Closed Hunting or Hunted?

[Wendall Layton]

There was so much that Wendall could be doing around the school, that he felt guilty when he didn't want to do any of it. If he had things his way, he would have tucked himself back in the common room or the library, losing himself once again in another comic or graphic novel. It was the closest he could come to watching a film these days, and provided enough of a distraction between lessons; another thing he was uneasy about. He knew this year he wouldn't have done well, not that anyone was going to say anything. Leda and Mervyn were much too busy now with their own jobs and looking after the strange blonde girl that had turned up last year to worry about what Wendall was doing. The third year wasn't much more than a guest when he went to stay with his cousin, and he found himself missing Olive even more when he was away from the school.​

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The only thing that helped with this, was the small black cat that was currently rubbing his head against Wendall's shin as he stood outside the forest, waiting for his friend. Nugget had belonged to Olive, which instantly made him feel more at ease knowing that he was responsible now for the pet that had kept the potioneer company for so many years. Sometimes when things were especially lonely, he liked to pretend that Olive was still here, only that she'd transformed herself into Nugget, and it was his cousin that was curled up beside him and looking out for him. ​

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The third year had dressed in his thickest sweater and raincoat, hood up to help keep himself concealed against the trees. If he were honest he was quite nervous about going into the forest, knowing what had happened last time, but Lysander wanted to go in, and he wasn't going to let the Gryffindor go by himself, nor was he going to let anyone else in the school take his place as best friend. Maybe Wendall would be as useful as bait if they found themselves in a tight spot, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to defend himself if he had to. He hoped Lysander would turn up soon because the likelihood of them getting caught by a prefect was increasing the longer he waited, although there was no way he was going to chicken out of it.​

 

[Lysander Summers]

Wendall had been different lately. It was clear why; his whole life had changed since Olive died in that werewolf attack, and though Lysander was doing his best to help him and be there for him when he needed him to, he missed how his best friend used to be. He missed their movie nights, and their adventures, their general shenanigans, but aside from Wendall getting stuck in the train on the way to school in typical Wendall fashion, everything else since just seemed...off. He didn't like it, and he didn't quite know what he could do to make it better. It sucked to see his best friend not as happy as he had been, and he didn't have a spell that could magically fix it.​

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For a long time, Lysander had wanted to go into the forest and try to find the centaurs, but he didn't want to go alone. He wasn't scared, haha, that was a ridiculous thing to suggest. He just wanted the company. Adventure was better in pairs. Wendall had agreed to come along, although he'd been hesitant to go that deep inside. They had to go deep if they had any chance of finding the herd, so Sander had dropped it for a while, waiting to see if Wendall would improve, but he hadn't really, and he didn't want to put it off for much longer. He figured the adventure might help Wendall feel more like his old self. Or just more alive. At least, that was what he told himself to justify finally bringing his friend into the forest with him, with vague promises to not go too far in that he almost definitely didn't plan on keeping. Wendall just needed a little push, that was all.​

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Swathed in the darkest cloak he could find, Lysander trudged across the grounds and toward the forest, immediately walking straight past a dark silhouette that he initially assumed was just another tree. At second glance, he jumped and spun around, raising his wand to defend himself from what obviously must have been a lethifold creeping into the clearing, though a third glance let him know that no, there was no threat, just Wendall. "Wendall!" Lysander whispered loudly, chuckling at himself. He felt a brush against his leg as he approached his friend and whipped his wand around again. Not a lethifold either, just a cat he'd almost run into. "And Nugget. I didn't even see you guys. Come on!" He said, gesturing with one hand for him to follow, while he lead the way in the trees with his wand. It remained unlit, refraining from using lumos until they were safely away from the castle, in case some professor was standing at a window spying on the forest. He wondered if perhaps bringing Fuzzfeathers would have been a good idea, in case they needed to send an urgent message from within the forest, however, the bird's stark-white feathers were like a beacon in the dark, and they didn't need that kind of attention. It was probably for the best.​

 

[Wendall Layton]

Wendall probably could have heard the footsteps sooner if he'd been paying attention, but he was too busy keeping his eyes on the cat at the floor who seemed to be transfixed on something in the distance. Wendall knew that going into the forest would be a bad idea; Wendall had first hand experience of how dangerous some creatures could be after all, and yet he was still not willing to do much to protect himself. He should have been more on guard, wand already in hand, anything could pop out of those trees and nab him and honestly the Hufflepuff would have probably let it. He wasn't like other students he knew, he wasn't strong or brave nor particularly intelligent, and if he were to ever get into a fight he knew he wouldn't win, so why should he worry about it too much beforehand? That was why he was watching Nugget instead of scouting the environment himself, refusing to look up until he heard someone say his name.​

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"He wanted to come too." Wendall stated a little more dry than he'd intended it to come across. Lysander was smart, he already had his wand in his hand just in case he needed it, and while he didn't use it until they had walked beyond the tree line, he was much more prepared than Wendall would have been had they needed to be. Secretly, Wendall hoped they wouldn't run into any of the centaurs prowling in the forest, mainly because he didn't feel like making unnecessary small talk with any of them, but he knew the Gryffindor would have revelled in the opportunity so Wendall stayed silent. Lysander seemed excited to be headed deeper into the forest again, and so the Hufflepuff was willingly following, hoping that any professor that did catch them may consider it a possibility that Wendall was being taken in, rather than out of his own choice. He knew it was a terrible thought and it made him a terrible friend, but Wendall had no doubt that Lysander was much more likely to get away with a lighter punishment, given that his dad worked in the castle.​

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He swallowed the guilt of his own conscience away, reminding himself that if they did get caught they both be in trouble, and tried to distract his own trail. "Do you think we'll come in here more next year? You know, for class?" he asked, hoping that Professor Summers could have at least given his enthusiastic son a little bit of intel about what to expect in their future years at school. ​