A romp in the Forest (Cassandra&prof. Hardy now)

[kris]

Kris was romping through the Forbidden Forest once again. He made trips here two or three times a week. He liked the work-out he got from there – running, something that would almost classify as hiking in the hills, climbing trees and Kris was already skilled in moving silently, tracking and keeping an careful eye on his surroundings. Kris wasn’t afraid of the creatures in the Forest either – there were some he got on well enough to pet them, like some thestrals, a vixen and some animals Kris was fairly certain, who were fed by Hagrid. Kris fed some of those animals himself as well from time to time and certainly brushed them, when the need to do so rose. He never ventured too deep into the woods to run into someone deadly and Kris knew in which part of the Forest centaurs lived, so he stayed well out of their way as well.

Kris had been in the Forest for barely half an hour when he heard twigs breaking. None of the animals Kris knew would be that noisy, so Kris made a little circle to investigate without being seen. Reaching the edge of a small clearing Kris raised a curious eye-brow seeing another student from Hogwarts there. Kris himself had had several points taken from him, when he was discovered being in the Forbidden Forest once again, but this was the first time Kris saw some other student here.

The person didn’t seem to notice Kris. Nor the knee-high aranchid who was slowly making it’s way towards her, who Kris couldn’t really place as to which house, which year and who exactly the person was thanks to seeing only the person’s back.. Kris rolled his eyes as he bowed swiftly and freed his hunting knife from it’s sheath on his left ankle, where Kris kept it 24/7.
Taking only a bare moment to measure the distance, Kris threw the knife. It scraped the aranchid’s leg, just as Kris had planned and the big spider screeched angrily and hurried off between the trees. Kris knew that the animal wasn’t seriously hurt, but it had been enough to draw a little blood.

“If you plan on enjoying a picnic here, you really should learn to move quieter and be more aware of your surroundings,” Kris stepped forward and stalked pass the person to where his knife was laying on the ground. Grabbing the knife, Kris pushed it into the ground a couple of times to clean it from blood and then stood up when he was satisfied. The moonlight glinted off the sharp steel of the blade for a moment, before the knife was hidden securely in it’s sheath once again. The spell to repell an aranchid was a complex one and Kris hadn’t mastered it completely. But the knife worked as effectively if not even better most of the time.
Kris kept a watchful eye on his surroundings, as he faced the other person finally looking at her face and noticing that she wasn’t half as suitable dressed for the Forest as Kris was. Kris wore black sneakers, black jeans and a black shirt, that were all tight enough to not get in the way and worn enough to let Kris move freely in them. There was one thin strap of red cloth around his left arm and one more thin piece of red cloth holding his hair back from his eyes. The red pieces of cloth also served the purpose of not getting shot that easily, as they caught one’s attention if necessary.

Kris eyed Cassandra with an almost wolfish grin – the Forest was where Kris felt himself as in home so he was rather content and relaxed right now. The only tension in him being readiness to jump to run or attack for his own protection. He was fine with attending parties for the elite of the magic world, but here- in the wild forest was where he felt most at home. This place suited him with it’s simple rules for life. Maybe that was why no punishment could ever hold him out of it.
“If I heard to stomping through here, Cassandra, then you mush have alerted every animal within a mile of your presence. Hardly something wise to do in this forest,” Kris eyed Cassandra calmly, already noticing the rip on her cloak. The cloak was really of no use in here, as it would stuck to branches and be a complete nuisance on the whole, “Are you looking for something special or did you just get lost? I can escort you back to the edge of the forest before romping around this place a little myself. I’ve barely had time to do some warm-up.”<br>

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass, with her new red hair, was feeling a bit reckless. After going back to Birmingham and dealing with her family, hopefully for the final time, she wasn't in the mood to be around people. After classes, she threw off her uniform marking her as a Hogwart's student and quickly threw on a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt she had made. The shirt gave the appearance as to being a dress that hung down to her knees. She slid on a comfortable pair of black boots and a black velvet cloak. She had taken a quick look in the mirror, still marveling at the red hair that Kari had blessed her with, and began to walk out the door. A very bedraggled cat that looked like it had seen too many summers followed her out the door. She looked down at him as he headed out the portrait hole with her. She shook her head silently. " Ringo, you sure have been clingy lately."

Ringo and Cassandra walked through the courtyard, past the Quidditch pitch, and to the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest. Cass laid her cloak on the ground and she began to sketch. Ringo stretched out next to her and began to nap lazily. Cass knew this wasn't exactly reckless, but it was about the closest she had gotten to reckless since she came to Hogwarts. She was just begging for something to come out of that forest and attack. However, she knew that would never happen.

