Audrey had been eyeing the mysterious forest since her first day at Hogwarts. She'd bundled up in a sweater and some thick socks; her backpack was filled with muggle snacks she'd brought from home.

The short child was carefully tucked away in a particularly hard to spot area on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Audrey looked down through thick branches from her high perch in a sturdy-looking tree. A weird, nervous little feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach, but mostly Audrey was stupidly excited. She had almost died in curiosity waiting this long- it was only natural for a young, intelligent girl of her age to want to explore this forest, she reasoned. If they really didn't want her in here, they wouldn't have let it be so awfully cool. It was like dangling your steak dinner in front of a hungry dog and then punishing him when he gobbled it up.

It was late afternoon. They had compromised on this , hadn't they? Audrey hoped she hadn't gotten the time wrong. Lex and Lottie should be here soon. She had thought of asking Ariana to come, partly because she thought the girl was awesome and partly because then, if they were caught (which wouldn't happen nopenopenope), the point loss would be neutralized. She realized, however, that mixing Lex and Ariana would not be the smartest move.

She continued to peer down from her makeshift watchtower. They better not be noisy or obvious. Audrey was pumped. But, for the love of the Lord, what were those noises coming from the depths of the woods?

Text Cut: Audrey!

Quote:

Originally Posted by freddy-finn

Audrey had been eyeing the mysterious forest since her first day at Hogwarts. She'd bundled up in a sweater and some thick socks; her backpack was filled with muggle snacks she'd brought from home.

The short child was carefully tucked away in a particularly hard to spot area on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Audrey looked down through thick branches from her high perch in a sturdy-looking tree. A weird, nervous little feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach, but mostly Audrey was stupidly excited. She had almost died in curiosity waiting this long- it was only natural for a young, intelligent girl of her age to want to explore this forest, she reasoned. If they really didn't want her in here, they wouldn't have let it be so awfully cool. It was like dangling your steak dinner in front of a hungry dog and then punishing him when he gobbled it up.

It was late afternoon. They had compromised on this , hadn't they? Audrey hoped she hadn't gotten the time wrong. Lex and Lottie should be here soon. She had thought of asking Ariana to come, partly because she thought the girl was awesome and partly because then, if they were caught (which wouldn't happen nopenopenope), the point loss would be neutralized. She realized, however, that mixing Lex and Ariana would not be the smartest move.

She continued to peer down from her makeshift watchtower. They better not be noisy or obvious. Audrey was pumped. But, for the love of the Lord, what were those noises coming from the depths of the woods?

Lottie was clearly uber smart. She brought ZERO snacks, other than an apple, which was actually brought as a safety precaution rather than as a snack (because, you know, it was a hard fruit, and it works as a rock). She brought her BRIGHT pink pygmy puff Mags (called Magenta). And...her wand.

Everyone else was in charge of bringing the most important things. Though, clearly, a sense of direction and excellent hearing - which she provides - were MORE important than food. Also, by "everyone else" we mean Audrey and Lex.

Her blue eyes went up, as she heard movement coming from the branches. "Are we walking through the trees, Audrey?" she said, still looking up.

That didn't sound like a bad idea, actually.

Amelia had been walking past the forest on her way towards a section of the Black Lake when she spotted a first year. A long first year standing there with a backpack!

She was about to scream for help when she decided the best she could do was run and find the Mr. Firth.

She remembered the stories of those giant spiders. She didn't want anyone to be eaten - and she remembered the stories from older students about those scary spirit things in the forest. And those attacking creatures of doom.

She had hoped they'd be able to go to the Forbidden Forest at night. That would have been cool and more stuff would be out and about but Lottie thought the afternoon would work better and the girl usually had such brilliant ideas so afternoon it was. Every few steps she took were followed by a brief glance behind her just to make sure she wasn't being followed. So far, the coast was clear. They were serving lunch in the Great Hall now so she had half expected it to be clear.

Lex had only been in the forest once but it was pretty cool in there and as a bonus, she didn't die. Now she wanted to see it again, hence the little excursion she would be going on with Lottie and Audrey.

