, let alone something so big.

"Oh... I don't think we can see anything" Nick pouted a bit at that revelation, he was excited to see it at least once.

But then he got distracted by Iridia's question instead. "Oh, I like quidditch! I'm not a very good player though!" That did make him chuckle a bit more. "I am not a good flyer, and I don't think I would be the best player on the field, I get super dizzy on the sky. What about you?"

He dropped by her side on the grass, despite being disappointed to not be able to see the squid, it was still a nice day out, he could enjoy it anyways. "When I was a little kid, I used to beg my father to take me to games, but my father isn't really a big fan of those games, he says quidditch is just a distraction from our actual jobs and blah blah."

Then he sighed, letting himself lay down on the grass below him to look up at the sky. "But can you imagine me a quidditch player?" He chuckled again as he shook his head.

Iridia hummed in thought, a small frown on her face when he said they wouldn’t be able to see anything. She had really been looking forward to seeing the giant squid, she had wanted to sketch it, so she could send it with her letter to her parents about her first week at Hogwarts, she knows they would be happy to know she had made a friend, since they worried a lot about her, especially with how anxious she got. She would hum in thought, nodding along with his words as he spoke, before she grinned at his question.

“Oh I do love to fly! My father says I am quite good at it, although I think that’s because my mother was adamant I learn so I could get on a team, she says that I should take every opportunity possible, although she is very adamant about quidditch”

She said with a slight sigh. Iridia was much more interesting in duelling and magical creatures than anything else. The first lesson about magical creature she had, she had been almost bouncing in her seat at the lesson. She tilted her head at Nick, before nodding with a grin.

“You totally could be a quidditch player! Seekers need to be really quick! So being on the smaller size is better. Although I am much more interesting in duelling rather than quidditch. My father was a champion duellist when he was at school, so I hope I have his skills!”

She had lots of time to do both throughout hogwarts, she had 7 years! She could do pretty much anything she wanted, of course if it didn’t break any rules. Although her mother had said that she shouldn’t be shy at breaking one or two rules, it was sometimes the best way to have fun. Iridia wondered what kind of rules she could break without being caught, she would have to ask her mother for some ideas in her letter, it was a must.

“What sort of club do you want to join? I think duelling is my top, but i also would love to see if there was a club for chess or something, or maybe a club to do muggle activities in, I have always wondered what sort of hobbies muggles have, are they similar to ours?”

@Nicholas Lazarus

@Iridia Calathes

Nick watched as she explained everything, from her love of charms and spells to the fact she actually enjoyed flying. "I mean- I'm just bad at it!" He joked as she told him he would be a good player.

"My grades in flying classes are not ideal for a quidditch player..." At least that's what his father had told him when he reluctantly sent them over for him to examine.

He rubbed the back of his neck but smiled slightly.."well I always thought I was good with potions actually, I've joined the duelling club because my father told me to and I got absolutely obliterated in my very first battle... Ended up leaving right after that" It was surprisingly clear how much of a perfectionist Nick was, he abandoned anything and everything that didn't get good results from him without trying again for fear of failure.

"Potions is... My father's field so I always thought I could get good at those, I've read his books so many times when I was bored at home." Which was very, very often. "What about you though? Do you have other hobbies?" He asked, slowly scooting a little closer to her to hear what she had to say. "Like my origamis?"

”No I’m sure you’d be great at it! I dont think your grades matter in quidditch, but also, you can practice and improve!”

Iridia said with a smile as they spoke. Iridia had always told herself that practicing was the best form of improvement, although her mother had said she had to be perfect at first try, and that she would not accept anything better, and Iridia knew that was an impossible task, no one could be perfect, despite what her mother would always say and badger her about, she would shake her head at the thought before she looked at him with slightly wide eyes as he spoke about potions, ooo potions was interesting! Although she had to admit she had blown up a cauldron her first week.

“Oh potions! Potions is really interesting, although you have to be so careful! I never know how it’s going to go, and sometimes I can he hopeless at it, honestly I’m not even sure i’ll get an O in the current homework…oh! Has your dad published any books? Maybe if I read them i’ll get better.”

Iridia asked, her parents had made her read a lot of books, well her father didn’t care much, it was more her mother. She was sure she had read every book in her library at home, although most the books were about blood status, blood purity, their family tree and pureblood families, among with charms and some more normal things that she would be learning about in Hogwarts, although even she could admit the library at home wasn’t entirely normal, and the Hogwarts library had a much more vast collection, and had a lot of different topics in it.

“I love to read! But I also play piano, and I know how to dance, quite a few different types, but reading is definitely one of my top favourites, and yes! I had never heard of origami before, and my mother wouldn’t dream of telling me about muggle hobbies..”

She spoke with a grin, her smile was beaming when she spoke about them. While she usually would not test her mothers boundaries, she really did want to learn more about muggles and the things they did, and this did seem like the first stop in that adventure for her.

@Nicholas Lazarus