A Group Of Stragglers

Your prefect nods as he steers you to one group, evidently a group of fellow first years, while he himself joins up with 3 other older-looking people, each in their own set of colors that matched up with some of the colors you saw in the cloud of newcomers. Aside from the 4 of them, there only seem to be a little over a dozen in the group (maybe 16 or 17), all of whom turn to face the prefects as the ferry comes in, apparently driverless, and the older students call their attention.

"Alright!" says a blond young woman in blue and silver, short but curvy, "Everyone ready? The boat ride won't take too long, just hop on and try to keep steady in the water." At the back of the murmuring crowd, you file onto the boat, luggage strap over his shoulder, getting a quick pat on the back from your own prefect as the 4 leaders clamber onto the boat after you, immediately taking position at the front. This leaves you alone again, in the middle of pushy crowd.

You notice a group of Leontes and Beavertail talking to each other at the spot where their two houses seem to mix, 2 girls and a guy. The girl currently talking the loudest, with brown skin and short curly black hair, seems to be accustomed to the wizarding world far more than you've been, or at least the sports side of it; along with her luggage she's got a broom in hand, and under a pair of red trimmed robes she's wearing a jersey for a team you've heard some of your mom's relatives talking about amongst themselves. She's fit and cheerful, dominating the conversation she seems to be having, but when she turns and catches your eye you quickly turn your head away, to find something else to stare at, hopefully without getting stared back at.

Other than them, the main source of noise seems to come from the middle of some green robes against blue and silver robes, a boy in blue and silver with dark hair and glasses arguing with a redheaded girl in green. You look over at the prefects, and aside from some glances and snickering, they don't seem to be too concerned with the matter.

"Any idea what they're fighting about?"

You jump as a voice comes from directly to your right, and turn to find a smiling face and a body mostly obscured by what look like overly large and somewhat worn robes. The woman cocks an eyebrow at your reaction, but just keeps the pleasant expression on her face.

"You alright? I get that maybe the magic might weird you out if you're not used to it yet, but..."

"Oh, no," you say, "It's, uh, it's not that. My mom was a witch," you explain, "saw enough things moving on they're own around the house. Just a little overwhelmed."

She nods. "Makes sense. Well, don't worry about it! You're in Beavertail, right? My name's Nadia, and-- what's your name?"

"Eric."

"Let me tell you, Eric; most of my family's been in Beavertail, and there's never been a more... welcoming... hm." She trails off as the boat nears the shore and the prefects begin huddling together a little closer, away from the other students. "Maybe, ah, hold off feeling welcomed, actually."

"What? Why?" You look over and the prefects have gotten onto the sand- you swear that the short Minerval woman seems to hover in the air a second to clear the water- but as the first years closest to them make to move the boat lurches and hurtles back some yards through the water. Nadia's smile is decidedly more bittersweet as she catches you from stumbling.

"'Cause they're gonna make us swim the Tarn."

The Tarn. Your body hasn't even touched the water and you feel your blood goes cold. Looking back it seems obvious- the body of water had often been referenced by relatives as they reminisced after asking about your plans for school. More worryingly, you'd also heard it referenced more often as they started to find out about your "talent", try as your parents might to keep it low-key to save you the embarrassment. No, you were starting to get a good idea of what was about to happen, and as the people around you start to get upset, the prefects smiles only confirms your dread.

"What gives?" shouts the redheaded Draconis.

"First years swim their way to shore," your Beavertail prefect shouts back. "It's a tradition! Enjoy it as your induction to the school!"

"You can't be serious..." you hear someone mutter behind you- the Minerval boy with the glasses, who shoots a look back at you that tells you to look away quick- but even as he and others complain, you see others getting ready to do it. Specifically, one of the girls that the Broom Girl in Leontes was talking to- she's psyched up herself and a few friends. Ditching her robes and setting her luggage aside, she's the first of a good third of the group to dive into the freezing water. A chorus of sputtering curses bubble up from the Tarn as they beat the water white, but as they make it to shore, your stomach sinks, even as something stirred beneath it...

The Leontes who'd led the group into the water is the first out, teeth chattering but looking triumphant despite the cold, but seeing the way the prefects were smirking and holding back snickers at her, she looks down, shrieking. From behind you see a well-toned bare bubble butt, the prefects' view from the front quickly being obscured by the girl's arms. Those who'd followed after her didn't comprehend at first, through the exhausting swim, but they realized quickly enough when it was their turn to cover up. You notice the remaining scraps of robe twirling and disappearing in the water. With a little over half the group still on the boat, the tall Leontes prefect chokes back her laughing enough to shout back.

"Come on now, no one's going anywhere 'til you've all had a swim!" Everyone hesitates, every inch of your bodies telling you to stay away from the all too familiar sight in front of you, but still, more people swam, were stripped, and shivered in the cold on the other side.

When that wave passes, there are only five of you left on the boat. Yourself, Nadia, the argumentative Minerval looking indignant, his red-haired Draconis debate opponent looking downright terrified, and the Leontes girl with the broom looking contemplative, fingers strumming the side of the thing as she seems to size up the distance between the ferry and the beach.

"Don't make us push the boat farther back! Hurry on in!"

Nadia takes a deep breath. "Might as well get it over with, right?" she asks your group of stragglers.

You don't want to get it over with- you don't want to do it at all! But as your head swims, looking down into the water, you feel something else bubbling up that might make the issue null if you didn't hurry and make a choice....