Looking at the Forest

Hilary sat down a fair distance from the edge of the forest. She had no desire to go in; Ravenclaw were doing good points-wise and she didn't want to be the one of change that. But she couldn't help but wonder. She had heard stories of the kinds of creatures that lived in the forest, either from books or from other students who had dared to venture in. She couldn't help but wonder what she would find if she were to go in there.

Seeing Hilary teetering near the edge of the forest, he sneaked up behind her, his grin that of a Cheshire. He was in the mood for some pranking.

"What are you doing in the Forbidden Forest?!" Will growled, taking up the ruse. He watched as her back stiffened. "Do you want to wear the Stupid Hat?!" He had to keep himself from laughing.

Hilary jumped when she heard Will's voice from behind her. She hadn't expected anyone to be around so early in the morning.

"I'm not in the forest," she said, automatically taking the defensive. "I'm by it. You can't get in trouble for that."

She turned around, only then catching his expression. She would have fallen for it, if not for the light in his eyes and his twitching lip.

Will wanted to burst out laughing as she jumped, but reeled it back in, smirking broadly.

"I'm only kidding," His grin hadn't faltered. "I'm only wondering why some people are up so early in the morning. Looking to catch a glimpse of a unicorn are you?" He'd rather omit the mention that he was sneaking around as well.

"It's nice out here this early. It's quiet," she said with shrug, in explanation to why she was awake so early.

She frowned at his comment about the unicorn. That had been exactly why she was down here, but she wasn't about to admit that. It sounded like such a... girly thing to be doing.

"Just looking to see anything, I guess," she said. "I've already swam down and seen the giant squid, so this is the next place of interest." She turned to face him again. "So, why are you down here?"

"I saw a Hufflepuff having a staring match at the squid yesterday," Will's eyes brightened at the memory. It was such a strange sight. "I thought the Hufflepuff had lost a few gears or something. Bloody hilarious when the squid splashed water at Harmy though."

He appeared thoughtful at her question. "Hmm...I suppose I wanted to see a unicorn today. I've already seen centaurs. They say unicorns like to frolic during the early daylight hours to drink the dew from the grass or something." Will shrugged.

"A staring contest? Okay then..." she said, with a laugh, imagining how that must have looked. "Funny to think of how friendly the squid is when the students are on land. When we went in looking for it, it wouldn't come near us."

So Will wanted to see a unicorn. Not really what she would have expected him to say. "Well, you're welcome to join me here, if you like."

Will noticed Hilary's rather skeptical stare. It must've been the unicorn talk. "Unicorns aren't just for girls, you know," He said with a blush. "They're rare to find. I haven't a glimpse of one yet. Sometimes they even leave hair behind. It's a lot of galleons for a bushel of unicorn hair." He put his hands behind his head and stuck his chest out, trying to look manly.

"So, I may have a bit of a walk into the Forbidden Forest to find one while the teachers are sleeping," He slid his vision over to Hilary. "Unless you're afraid of getting caught?"

"Not what I was thinking," Hilary said quickly. "Just thought it was funny, since I was here thinking that looking for a unicorn was girly and lame."

She liked the thought of going into the forest. She had wanted to since she first arrived at Hogwarts, but after everyone had gotten caught and lost so many points, she had been hesitant. And she didn't want to go alone and her friends probably wouldn't have come with her.

"I'm definitely in," she said to Will. "Getting caught doesn't bother me. It's my first offence; what can they do? You're not afraid of getting caught?"

Will shrugged. "I've done this before," He explained carefully. "The only difference is that I know not to get caught. Especially when the teachers are up and about."

What really stumped him was not the fact that fellow Ravenclaws were in the Forest, but that they got caught so easily. There went that special wit Ravenclaw had.

Satisfied that she decided to join him, he began to walk ahead of her, his foot one step closer through the trees. He was expecting to go on his own, but company was always welcome. "You coming? I know a bit of a meadow further down. Hagrid said it'd be the perfect chance to find some unicorns."

"Fair enough," she said, getting up from her spot on the ground and wiping the dirt off her robes. "It surprised me how many Ravenclaws got caught in here. If were supposed to be so smart, then why weren't they smart enough to avoid the professors?"

"I'm coming," she said, moving to follow him. She wasn't sure why she was trusting him not to get her hopelessly lost in the forest, but she was. She followed him as he entered the forest.

Will snorted. "Because they don't think when they do. They get too excited over seeing some magical creature. That, and they wasted time by talking too much. If we're getting in trouble, best it'd be worth it." Hilary following him, he confidently walked into the Forest, his chest thumping in excitement.

It took him forever to get Hagrid to tell him where the unicorns liked to spend in the mornings, but it was worth it. The idea that a small, safe meadow existed in the Forbidden Forest was almost baffling.

"Stay close," He whispered to Hilary, hoping not to attract anything as he mentally followed Hagrid's directions. Past the forked gnarled tree and over a broken oak log...

She couldn't argue with what Will had said. She had briefly shared a dorm with all the other girls in Ravenclaw, so she knew all too well just how much they tended to talk.\

She stayed as close to Will as she felt comfortable doing. Even though he seemed confident that he knew where he was going, she still felt a tiny little bit nervous. Thankfully, her excitement was overpowering any nerves she felt.

