16 June 1895 - Black Lake, Padmore Park side

Gus was, for the lack of a better word, bored. It was a good thing considering the whirlwind year he'd had, losing his wife and then gaining three young wards who were confused as to where their mother was. They were off with their governess for the day, giving Gus a much needed day off. He’d tried lazing around the cottage but that had lasted only a second because who was he kidding – sitting idle was never something he was good at. His patience to plan for the upcoming school was zilch, but he still had the entire summer to plan lessons and things like that.

After meandering around his home, Gus finally decided that he needed to do something to keep his mind off how Sophia was going to miss the first birthday of her child, so he packed himself a small lunch and decided to have a picnic by the Black Lake. He spread out a checkered blanket under a large oak tree, laden with a variety of sweets that he had procured from Honeydukes and other bakeries in Hogsmeade, alongside a few other items that were appropriate to eat. It wasn’t the best lunch, but it was good enough for him.

(The best part of being a professor was Hogsmeade weekend, if only because he hogged chaperoning Honeydukes so he could restock his sweets drawer.)

It was a peaceful scene, and Gus sighed contentedly as he finished setting out the food, his hand reaching to grab something before it moved to grab something else. It was easy to ignore the birds chirping above him and the people around him chattering happily, or the girls giggling over something a suitor had said as they promenaded around Padmore Park just behind him. He was so engrossed in deciding what he should eat first that he missed the low rumble coming from the water, and it wasn’t until someone gasped that he turned curiously to look at them. They were pointing at the lake.

Gus turned to look and found that a massive tentacle from the resident Black Lake squid shot out of the water, and before anyone around him could react, it smashed into the water, sending an enormous splash cascading across the edge of the Black Lake, effectively drenching him, and everyone around him, from head to toe.

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Isla too was enjoying a much needed day off. The middle class widow had never been flush with cash so for both personal interest but a sprinkling of necessity she was teaching some remedial charms classes at Flint this summer to help nudge a few of the weaker students in the right direction prior to the new term starting. It was fun, but it meant ahe was losing several days a week of her summer break. But needs must. She walked along the edge of the river, she idly skipped a stone across the black glassy surface using wandless magic. She heard the ripples but then a larger noise than she was expecting on the last skip drew her attention as something surged from beneath the surface and lashed out towards the edge with an almighty splash.

Isla was soaked from head to toe.

"OH MY STARS! THAT WAS SUCH AN OVERREACTION!" she shouted at the overgrown cephalopod. "People throw stones in here every day and you just....ARRRGGH!"

She turned around from her rage at the magical beast and spotted another of its victims, the eminently pleasant Professor Lissington looking equally as soaked. She scowled, then realised she was now scowling at her colleague and her faced finally softened as she walked, soaking wet over to him. Siccus Aquaris she quietly said to herself and a ripple of dryness extended from her hand up her sleeve to dry the remainder of her dress and hair. She still looked a mess, her curls having dropped, her fabrics ruffled, but she was no longer dripping.

"He got you too I see... seven years I spent befriending that gentleman." she laughed and wrinkled her nose back up in the direction of the lake and the creature within that was still close to the surface and continuing to splash although not with as much suprise as the first occasion. She wondered whether they needed to do something, but he was just doing squid things, so she would follow Lissington's lead on that, he was of course the the defensive magic expert.

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Gus Lissington

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   Gus Lissington

The checkered blanket was now plastered to the ground, the sandwiches soggy and the desserts basically disintegrating in their boxes – it was quite a sad sight, and had Sophia been there with him she would have laughed at him, at the absurdity of the entire situation. But she wasn’t, and there was a sudden pang of longing in Gus’s chest. He missed his best friend.

He blinked water from his lashes as Ms. Bowen turned toward him, wearing a scowl that made the redhead tip his head at her, although it was quick to disappear; he couldn’t blame her, as she was equally drenched and bedraggled. She approached him just as he reached for one of the boxes that held a slice of cake he’d been looking forward to, although the box broke from the dampness, the sweet dropping into the puddle of mud – sinking like a letter never sent, swallowed before it could be savored.

The Charms professor used a spell to dry herself, and while Gus wouldn’t have thought of that himself, it was a good enough idea that he mimicked her. The damage was done though – his hair hung flat against his forehead, water still sloshed inside his shoes and his dignity had packed up and left around the time the water hit him square in the face.

“I was having a picnic.” Gus said as if that explained everything. He glanced at her. “Seven years, is it?” He hummed, brushing a soggy crumb from his cuff. “Did you do it during Hogwarts, then?” Gus had gone swimming in the Black Lake before (much to everyone’s horror, but then again he’d never been one to shy away from things that might lead to some kind of adventure), but he’d never encountered the squid.

He followed her gaze back to the lake where the squid was still flouncing about, clearly in no rush to disappear. One lazy tentacle lifted and slapped the water again, less ferocious now at least.

