1st of Sept, 1895 - Hogwarts Boats on the Black Lake

If the train ride had been yet another dream for the boy, he was wide awake now. Evening light settled over the glistening shores, painting a delicate portrait of the castle standing guard above it. Silas had eyes only for the lake itself, here by the water was where he lived in his heart, and in those dreams not plagued by magic.

At the water he could be his true self, and the perfect model of a lordling's son as well. Some of the other children might have been unsteady around the boats, but as soon as the instruction was given to get in, Silas took hold of one by the stern and steadied it with one foot on both the boat and dock. That gave him purchase to save the tiller's spot for himself, at the back of the boat where he could do best. Silas couldn't see a rudder or the tiller arm, perhaps it was only hidden by the shadows and he'd find it when he sat down.

In the meantime his position allowed Silas to offer his free hand to any other of his fellow prospective students who needed assistance. "Just step down," he told one, who seemed to be having a harder time than most with the boats. "I won't let you fall in the lake."

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OOC: Open to 2-3 other first years, boat thread!

  

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The whole thing still seemed... fake. Just utterly fake. Though Kermit dreamed his whole life of crossing the Lake to Hogwarts, he knew there was no money for such things. No matter how his mother and sister tried to hide it, he knew-- and yet here they were! Standing at the edge of the vast lake in robes perhaps a size too large, but still the right robes. Tonight would be his first feats in the castle. Tomorrow would be his first day at school. He was almost vibrating with excitement-- which did not, in truth, help when it came to clambering over the unfamiliar, rocking wall of a boat.

"I uh-- thank you," Kermit laughed a little too himself, already blushing, and took the hand the other boy offered. He did his very best to still topple over, in spite of the boy's help, before managing to plunk down on a seat only slightly disheveled. "Never been in a boat before. Do they always move so much?"

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   Silas Merlion

The boy who took his hand was smaller than Silas, even with a hat. Now that they were all adorned with similar black robes, it was hard to tell if this was one of the other children who'd shared a compartment with him on the train. It didn't seem that way, and less so when the boy spoke and Silas could hear he wasn't a girl with those long locks adorning his head. A gentleman wasn't discerning in those matters, however, and a sailor even less so. He brushed off the thanks with a gentle, "Not at all, mate."

With the way some of the other children acted around the boats, he had to wonder if any had seen water up this close in the first place. Some sailors though it bad luck to learn how to swim, but Papa hadn't let Silas or his brother out of arm's reach without the ability to stay afloat and paddle with arms and legs. That would be harder in robes, and harder still for anyone whose instinct was to sink instead, so he kept a steady grip on the boy's hand until he was inside the boat. "Boats are always moving on the water, that's what moorings are for."

Silas pointed at the rope holding the boat fast to the dock, close enough that he wouldn't have even bothered to steady himself before jumping in. Solomon had always made sure he wasn't going to fall out, and since his brother wasn't here, it was up him now. If there was anyone else ready to climb in, he'd offer his hand to them, too.

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Jocasta would allow the young sailor boy to take her hand and help her into the boat. She enjoyed being on the water and it gave her a little giggle when Kermit Escher asked if they always moved so much. Surely even someone who had never been on a boat knew how water worked? "Thank you." she politely nodded as she took her seat next to Kermit and released Silas' hand.

She tried to get a read on the other boy but her attention was quickly drawn across to the castle and the floating lights that lit their path. It was quite awe inspiring. "Jocasta Flint, a pleasure to meet you." she said to them both, dragging her eyes back down to her compatriots to ensure manners were adhered to.

Her eyebrow lifted and she turned to Silas. "Well now, let's see your rowing arms?" she gestured towards the currently stationary oars. She knew them to be enchanted but would have a little fun.

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Silas Merlion Kermit Escher

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Poppy had stuck toward the back of the line, hoping to catch the same boat that her best-friend, Margie, was in. She could have pushed her way through the crowd to claim a spot, she supposed, though that would have required her to be assertive. She didn't have an assertive bone in her body—except when it came to her little brothers. Though they weren't here. Her peers were. Peers that were quickly filling up the boats.

Anxiously, she stepped toward one that had one seat left. A blonde boy offered his hand to help her in, and she accepted with a blush and murmured thanks, hoping he couldn't feel how nervous she was through her chilled fingers. While she hadn't much experience with boats, she was a strong swimmer. (Growing up near the lake in Irvingly meant that she had spent many a warm day in the water.) She took her seat just as the other girl introduced herself and challenged one of the boys to row.

Thinking herself rather knowledgeable about these things, she piped up with, "I-I think the boats um... they don't need us to row." They were at a magical school, after all. But maybe the trio didn't know that.

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A girl was the next child onto the boat with them, and Silas was suddenly not the only one with any experience around the water. He could tell by the manner in which she moved about to take her seat, this was no girl so frightened of the unfamiliar like the way most of them seemed to be. Though it was hard to see if she could tell, he grinned at her in the darkness between them, happy to have an ally at last.

