darby alisonn seoighe,,

The wind blew gently around the Black Lake, marring the water's surface with ripples. Darby stood about a foot away from where the water's edge was, staring out at the mountains in the distance. She rocked up and down on the balls of her feet- which were currently only covered with a pair of woven socks. A slight sigh escaped her lips as she closed her mouth. She had originally come out here to study, but it was actually pretty warm for an October day, and that fact alone had been enough to distract her.

The honey-haired teenager opened her eyes and looked now at the water. There was a reason this lake was dubbed the 'Black Lake'. The waters were a dark, murky color, and, visual to the bottom stopped only two feet from the edge of the water. This was where Darby's predicament had originated. You see, she loved swimming, but she hated when she couldn't see the bottom of the lake (or whatever she was swimming in). Then, of course, you had to take into account that not being able to see the bottom was a big issue with this lake especially- many creatures lurked in the black waters, and not all of them were ones you would want to encounter.

After a few more moments of contemplation, Darby decided to at least go a little ways in. She turned and walked back to the tree she had previously been sitting under. Her books were stacked neatly next to the boots she had taken off only a few minutes earlier. Soon, Darby's coral-colored socks were added to the neat pile. She spent a few minutes more making sure her pant legs were rolled up. The highest they would go was just above her knees.

The water was icy. Darby's breath caught slightly at the temperature of the murky water, but she continued on. When she felt the water tickle the backs of her knees, she stopped walking forward. At this point, Darby started look at everything else around her in a desperate attempt to avoid looking down. She knew that she wouldn't see the sand at the bottom, and not looking at that helped her to stay relatively calm.

Of course, Darby's will power is not necessarily rock hard. Only a few minutes after wading knee-deep into the water, the Gryffindor looked down. She felt the familiar flutter in her chest, but tried her best to ignore it. That plan worked fairly well until something brushed past her leg. It felt almost like a hand, but there was no way Darby was waiting around to find out. With a startled, slightly strangled-sounding yelp, Darby leaped back, turned, and ran back up on to the shore.

As she walked back to her pile of belongings, Darby could have sworn she heard someone snickering, but when she stopped walking, the noise stopped. She shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "Never again." she breathed quietly to herself. As she began settling down to the ground to pick up on her studying, she heard another noise. This time there was no mistaking it- somebody else was near. Darby looked around a few times, but did not see anyone.

"Hello?" she called out, hoping whoever was there would show themselves.

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