Curiosity only kills cats, right?

Bri stood outside the Forest, looking at it with her head slightly cocked to the side. There had to be a reason that it was Forbidden, but every professor she'd asked had told her only that it was Forbidden and to stay away from it. Perhaps that was her problem, asking professors. Maybe she should have asked another student. She doubted any of them would tell her though. They all seemed to have their own little "group" and they were pretty tight-knit.

She figured she was on her own with this one. She sat down on the grass, looking between the trees. It didn't look that ominous. It just looked... Forest-y. She heard someone coming from behind her and turned to see who it was, hoping that it wasn't a teacher who was going to give her a detention for being by the Forest.

Andy was walking around the lake, getting some fresh air after being stuck inside the castle all day. He was mid throwing a rock into the lake when he saw a girl standing near the Forbidden Forest. He raised an eyebrow, and walked over in her direction. He recognised the girl, she was in the same year as him. He remembered when she got sorted, but hadn't spoken to her yet.

He walked up to her, "Whatcha doing?" he asked, trying to surprise her. He wanted to see if she would have a guilty expression on her face from being caught about to go into the forest.

It was a blonde boy that Bri vaguely recognized from being around the castle. Was he in her house? She couldn't remember. She tried to think back to the Sorting, but it had all been such a blur for her. She couldn't remember anything beyond her name being called then stumbling off to the cheering table in shock.

She was vaguely aware that he was talking to her. "Um, I'm sitting?" she offered uncertainly. Surely he wasn't going to go get a professor and tell on her. "Just sitting. And wondering what's in there."

Andy nodded. He really shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about her. She didn't really seem the type to do something dangerous, but if she was a Ravenclaw, then, like himself, she'd be super curious.

"I wonder that myself too sometimes. Everyone says never go near the Forest, by why!?" He took a seat down next to her, hoping that she didn't mind the company. Andy needed to make some friends from his own house in any case.

"I was just thinking that!" Bri was glad to see that she was not the only one who didn't seem to have a clue why the Forest was off-limits. "Everyone I've asked just told me not to go near it. I swear I thought one of the professors was going to give me a detention just for asking."

She swore she recognized him from somewhere. Was he in her Herbology class? Or was he in her house? She hadn't the slightest clue. "Are you in Ravenclaw too?" she asked, then realized that she hadn't introduced herself. He must have thought she was terribly rude. "I'm Brianna Carter, by the way. Bri, actually. Just Bri."

Andy smiled. He had the same thing happen to him when he asked a sixth year, what was so dangerous about it. He just told him to stay away from it. Ridiculous answer, to a first year, really.

He nodded, "That's right. I'm a Ravenclaw. I think I remember you from the sorting. You were one of the first to get into Ravenclaw. I'm Anthony, but Andy's fine by me,' he introduced himself.

"So, Bri," he said, "What do you reckon is in there?"

He remembered her being the first one to go to Ravenclaw. How peculiar. Hopefully he was only interested in the house and had been curious who was the first one to go there, otherwise it was a bit creepy. She pushed it to the back of her mind. It was unlikely that he had been stalking her. "Nice to meet you, Andy."

She looked back through the trees. What was in there? She thought back to the Care of Magical Creatures book that she'd flipped through in the common room but she couldn't really remember any of it. She was still going through a bit of a culture shock, transitioning into the magical world "I don't know," she said truthfully. "I suppose there has to be something dangerous in there, otherwise they wouldn't tell us not to go in there, right?"

Normally the thought of something dangerous would have scared Bri right off. Back home, she was never the one to suggest anything where someone could get hurt. But for some reason this only served to intrigue her more. She wanted to know for certain why the Forest was Forbidden, and it didn't look like anyone was going to give her any answers.

Maybe she was a new Bri in the magical world- one who wasn't scared off at the possibility of danger. Maybe she was leaving the old Bri behind. It was something to think about. "What do you think?"

Anthony smiled, "Nice to meet you too Bri," he said, looking back to the Forest in question. He really would like to go and explore the forest, but was nervous that they'd encounter something that they wouldn't be prepared for. Andy had his wand with him, but he didn't know any spells except for lumos and other basic things, that would do no good up against a werewolf or something horrid.

"No idea, either. I heard that magical creatures like werewolves lived in there, but that could be my sister pulling my leg. I've got no idea, really. I suppose we could explore... If you're up for it?"

They way he said it made it sound as though Andy was challenging her. Old-Bri would have backed down immediately and told him that he could go in there by himself. But old-Bri also believed that magic was just something that was in fairy tales. New-Bri lived in the world of magic, so maybe she was also adventurous. "You're on!"

She stood up and took out her wand, just in case. She didn't know any spells, but she'd once accidentally set her desk on fire when her mother scolded her, so maybe that would happen again. The werewolf would just have to ground her first. "Unless you're afraid," she challenged, taking a few small steps toward the edge of the trees.

Andy jumped up and grinned. He really expected the blonde girl to back down and say it was too scary, or something like that, but he was really happy to hear that she was up for it.

"Awesome," he said, moving closer to the Forest, feeling a sense of nerves wash over him. He tried to swallow the feeling, but he supposed it was normal to feel apprehensive when one was to about to break a rule. He didn't often do it; normally fearing his father's rage.

Dad's not here to see me now, Andy thought, and felt a little braver. He screwed up his face, when she suggested that he was afraid. Truth be told, he was a little bit, but she didn't need to know that.

"No way! But if you are, we can always sit on the sidelines and watch the fun pass us by," he said, smirking.

Bri rolled her eyes at him. "As if. Let's go," she said.

