[Corwin Lancaster]

Was it a good idea to be skipping rocks over the surface of the Black Lake? Maybe not. Was that stopping one particular redhead from doing so? Absolutely not. Corwin had spent a good while poking around the edges of the lake to find good skipping stones and the bottom hem of his robes was decidedly damp from his efforts. It didn’t seem to bother him as he squelched along the water’s edge, pockets full of damp rocks.

A flick of his wrist and a stone went skipping across the surface of the lake. Corwin counted the number of times it skipped before sinking; one, two, three, four. Not awful but he could do much better, he knew. He needed a better angle, he thought as he repositioned himself and planted his feet firmly in the squidgy soil beneath him.

Another rock skittered across the surface; eight this time. Much better. Cor grinned to himself, pleased with this one, and pulled another rock out. He curled his fingers around it just so, getting the balance and weight properly positioned in his grip. Then he let it fly.

@open

[Ramey Evans]

An older student heard about Ramey’s little side enterprise and now he’s stuck in the Black Lake trying to perfect the Bubble Head Charm in order to dive beneath the lake and pick out some kind of plant life for this student’s Herbology project. Ramey keeps telling himself, with every mouthful of water he inhales because of a failed charm, that the fifteen galleons he is getting for accomplishing this is worth his efforts. After all, he’s getting better and better at magic with this side hustle of his. He’s gaining more than just a nice cushy float of money for once he graduates. It seems he’s finally cast a successful charm. There’s a significant bubble around his head. Out of habit, he takes a breath and dives beneath the surface. He lets out the air and finds he can breathe just fine under the water. He’s done it. Now, to find the plant life he’s looking for for this fifth year. He starts to swim but almost immediately, something crashes into the surface of the water and breaks the bubble charm around his head. He inhales water and has to forcefully swim upwards. His head breaks the surface of the black lake and he sputters out mouthfuls of dirty water. Rubbing water out of his eyes, Ramey just narrowly misses being hit with another stone. He dodges and swims around to face the lake. “Deh!” He shouts at the boy. He’s not normally one to express his disdain but he almost drown because of this boy throwing rocks in the lake. Ramey swims towards him. Corwin Lancaster ,

[Corwin Lancaster]

He had the hang of it now, he thought. He was getting at least six skips a stone now and just enjoying the simple moment he was in, skipping rocks without a thought for what havoc he might be wreaking below the surface. For all he knew he was dropping rocks into the merfolks’ living rooms or something. Did merfolk even have houses down there? Who knew? Certainly not Corwin.

Suddenly a head burst through the water’s surface and for a moment Cor was taken aback and almost concerned. Then he saw that it was just a person; another student by the look of it. The hell was he doing, swimming in the Black Lake? Like who did that? Guy needed better hobbies, obviously.

“The hell’re you doing in the Lake?” he asked, clearly baffled, as the other guy swam close enough to speak with. In his hand was another prime skipping stone but Corwin wasn’t inconsiderate enough to knowingly skip a rock in someone’s general direction so in his hand it stayed, his other hand hanging easily at his side.

Ramey Evans

[Ramey Evans]

Swimming close enough until he can stand, Ramey is irritated. He only has so much time to gather the plant life from under the lake in order to submit it to the sixth year for their Herbology project or was it Potions? He can’t remember nor does it matter as long as he gets the work done and earns the galleons. He shakes water out of his hair, his ears and coughs a little more to clear the remaining water he’s inhaled. His chest hurts. “For your...” He tries to take a step but finds his foot stuck in the muck and groans as he pulls on it. “Information...” He tugs again but can’t get unstuck. “I am trying to collect underwater plant-life for Herbology!” He finally succeeds in pulling his leg out of the muck or what he thought was the muck. In doing so, Ramey falls over and when his foot protrudes from the water there are bright red welts all over it. He hadn’t been aware that he’d been hurt. He sighs. Corwin Lancaster ,

[Corwin Lancaster]

Wow this guy looked kinda grumpy. Corwin wondered who pissed in his pumpkin juice this morning. As the guy in the water seemed to get stuck Cor dropped his selected rock back in his pocket with the rest of its remaining friends and hiked up his robes in preparation for helping the other boy out.