A couple of hours later, she noticed Ringo begin to stir. Ringo gave a cute cat yawn and turned over on his belly. She gave the cat a rub between the ears. " My, you've been lazy."

A howl from the forest sparked Ringo's enthusiasm though. The howl startled the old cat to run into the forest at a very rapid pace. " Ringo!" Cass screamed.

Cass threw on her cloak and hurried after her cat. Pulling her wand out of her pocket, she began to peruse the forest. " Lumos!" she commanded and her wand satisfied her request. " Ringo!" she called but the cat did not come from his hiding place.

After what seemed forever, she feared that her old friend was gone. Hearing a creaking behind her, she tried to pull every DADA class she had ever taken to the front of her mind. She let out a little gasp as a knife grazed a spider in front of her.

Relief swelled over her as she saw Kris Grass jump out of a tree, but his words her lost on her since she heard a small "Meow" to the left of her. She looked down and saw Ringo at her feet. " Ringo, I'm never going to let you out of the common room again!" she professed as she picked him up.

Finally acknowledging Kris' presence, " I wasn't exactly out her for a picnic. I had to rescue someone." She raised the feline to her face and gave him a quick kiss on the nose. " He heard a howl and it spooked him. Ringo normally keeps close, but not lately. He's been restless." Finally realizing what he said about an escort to the edge of the forest, " What? You don't think I can handle myself? Besides, what are you doing out her anyway?"

[kris]

Kris’s eyes concentrated on the kitten- Ringo, as Cassandra had called and he just raised an sarcastic eye-brow when Cassandra snapped back at him, about why he was in the Forbidden Forest.
“I’m here for a little work-out. What better place to get that here on the grounds?” Kris spread his arms and glanced up as some bigger bird flew over, casing a shadow on them for a moment, “I can be found here about two or three times a week.”<br>
Kris’s eyes settled on Cassandra once again and Kris smirked: “And no, I don’t think you know completely everything here in the forest. Do you know the spell that would work against an aranchid? I know but I can’t perform it actually. Or do you have a knife with you that you can use because you are good enough for it? Because you certainly can’t scare the animals here off, when they get hungry, with your bare hands. I’m always wary in this Forest and during the three years I have played around here, I know the safe passages around here. It would be foolish to not be afraid.”<br>
Kris cocked his head as he heard an howl himself and muttered to half-himself: “Wolves. At their hunting grounds probably – they don’t come out of the forest as far as this usually. And it’s just a small pack anyway – one male and two females only.”<br>Kris looked up into the sky – it was still two more days for full moon so there wouldn’t be any werewolves out and about today, but there was enough moon for the mooncalves to come out. Kris had seen those shy creatures dancing long often enough and it was an absolutely enchanting experience.

Glancing at his watch as well, Kris saw that he still had a couple of hours before the animals would come out, so he looked up again: “But today I’m mostly here to see the dance of the mooncalves. I know where some of them go here, but I still have time to show you out of here. But if you are certain you’re alright, I’ll just go and see what else is going on tonight. Enjoy the rest of the night.”<br>Kris turned and started stalking towards the edge of trees calmly, making noticeable less noise than Cassandra had done. Kris had years of practice of that in moving silently in forests since when he was a kid and hiking with his father and he had been moving around in the Forbidden Forest since the beginning of his third year as well. So even though he wasn’t completely silent, there were few untrained ears that could catch the sound of his foot-steps as Kris glided over the forest-floor with care-less grace as if it was as smooth as a floor of some ball-room.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass was not entirely certain if she believed him about the wolves, but honestly, she knew she would never figure out how to get out by herself. To admit that to a Slytherin was worse than swallowing a lemon.

" Mooncalves? I've never heard off those before. Every time I go into this forest I hear of a more interesting story or creature. It always made me actually wonder what was out here. I would always go to the edge of the forest to think or listen and just imagine what was out here. I always thought I would see threstrals, unicorns, werewolves, maybe a centaur or two, but never anything named a mooncalf."

Sighing in frustration, " I really hate to go back now since my crazy feline dragged me out here. I've never really had the gumption to come out here before. But I guess your right, its probably better you take me back."

Angry and frustrated that she just had to admit defeat to a Slytherin, again, she stood there waiting for him to turn around. Honestly, she didn't really think he would leave her out here alone.