Her job was to supply the candy and the sensitive kneazle, both of which she had. The bag was slung over her shoulder and Felix was in his usual spot; wrapped in her arms.

Approaching the forest, she suddenly heard Felix hiss. Out of pure instincts she ducked behind a tree and watched a familiar Ravenclaw run by. WAIT.

Lex watched her disappear then bolted around to the agreed meeting spot. Her speed had the kneazle flustered but that wasn't important. "Guys, no time to waste! I just saw Mika, she might have seen one of you! If we wanna do this we have to be quick and quiet!" She rambled before turning to the forest. "If we're far enough we have a better chance of hiding if anything happens, let's go!" Then she hurried along, hoping they were following closely behind.

There was no time to waste!

What was that pink thing? Had Lottie brought earmuffs or something? She opened her mouth to respond to Lottie's question when Lex came into view.

SNITCH.

Audrey made a faint noise of disgust. Wasn't the girl in her own house, too? Way. To. Go.

Without wasting time, Audrey pretty much leaped from tree to tree, following Lex. Yes, Audrey is part monkey. Also the trees weren't very far apart at all. She hoped they could still have fun. Scratch that, Audrey would not leave this forest until she had a thoroughly awesome time or was forcibly removed.

"C'mon, Lottie!" she called down as she ran, to acknowledge that she was still thinking about her.

On the bright side, trees were nice.

Oh, hi, Lex!

Lottie was about to ask her about Felix, when she felt Mags tugging at her hair a bit. She'd found safety in Lottie's hair, a trait she must have taken from Spike's Matilda. It wasn't very cool, Mags, and the hair was straight, so the pygmy puff was still visible. But possibly out of sight from the kneazle.

MIKA? "And who's this Mika person?" Someone they ought to stay away. Sounded like a tattle tale, too. Boo, how uncool.

Anyway, they were right...but..."Shhhhhh! Audrey, shhhhh." Audrey was a Ravenclaw, you know? Same as shoe!boy and Dustbin. Maybe they shouldn't be allowed for this sort of...quest, adventure, thing.

SEARCH PARTY!

Because Lottie was searching for a TREE! That was in her book! See? She also brought that book, but it was in her bag. Among other unimportant things.

Merlin!

Lex turned on her heel and shot the younger a girl a slight glare; nothing bad but awfully warning. "I said QUIET!" Lex whispered furiously. She wasn't angry at the girl, simply at the circumstances. YES they would have had to be quiet regardless but NOW they were at a greater risk of getting caught because SOMEONE decided to be a BLOODY SNITCH!

Spinning again she was now facing the direction they were headed in. In as little time as possible they needed to put some distance between them and the entrance juuuuust in case. For all they knew the girl might have simply seen something else and ran. She wouldn't assume the worst for now.

"And get down from there. We can climb a bit later but you moving through the trees will attract attention." Tree hopping wasn't exactly a SILENT activity.

Now for Lottie's question. "She's this Ravenclaw that tried to make me lose 50 points last term. No one special." She said dismissively; her eyes glued to the forest's surroundings. She needed to figure out where they were going.

Audrey shut her mouth and quickly climbed down the tree, keeping up with Lex. She hadn't meant to shout, but being high in a tree had made her think it necessary.

"50 points!?!?!" Audrey said, shocked, but in a whisper that time. "Is she always like that? And what was that pink fluffbally thing you had, Lottie?"

It wasn't quite cold enough for earmuffs, but whatever.

She came across a sign that said "Keep Out!" in large letters. No thank you.

"How far in do you think we have to go before we can stop and look around?" she asked the both of them. She wanted to explore her surroundings. She'd even brought a disposable camera and a spiral notebook in her backpack. She was glad she'd gotten a cool dude in Diagon Alley to put a cushiony charm on the inside to stop it being loud. She couldn't hear the mountain dew cans, which meant it was working.

HA!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Lex was amusing. Until she mentioned who the girl was. ANOTHER RAVENCLAW. Were the only good Ravenclaws Spike and Elliot? Because if it was thanks to Audrey that they'll get caught, then, well...

WHOA! 50 points? That's...a lot of points. She only lost...3? 5? to Professor Scabior? Yup, something of the like.

