[Library] Dendrophobic

[Anthony Evans]

The bench creaked under his weight as Anthony slumped onto it, his hair a ruffled mess. No one had questioned him as he walked through the Entrance Hall despite the fact he looked like he'd collided with the Whomping Willow. No... Anthony Evans strode through the castle like all of those twigs and brambles were meant to be stuck to his robes.

Once outside however, Anthony sighed loudly. His bag was jammed with three heavy textbooks, each completely unrelated to his lectures. Three textbooks that he swore to never open again.

It was, after all, Dendrophobia Explained that was at fault for his current state. Anthony contemplated this thought ruefully, absentmindedly tugging a twig from his hair.

[Gemma Leigh]

Anthony felt a tug at the opposite side of his head, or at least Gemma would've thought so. She was rather harshly pulling at another twig in his messy hair looking quite bemused. It wasn't to be a nuisance but merely her curiosity and surprise that dictated her actions and upon finally freeing it, Gemma exclaimed a soft and triumphant, 'Oh!' Soon after, she was eying another one distractedly, but felt it was proper to introduce herself before cleansing the boy any further.

It dawned upon her that once she really looked at him, past the twigs and leaves, Gemma recognised this boy. They were fifth years and quite obviously in a few of the same classes... Herbology, Gemma believed. How utterly fitting!

"I haven't read that one." She intervened his sour brooding. "Nor will I after seeing your state." Gemma wasn't joking but completely serious in her declaration of epiphany.

[Anthony Evans]

"Ouch! That hurt," Anthony turned on Gemma with a glare. She was regarding him with a rather spacey look and feeling wronged, the Gryffindor rubbed his head protectively. It was then he noticed her brown eyes looking wistfully at another twisted tangle, and Anthony pulled away looking comically frightened.

"You know, you were never this abusive in Herbology," his tone was accusing, but it changed quite dramatically when the pain subsided. After a moment or two of contemplation, Anthony teetered the book on his knee. "Hey, I wasn't going to open this thing again - not after this," It was clear he meant his disorderly appearance, "But if you're here with me..."

He paused, his lips forming a secretive grin.

[Gemma Leigh]

Feeling admonished, Gemma curled back. "Well I didn't mean for it to!" She retorted. Her eyebrows were pulled together in a frown and her mouth formed a thin line to match. She would have added that he still had quite a lot left in his hair if he had not cut off her thought processes.

Tilting her head in thought, Gemma regarded Anthony with a look of concentration. "You just want a chance to pull at my hair too, don't you?" She asked with a hint of a smile, only because his was so contagious. There wasn't much more thought involved as Gemma reached a hand to the cover and flickered it open.

"Why not? I've always loved nature."

[Anthony Evans]

Anthony looked at Gemma thoughtfully. The last time he'd read the book, it had all but forced him into the pages - he'd landed quite unceremoniously, among branches and thorns, in the middle of a quiet wood. The trees were strong, mostly bare with a few orange and brown leaves scattered on branches - nothing to really suggest Dendrophobia, what Anthony had discovered meant the fear of trees.

So, fully expecting to return to the peaceful setting - though it did take some time to find his way out - Anthony flipped the page and began reading the sentences aloud. It only took a few words before a feeling that resembled a portkey tugged them into the book, landing them in a familiar pile of brush.

"Ow," Wincing, Anthony stood up and held out a hand for Gemma. "I'm never going to get used to tha..." Trailing off, the Gryffindor looked around him. The wood had changed drastically - it was darker, more sinister. Trees loomed crookedly, howling at them, and Anthony faltered.

"I think... I think we're in the Forbidden Forest." Suddenly the title made sense to him, and Anthony looked back at Gemma hopefully. "But it's an illusion right?"

The low growl seemingly close to them didn't quite agree.

[Gemma Leigh]

Gemma's eyes were squeezed shut as soon as the dizzying feeling tugged at her belly and once they reopened, she was staring at an assortment of leaves. She brushed them away as the scent of pine filled her nose, finally noticing Anthony's hand and accepting the aid gratefully. He was well acquainted with the place it seemed, or his tone of voice suggested it at the very least... so when he turned to her inquiringly, Gemma was at a loss.

"An illusion?" Her hand was outstretched and feeling the bark of the very real trees as they gleamed hauntingly. She'd never been in the forbidden forest, as it was forbidden, but she had to admit that it was strikingly similar to what she'd observed during her Care of Magical Creatures class. "But it feels so real."

The bark scraped her hand almost as soon as the growl formed. Gemma fumbled back to where Anthony was, brown eyes wide with fear. "What is that?" Her voice was breathless as if her throat was parched.

[Anthony Evans]

The damp soil beneath his feet brushed his ankles, invading his pores with the promise of reality. Anthony winced, though took another step back into the increasingly wet pile of leaves they had emerged from if only to get away from the noise.

"It wasn't so cold and wet before!" The Gryffindor protested, finally coming to a rest near Gemma. His voice lowered as if deliberately trying not to become high-pitched with the spike of adrenaline in his system. "And... I don't know how to get out."

The growl interrupted him and he immediately turned to face in front of them, his wand now held tightly in a fist. He could hear Gemma beside him, probably just as confused and scared as he, but Anthony didn't waver as he ran through a list of all the spells he could remember.

His mind froze abruptly when a leg crept out from the brush, thick red fur a matted tangle above a gigantic clubfoot. As if one wasn't enough, four followed behind it, revealing a five-legged hideous monster with shaggy, thick-rooted hair coating its low-slung body. Anthony had no idea what it was, but the hunger in its eyes was clear, made only more evident by the gnashing of sharp teeth.

As if answering his question, a throaty voice emerged from nowhere - as if the very air was speaking to them.

The Quintaped is a dangerous and magical beast, native to Scotland.

Anthony recognised the sentence and then realised that the book was narrating its pages to them, the throaty voice as eerie as the rest of the forest.

Confined to the Isle of Drear, an unplottable territory void of other species of mammal, the Quintaped is permanently denied the favourable taste of Human flesh...