“I wonder if someone gave him butterbeer. I hear he has quite the liking for it.”

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   Isla Bowen

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"Or perhaps someone refused to give him one." She laughed and sunk slightly to her knees to admire that man's ruined picnic. It looked like he had prepared quite the spread for himself, confectionaries, baked goods and all manner of treats that had they not been soaked would have been very enjoyable.

"Yes, I found it quite relaxing to sit by the windows of the dungeon and watch him swim by when I was in school." she said, picking up a bowl of candies and carefully pouring the water out while retaining the sweets, the food dyes made a lovely psychedelic pattern as they ran together at the lip of the bowl and she placed them down again. "May I?" she politely asked, if he gave her a sign of permission she would pop one of the wet, slightly swollen but still largely edible candies into her mouth.

She looked over her shoulder and laughed as a man waded at the edge of the water waving a blanket at the squid like a checkered flag in the hope he might heroically shoo it back to the depths.

"Sir! I would advise against that unless you wish for it to mistake you for its dinner!" She called over to the man who simply looked at her and, she assumed due to her gender, completely ignored her advice. And continued to gesticulate towards the squid. Isla rolled her eyes and uttered "Men" under her breath. Before rolling the candy around her mouth. She looked again at the spread and part of her wondered whether Lissington had packed such treat filled lunch because he had still not entirely learned to pack for one, a feat she too struggled with for a few years after Herbert passed. "We should probably do something, shouldn't we" she asked. It wasn't technically Hogwarts squid, but she felt a little responsibility for it and as professors they were probably much better suited to handle it than random passers-by.

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Gus Lissington

  

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Gus hadn’t quite expected to share his picnic with anyone, ruined or not, but he supposed it was for the best not to eat everything by himself. He poked at the piece of cake that basically disintegrated at his touch, nodding as she talked about how she befriended the squid. Gus hadn’t spent too much time in his common room, finding that he wanted to be out and about in the castle to see his friends or to chase the thrill of some ill-advised idea.

“Be my guest.” He laughed, nodding toward the bowl. They looked disgusting but they probably tasted just fine. Next to the bowl was a piece of fudge that didn’t look like it had anything stuck to it, so Gus picked it up to nibble on, pleased to find that it tasted just fine. His gaze followed hers as she glanced over her shoulder, although as she called to him, Gus couldn’t help but snort – loudly. It was uncouth and something that he would do, but he’d been too busy mourning his picnic to be angry at the squid for causing such chaos to begin with.

“Probably,” Gus echoed, even if really didn’t want to. With a bit of a groan he stood up, holding out a hand to help the other professor up if she wanted it. Then he turned toward the man who was ankle deep in the water, jabbing the blanket toward its tentacle, although the squid, for its part, looked entirely unbothered. The man continued inward, which made the squid pause.

Gus pulled his wand free. “Accio, blanket.” But at the same exact time, the squid raised a tentacle from the water and snagged the blanket on one of its suckers, giving it a curious little tug. For a moment nothing happened, the blanket hovering awkwardly in midair as the sucker gripped the fabric tighter, refusing to let go, while the summoning charmed still pulled at it from Gus’s wand.

“This is uh… not good.” He said, briefly turning his gaze toward the other professor.

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   Jocasta Flint

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Now there was a little part of Isla, the part of her that made her want to spend her life doing research, and also probably the part of her that made her a slytherin that wondered what might happen next. The theory of Accio told her that an attended object would transport itself along with the attendant to the wand of the caster, but what if the attendant was in fact a squid weighing thousands of pounds. It might be better that professor Lissington not be on the receiving end.

She pulled out her wand, wiping away the cobwebs as she drew it "Relashio" the water between Gus and the squid bubbled as jets of it boiled and speared towards the tentacles causing several of them to rear backwards as it stung them. It was not enough to harm the creature, she wouldnt want something like that, but the discomfort would hopefully at least cause a few of the tentacles to withdraw. Hopefully the one now playing tug of war with the other professor.

They were beginning to get an audience around them, several parents tried ushering young children away that wriggled past, eager to see the underwater monster.

Then it got him, the man who was originally trying to shoo away the the squid with a blanket found himself abruptly upended, it might have been a flippendo spell but as the splashing cleared it was obvious being held aloft by a thick tentacle wrapped around his ankle. At least the squid didnt make any moves to eat the man, but the best he could now hope for was to be unceremoniously dunked into the cold water. "Arresto Momentum" she cast again at the flying man, slowing him down so at least if he was thrown he might not be injured.

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Gus Lissington

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   Gus Lissington

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The thing about Gus was he rarely thought before he acted – it ingrained into him from his time as a cursebreaker because thinking too long could get you killed. He just learned to live with the consequences, just like he was doing now, stuck between summoning a stupid blanket that wasn’t even his and a giant squid. It wouldn’t be the worst way to go, being squished by a giant tentacle, but it certainly wasn’t how Gus envisioned himself dying.

