#10. Flotsam and Jetsam

Kevin didn’t particularly want to think why ingredient deities listened to his pleas, he was just glad it was indeed Mercy’s Lace under the water and the dunk into the water wasn’t for nothing. Stretching his arm, Kevin figured he couldn’t quite reach it yet, so he put his wand between his teeth, giving a few short breaths in quick succession before breathing in deeply and submerged himself under water.

He opened his eyes underwater and collected some of the paleness with a careful hand. Kevin was about to gather some more, just in case until he felt a displacement of water around him. With a jolt of panic, he turned around and saw something large swim by him, something dark and what looked like an alligator he saw in zoos with his parents. Kevin wasn’t sure though, panic and murky water could very well play tricks on him.

Panicking, Kevin took a deep breath purely on instinct, which cause some water to wade into his lungs. Now without oxygen, Kevin breached the surface and tried to scramble was fast as possible onto the pier, throwing his wand and the ingredient onto it first. It took him a few tries, what with the slickness of the stones and panic, but Kevin managed to do it.

‘Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope,’ Kevin was quietly muttering to himself as he laid on the cold stones, the low temperature seemingly seeping into every part of his being. He could finally take a deep breath and the boy took a minute or two to stabilize his breathing, which was interspersed with a wet cough.

Once he had enough of the hard surface, Kevin jumped to his feet and scrambled for his wand that was not too far from where he climbed up. He sniffed disdainfully at his wet…everything and points the wand at himself.

‘Tergeo,’ Kevin hoped that at least some of the water could be siphoned into wherever the spelled contents went. With a quiet ‘Nox,’ he extinguished the wand and stuffed it in his pocket. At least Kevin got Mercy’s Lace out of it. Kevin grabbed his things and looped them over his arm or shoulders.

Now, however, a long trek to the Slytherin Common Room awaited him, so he could get his clothes in order. And, the last ingredient, but considering what he went through right now, being warm and dry certainly trumped at the moment.

Kevin glared at the water, wondering if he should say anything to a member of the staff. He dispersed the thought, figuring they might already know about it anyway. Water creatures were to be found in water, no? How should he know whether there wasn’t a magical crocodile native to Scotland? With a last glance at the surface, Kevin hurried back to the castle.



[Exit.]