Boathouse

It was just after dinner and Hope had snuck out onto the grounds and down into the boathouse for the one reason of stealing a boat and to try rowing around the lake. She'd never gone rowing before and Hope wanted to see if it was fun as it always seemed. Well, not fun. Tranquil and romantic. Though, Hope supposed she needed someone else for the latter to be applicable. Hope could have brought a bunch of first years down and she tried but they all turned her down. Of course, all the meanwhile she was looking for Iliana but failed at that. Kind of worried but not worried enough to go on a manhunt, Hope decided to go try it alone. Hope would be fine, it'd be fun. Even without people. So there she was, trying to undo the knot that tied a boat to the pier and wasn't doing very well. Why was it so tight?

Hope didn't notice that she wasn't the only person in the area and kept on doing what she was doing. Finally, she was able to loosen the knot and was able to free the boat. Tossing the oars into it, she hopped in, slightly screaming when it rocked, nearly tossing her into the ocean but she grabbed onto the wood just in time to steady it. Okay, so far so good. Using her hand to push off into the direction of the lake, she passed Ili and peered over. "Ili?" She asked, hesitantly. The boat wasn't going to fast and it was really just bobbing along. "I've been looking all over for you–" lie but the thought did exist "–want to come on a boat ride? We might be able to see the squid. I know it's kind of dark but who knows."

Well that wasn't normal. Her movements slowed down until she was just bobbing up and down in the water and looked over at Ili. Now, how to get over to her. Awkwardly pushing at the water, eventually the boat was right next to the dock and she climbed out to sit next to Ili. "Are you okay?" She asked, lightly poking Ili in the cheek.

Deep down, it did sting a little bit. Especially from Iliana. But, hey, this was Hope and since when did Hope listen? "Now what type of person would I be if I left my best friend alone who is obviously upset?" She asked though she did retract her hand. Hope wanted to ask what was bothering Iliana and if she could do anything about it but she doubted Iliana would answer her. "Want to see a cool trick?" She asked, pulling out a small piece of paper. Fiddling around with it, biting lightly down on the tip of her tongue as she focussed and soon she had a little paper golden snitch in her palm. "See? It's the snitch. Cute, right? If I knew the spell, I'd make it fly around but unfortunately our charms teacher isn't around to teach me that."

Hope's hand reached over with the intention of holding Ili's to put the snitch into it. "I think I preferred it when we taught ourselves, charms almost became my favourite subject," she continued. "I guess herbology remains uncontested." Only because of the professor, of course.

Hope opened her mouth as Iliana began to leave. Hope didn't want her to go but she knew her friend well enough that she probably couldn't stop her. "If you're sure," she murmured as she watched the girl. Of course, she'd bring back a plate of food from supper for her anyway. Of course, part of her wanted to point out that she always needed Iliana but she knew it wouldn't really do anything so she let her go. Maybe if she gave her space and came back later, Iliana would be ready to talk.