Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The following characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and this story derives from her original works, storylines, and world. Please do not sue me, I can barely pay tuition.

Hogwarts: Assignment #1, Arithmancy Task #1, Write about a character with a large personality

Dedication: Written for Amanda with prompts from Hogwarts' Gift Tag 2020 forum.

Warnings: NA

Freshwater

"If anyone asks ever again, this is the moment we use to prove that I really, really trust you," Victoire said, her arms still held out in front of her in a last-ditch attempt to feel for the world around her, given the blindfold that Teddy had slipped over her eyes. Now he stood behind her, arms on her shoulders, guiding her through the school. He'd talked her into doing this just outside the Gryffindor Common Room where they'd met, as per the note he'd left on his Transfiguration desk yesterday knowing very well that she sat at the same spot by the window.

She hadn't been at Hogwarts well enough to know the layout of the castle blind, plus they'd been on at least three moving staircases—so she was about as disoriented as possible. Now, her feet finally felt as if she was touching something softer and squishier than the castle's stone flooring.

"Are we outside?" Victoire asked.

"I don't know," Teddy said teasingly.

"Liar."

"No."

"Liar, liar!" Victoire repeated.

"I promise it's going to be worth it!" Teddy clamoured. "Trust me!"

"I'm wearing the blindfold, aren't I?" Victoire scoffed. But she could tell this meant a lot to him—Teddy was always good at inventing big games and elaborate stories that sprawled like flower fields—so she held her peace as he continued guiding her to wherever they were going.

They walked for about ten more minutes before Teddy stopped moving her forwards. Then, he just pivoted her so that she was facing something specific. She still had no idea what on earth they were doing.

"Okay," Teddy said. "Open your… wait! Take off your shoes."

"What?"

"Take off your shoes!"

"Teddy Lupin, have you gone mad?"

"Trust me," Teddy whined.

"I did and I'm wearing a blindfold in a weird place you want me to take off my shoes in!" She protested. "Do you see my problem?"

"You'll know where you are the sooner you take your shoes off!" Teddy repeated. "Victo, I promise it'll be worth it!"

Victoire grumbled to herself as she kicked off her shoes by the heels in that way Maman told her not to do because she'd damage them.

"Socks too?" she asked Teddy.

"Socks too," he affirmed.

"Of course, socks too," Victoire sighed, reaching down to pull those off too.

She stood back up and waited for a few seconds. She heard Teddy rummaging nearby.

"Teddy?" she asked.

"Just a second!" he called.

"If this is a joke and you're going to run away and leave me stranded…"

"I promise it's not a joke, this is a good surprise, I promise. Just hold on."

Patience was not one of Victoire's virtues, but she waited. Eventually Teddy repositioned her, and then pushed her forward again.

"You know, you're a really strange friend to have Teddy Lupin, regular people would just tell—oh!"

Her tirade was interrupted as she stepped into something wet and cold. Under her feet, she felt smooth stones shift under her weight and the pressure of her toes.

"Okay, now take off the blindfold!" Teddy said.

She pulled off the blindfold and looked up to the Black Lake, stretching before her on this cool autumn day. She spun back around to see Teddy, shoes also off and jeans pulled up above his knees. His hair was that teal colour he'd liked since August, and he was smiling so big that she could see the tooth he'd chipped when they were five and that he usually tried to hide away. Behind him, back on the beach, he'd spread out a blanket like you would for a picnic—and he'd somehow snatched two bottles of butterbeer, a plate of biscuits, and a huge chunk of cheese that he'd laid on there.

"Ta-dah!" he said.

Victoire looked back to the lake, at her feet under the rippling water, and then back towards her friend. He looked so excited, she wasn't quite sure how to tell him that she didn't understand.

"It's a picnic," Teddy beamed. "You know, like the ones we have on the beach at your parents' place in the summer."

"Yeah," Victoire nodded. "Yeah, it is…"

"You said you were homesick, even if you liked it at Hogwarts," Teddy shrugged. "I know the lake's freshwater, not salt, but I thought this was close enough."

Sometimes Teddy did things that Victoire didn't understand, but she always followed along knowing that eventually he would say the one thing that connected all the dots and made it all make sense.

"Yeah," Victoire said, reaching down so that her fingertips brushed the surface. "It is. Teddy that's really nice. How did you get the cookies?"

"Harry gave me something that showed me how to get to the kitchens," Teddy commented. "I have a… hmm, I'll tell you later. He said not to show anyone it could get in trouble. Maybe another time?"

"Yeah," Victoire said. "Yeah that's a surprise for later. Thanks, Teddy. Can I give you a hug?"

"Sure," Teddy said.

She waded out of the water and wrapped her arms around her best friend.

And then, when she had a good grip on him, she pulled him into the lake with her and threw herself into the water, taking Teddy down with her and laughing all the way. Just like back home.

Stacked with: MC4A; Hogwarts

Individual Challenge(s): Day Out; Gryffindor MC; Hufflepuff MC; Times to Come; Seeds; Old Shoes; Themes & Things A (Nature); Themes & Things B (Surprise); Themes & Things C (Blankets); Themes & Things F (Energy); Neurodivergence; True Colours; Rian-Russo Inversion; In a Flash; Yellow Ribbon; Yellow Ribbon Redux

Word Count: 886