April 12th, 1894 — The Black Lake, Hogwarts

Sea legs. That was what it was called, Philippa thought, when one felt at home moving about the deck of a ship. Was it lake legs on a small craft like this one, the Gryffindor wondered? Whatever it was called, Pippa quite decidedly did not have them.

"Stop moving about so much!" the first year chastised, firmly seated upon the bench and arms clinging to the side of the sailboat. Her wand was all but forgotten in its holster at her side; she was unwilling to give up stability to do the actual assignment. "You're going to tip us over!"

The lesson was, in theory, simple: the first and second years, in groups of three, were to practice wind charms that would propel their vessels about the lake. They had been practicing with feathers in the classroom to start—Pippa hadn't done terribly, even with her never-admitted struggles with practical magic—and this was to be the next step in their educational growth, or something along those lines. The professor had said something about magical barriers and a retrieval charm that the Gryffindor had only somewhat paid attention to, and now here they were, the witch keenly aware of the fact that she had never learned to swim.

Professor Ellsworth had probably intended this to be fun, Pippa realized gloomily.

Open to two other first/second years!

  

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"We're not going to tip over," James said, with undoubtedly unwarranted confidence. "Don't worry so much." At the very least, James knew he was a decent swimmer, so even if they did tip over, he was sure they'd be fine. The idea that other people might not be as capable in that department had not occurred to him.

And anyway, James had not yet learned that the power of his spells wasn't directly correlated to the force with which he did his casting movements. As far as he was concerned, the more he moved his wand arm, the stronger the gust of wind was going to be. It wasn't his fault that that also shook the boat.

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"Pardon me," Philippa deadpanned, "if I am not overcome with confidence in you."

Mr. Callum looked like a startled goose when he tried to cast spells and while she could begrudgingly acknowledge that his magical efforts tended towards greater efficacy than her own—acknowledge to herself, not aloud!—she would rather fail today's exercise than allow his spasmodic movements drown them all.

  

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James shook his head at Miss Rowle. Pessimists. He could not relate. James did not have a single pessimistic bone in his body.

He cast another wind charm, his arm arcing through the air in an exaggerated motion, and was so pleased by the spell's effectiveness that he didn't really notice that their boat was at an angle one might call unhealthy.

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The following 1 user Likes James Callum's post:1 user Likes James Callum's post
   Aldous Crouch

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Set by MJ <3

Between a white knuckled grip on the rudder and another on his wand, Alexander hadn't managed to contribute much to the assignment.  (Though if pressed he'd insist he was steering.)  Unfortunately his stubborn clinging didn't help ground him at all.  Try as he might his eyes kept wandering to the water, the murkey depths, and his parents.

Thanks to a lurch from the boat, the rushing noise in his ears faded to what seemed like a meager breeze that filled their sails.

"Atleast sit while you do that." he snaped, feeling immediately betrayed by the tension in his own voice.

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The following 1 user Likes Alexander Waterford's post:1 user Likes Alexander Waterford's post
   Aldous Crouch

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Set by Kit!

The wide-eyed, indignant look that Pippa shot her yearmate at Mr. Waterford's remark conveyed something along the lines of see?! and/or why are you such a human disaster?! Though to be fair, Pippa had rather hoped that Mr. Waterford, as a second year, would prove more useful than he had so far. Oh, why had she had to wind up in the dud boat?

  

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Unfortunately for all involved, James was much better at waving his arms dramatically than he was at interpreting other people's facial expressions, because he did not look at Miss Rowle's face and see a clear and possibly well-justified questioning of his abilities. Or more to the point, he thought Mr. Waterford was being overly cautious at that exact moment, and decided any other input he got in that moment was in agreement with him.

So, when the boat started tipping far to its left, at least James was sure it was only partially his fault.

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Set by MJ <3