What's So Forbidden About Some Dumb Forest?

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie had to confess, apart from the strange allure of the word 'forbidden', he actually hadn't been in any sort of rush to head down to the forbidden forest. He had better things to do, really. Maybe, if he worked really, really hard, they'd let him skip ahead a little to fifth year next year. Maybe. Probably not, but it was worth trying.

Still, he'd been working bloody hard, he thought, and he needed a break. And curiosity, and Una's words, had driven him to suggest checking out the Forbidden Forest. He wondered why it was forbidden. It was just a bunch of trees, or so it seemed. The Care of Magical Creatures Professor had mentioned it was dangerous, but Albie wondered why.

"Well, here it is," he drawled, to himself more than anything. "The Forbidden Forest, in all its glory."

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna was in the grounds. she had found an old skateboard in the muggle sports locker and was having a little practice on it. it wasn;t a particually good one. it seemed to skewlightly to the left as one of the wheels was stuck, and the grip was coming off the top. mext time she would remember to bring her own from her form.
After having skated for around quater of an hour she saw a familar figure walking out of the castle and accross the lawn. she smiled, it had looked like it was going to be a goring afternoon but maybe now that she had found abie it wouldnt be. she left the board leaning up against a tree and set out into the forest.
when she was orrigionally going to venture into the trees she hadn't because she had met, (well tripped over) the boy. as they had talked they had said they should explore the forest some time and why not now on this lazy afternoon. she walked to where he had entered and just heard him say in his south african accent that it was the forbiden forest. "I don' know whats 'biden about it. looks just like some overgrown bush to me, there ain't even any snakes in kiwiland" she said coming to stand beside him looking out into the trees. it was a bit more than overgrown bush. but as she came from south west WA there were quite a few forests where she used to go on holiday but these forests were taller and had a less dense undergrowth. that was what she was referring to when she had said it was overgrown bush.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Speak of the devil and she shall appear, Albie thought with a grin as he looked over at his companion. He himself hadn't really explored any forested areas, sticking mostly to the urban (and suburban) sprawl back at home. It was kinda cool looking, he guessed, but he didn't think there would be much to see. Maybe there'd be cool stuff? He didn't know.

"Maybe that's the thing, we're forbidden to find out how boring it is," he quipped, quirking an eyebrow at Una. "Or maybe there's just a heap of lions and tigers and whatever else hidden in there." He doubted that very much, of course. If there were any animals in there, they'd be magical creatures. But he seriously didn't think there'd be anything in there. It was probably just some weird psychology thing, like how his neighbour's mum prattled on about at all hours of the day. Drawing on their curiosity to make them visit and then enforcing the boundaries to keep them inside.

Or something along those lines. Regardless, Albie stepped in between two trees, mock horror on his face as he did so. "Feels like some overgrown bush, too."

 

[Myuna Kickett]

una smiled when Albe said that the only thing forbidden was that they shouldn't find out how boring it was. at the mention of lions and tigers she scoffed. "I doubt it. the worst thing they have here are kiwi birds, and they can;t even fly" she said. she actually didn't know anything much about new zealand wildlife other than there were no snakes and they had kiwi birds. bit that didn't matter. "reckon we should do that exploring se talked about?" she asked knowing they would."[/b] this close it would be stupid to turn back. she saw him start out through the undergrowth. once they got past the first trees she saw a sort of path. it seemed to be where a rather large animal often went through. whatever created the path made it easier for them he started heading a different way between two trees thankfully he looked back. "that way looks easier Indiana" she said referring to a muggle movie she had seen years ago and pointing to the animal track. it wasn't that she was particularly good at navigating but spending time bushwalking with her dads family she soon picked up easy paths naturally.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

"I'm up for exploring," Albie replied, with a confident smile...which quickly faded when Una pointed out that he was going the wrong way. Of course he didn't know what he was doing. He just didn't like to look like a fool in front of people. "Oh yeah, I knew that," he scoffed, deciding he was just going to follow Una from now on. She certainly seemed to know what to do. It was nice of her to reference old muggle movies, too. He didn't get many friendly reminders of the muggle world, so it was nice to be able to have someone to make some references that he understood.

"So, how'd you pull up after Halloween?" he asked, remembering that exciting experience with those stupid Hufflepuff and Gryffindor kids. At least the fudge incident had given him inspiration for next Halloween... It had taken a bit of work to console his sister, but she'd been okay in the end. He would've liked to hang out at the feast more, but Anna had needed him, and he wasn't thetype of guy to run off on someone he really cared about when they needed him most. While he'd been called and viewed as all sorts of bad news - a sleaze, a phoney - he could be a good guy sometimes. He'd never had a true friend before, and he was kind of nervous but excited about the prospect of having an actual, real friend. Oh, he'd had plenty of acquaintances. He'd been vaguely popular, too, being the cricket captain, being on the rugby team, and generally being able to get along with everyone. He'd never have considered doing something like this with anyone he knew back home, though.