At least Isla was a competent person, so when she cast a spell he didn’t feel like it was going to bite him in the ass. The jets of water hit, sharp and steaming, causing the squid to drop the blanket as it recoiled. The checkered fabric flew through the air like a flag until it landed at Gus’s feet a moment later… right into a pile of mud. The redhead wrinkled his nose, but at least it wasn’t his blanket he’d have to deal with.

He heard a woman to his left squeal with horror which caused him to look up, only to watch as the squid who was now holding the man upside down. Gus barked a sharp laugh because it served him right. Isla was a better person than he was, trying to save the man from being injured. “Nicely done!” He told his colleague as he flashed her a bright smile before his attention turned to watch as the man swung gently like a very wet pendulum. “Let’s get him down before squidy here decides he wants a snack.”

The professor raised his wand again. “Avis Oppugno!” A sharp burst of gold light sparked from the tip of his wand, followed by a whoosh of wings. A flock of conjured birds burst into existence, flitting and diving through the air in a chaotic cloud as they darted close enough to the squid to distract it but never quite touch it. It didn’t take long for it to swat at them, letting the man go.

Gus exhaled. Isla would have a handle on him, right?

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   Isla Bowen

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The birds came from Lissington's wand and surrounded the large beast. Between the stinging of the water and the flock of birds with the scent of seafood the squid was losing his command of the situation and beginning to seem more panicked. The flailing man was abruptly dropped but Isla's forethought meant that his landing was a slow dip and not a rapid splash. Once landed she dismissed her slowing spell to allow him to try and swim. He didnt look like a strong swimmer, or perhaps he was just mad with panic but a couple of other men had waded on a little to give him a hand over the last few feet towards the sodden shore line. He was wet, muddy and out of breath but he would be fine. Isla wondered who he was, and how he might spin this over dinner to his friends. She smirked and joined Gus closer to the water.

The birds seemed to be doing their job, no squid wanted to become a buffet for a hundred beaks, although she did need to quickly use her wand to deflect a stray bird that the squid had managed to connect with and send flying in her direction at high speed. Tennis was quite fun as muggles games went but she wasnt in the mood for a game right now.

"I think he's finally getting the message" she laughed to her colleague as the bell of the squid sank beneath the water and there seemed to be less tenactula activity at this end. Something sprang to her mind in a flash, and just in time as she saw the squids propellant tentacles tensing ready for it to escape.

"Protego" she reflexively cast just as a thick oily and black liquid broke the surface being squirted under pressure towards the professors as the squid made its escape. She looked at the liquid that clung to the surface of her shield spell like some giant black egg shell. She couldnt see gus through the ink, but she hoped he had had the same thought as her as it would take more than a drying spell to get that muck out.

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Gus Lissington

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   Gus Lissington

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Gus watched as Isla’s slowing charm guided the man down gently, even his limbs were flailing more out of panic than necessity, at least until he hit the water; at least there were a couple other people to help him the final few feet. He would bet real money that he’d spin the tale later that he beat off the giant squid with his bare hands, although before he could comment on it, the squid reared again.

Gus saw the shift, like the squid needed one last laugh or one last time to let everyone know that they hadn’t won, and he (she? who knew) would forever reign supreme over the Black Lake. His wand came up out of habit from his curse breaking years just as Isla shouted a spell. “Protego Maxima!” His own barrier snapped up, large and domed, just in time to protect himself from the slick and heavy ink.

A moment later, the water calmed. The squid was gone. The conjured birds squawked above them before they too, began to disperse overhead as Gus reversed the spell. Then he dropped his own shelf with a sharp exhale, his attention turning toward his colleague. “Well, that wasn’t fun.” He laughed then, shaking his head. Who was he kidding – Gus had a lot of fun and it made him ache to be a curse breaker again, even if just for a day or two.

“Thanks for your help.” Gus grinned at her. “But I don’t think I’m going to stick around to see if it comes back anytime soon.” It already ruined his picnic, so there wasn’t much of a point in sticking around here any longer.

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   Isla Bowen

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Everything was beginning to become calm again. The water was covering for the presence of the squid and the once churning lake was quickly becoming its usual placid, glassy darkness.

She laughed when he half heartedly tried to claim it wasn't fun "I found that terribly fun, but alas, as a lady I might have to feign a swoon to keep up appearances." she twirled her wand in her fingers before placing it away again.

"I'm sorry for your picnic." she said genuinely, gesturing down towards the mess of soggy food containers that he had brought along. She would return home too probably, all this fuss had. Done nothing to help the way her hair had dropped from the initial dousing. "Have a good rest of your day professor and I shall see you at school."

Isla smiled, doffrd her hat slightly then raised her hand. With a snap of her fingers and a loud pop noise she apparated away.

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Gus Lissington

  

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