Scavenger Hunt (Waaaay open)

[Mozess Mirari]

Mozess had been in the Slytherin Common Room when word got out that someone or something was in the forbidden forest. She herself chose to believe it was a gaggle of students either looking for a thrill, or wanting to blatantly disregard any rules the Ministry set out. She herself fell into the later category.

As she stepped foot onto the grounds, however, it seemed that not only did the nosy Slytherins know about the miscreants, but a couple Ministry Officials as well... or at least they looked like Ministry Officials, it was hard to tell in the lack of light... 'Well this is no fun... How am I going to go in search of the people myself in those dolts catch me?' she made a face, then looked around for anything that might help her distract them. She caught sight of an oddly shaped old tree, 'Bah, if I didn't know better I'd think that was a...' she smiled and pulled her wand out of her robes, 'Traba muto,' she whispered, smiling as the tree shook and its silhouette changed ever so slightly.

She screamed, 'AAAH!!! T-T-TROLL! TH-THERE'S A T-TROLL ON THE GORUNDS! HELP! SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, PLEASE HELP!' She shreiked one last time for good measure, then ran into the castle's double doors as if to get more help. As soon as the thudding footsteps past, however, she skipped out and off into the forest.
It had been a very simple switching spell, so she didn't know how long it would last, but hopefully long enough that she could find out for herself who the newest trouble makers seemed to be.

'Aren't very cautious are they?' she asked herself, being able to pick out a path almost immedeatly. From the broken bush branches, to the worn ground, to the uncharacteristic bird feathers scattered about, it was hardly a problem to make her way through the forest without a wandlight. After just a little while there was even a trail of mud to lead her on, and not long after that she started hearing voices. She quietly peered around a tree trunk to see who all these people were, it would be sad if she'd come all this way into the forest just to be caught by ministry workers... but no, none of these people looked old enough to be working for the ministry, at least not directly. Besides, they were all wearing school uniforms; Looked like there were two Ravenclaws, a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor, and a fellow hosuemate of her own. She stepped in among them, not particularly caring if she startled anyone, then said 'You know, if those men back there ever figure out there battling a tree and come looking for you, it won't be very hard for them to find you.' She took a closer look at the group now, she recognized the Ravenclaw boy from the library, but everyone else seemed a new face...

'Um, and you,' she pointed at Loren, 'You might want to use a spell to clean yourself up. The mud trail your leaving is hardly helping you with... well, whatever it is you're doing in here... What are you doing in here anyways?'

[Ian Gray]

Ian looked over at the new arrivals stunned, before nodding over at Dax, who Loren had failed to mention other than maybe a few scalding remarks. At the conflicting looks upon their faces, Ian scratched his head a bit confusedly, before nodding. "Gray," he said quietly, letting out a disgruntled huff as Loren leaned on him. "Ian Gray, nice to meet you Torin-- and it's a strange place for introductions, indeed." He paused, following Loren's gaze toward the looming figures. "And probably not the best."

At Loren's instruction, he unlit his wand, shivering as darkness enveloped them. Just as he was about to magic the gripping roots and soil away from the Ravenclaw's ankles, Dax came to the rescue, opting to instead lift her gently from the swallowing hole. Sending a tiny smirk in their direction, he tightened his cloak around him hoping for at least a small sense of camouflage, when the loud snapping of twigs behind him caused his head to jerk around in dread.

Instead, he saw a cool-looking Slytherin, staring at them all knowingly and almost bored. Blinking, Ian flushed as she mentioned the easy-to-follow trail and shrugged, "With as many of us as there are, it can't really be helped, can it?" He said a big defensively, picking up a few of the tawny feathers as though it would help cover their tracks.

At the mention of battling a tree, Ian grimaced. "They are alive, aren't they? You should see what it looks like from above-- the forest is literally throbbing with life--" Cutting himself off before he let loose anymore information, he pulled his arm away from the branch he had previously hung onto.

When he caught sight of Loren's robes, Ian nodded in agreement and stumbled forward, grasping onto her robe before she ventured too far. "Hey, Loren, wait up!" When she finally ceased moving because of his grip, which had grown increasingly stronger after tugging a heavy Griffin around, he nodded over to the Slytherin. "Er-- she's right, better clean off those robes."

Noticing he was the only one with a wand at the ready, he shrugged and muttered a simple scourgify, watching the mud retract from her robes slowly, as though it were reluctant. Making a face, he turned to the others.