There weren't any Forbidden Forests, back home, but that wasn't the point.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Una was glad that Albe said he was up for an adventure. she hadnt realised it until a few moments ago but an adventure was exactly what she wanted to do. "awesome." she said unaware of the creatures in the forest. she didn't know there were centaurs and acromantular. she started walkng along the path into the forest. "yeah, i guess i went okay fter halloween. actually i left just after you. I wanted to see if your sister was okay, but when i got back to the common room you both seemed to be talking and i didn' want to interrupt so i just went to the dorms" she said. she continued along the path. a couple of minutes later she stopped. waved her hands around, and then through her hair before spitting on the floor. "uckph. cobwebs" she said in explanation. she had walked right into a web and it felt like it had stuck to her face and body, and hair. she hated that feeling, she had also got it in her mouth. disgusting. "how did you go after the feast? an' how was your sister?" she asked. starting off again. reaching her wand glad it was still in her pocket and lighting it. the trees were thick and even though it was light out the forest was rather gloomy. maybe a little light would also stop her getting cobwebbed again.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie was struck by what Una said, Anna had always been tough to deal with and she'd kind of gotten used to people not looking out for her (except for Albie, of course), so to have Una say she wanted to see if Anna was alright was really quite touching. He knew he'd made a good choice in friend. "Glad you were alright! Anna was alright, she's just kinda..." he paused for a moment, nearly falling over a twisted root sticking out of the ground. "Pessimistic. And bad tempered." He paused again, reaching for his wand and casting 'lumos' in order to light the way. "She's a good kid, really. Nobody really sees that side of her 'cept me, though." This was about the most Albie had ever said about his sister, or his family in general. It was kind of awkward to do so. "I guess you know what it's like, with family and all," he added airily, brushing leaves out of his hair.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna knew what it was like to be an oldest sibling. she was the oldest of hers unless you counted her cousin brothers and cousin sisters which to be honest she didn't even though her dad said she was meant to. when her mate said that his sister was alright just pessimistic and bad tempered. that reminded her of words she had heard in the playground when she was a kid. "That Myuna, she seems like an alright kid, but she can be a bit funny at times and does have a bit of a temper or "she's a smart kid, she could be really very smart if she applied herself." and it was almost always followed by, "but she cant help what she is, if only her family were" and then that would be followed by a meaning full look, meaning if only her family pushed her, if only her family were interested, if only her family was more like ours, if only she was white. "that sounds like what people sad about me when i was her age" she said suppressing a chuckle, to be honest not sure if it was a good thing or not. "I know full well what it is like with family. I know if anyone hurts my brothers they will have me to answer to" she said pausing for a moment. "actually i think if someone messed with Lowan I wouldn't be quick enough to get to them" she said. her oldest brother was a lot like her in regards to reacting to being messed with. to be honest she missed her brothers and was looking forward to seeing them again over the holidays. all this time they had been walking slowly heading down hill and things were getting darker.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

It was that protective big brother instinct in him that made him want to give Una a hug and tell her that it was all okay, anyone who thought poorly of her could answer to him. Of course, Una was two grades above her and perfectly capable of looking after herself, probably tougher than he was. "What the hell do people know, right?" Albie said, waving a hand dismissively. "You're cool, and so's she and you guys don't need anyone to tell you that you're not." It was corny of him to say, and he felt a bit embarassed being so uncool. "Yeah, I know how that is. I got caught punching some kid who made fun of Anna." That wasn't exactly cool, either. He wasn't as hot tempered as his sister was, but he had his moments.

The path started heading down, and Albie had to watch his footing more carefully to be sure he wouldn't slip and fall. Pointing his wand ahead of him, he looked around at what he could see, curiously. "I wonder what we'll find in here. Man-eating dragons? Spiders with horses for heads?"

