Other Side of the Lake

The morning breeze passed over Indiana as he arrived at the docks of the lake where a small boat with a paddle inside floated on the water nearby. Entering the boat with his knapsack, Indiana took the paddle and began rowing towards the mountainous terrain on the other side of the lake. That was one place that he had yet to explore besides the Forbidden Forest, the latter being off-limits to students. He could've swam across the lake but had no intention of getting his cloak and robes wet.

Once he reached the other side of the lake, Indiana got out of the boat before reaching into his knapsack and placing his helmet/mask over his head. After placing the knapsack on his back and with his walking stick in his left hand, the MASKED Hufflepuff headed into the mountains for exploration and hiking.

The Forbidden Forest may be off-limits so he'll try checking out the next best thing.

As Cass finished her first lap around the lake, she inevitably saw Indiana, inevitably exploring. "Indiana!" she yelled to the Hufflepuff.

"You missed something while you were packing, Indiana!" she said, as she heaved herself out of the water, and sat on the side, legs dangling, as she dried out her hair.

The MASKED Hufflepuff heard a familiar voice before seeing Cassopeia approaching him that he took off his mask.

"Hi Cass." Indiana greeted. He certainly wouldn't mind her company if she decided to tag along into the mountains. "I was just about to check out the mountainous terrain. Did you say I was missing something?"

Indiana wondered on what he was missing.

"You missed packing your adventuring company. Me!" she laughed loudly, and scraped her soaking hair into a bun.
"Any dilapidated ruins with interesting poltergeists to discover?"

Cass jumped up and Accio'd her robes from the other side of the lake.

"I think you're right. I did miss asking you to tag along." Indiana replied, smiling before answering her question. "As for any ruins with poltergeists, I don't know if there are any but maybe we might find something really interesting to take back as keepsakes. Even if students can't go into the forbidden Forest, that doesn't mean that we are barred from doing a little bit of mountain hiking."

He then stashed his mask into his knapsack. "Well, I don't think the mask of Zero will needed on this occasion."

Cass nodded proudly when Indiana agreed.

"That is true," conceeded Cass, "bye Zero, Negative will miss you!"
"Accio shoes!"
Cass' shoes zoomed across the middle of the lake, to land, dry, with socks placed inside them, all ready to go.

"I know they're an odd sort, but Mother found them in a muggle jumble sale. Doctor Martins, aren't they?"

Either way, she clapped her hands together, after neglecting to untie them, and hurried up to Indiana.

"They look sturdy enough for some hiking." Indiana remarked, glancing at Cassopeia's shoes.

"I have got to give the elves a lot of credit for their healing magic. They know how to mend injuries without trouble." the youth spoke while rubbing the side of his head where the Whomping Willow had struck him. The injury was healed as though it never existed.

"Only the best."
She kicked her other foot.

Nodding impassively when Indiana spoke about the elvish magic she'd witnessed, Cass managed a garbled, "Oh? I hear that sometimes they're a better solution than hospitals."

It sounded a little blunt, but Cass wanted Indiana to know that she knew. Why? She didn't know. Empathy, probably.

"So, Zero- I mean, Indiana, onwards!"

(I've got to go- a Party is calling! You can head on, if you'd like and I'll catch up, or just reply and I'll get back to you ASAP tomorrow. See you, Indiana!)

"Agreed. I wish I had something to give that elf in return for healing the side of my head." Indiana replied as he continued onwards across the terrain. It was certainly a good morning for him where the air cleared his head and he certainly had no worries.

"Stick to the higher elevation grounds. A good overview of the path ahead is vital." Indiana spoke as he walked up a small grassy hill with Cassopeia in tow behind him.

"So you're admitting that your head needed more than a nights rest to get better," she said slyly, glad she hadn't taken so much effort to coaxse this out of him. "Dude, you got your walking stick?"

Cass took exaggerated steps over brambles and shaky rocks, trying to demonstrate how much of a safe hiker she was.
Not bad.

"Well, I'm not impervious. I just didn't want to be asked questions about that injury that I don't want to answer." Indiana replied as he held up the meter long walking stick high above his head before lowering it back down. "Always when heading out on exploration walks."

The youth then brought out a meter-long shillelagh before tossing it to Cassopeia. "Found this in the Hogwarts Clock Tower. Thought you might like it."

"Fair enough, Indiana. I'm not one to bug. Well, I am, but I'll stop the incessant nagging, promise."

Cass' eyes widened when she saw the irish stick Indiana presented her. Ollivander had one in his room, not that he'd ever use it.
"Is this some sick joke at your expense," she said, amused. "you won't be needing it, would you?"
Then again, this seems to be the right height.

"I'll treasure it," she said succinctly.

"It's not you, Cass. It's just the person in charge of the Hospital Wing that I'd rather not be interrogated by." Indiana replied.

The youth raised an eyebrow, amused by Cassopeia's reaction before answering.

"A joke at my expense? Probably since it is the type of expense that I can afford to part from." Indiana replied.

"Professor Greens cool," offered Cass, "but I guess everyone's the enemy. Trust no-one- apart from me, of course. I'm titanium good guy. Or something."

