Teach Me [Dimitri]

It had been almost four months, since Dimitri had made the offer to teach Nerisei how to swim. In the beginning, the witch had thought that he was simply joking, and that he just wanted to make her feel better. That, because he was her friend -Neri had promised to herself not to consider him as anything more, unless he made a decision-, he wanted to teach his fellow Ravenclaw how to swim, in order to help her overcome her fear and, also, be safe in case of danger. Because, let’s be honest, knowing how to swim was a fundamental.

The witch, though, hadn’t brought it up at all, for various reasons. One being that she wasn’t really sure how appropriate it would be for Dimitri to touch her, whilst in a bikini. Don’t get her wrong, she would love to have his hands on her, but she knew that the moment he saw her, he would be feeling uncomfortable, so Neri couldn’t quite figure out why on earth he would want to teach her. Another reason, and the main obstacle, was the fact that the Lake, the only place they could actually go for a swim, was frozen. Neri was definitely not going to swim in ice cubes, that was for sure.

But now it was April, and the Black Lake was officially… well, a Lake again, meaning that they were finally able to make the most of it. Nerisei was hesitant, of course, but she had ran out of ideas on what they should do. They had watched movies, which didn’t truly go very well, and dancing was… forgotten for a while, after everything that had happened. So that pretty much left Nerisei asking Dimitri on whether he would live up to his offer, and finally teach her how not to drown.

Finding a swimsuit was a total nightmare. Wearing a bikini was crossed out for way too many reasons, and her bodysuits were… well, not good enough, someone could say. She was not a swimmer, so swimsuits were not on her list! Huffing, the witch grabbed one of her simple black bodysuits, and with the help of a few spells, she was able to come up with something… decent. If Dimitri had a problem with that too, he would have to teach her naked, something she was one hundred percent sure he would never do.

Once the witch was ready, she grabbed her bag that had a towel, her wand, and a change of clothes, before moving out of her dorm and towards the Lake. They had agreed to meet by the Lake, hoping to avoid some of the rumours going around. It seemed that, ever since the party, they had become even worse, if possible!

Thankfully, it was Saturday, and most people were spending their day at Hogsmeade.

Upon arriving at the Lake, a big smile touched the girl’s lips. Dimitri was already there, still dressed -thankfully-. To be fair, she didn’t know how she was going to deal with a shirtless Dimitri touching her, but now it was too late to back out. She was doomed.

“Already here, I see. I can’t say I am particularly ready for the water,” Nerisei admitted, glancing at the Lake once before her eyes moved back to Dimitri. She hoped he knew what he was doing.

Outfit

The excitement the wizard showed made Nerisei feel a little bit safer. Dimitri knew how to swim, he had said so, and she was positive that he wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her. He cared for her, and he would keep her safe no matter what! But the girl was still anxious about this whole situation. Nerisei had been afraid of swimming her whole life. She wasn’t good at  this. And truthfully, she doubted that was going to change anytime soon.
But Dimitri had a difference idea, and the witch didn’t want to burst that bubble now. Not until she tried, at least.

“If you… want to get ready, I’ll cast the heating charm on both of us to make sure we don’t catch a chill, and then we can head in.”

Neri gave Dimitri a small smile and a nod, but didn’t make a move. Instead, her eyes followed his movements, as he slowly undressed himself, leaving him in only his swimming shorts. Nerisei had to bite her lip really hard to keep herself from saying something she would definitely not regret later, but she couldn’t promise that Dimitri wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

Following his example, the Ravenclaw witch slipped out of the top and the casual bottoms she had thrown over her swimsuit and turned to Dimitri. Her eyes avoided his, scared of what she might see. Nerisei’s body wasn’t bad to look at, not at all, but the girl was in a bodysuit, in front of her crush. The anxiety levels were hitting the roof. Dimitri though didn’t say anything, and instead, cast a heating charm on the both of them, before offering his hand for her to take.

Nerisei stood there for a minute, her eyes never leaving Dimitri’s body. She wanted to look away, she truly did, but the attraction she felt towards Dimitri was clouding her senses. Her hand slipped into his soon after, and her body followed as of instinct. She wanted to be close to him again. After their little ‘argument’, Nerisei had managed to keep herself from kissing or touching him for more than necessary. And Dimitri hadn’t attempted any contact either. Knowing him, Neri was sure that Dimitri was simply staying away because she hadn’t initiated any contact. And being the gentleman he was, he would never do anything that would make her ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘hurt’ her.

“I am ready.”

Now, all she could do was follow his instructions.

And keep herself sane.

Up until the moment the witch offered her hand to Dimitri, she hadn’t felt that anxious. Of course she was scared and worried about it, but her anxiety could be manageable. As Dimitri, though, started pulling her slowly into the water, Nerisei’s breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t been to a pool, lake, or sea, in quite some time, and the reason behind that was obvious. But now, she was forced to face these fears, because she had thought it appropriate for Dimitri to teach her. How stupid could the witch truly be?

As she came into contact with the water, Nerisei noticed that it wasn’t that cold, thanks to the Heating Charm. On the contrary, it was quite warm, and that, thankfully, helped calming her nerves down a bit. Dimitri kept leading her inside, until the water reached, approximately, their navels. Nerisei could still feel the ground beneath her feet, but that didn’t make her feel any better about the situation. At all.