[kris]

Kris stopped as he heard Cassandra starting to speak and smirked turning around to face the girl once again: “Every time you come into the forest? Come here that often?” Kris smirked again, a bit amused, “If you wanted me you believe that, then you would have left your cloak at the edge, as it is already ripped on your back. Not to mention you being without much protection right now. And you would be able to move a bit quieter.”<br>
Kris rolled her eyes as Cassandra asked about mooncalves: “Do I look like that bloody half-giant to you?” None the less Kris recited some information about the shy creatures: “Mooncalves aren’t learned in classes, as they aren’t dangerous and are extremely shy. They only come out at night, when there is enough moon like now. They prefer the full moon, but should be out today as well to dance. It’s thought that it’s the dance is the beginning of their mating dance, but it’s awesome to watch, although very few people have ever seen it. If you want to know about their good qualities go and read a book.”<br>
Kris turned around and motioned for Cassandra to follow him, as he moved in a bit different direction now: “And you don’t want to meet the centaurs. After Firenze coming to the castle they really dislike humans. They might let you go alive, but I would have a rather good chance of getting my throat slit. Or at least get wounded. You won’t see thestrals unless you have seen someone die and werewolves are here at full moon only,” Kris continued dryly, then thought about a moment, “Tehre are unicorns naturally, but they are shy. I’ve seen rather many thugh, as I know where they go for a drink.”<br>
Kris didn’t look back to see if Cassandra was following or not, as he fell silent while returning to the trail he had left earlier. Reaching a broken tree laying over their path, Kris grabbed a hanging tree-branch and swung his body over it with careless grace. And halted about 20 metres farther to wait for Cassandra to wait up: “If you go to the right, you get to a spring, where a lot of animals go to drink, including a lot of unicorns. The left path will take towards the castle.”<br>Kris glanced towards the right and glanced at his watch once again – if he would have to escort Cassandra back to the forest edge, he’d have to move very quickly to reach the clearing, where mooncalves danced early enough to not spook them away wit his approach. And he wouldn’t get to see the unicorns before that. Kris sent one more glance to the right, wishing he could go in that direction rather, but he couldn’t really leave Cassandra here alone either, so he averted his eyes and looked at Cassandra: “As you want to get back, we’ll go left. You ready – I won’t go very slowly.”<br>

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass adjusted Ringo in her arms. She looked down the alternate path, and stared at it inquisitevely. Oh god, she thought to herself, Cass rmember curiousity killed the cat.

" Really? A spring? That sounds like more fun than the castle," she pushed her red hair out of her face. " How far down is the spring?" She started to step forward in the way that Kris had pointed out. " That would be really cool to see." She started to head in that direction, almost daring Kris to stop her.

[kris]

Kris stopped and looked at Cassandra as she started towards the right path towards the spring and smirked. You’d have to get of the trail after about half a mile to reach the spring and Cassandra obviously didn’t know her way around the Forest, making Kris smirk at her behavior.
“Do you really think you would reach it yourself?” Kris asked with a small smirk catching up to Cassandra without any problems, “Don’t forget where you are, little lion.”<br>
Kris looked forward and decided to go for it: “Let’s move, but I’m not slowing my pace for you.” Kris started off, moving a bit slower than usual, when he was alone, even though he had just said he wouldn’t do it. Just the fact he was used to going with a slow half-jog – a style of moving that let you move quickly, swiftly and so you had energy to go on for hours – didn’t mean Cassandra could do the same.

“It’s about half a mile down this path plus some more off the track,” Kris told Cassandra over his shoulder, not even breathing harder because of it’s speed while enjoying the light breeze that had started to blow softly, “Since you decided to come along, you’ll have to wait until the mooncalves are finished with their dance as well before I take you back to the edge. Myself I need to get rid of some spare energy before getting back to the castle and I still have to see an animal today before I leave.” Kris brushed a tree-branch out of his way without slowing down as silence settled over them for that rather quick journey down the path.

Reaching a large willow, Kris stopped and turned around to look at Cassandra’s shoes for a moment. Deciding they were good enough to not be too much trouble on the Forest Ground, Kris looked back at Cassandra and motioned towards the opening between trees: “The trail will get a bit harder now though, but try to be as quiet as you can – I don’t want to scare the animals away from the spring.” Kris went first himself once again but a little slower – it was darker here under the trees, so he gave their eyes time to get used to the darkness here and the ground had more roots on it now as well.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Little Lion?!?!?!? If she had of thought about it, she would show him little lion. She heard a howl in the distance and Ringo perked up his ears. She would show him about little lion, but now was not the time.