 

[Myuna Kickett]

She didn't know why but in the quietness of he forest Myuna felt like she could trust Albie like she hadn't trusted anyone before. she could trust him past the bravado she usually displayed. the I couldn't care what you think about me attitude. she felt like she could trust him for who she was. a girl who was caught between worlds and wasn't sure where she fitted in, was she muggle or a witch? was she white or Aboriginal? she blushed slightly when he said that she was cool. it was nice that someone thought so "you are cool too" she said. by now the path was a little wider and she slowed so they were walking side by side their hands so close they were almost touching she may be a tough tomboy and everything but she was still just a girl. "I know what i's like. I almost got kicked out of school because almost i did something like that." she said. she probably would have been kicked out if there was another school anywhere near by she could go to, or if she hadn't been stopped at the last moment.
it was slippery underfoot and Una almost lost her footing as she walked on a bit of rocky ground covered in a layer of moss. "I somehow doubt there will be anything interesting here. just trees, maybe a rabbit or deer or a few birds. but you never know there may be some dragons or horse spiders" she said. laughing at his suggestions.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

It was nice, walking along with Una. He hadn't had someone he'd felt like he could talk frankly to in a while. In a way, it kind of scared him too. He'd been so used to putting on personas and trying to be someone he wasn't to win people's approval. He knew, however, that Una was a more honest person, and that it was best to be himself. Of course, Albie knew, beneath the veneer of confidence and cockiness, that he was kind of just a big loser, but he tried never to let that get him down. "Hey. Thanks." Smiling now, Albie felt her hand brush against his and hid a blush, but kept walking straight ahead regardless.

"I...I did get kicked out of school," he admitted. It wasn't something he ever talked about, nobody around here save for Anna (and now Una) knew. "Kinda why my parents relented and sent me here. Wouldn't have to think about me if I was off at boarding school doing something I wanted to do." There was no more bitterness left to inject in his voice. It was merely facts now. "I'm not gonna do that again, though," he added, seriously. "Unless some kids decide messing with our meals isn't only something for special occaisions. You might have to hold me back, then." His tone was lighter now, as he gave a gentle laugh, accidentally brushing past Una so that their shoulders touched. "Uh, sorry."

"Ah, birds. You never know what those birds could do." He tried to look serious, but he couldn't manage it and laughed instead.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

it came as a little bit of a surprise when Albe had said he had been licked out of school. she would have been in margaret river except it was already a public school and the next closest was up wup wup. and she should have been in perth but she was sure that her gran was either paying the school extra or they wanted to keep her as she was a "special" case she was pretty sure that the government paid the school extra or gave them extra befits for having her there. whatever the reason they had let her push the rules. she thought there was something behind what he was saying but didn't press further. she hardly knew him to be honest.
she wasn't quite sure what to say. when he said that has parents just shipped him off to boarding school to get rid of him and his sister to stop them causing trouble. her family had their own reason of wanting or not wanting to send her away. so his must have theirs, wanting him to become a "proper British lady" most likely wasn't one of them. "if some kids mess with the food again. I promise i will not be able to hold you back we will end up expelled together" she said seriously. she had been the one to loos it last time. and she would have punched the girl if the seventh year and professor hadn't got there first. "birds can be scary at times I was snorkelling and got swooped by a pelican when i was little. It was terrifying, but me off them for years." just then she heard something like a branch breaking. "was that you?" she asked hoping he knew what se was talking about.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

He remembered the disappointment in his parents eyes when both Anna and Albie had been sent home in disgrace, Anna with a suspension for throwing a tantrum and breaking a set of test tubes in the science labs (she didn't know how she'd done it, Albie knew it was her latent magic), Albie with expulsion for breaking both a kid's arms. He did regret it, a lot. But what's done was done, and the kid kind of had punishment coming to him. Not unholy retribution from Albie in the form of breaking both his arms, but he supposed that was one way of exacting it. It was one of the only times Albie remembered seeing actual emotion from his parents aimed at their kids.

"Worse ways to go out," Albie shrugged, though less amused than before. He perked up a bit at Una's story about the pelican. "Sorry. Sorry. That would be scary," he said, snickering a little. "It's alright. I got chased by a flock of geese once," he admitted, so as to look like less of a prat. "Never liked the damn things." He instantly stopped walking when he heard a sound behind them.

"Uh. I thought that was you..."

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Una realised that he was thinking about something else that had happened before he had been shipped off to bording school. she was quiet for a moment as he mulled in his thoughts they were getting deeper. around them it was starting to look like it was twilight not mid afternoon. "If you are going to go you may as well go with a little style" she said, her normal attitude starting to come back. "you can laugh if you want. I'm over it now" she said tossing her head in a way that showed that she really didn't care. "i think we were just both interested in the fish, now geese on the other hand, I've never really ran into any but they look mean".
when he reacted to the noise the same way she did she looked behind raising her wand to try and see further. though she couldn't see anything. "Hello" she called quickening her pace slightly unfortunately this lead them into the forest not out. a moment later her foot caught on a bramble causing her to trip over. just about managing to stop herself face planting on the ground.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

"Very mean, if you happen to have bread." He'd gone to feed ducks as a four year old boy, being looked after by a grandparent he barely remembered. Unfortunately, there'd been a herd of geese around...it hadn't been pretty. It had been quite shocking to the then four year old Albie, who never did like geese from that point onwards. "Of course, style's important," he added, stepping back in the conversation. "No point being expelled without making a show of it."