Before he could even get his feet properly wet though, the water guy fell back into the water with one foot in the air looking… like a right mess quite frankly; all covered with boils or welts or something. “Aw fuck,” Corwin swore rather mildly before wading into the water to give the guy a hand up. “The hell’d you step in? No nevermind that,” he amended. “Let’s get you to dry land and then maybe to get that looked at.”

Ramey Evans

[Ramey Evans]

Frustrated. Yes. Irritated. Yes. Grumpy. No. Grumpy is a descriptive word used to explain a lack of sleep. He has not had that yet. He's just struggling to complete an assignment which will add another ten galleons into his pocket for his escape fund. He needs to escape. He'd like to do it this summer and not have to spend another one under the same roof as his step family. They have no love for him. No one did. He could not continue to be too irritated with the redhead offering him a hand up. The guy is offering him help, after all. And if he's not mistaken, the guy is only a year older than him. Ramey takes it upon himself to learn faces and names and years of every student so he can determine which ones might need his particular services. This guy has not made his mark yet but there could be potential. "Thanks." He takes the offered hand and hauls himself to his feet, using it as leverage. He suspects it's going to hurt when he puts his foot back down in the water and subsequently, Ramey releases the other boy's hand only to replace that grip with one on his shoulder as he lowers his foot back into the water and grimaces. A seething sound is sucked in through clenched teeth. "Yeah. Dry land." He begins to hobble his way towards the shore with the help of his new pal. Corwin Lancaster ,

[Corwin Lancaster]

Corwin didn’t pretend to be a wordsmith of any ranking. He was more into finding whatever fun he could in any given situation, vocabulary be damned. That having been said, he wasn’t an idiot; just a bit myopic and careless sometimes. One thing he’s horrible at is thinking things through in advance but at least he had enough sense to care about others.

He carefully waded in enough to get an arm under the other guy’s to help support his weight somewhat. His shoes squelched horribly in the lake mud but he knew a charm to fix that once they were back on dry land. The hiss of pain from the other boy as he resubmerged his afflicted foot told Cor that he might have to get creative with getting him to the Infirmary with minimal discomfort.

“Alright, I gotchu, bud. Lean on me okay?” He walked carefully as he helped the other guy along, making sure not to lose his footing in the silty mud and send them both fully into the water. It wasn’t long before he’d gotten them both up the slippery bank to dry land. Corwin cast pulled out his wand and quickly used the clean up charm on them so they weren’t soggy and muddy anymore and then took another look at the angry looking foot and winced.

“I can handle a little mess but I think that foot needs the Infirmary. I’ll help you hobble there. I’m Corwin, by the way. I’d say nice to meet you but it’d be nicer if your foot wasn’t so angry at you right now.” He was babbling a little but he wasn’t bothered. A little chatter never hurt anyone.

Ramey Evans

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[Ramey Evans]

Keep your head down and don't get noticed. Ramey had failed. Here he is with some bloke he hardly knows and being hauled out of the black lake. He appreciates that the other is helping him though if he hadn't thrown the rocks in the first place, Ramey might not be in such a state. He'd have been just fine and could have completed his research for this essay he's writing for...Dang. He's already forgotten who is writing this essay for and will have to check his notes when he returns to his dorm. Ramey is used to having to do things on his own, being neglected and ignored and such. Having someone actively helping him is a new experience. Although the guy is telling him to lean on him, Ramey can't allow himself to be that vulnerable. He just can't. His life depends on his strength and resilience; his ambition and creativity. This is just a hiccup. Try as he might, he hobbles still, putting pressure on his foot and wincing with every step until he has no choice. The pain becomes too great and he is forced to use his new companion as a lever to keep himself upright. The pain has him seeing stars. He needs to sit and once they are somewhere away from the water, Ramey collapses onto the ground. "Thank you..." His dark eyes flick up to the Gryffindor who is hovering and drying them off with this spell and that spell. "Ramey...sorry I uhh..snapped at you, Corwin." He nods. He knows his foot needs a bit more attention than two teenagers are capable of giving it. Corwin Lancaster ,