Cass grinned at Indiana's dry remark. "Dude, you've got the same amount of galleons as any of us. Don't mark yourself out for being muggleborn. It's not needed. Your mask does it enough for ya!"

Only Cass wasn't talking about his helment mask.

"Alex Hunt somewhat influenced me with a bit of her cloak-and-dagger mentality but I don't think Professor Green is a malicious person." Indiana replied. "Just a high-ranked professor with an almost aristocratic and coldly aura, especially when on the prowl. Speaking of Professor Green, I noticed that she docked points because a Ravenclaw sneaked into the Slytherin Common Room."

Reaching the top of a hill, Indiana looked to see a rocky trail in the grass of the lower grounds. Taking a pair of binoculars out, the youth peered at the landscape ahead before continuing to walk in the direction towards it.

"I don't think Professor Hunt took to me very well," sniffed Cass as she vaulted over a slab of array marble, "not that I was bothered. You can't be liked by everybody."

Cass' cheeks started burning when Indiana mentioned the 'sneaking' debaclé. I wasn't sneaking. I was trying to save Sev!

"You've not got the best then," said Cass resignedly, offering her wand. "Accio omminoculars!"
Thirty seconds waiting and a pair of golden ominoculars ended up in her hand. "They have a good magnification. Good compared to muggle made. They can rewind stuff, too. Watch it in slow motion. Have them," she added.

Indiana looked at the golden omninoculars for a moment before placing his binoculars away. He remembered using one to watch a broom race during his visit in Diagon Alley, though the device belonged to the elderly landlady of the Leaky Cauldron. The model that Cassopeia had offered him was of the same model and design.

"Thanks, Cass! I'll definitely treasure this!" Indiana replied with a cheerful smile before continuing onwards into the mountainous terrain when he caught sight of a flowing river that was running down in the direction towards the lake.

"Must be one of the rivers that feeds into the lake." the youth remarked. "Want to follow this upstream to where it is flowing from?"

Cass followed Indiana's gaze to the river. "Didn't we follow one of the estuaries that meandered through the forest too? We're like water adventurers or something," she beamed, "I like the idea that exploring is our thing. It's something to talk about, I suppose."

In the back of her mind, as she watched fragments of debris rise with the wind, Cass thought about if Bradley would like to take a ride on her broom.

As he headed up the steep path, Indiana was thankful for the amount of plant life that was around the flowing river. The lush grass looked healthy as it grew on the mountainous terrain that he and Cassopeia were trending on.

"The river is a good pathway of heading back to the lake just in case we need to return." Indiana replied. "Or maybe I'm just more eager to stay close to the water after having to endure hell in the dungeons."

"I'm glad there's all this kind of stuff," said Cass in a faraway voice, "because then you realise that wizards aren't so bad after all..."
Rather than speak all the fanciful garbage in her mind at the moment, Cass watched with an immovable grin that almost looked like a grimace at all of the wildlife. Such a far cry from the Black Lake and its weary state.

"I can't believe what he told us to wear," sniffed Cass, jumping out of her trance. "He has a morbid sense of humour. I still respect him, though. Odd. I hate him kind of at the same time, too. But then again, if you can't respect your enemies, who can you?"

"For me, it's just respect since he is a teacher but that's all he'll be getting from me." Indiana replied before deciding to change the subject.

"Anyways, about five years ago, a meteor shower was reported in the mountainous regions of Scotland. Not sure if any of it happened to land around here, hence why I'm out here in tandem to taking a nature walk."

As he continued to follow the river upstream, the youth noticed a large pool ahead before seeing some frogs near the edge of the water.

"Maybe that's it," shrugged Cass. After all, her family had told her time and time again that respect wasn't given. It was made. "No teacher no matter how many Order of Merlins get respect off the bat."

Cass nodded and thought about where in Scotland they were. There were three different places of mountains. She estimated being near the Highlands.

"Frogs!"
She bounded up ahead, surprised to see Bradley there.
And there.
And there.

Indiana watched Cassopeia race ahead of him before heading towards a nearby tree, keeping watch of the surroundings.

"Must be a community." the youth remarked, noticing the number of frogs present. "So which is one of them is Bradley?"

The frogs appeared similar but Indiana didn't retain any details on what Bradley had to distinguish himself from the others.

"Wow. Look at this!" said Cass, gasping. "They're the same breed of toad as Bradders- awesome!"
Cass slipped into her americanisms before she had a chance to catch her breath. "Fire bellied toads... loads of them!"

Gasping quicker and quicker as she approached them, she wished for Bradley to be here right now. It'd be too far away for Accio to work. Besides, Bradley hated magic.

"Don't frighten them, Cass." Indiana spoke as he watched Cassopeia approach the Fire-Bellied Toads before taking his wand out and using the Levitation Charm on the Omninoculars, which was already set to catch the visual of the path ahead.

After a while of getting the Omninoculars to record what was ahead, Indiana slowly dissipated the spell before looking into the device.

"Mr. Lamperouge, Ms. Marling! What brings you two here?" A jovial voice spoke and Indiana turned to see none other than the Fat Friar, the ghost of Hufflepuff House.