Una fell to the ground, and Albie swore, not sure what was going on but not liking the sound of it. "Hell...you okay?" He offered her a hand, more to stabilize herself than anything. "Who's there?" he asked louder, dumbly. He highly doubted it was a student. Course, it would be just their luck if a Professor were to show up or something.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna held back a chuckle when he said that they were even meaner when you happened to have bread. birds always seemed to like food. instead she waited for his next comment. "going out may as well be done with a bang as well you can't get in any more Sh!t
a moment on the floor she tested her ankle it was the same one she had sprained a few months back but it felt fine. "yeah, I'm okay." she said not taking his hand as she got herself up. it was just a root" she said brushing herself down though she was still covered in grimy forrest floor. "show yourself" she said raising her wand and casting a charm that made bulbs of light co into the forest. it was one that her mum used often when they were camping.

 

[Aspen]

Aspen liked living living in the forest by the school. she liked the students and although both of her sisters had left her brother was still around and so were many students. Even though it was classes as the Forbidden forest there was still a stream of adventurous students willing to come into the trees for an adventure or something else. she liked watching them in the grounds and talking to them if they ever came near enough. today she had been heading to one of her favourite spots to collect food it was one of her favourite spots as it was near the edge not that the food was any more bountiful than anywhere else when she saw a couple of them slip in and follow her path into the forest. she followed a safe distance behind giving them their privacy if they needed it however it didn't seem like there was much going on between them just friends. she listened as they spoke about geese and pelicans, she agreed with them geese could be annoying at times. though she hadn't run into many pelicans. unfortunately she was paying too much attention to them that she forgot where she was putting her own hooves. CRACK. she had steeped in a fallen branch and the sound of it breaking echoed around the woods. she knew the children heard it as they started to walk faster, she hurried to keep up with them she knew that the path wasn't into dangerous territory but you never knew what decided to take a stroll. eventually they stopped and she could see that the girl had fallen over. though she didn't seem injured or in pain. "I'm here." she said in reply to the boys question just as a ball of light floated over her head illuminating her features. slowly she walked towards them hoping not to scare them further. the looks on both of their faces just moments before had been that of being scared. "I don't know about spiders with horses heads, or man eating dragons but there are acromantula though they are deep on the other side, and humans with horses bodies" she said meaning herself. "I'm aspen" she said nodding her head in greeting.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie'd quickened his pace along with Una, not sure what was behind them but not in any sort of hurry to find out. It had certainly been right not throwing him in to Gryffindor - he was no coward, but he wasn't a brave lion either. And he didn't want to be killed by whatever was following them. Una cast some sort of spell to light up the area a lot - Albie was quite impressed - and slowly turned around at the sound of the voice. It was a woman with a human's torso and head...and a horse's body. A centaur.

Instinctively, Albie flinched, but the centaur-woman seemed to be friendly. She certainly wasn't outright attacking them. Sighing in relief, Albie relaxed his body a little and extended a hand to the centaur in politeness. He hadn't expected to be meeting a real life centaur, and since he didn't think this one was out to kill him, he was curious to get to know her. "Hi, Aspen," Albie began, his face lighting up with a smile. "I'm Albie. Nice to meet you." If he hadn't been so mindful of his manners, he'd ask if she was going to turn them in or kill them, but he simply had to trust her.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna heard the thing coming closer and tried to look where the noise was coming from. the lay spoke just as one of the lights inuminated where she stood. it was a person maybe around 18 or so. though what was odd was that she seemed about eight feet tall.
as she moved forward the branch that was blocking her view of the creatures bottom half shifted and she saw that it was because the girl was a centaur. she involuntary took a step back, the creature was huge and she had heard that centaurs didn't have much respect for humans. thankfully this one at least seemed to be nice. she looked across at Albe and he seemed to have a sort of awestruck expression on his face. she pinched him on the arm. thinking he looked like he was about to ask her to to check he wasn't dreaming (though he most likely wasn't) before she too offered her hand to the centaur. "Hey Aspen. I'm Una." she said a little nervously. "Guess i was wrong 'bout the mos' interestin' thing 'ere bein'-a few birds and a deer." she said rambling a little, her accent more noticeable as she was a tad nervous, though she would have denied it if asked.