Feeling th exhiliaration by actually being in the forest, she didn't even really notice how far she had walked. She was really just drinking it all in. The sounds, sights, and smells of the forest were more than one person could take in all at once. When they reached the trail where it split, she eyed it worriedly. Not such a smart idea, was it Cass, she thought to herself.

Swallowing the last bit of fear she followed Kris down the path. She was surprised at how easily she was keeping up, but she knew he was slowing down for her. Kris put on a hard exterior, but she knew he was a big softie. Also, she was on a roll this year for trusting Slytherins. Kris and Pyro had been a bit of a surprise to her. She had seen them around school over the years, but she never had the gumption to talk to a Slytherin let alone let one lead her into the Dark Forest. However, she would of never of known either one of them if hadn't of been for Dana.

Cass spoke as softly as she could without sounding scared or timid. " So, I know you and Dana come out here alot. It this spring where you normally meet?"

[kris]

Kris calmly brushed a spider’s net out of the way, before walking head-first into it and continued out, grinning mentally as he could almost hear Cassandra being irritated by his comment about little lion. How come all the students in this castle were so touchy? Kris didn’t mind if he was called a ‘snake’ – mythological snakes had always been smart and independent. The same was with badgers – the animals of Hufflepuff – they were hard-working and quiet animals, Ravens were smart and Gryffindors and their lion… well, a lion wasn’t an insult really either, if you thought about it, as lion was a strong animal.

“No, Dana doesn’t like to venture so deep into the Forest alone. I’ve taken her here from time to time, but we usually meet on a clearing more closer to the castle and the edge of the Forest. Besides we need more room to practice,” Kris answered to Cassandra’s question turning his head sharply to get a better look on the animal, whose fur had glinted in the moonlight for a moment.
Noticing the posture of a rather large ferret-like animal, Kris grinned as he heard the regular bark of a rather offensive bark, from where the animal was crouching in shadows under a large fern-bush: “A jarvey. If you can remember half of the animals today, then the next classes in this and next year would be easy. Jarey is an animal – going behind that oak right now – they always through insults to everybody.”<br>
Having pointed the direction of the jarvey to Cassandra, Kris started to move on again for a couple of minutes, before he raised his hand as a sign to Cassandra to keep really quiet. They had reached the spring as close as Kris dared to go with Cassandra, so her steps, which still were harder and more hearable than his, wouldn’t scare the animals away.
Melting into the shadows with his black clothing, Kris slipped to stand next to a willow tree and looked at the spring and the small herd of unicorns there. Today they even had some fouls. Kris almost smiled looking at it, but kept quiet and waited to see the moment, when Cassandra would notice the creatures for herself.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass followed Kris deeper in the forest. She acknowledged the Jarvey as hid behind a tree. When Kris signaled to be quiet, she follow his command. Looking into the branches of a nearby tree, she noticed a strange looking bird. As it flew away, her eyes followed it. This led her line of vision to the clearing with all the unicorns.

" Whoa!" she exclaimed softly. She had seen unicorns before, but never in the wild and never any fowl. They were here now though. She new the adults tended to be protected of their unicorn so she kept silent as possible.

Noticing two of the fowls horesplaying on the edge of the clearing, she knocked Kris in the shoulder and pointed it to his attention.

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

Amaryllis shuddered slightly as the shadows of the Forbidden Forest closed over her. She was entirely used to this environment, but she still disliked it, preferring much more to be out in the daylight. The Forest was at least peaceful, however, with only the animals to keep you company, but Amaryllis never ventured into it unless she had need. Today Professor Sprout had asked her to seek out an unusual root, in the hope that she might be able to cultivate it in her greenhouses or in the school grounds, as Madam Pomfrey had apparently assured her that it would be just the thing to use in a potion that would help alleviate the symptoms of a rather nasty vomiting bug that was going around the school this spring.

Amaryllis was familiar with the Forest, having been into it many times before during her lengthy career at the school, so she was fairly sure where she should head to find this root. Professor Sprout had told her the sort of areas in which the plant would grow, and what it looked like, and so Amaryllis was now using her initiative to find it. She wound further and further into the forest, all the time feeling a growing suspicion niggling at the back of her mind - that she was not the first human to tread this way in the past hour. The broken sticks were testimony to that. Two trails - one very faint and light, the other fairly heavy. One of the trails was almost churned up to mud in places, where it looked as though there had been a particularly heavy step, and there some little worms were peeking their heads through the ground. A small, bright blue bird was being quick to harvest them, flitting on ahead of Amaryllis. She decided to follow the trail, fairly sure she knew what would be at the end of it. Some unwise wanderers. From what Dumbledore said, it really wasn't safe any more.

