The First Outing

[Madeline Walden]

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After months of planning it was time for the first outing for Hemi and Maddie's Adventure Club. They had recruited many enthusiastic first years and she hoped that they would have a great time with the activities and the adventures that Hemi and Maddie had planned for them throughout the year. It was decided that it was best to throw them into the deep end and to introduce them to the Forbidden Forest first. Maddie had many adventures in the Forbidden Forest, it wasn't that scary really the idea that they were not allowed in was a bit stupid because there was nothing dangerous in there really. On the contrary, Maddie had met a nice centaur by the name of Cain last time she had visited the Forest and she hoped that they would be visited by him this time. Maddie and Hemi had sent coded messages to all the first years that had signed up telling them where to meet them and at what time. She wondered how many of them would actually turn up to meet them, she wouldn't blame a couple of them if they decided that it was too much. Maddie had only become this brave and adventurous person with the help (and push) from Hemi.

Maddie paced the front of the Forest waiting for her partner in crime to join her and making sure that no Professor or Prefect were around to catch them. For now it looked clear and she could relax, she didn't want the first years to get into trouble yet and she definitely didn't want to get caught either. This was the most risky part, the part where they were most likely to get caught. A large group of people hanging around the entrance to the Forest looked very suspicious. The coded letters they sent to the students told them to stagger the times they were going to leave the castle so as not to draw attention to themselves. The idea was to split them up once they arrived so it would be easier for them to navigate around the forest and less chance of them all getting caught. Well that was the theory anyway.

She hoped that the reason as to why Hemi was taking so long to get here was because he was picking up the cookies he promised everyone on the flyers else Maddie was sure there would be very annoyed and disappointed first years turning up to greet them.

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

Hemi cursed loudly partway down the last staircase leading to the grounds. He had forgotten about the cookies he promised all the new sign ups. He glanced at his watch and decided he had enough time to pick up a batch from the house elves in the kitchen and only be a little bit late for meeting with Maddie.

The house elves were as accommodating as ever, providing a variety of flavours for everyone. They even let Hemi borrow a brown basket to carry the cookies to the Forbidden Forest. He arrived late, but before any of the first years at least. "Hey Madz" Hemi greeted, "Sorry I'm late, I brought the cookies though, you want one?" He held the basket out so she could help herself. He was so excited to host their first Adventure Club meeting at last, both Maddie and Hemi had worked very hard organising it.

 

[Eleanor Hope]

The first adventure club meeting was approaching and Eleanor couldn't contain her excitement. The main thing on her mind the whole way there were the cookies that they were all promised. She practically ran out of the castle and onto the school grounds to make her way to the forbidden forest which was the meeting place where the coded letters told her to go. The coded letters Eleanor found very fascinating and it just made her even more excited. She had been to the forbidden forest before and had even seen one of those creatures with her own eyes but it hadn't turned out pretty at all and Eleanor hoped that she'd be able to find one of those creatures again to hopefully make friends with it and show it that she wasn't that bad after all.

In the distance Eleanor could see that the two Gryffindor leaders were already there and Eleanor was sprinting now, keen to start. With a halt, she skidded on the grass in front of them and almost fell over, panting. She had made it and was very much the first member there. She eyed the basket that the boy of the two was holding and could smell the deliciousness of the cookies inside. "Hi!" she exclaimed in between breaths, unsure whether or not she should ask for a cookie yet. She simply stood there looking between the Gryffindors, the excitement clearly showing on her face, and waited for the rest of the members to hurry up before the cookies turned cold.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares had definitely been excited for this, he loved adventures, reading about them or making them up in his head and this was one adventure he had not wanted to turn down at all, he had signed up a little nervous but eager and was just very surprised to have finally received some indication of what they might be doing, but the fact they were to start in the forest was enough. The young Hufflepuff boy made his way out, dressed in what he had decided where his best stealth clothes which really wasn't much beyond a black jumper which was about all he could say was stealth about it. However this didn't really matter to him, since he was heading to the forest and was really just keen to get started, his mind had been running wild with ideas of what they might do, of what their adventures would be, and while nothing in his mind seemed like something that would actually happen, he'd been more than happy to think of them. This was hardly going to disappoint he thought. The boy finally reached where they were to meet, and noticed the two slightly older students likely the ones who were in control and then Ellie, he waved happily at her as he then greeted the older two with a smile, bouncing between his feet as he waited with nervous impatience over what was to happen.
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[Bethany Zanders]

Not one to miss out on anything fun, Bethany had signed up for the Adventure Club the second she saw the announcement on the Gryffindor bulletin board. This was perfect for her. She waited impatiently for them to announce the first meeting, so when she finally got a message to meet in the Forbidden Forest, she was so excited. The small Gryffindor girl practically ran down each corridor and out onto the school grounds, her wild curly hair flying behind her. From a distance she saw a small group of people gathered at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest and none of them looked like a Prefect so she knew this must be the club. She leapt as she finally approached them all and said, "Hi there!" while trying to catch her breath. She brushed her hair out of her face with her hands and contemplated putting it up to keep it out of her face, but she liked the wildness her hair often gave her so she decided against it. Once she had caught her breath enough and looked around, she realized she didn't really know anyone yet so she decided to introduce herself to them. After all if they were going to be taking these wild adventures together she felt they should be on a first-name basis at least. "I'm Beth," she said with a small wave and a big grin.