 

[Aspen]

Aspen watched the children as she moved closer. she was pretty sure she hadn't seen either of them before. and from the looks of it neither of the had seen a centaur either. she was close enough to shake their hands in just a few moments. "It is nice to meet you Albie" she said shaking the boys hand smiling. before she watched the girl pinch him. "It is nice to meet you too Una" she said shaking the girls hand. "there are deer and birds in here but there are more interesting things, there's even a couple of unicorns but those are very shy. i've only seen one once" she said. they lived deep in the trees. in a clearing where there was a fresh spring. she hardly went to that area as the stream was what marked the edge of centaur territory, the centaur territory that she was banned from, and the local herd was fairly hostile.
"what brings you both to the forrest?" she asked. she had been here long enough to know that there were different reasons the students came into the trees. each of them interesting. She wondered which this couples was something common or if it was something new.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie shot a glare at Una when she pinched him, but not a hostile look. He guessed he was being kind of a dork, though. Still, he was really interested in learning about all sorts of magical creatures, and centaurs seemed really interesting. And this one just seemed generally nice and cool to talk to. "Oh wow, unicorns, really?" He didn't think that they'd be meeting one, though, judging by what Aspen had said. Still, it was kinda cool to know that unicorns lived in the forest. Looking back on his behaviour with hindsight, he knew he'd be punching himself for what an idiot he looked, but he couldn't really help it.

"Bravery, stupidity," Albie admitted, when Aspen asked why they had come there. "Curiosity I guess. I wanted to know why it was forbidden, and I know Una said she wanted to explore," he added, jerking his head in the direction of his companion. "I bet you get that a lot though."

 

[Myuna Kickett]

Myuna smiled at Albie when he glared at her, in a way that on most girls would be sweet, however on her it just looked odd. sweet just didn't suit her. "you looked like you were about to ask me to pinch you so i saved you the effort" she said. her smile turning into a smirk. as the creature spoke again she had to raise one eyebrow in disbelief. "really unicorns in here?" she said her words similar to Albe's but her tone far more cynical.
when asked about why there were here she listened to Albies reply. "like come on. calling it the FORBIDEN forest is basically like saying come in and have a look" she said. "so what's down here?" she asked pointing further down the path.

 

[Aspen]

Aspen nodded when the boy seemed interested in the unicorns. "yes. unicorns, one of the males said he thought he saw a foal the other week, so they will be being super shy" she said a bit of a harder look at the girl. she reminded her of her cousin Poplar. he was also cynical and never believed in anything that he was told and even when young he wouldn't take part in their games. "that's why a lot of people come in. you would have thought the professors would have learned that by now and changed it's name to something else" she said jokingly. "I'm not complaining or anything. i like talking to students" that was why she had chosen this forest over her sisters offer to move to australia. she looked where the girl was pointing though she knew this part of the forest like the back of her hand. "that leads to the nomad hunting ground. then if you keep going the herd land" she said. looking around the trees. "this way is far more interesting" she said pointing into a thick growth of trees. behind it she knew there was a clearing though there was no way of seeing it from where they were.

 

[Albertus Vermeulen]

Albie rolled his eyes, sneering at Una in a good natured way. "Woman, there's not a romantic bone in your body, is there?" Sure, Albie was perhaps a little over excited and a little obsequious in his interest in the creatures in the forest. The magical world, really, as a whole, was utterly fascinating to him still, even after having lived in it for a little while. He was still getting used to it all, and sometimes had trouble processing the fact that things like centaurs and unicorns were common knowledge. He may have been sixteen, but he still possessed a child-like enthusiasm for his new world.

Feeling fairly convinced that Aspen was friendly and knew what she was talking about, he stared in the direction she pointed, though he was unable to see anything. "You're the resident, here, I guess you know best," Albie said, with a mock salute.

 

[Myuna Kickett]

myuna had to laugh at Albies glare at her. when he asked if there wasn't a romancing bone in her body she replied "why wouldn't you want to know" she teased adding a wink a genuine smile spreading across her face making her look almost pretty. before she spoiled it by poking her tongue out. this could be taken as flirting, maybe it should though she herself wasn't that bigger flirt or anything, and didn't really know what flirting was.
as the centaur said that maybe the professors should change the name if they didn't want the students entering it she shrugged. she guessed she agreed. when the centaur suggested going to a clearing through the thickest bunch of trees she had seen yet she looked at Albe. he seemed to think it was a good idea, and why not she was up for an exploration. "sure. you lead the way," she said to the centaur. hopefully the clearing would be worth it.