"So, how did you get Hagrid to tell you where to find the unicorns?" she asked. She thought briefly about what he had said about the others talking too much, but her curiosity was getting the best of her.

"Hagrid---" Will pulled back a few branches when the pathway became dense and moved out of the way to let Hilary go first. "---He loves magical creatures. To death. All you have to do is talk to him about it. I like the guy, but he does say too much for his own good."

"Like, for example, he said that to kill a unicorn and drinking it's blood would give you life when you're dying, but you're cursed for slaying an innocent creature."

She watched as Will pulled back a few branches, and stepped through the cleared area. She had never met Hagrid, though he sounded like someone who would be interesting to talk to.

"Who would want that for themselves?" she wondered aloud, as they kept walking, thinking of the poor, dead unicorns. "Who would want to spend the rest of their lives being cursed?" To her, it sounded like dying would be the better option. But that may have just been her opinion. "Do you know how much further in it is?"

"Just a bit," He answered conversationally as they reached a break in the clearing. "We just need to pass this clearing."

Will contemplated Hilary's question. The idea seemed almost horrifying. "I'm sure there are wizards out there that are afraid of death," He said carefully as they finally crossed the clearing. "Those so desperate they're willing to have a cursed life at the cost of another. Here we are."

He was surprised at what he saw. The meadow was bright and almost like a fairytale, with bright green grass, colorful flowers of different shapes and sizes and a small pond with the clearest blue water he had ever seen. Speechless, he saw something golden pass by near the end.

"See that?" He whispered excitedly. "I think that's a baby unicorn!"

Hilary stopped dead when they reached the clearing, all thoughts of cursed wizards and killing unicorns wiped from her mind. It was incredible! Far more beautiful than any other place she had seen before. She couldn't help but wish that they were actually allowed in the forest. This would be the perfect place to go to get away from the castle.

She looked in the direction that Will had indicated. Sure enough, it was a small, gold unicorn. "That is so cool," she whispered in awe. She didn't want to move too quickly or make any sudden noises, as not to scare it away. "I wish I had a camera that worked here."

Will stared at the unicorn foal, mesmerized as it took a drink from the pond. "It's very rare to see a gold foal without it's parent. I wonder if it's lost?" He stilled immediately when it lifted it's head up, almost staring in their direction behind the foliage.

It looked as if it was born recently. When he watched as it started to walk around to play with the wet grass, it stumbled a bit. Will suspected that it haven't got full use of it's legs yet.

"This is a pure gold one," Will continued quietly. "Not one trace of adult in it yet. This is a fascinating find."

Lost? She looked at the beautiful creature as it wandered around the clearing, seemingly oblivious to their presence. Again, she wished her camera worked here. This would have made for an incredible picture to show her friends and her sister.

"Would it be a stupid question," she started. "To ask if we should try to find it's parents?" She had no idea if a baby unicorn would be able to take care of itself.

Will thought about it quietly for a moment, debating about it. "Unicorns are highly suspicious of people, especially boys," He pouted for a moment before continuing. "However, unicorn foals are much more accommodating at this age---what with being a baby and all."

Nodding to her, he slowly stood up. "We could try and keep it busy until it's parents finds it," He suggested quietly. "If it runs, it's fine. If it stays, it'll be interesting." Gesturing to her, he began to creep into the meadow, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.

She nodded, and moved towards the foal, just as Will was doing. She really hoped that it wouldn't run away. She slowly kneeled down and pulled a handful of grass from the ground. She had no idea if unicorns ate grass, but she figured they really weren't so different from horses so it was with a try.

The foal looked up to where they were. She slowly moved her hand forward, offering the grass to it. She briefly wondered if she looked like an idiot, but quickly decided she didn't care.

Will watched as Hilary offered grass, wondering vaguely if the foal would take the bait. He hovered behind her to keep the foal from getting nervous.

The foal immediately stilled as they approached and seemed to stay that way for a moment. It suddenly shook it's head in confusion, but tentatively stepped forward towards Hilary. Will considered it a good sign. To his amazement, a horn had not yet developed on it's head. He hadn't known that bit of information before.

"I think you got it," Will said very quietly as it warily came forward, it's golden mane shaking slightly as it slowly reached Hilary.

Hilary didn't dare move or say anything. She hadn't really thought that foal would approach her; the grass had just been a random idea. But now that it was so close, she didn't want to scare it away. It sniffed at the grass in her hand curiously, before carefully pulling at it.

She slowly reached her other hand forward to pet it, but it quickly jerked back. She lowered her hand, offering the grass again. It slowly started moving back towards her. She looked up at Will and smiled at the expression on his face.

Kneeling to provide a more safer outlook for the foal, Will shared a grin with Hilary as it slowly accepted the grass, munching on it.

"Brilliant," He whispered in awe as the foal became a bit more comfortable in their presence. It whined slightly at Hilary. Will couldn't get over how small it was. He wondered if they would be allowed to touch it's head or something.

She wanted to try to pet it again, but after it's reaction the first time, she decided it would probably be best to wait until it trusted them more. She briefly wondered what would happen if it's parents saw it here with them.

"See if it will come to you," Hilary said, motioning with her free hand to the grass below them.