"Shhhh." She said, suddenly. And stopped. "Stop. Each of you take five steps away from me. Less likely to be noticed if we're a little away from each other, yeah?" Okay. She shifted her bag and started to walk again, trying to gather herself a bit, and making sure they were going the right way. She knew where the acromantulas were, she'd researched, and they shouldn't go to the left.

"Pink? Oh that's my pygmy puff." Lottie added, with a smile and a sweet whispering tone.

Even though Audrey had made a conscious effort to whisper this time Lex still turned and gave her a 'shhhh' in time with Lottie's. She gave her a nod of approval however for getting down from the tree. Climbing was fun, always, but at the moment it was reckless behaviour and if there was one thing her Mama Vivi had tried teaching her it was that reckless behaviour was the quickest way to get caught--well actually stupidity was but recklessness came right behind!

"Yes, 50. I got a silencing charm placed on me by Professor Scabior and he threatened to take 50 if anyone removed it--she kept attacking me with spells when she found out." She explained in a low voice.

She was about to answer Audrey's other question when Lottie ordered them to stop. It was only then that she realized just how much squirming Felix had been doing in her hands. Lex gave him a curious look while she listened to the girl. "Yeah...good idea..." She took five steps to the left and that sent the kneazle hissing like he was about to be dipped in water. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"It shouldn't be much further before we can start wandering but here's the thing. There might be a Professor coming, we should stay on the alert. If one does show up we do our best to hide. If that fails, Lottie has a plan." She did have one, right?? She said she did!

It wasn't until Felix gave her a little scratch that she paid him further attention. "What?"

Audrey, now making a conscious effort to shut up after being 'shh'd' three times, stared at Lex for a moment in disbelif. That was pretty low of Mika, wasn't it? That was really low.

Okay, so they were splitting up a little. Since Lottie had chosen to go right, and Lex had chosen to go left (apparently not the best idea, if the kneazle's whining was anything to go by), it only made sense to Audrey to go forward. It wouldn't be very productive to go backwards, would it? No, it would not be very productive at all.

So the first year jogged a little ways ahead, but now she couldn't hear what they were saying. She could hear the sound of their voices from the 5 metres she was away from them, but couldn't make out the words.

Audrey did hear a rustling in the trees above her. She looked up and could make out, among the leaves of the tree, some kind of green, hairless, horned-monkey looking thing. It had a big bump on it's forehead that was bright red. And flashing. She bit her lip. Audrey didn't know what a clabbert was, so the foreign beast made her quite nervous.

"Umm, guys..." she said softly, even though they couldn't hear here if she whispered from over here, but before she could get too frightened the little creature swung away to a different tree, making it's way away from the group of eleven and twelve year olds.

Audrey took a moment to remind herself that they really weren't any threat against anything that came at them- Audrey hadn't even the slightest idea what most of the creatures and plants in this forest were. She looked back at the two girls.

Deciding this would be better for everyone if she could actually hear them, Audrey walked back a metre or two to be able to do so.

Wait, wait.

Lex had a Silencing charm placed on her? by Professor Scabior? Well, that man was the one with the attitude, not Lottie. She didn't comment on that, though, for they might end up meeting him instead. And he was a very smart - and tricky - Professor. She wouldn't want to meet him here.

So, she stopped thinking about it and made sure Mags was still safely hidden from Felix's sight.

Lottie nodded. Stay on alert. All the footsteps she was hearing were their own - at least the closest sounds anyway. And Felix's little paws. "I do. So, try your best to keep quiet and let me talk if something happens." Or if the Groundskeeper stops by. She was kind of looking forward to meet the Groundskeeper, really. Hopefully under other circumstances.

Hmmm? What was that in the trees Audrey? "It sensed no danger, don't worry," she said, looking towards the first year. Clearly, a search party of three was no danger at all. AT ALL. To the forest, at least.

"So, what do think Milton would like?" SMIRK.

Lex decided she would ignore Felix. She gave him a chance to explain himself but he just kept staring to the left like he'd seen something. If he wanted to go find a snack then he could forget it! There were things in here that would make a meal of HIM. This was for his own good. He'd thank her one day.

