<div class="floatleft">(http://66.media.tumblr.com/9d9925a42d9e7eab7ede651862fe6c31/tumblr_npefzp2c4z1sxwyufo3_r1_500.gif)</div><div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/yuExVFv.png)</div><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><strong>NAME:</strong> Michael Oakes (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=299655.msg14703824#msg14703824)<br/><strong>YEAR:</strong> Hufflepuff / 7th Year<br/><strong>BLOOD STATUS:</strong> Muggle-Born<br/><strong>WAND:</strong> 14" | Sycamore | Dragon Heartstring<br/><strong>WEARING:</strong> A pair of black swimming trunks<br/><strong>DATE | TIME:</strong>  Saturday, 26 October, 2019 | Early Afternoon<br/><strong>LOCATION:</strong> Black Lake<br/><strong>CONTENT:</strong> Swimming<br/><strong>MOOD MUSIC:</strong> Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzC_8zqInk)<br/><strong>TAGGING:</strong> Juliette, Closed</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><hr/><br/>Michael didn't know what to make of the way she stared back. It was silent on both sides as they'd gazed at one another. For his part he knew it had been in quiet admiration, drawn in by her while he tried desperately to think of something remotely appropriate to say. Thankfully the greeting, if boring, had at least been polite.<br/><br/>Her accent was a little light, but present enough for Michael to comfortably recognise her as one of the Beauxbatons girls. He stood calmly, still with a slightly dazed smile on his face as he couldn't quite bring his eyes away from her face. His body dripped with the water, now chilled further by the cold air. But Michael wasn't paying any attention to that whatsoever. Now that she was close by he couldn't help towering over her a little, realising he was more than a foot taller than the petite girl he still easily met her eyes. It was only the offer of a towel that snapped him back to some semblance of reality and caused him to blink, stopping what he now felt must have been a rude amount of staring.<br/><br/>"I think I'm okay, thank you." He replied quickly, without really thinking. In reality a towel would have been nice, both to cover up for the sake of modesty and not offending her and to help dry off before he had a handle on his wand. "I'm quite used to the lake by now." He noted, confirming that he had made a long term habit of leaping headlong into the icy water. Even given the cold he seemed to be breathing calmly, and not even shivering as he stood before her.<br/><br/>He wasn't entirely sure what to say, and he felt very glad when she carried the conversation. For a moment the suggestion of a rumour brought back the memory of others starting the rumour that he was half-giant. Feeling his heart sink it was fortunate that she quickly clarified she was curious about the squid in the lake, instead. And at least Michael had an opportunity to speak about something he did know the answer to.<br/><br/>He had a wide grin, already happy to be talking about magical creatures. It always took a weight from his shoulders. "It's very friendly." He stated clearly, no shadow of a doubt or hint that it was a conclusion he'd come to. After all Michael had met the squid a handful of times over the years. There was only so reckless one could be in the lake and the forbidden forest without encountering the things students weren't meant to. He'd had brief encounters with everything from the squid to the centaurs to the mer to the spiders. And, thus far, the squid had arguably been the friendliest of the bunch.<br/><br/>"When I dove deeper into the lake I met it, and it helped me to get back to the surface." He clarified. It'd been one of the more surreal magical creature encounters. Some suggested it might not be a magical creature at all, but then that made no sense. Black Lake was certainly a fresh water lake, and Michael knew full well that an ordinary squid, even a giant one, could not survive in those conditions. So it stood to reason it was a magical creature of some description. That also went some way to explaining its tendency for friendliness. "So, I can say it's definitely friendly." He ended, hoping she would not think he was too crazy for having dived into the lake in the first place.