The Forbidden Forest

Chapter 2

"Hey Kaia! Where are you going? Class starts in ten minutes," Hermione says, confusion written across her face.

"Yeah, I'll be right back. I just want to check something out," I answer as I turn toward the large doors leading outside Hogwarts. I silently walk away from the curly-haired girl and into the view of a large man standing at the step of a tiny house, a dog accompanying him.

"Oh, hello Kaia! Where yer off to?" Hagrid asks with a barely visible grin, the flabby black dog beside him trying to restrain himself from running up to me.

"Just enjoying the scenery!"

"Ok, well, don't go gettin' in too much trouble, alright?"

"Of course!" His words go in one ear and immediately out the other. I begin stealthily moving to the right of the man's cottage, making an effort to stay behind trees and unnoticeable.

Once I reach my destination, my eyes struggle to focus on the objects in the darkness. The never-ending rows of tall trees tower above me as quietness settles a nervous feeling in my soul. This setting is the epitome of the word mysterious. No wonder they call it the Forbidden Forest. I steadily breathe in and out the wet aroma of moss and grass as I finally begin to enjoy the peacefulness consuming all of my senses. I feel the woodland calling out to me, summoning my immediate presence, so I take one small step forward, and then...

"What are you doing? You shouldn't be out here," a stern voice says a few feet behind me. I jump at the unexpected sound and slowly turn around, released from the strange trance. A boy. He appears to be around the same age as me, 14.

"Wha-who are you?" I inquire defensively. Were they following me?

"I could ask you the same thing," the boy states, raising one eyebrow and crossing his arms. Nothing had given his presence away until the moment he spoke; it was as if he was a hologram.

How did he do that?

"Were you following me?"

"What? No, of course not. I don't even know you. Now, answer my question," he demands, his voice running thin on patience.

Suddenly, realization strikes me. I am alone; with a stranger; on the edge of a forest. Being cocky isn't going to help me in this situation. "My name is Kaia. I'm a fourth-year here. I was just interested to know if the Forbidden Forest was really as frightening as everyone says it is."

He exhales in relief. Relief? This guy is so weird.

"Oh," his callous expression lifts, and he smirks. However, his face returns to a cold expression when he continues to instruct the orders, "Go back to Hogwarts. All of the heinously morbid rumors people say about this place are correct."

I stand there in disbelief, partly due to his bluntness and partly because he then reaches for my hand to guide me away from the cusp of the forest. He seems almost as surprised as me when he stares at his extended arm and immediately retracts it.

I brush past him while murmuring, "I can walk myself back, thank you very much."

"It's too late to be shy now. Come on, loosen up," he mockingly laughs as I non-selectively lead him back to school grounds. I scoff at his sudden change in attitude and ignore him the rest of the way to Hogwarts. We part ways, him far more disappointed about it than I am, and hurry to class.

History of Magic class couldn't have gone by slower as I wonder what the boy thought was so dangerous about the forest. What is in there, anyway? Something about the utter tranquility and dream-like state that the prohibited area exuded makes me doubt his words of caution. On another note, who even was he? I've never seen him before, and he is definitely someone I wouldn't forget. He was tall and slender with pale skin and even paler hair. The only color that accurately depicted the shade of his messy hair was pure white, not even eggshell. He had the complexion of an angel, it was almost startling. His eyes were blood red, and his veins were apparent. And his name...wait...he never told me! I was too busy being interrogated to remember to pry answers to my own questions out of him!

I push the unpleasant thought away and focus on the lecture for the few remaining minutes of class. Once I exit the classroom to head to lunch, Hermione immediately takes my arm and walks with me to the Great Hall. Together, we sit down and patiently wait for the others to join us while talking about the mounds of homework we were assigned.

Before I know it, two boys are sitting across from me, digging into their food like they haven't eaten in years. Their unprofessionally long hair that I don't prefer drapes over their eyes, but it's obvious that they find it stylish as they attempt to flirt with girls at other tables. It's a weak effort with an even weaker response.

"So, do you guys know if there's anything creepy in the Forbidden Forest?" I whisper, leaning toward them. My curiosity about the forest still has a hold on me despite my prior experience. Additionally, no students are more knowledgeable sources on all things unauthorized than my closest friends with a few first-hand encounters.

Their eyebrows shoot up in response to the odd question. "Creepy?! To call what's in that hellhole just creepy is an understatement! It's filled with loads of malicious creatures! Ginormous spiders, for example! Unnaturally ginormous spiders...," the redhead, Ron, trails off, scaring himself into speechlessness.

Hermione chimes in, a little thrown off at my unawareness, "I know you only just came to Hogwarts this year, but do you really not know about anything that's happened here before you came?"

"No, my parents tried to stop me from knowing anything about Hogwarts because I was sick, and they didn't want me running off to a school far away until I got better," I respond, recalling the dark memories of being fatally ill, "clearly I still have plenty to learn and figure out."

"To answer your question, yes, we know very well if there's anything weird in the Forbidden Forest. In fact, probably better than any other students at Hogwarts," Harry, the brunette, finally states. I feel my mouth form a smile. At last, learning what in the Forbidden Forest is so compelling to me is mere seconds away.