Sure enough, as she neared a small clearing, hardly any lighter than the rest of the forest in the fading light of the day, she heard two indistinct voices. Her hearing, although fading slightly now that she was nearing middle-age, was still acute - it had always been a particular quality of her's. She noticed the unicorns in the distance almost straight away - she was always wary while she was in the Forest, and noted that they had folas with them. She would tell the Groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Hagrid, about that. She was sure he would be delighted. She would have to be cautious because of the unicorns - she would not be able to be completely assertive towards the pair to start with. It must be a pair - all the signs were in pairs. But they would not argue with her. It would be extremely foolish of them to.

Amaryllis made a circle around the unicorns, only one of which raised its head as though startled by the noise, before deciding that nothing was amiss and returning to its grazing. She saw where the obvoius trail came to an end, and glanced around, until she spotted the pair. An Slytherin boy, she could tell even from his back that he was a Graas, and a younger Gryffindor girl. An unlikely pairing to be in the Forest, she thought, with some puzzlement. But what company either of them were in did not matter. What did matter was that they were breaking one of the strictest school rules, putting themselves in a lot of danger, and also the staff members who would have to go and find them should anything happen to them.

Certain that the Graas at least must be aware of her by now, as he seemed to have far more forest sense than the girl, Amaryllis approached the two and tapped the girl on the shoulder. She led both of them away from the unicorns, her face set hard and stern, so that they would know just how much trouble they were in. She would leave the lecture until later. She waited until she was sure they were not in any immediate danger from the animals of the forest, before facing them both severely.
"That's eighty points from both your houses," she told them, fairly sure the harsh reality would teach the Gryffindor girl a lesson, from the look on her face, if not necessarily the Graas. "And two months' detention. Now then, I'll escort you both back to the castle. Don't come in here again." She would pity them if they argued with her now. They had stopped her from completing the task she had set out with the intention to do, and it would mean that more people spent more time in discomfort. She was most put out, to say the least.

[kris]

Kris frowned as one of the unicorns seemed startled by something. The unicorn obviously dismissed the matter though, but Kris didn’t and it was only moments later, when he felt the presence of someone else. One quick glance from the corner of his eyes, made Kris smirk and shake his head. Professor Amaryllis Hardy.
Kris turned around without a word and silently followed the professor with a small smirk playing on his lips. He wasn’t bothered about the punishment that was bound to follow, he just a bit irked that he didn’t get to complete his usual tour today. But he wasn’t bothered by the professor.

“Good evening professor Hardy,” Kris greeted surprisingly cheerily taking the situation into account. The punishment was rather regular, so Kris tilted his head with an arrogant grin, which showed that he wasn’t bothered, even though Kris made a mental note to visit some classes to earn the points he lost back, “Charming night, isn’t it? To tell the complete truth, then Cassandra ran into here after her cat. I was the one out on a usual romp, who found her here and lead us to the spring.” Kris nodded towards the cat Cassandra was holding.

Kris looked at the professor contemplatingly: “Are you looking for some root for professor Sprout again? I know the way out and I will move out, as I’m caught tonight already. Or I wouldn’t mind some more time in fresh air, so you can get the root, keep an eye on us and not have to waste time on escorting us back and then returning here.”<br>Kris tensed a moment before hearing a low yip from the bushes, as he scanned the forest-floor, catching sight of the silver vixen crouching under one bush almost immidiately. Smiling Kris took some steps further and crouched down whistling quietly as the young vixen slowly came out of hiding and jogged over to Kris, rubbing against his feet much like a cat would do, while Kris scratched her head tenderly while cooing with almost surprising softness for him: “Waited for me, precious? How’s your leg – haven’t put too much pressure on it lately?” Noticing some branch getting messed up in the vixens fur, Kris tried to untangle it, but as it didn’t budge, pulled out his knife and cat the branch loose, before sheathing the knife again and soothing the vixen’s fur.
Kris had always have almost magical contact with animals, what ever the animal was – even though he still had plenty of scars from the not so happy meetings. He had found this vixen as a cub at the edge of the forest and saved the scared animal from some other creature and healed it’s wounds. The vixen started trusting Kris and even now the vixen approached Kris rather regularly to play.