Her attention was instead fixed on Audrey who had decided to walk ahead. She was more than a little curious when she saw the girl closing the distance between them again. Looking up she almost didn't see the clabbert disappearing into a few branches. "Yeah, like Lottie said, it's fine. Stay closer though, we're almost there."

She gave Lottie a nod. "Don't worry, I plan to. The way I see it you said you had a plan so I didn't bother making one. It's all on you--no pressure though." Because Lottie still had good ideas even if a few failed. Um...just...this one really needed to not fail.

A smirk played on her face at the girl's question. "There are so many things he could want...my vote's for something man-eating but simply scary is good enough too." Just so long as it scared the pygmy puff out of him.

Lexa was becoming ridiculous. She wasn't responded to his subtle hints that he would rather she not be walking this way. Finally too frustrated to put up with it for much longer the Kneazle jumped from her hands and began nodding his head a little more to the right. This way child!

Oh?

Since when did he decided he preferred walking. Lex gave him a curious look before seeing his pointing. "Well why didn't you say so?" She scooped him into her arms again. "I'm guessing he doesn't like whatever's over there. Nothing to worry about, let's continue." Ooooo lookit, a 'keep out' sign. So prettiful. She continued walking until they came to a clearing.

"Wow..."

"What about man-eating somethings?" Audrey asked with a fair bit of concern. Images of man-eating things flashed through her mind. An especially worrying thought came to her- what if a tree ended up just uprooting itself and eating her?

Gulp.

Audrey looked up at Lex's 'wow', and her eyes widened comically.

A teensy bit of sunlight trickled down into the otherwise dark forest at the clearing. She took her camera out of her backpack. It was so gorgeous. There were tons of plants- none of which she had seen before, which made the Ravenclaw almost giddy with excitement.

"Can we stop here for a while?" Audrey asked, already stooping down to carefully take a picture of a grouping of mushrooms. She'd decided already not to touch anything she wrote down about; after reading her Herbology textbook she'd come to the conclusion that magical plants were much more malicious than muggle ones. The little mushrooms had purple tops and dark green stems, and though she couldn't quite think of their name, she had a faint recollection of reading about them being poisonous.

She set her getting-heavy backpack down next to her feet, as if when she had asked she wasn't really asking.

Lottie was not going to act worried at what Lex just said. So, she didn't even made a back-up plan? That was...very Gryffindor, actually. No wonder she was one. The Ravenclaws were the planners, yeah? Hmmm...yeah, Audrey surely had no back-up plan either.

Riiiiight. No pressure or anything. Seriously, though, she couldn't see her plan NOT failing. Or at least her excuse.

So the brunette merely nodded, blue eyes scanning the path ahead, and making sure no one was walking towards the acromantulas.

Eyes on Audrey now. "Well, there was a man-eating plant running around the grounds last term...," she was a first year, wasn't she? "...so, there's probably lots of things that eat men in the forest." Including eleven and twelve year-old girls. But no worries! They weren't going to get eaten. Or, at least Lottie didn't plan on being eaten anytime soon.

Then she stopped.

"Maybe unicorns...," blink. That was the first thought that came to mind when they got here. Here, to this clearing. Where a bit of light made some things sparkle and others glow. Why couldn't they have something like this on the 'allowed' part of the grounds? Because it was pretty. And she could only look up, to the near uber-tall trees. Climbing THAT would be awesome.

Oh? "Yes, sure, why not?" They were stopping here, then. Off to look for Milton's gift, yes? Mags ventured a little out of Lottie's hair, clinging at the strap of the bag.

Lex nodded towards Lottie. "What she said. It was a super cool but really rude plant; hit me across the face and stole a wombat from me and Minnie." She didn't think she needed to explain what happened to the wombat, Audrey was a smart enough girl. There was no need for that, yes?

She didn't think so.

"You don't mean we're giving Milton a unicorn do you???" She asked, shooting the girl an incredulous look. The guy deserved a lot of things but a unicorn was NOT one of them! His present had to be something that left him sleepless for at least a month. Her gaze fell on the first year that was already making herself comfortable. "Um...Audrey...muggle technology stuff don't actually work on the grounds...I don't think you'll get much out of that camera." It was a shame really but that's just how it was. The girl was only wasting her time.

