Julian turned in for the night after restocking his stash of sweets, feeling optimistic about finally slipping back into the habit of crafting rings almost every day.
What he failed to account for was that not everyone thought "free morning" meant "wake up at dawn and immediately be productive."
That reality only sank in after he spent an entire block of time sitting idle in the common room, waiting for something that clearly was not going to happen yet.
I suppose there is no reason to rush things, he thought at last, resigned. They will bring it to me when they can.
With that, he stood up and headed to breakfast.
The meal was its usual Hogwarts standard, simple in flavor but laden with enough nutrients and calories to keep a growing body strong and energized. Once he had eaten his fill, he decided not to linger.
...
Julian left the castle alone and made his way down to the Black Lake, feeling the chilly morning wind cut across the grounds. Today, his chosen form of exercise was swimming.
Everyone knew the Scottish waters never truly warmed, and the Black Lake was no exception. That, in his opinion, was precisely what made it perfect for training. The strain of moving through the cold water combined with the temperature itself helped stimulate blood flow throughout his body, making each stroke more effective than it would have been in a heated pool.
He did not need a separate pair of swimming shorts. A simple bit of transfiguration turned his standard school robes into a snug wetsuit that clung to his form.
As a bonus, the wetsuit helped trap his body heat, keeping him from getting dangerously cold while he swam.
It would be putting it mildly to say he drew attention over the next two hours as he sliced through the lake, diving and surfacing, cutting through the dark water again and again.
His favorite moment, by far, was when he swam by the underwater viewing window that looked into the Slytherin common room.
He caught sight of several students lounging on sofas inside, only for them to freeze in slack jawed disbelief when they suddenly realized someone was casually waving at them from outside, under the lake.
Even better, among the stunned faces were Daphne and Tracy, who had not planned on going anywhere that day and had chosen to relax in their common room.
...
"Why is it always him doing something insane?" Tracy groaned after a moment, frustration pouring out of her as she watched Julian grinning and waving from the other side of the thick glass.
Daphne gave a faint shrug. "He is who he is," she replied, unbothered.
"Yeah, well, I hope the giant squid teaches him a lesson for showing off all the time," Tracy said with a laugh.
The words had barely left her mouth when the water behind Julian darkened.
She stopped laughing at once and went rigid.
Her eyes went wide, her face draining of color as something enormous slid into view behind him. She jabbed a trembling finger toward the window. "Look behind you!" she shouted.
There is something behind me, is there not, Julian thought dryly as he saw her expression and frantic pointing.
He tilted his head, turned slightly in the water, and then froze himself. For a brief moment, his mind simply stalled under instinctive terror.
Yes, that will do it, he thought once his brain finally finished short circuiting.
Floating about two feet away from him was a massive yellow eye, bigger around than he was tall, set into a dull grey mass of flesh that vanished into the murky depths. He could not even see the creature's full body.
Theory confirmed. Kraken it is, he decided, keeping perfectly still.
He kept repeating a single line in his head like a mantra: This particular creature is friendly. It is not trying to figure out how I would taste.
Forcing a smile onto his face, Julian lifted a hand in a small, careful gesture and pointed upward, signaling that he intended to go. Then he began to swim toward the surface with measured strokes, all the while keeping the vast eye in his field of vision, however pointless that might be against something so huge.
...
He did not know why, but he could tell, from the subtle crinkling of the eyelids and the almost playful glint in that golden iris, that the creature was amused by his presence and antics.
When he finally broke the surface, Julian sucked in several deep breaths of cold air, his heart pounding.
He needed a moment just to steady himself and firmly convince his mind and body that he had not, in fact, almost lost control of himself when that enormous eye had appeared out of nowhere.
Anyone who claims they would remain completely calm after suddenly coming face to face with a legendary monster like that is either unhinged or lying, in his opinion.
Time to leave. I think that is enough lake for one morning, he decided firmly, turning and swimming toward the shore.
...
By the time he trudged out of the water and onto solid ground, Daphne and Tracy were already there waiting for him.
"Do you wake up in the morning, stretch, and then decide, 'Let me find a way to break common sense today,' or does it just happen naturally?" Tracy asked, unable to resist.
Julian chuckled as he cast a drying charm, still wearing the transfigured wetsuit. As the water evaporated, his lean frame was put clearly on display. He was not sculpted like a bodybuilder, but his muscles were defined enough that it was obvious he kept himself in good shape once you could actually see his form.
When he was finished, he let the transfiguration go, and his wetsuit flowed back into normal school robes, perfectly dry and intact.
Both girls watched that with naked envy.
"Ugh. Go on then, rub it in about how much better you are at everything," Tracy grumbled, folding her arms.
"As it happens, I do have a spell exactly for that purpose," Julian said lightly, eyes glinting with mischief.
Tracy clenched her teeth, looking one step away from throwing something at him.
"If you are quite finished with your childish nonsense, I would like a word with Mr. Iron."
A nasal voice cut through the banter like a blade.
All three of them stiffened and turned their heads in unison.
Standing a short distance away was Severus Snape, his expression carefully blank yet radiating displeasure, which for him was essentially his default state.