Forbidden Forest, Take Two

Plans to visit the Forest during the previous year had gone astray when Bri and Andy ran into a rather large group of teachers outside the Great Hall. They'd decided to put it off until third year, which had finally arrived. Bri was waiting outside the same area where they had gone in the last time, somewhat shielded in the shade of one of the larger trees, hidden from view of anyone looking out from the castle.

She had opted for some comfortable jeans and a t-shirt with a small sweater over it, just in case it got a little chilly. It was a better idea than wandering around in the school uniform, since skirts and exploring didn't really mix well. All that was left to do was wait for Andy to arrive and then they could get going.

Andy was entirely grateful to the congregation of teachers outside the Great Hall. He hadn't wanted to go into the Forest in the first place, and that perfect placement of Professors stopped Bri from acting reckless for at least a couple of months. They were in third year, and with another year under their belts, Bri seemed to think it perfect to explore the Forest again.

Andy was stuck once again, by Bri's guilt tripping ways, but decided to go with her all the same. He couldn't let her go on her own, after all.

He changed into jeans and his favourite hoodie and went out to meet Bri on the outskirts. He saw her silhouette by the Forest and headed over to her.

"Still can't talk you out of this?" he asked, arms folded over his chest.

"Nope!" Bri said happily. She felt like she was channeling a bit of Natalie Olivier by being so excited to explore, but she'd really wanted to go the previous year and those darn teachers had been in the way.

In any case, she was still cautious. She'd left a note for the girls in her dorm telling them where she was, so that, just in case something did happen, they'd find it when they got back to the room and they would know to get help if she wasn't back.

She had to stop and look Andy over for a moment. She hadn't seen him all summer and she'd only seen him briefly during the Sorting Feast. He looked very much the same, yet different at the same time. He was taller, that was for sure.

"I see you've been keeping your fingers out of your hair for once. Just try not to hit your head on any branches, or you'll mess it up" she teased. She could feel the nerves starting to set in about going in, but it wasn't going to stop her. "Ready?" she asked.

Andy lips curled upwards. She seemed entirely too eager to do this which made him nervous but he was glad to see that the summer break didn't affect her ability to tease him about his hair or his height. He couldn't do anything about being a full head taller than her, but he really did need a hair cut.

Andy nodded slowly, although he would have much preferred to be back in the Common Room, by the fire. He wasn't partial to being outdoors all that much and it was getting cold.

"You know, I'm reading a good book. Perhaps we can go back up to the common room and I'll show it to you?" Andy said, as a last plea not to go into the Forest.

"Come on, Andy, where's your sense of adventure?" Bri asked, grinning. His last ditch attempt to get her to go back to the castle where it was completely safe was nothing short of slightly pathetic.

"I'll let you in on a little secret," she walked closer to him and dropped her voice to a whisper, "The book will still be there when we get back."

She was a bit intrigued though; she'd have to remember to ask him about the book later when she was more in the mood for reading. She gave the sleeve of his hoodie a small tug then turned around and started to walk. "Last chance to go with me," she said over her shoulder as she walked toward the trees.

Andy inwardly sighed. His sense of adventure lay on a shelf along with his sense of bravery, his love for the outdoors and for bugs. He was perfectly content to leave them all there, to gather dust.

'Yeah, but we might not get back,' he thought with a glance at the black Forest. He felt her tug on his sleeve and hear her say the words that finally persuading him to go.

"Alright, alright, hold up," he called to her retreating back as he moved closer towards the Forest edge.

Bri was very glad that Andy was agreeing to go with her, finally, because if he didn't she knew that she wouldn't actually have the guts to go. Not a thing on the planet could convince her to go in the dark, creepy looking forest alone. She probably would have just gone in enough that he couldn't see her, then walk down the treeline a bit, then emerge safely (hopefully). But it was a plan that she didn't need to put into action, so all was fine.

She waited for him to catch up and took out her wand, just in case. She didn't know a lot of spells, but the few that she did know would probably get them by. Hopefully Andy knew something useful that could help them in a pinch.

"Where do you want to start?" she asked as they walked in further side by side.

Andy walked alongside Bri, hoping that this installment would be like the last time. Go in, see something cool and get out unscathed. He wondered if they would be so lucky for that to happen again. Probably not.

He kept his pace the same as Bri's as they moved through the trees. "Here is as good a spot as any, I suppose." Andy pulled his hood up and over his head and glanced around, thankfully seeing and hearing nothing out of the ordinary.

"I reckon we should stay on the path though," he said, looking down to see the faint trail that lead deeper into the forest. "Although, that doesn't look any less ominous than off the path."

Bri pulled her hair back as they walked, more to keep it from getting snagged on a tree branch or something than for vanity's sake. "Staying on the path is fine," she said. As long as I can say that I've been in the forest multiple times, she thought. She was sick of hearing people say that she was a goody two-shoes; she had to show that she could do "fun" things every once in a while.

