Grounds: The Forbidden Forest

[Lissy Longbottom]

Graphic credit: Felixir

At the very edge of the school grounds lies the Forbidden Forest, huge and sprawling, as seen from the vantage point of the castle. While this place has its uses, its intriguing secrets, and is called home many creatures and beings, it is also dangerous. You should safely assume that all the rumours you've heard about the Forbidden Forest are true, and keep a safe distance from the treeline. Who knows what may be lurking in the shadows? The place has an ominous and foreboding aura about it, not that you should be getting close enough to truly feel it.

In case the name is too subtle a hint, the Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to all Hogwarts students. No student is to enter the Forbidden Forest without staff accompaniment. That is a firm school rule. And no, before you ask, Professor Hernandez is NOT going to be swayed otherwise.

Students lurking at the edge of the Forest should be prepared to be treated with the utmost suspicion by any staff member who happens to spot them. Those with anything resembling good sense will give the entire area a wide berth.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Who would have thought that a whim purchase made years ago by two friends would turn out to be one of the smartest uses of his coin to date? Well, Atlas could have thought it and did and he had to admit that it was much easier fitting underneath it with Vera than it was another with another Gryffindor lioness he could mention. Far easier yet to fit under it with his pseudo little sister than it was a certain cap stealing blonde he could mention but absolutely was not because he needed to remained focused on the precision of his casting to disillusion their footprints once they had hit the grounds. If only his 'gift' from Peeves had been invisibility and not telekinesis ...and if only he had actually been able to control said 'gift'. The fact that he had been out of control in more ways than one that term was regrettable BUT you couldn't go all that wrong with and old fashioned Invisibility Cloak.

Unless you stepped on someone's toes...which was something else he was trying his best not to do.

At the edge of the forest now、Atlas paused just a moment to glance over his shoulder and through the dreamy translucent cloth (at least from the perspective of the person under the cloak), and finally loosened his arm that had been snaked around Vera's waist since they had slipped beneath it. "Last chance to back out," the seventh year teased in a whisper. Of course she wasn't going to back out NOW but the prolonged silence in favor of stealth had been KILLING. "We should get another ten paces into the forest proper before we come out from under this."

And then...he was determined to find that centaur colony he had been hearing so much about and only modestly desperate about meeting ever since first year and he had been too much of a coward to venture out here.

[Chelliephone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Who would have thought that a whim purchase made years ago by two friends would turn out to be one of the smartest uses of his coin to date? Well, Atlas could have thought it and did and he had to admit that it was much easier fitting underneath it with Vera than it was another with another Gryffindor lioness he could mention. Far easier yet to fit under it with his pseudo little sister than it was a certain cap stealing blonde he could mention but absolutely was not because he needed to remained focused on the precision of his casting to disillusion their footprints once they had hit the grounds. If only his 'gift' from Peeves had been invisibility and not telekinesis ...and if only he had actually been able to control said 'gift'. The fact that he had been out of control in more ways than one that term was regrettable BUT you couldn't go all that wrong with and old fashioned Invisibility Cloak.

Unless you stepped on someone's toes...which was something else he was trying his best not to do.

At the edge of the forest now、Atlas paused just a moment to glance over his shoulder and through the dreamy translucent cloth (at least from the perspective of the person under the cloak), and finally loosened his arm that had been snaked around Vera's waist since they had slipped beneath it. "Last chance to back out," the seventh year teased in a whisper. Of course she wasn't going to back out NOW but the prolonged silence in favor of stealth had been KILLING. "We should get another ten paces into the forest proper before we come out from under this."

And then...he was determined to find that centaur colony he had been hearing so much about and only modestly desperate about meeting ever since first year and he had been too much of a coward to venture out here.

Even if he DID accidentally stomp on her small feet, that is something that would have been very easy for Vera to forgive. Because this was by far the coolest experience she'd had in her entire 14 years and it was entirely thanks to the older lion. Not only were she and Atlas (who was by far the best partner for this particular shenanigan given the fact his additional years of magical experience gave a higher probability of... not dying) going to REALLY make it into the Forest this time, BUT she was doing it from under an INVISIBILITY cloak. She'd have to remember what the age requirement was for working in Diagon Alley because a summer job in order to save up for one of these herself seemed an absolute must.

She watched her own feet as well as they walked, hunkered close to her claimed older brother so that they wouldn't poke out from under the cloak and be spotted. Whatever charm he was casting on their footprints too was super helpful so that no one could follow them down. Though she was curious if anyone would even be monitoring this area at this time. One could hope not... right?

Hearing his whisper she beamed up at him and vehemently shook her head as brunette ponytail whipped side to side. Even if it was a joke, her enthusiasm had to be VERY evident. And considering she knew she would be waaaay too loud if she started to talk, waiting those additional 10 paces seemed a good idea. So at that comment, she put up a double thumbs up, careful not to life her arms too high and risk unsettling the cloak on them. 10 paces seemed so, so close! And while her preference would have been to go hunt the Spinx, centaurs seemed equally as cool AND this was Atlas last chance so obviously what he wanted was priority - even in her mind. "Let's go!" She risked a quiet whisper before looking down again and staring intently at his legs so she could match his footfalls.

[sweetpinkpixie]

She did make an acute observation - Atlas Leonel Flamsteed did pride himself on having a strong sense of self preservation which, well, let's not explore his first term at Hogwarts at this moment and the emotional and psychological trauma that he was still not grappling with. Let us also skip over the fact that actively seeking out entry into the Forbidden Forest was in direct contradiction to self preservation.

And, for the record, he would not be opposed to having a run in with the sphinx either. He did want to see if he could answer one of her riddles for bragging rights. His fixation on the centaurs predated his attendance of Hogwarts sooooooo yeah, it was a priority of the Gryffindor. Also...acromantula, but he had learned not to let that information slip out around most audiences since it tended to induce panic and flight.

Batting at the flailing ponytail that threatened to whip across his front, the seventh year offered his younger primary protégé a wink before taking a confident and wide stride forward to cross the threshold from open Hogwarts grounds and into the Forbidden Forest. It was an almost comically wide stride on purpose to challenge and tease her, you see.

[Chelliephone]

She would have certainly been curious to hear his thoughts on centaurs and their importance as well as acromantulas should he ever have chosen to share. There wasn't many things that caused her panic - except for the idea of her Papa being alone apparently. And maybe occasionally clothes, but that was new as of this term while she was still trying to navigate the whole fashion and attempting to appeal as pretty to people. Which had been a much stronger goal the further from summer she'd been.

But... she was digressing, and that rabbit trail of thought had no place when she needed to have her wits about her.

Because here they were. THE THRESHOLD.

Which... Atlas was crossing in one obnoxiously long stride, in which she TRIED to match by giving as careful of a hop as she could after him. It wasn't a great attempt though and she found herself reaching to cling to the back of his shirt to keep herself from falling backwards and out from under the cloak. "Atlas! Tiny legs!" She hissed quietly at him, knowing full well he knew that. Clearly he was exercising his older brother status he'd been adopted into.