"Oh, I was going to sit here at the till," Silas explained, motioning down to the seat at the rear. How exactly did one steer in this boat. There were oars stowed along its sides but he could find no lever at the rear. "A boat this size ought to have one, a rudder you know?"

The lordling's son didn't waste enough time to miss out on the third occupant, who finally filled out the available seats of their boat. Her hands were colder, and it was the first time that he noticed the chill of the evening air since spotting the water. The air was always colder over the water, though, Silas was used to that by now. He still shivered as he sat down, her words making him rethink his choice of responsibilities.

"I'm Silas," the boy offered of his own, eyeing the seat where Jocasta and the other boy were now seated. He pulled off the mooring line to take his own seat, feeling like the wrong place now to sit. A more thoughtful decision would have been to take theirs, where the oars sat ready to be used. He and the other boy could row them across, that might be much faster than waiting on a magical miracle. "Merlion. All the same, perhaps we should row anyway?"

His question was answered by the boat getting underway. It moved, just as their newest passenger had said it would, all on its own. For a wannabe sailor, Silas did not like this voyage very much.

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Joy gave a look of mischief to Poppy, well of course they were magical, that was obvious, it didnt mean she couldn't play with the young man.

"I am more than happy to let the enchantment do its job if its all the same." she said to Silas when he recommended that they row anyway. The boat rocked gently and didn't need any steering, but he was right that it probably should have some kind of rudder for if the spell broke for whatever reason.

As the castle loomed ever larger a knot appeared in Joy's throat. She felt like she was coming home to her rightful place. She was nervous, wasnt everybody, but she had looked forward to Hogwarts.

"Might I ask about your name Mr Merlion? I'm not familiar with your family." she wasnt familiar with the others too, but of the three, Silas carried himself most like someone from the sort of family one should know about.

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Silas Merlion Poppy MacFusty Kermit Escher

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Poppy's eyes darted back and forth as she followed the two's lively chatter. Apparently Mr. Merlion—who'd just introduced himself as such—really wanted to help the boat along, even though it didn't need it. Poppy would have let him try, though the other girl had shut that down rather quickly.

Perhaps she had been influenced by having a bunch of little brothers to have been willing to hear him out. Patience was something she had in spades. (The knowledge that boys would do whatever they wanted, regardless of whether you told them it was a bad idea or not, was another lesson she'd learned at home.) Besides, she doubted that he could have hurt anything. These were magic boats, after all, ones that were specifically made to take children across the lake.

It struck her as odd for Miss Flint to ask after Mr. Merlion's family, though she kept mum about that too.

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Silas placed his hands on his knees, a place to keep them since he wouldn't be using them for work. A small part of him had found the notion of rowing them across the lake exciting, a demonstration of real power while others relied upon these unfathomable enchantments. As the boats glided across the water in a dreamlike state, unpowered and unguided, he sat with his back straight. As stately as the boy could manage, until his instincts gave in and he found himself rocking with the small waves that passed beneath the hull.

They covered up the small shiver that went through his spine well enough.

"My grandfather is The Right Honorable Jesse Merlion, the sixth Baron of Dedham Vale," Silas noted in a brighter voice than his surroundings. The darkness crept in quickly after departing from the docks, with only a single lantern to light their boat. He might have agreed with Miss Flint's earlier suggestion now, having seen the conditions for their passage. Though the castle was a large landmark on their horizon, the glowing windows and gaps illuminated by moonlight were set high above the water. Finding the right place on the far shore would have been a challenge in the darkness, even for a well-tested sailor. "We were granted the Vale in 1782 by royal assent of His Majesty, King George the Third. My hou—my parents have their house in Ipswich, on the edge of the Vale, but Grandfather has his estate deep in the Vale proper. It's so beautiful that it granted a famous painter entrance to the Royal Academy of Arts just by painting our countryside."

The boasting didn't bother him much, having suffered Miss Rosier's colder version aboard the train earlier. He could recite much of it from memory, having been asked for an oral report to his parents or Grandfather on any number of occasions. Silas knew he always had to be ready to offer such wisdom upon his family name. That was easier than rowing, for sure.

His curiosity finally piqued, Silas turned to the other children in the boat. "And where are you from?"

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Jocasta nodded along politely to Silas reply as the bost gently bobbed in the water. It was serenely beautiful and quite a distraction from the verbose reply that came from her boat mate. She raised an eyebrow as she thought she saw, something, perhaps a mermaid, lazily swim past the boat before disappearing into the dark water again.

He asked her where she was from, "Thats a complicated question. I have moved around a lot, Bombay, Hong Kong, The Riviera, Paris. And now here, although my permanent residence is currently in London with my father Orson Flint." she swelled with pride at mentioning her father. Any wizard worth their wand would know the name Flint, her family was pure an prestigious. But then with all those titles she had a realisation. "Oh, that would make you a muggle born then wouldn't it... well that's ok, it sound like you come from a lovely family" she said it with a tone that she expected him to see that as a compliment.

Her fingers trailed in the water for a few moments. It was so cold, almost unnaturally cold but she let her hand rest there a little longer just to experience is. A shiver went up her spine and she giggled before withdrawing her hand and turning to Poppy MacFusty she had been quite quiet so far. "And how about you, let me guess, the Baronette of some firey maned scottish clan?" considering she had in this one trip she had run into two noble heirs she would not be suprised.