 

[Kaia Te Rua]

Kaia had been roped into joining the Adventure Club by her brother and she had in turn roped her friend into accompanying her on the first Adventure Club meeting into the Forbidden Forest. Kaia felt she hadn't made very many friends at Hogwarts but found she got on well enough with Raylee. They had been through a lot together and the Bubblehead Charm backfiring on them both still sat fresh in the first years mind. She was hoping that today would go smoother than that day.

Kaia and Ray left the Slytherin Common Room for the grounds, Kaia began to feel apprehensive about what they were doing and doubted Hemi had any idea what he was doing but she pushed on anyway. "I think this will be interesting," She said, spotting a small group of students which included her brother standing at the edge of the Forest. It was all a bit obvious in her opinion, a Professor could spot the group congregating and know exactly what they were up to before even one toe crossed the boundary to the forest. Never mind that though, they were all promised an adventure and Kaia went to get hers.

"Hello!" She said, greeting the group of adventurers and waving to Hemi. Kaia was feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement, "I'm Kaia." She said to anyone who might not already know her name.

 

[Bryony Woods]

Bryony was beginning to get second thoughts about putting her name forward for the 'Adventure Club', what if she were to get caught? She had already been punished for being in the Forbidden Forest with Ellie and she didn't fancy repeating that experience. She didn't actually think that anything would happen until she got the coded letter that she had managed to decipher with the help of her friends, also in Hufflepuff, Ares and Ellie. They had managed to convince her that it would be fun and she hated missing out on things so she decided to tag along. After all, it was safety in numbers right?

She walked up to the Forest on her own, conscious that if she was leaving the castle with a group of people it would look suspicious. Once there she squeezed herself by Ares and Ellie and looked around at the group that she found herself in. She recognised some faces but she had never spoken to them, she wondered what they were going to be doing tonight and hoped above all that she wouldn't get caught.

 

[Liam Adams]

When it had come to signing up for the so called Adventure club, Liam had leaped without looking, or thinking for that matter. There was a chance he would get in a lot of trouble for it but he didn't really care, it would probably be fun and he knew Bryony would be down at the forest too and she was always fun to be around. Liam changed into something casual, something that wouldn't make him stand out. When the common room was quiet Liam made his way out into the main castle and out to the grounds.

Liam had made the decision to head down on his own because he didn't want to draw attention to the fact that a large group of students were meeting in the forest. Liam was curious to see what 'adventure' the two second years had in store for them. Liam found the other students and looked around for Bryony. "Hey Bry, I wonder what we'll be doing in the forest?"

 

[Raylee Lagowski]

Ray hadn't cared much for the sound of 'Adventure Club'. The concept itself was appealing enough, but owing to her quick temper and lack of tolerance, the young Slytherin loathed being told what to do. She thought herself quite the born leader (though others would probably have begged to differ), and being escorted around the forbidden forest by a pair of second years sounded horribly dull. Still, she'd promised Kaia to give it a go, if only for the rights to say 'I told you so' when they were all caught by a Professor or mauled to death by a werewolf.

At the time they had been told to arrive, the two girls headed from their common room up to the school grounds, walking as inconspicuously as they could towards the edge of the forest. "It will be if someone dies," replied Ray casually, forcing a smile as they joined the group. She was much too indignant at being made to tag along to be scared, though the mist that crept between the trunks of the twisting dead trees to their right was a little unsettling.

 

[Hemi Te Rua]

Hemi was impressed at how many first years had turned up for the first Adventure Club meeting. He felt proud that both Maddie and he had managed to attract all these first years into their club. "Hey, thanks for coming!" Hemi said to the first few, "I brought cookies cutesy of the house elves so help yourselves!"

Hemi waited for everyone to turn up before he started properly, he expected some to decide to drop out but most had turned up. Hemi spoke louder so everyone could hear him. "Right as you've probably figured out, we are going into the forest. I should remind you guys that it's a dangerous and potentially fatal adventure so everyone needs to stay on guard, seriously though, stay on guard. We are hoping to meet a centaur today and reckon we'll find one in that direction." He said, pointing in a particular direction. In truth, Hemi and Maddie were winging it, they had no idea where the centaurs hung out and had only stumbled upon one once before, but they could pretend they knew what they were doing in front of first years.

"If you spot a Professor, er, speak up, that way we'll all know to hide because its probably best we avoid them while we are here. Has anyone got any questions?" He let people ask questions before deciding that it was time to venture into the Forbidden Forest. "Cool! Alright follow us!"

