Open Psyching Yourself Up

[Friday Weeks]

Friday hadn't been to the forest yet. Really she'd been avoiding it a little, not out of fear of what she might find inside, but mostly of what her brother would say if she got caught, and he found out about it. However, Friday was also now a second year, so she was wiser and better than as a first year, more than qualified to now explore the forest. So, there she now was, right on the edge of the forest, she was definitely about to go in. She was brave enough. That was no in question. The forest was just like everything else in this school, it was perfectly safe...Friday wanted to go. Of course she did. She just had to step inside.

 

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio enjoyed wandering. Some of his best adventures happened that way, and even though he was getting to know more people, he was still alone more often than not which he realized was fairly odd for a Hufflepuff. The second year had talked about the forest quite a bit last year, and he drew closer. There was just something about it that drew you in. He didn't even notice that someone else was there at first, but when he did he crossed his arms across his chest. "You planning on going in?" he asked. He remembered this girl from the lake (and classes, but mostly the lake). "Go on then" he goaded her.

 

[Friday Weeks]

Friday didn't noticed that someone had approached the forest, which wasn't great if she was hoping to not get killed or spotted when in the forest. But at least when she turned to look at the person, it was clear they weren't about to give her into trouble. But she did narrow her eyes at him. This boy. She'd run into him at the lake and in some but not all classes, at the speed dating. "Maybe I'm waiting for someone," she countered, not saying whether or not she was going in. "Are you?" she asked.

 

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio certainly was not thinking about going into the forest alone just then, but he'd stuck his foot in it, he realized. "So what if I am?" he asked. This close to the forest, the draw to enter was strong. And it wasn't as though the thought had never crossed his mind. He could feel his body caught between wanting to run and wanting to take the twenty or so steps to go inside. If course, he was curious. "I wasn't " he admitted, "just on a walk. But I've always wanted to."

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy wondered to the edge of the Forbidden Forest without a specific destination in mind, just to see if anything was happening. He came across Benicio, a friend he was happy to see, and Friday, someone he usually avoided, having a chat, or an argument? He wasn't actually sure. With a grin, he quipped, "Oh, you two make such a cute couple," He continued with a playful tone, "Why don't you head into the forest together? It'll be romantic!"

 

[Friday Weeks]

Friday glanced at the boy, trying to figure out if he was lying about wanting to go in. That he had always wanted to. Perhaps it would be useful to have someone to go in with. But before Friday could retort anything, the voice of someone she really disliked was beside them. Friday rolled her eyes at him, and what he said. "Don't you ever get tired of annoying people?" she retorted to him with frustration on her tone. Though she wasn't sure about if the boy she was stood with would know him. She wouldn't put it past him, they were all in the same year.

 

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio wasn't surprised to see Teddy exploring. They'd spoken about the forest before. He was about to greet the second year when the Gryffindor spoke, and he was aghast at the words. He definitely was not into the Gryffindor girl. "Eww, we are not a couple" he stated firmly. "We were just talking about who would enter the forest first. And it's going to be me!" Which was, of course, a complete about face to what he'd just said. But he wanted to impress the Gryffindor boy who he saw as far more adventurous than he was.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Friday's annoyance with Teddy was a common theme, but Teddy didn't seem too bothered by it. "Well, we all have our hobbies," he responded nonchalantly, his shoulders lifting in a casual shrug. He then turned to Benicio, curious. "Does she talk to you in the same way?" he inquired. He didn't really believe that they were dating, Benicio was far too cool for Friday.

His interest piqued when Benicio mentioned going into the forest. Teddy himself had never been further than the forest boundary and was impressed at Benicio's enthusiasm. He wondered how prepared he was should it all go tits up in there. "Sounds exciting, you want some company?" He offered, after all, there's safety in numbers.

 

[Friday Weeks]

Friday rolled her eyes at the boy's reaction. Of course, they weren't a couple. She didn't even think Teddy thought that. She huffed a little at his words. "I'm right here, idiot," she said in response to him. But it seemed the arrival of this boy was spurring things quicker into action. Watching as the first boy seemed to now want to go into the forest, which of course Teddy seemed all for. "Great, I hope you both have an amazing time, and maybe die," she said with a falsely cheery tone. She knew they'd likely want to turn this on her, and she likely was going to follow, but Friday wasn't going to be nice about it.