Picking the vixen up, Kris stood and walked back to the professor and Cassandra, turning the vixen so it was laying on it’s back over his arm, as Kris checked the hind leg the vixen had hurt some time ago. It seemed as it had healed well enough under the cast Kris had used though, so Kris let the vixen down, where it shied away a little from Cassandra and professor Hardy, but didn’t run away completely.
“So where to, professor?” Kris asked calmly, with a rise of his eye-brow. If the professors wanted to keep Kris out of the Forest, they’d have to shackle him. Or give him something useful to do so he wouldn’t have to sneak in here. But Kris felt at home here, so it would have to be a small catastrophy to keep him out.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass nearly jumped out of her skin when Professor Hardy snuck up on her and Kris. After getting her very harsh punishment, she followed the Professor and Kris very forlornly. She heard Ringo meaw softly and she rubbed his head. Ringo may have been happy to leave, but she wasn't. She really wanted to explore the forest more, but that wasn't going to happen. Funny thing, she actually trusted Kris. Even though he could be a jerk sometimes, she really felt safe around him.

When Kris mentioned about finding a root for Sprout, Cass was excited. Hoping to see more of the forest, she followed the two excitedly. After a few moments walk, Kris bent down and whistled. Looking closer, she noticed a vixen hiding. " Is that the vixen you were taking care of-." She spoke very softly and awkwardly, not wanting to say anything that would get Kris in trouble with Professor Hardy.

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

Amaryllis regarded the Graas boy cooly, feeling anger rise up inside her at his insolence and complete failure to realise what he had done wrong, but easily able to supress it and force it back down before either of the students would have chance to notice it, apart from a slight flare of the nostrils. Amaryllis had been in her profession for many years now, and she was used to these people who thought they were the centre of the universe. She had a slightly different opinion. A person wrapped up in themselves made a very small bundle.

She watched silently as the Graas boy bent down to receive a vixen, which looked to have only recently matured into its adult years. This was typical of his arrogance, that he thought it appropriate to fuss over the vixen now. The problem was, there was little way that he could be disciplined. Argus Filch often remembered with nostalgia the days when he was allowed to install slightly harsher punishment, but Amaryllis did not agree with him that that was the way to go. It would probably have no effect on people such as the Graas boy - it would merely serve to make him bitter and more determined to cause trouble. But what could be done, was a matter she had not yet solved. She would just have to deliver the pair to Professor Frostner and leave him to do what he could to teach them the error of their ways.

Amaryllis decided that she had better try to recall the name of this Gryffindor girl. She narrowed her eyes while the girl, who looked surprisingly cheerful, leant in to the Graas boy to whisper to him. Amaryllis could hear exactly what she had said - her ears had always been good - and she was not sure she wanted to go down that route. If she saw the Graas boy out in the forest again, though, she would make sure he was more severely punished than just two months detention and points from his house. Finally she recalled the name of the girl, cursing herself inwardly for not having a quicker memory. "Miss Logton," she said, in a warning tone. Once the Graas boy had released the vixen and straightened up again, she knew that it was now safe to talk to him, as the vixen would not have the chance to bite his fingers off in alarm.

"Mr. Graas," she said, her tone icy, "you evidently have yet to learn responsibility. But you have responsibility to yourself, and to Miss Logton here, not to put yourself or others in danger. I will be accompanying you back to the castle, and that will be without argument. Miss Logton, the same goes for you. Mr Graas, another ten points from Slytherin for your lack of respect towards your fellow school pupils." Amaryllis indicated the two to walk in front of her back to the castle. She would not let them out of her sight.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass frowned as the vixen ran away. Why did Professor's have to spoil all the fun?! She once again began to follow the woman, who she didn't even know, like a leashed dog through the forest. She looked up at Kris, really sorry that there jaunt was almost at the end. She had always wanted to come into the forest, and she was going to ask him to accompany her in the future. However, it came a little earlier than expected.

Still holding onto Ringo, she let the evening breeze push her hair back. Figuring that they were still allowed to talk, she looked at Kris, " Are there really thestrals out here? This is going to sound horribly mobid, I've never seen one but I think I could now. I was really hoping to catch a look at them before I left."

She looked at Kris, hoping he would catch her drift.

