(Untitled)

[sees_them_too]

There’s a witch in the lake, in water up to her waist. And she appears to be staring intently into the bottom of an economy-sized bean tin that is resting on the surface of the water.

Luna has carefully planned this particular expedition, and is properly outfitted in bathing suit, swim cap, and Alabaster’s Best Burn Block ointment, which is

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[never_b_free]

Unlike the mermaid, someone might miss this patron she looks like someone who might have come in the front door.

She's not about to go into the water just to save someone's life, however. That is very not her department. However, she will shout from the shore. "Hey! There's a mermaid in that lake. I would get out of the water if I were you."

[sees_them_too]

Luna looks up at the shouted warning.

She looks mildly perplexed for a moment.

Then delighted.

"Really?"

There are merpeople in the lake at Hogwarts. Given the similarity of this lake to the Hogwarts lake, she supposes it shouldn't be a surprise that there are merpeople here, too.

She makes no move to get out of the lake.

"Do you know which part of the lake she's in?"

[never_b_free]

Really?

She considers the consequences of revealing the location of the mermaid then looks about to see if anyone else in earshot.

No witnesses. Hmmm.

"I saw her near the warm end of the lake. Where the water turns salty and there are beaches?"

How the geography at that part of the lake works is hard for her to understand. But she was there yesterday.

[sees_them_too]

Luna turns her head, one hand shading her eyes, scoping out the edges of the lake until she spots the are that looks, somehow, excessively sunny.

A mermaid. Not exactly a new discovery, but definitely something it would be nice to see up close.

Not an expedition for today. But later on....

"Thank you," Luna says, beginning to wade back toward shore.

"I've never seen a merperson up close. They're not especially sociable."

She pauses for a moment, in water up to her knees, looking thoughtful.

"But why would that be cause to get out of the lake?"

Merpeople (at least the kind in her world) can be territorial. But Luna is nowhere near the cove in question.

[never_b_free]

Oh darn.

"Oh, the one I met was very sociable. She was especially interested in talking to human females. She said she did not get many chances to do so."

To her question, "... merpeople eat ... land--people?" At least the kind in her world. Probably in whatever crazy world the mermaid came from too. A world where there aren't any female sailors, oddly. That mermaid was a little too eager to talk to female humans.

[sees_them_too]

Luna walks the final few steps up onto the shore, setting her homemade viewer down next to her school bag.

"That's fortunate," she says. "I'm human and female. Perhaps she would like to talk."

The merpeople in the Hogwarts lake tend to steer pretty clear of the students.

She frowns a little as she strips off her swimcap and shakes out her hair.

"But I must say, I've never heard of merpeople eating anyone. In my world they are often classified as dangerous, but that's because they are intelligent, and don't like to be bothered."

"Did you know," she adds, "that they refused to be classified as 'beings'? They were insistant on being classified as 'beasts'. They didn't want to be lumped in with 'beings' like vampires and hags, at least that's what's reported. The centaurs did the same."

[OOC: The spirit is willing, but the body is falling asleep. Is it okay if I catch you in slowtime tomorrow?]

[never_b_free]

That was odd. It sounded almost like politics.

"Yes, I thought it was odd that this one was so willing to talk. The merpeople of my world don't like to be bothered either. Who, may I ask, does the classification?"

[sees_them_too]

"It was the Ministry of Magic. We learned about it in History of Magic this past year."

Luna doesn't bother much with politics (her father's conspiracy theories aside) but items about magical creatures always catch her attention.

"Governments are very fond of classifying things, aren't they?"

[never_b_free]

"Yes, very much so," she says while laughing. "What where you doing out in the lake, if you mind me asking?"

[sees_them_too]

"Well, I suppose they are good at it," Luna grins.

It's well for people (or governments) to play to their strengths.

"I wanted to see if I could see any creatures," she adds. She picks up her modified bean tin and holds it out. "I made this back in the spring. I have to redo the bubble charm on the bottom whenever I use it, but that's not difficult."

And plastic wrap is oddly hard to come by in the wizarding world.

[never_b_free]

"Bubble charm?"

[sees_them_too]

Luna nods, flipping the tin over to show the clear bubble on the bottom. She pokes at it with one finger, causing it to stretch much like a balloon, then bounce back.

"It's actually quite durable. As bubbles go. Though..." She gives it one good hard jab, causing it to pop with a small explosion of shimmery droplets. "It will break eventually."

[never_b_free]

"When you say charm, you mean some sort of magic, not some sort of gooey, soapy, filmy sort of thing, right?"

More practical magic? Hmmm. Well, this girl does sort of look... loony.

In a lives on the Lunar Isles sort of way.

[sees_them_too]

"Of course." Luna looks a bit perplexed. "Soap bubbles wouldn't last nearly so long. Well, maybe Gorgon's Grime-B-Gone. It's strong stuff. Dad's used it a few times when something has really gone awry in the kitchen."

"It makes the whole house smell like bananas."

Luna reaches on hand around behind her head, and pulls her wand out of the back of her swimsuit.

And looks a little sheepish.

"There really is no good way to carry a wand in a swimsuit."

[never_b_free]

Well, one clue that this girl isn't from the Lunar Isles is that she isn't floating three inches off the ground. The second is the wand. It leads her to think of another possible group of practical magic users.

"Do you know of a Ginny Weasley, by any chance?" she watches the wand to see what the girl will do with it.

[sees_them_too]

Luna beams and nods.

"Oh, yes. Two of them, I suppose you could say. I know Ginny Weasley in my world. She's in my year. And I know Ginny Weasley here, but she seems to be older."