More and more people are arriving everyday here. Ravenclaw Tower is nearly full up! Still no classes, so Michael and Euan and I are still making the most of the time off. In some Muggle communities, there' s a tradition called the Polar Bear Dip--on 1 May, no matter how cold it is, you take a swim in the water. I can't say that this sounded like a lot of fun, but be it far from me to back down from a challenge...so, of course, in the early morning of 1 May, we snuck out of the Tower and down to the lake.
It was Michael's idea (he's Muggleborn, which is where all of these nutter's ideas come from, in case that isn't obvious) so Euan and I made him go first. He let out a terrific yell, which stopped the second he crashed through the water and into the lake. I reckon it took about twenty minutes before his voice came back, aside from a few small squeaks of pain. Not to be outdone, though, Euan and I went in next. I don't know that I've ever experienced anything quite that cold. Every single portion of my body began to scream, "Retreat! Retreat!"
We were yelling and splashing and cursing Michael, who'd gotten out by that point, when all of a sudden I felt something wrap around my ankle. I made to look over at Euan, but just as I did so, it pulled me down under the water. I hardly had any time to realize what was happening when I felt myself moving forward again through the water...and then through the air!
Landing on the bank hurt more than going into the water, I have to say; my arm still hurts. Michael reckons it was the giant squid. He claims he saw the tentacles and everything, but I'm quite certain it let go before we broke the surface of the water.
As we got back up to the Tower, the prefect, Wisteria Lovegood, was waiting for us. Apparently she saw the whole thing through the window--just our luck to have a tower that overlooks the lake. She looked pretty upset until she saw how sad and foolish we looked, and then she just started to laugh, and sent us off to the baths.
When I returned from the bath, there was a pot of tea and a plate of crumpets waiting for me, with a note that said, "In the future, stay out of the lake."
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