Forbidden is my middle name...

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley hadn't paid much attention at the welcome feast, but she had heard enough of the headmistress's speech to know that the forest was definitely and absolutely off limits. Which, naturally, had made it the first place she planned to go upon having some free time. She had been relieved to find that for the most part, her roommates seemed to be fun people to be around, but it was always worth testing the water, and she had decided to convince one of them to come check it out with her.

"I reckon we should head in around here, it doesn't look too thick." She said to her companion, peering through the trees. Harley hadn't spent much... or any time around forests, but she figured they couldn't be dangerous enough to warrant actually forbidding. What, too many birds singing too loudly? Please. It was barely worth checking out, but the fact that it was forbidden was enough to make Harley want to at least explore a little. She had a pocket knife and permanent marker tucked in her pocket, ready to leave her mark once they were suitably deep in the woods.

 

[Aurora Night]

When Harley had mentioned to Rory that she wanted to explore the Forbidden Forest, she had jumped at the chance to accompany the other first-year. Rory had been eyeing up the forest too, it was just the sort of place someone could disappear into when they didn't want to be disturbed. At home there were only about four or five trees at the bottom of the garden she could escape up, but here at Hogwarts there was a whole forest - how could she be expected to stay away?

Nodding in agreement of Harley's statement, Rory entered the tree-line, brushing her hands along the trunks as she passed them. "You know, the headmistress said it was forbidden, but you think they'd put up some kind of repelling charm if they were serious, right?" She glanced over at the other girl in amusement. Harley was already shaping up to be the sort of person Rory liked to spend time with, just by the fact of her being out here. "She never even told us why it was forbidden. It's like they're taunting us on purpose."

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley laughed, glancing back at Rory. The girl had a good point. "True! Why would they make it so easy to just walk in if it's so bad? There's not even a fence, it's ridiculous." She pushed aside a branch and began making her way into the trees, quick to get behind a few tree trunks just in case any teachers were looking. She held the branches behind her, making a path for Rory to follow, not wanting to get too separated, just in case.

"I bet it's forbidden because the teachers hide things in here. Or like, they have parties in here, and they don't want any kids to know. It's just stupid grownup stuff, not even a real rule." She said confidently, hopping up on a fallen log and making her way across it with arms outstretched, something Harley had seen kids on tv do, and always wanted to try herself.

 

[Aurora Night]

Following Harley through the path she made between the trees, Rory looked around in interest. Admittedly, there was some small part of her that was curious as to why the forest was literally named 'Forbidden.' There had to be some sort of story behind it. No one in her family had told her very much about the school itself, preferring to let her find out on her own. Well, she sure was finding out now, although she wondered if they had hoped she'd read a book, rather than engaging in an up-close and personal experience.

Wrinkling her nose at the idea of stuffy professors doing something so fun as to party, Rory laughed. "If they're hiding something in here it must be huge." Jumping up onto the fallen log behind Harley, she peered into the foliage surrounding them. The more she saw of the forest, the less she was worried about the fact that it was out-of-bounds for students. It just looked like trees and ferns, the same as any touristy nature walk she'd visited when she was younger. "When I grow up I'm going to do what I want, and not be so boring all the time," she announced to the back of Harley's head.

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley hopped off the end of the log a little reluctantly, having enjoyed fulfilling that little daydream. "I bet it's like... A secret house they all hang out in, or like... what if they hide exam answers out here or something..." She laughed. "Or maybe the forest itself is like a secret test, maybe they want to see who's smart enough to notice it's not protected and go through it. Something like that."

Clambering up a rotten stump, Harley looked around for a moment, before jumping to grab hold of a low branch and swing back down to the ground. "Nice. When I'm a grown up I'm gonna do whatever I want, and I'm gonna be a cool parent, I won't make my kids do anything stupid or tell them they've got to be the best, I'm just gonna let them do whatever they want, 'cause that's what I'll be busy doing." She smiled, imagining the horrorstruck faces on her parents faces when they saw how cool her future kids were.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory grinned, delighted at the idea that the forest might be a secret test. "Then we are definitely some of the smart ones. We should get special privileges for not just believing everything they tell us." She was so caught up in the adrenaline of the exciting time she was having that she actually half-believed what she was saying.

