12th February, 1888 — Hawthorn Hollow Lake

The gentle snow in the air the previous day had given way to the first truly bright sunshine of the year and Cassie had eagerly taken the opportunity to bundle her son up and, having borrowed a fishing rod from the neighbour that liked her she had settled them both on the bank by the lake and proceeded to utterly fail to catch anything. It wasn't really the point of the excursion of course - that was the simple pleasure of watching Theo run through the still dewy grass - but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a free meal now and then and she would rather forage and fish than beg.

Tugging aimlessly on the rod to see that the scarlet float was in fact still there she turned her attention back to Theo and smiled, bewitched as ever at the simple joys he could find in the world and the careful enthusiasm he displayed for getting closer and closer to the edge to watch the elusive fish. Flicking the rod to make the water ripple Cassie grinned as he squealed in delight, but their shared elation distracted her and no sooner had the float sunk again she flicked it back up and was startled to inadvertently propel the fish she had somehow hooked straight at her son's face. Squeaking in surprise he lost his footing and with a tumble slipped into the water.

"Theo!" She screamed, on her feet and by the side of the water in seconds and, before she knew it, in the water itself and with an arm around her son who, fortunately had not gone far. She clung to the bank with her free hand, nails digging into the dirt and gasping at the cold but not loosening her grip for a second as she kept him above water.

"Help!"

  

The amateur Quidditch tournament having mostly run its course, Lock was finding himself with a large amount of free time on his hands. He enjoyed spending more time with his children, but he often felt that he was getting in Ruth's way at home — she was the veteran housekeeper of the two of them and had a system of getting things done that he could only marvel at. As such, he'd taken the opportunity of the warmer weather to get out of the house and give her some breathing space. Margaery was in tow, bundled up so thickly that her little toddling form was barely distinguishable in all of the layers of clothing. They were headed nowhere in particular, just wandering around the edges of town — at least, until Lock heard a woman call for help.

Picking his daughter up, he crested the hill that separated the two of them from the woman in question — though hesitated when he saw that she was in the lake. After nearly losing Margaery at the Sandition Resort last year, he wasn't ready to take her anywhere near the water, but he also recognized that he could hardly just leave a woman in distress. Making a quick decision that his three-year-old would be fine on her own (hopefully), Lock set her down at the top of the little hill and jogged down to the edge of the water. It wasn't until he had reached out to offer the woman his hand that he noticed she was holding on to a child of her own, and he knew all too well that a mother would never let go of her child in such a situation.

With a frown, Lock knelt beside the bank she was holding on to and reevaluated how he was going to help both her and her child out of the mess they were in. "Hold on," he mumbled, then reached down into the frigid water to try and grab her under the arms to be able to lift her and the boy out.

  

---

the many faults that well you know I have
Let be interr’d in my oblivious grave;
If any worth or virtue were in me, let that live freshly in thy memory

The relief she felt at a pair of strong hands coming to her rescue could not be expressed in words and Cassie could only let out a low moan of gratitude the moment she felt herself be lifted even slightly out of the water. But she was not important at the moment. She wriggled slightly, shaking her head and pushing Theo through the chilly water until he was closer than ever to the side of the bank. He needed to be free of the icy clutch of the lake now, she could last a little bit longer.

“Take him!”

  

It hadn't even occurred to Lock that he could take the boy out of the water first — for some reason, seeing them together in the water had more or less locked them into one composite unit in his mind. Her directions, however, were quite sensible, and Lock lifted the small child rather easily out of the edge of the lake. Holding him on his hip with the ease of an experienced father, he then turned his attention to the woman in the water and offered her his free hand. "Your turn," he said simply, ignoring the freezing water slowly soaking into his side from the child.

  

---

the many faults that well you know I have
Let be interr’d in my oblivious grave;
If any worth or virtue were in me, let that live freshly in thy memory

Once Theo was out of the water, and out of immediate danger, it seemed to Cassie as though her whole body had become numb and limp, only able to gaze at her son blessedly safe on the bank as her own body began to relax and, inevitably, sink below as she had absolutely no idea whatsoever how to swim. She sank down and flailed, her body slipping below the water despite the protestations of her limbs.

“Help!” She managed to bubble, as she spat out water and sank beneath the surface.

  

Oh, no. Lock had not thought to worry about her ability to stay afloat, since she had seemed to be treading water just fine previously. If not that, she had at least kept a good enough grip on the nearest bit of raised land to keep herself from sinking into the icy water. Now, however, she seemed to have utterly lost the energy to keep above the water, or else forgotten that she ought to be doing that in the first place.