She looked around the clearing...just on the other side she could've sworn she saw...well...it looked a lot like a...those weren't in the forest, were they...? Her attention was pulled from the figure in the distance when Felix suddenly shifted in her hands. Looking down she spotted him, much more alert as he looked over at the pygmy puff that had obviously gotten tired of seeing nothing but hair. "No." She wrapped her arms more tightly around him then focused again on the other side of the clearing.

"Do you guys see that...?" Could they see that? Not everyone could see a Thestral afterall.

Alistaire Firth was NOT amused. He'd been trying to just enjoy an hour--ONE HOUR--to himself and his bagpipes. But apparently several girls didn't think he needed that time. Oh no, they had to run off and explore the forbidden forest. The FORBIDDEN Forest. Seriously, big KEEP OUT signs every twenty paces ought to be enough to convey the message. But where there were rules, there were also students who would break them.

Sweeping the lantern beam back and forth, Ali grunted. Lot of good this thing's doing. He wouldn't be able to see anyone unless they were five steps in front of him. And yet, as he was approaching a clearing, he heard a rustling noise. Firth pulled out his wand. "Homenum revelio," he muttered. A soft swooshing noise could be heard, then a few seconds later it sounded once more. Heh, so the girl wasn't lying. There WERE students in here.

He cleared his throat loudly. "Righ', I know yeh're in there, girls. Step inter th' clearing where i's open." He shone his light onto the spot he was referencing and, for good measure, lit his own wand.

Ali gave a start when something nudged his hand. A dozen defensive spells sprung to mind before he saw it was just one of the Hogwarts thestrals. "Oh i's jus' you, Tenebrus." He petted the steed on the head, then gave him a soft pat on the rump to get him out of there.

He turned his attention back to the clearing where he was expecting to see several young female students appear. If they know what's good for them they'll come out sooner rather than later. Because if he had to go looking for them or be kept waiting, he was NOT going to be happy about it.

What? She wasn't going to give Milton a...

...but Lottie could've sworn the one creature - that sounded like a horse, mind you - was a unicorn. The gray-almost white- shadowy figure moved too quickly for her to properly notice. It was either a unicorn or a super light centaur. Or a simply winged horse. Which there appeared to be one, but we weren't able to see.

Also, she knew Lex saw something as well. But the same gray figure returned for a second only to turned into something silvery. Yeah, definitely not a centaur.

Except...WHERE THOSE FOOTSTEPS SHE HEARD?!

"Jump and run." The moment Lottie whispered this, the pygmy puff hidden between strands of her hair simply disappeared. Her eyes were on Lex. AND THEN SHE HEARD IT.

A man's voice.

AND A SPELL!

Busted.

And they were being called for. How...embarrassing. Though, technically...they weren't seen yet, right? So...she could try and run away, without being seen? Because that was possible. Except...spells. All she needed was an invisibility cloak. And luck that wasn't provided by Audrey, apparently, since she was the one that was seen by Mika.

Ravenclaws.

The nearest tree was not near at all, so she might as well just step up. Did somebody say 'afraid'? Not really. She placed an index finger to her lips, to motion Lex to be quiet. And stomped her foot to the ground ever so lightly as a sign for...something else.

The pygmy puff started to run towards the man, Lottie could see Mags' direction - thank Merlin she was bright pink - and followed quickly, "There she is!" she exclaimed, pointing at the bright puffball that was running towards the...Groundskeeper? "Catch her, Sir, please! Catch her!" she exclaimed again, running towards the man, too.

The worry in her voice seemed to be entirely real. Not a made up one.

She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look at the thestral. Neither girl's seemed to see it but it was RIGHT THERE!!! It sometimes puzzled her how only some could see and some couldn't even though it had been explained to her time and time again. One thing was for sure. Them not seeing it was good. Very good.

Felix became restless again. He kept moving around in her hands, giving her gentle scratches every now and then. "Ow...cut it out Feli--"

What was that?

...

