Open Looking for a mini-lion

[Seraphina My]

OOC: Open after Verity posts with Penny Wills

Seraphina was excited to be away from her mother and back on campus, even if that meant having to go to class. School just wasn't her thing, but the incessant screaming from her three month old sister at home made her head want to explode. Seraphina made her way down to across the grounds, takiung a seat among the grass, looking at the students around. She disliked most of her classmates. They were immature and annoying, worrying about trivial things. As she walked along the grounds, she glanced at the Forbidden Forest. She knew of other students who had made their way into the woods, but she had never found a reason to. The rumors about the creatures that inhabited it were bizzare to say the least.

From the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar face. She wasn't sure what the house the girl was in, but she knew she had seen her in their flying coureses. She looked at the girl and then back at the forest. She wasn't sure about going in there herself, but maybe if she brought someone with her, they could really see what it was like. Or she could get another house to lose some points at the very least. The Gryffindor pushed herself off the grass and walked over the girl, trying to make up a story to persuade her into the forest. "Sorry to be a bother, but have you seen my cat?" she asked surprisingly confidently. Seraphina hated cats, but maybe it was something that intrigued this girl enough to have her go into the forest with her.

 

[Penny Wills]

Penny had never had a great desire to go in the Forbidden Forest. She had known that it was dangerous and scary so she had never wanted to venture inside. In the early days at Hogwarts she had agreed to go in but it hadn't happened, probably for the best as she might not be here today had she gone through with the plan.

She decided that taking a walk around the outskirts of it would be okay. She didn't see anything strange or mysterious from where she was stood, not a single creature, not even a cat. "Oh, no I haven't!" Penny looked around, hoping to see a cat to help out the Gryffindor who had approached her, "Where did you see her last?"

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina gave a dramatic huff when the girl answered no. Pursing her lips, she looked around near them. "She ran away from me while we were hanging out down near the forest, but I thought she would come up here. Not go... in there," she said, pointing towards the dark woods. She looked at the girl and drooped her head. She might have been overselling it, but people loved cats - so why not? Seraphina glanced around, and most of the other students on the grounds were preoccupied with themselves. "I know we're not supposed to go in there, but I don't know what to do," she mumbled. Maybe she wouldn't believe her, but Seraphina was bored. This seemed like an interesting way to spend the day.

 

[Penny Wills]

Penny looked to the forest when the girl pointed towards it, her heart sank just imagining a cat in there, lost and vulnerable to predators. Some of the creatures said to roam the ancient and magical forest would enjoy cat for their dinner. She gulped, "Okay try not to worry, we'll find your cat. She could have gone back inside the castle." She said to reassure her, "What's your cats name? Have you tried calling for her?" Penny had been outside a little while now and hadn't heard anyone call anything. It seemed strange not to call out for the missing cat but she put it down to the girl being too upset to think straight.

 

[Seraphina My]

"No, no, I don't think so," Seraphina said urgently to the girl. "She, uh, she likes the outside." Seraphina looked around and tried to see if there maybe was a cat that she could claim and chase into the forest, but there didn't seem to be any pets on the lawn. "Her name is - Hera," she said as she walked closer to the forest, hoping the girl would follow. "I thought I heard her earlier in this area, but I don't know." About 50 feet away, Seraphina heard a faint meow come from the woods. She spun her head quickly as her eyes widened and then looked back at the girl. There couldn't seriously be a cat in the woods - could there? "Did you hear that?" she asked genuinely.

 

[Penny Wills]

Penny nodded silently, she could not deny that she had heard a noise that sounded like an animal, like a cat, she reassured herself that it was a cat and not something higher in the food chain. With one quick, wary glance behind her, Penny followed the girl closer to the forest barrier and then rested a hand upon the trunk of a tree. “Hera?” she quietly called into the forest, feeling very foolish indeed she called again, louder and drawn out, “Heeerrraaa-" There was no return call at first so Penny turned quickly to look at the other girl, "Hey you try! She might recognise your voice." Penny told her.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina quickly looked back to the forest as the girl called for the fake feline. The Gryffindor took a few steps into the darkness and looked back towards the grounds, noticing that no one was looking in their direction. She nodded when the girl suggested that she call the cat and cleared her throat. "Right, um, Heraaaaa?" she called with one hand against her mouth. "Here, Hera, Hera, sweetie," she tried again. And then there it was. Another meow. Her eyes widened as she turned the girl. "Do you wanna come with er- actually, I don't quite know your name." She figured if they were going into a potentially dangerous situation, it might be a good idea to at least know who to tell the professors was missing.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi had been growing quite fond of her walks recently, preferring them to the noise in her own head about the decision she needed to make. The clock's ticking was far easier to ignore with the sounds of an entire school drowning it out. So she had taken to spending her time treading the well-worn paths around Hogwarts in her free time, as well as some less commonly used ones. Her walk today had taken her outside, with a possible thought to dropping in on Landon or working in her section of the gardens for a bit. She was quickly distracted though, by the sight of a pair of young girls chatting far closer to the forest than she was comfortable with. Kahurangi frowned slightly, watching from a distance for a moment to see what the girls were planning. The conversation moved them closer than Kahurangi was comfortable with, and once one of the girls crossed the tree line she moved, striding quickly to the forest's edge. "Going somewhere?" She asked firmly, glancing between the two young girls - had to be first or second years. "I don't think your heads of house would be terribly impressed to hear about this adventure."