 

[Madeline Walden]

The amount of first years that actually turned up for the first Adventure Club meeting was quite incredible, Maddie was shocked by the amount of sign ups and even more shocked by the amount of people that actually came! She smiled at each one in turn, thankful that they didn't all come at once. They used their initiative and staggered the times they left the castle, maybe they would do well in the forest. They seemed to be enthusiastic and they were clever enough to figure out the coded message and Maddie had full confidence in them all.

Maddie was so relieved that Hemi brought the cookies with him, she was afraid that there would be a riot even there was none. Especially when it was advertised on the flyers that there would definitely be cookies at the meeting. A couple of members of the group seemed very pleased and grabbed them straight away, other seemed more tentative. But that would probably be knocked out of them by the time Hemi and Maddie had finished with them.

She giggled at Hemi's little speech, the Forest wasn't that bad but it was good to keep the first years on their toes, especially since the likelihood of a Professor patrolling the Forest tonight was very high. She nodded along with what Hemi was saying and made a point of looking at everyone's reactions, some seemed more excited than others about meeting a creature like a Centaur. She followed Hemi deeper into the forest. "Lumos" she whispered as they walked deeper into the trees, trying to light a way ahead for the group. "Be careful where you step, there's tree roots everywhere!" Maddie said loudly to the group behind her. She wondered how deep Hemi was going to take them, she didn't recognise this part of the Forest from their last trip.

 

[Eleanor Hope]

Eleanor could not wait for everyone to turn up and simply began to eat as many cookies as she could, one after the other out of the basket. She didn't care what the boy holding the basket thought of her and listened intently as he began explaining what they were doing. Eleanor had her two friends, Bryony and Ares, to feel safe along the way so she was sure that there would be no danger today unless a professor was to turn up. It seemed pretty safe in a bigger group anyway and Eleanor was delighted that they were going to be looking for centaurs first. She knew they were a magical creature but wasn't exactly sure what they looked like. Hopefully they would be finding one today as that was really all that Eleanor was here for, besides the free cookies.

"Let's gooo!" she exclaimed loudly, running ahead of the group and into the forest. She wanted to be the first one to see the centaur and did not have time to wait for the stragglers. She shrieked as she tripped over one of the roots upon entering right after the leader warned them of them and blushed, slowing down and watching her feet now as she walked. She tried to stay as close to the older two as possible and used the Gryffindor girl's light to guide her way. Getting lost was not an option at this point and hopefully there weren't any professors patrolling the forest at this time of day. Truthfully, Eleanor thought that the large group in front of the forest gave away a bit too much but as long as she wasn't the leader of the group or anything then she knew it wouldn't be that bad at all.

 

[Ares Jeffreys]

Ares was thankful that more people turned up it wouldn't really spread the blame but he felt that there was in the forest a safety in numbers, he waved happily at Bryony arrived, joining him and Ellie waiting for this to get started as well as a couple of others, but the young hufflepuff just remained focused on what he actually had to do which was listen to the two leaders he didn't feel that bold yet, though he did feel like adventure, the time for introductions to the others in the group would be later and he was just glad when the two elder leaders seemed to take charge and power the group ahead, Ares took out his wand holding it tightly in his hand, he might not know very many spells but he knew enough that having it out might just be enough. The young Hufflepuff stuck close to Ellie, and therefore to the leader with the light, he knew they didn't really need more than one light, or else they might scare away the centaurs, but he wanted to see one, and was sure this was the way to do it. Meeting a centaur would be great fun, and he couldn't wait to be able to see one in real life, they just had to not get caught by a professor. Ares followed them in silence, glancing in all directions hoping to spot something.
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[Bryony Woods]

Bryony tentatively took a cookie following Ellie's lead, she felt so inspired by her friend. Ellie was so outgoing and seemed completely unafraid of anything that it rubbed off on Bryony a little and she wasn't so nervous about the adventure after all. She was thankful that they were now moving closer into the Forest to begin their first adventure together! She followed her friends Ares and Ellie and beckoned Liam to follow them, "Ellie, be careful!" she called to her friend who had already ran ahead. Thankfully, the girl who was one of the leaders shined a light so they could see where they were going. She felt a little safer now that they were not out in the open and now they had a purpose, to find a centaur! She and Ellie had come across one briefly before but only for a second before they got ushered away by a Professor. Bryony hoped that a Professor wouldn't catch them this time, the leaders seemed to know what they were doing anyway so she hoped that it would be a successful outing.

 

[Madeline Walden]

Maddie lead the first years deeper into the forest until they reached a fork in the path where you could walk in a number of different directions to get deeper into the forest. She stopped and turned round to face the group and lifted her wanted to eerily illuminate her face and began to whisper instructions "okay guys, this is where you split off into groups and try and find something... or someone" she said grinning. Maddie hoped the first years wouldn't be too scared venturing off in the Forest on their own. After all, this was the Adventure Club what did they expect? "Try not to be too loud or you'll scare everything away, and be aware for Professors and Prefects, I don't know if they come in this deep but..." she trailed off, looking around. "GO!" she whispered loudly as she watched the first years tentatively take a path deeper into the Forest.