[kris]

Kris noticed the flare of the professors nostrils in what was certainly anger. Kris turned his head a little and smiled at Cassandra, watching as the vixen ran around and seemed to enjoy itself thoroughly.
“Yes, it’s the same vixen. Her hind leg seems completely healed by now though. Luckily the bone wasn’t broken, otherwise I would have taken her to madam Pomfrey, but I managed myself with the flesh wound,” Kris moved his shoulder in a circle, “I was grumpy the next morning after you saw us together for the first time though. The ground wasn’t half as comfortable as my bed, but I couldn’t really leave her alone either, right?”<br>
Kris fell into step next to Cassandra as they walked down the path in front of the professor. Kris smirked and since it was a rather well-known secret among other professors, told professor Hardy the truth: “I have been coming to the Forest since my third year and I’ve been caught and punished countless of times, even though I’ve got away without getting caught even more often. The staff knows it, my legal guardians know it – even though you are welcomed to send them a letter about my behavior. Meredith will certainly answer. I know my way around this place well enough to know where I’m safe enough to handle myself and I know my way around the centaurs. I was never in any real danger, besides the fact that Dana and Mary would have my head, should I hurt myself.” Kris wondered if this particular professor knew how close friends Kris was with Dana, but said in a calm and not offensive tone, “This being said with all due respect professor, so please don’t take nay offence.”<br>
Kris and Cassandra moved side by side for some time, before Cassandra broke the silence, questioning Kris about thestrals.
“Yes, there are thestrals here. Practically any magical creature you can imagine I think somewhere in these woods, besides dragons. As you knew the name, then you must already know what they look like, so I won’t start lecturing you about it,” Kris answered fishing out a small silvery whistle from the pocket of her pants – it had been a present from Dana and blowing it. The sound was too high for humans to hear, much like a dog-whistle. Kris eyed Cassandra thoughtfully, stirring his memory a little, before recalling some words Dana had dropped at some later conversation: “It was your father, right? Thanks to who you can now see thestrals?”<br>
Kris heard the shrilling scream echo from between the trees and grinned, recognizing the sound of thestrals. Kris had managed to befriend a small group of thestrals – one alpha male, two females and one foal. Maybe because once again he had managed to help one of the animals, as Kris saw them ever since he was a small kid.
Kris smiled as he saw the foal half running, half-gliding with his wings towards him, so he was prepared to be knocked off his feet as both the boy and the thestral rolled over the ground. Kris got onto his feet quickly and continued along, wrestling and playing with him as they walked, but being rather careful still so to not to hurt the animal nor himself.
“See – the alpha male and two females are there,” Kris pointed to Cassandra with his hand, moving a little to see her view-point, “They won’t approach while I have company and I don’t’ have anything to feed them with now either, but they wouldn’t hesitate to come, should their foal be in trouble. They trust me though. The male is a bit protective – probably thinks of me as someone he needs to protect as well, but when they are near-by then other animals stay too far away to be noticed. That’s why he seems so jumpy – he thinks I might need help right now.”<br>Kris figured that the proud male had probably sensed the tension between Cassandra, Kris and the professor, so he was trotting and spreading his wings and screeching from time to time as the soft thumped of his front hooves hitting the ground were barely noticeable. Kris send a shielded wink towards Cassandra, understand her. They would obey and do as the professor said, but they wouldn’t grovel either.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass was surprised when Kris fell in line with her as they continued to the castle. At the quiestion on her day, she hesitantly let out a "Yeah." Not really sure if she wanted him to know that much private information about her, she stayed silent about the matter. She knew her anger is what caused the machines to go haywire. Her mother had always said odd things happened when Cass' emotions ran high, but she never believed her. To have her father's blood on her hands was enough to make her believe. Of course, she knew it wasn't her fault, but she had caused so much damage in the past weeks. First Pyro, and now her father.

She watched as Kris pulled out the whistle, and she braced to hear the high shrill. However, it never came. Kris pointed to the sky and saw four winged horses come toward them. Cass smiled and giggled a bit when the foul hit Kris and bowled him over. She really liked Kris when he was like this. Animals seemed to bring out a better side of him, and she liked that side.

As the foul continued to walk beside them, she looked at it hesitantly. " They really are beautiful. I didn't have much contact with animals before I came to Hogwarts. I've always lived in the city so there have never been many around. Just Ringo," she pointed to the cat she was still carrying," They really fascinate me. I could never go to a zoo growing up. Every animal there just looked so sad behind the bars or glass walls."

Cass attempted to put on a straight face as Kris tried to explain about the alpha male and why he seemed so upset. However, she continued to giggle as the foul continued some of his antics along their route. " He's so cute." She made a step to get closer to the foul when the male made a sudden whinny sound. She wasn't that brave to go where she probably wasn't wanted.