"Right, so, erm--" The flashes of lanterns, or maybe wands, caught his attention again, and he raised an eyebrow following the path Loren was previously set out to take. "Shall we hurry along then?" He pulled back a spindly branch to reveal a darker layer of the forest, taking in a sharp breath.

[aly]

Aly was walking, and heard voices, she walked towards the voices, hoping that she would not be found, of course with her all white clothing, white velvet cloak, white silk shirt, white pants, tucked into white suede boots, that was highly impossible. Still Aly crept along silently, trying to hear without being caught. Then she heard the distinctive snap of a twig being stepped on. Oh great! she thought to herself, then decided she might as well make her presence known, taking a deep breath, Aly stepped from the shadows, and towards the group, the moonlight refelcted off her all white clothing, bathing her in a silvery, unearthly glow. "Um... hi. Hope I'm not interrupting anything..." she said feebly.

[Loren Hayes]

Loren almost slipped over again as Ian grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from running off. The new Slytherin girl seemed rather cheery, and Loren smiled at her. 'Oh yes, you're right...' She watched as Ian dispelled the mud and dirt, her legs instantly no longer feeling cold and sodden. She gave Ian a very stern glare what he almost let slip about what they had seen of the forest from the Room of Requirement. He did however bring her mind back to why the two of them were really there - to find food for Felix. Feeling crafty, Loren leaned round Ian and put on her best smile. 'Yes, shall we all get a move on? Things to do you know...' She said mysteriously.

Knowing it was probably wise to have her wand drawn, Loren gripped it inside her robes as she and Ian carried on side by side into the darkness. 'I have the camera, by the way.' She said with an accomplished smile. 'I nicked it off a seventh year in the common room. He won't miss it for a couple of hours.' Her mind drifted off into a daydream of her and Felix soaring about on the clouds, taking birds eye view photographs of Hogwarts and the back of Felix's head, him dressed in his crown and chain...

[Mozess Mirari]

Mozess raised an eyebrow at the Gryffindor boy who called himself Ian. 'I wasn't talking about the forest. I hexed a tree into a troll so they'd be distracted from my entering the forest... good thing too. If you guys don't get your act together you'll all get caught like mice,' she said with a firm nod. 'Being in a group really isn't as much of a problem as people think, logn as you spread out a bit and don't follow one after the other, beating down an obvious path, you'll be fine. Not to mention if a few of you are good climbers, the trees here are close enough together, and strong enough that you can walk across the branches withotu much trouble.'

She turned as another Slytherin joined the group. She looked familiar, but Mozess also didn't like the looks of her. All white in a dark woods with the Ministry in search of miscreants like themselves. Twasn't wise... 'She'll be the scape goat if worses comes to worse,' she decided firmly.

She stayed a bit away from the group as they continued on their way, making sure she at least didn't help with the trail, to wherever they were going when she heard the Ravenclaw girl mention a camera. She raised an eyebrow, it sounded suspicious, but she thought better of making a mention about it. Something seemed off about it to her, like the girl was baiting for a reaction. Quite a nice move as far as she was concerned, being a Ravenclaw and all.

[Ian Gray]

Ian grinned nervously in response to Loren's glare, before nodding over to those who lagged behind. Jerred, was of course, one of those in front as he was, after all, what seemed an expert on forest grounds.

Mozess herself seemed undisturbed by the haunting forest's presence and he shrugged slightly to himself following the others past the branches. Suddenly, his ears picked up the slight stumble of footsteps, and he raised an eyebrow as white-- bright as day-- entered his vision. Turning around, almost expecting the figure to be some overly-cheery forest beast, which in itself was frightning, he let out a soft grunt of surprise.

"Eh?" Looking at her apprehensively, before turning to the wand light that was seeping through the trees now, flickering on the edge of her white outfit, he grabbed the unfamiliar girl's hand by instinct and pulled her into the darkened layer after the others.

Quickly unfastening his cloak as the others were already running ahead, Ian tossed it to her and shook his head. "Coming into the forest wearing that?" He smiled wryly, before moving ahead in his dark robes. "Put that on, and stay hidden."

When the two finally reached the clustered group, Ian let his grip on the Slytherin drop, breathing harshly. He nodded at Mozess' idea, deciding not trampling down a trail was probably for the best. "Right, trees..." He looked over at Loren skeptically, knowing that they should stay closer to the ground, looking for food as they were. "We'll stay on the trails," he nodded over to Loren, "But we shouldn't wander too far from each other," he added, troubled.

