Captain Revealed

Chapter Two: The Black Lake

"She's just the flavor of the week..." -American Hi-Fi

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"Firs' years! Firs' years over here please!" A large booming voice called over the crowd. Velma looked out of an empty compartment's window and saw a large, hairy man standing over the rest of the crowd. He reminded her of emergent trees over the canopy of the rainforest, standing tall over everything else. She and Luella hurried to get back into the hallway, so not to be the last ones off the train. As if getting on the train wasn't hard enough, now they had to have trouble getting off as well!

As they climbed down the steps, Velma noticed her best friend continually looking around her, and she had no doubt of whom Luella was looking for. Oliver. The boy had caught her attention from the minute he walked into the compartment, the minute he said, "Excuse me…" He was handsome, a certain something about him just made him irresistible. Of course, instantly alarm bells rang through Velma's mind. Courtesy was however, a must. She asked him to sit down. Velma frowned as she pushed her way through the crowd. Her best friend was going to get hurt, it had happened before.

Cute, seemingly nice boy meets girl, girl has a crush on him. Boy breaks girl's heart, apparently end of story, but no, it goes on. Girl forgives boy; boy abuses forgiveness; girl gets hurt yet again. It had been dreadful. Velma was just looking out for her best friend. Right?

"Firs' years over here! C'mon, move along now!" Having finally gotten off, Velma grabbed Luella's hand as not to lose her. Closer up, she noticed the big man had a black, bushy beard and long, black locks. His black eyes sparkled in the midst of all the hair, like beetles.

"Come on Ella, we're going to be late!" Velma jerked forward, startling her friend who was still looking behind her. The setting sun painted the sky pink and orange, fading into midnight blue. Blindly, the two girls raced through the crowd to get to the big man, knocking over people that had bumped them previously in their rush. Velma had to scream, "Sorry!" a few times before running accidentally into the man's gut. It felt quite a bit like jelly… "Oi! Yer gonna want ta watch where yer going!" The big man cried. He turned away, not minding Velma's small apology as she helped Luella up off the cobblestone path. "That all the firs' years now?" He called around, using his hand to shield his eyes from the setting sun. "Righ' then," he muttered to himself, which was still painfully loud. "Alrigh'! Lets get a move on! Follow me firs' years! To the boats!" And thus, the new first years started towards the boats on a dirt path off to the right of the station. Velma noticed Luella become suddenly silent as they trudged along. The silence that she kept seemed to rub off onto all of the students, as if no one dare interrupt her peaceful moment. Velma was glad for the thinking time. She wondered how her best friend felt about this new chapter in her life's story, about this new boy in her life. Did she realize how like… him, Oliver was? Much like You-Know-Who, the boy from Luella's past was, in a word, non-existent. No one who knew Luella well dare speak his name. She would become silent and stone-faced, red and angry. Velma knew from experience to just leave well enough alone. The sun continued to set as the group of about 41 people (the giant included) rounded a bend in the dirt road they had been traveling. Doing so allowed them their first look at the lake. Four boats lined the shore, as if waiting for students to come and sit in them. Oddly, Velma noted, that there were no oars. Recalling the day she and Lee Dunchevi went sailing down the French Rivera, snacking on ham, pickle and cheese sandwiches, and watching the sunset, Velma gazed ahead with fondness. "A'ight…" the giant had moved to the front of the group, jolting Velma out of her fantasy. "I'm 'Agrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds and 'Ogwarts. We'll be going to the boats and getting' to yer school in just a moment. 'Ang on and follow me."

The sun had completely gone down, making the lake look dark and black. The students raced for the boats, hurrying to find one with people more desirable. As they looked into the lake, Velma noticed it didn't even reflect her face... "Come on Luella," she cried. "I found an empty boat!" Velma had found a blue wooden boat, the one farthest away from Hagrid. She laughed at Luella's look at the color, and then hopped inside. Her friend lumbered inside behind her, stepping carefully on the stern. "Yo," a deep voice said from behind them. "My name is Dan, can I ride with you?" Velma turned to see a handsome boy with short, dark hair standing on the sandy beach. She smiled and invited him to sit, and she got a flashback of Oliver. "Wait! Wait guys! I lost you!" A desperate voice from downwind of their boat shrieked at the top of its lungs. Velma turned to see a tall, thin, 1st year stretching her legs like she was running a marathon, to reach their boat. Her breath a little short as she climbed in, the girl panted a little. "Hey guys! I lost you in the crowd!" Her back to Dan, she mouthed the words "play along!" "Oh hey! I'm so, so sorry!" Luella cried, holding in a laugh. Velma smiled, Luella was always helping someone... The blonde turned to Dan and held out her hand for him to shake. "Hey Dan, its been a while!" Obviously they knew each other from somewhere else. When Dan took her hand and kissed it, she totally zoned.