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Poppy MacFusty Silas Merlion

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Poppy admittedly didn't know very much about the aristocracy. The only muggles she was familiar with were the ones she'd grown up around—just regular, everyday people. Her red brows rose as Mr. Merlion recited what seemed to be a well-rehearsed response. It must have been important to know such things about your family if they were... well, important. "Wow," She responded softly, thinking it all sounded rather grand. Miss Flint didn't seem quite as fancy, but Poppy did recognize the name of her father. She must have been important too, then.

Although, she didn't miss the implication that Miss Flint had made. As if being muggleborn was a personal failing. She knew there were people who believed such things, she just hadn't actually met any up until now.

When the question was turned on her, she blushed. Her eyes darted off across the water to avoid eye contact. She cleared her throat, "No, I'm.. I'm just from Irvingly. My mum was an Ollivander and my da's family are dragonkeepers." She cast a nervous glance the blonde boy's way, not entirely sure how to put her feelings into words. She ended up with a rushed, "Muggleborns are good."

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He rocked with the boat's gentle movements on the quiet lake, grateful that the water was not more choppy. That would have made it harder to row and handle, enchantment or no Silas still thought it best to be prepared. The boat was preparation in turn, no matter where he was headed, a boat journey would set him off to a good start. The hewn boards held him aloft, carrying him forward with its buoyant spirit of defiance, against the lake's murky depths.

Onboard this boat, Silas felt he could handle anything.

"I've never heard of your families, though they must be great families to earn a place at Hogwarts," he surmised aloud. The manner of choosing that Professor Griffith had impressed upon the boy made the school sound prestigious indeed, if not for its rather unfortunate name. Ranking himself among families such as Flints and Ollivanders, of what little he could grasp by their names alone, was sure to put him in good standing from the beginning. "Who else would share such divine fates?"

He let the question float away on the short breeze that fluttered through the boat, ruffling their robes and snatching words away. Silas decided against raising his voice to repeat himself, his question had been more of one to muse upon himself. Another lingered on his tongue, more pertinent, and in the company of fellow newcomers to the school he thought it more wise to ask it of them. "What is it meant by 'Muggleborn'? I keep hearing the word, but not an explanation. It couldn't be another word for Englishman, I can't imagine any of us are so shy about our whereabouts not to simply say that."

Turning to the Ollivander girl first, he settled on Flint instead. She had said the word with something of distaste, and must have thought the most about it. Much like a minister, asking him to explain a verse of some question always netted the most thoughtful responses, even if they weren't always the easiest to hear.

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Jocasta gave a proud look when the boy mentioned how great her family was, even if his reasoning was false. "A good family is not a prerequisite to attending Hogwarts. It is expected of all magical children. Even those from questionable lines." she let out a little sardonic laugh.

She smiled at Poppy, Ollivander was a name that everybody knew, of course. And who didnt love dragons.

She smirked at Poppy's declaration that muggleborns were good. "How to explain it." she pondered it while playing aimlessly with the ripples in the water. "A muggle is what we refer to non magical people. A magical child born into a muggle family is called a muggle born. Hmmm." he needed to know, it might as well be her that explained it. "There are three blood types. There are purebloods, like me, who have nothing but wizards in their lineage. Then there are those that have both wizards and muggles in their lineage, these are known as mu... half-bloods." she hesitated to correct herself, she was purist, not crass. "Then there is muggleborns, no magical lineage but through some fluke of nature are born as one of us." she smiled. Pleased with her concise explanation. Whether he now believed that muggleborns were "good" would depend on how upper class he really was "I suppose its a bit like two commoners giving birth to an Earl or somesuch.... ooh, i can see the ferryman." she dropped her train of thought to wave at the man standing on the Hogwarts side of the lake.

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Silas Merlion Poppy MacFusty

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Poppy MacFusty

Poppy was a little surprised to hear that Mr. Merlion hadn't been familiar with the term 'muggleborn.' Wasn't he supposed to be well informed by whichever professor had delivered his letter? She'd grown up in the magical world and it was mostly all she knew, but her muggleborn friends had felt very out of place. Wouldn't they want to give the first year as much information as possible so they could make the transition a little easier on them?

He'd turned to her first with his question but decided to ask Ms. Flint for reasons the redhead couldn't fathom. Whatever came out of the other girl's mouth next wasn't going to be pleasant. She clasped her hands together tightly and tucked them between her knees as the response came—and it was even worse than she'd expected. Miss Flint has nearly said... she'd nearly said that word! It was especially personal, considering Poppy was a half-blood from her father's side. She scrunched her nose as Miss Flint prattled on.

"She's wrong," she said immediately to Silas. "It's nothing like that. Some say that muggleborns and halfbloods have the strongest magic because we don't have the inbreeding that purebloods have. It dilutes it." She leveled a look at the girl in a challenge. "Blood status has nothing to do with the quality of a person or class someone has." "Clearly", she refrained from adding.

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