She forced Felix to be still and listened to what sounded like footsteps. Her eyes darted to Lottie who seemed to be thinking the same thing as her. Could they run? Would they have gotten away with it? She didn't want to end up running and having Audrey be left behind...that wouldn't have been cool.

Her ears caught the sound of something else...a spell maybe...? What the kneazle?? The Ground's Keeper wasn't planning to shoot any spells at them was he? She was sooooo not in for that. Anything and everything could go wrong and she didn't want to be maimed!! Not saying he wasn't capable of course, just saying she didn't trust ANYONE to point a wand at her.

Okay...Lottie's brilliant idea could come in now. She wouldn't mind. Honest.

Oooo and there it was!

Without much thought she threw Felix from her hand. He would know what to do. It was his bloody specialty. -___-

"You're right! I see her! Felix get back here! Leave Mags alone!!!!" She bolted right behind the girl, putting on her best 'kneazle scolding face'. Once she was at the Ground's Keeper's side she snatched him up. "What have I told you about trying to make a meal of other things!" She would have to feed him a whole bunch of treats later for cooperating.

Okay, judge all you want, she bolted. It was instinctive; she didn't even think about doing anything else in the situation. She quickly and quietly picked up her bag when Lottie noticed footsteps. When Lex was turned away, she sprinted further into the depths of the forest.

She may be short and scrawny, but she could run better than anything. She was light on her feet. Audrey didn't realize just how far in she was going- no spectacular distance by any means, but definitely greater than she'd intended.

She slowed about half a mile away from the clearing and panicked. Was it getting dark, or were the woods just thicker here? What was with all the creepy noises? Audrey was still now. A sign, reading 'KEEP OUT' was directly in front of her. If she'd kept running, she would have tripped. She tasted blood in her mouth- she'd bit her lip a little too hard.

Should she have just fessed up? The little girl felt slightly guilty for leaving her newfound friends- were they her friends? For the most part, however, she was focused on her own self preservation. She barely knew those people. She comforted herself with this thought. Lex seemed far too used to getting her own way. Yes, she would be fine once she got out of this mildly scary forest.

Was climbing into a tree a good idea? The two older girls had said they had nothing to fear in the clabbert, but Audrey wasn't so sure. On the other hand, she wasn't much better on the forest floor. She wondered if they were looking for her and hoped they weren't. She didn't want to get caught.

But you're helpless here. The Ravenclaw told her mind, in a quite rude fashion, to shut up. It was true, though, wasn't it? Her wand was all but useless- she knew very few spells. Not even 'lumos.' Wait. You absolute idiot. She had a flashlight, battery operated, in her bag. She unzipped the blue backpack and took out a big, purple flashlight. She hesitated in turning it on- was that really a good idea? Attention was the last thing she wanted. Okay. She would walk slowly back to the edge of the forest and then loop around the grounds and go back to the Great Hall for dinner. She would keep the flashlight out- JUST in case- but not turn it on.

She took a deep breath and turned around. The darkness was becoming overwhelming. She wanted to run, but that would attract noise and she definitely didn't want that. Gulp.

Onnwaard MARCH!

Wait. Where exactly was the edge of the forest?

Oh, nonononono.

All was silent for several seconds after Ali called to the girls. His spell had told him that there were three students, and yet none had come... Ah, here they... eh? Suddenly someone was yelling to him that something needed catching. Then another voice was yelling out to Felix, whoever that was. Either way, Alistaire looked down at the ground and saw... "A pygmy puff?!" he said in consternation. Ali leaned down and scooped up the poor creature right before someone else grabbed a cat. Little guy's lucky he wasn't eaten! The bright pink creature was stowed in his shirt pocket for safety.

With that excitement out of the way, he straightened to his full and considerable height. Alistaire Firth was angry. And when a Firth was angry... The hot-blooded Scottish temper was a sight to behold, though most would prefer to NOT behold it. "Wha' d'yeh think yeh're doin' in here?" he said gruffly, trying to contain himself. Then it dawned on him: there were only two students standing in front of him. "Where's th' other one?" he demanded.