"Hey Velia. I missed you too." She stood there, gawking like an idiot. Velma laughed, until the boat suddenly jerked forward. The girl called Velia unbalanced, waved her arms like a windmill, and fell into the water! The splash sprayed all three in the boat, but they didn't notice. Velia came up out of the dark water, sputtering and flailing her arms. Eventually she sunk back in once again. Dan looked at the Velma and Luella, who had run to the side of the boat in shock. He slid off his long, black robes, took off his shirt revealing his muscular but slender torso, and dived in. Making a smaller, but no less cold, spray go over the two girls. All through this the boat was still moving.

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The darkness surrounded Velia as she flailed her arms, trying to get to the surface. However, with her heavy Hogwarts robes, she only seemed to sink deeper. At one point she thought she was making progress, but a dark shape sped past her, making her gasp and lose precious air. The dim light made from the surface seemed to get smaller and smaller, with it the water become colder and colder.

Speaking of cold, the water was freezing. It felt like knives were stabbing her, over and over and over… When she had first hit the water, Velia was gasping for air when she resurfaced, the pain assaulting her. Now however, she was just struggling to hold her breath as she swam in what she hoped was an upward direction.

Closing her eyes as if to block the pain, Velia suddenly felt her arm strike something firm, and warm. Opening her eyes in a rush, she saw Dan, his cheeks puffed with air. His eyes were closed, and he was doubled over in pain. Velia also noticed that he had no shirt on.

Fighting against the pull to the bottom of the lake, Velia swam towards her rescuer. She saw him open his eyes, and start swimming towards her. As Dan reached her, he grabbed her hands and pulled her close. Kissing her to give her oxygen, Dan started to kick toward the surface, pulling Velia with him.

They broke through, gasping for air. Shivering, they both treaded water, Dan occasionally having to lift Velia up again.

"Velia! Dan! Hurry! The boats…" Velia heard one of the girls crying from about ten yards away. Not realizing what this meant, Velia just squinted as her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"Velia! Come on!" Dan began pulling her arm, trying to help her get moving. His arm was coated with goose bumps, and his lips were turning blue. The two began swimming towards the boats, sporadically going under the surface. As they got closer, Dan began breathing slower, more ragged breaths.

After what seemed an eternity, the boat seemed to slow, allowing the two overboard to catch up. The other girls on board were at the side, ready to help them up or be pulled in. The taller brunette reached out for Dan's hand, helping him out of the water. The shorter girl reached for Velia, clasping her tanned hand on her wrist.

"Are you guys ok?" The girl with the longer hair asked. Her blue eyes flashed toward Dan, who was shivering uncontrollably. As she handed him his shirt and cloak, the other was taking off her cloak, revealing a blue sweatshirt underneath.

"I'm Luella, call me Ella." The taller one smiled, wrapping Dan with his cloak. Her teeth almost sparkled in the light, and Velia felt a pang of jealousy as Dan gave her an equally dazzling smile.

"I'm Velma." The other girl said, pulling her hair behind her ears. Warming under Velma's cloak, Velia felt even colder than she had in the water; despite the warmhearted smiles everyone else was giving her.

"Look!" Luella pointed. Velia saw, for the first time, the magnificent castle that she would call home and school for the next year. The stone almost seemed to stand out, shimmering in the moonlight, and the spires were like needles piercing the sky. Through the stained glass windows, light shone brightly.

"Wow." Dan sighed. "Dad said it would be…but this…" "I would say 'I know what you mean' but that would just be too cheesy don't you think?" Velma inhaled, never taking her eyes off the castle. Luella laughed as Velma's green eyes glared her way, "Whatever!"

"Velia…" Dan murmured as a shiver moved his body, his eyes still on the castle. "Remind me to thank you later, being cold like this-" His teeth chattered. "Puts a real spin on the perspective of things…like how beautiful moonlight is… Like how I never want to be this cold again, ever!"