Watching Harley play around, Rory moved to sit down on the log, swinging her feet against the sides. "I don't get parents. My mum's always telling me to do chores, and she knows I take forever to do them, so why does she do them herself and get mad at me? Like, if you were just going to do it yourself why ask me to do it? Especially when you know that I'm bad at chores?" Pushing herself off the log, she wiped her hands down her sides to remove the bits of moss left behind. "So what's the first thing you'll do once you can do what you want?"

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley laughed. "Definitely! That would be so awesome, I bet they give kids better grades if they figure out secret stuff going on, 'cause they know we're smart. It's like, extra credit or something to figure out the school's secrets." Harley kicked a few leaves, bending down to look at an interesting rock. "We'll be sitting in class laughing while everyone else has to work their butts off to do as well as we do."

Standing back up, Harley swung off another branch for a while, thinking. "Parents suck." She agreed. "My parents are jerks. They always made me do a ton of chores, until I decided I was their favourite, then it was fine if I didn't do anything anymore. They're liars, they lie all the time. It sucks. All grownups lie so much." Scowling at the thought of her parents, Harley dropped from the branch again and kicked the tree trunk in irritation. "When I'm free I'm gonna just go really far away, maybe on a motorbike, and just have my own adventures, nobody else. I'm never gonna follow any rules. And I'm gonna do really big paintings, just find the biggest buildings I can and paint all over them. People won't even know what's going on, they'll just be going about their day, and then there'll be ART, out of nowhere, and they'll realise doing the same thing as everyone else is boring and pointless."

Realising she had gone off on a tangent, Harley glanced back at Rory. "What about you? What do you wanna do when you can do anything you want?"

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory grinned, fully caught up in their little story now. "Getting better grades would be awesome. Otherwise I'm going to do terrible at all that boring lesson stuff - I just can't be bothered. I mean, some of the magic will be fun, but we probably have to write essays." She said the last word distastefully. Rory didn't mind writing, she actually quite enjoyed it. But she didn't want to be told what to write, especially when it was going to be about dumb school stuff.

Wandering a little further in, Rory stayed quiet as Harley vented her frustration. She didn't quite think her own parents were as bad as Harley seemed to think hers were. Which sucked for the other girl. Sure parents were supposed to be annoying, but they were supposed to love you, too. She picked at some leaves as she waited for Harley to finish. "The motorbike and painting things sound cool. I suck at art." Tipping her head back, Rory hummed, considering. "I think I'd like to go really far away, too. I don't know where though. Maybe America, and just drive from LA all the way to New York. And back again. Or... I might go camping in the mountains and just live up there for a year." Rory looked back at Harley and shrugged. "I've gotta get out of school first."

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley laughed. "Ew, I never wanna write an essay. I just wanna learn cool stuff with my wand already. It took soooo long to get, now I have it I just wanna use it..." She pulled a face, hoping she wouldn't have to wait as long to use her wand as she had to get it. It felt like she had been in the shop forever, it was infuriating.

Harley grinned, imagining it. "America sounds so cool... we could go on a road trip together, and see the sights all over the place, and not have to answer to anybody." Sighing, she paused to look at a kereru in the trees while she imagined it. When the bird took its heavy, noisy flight, she looked back at Rory. "Let's just have all the adventures we can, no matter what anyone says, even while we have to do school."

 

[Aurora Night]

Swinging around a smaller tree with one hand, Rory grinned, happy that Harley had expressed a similar feeling of wanting to use her wand soon. "I know, right? I'll finally be able to get my uncle back for all the annoying stuff he does to me. I'm gonna learn that levitation charm so good he won't know what hit him." Hanging off the tree she allowed herself a small moment of distraction as she imagined her uncle's grudging respect that she was just as good at annoying charms as he was.

Hearing the other girl say they could road trip together made Rory feel a burst of excitement, and she smiled widely. She could actually see it in her mind, a long stretch of road and Harley with her feet up on the dash as the radio blared. "We should do it. All of it. The road trip and the adventures." This was exactly the type of thing that Rory had always wanted to do in her life - something more than just living the way everyone else did. She was really glad she'd decided to come out here with Harley. "Is it too early to start planning the next one?"

