#7 - Searching the Savannah

William tried to ignore the chill spreading up from his feet or how uncomfortable the mud and stones were to walk over. He moved with slow but purposeful steps as he searched for the Algae.

The frogs were definitely unwelcome and William flinched more than once as they swam past or would hop out of the water. They looked slimy and disgusting and the further they stayed from him, the better.

Of course there were fish to deal with too. William bit back a yelp as a fish swam a bit too close for comfort and he had to pause his search in order to calm down.

Even though he liked to exude a cool and calm exterior, there were plenty of things that could startle him suddenly. This was definitely an off-shoot from his sheltered upbringing but that wasn't a connection William would make nor could ever imagine blaming his parents for.

No, it was simply the fish's fault for existing.

Another darted by and William glared at it but made his way closer to the patch of Algae he wanted to gather from.

He could appreciate how pretty it looked for all of two seconds before he started to attempt gathering it. William readied his first jar and flapped a hand at a bug that buzzed by. Shouldn't things like that start disappearing thanks to the cold weather?

There was a reason Winter was a favoured season.

William was successful in scooping up some Algae into his first jar and he slipped that, closed now, into his pocket. More frogs popped out of the water and William froze when he felt something slimy on his leg.

In what seemed like slow motion, he looked down and his face grew horrified when he saw a frog clinging to his leg like it was some kind of log.

"Get. Off." William tried to shake his leg without disturbing the water too much but the frog blinked its stupid eyes at him and let out a soft ribbit. William gritted his teeth and looked around for a stick or something he could use to persuade the frog to leave him alone.

His search was in vain and William wondered if he had to resign to the fate of having a Leg Frog until he was done collecting the Algae.

"Fine. Fine, whatever." He grumbled and waded a bit closer to the Algae so he could collect some more. Insects flitted over the water and he tried to avoid those as he filled his second jar.

Splashing alerted him to fish swimming by and eating the insects which conflicted William. He was glad to be done with one pest but the fish were too big and he simply didn't like seeing them move through the water.

They unnerved him.

But he managed to fill the second jar and William stood up straight, screwing the lid on and taking a calming breath. He went back to his Potions Kit and deposited the two jars.

When he looked at his leg, the frog merely blinked back in response.

"Leave." William crouched and grabbed a nearby twig, poking at the frog. It let out a disgruntled ribbit and hopped away as if it was William's fault it couldn't stay on his leg forever!

"Ugh." He pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his leg clean.

Sadly he wasn't done just yet so he couldn't put his socks and shoes back on. He wanted to see if he could find something else here. William checked the Ingredient List that Professor Snape had given him and found another item he could collect.

"Bittercress, also in water." William sighed and looked back at the shoreline.

He put the scroll away and ventured over, looking for the tell-tale sign of some Bittercress. He moved around the Savannah and went towards the 'wilder' area in hopes that it might grow there.