 

[Penny Wills]

Penny stood back to let the girl call for her cat and for the second time heard a similar cat noise. Completely convinced that her cat was in the forest, Penny stood a little taller and looked alert. She craned her neck, looking at the bushes for the animal, searching for movement or a trail to follow. She turned to the girl to answer her question, "Oh yeah, my name is Penny. I don't know yours either, what's your name?" Penny knew most of her year group by now and though she recognised the girl from some classes, she didn't know her name yet.

There was a third voice, with a faint groan Penny spun around to face the Professor. She quickly changed her expression to a polite smile, not wishing to consider what Professor Styx would say to this. "Hello. I wouldn't exactly call it an adventure Professor! My friend here has lost her cat and we're pretty sure it's run into the forest. I'd call it a rescue mission." Penny told her, she wasn't concerned about telling her what was going on as a Professor might be able to help.

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina thought Penny was a very perky name and rather uninteresting. "I'm Seraphina," she responded to the Slytherin. She looked deeper into the forest when she heard the sound again. It kept getting fainter rather than strong which meant whatever was making it, if it was a cat, was going closer to danger. As she turned to Penny, she saw an unfamiliar professor confront them. Seraphina really didn't care if they got in trouble, but then Penny opened her mouth to tell the professor all about her own lies. Seraphina's eyes widened as the girl finished and quickly interrupted. "Yeah, my cat ran off. I thought she might have gone in there, but you know, she'll probably come back on her own, right?" she said with a "we should stop talking look" to Penny, hoping the girl would pick up on her signal. It was different get a student involved in her escapades, but she knew the Professor would involve to many people for the Gryffindor's liking. "Maybe we should go sit up the hill aways and see if she comes out, right, Penny?" she suggested, giving a big grin to the professor.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi listened as the girls explained their situation, nodding quietly. The first girl seemed sincere, but the Gryffindor seemed a little too eager to be the one telling the story. It could have just been nerves about being caught by an unfamiliar professor, but she found it hard to trust, and she certainly didn't seem all that upset about her cat. "In my experience, cats tend to do a lot better in the forest than students do." She said gently. "Professor Alicastell wasn't kidding when she said it can be very dangerous in there. Or that any students found in the forest would get in big trouble." She added firmly. "Sitting up on the hill and waiting sounds like an excellent idea." She added with a big smile. "If your kitty doesn't come back before dinnertime come tell me, I'll make sure to keep an eye on things." She said, the warning clear in her voice.

 

[Penny Wills]

The Professor seemed satisfied with the explanation and wasn't looking to drag them to their heads of houses just yet, but the interaction had made Penny very suspicious of Serephina. She gave her a puzzled look when she down played her missing cat. She had been eager to search the forest for Hera but now that potential help was available, she was happy to sit and wait for the poor thing to return. Things were not adding up for Penny and she was starting to believe that this person was not one to be trusted.

Penny heeded the Professor's warning with a nod then looked at Serephina, "Yeah okay let's do that then." She said with a small shrug, interested to see if Serephina would try get her to go into the forest again when the Professor's back was turned. Penny had not been keen to go into the forest in the first place, and a reason not to, suited her well. "Thanks Professor, we'll let you know if she's still lost later on."

 

[Seraphina My]

Seraphina was glad that Penny had agreed to move on from the cat thing, or at least for the professor's sake, and started to walk up the hill, hoping the girl would follow her. She was still curious as to why she could hear an actual meow in the woods, but then she realized that maybe there actually dangerous creatures, some even trying to lure small first years in for their own gain. Realizing her adventurous plan may have been stupid, she reluctantly trucked herself up the hill about 100 feet and plopped on the again. "Maybe we'll just sit here for a while, huh?" she asked the blonde, still eyeing the forest for a glimpse of any kind of feline.

 

[Professor Kahurangi Josephs]

Kahurangi watched the two girls head up to the hill they had indicated, making a mental note to keep an eye on this area. She thought she had scared them off at least for the moment, but as she left them to carry on her walk she decided quietly she would pass back this way again soon to make sure everything was still as it should be.