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley laughed. "Yeah!" She grinned, imagining all the ways she could mess with her parents now. "Oh man, I can't wait to learn all this stuff... everything's gonna be so different back home." Harley smiled, suddenly more excited than ever to learn. It'd be a whole new game from now on when her parents were up to their lies. A quieter part of Harley also considered that she could help Jason with his chores now, but quickly realised it might feel like rubbing her magic in his face, and she shook her head a little, trying to dispel the thought.

Harley beamed, the thought of the road trip boosting her spirits. "Yeah! It's gonna be perfect!" She grinned, leaning against a tree with rough, gnarled bark. "Oh man, there's so much we could do... we could go looking for secret passages and hidden rooms, or see how late we can stay out after curfew before getting caught, or try to explore the dungeons..." She trailed off, frowning. "Actually, I think there's a gargoyle living down there, never mind..."

 

[Aurora Night]

Leaning back against the tree she'd just been swinging off, Rory crossed her arms. "Okay, two questions. What kind of magic do you really wanna learn about the most, and where is home for you?" Growing up, Rory had never been anywhere outside the Wellington region in which she lived, unless you counted Floo visits to her family, which she didn't. Perhaps Harley had come from someplace further away, and would be able to tell her interesting things about it.

The other girl definitely had some great ideas of things to do around the school, though. Rory's grin grew wider the longer Harley's list got. By herself she had never considered exploring the castle, but having someone to share the experience with, particularly someone as fun as Harley - it sounded perfect. Clearly, this was the true reason her parents had forced her to come to school, they had to have known about all the fun she would have. "Wait," Rory said, her eyes widening, "there's an actual gargoyle living in the dungeons?"

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley paused to ponder Rory's questions, resting her head against a branch as she did. "Hmm... I'd like to learn to fight, honestly. Like, duelling stuff. And setting stuff on fire would be cool. I dunno what else though... potions could be fun?" She shrugged. "And I'm from Auckland. What about you? Same questions..."

Harley scowled. "Well... a girl-goyle." She grumbled, folding her arms. "Her name's Odette Harper, she's a Slytherin in our year, and she's basically the worst person ever. I went to primary school with her and she's a massive bully, she tricks people into thinking she likes them so they'll do whatever she says, she lies and sucks up to people, and does all sorts of stuff just to get her own way, she's the worst."

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory tipped her head to the side, considering. "Yeah, duelling would be cool. And my grandfather told me you can blow cauldrons up if you're not careful, so Potions could be awesome." Granted, her grandfather had been very serious and stern when he'd told her that, but it had just made Rory want to be in his potions lab more, rather than keeping her away as she was sure he'd intended. "I want to learn how to shoot fireworks from my wand, or make it play music. Stuff like that." She tipped her head to the other side. "I'm from Wellington. Our house kind of hangs off a hill on one side."

Rory was disappointed that there was no actual gargoyle. That would've been fun to see. Listening to Harley, though, she started biting her lip a little in confusion. Rory had met an Odette already, and surely it wasn't that common a name. But that girl had been alright, she'd seemed honest enough the few times she'd talked about herself, and she'd never tried to be a suck up - in fact, she'd politely disagreed with Rory more than a few times. Either Harley was talking about some other Odette, or she had a confused - but good otherwise - reason for believing what she did. Trying not to think about, Rory just shrugged. "I don't think I've met anyone like that."

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley's eyes widened. "You can blow them up?!" She breathed. "Oh my god, that's so awesome! I wanna do that!" She grinned, mind running wild with new possibilities. Harley's parents had gone on and on about how wonderful Hogwarts was, but she had never expected it to actually live up to their hype. "Fireworks would be cool too, yeah! I just wanna blow stuff up, wow..." She nodded, kicking at some leaves. "I've never been to Wellington, we don't travel, this is only like the third time I've left Auckland..."