“Before I teach you to swim, though, I’m going to teach you to float in the water.”

Nerisei raised an eyebrow at that. Dimitri had brought her here to teach her how to swim, but in order for that to happen, she had to learn how to float first? And this is where I thought this couldn’t get worse, the witch thought. Dimitri then, explained that she wouldn’t get into trouble as long a she were with him, and Nerisei believed him, she truly did. But she couldn’t float, or swim. And to be honest, she doubted she would ever learn.

“If you just lay back in the water slowly, keep your face above the water, and then slowly start to lift your legs away from the floor, I’ll show you the position you need to take up -- and, trust me, I won’t let you go under the water, I’m going to hold you up so that you don’t sink at all.”

The Ravenclaw witch didn’t know what was worse. The fact that he hand was now resting on her back, or the instructions he had just given her? Nerisei turned to look at Dimitri, fear evident in her eyes. She couldn’t lie to him. She was really, really scared to let herself go in the water. “Mitri, I can’t! What if… if I make a wrong move and I drag you down with me? T-Then we will go underwater a-and, oh my God, we might drown!”

Was she overreacting? Yes. But who could blame her? Facing your fears was not that easy.

“Neri, I just told you that it’s going to be fine.”

Nerisei sighed. Of course, DImitri would say something like that, and to be honest, he wasn’t lying. Probably. Dimitri had always protected her and had never once lied to her. When he made a promise, he always came through with it, and he made sure to never get her in trouble. If Nerisei wasn’t safe during any of these, Dimitri would have never offered to teach her. He would simply tell her that it was too dangerous, and politely say no. Right?

More explaining came after that, followed by some instructions, but Neri remained there looking up at Dimitri. He was trying to get her to calm down, explaining that there could be no way for her to pull him under, since they were not deep enough, but also, that he wouldn’t let that happen, even if it was possible. He had taken every precaution to make sure nothing was going to go wrong. But Nerisei was still worried. She was still scared that she would mess up. And she simply didn’t want Dimitri to think of her as ‘useless’.

“Trust me.”

But as soon as those words left Dimitri’s mouth, Nerisei froze. Her eyes stared deeply into Dimitri’s and she slowly felt her body relax. Deep breaths aided as well, and eventually, the witch was calm enough to offer the wizard a small smile and a nod. How could she not trust him? Even if she didn’t want to, the moment those words left his mouth, it was as if both, her body and mind, heard him. He had that effect on her, and Nerisei knew that this was not good. She was falling harder and harder, and she had no control over it.

“Okay,” Neri mumbled softly, turning around once again, in order to follow Dimitri’s earlier instructions Taking a deep breath, the witch allowed herself to fall back, agonizingly slow. The water touched her skin, and Neri almost pushed back up, ready to give up immediately, but she didn’t. Instead, her one hand held onto Dimitri’s arm tightly, because it made her feel safe. Confident, in a way. “Now, what?”

It was almost impossible for Nerisei not to trust Dimitri. It wasn’t just the fact that she had a crush on him. Nerisei felt safe being close to him. Dimitri was a gentleman, and so far, he had proven to keep his word. Since the day she had met him, every promise he had made to her was real, and he had never once lied. She could trust him fully, and she knew that very well. And that was how she found herself actually relaxing and following his instructions.

“Now I need you to bring your legs up towards the surface, and try to lay flat. Push your hips up…”

Nerisei was shaking, slightly. Her hand was tightly wounded around Dimitri’s arm, in an attempt to keep herself from drowning. Or that was what she kept telling herself. Because there was no possible way for the witch to actually drown. Her brain, though, didn’t seem to understand that much. One of his hands went around her lower back, supporting her as her body slowly came to the surface, while the other support her neck, making sure to keep it to a place that wouldn’t cause her much discomfort. And his help was much, much appreciated.

They were doing pretty well so far, she was sure. For her, the fact that she was still alive and breathing, and not at the bottom of the lake, was enough proof of how well this lesson was going. Of course she hadn’t learned almost anything, but it was a start, and she was doing far better than what she had expected. Maybe swimming wasn’t that bad, after all.

“Okay… now I need you to…”

But Dimitri stopped before he could finish his sentence and Nerisei got worried. Her eyes snapped to his, trying to figure what had gone wrong. The slightest of red touched his cheeks, and Nerisei frowned, not sure what had gone wrong. What did he want? Had she done something to make him feel uncomfortable? But before the witch could ask him anything about it, Dimitri gave her the full instruction, along with a praise. The witch gave him a weak smile, still unsure of the whole situation, but she was trying.

“Okay…” Neri mumbled weakly. She wasn’t exactly sure how to do what he was asking of her, but her body seemed to understand. Once she was relaxes once again, the Ravenclaw witch spread her legs slightly, making sure to keep her body afloat. Dimitri’s hands were helping her though… in a way. But there was also that part of her that was slightly… excited to have his hands against her body. Clearing her throat --and pushing these thoughts aside--, the witch looked into Dimitri’s eyes again. “Is that okay?”