She kept listening intently for a sound of any kind but heard nothing. "What if we don't see anything?" she asked Andy, already getting slightly discouraged that the visit was a complete and total bust and that they'd gone in there for nothing.

Andy shrugged. He could deal with not seeing anything as long as he had a chance to see many things after they left the blasted Forest.

"Well... We'll always have our first encounter with the Forest to remember, if we don't see anything now." Andy pulled out his wand, seeing that Bri did the same thing earlier. He really didn't know if he could do anything to protect Bri if something were to happen, but he held onto it anyway.

Stepping over a plant that obstructed his path, Andy continued to walk on, occasionally glancing back to see if anything was following them

Always look up and behind you, Andy remembered and he tried to keep true to that advice.

Bri felt as though they'd been walking forever when in reality it had only been about ten minutes. Andy didn't seem too torn up at the prospect of not finding anything, but Bri really did want to see a unicorn again; they were gorgeous creatures.

She stopped walking and turned to face Andy. "Maybe we should try going a different way or something," she suggested.

Andy stopped when Bri did. He glanced around, thinking about going in another direction. The path didn't veer off in another direction, and he didn't particularly want to go back the way they came, because if he saw the line where the trees broke, he'd almost definitely bolt and run back to the castle.

"Erm..." he muttered, "How about we stay on the path for a little while longer. It has to lead somewhere, surely."

"Yes, I suppose so," Bri agreed. His logic was sound. The fact that there was a path there at all meant that someone at some point had come along, enough times to at least wear a path. Hopefully they'd made it out okay, Bri thought. But what if they hadn't? She was starting to get the feeling that it had been a mistake come in here in the first place. What had she been thinking? But she couldn't back down now. "Ten more minutes and if we don't see anything, we'll leave. Does that sound alright?" she asked.

Andy suddenly felt a wave of nausea hit him. He staggered slightly but nodded to Bri. Ten minutes more and he could go back up to the castle and get something to eat. Obviously, his body was telling him that it was time it was fed, and although he hadn't felt particularly hungry before he entered the forest, he placed that from his mind.

"Yeah, sounds good to me," he replied, his skin feeling awfully clammy and gross. He blinked a few times, and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, but continued to walk.

She was about to start walking, but another glance back at Andy made her stop. "Are you alright? You don't look so well," she said, immediately concerned. He'd looked fine only moments ago, but now...

She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. It was easy to tell that he was running a fever. "Maybe we should get you to the hospital wing," she said cautiously.

Andy turned back to Bri as she questioned about his welfare. He blinked a few more times, unable to focus on anything, which he found strange, as his eyesight had never failed him before.

"I'm fine" he said, although his body started to feel heavy, like the time he had stayed up all night to try and finish a Potions essay. He continued to blink, feeling his mind start to blur. He realised that perhaps he could go to the Hospital Wing. He hadn't felt like this before.

"I... I don't feel so good," he managed to get out, his eyelids heavy. Andy turned around to try and go back the way they had come, but realised that his leg was suddenly on fire, or at least it sure felt like it. He glanced down at his leg, but blackness overtook him before he could register anything to Bri about it.

"Andy? Andy?" Bri was growing ever more panicked and her eyes were starting to water until Andy dropped to the ground, at which point she broke into full on tears. There was a plant attached to his leg and she was starting to figure out what had happened. Her hands were shaking but she managed to perform a decent Relashio, getting the plant to let go of him, meaning that it's bite or whatever it had done was forced to stop, though there was nothing she could do for whatever was already in him.

Obviously, Andy couldn't walk, and there was no way that she could carry him to the castle. She had no clue what to do except go get someone who could help. She knelt at his side and checked to see if he was still conscious. "I don't know if you can hear me, Andy, but I'm so sorry! I'm going to get a teacher and everything's going to be okay, I promise. Please be okay. I'll be right back," she kissed his forehead as a promise to return with help as fast as possible. "I'm so sorry," she whispered once more before getting up and running at top speed for the castle.

Tai ran from the Castle and into the Forest, following the path, which he assumed was the way the two Ravenclaws went.

He didn't have to go all that far, as an unconscious body could be seen in the distance. Tai raced towards the boy and knelt down to check for a pulse. It was faint, but there. Tai breathed out a sigh of relief. Looking around, Tai could see the scorched remains of a plant, which Tai could only assume was the one that attacked Anthony. He didn't want to touch it, seeing at it still could be dangerous, so he concealed the plant in a conjured bag to take to Erika. Tai had a feeling about what it could be, and he certainly hoped that he was wrong. If his prediction was correct, the boy could be in far more trouble than Tai originally thought.

"Mobilicorpus," Tai cast, levitating Anthony's body from the Forest floor. Tai raced back up to the castle, with Andy following close behind him.