She took one last look around to see if there were any teachers in the area. She really didn't want to get into trouble during her very first week at school. Seeing none, the two walked into the Forest side by side, both with their wands out. They walked in silence for a while, until they were a decent distance into the trees when they both slowed. They were close enough to the edge that they hadn't encountered any sort of creatures yet, but far enough in that there was no mistaking that if they were caught, they would both be in a serious amount of trouble.

"Well, we're in," Bri said quietly, as though a teacher would sneak up on them at any second. "Where do you want to go now?"

(Permission to GM granted by Anthony McGuire)

Andy, spurred on by Bri's confidence, nodded and walked towards the Forest with the girl. Edging further in, even though it was only a small amount, terrified Anthony. He half expected to be attacked with each step he took, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened yet. He looked behind him constantly, fearing a teacher was not far away. He really would have the worst luck in the world if he was caught in the Forest barely a week after school started. He had to come up with a good excuse as to why they were both there.... He had nothing.

Andy paused when she did, taking note of his location. It was still semi-light, suggesting to Andy that they weren't all that far in. He really didn't fancy leaving the path, or going in much further, but if they didn't see anything, than what was the point of exploring the Forest in the first place.

Swallowing the desire to high tail it and run, Andy stayed put and turned to the girl. He lowered his voice, thinking that alerting his presence to the Forest wouldn't be a wise decision.

"Umm," he mused, shrugging. "I don't know," He really was useless. "How about we just search out this area for something. I guess if we don't find anything, we can go on further." He glanced out into the pitch black ahead and gulped. "If you still want to."

"Yeah, sure. Sounds good to me," Bri agreed.

She didn't particularly fancy the idea of going in any further. They hadn't found anything yet, which she was secretly relieved for. She was starting to get the idea that, even if the forest was completely uninhabited, it was creepy enough in there to warrant being forbidden all on its own.

She heard a small crunch and a soft rustle somewhere behind her. She froze completely. "Did you hear that?" she whispered almost silently, her lips barely moving.

Andy nodded and ventured slightly off the path grooved deep within the Forest ground. He hadn't seen much when he heard a snapping sound, like a twig being broken. He turned around sharply, and looked at Bri, who at that moment whispered, "Did you hear that?"

Andy nodded slowly, not moving a muscle. He didn't want to be a monster's lunch. He really didn't. He didn't want to leave Bri there alone either, so he braved moving to stand beside her, trying to be as careful as possible so that he didn't make a sound.

The sound of another crunch echoed lightly through the heavily wooded area. Bri reached out and grasped Andy's hand tightly. If they were going to die, she'd rather that neither of them felt alone while it happened. Plus, if he was going to run away, hopefully he'd drag her along behind him, because her legs were completely locked into place.

She felt a shiver run down her spine as yet a third crunch sounded. This was it. Death was coming for them. And it was... white and fuzzy?

Onto the path in front of them stepped what appeared to be a horse, minus the single, golden horn protruding from its forehead. "Oh my god, they do exist," Bri said quietly in disbelief. She'd never imagined, even after finding out that magic was real, that unicorns were not just the stuff of fantasies. She wanted to approach it, but she also didn't want to scare it away. "I can't believe it."

Andy was staring out into the darkness, trying to see what was out there, when he felt something touch his hand. He nearly jumped a mile in the air, but then he realised that Bri had taken his hand. He didn't mind so much, happy that it's wasn't a monster that latched on.

He waited, his heart still beating fast, when he saw an outline of a shape emerging from the darkness. He squinted, trying to decipher what it was, but then his eyes widened when it finally clicked. It was a Unicorn!

Andy grinned. He had never seen one before, but he had heard that they were a creature of rarity and purity. He really wanted to go closer to it, perhaps pat it, but he realised that they were still in the Forest, and that they were very very lucky that they weren't in deep trouble from a Professor or Monster chow.

He pulled Bri's hand, which was still being held, and whispered, "Let's go." Andy didn't wait for a reply. He tugged her hand again, and pulled her in the direction of the light as fast as he could. He turned his head briefly to look behind him, and noticed that the Unicorn was no longer there. They probably scared him off, he though.

Andy half dragged Bri out into the sunshine, making it safe out of the Forest. He took a deep breath, feeling like he was holding it for the entire time they were in the Forest.

He looked down at the hand that he was still holding. He let it go, smiling. "Scared, were you?" he asked. "Close call, there though, hey!?"

(Permission to GM Brianna Carter)

Bri rolled her eyes and pushed him lightly with the hand he had just dropped. "Hush. You were scared too, don't deny it. It could have been some vicious person-eating monster. We got lucky," she replied.

She was still in a bit of shock. She couldn't believe not only that unicorns really existed, but also that she had seen one with her own eyes. She could only assume that they were rare creatures, for something so breathtaking couldn't be a common occurrence.

"Come on, we can still make dinner," she said, setting off toward the Great Hall, glad that she'd made a friend.

Andy laughed, "Yeah. I guess I was pretty terrified. I think I've had enough of that Forest for a while now. At least until we get curious again."

He smiled, and made to walk up to the castle with her. "Awesome. I'm starving. Hope they've got something good on." Andy was just happy that he was about to eat, and not be the meal thing of something else. A plus was that he had met someone from his house now, and shared an experience. That wasn't something to sneeze at.

"Race ya!" he said before tearing off towards the large double doors.

"Oh you're on!" Bri happily declared, racing after him. Today had turned out to be a pretty good day, despite the little bit of terror that they had encountered, and she'd hoped that there would be many adventures to come for the two of them. Maybe they'd even get to see a unicorn again someday. Only time would tell.

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+15 galleons each to Brianna Carter and Anthony McGuire for quality posting. This is what a thread should look like. 2500+ words for less than 20 posts is both significant and impressive, not to mention the character development that took place. Well done.