Great Hall, Lunch Time (Saturday, no classes)

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It was getting close to the end of the year, and instead of worrying about exams and final projects like she shoudl have been doing, Isla was thinking about summer. She had been thinking about summer ever since the beginning of January. As much she she loved winter, and building snowmen and having snowball fights... She did not enjoy most aspects of school. It was frustrating, and most of the time she felt like everybody thought she was stupid. And school wasn't for stupid people.

In fact, she was so stupid that she was going to have a tutor over the summer. But at least that meant that her complete ineptitude wouldn't be a public spectacle for all her peers to see. Besides, everybody would be so impressed once 4th year started and she was suddenly a magical genius.

More important than the school trip or tutoring, however, was the fact that the Spectre Estate also had a lake. All Isla wanted to do was swim in the lake with her friends and family.

"Aisling!" Isla waved her fork in front of her friend's face, "Can you swim?" This was an important question, obviously.

Aisling was, as usual, lost in thought. She wasn't thinking about exams, or classes, or grades, or anything related - she was thinking, in fact, of the Giant Squid in the lake. She was wondering if it was hungry, and should she bring some food next time she visited, or was her company enough? What do squids eat? She should ask. If she were a squid, her favorite food would still be oranges. She'd have a hard time peeling them without fingernails, though.

Maybe sometime she could visit the squid properly. Usually she sat on the banks of the lake and dangled her ever-bare feet in the water, splashing and chattering away. She'd like to see where the squid lived, though. She had never seen anyone swimming in the lake, but she imagined it was as beautiful beneath the surface as above.

Her train of thought derailed when a flash of silver appeared before her eyes. She identified it after a moment as Isla's fork.

"Aisling! Can you swim?"

Aisling nodded, grinning. It seemed she and her friend were thinking about the same thing, or at least something similar. "It's like flying underwater," she said, "Like exploring outer space." She paused for a moment. "Can you?"

"I love swimming!" Isla replied, "You know, the Spectre estate--" Where her grandfather lived, "There's a lake there." Why hadn't she invited her friends before? She supposed that she had been so focused on family whenever she was there, that it never really crossed her mind. But she was older now, and her Hogwarts friends were just as significant to her as her family members.  "You should come over! I'm sure Seanair[1] will say yes!"

It was at least a half hour hike from the manor, but it was so worth it.

"Oooh ooh!" She slammed her hands on the table, "We can go swimsuit shopping!" The thought excited her, "You'd look good in something bright and pretty."

1.	her grandfather

Aisling's eyes lit up at the mention of the lake at the Spectre estate. She had heard her friend talk about the estate before, but had never been there, and so was excited by the prospect of meeting new flowers. She would love to see Isla's stomping grounds as well.

"You should come over!"

Aisling grinned, nodding. "I'd love to," she said, "I'm sure fam and tad[1] wouldn't mind." In fact, her parents would probably be overjoyed at the prospect of her making friends her own age (not to mention species); back in Pontypridd Aisling's friends consisted of horses, dogs, trees, and whatever other animals she discovered.

At the mention of swimsuits Aisling giggled, hiding her eyes behind one hand. "We should, I don't think I have a swimsuit!" she answered - usually she just swam in whatever she was wearing. "I bet blue would look great on you, Isla," she added after a moment of thought.

1.	Welsh, "mother" and "father"

Oh, she loved it when Aisling used Welsh phrases. She didn't care what the world said, but Welsh was cool, even if it wasn't easily understandable.  Isla's grin was wide and almost dopey. Yes! Aisling would come over. All she had to do was write a letter to Seanair to make sure that it would be okay. The Spectres were a welcoming bunch, and it wasn't like Isla was friends with any troublemakers.

The smile quickly shifted to a look of shock mingled with confusion.

"Wait, you don't have a swimsuit?" This definitely needed to be fixed. "What do you swim in?" Isla did not think that swimming in everyday clothes would be fun. There was nothing more unpleasant than walking in wet socks.

Isla's grin was infectious. Aisling would have smiled had she not already been smiling, but her grin did grow bigger. She could already imagine going swimming with Isla, and the thought filled her with joy. She felt like a balloon, growing and swelling until she would eventually be too full and pop, raining happiness and excitement everywhere.

"Wait, you don't have a swimsuit? What do you swim in?"

Aisling shook her head. "My clothes, usually," she answered matter-of-factly, as if this were how everyone did it, "Sometimes someone else's, if mine are busy. But clothes especially for swimming sound nice," she added, thinking of the way her skirts would cling to her legs heavily when she got out of the water. They were just so fun and swirly while she was swimming, though!