[OOC: Jerred, I'll delete my tiny god-mod if you have any qualms ]

[James McFinnigan]

A bird landed on Fin's head, and started pecking at his hair. Fin awoke in the tree with a fright, kicking and screaming. The branch under him gave way, and he fell right down to the ground, landing in the middle of the small group. "Ahhhh," he groaned. Fin tried to get up, but failed at first.

[aly]

Aly smiled as the boy grabbed her hand and offered her a cloak. "Thanks, but I've got it covered." she whispered as she pulled her black velvet cloak from her bag and quickly slung it around her shoulders and fastened her cloak, then she used her wand to change her hair from silvery blond to raven black. "What's going on by the way?" she whispered curiously.

[Uriel Levinston]

Uriel stood at the top of the hill, adjusting his glasses which were required in the dark night. His brown shoes, hardly as prim and polished as Gabriel's own, camouflaged dully against the brown earth and he let out a drawn-out sigh.

"Vandesar, ever the irrational one, aren't you?" He said importantly, his arm holding out a flickering lantern. The trees ahead of them shuddered in the dry wind and he turned his head to look at his partner superiorly. "I, for one, hadn't heard anything suspicious at all. Nothing but a few distant owls ahead." As if to further prove this, a wild hoot followed his statement.

Just as he was turning back to the forest, not exactly enthusiastic to step inside the twisted branches, his eyes caught a brief flicker of blinding white before it disappeared into the heart of the forest. Pursing his lips, not ready to admit defeat to Vandesar just yet, he went on as though he hadn't seen the flicker of robes.

"But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to do a few rounds, after all." Dragging his feet across the muddy earth, he looked back at Gabriel before his eyes widened comically. "Vandesar, I do believe that's a troll behind you." He said quite calmly, contrary to his appearance.

As if to back up his statement, shrill cries which sounded like an adolescent girl, echoed through the forest, signaling the beasts present. "Last I remembered, this forest was dotted with centaurs, not troooooooolls--" The last word carried over the wind as he pulled out his wand fearfully.

"Vandesar!" He cried, stumbling backwards. "This isn't quite my line of work, you know!"

[James McFinnigan]

"Aw I think I broke my ribs," Fin complained, slowly rising from the ground, clutching his chest. "Gah, and what's going on here then?" he asked, still in pain from his fall.

[Ian Gray]

Ian stared blankly at the girl's sudden transformation before grinning, a bit impressed. Of course, in her haste for her own cloak, his own had been carelessly tossed aside, landing in a muddy pile on the forest floor. Much to Ian's surprise, just as he was to reach for it, someone fell from the sky and landed on his cloak in a tangle of limbs.

Blinking, shocked, he stood back as the Ravenclaw boy pulled himself up. "Erm... Ribs? I'm no nurse," he said, looking around the forest briefly, in case anyone else decided to surprise the already collected group. Finding no one, he let out a breath of relief, before snatching his cloak off the ground, fingering the torn patches with a defeated sigh. "You're obviously going to be sorted into the tree-climbing group, though." He said, forgetting the new arrival probably had no knowledge of what Mozess had said.

Hanging his cloak on a tree, a gesture unnoticed by everyone, and maybe not the smartest considering it was yet another object to lead the Ministry toward them, he chewed his lip.

"It seems everyone's here for different reasons," he raised his eyebrows, as the grunts and grumbles of what sounded like a troll echoed down the forest, causing restless leaves and animals to awaken. "A troll?" Noticing Mozess' self-appreciative look, he turned his head toward the Hill just off the forest's edge.

"Well, as long as it doesn't come for us afterwards."

That mere thought was enough to push him forward, his cloak swinging merrily on a shaking tree branch, which almost seemed to grab for Ian's torso.

[Gabriel Vandesar]

Gabriel's foot tapped the ground rapidly, his patience this evening having grown very thin. Although he had thoroughly enjoyed their debate and consensus over the taxing of the more popular sized cauldrons, he did not enjoy the older man dismissing his claim at there had been something short and white dashing into the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Gabriel ran two fingers along his collar, checking that his top button had not come open, the idea of it undone most undesirable. 'I saw what I saw,' He replied a little tensely, turning to face then man with a slight grimace.

It was upon Uriel's wide eyes peering over his shoulder that Gabriel supposed he had at least seen the white figure. Of course, he was grossly wrong. 'Troll?' He spun round, and was surprised to see that there was indeed the silhouette of a swaying beast standing on one spot just up ahead in the darkness.

He groaned in annoyance as a squealing Slytherin girl skittered past, her long red head rather unsightly in Gabriel's eyes. Smoothing a hand through his hair and straightening his robes, Gabriel and Uriel dashed forward up the hill, their wands held high, the head of department a careful pace behind. With a complicated flicked of his wand a ball of bright orange light erupted from Gabriel's wand, a satisfying hole being blasted through the tree... tree?

