A Shallow Grave

Chapter 7

"I can't believe the professors think the Forest is too dangerous for students. I think they need to have more confidence in our defensive abilities."

Sebastian had not stop running his mouth the entire time we had walked from the castle to the entrance of the Forbidden Forest. He had chosen to walk on my right side, probably wise to have me sandwiched in between him and Julian. I could easily stop them from killing each other should they have a disagreement. Neither I nor Julian had spoken a word to Sebastian, let alone each other. We let him ramble on and on about whatever topic popped into his mind. It was obvious that he was trying to annoy us. He'd already gatecrashed what he thought was an outing to collect supplies for Potions class. Mine and Julian's plan would have to wait. It was too much of a risk to expose my ability in front of Sebastian. So we would have to wait for a more convenient opportunity to test Julian's theory.

As we walked deeper into the Forest, I can tell exactly why students were not supposed to go wandering into it. It instantly became darker, like midnight warped into a bubble surrounding the area. It was deathly silent, but anyone could tell that you were not alone. I'd heard students talking about rumours of giant spiders and trolls that had been spotted throughout the Forest. I just hoped that we would get what we needed to got back to the castle within the hour.

It didn't take long for Sebastian to spot a pack of Mongrels lounging alongside a large riverbed. I'll admit I was nervous to take them on, but I'd rather it be those beasts and not dark wizards or goblins. I would start small and the perhaps work my way up to more powerful enemies.

"So how would we like to approach this?" Julian said as the three of us crouched behind a boulder ten feet away from the pack.

"No need to pre-plan, Harrington," Sebastian stated as he emerged from the rock confidently, "This should be easy."

He bounded over to the Mongrels and began casting at them.

Flashes of red, green, yellow and purple emerged from Sebastian's wand. He was being reckless as usual. Charging into something way too quickly without taking the time to plan or see reason. As much as he was a skilled wizard, facing seven or eight wild beasts alone did not seem like a wise idea. Julian and I had no choice but to follow him, quickly. All it would have taken was a split second for him to lose his focus and those Mongrels would have torn him apart.

I held my wand out, following after Sebastian. Two of the Mongrels caught sight of me immediately and turned their attention from mauling Sebastian, to mauling me. The larger of the pair came bounding over, sprinting at full speed.

"Diffindo!" I yelled out, watching as a sharp yelp came from the wolf-like creature. It fell to the ground and remained still.

The second came at me, charging and with it's teeth bared. I imagined the wand movement for my next spell before casting it, following the movement with my wrist.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The Mongrel stopped, paralysed mid-movement.

"Depulso!" I finished my series of casts and the Mongrel flew back, hitting a large oak tree before slamming into the ground.

I paused for a moment to steady my breathing before heading towards the first Mongrel. I had no idea how I would go about collecting the fur, I suppose I would have to get creative. As I walked over to the best I heard the faint sound of what seemed like footsteps behind me. I turned to see another large Mongrel bounding straight for me. It got closer and I tried to wrack my memory of all defensive spells I knew.

Suddenly I heard a voice should from behind the beast cry out.

"Incarcerous!"

The Mongrel halted, bound by ropes that had formed around it's legs and body. It struggled on the ground, trying to break free from the binds. I watched it, glued to my spot, seemingly unable to move.