 

[Benicio Matos]

The second year didn't know how to answer Teddy's question. He didnt mind how Friday spoke to him, she was never mean. Benicio didn't think she'd be bothered by his words, but it seemed like she might be from her response. His expression turned sheepish for a second, but it didn't last long. "Of course, you're always welcome, Teddy!" Benicio exclaimed. He was excited to shift focus away from whatever that awkward moment might have been. "Wait, wait, wait. First, that was mean. Second, you're not too scared to join us, right? You're still just waiting for your friend? There is a friend coming, right?" As he finished, he realized maybe she'd been making up the friend all along.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy wasn't a confrontational person unless he had a good reason to be, and he was reminded of why he tended to avoid Friday. He didn't understand why she seemed to hold such disdain for him. Other than the single incident from a year ago when he might have unintentionally offended her with a playful remark. Teddy generally got along well with everyone but despite a whole year passing, their relationship hadn't improved one bit. Her harsh remark for them to die in the forest only added to Teddy's bewilderment.

However, he chose not to let it bother him. He nodded along with Benicio, "Perhaps some time in the forest with us will do you good, lighten you up a bit," Teddy remarked. He raised an eyebrow when Benicio mentioned Friday was waiting for a friend. "Oh, whose that then?" Teddy wondered if it was someone he might know.

 

[Friday Weeks]

Friday didn't want to go into the forest, not entirely and not with these boys. She glanced between them huffing slightly when the one she liked more (though the bar was not high) called what she'd said mean. "I'm so sorry," she replied a little sarcastically back, before frowning. Caught in the lie she had been saying, and of course the other boy jumped right on it. "Well, she's really late, so, we can just go in then," she lied, she didn't move, intending to let them go first and then maybe follow in behind.

 

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio got the sense her apology wasn't fully genuine, but he was fine accepting it anyway. He watched as Teddy asked about the friend too, and watched Friday for her response. His eyebrow rose, but he stayed quiet because now they were at the point of no return. He either had to march into the forest like he'd planned it all along or turn tail between his legs and head back to the castle. His heart suddenly felt like it was in his throat, and he struggled to get a word out. "...ok then" he finally croaked but there were a few more seconds before his feet began moving...towards the forest. He counted the steps down. Twenty, nineteen, eighteen...ten, nine. He'd been off on how manys steps away they were. Benicio glanced over his shoulder to see if they were following.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

"Sure, they probably changed their mind." Teddy wondered what kind of friend would stand up a trip to the forest, nevertheless, he decided to let it go and proceeded to follow Benicio. Benicio had a surprisingly pacey walk, one that Teddy hadn't noticed before. As they reached the forest's edge, Teddy found himself further into the woods than he'd ever ventured. He hesitated, then took a tentative step deeper into the forest. The looming trees cast eerie shadows and he felt a chill run down his spine. It was likely just a coincidence but this place did feel creepy.

Casting a glance at the others, Teddy laid out a plan. "Alright, here's the plan. We stay on the path and if we come across anything remotely scary, we sprint back out again. Sound good?" Having a contingency plan felt reassuring in case things took an unexpected turn and if they stayed on a path then they couldn't get lost either.

 

[Friday Weeks]

Friday wasn't sure if the boys believed her, but then he was stepping into the forest, one boy then the other. Friday watched as they walked in, and knew she had to decide, either she could walk away and likely never live it down, or follow them into the dangerous forest. She decided on the latter and walked quickly into the forest. Just walking a little behind him. "I bet I'm the fastest sprinter out of all of us," she said, though her tone wasn't too confident as she took in the forest around her.

 

[Benicio Matos]

It was crazy how dark the forest was. It was like it sucked up the light, shadows making shapes that he did not recognize. He nodded solemnly at Teddy's words. "Very good" he breathed out. He could hear his heartbeat and wondered if the others could too. "I doubt that." Benicio liked to think he was pretty quick. He continued walking down the path when he heard a crack, what sounded like a very heavy something stepping on branches. "Did you hear that?" he whispered. He didn't want to be the first one sprinting back, especially not over something in his imagination so he needed to confirm.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy smirked at Friday's comment, then agreed with Benicio, saying, "Exactly! Did you not see me win the wheelbarrow race?" Teddy thought winning deserved more recognition, a trophy perhaps, or 50 house points to Gryffindor, even just a congratulations from his head of house. Either way, the lack of fuss about it, caused Teddy to bring it up at any opportunity. He had to make sure everyone knew that he and Amodeus won the wheelbarrow race.

Just as Teddy was musing on his win, his reverie was suddenly shattered by the loud snap of a dry stick beneath his foot, nearly prompting Benicio to bolt for the castle. Teddy quickly apologised, saying, "Sorry, my bad!"