"Ah!" he exclaimed as she sank, alarmed. He shifted her little boy on his hip, moving the child farther back and causing the boy to startle and cry — which, honestly, he should have been doing before now anyway. It was possible that only the shock of the cold water had kept him silent before this, but if that was the case the quieting power of the cool had worn off. Lock didn't want to put the baby down, but he also couldn't really get to the woman in the water with only one hand. Even moving the baby back as far as he could on his hip and leaning all the way forward, he could only get his free hand in to the water deeply enough to scrabble for purchase on the wet shoulder of her dress, which was too tight against her skin to have any chance of acting as a proper handhold.

He was hardly going to let the kid wander along the edge of the water alone, though, given what had just happened, and it would take too long to run up to the top of the hill and leave him with Margaery assuming she was even still there, because that was something Lock hadn't gotten around to worrying about yet.

There was no time for second thoughts; Lock lay down on his stomach, still holding on to the boy with one overly muscled arm, and grabbed down blindly into the water, hoping he could find something to hold on to in order to pull the stranger out.

  

---

the many faults that well you know I have
Let be interr’d in my oblivious grave;
If any worth or virtue were in me, let that live freshly in thy memory

Adrenaline had numbed her to the coldness of the water and kept her alert enough to make sure Theo was saved one way or another but quite suddenly it had been impossible to stay afloat. She had been kicking aimlessly, clutching the bank so tightly that the dirt under her nails had cracked more than one of them, and somehow it had worked, but her ability to draw on the save reserves of preservation were too drained to save herself.

And so she found herself taking on altogether too much water and spluttering as the freezing fluid prevented her from being able to take a breath. She panicked when her head went under but her dress pulled her under and she thought all was lost: until something blurry but substantial appeared in front of her water-logged vision. She grabbed for it immediately and pulled sharply, just about raising her face out of the water and taking a gasping breathe.

“Wand-” She spluttered, arms flailing up to point at the blanket she had been sitting on with her son, before letting go of him again, grabbing the edge of the bank with desperately, grasping fingers. “My wand.”

  

Wand. The word was something of an oh moment for Lock. He had never been bad at magic, but it had never, throughout his entire life, been his instinct, and he often felt rather embarrassed when someone pointed out to him that he could have done something much easier with a spell than he could have with his hands. That made him an excellent beater — where brute force was the rule and magic disallowed — and a rather shoddy referee. Hopefully his refereeing days were over now that he was back in professional Quidditch again, but even so, he did wish, from time to time, that he thought things through enough to use magic. This was certainly one of those times. His own wand was in his pocket, and why hadn't he thought to pull that out prior to her suggestion that she go and fetch his?

Maybe she supposed he was a Muggle, and that was why he'd been nearly diving in after her rather than using a very simple spell to levitate her out. They were in an area with a fair few Muggles, after all, and maybe it would be less embarrassing to just go fetch her wand and let her think that, rather than believe that he was some kind of moron. That would involve letting her sink back into the icy water again, though, and he wasn't entirely confident that he'd be able to fish her out again. On the other hand, he couldn't exactly draw his own wand, with her hanging on one of his hands and her child supported by his other.

"Mine's in my front pocket," he said, nodding down towards his coat pocket. "D'you think you can reach?"

  

---

the many faults that well you know I have
Let be interr’d in my oblivious grave;
If any worth or virtue were in me, let that live freshly in thy memory

If she'd had a moment to think about it then Cassie would have severely doubted she could reach the means of her salvation but fortunately adrenaline was a far more powerful thing than her belief in her physical capabilities. Lurching forward, one hand still holding tight to him, she reached and grabbed blindly, her fingers managing to get purchase around his wand before she lost the grip in her supporting hand and tumbled back, almost pulling him in with her.

She let go of him. It was the only way. If he fell then Theo might too.

Her head ducked below the surface of the water again but this time she had his wand in hand and, with more instinct than intent she drew an arch in the water and felt her body propelling itself out of the water rapidly, landing a few feet from her blanket. Every inch of her ached and Merlin she could imagine how furious Miriam would be with her for being so stupid, but she was breathing and with her last strength she pushed herself up to glance over her shoulder.

"Theo!" Her son, apparently less concerned, ran towards her and together they fell into a cold, shivering lump. She would have to get him home right away or else... no, that was too terrible to think about. "Thank you!" She said emphatically, tears mingling with the cold water on her face as she looked up at their saviour and glanced towards his wand, thankfully intact on the ground. "I...Just... thank you."