The two men stared for a moment at what was apparently nothing more than an old cankered ash. He turned with narrowed eyes to Uriel. 'Thank you for that, Mr Levinston. I thoroughly look forward to reporting that although caught of guard, we successfully immobalised the wayward tree.' He said softly.

There was a loud splintering as the top of the tree swayed, toppling to one side of the stump with a loud thump.

It immediately occurred to Gabriel that the ugly red haired child had everything to do with it, but as his icy eyes flickered toward the forest once more, his lips curled up nastily. In his own days at Hogwarts it had not been uncommon for the student of less intelligence to choose to wander in the forest at night, and a darkly anticipation swelled in his chest as he gripped his wand a little tighter, itching to use it on the first small person he came upon. 'Children,' He stated simply to Uriel. 'Need discipline. Shall we?' He drifted forward now, beckoning for his fellow official to follow...

[Uriel Levinston]

Uriel panted heavily as he reached the sight of the crooked tree trunk, a rather unpleasant hole gaping through its middle. Upon Gabriel's remark, a tiny flush appeared on his cheeks, though so tiny that the dark night surrounding them kept it well-hidden.

Waving his own wand a bit childishly, his expression also moulded into one of anger, though perhaps not for the same reasons as Vandesar's. "Gabriel!" He said, thoroughly astonished at his partners actions, the lantern swinging on his arm wildly. "Are you not aware that the population of Trolls in the past century has become exceptionally scarce?" Rounding on his companion, he sent him one of his famous reprimanding looks, before gesturing to the swallowing hole of the tree trunk. "Law officers, I'm quite sure, would have some complaints against that had it been an actual troll's middle."

Pausing, still catching his breath, he finally opted instead to light his wand, shrinking the lantern and tucking it in his pocket. "Any surprise attack doesn't seem like an option now, considering that spell you just used must've warned the entire forest that we're here ."

Smirking a bit immaturely, Uriel pointed his wand at Gabriel. "No wonder that Boggleworth character has slipped through your grasp so many times." He said in a composed voice, before walking back down the hill behind the unspeakable, peering around the trees hesitantly.

[Loren Hayes]

Loren spun round a she heard the echoed blast of a spell hitting something solid. The edge of the trees had long since vanished from their line of sight, but it was more than obvious the sound had come from up by the castle. With suspicious eyes she narrowed them at Mozess. 'Wouldn't have anything to do with it would you?' She said with a coy smile.

Panic had risen in Loren's stomach however, and quickly flashing Ian a look, turned on her heel and broke into a small jog through the undergrowth. Her hair bounced about her face annoying, and as the darkness thickened she wondered how they were going to search the forest floor without lights, for illuminating their wands would surely be suspicious. Her camera had been repeatedly bashing her in the chest as she had ran, and now she looped it from around her neck. Why on earth had she bought this aside from wanting to show Ian? Out of annoyance she whacked it with her palm - a blinding flash blowing away the shadows for a split second. She blink dizzily for a moment before returning it to around her neck defeatedly. 'At least I know it works,' She gave Ian a sheepish grin.

Making to start forward again, there was a loud snapping noise. By the time Loren realised she had stepped on what was apparently hollow ground, she had already disappeared into the earth, her scream echoing away in a matter of moments...

(( Loren has gone missing for a while ))

[Mozess Mirari]

Mozess couldn't help but gag at the other Slytherin girl's attitude; all bubbly and careless. If anyone were paying any attention at all they'd have spotted her by now, not to mention her apparent density to all common sense. Although she herself didn't know what was going on with the other people here, she kenw what she was here for: mischief. As for the other Slytherin girl, it almost seemed like she just showed up out of nowhere to draw attention to herself and cause problems for everyone... Who was she to judge though?

She heard the word "troll" faintly in the distance and smiled. Her eyes flickered over to the Ravenclaw girl when she asked if it was Mozess' doing. She shrugged, 'I might've had something to do with it...' as a loud splintering "thud" echoed through the forest. She cringed, 'Now I can't be sure, but I think that's a bad sign...' she said warily

As Loren took off ahead of the group Mozess' picked up the pace as well, though Loren already had quite a bit of a lead. Mozess saw a flash, and halted, turning back to see how far that flash might've carried, then heard a "crash" and saw Loren fall through the forest floor. She looked back at the rest of the group, 'Now I really can be sure that that's bad...'