Probably ran for the hills so she wouldn't get in trouble. This was really a bad idea because she would be in far worse trouble now--if she didn't get herself killed first. "Righ', I'm goin' after her. You two: if yeh know wha's good for yeh, yeh'll stay here." The relative safety of the clearing was his best option for them. He wasn't going to let them wander off alone. Fingers to his lips, he whistled loudly. "Tenebrus the thestral is comin' ter keep yeh company. He's harmless but will ward off anythin' tha' might want ter eat yeh." And that was all the time he had for explanation.

With several motions of his wand, the Groundskeeper said, "Protego! Expecto Patronum!" A forcefield-llike dome sprang up around the girls, effectively trapping them IN and everything else OUT. A second, silvery essence materialized in the gloom and shot off toward the castle. "If anythin' happens, shoot red sparks up inter th' air, yeh hear?" And without further ado, he tromped off into the darkness, lantern in hand.

Mr. Firth was NOT amused.

YES!

So, now Mags was safe. Because the man was oh-so-kind and picked her up. Lottie was smiling in relief. Mainly because Felix ALMOST got her pygmy puff. ALMOST. We'll have a word with the feline later on.

"My pygmy puff, Sir," she nodded, unsure of whether he was asking or simply stating his thoughts aloud. She did notice something and mentally hexed the first year that had run away. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND...runs away, all alone, in the forest? Are Ravenclaws even smart???

Dustbin, Stone, MILTON.

That House needed to pick their own better. Hufflepuffs weren't even that stupid.

So, clearly, she was going to answer the Groundskeeper's question when he added a new one. "Who's who? What other girl?" she said, tilting her head to one side, pretending not to acknowledge the boltee. What an idiot. "It's only Lex and me," and the pygmy puff and the kneazle.

Got it, Lex?

Lottie was about to point out that the best would be to get out of the forest, but her mouth didn't even move. She merely nodded. And straightened up. "Yes, Sir," we won't move, right, Lex, you won't move either.

Also, yeah, the thestral she couldn't see? How about them unicorns? Anyway, it was sort of cool, wasn't it? The charm, the thestral, the...patronus. HEY WAIT! WHO WAS HE CALLING?! WAS HE CALLING SPIKE!? Because that's the last thing she wanted! SPIKE WOULD BE SO DISAPPOINTED. *mellow*

Nod, nod. They're not going anywhere, Mr. Groundskeeper.

OHWAIT! "He took my pygmy puff."

O_O

Lex stroked Felix as she watched the Ground's Keeper take in the sight of the pygmy puff. Luckily Felix hadn't gotten to Mags...he might have been good with pretending but he was also good with switching roles at the last minute.

Anyway...Did this mean he fell for it??

When she didn't hear a third set of footprints coming she whipped around and saw a perfectly empty clearing.

...

.......

She'd kill her.

But for now, she'd go along with Lottie because this was already agreed on. "Yeah Sir, we have no idea what you're talking about...Lottie and I came chasing after my rogue kneazle...I don't think there's anyone else..." Then she gave that clueless look that she had perfected ages ago. Being clueless was her thing so naturally she'd have developed it into a skill by now.

She nodded obediently at his instructions to stay but....what was with sending off that patronus...? She was now very suspicious but prepared to remain 'clueless'.

So now they would stay here with a thestral and a shield and...wait...right...She watched him go then gave Lottie a look. "Lottie...?"...."You okay...?"

Upon seeing a bright light in the distance, Audrey quickly climbed up a distinctly mundane tree. No flesh eating ones today, thank you very much! She nervously climbed up the branches, being as quiet as possible.

Buuuuut her backpack had to go and get caught on the branch of a tree. She would have to leave it there for the time being. She was hungry. She knew it was inappropriate for the situation. She sadly left her snacks behind her. The girl continued to climb until she was high but not so high that she would be easily spotted. Man, she wanted those gushers. Thinking about things like food made it slightly less scary to be in the middle of a deadly forest.

She became completely still and made herself breathe softer. Her heart was pounding. This was so stupid. She looked guilty as anything, but there wasn't anything she could do at this point. Maybe if she wasn't spotted, she could make her way to the edge..no, he knew she was here. She didn't know about homenum revelio.

What had she done?