Harley sighed, relieved that Odette hadn't sunk her claws into Harley's new friend yet. "Well, if you meet a blonde girl called Odette just run the other way, she's just... the worst person you could imagine. She tricks and bullies people all the time, I saw her do it at our old school, and I don't wanna see her doing it again to people here." Harley scowled, kicking a few leaves harder. "It sucks, people fall for it all the time, especially teachers, they think she's this goodie goodie two shoes, and I'm a jerk for warning people about what she does..."

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory laughed. "Well, maybe just the stuff in the cauldrons blows up, but it still sounds cool. We should totally try and be partners if we can." Walking over to another tree she peered up into the branches for a minute, then looked back at Harley. "I don't think I've been to Auckland, either. I mean, maybe one of my relatives lives just outside it, or something, but I wouldn't know 'cause we just take the Floo when we visit them." She kicked at the tree's roots. "Man, the first time we really get to go anywhere and it's a stupid school."

As Harley continued to describe someone who did at least seem to look the same as Odette, Rory scrunched her mouth sideways. The thing was, she believed Harley was telling the truth about why she felt this way, and Rory had no problem with those reasons. To be honest, she'd probably feel the same way if she knew someone like that. But it still didn't add up with the girl she'd met, and she didn't want to just assume things about her with no proof. Doubting Harley even a little bit was making her feel worse, though, and she felt like the whole thing was probably going to ruin the fun they'd been having if they kept talking about it. She tried to smile in a way that she hoped didn't look like a grimace. "Well, if I see her, or any other bullies, I won't let them get away with it."

 

[James Woodlock]

As James spent a lot of his time in the greenhouse and the gardens he would see a lot of students sneak into the forbidden forest. The most common site seemed to be Lucas which annoyed the man no end. After what happened the previous year he knew he would be blamed for anything that happened to his cousin. He only hoped Braxton had more sense and kept out of trouble, but he doubted it, at times the boy seemed like he was a carbon copy of his brother. James was confident the incident with Lucas in the greenhouse was now behind him and he was looking forward to the new year.

The Professor was mid way through planting when he noticed what looked like two first years, by their size, heading towards the forest. James sighed, he had spotted them which meant he had to bust them. He dusted off his hands, sent his tools back to the greenhouse and made his way into the forest. James managed to catch up to them fairly quickly and he sighed heavily as he stepped out in front of then. "You couldn't wait a month before breaking the rules?" He asked addressing the two girls. "Both Gryffindors I see, well that is convenient,"

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Harley was about to reply to Rory when a noise startled her. Maybe there was something in here after all. Braced to run, she groaned when a teacher broke through the trees. Seriously? She couldn't go five minutes without grownups ruining everything. Glancing at Rory and thinking of the detention she already had with the jerk from the bathroom, Harley made a split second decision and took off, running deeper into the trees, trying to get away.

feel free to god mod a little to catch her if you want, i'm not necessarily expecting her to get away

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Professor Kingsley always spent some time in the forbidden forest during the first semester to find and mark some trees for use in her lessons. Today she had run a bit later than she'd planned, having spent some time speaking to the trees. One in particular had gashes near its roots, a curious addition that she planned on mentioning to Ava when she had the chance. Finally heading back, the woman had her wand in one hand, the tip illuminated since it was dark this deep in the forest, and a small bag in the other. The silence was just what the woman needed from all the stress she'd been under lately, and she found herself singing as she walked back.

Finally spotting the castle through the trees, the woman knew she wasn't too far. When she heard voices, she really knew she was close. Students rarely got as deep as they thought they did when in reality they typically remained in the 'safer' parts of the Forbidden Forest. It was something she laughed about often. Creatures rarely ventured this close to the castle, so when she spotted movement, she immediately suspected it was a student messing around. She darted to her left for a better view...not far from where the girl was running. She'd been right. "Stop RIGHT now!" she yelled. She could stop her with a spell, but she didn't particularly like using magic on students. She also didn't particularly want to have to chase her down.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory had barely got her mind around the fact that a teacher had found them, when Harley suddenly took off into the forest, leaving her behind. Panicking, and already backed up against a tree, Rory did the only thing that she could think of - turning around, she started climbing as quickly as she could. In her alarm, all she could think was that the professor wouldn't be able to make her come down if she managed to climb high enough.