 

[Friday Weeks]

Friday rolled her eyes, "That was all the other boy's doing," she answered, confirming that she had in fact seen the wheelbarrow race. She had in fact seen him at the race. She'd seen them both at the race. She paused as a noise caused them to jump and pause, but let out a shakey scoff as it turn out to have just been Teddy. "The school wouldn't let something actually dangerous live in these woods," she said, her tone a little nervous, though trying to play it off. Trying to appear more confident than she was actually feeling.

 

[Benicio Matos]

Benicio let out a sigh of relief as Teddy said that he'd made the noise. The Hufflepuff heard Friday's comment and then shook his head. "Then why be so firm about telling us to stay away?" The second year didn't think the Headmaster was so firm about it for kicks. "I don't think they're just worried about us getting lost" he added, though he realized that was easy to happen. He glanced back, the darkness nearly obscuring the entrance they'd come in through. Benicio made sure to keep pace with the others as they moved further in.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Teddy's reply to Friday's comment about the wheelbarrow race was a drawn out "Wellllll." He was not going to concede that Amodeus had won the race for them, but he could agree that he had to work harder. Instead, he took a diplomatic approach. "I'd call it a team effort," he finally declared, a sly grin playing on his lips.

As Benicio and Friday discussed the dangers of the Forbidden Forest, Teddy found himself reluctantly aligning with Friday's perspective. It was an unusual turn of events that he didn't particularly relish. He grumbled, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with Friday on this one. If there was something dangerous then it wouldn't be so easy to enter. There are loads of spells and enchantments the headmaster could put around the forest so we physically can't enter."

 

[Friday Weeks]

Friday decided she didn't like when Teddy agreed with her. She didn't want that to be the case, in any other scenario. But she did agree with him. "Oh, eww, don't agree with me, Freddy," she retorted though she wouldn't say much else on it, saying the wrong name intentionally. "But, ugh...yeah..he's not wrong either," she said, it had to be not safe to go in for the warning but not outright the most dangerous place ever. Though the cliff was dangerous and she wasn't sure she'd seen any protections for it.

 

[Benicio Matos]

"Teddy" Benicio corrected Friday as he listened to the two. He kept walking, not relaxed but noticing every little crack and snap less as he began to recognize his and the other two's foot falls. "Nah, I don't think the school follows that kind of logic. We have staircases that move on a whim sometimes when you're on them, a lake you can drown in and no lifeguards, and a cliff you can jump off and no enchantment on any of those" he pointed out. Not that he'd tested any of them to see if there were enchantments, but there were no obvious ones anyway. Benicio enjoyed exploring so he was getting to know the different spaces of the castle and there were definitely plenty of dangers around.

 

[Teddy Pirrip]

Thankfully, Benicio corrected Friday, sparing Teddy from doing it himself. He listened to Benicio's risk assessment of Hogwarts and agreed, chiming in with a thoughtful tone, "Yeah, it's a strange school, for sure." Their conversation stopped as they reached a fork in the path. Teddy glanced at the options, describing each one. "So, the left path looks spooky and dark, like something straight out of a horror movie," he said, "And it's an uphill walk." Then he turned his attention to the path on the right which seemed equally dark and slightly more spooky because of a breeze. It was the kind of ominous breeze that makes your hair stand on end. "Can anyone else feel that chilly breeze coming up from that direction?" Teddy asked "It's downhill though. So that's a plus." He shrugged, turning to his friend, and Friday. "So, which way would you both like to go?"

 

[Friday Weeks]

Friday rolled her eyes as she was corrected but wasn't about to change the way she was towards either of them. She felt on edge, but it was easier to explore while talking and bickering with these boys. There was a bit of a logic to all the things that the boy was saying. "We don't know that there aren't enchantments for that," she countered, but she could admit that it made sense, the school just expected them to make the right choices. "If we get chased by something is it better to be running back uphill or downhill?" she replied, posing the question back to the two boys to decide.

 

[Benicio Matos]

The Hufflepuff shrugged. It was true that they didn't know, but they also couldn't say for sure that he was wrong. So he was going to go on assuming he was right. Benicio looked at each path as Teddy pointed them out. They were both dark, the darkness seeming to grow the longer he looked down each path. It was an odd feeling. Benicio was about to point in one direction when Friday spoke up. He had to admit that was a good point. "Definitely downhill" he answered, "sounds like we go left." A chill went up his spine as he said that, and he wasn't sure if it was a sign that they should have gone down the other path or not. But he did think that staying still for too long in the forest was not a good idea.