[kris]

Kris didn’t ask for more about Cassandra’s father, sensing that the younger girl didn’t want to talk about it. Something Kris could relate to – he himself didn’t like to talk about his father either.
“Beautiful?” Kris raised an eyebrow towards Cassandra at her choice of words and glanced at the thestrals, their dragon-like heads and long necks as well as the huge leathery wings, “Not many people call them beautiful, especially at first sighting. Most people are scared out of their wits seeing them. But I have to agree – they have some kind of a charm to them.”

The foul bowled into Kris once again, sending the boy flat on his back in the mud. Without even a second thought Kris pulled the thestral alongside with him before they both climbed on their feet again grinning and Kris flapped the edge of the young animals wing back into it’s place without any hesitation, as the foul rubbed it’s head against his blouse as Kris brushed some dirt off his calmly. He was used to wearing silk and Kris preferred being clean, but he knew that he would get dirty in the Forest, so he didn’t bother to even get irritated about it, even though most people might expect it off him.

“You know I live in Italy most of the time – just spend a week or two with Meredith and Julien – they are my legal guardians. Dana’s grand-parents, “ Kris quickly added an explanation for Cassandra, “And around my mansion there is a forest for a couple of miles, except for the side where the cliff stretches over the sea. It’s usual for me to stay there – for a couple of days sometimes so I know rather many animals there.”<br>Taking a gentle but firm hold over the thestrals neck, Kris took Cassandra’s hand and guided it to the foul, showing her how to scratch the young animal where it liked for a moment, before letting the foul go, who jogged back to it’s parents, who all took off once again, leaving Kris follow them with their eyes with desire to go with them.

Reaching a tree fallen over the path once again, Kris swung himself over it with careless grace, before turning and gallantly helping Cassandra climb over it as well, eyeing the professor for a moment: “There are two routs to the castle soon, which one do you want us to take, professor?” The paths were about hte same length, they just headed to the castle from different sides, so not to upset hte professor more, Kris decided to ask. Just in case. He even had used as polite tone as his Slöytherin nature would allow.

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

Cass jumped when Kris grabbed her hand. Afraid, she did let him lead it over to the foul. Feeling the strange hide underneath her hand, she smiled. " Sounds like a pretty place. Your home, I mean? I've always wanted to be able to just enjoy everything in the forest. Look at the animals, listen to the birds. Unfortunately, I'm like a bull in a china shop; so most things hear me coming a mile away."

Stopping at the crossroads, she waited for Hardy to make her decision on where they wanted to go. " So, Italy, huh? I've always wanted to go there. The farthest I've traveled is to the States, but I didn't stay long there. My father was actually on a trip for his business so I didn't get to enjoy it like I wanted to."

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

Amaryllis turned to heel sharply as Mr. Graas told her what, of course, she was already well aware of. He didn't really seem to appreciate quite why it was a school rule. Of course, rules were there to be flaunted. Some of them. Amaryllis had, naturally, done her own fair share of flaunting rules while she was a student at Hogwarts. But there were some rules that were necessary, and that should be followed. The one which guarded against venturing into the Forbidden Forest was one of them.
"Mr. Graas, experience is all very well, but rules are rules, and are there for a reason. There is more in this Forest than centaurs. You are a danger to yourself when you venture in here, and a danger to others. Don't let me see you in here again. The same goes for you, Miss. Logton."

She allowed the two to talk quietly as they followed the path. They were soon joined by a number of thestrals. Amaryllis had, by her age, witnessed the death of a parent, and had long been able to see the flying creatures, which were almost majestic, the speed of their movements calculated. She watched them cautiously, making sure the two students kept moving away from the forest. The Graas boy seemed almost to be a magnet to animals. The thestrals kept up their progress with gigantic strides that dwarfed the steps of the humans. Eventually they moved off, evidently satisfied that the Graas boy was not in danger.

"Straight ahead, Mr. Graas, Miss. Logton," Amaryllis said, knowing the path to be slightly more direct, trodden more often by Hagrid and so not so dangerous. The path was muddy at this time of year, and she had to skirt around the middle to avoid getting stuck in it. She was glad to see the light of Hagrid's hut not too far off as they emerged from underneath the trees to a clear, starry, mid-evening sky. She took the students to the front door of the castle, where there were enough teachers to give the inevitably dishevelled wanderers some appraising stares.
"Back to your common rooms now," Amaryllis told them. She watched them depart, waiting for them to split up and go their separate ways before she retreated to the staff room to write the incident up on their school records.