Trick or Treat?

Reyna had never been so terrified in her entire life. She couldn’t see, she had no idea where they were going; all she heard were the snickers of the Slytherin boys as they suspended the girls’ bodies in the air and led them to their doom. Or, at least, Reyna was pretty certain it was their doom.

“Almost there, girlies,” one said slyly.

Almost where?? she wanted to say. She wanted to scream and shout, but they had cast silencing spells. I knew I shouldn’t have been sneaking to the kitchens.

She, Dimia, and Elma had decided to meet up after curfew and visit the kitchens for a midnight snack. They had just reached the doors when a group of boys jumped out of the shadows and petrified them. All Reyna had seen was the flash of green from their clothes before she was blindfolded and levitated. Now, here they were, wherever that was. It seemed like they’d been on the move for a while. At last, she felt the ground beneath her.

“See ya!”

What? Where are they going? Where are we?! She laid there for at least another ten minutes before the body-bind spell finally wore off and she could move again. She ripped the blindfold off and looked around. Dimia and Elma were next to her, starting to move a bit. Reyna took the blindfolds from their eyes as well. Could she speak again?

“Dimia? Elma?” Yes! Her voice was back. Now, where was she? “Oh no……”

They’d been stranded in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

Dimia was furious! She just wanted food! Food! A snack! But, nooooooo. Someone just had to kidnap her. Her and her friends. Rude! Unbelievably rude. Dimia felt the spell wear off and she immediately jumped up.

"You errant dewberries!" Dimia yelled at the direction they went. She shook her leg, feeling that it wasn't fully unpetrified.

"Dimia, language," Elma told her. Dimia rolled her eyes. She was mad! She could say some bad things.

"What are we supposed to?" Elma asked the two girls. Dimia looked at the scary trees. They loomed over them like an omen of appending doom.

"We need to follow the way they left," Dimia proposed. One of the Slytherins left a lantern for them. Dimia picked it up and a little note was on the bottom.

"What does the note say?" Elma asked, dusting herself off.

"Just a bunch of letter," Dimia told her, handing the note to Elma. Elma looked it over and then handed it to Reyna.

"Kolby......as in Thea's brother?" Elma asked. Dimia shrugged and held up the lantern, peering into the darkness. The forest seemed dead, but Dimia knew that it was waiting to come alive.

"We don't know which way they went, Dimia, we were blindfolded!" Reyna exclaimed. She cleared her throat; she wasn't used to raising her voice.

"Alright, let's not get upset with each other," Elma said, the voice of reason. "It's the stupid Slytherins we should be upset with."

Reyna shook her head and sighed. They didn't have the luxury of being upset with anyone right now. They were lost. In the Forbidden Forest! It was forbidden for a reason, and she didn't want to find out what that reason was.

"Maybe we should put the lantern out," she suggested warily. "I don't like the idea of it...attracting things."

"It's black as pitch, we need light," Elma argued. "So..which way should we go?"

They were silent for a moment. Reyna couldn't decide whether it was a good thing or a bad thing that the forest was also silent. Suddenly, she remembered: she's a witch!

"Do we have our wands??" she asked quickly, patting herself down. "Yes!"

Dimia looked at the note again. N, W, fork, right, E, N. ~Kolby. It suddenly made sense.

"Look! Kolby left us directions!" Dimia cheered a little too loudly. Elma shushed her and they looked around the clearing they were in. They didn't want to wake up anything in the forest.

"Well, then, let's figure out where north is and get on our way. I want my bed and I want to cry and I want to be safe," Elma complained.

"We all want that Elma. No need to point it out," Dimia told her. Elma huffed and pulled out her wand, which the Slytherins were too stupid to take from them. Elma held her wand on the flat of her hand and said "Point me." A light came out her wand and pointed north on the ground.

"Alright, let's get going," Dimia said, picking up the lantern and leading them through the Forbidden Forest.

Reyna was so relieved that she could cry. We have directions! she thought ecstatically. We aren't totally lost after all!

"So, Kolby isn't really one of the bad guys," she said cautiously. "We can trust him?"

"Within reason, I suppose," Elma shrugged. "Now I know why my sister actually tolerates him. She hates Slytherins more than anyone I know!"

The girls started walking and Reyna's sense of relief slowly transformed into a feeling of paranoia. Every tiny noise she heard heightened her fear. The sound of a leaf hitting the forest floor was surely a dragon moving around in the trees. A twig snapping in the distance was bound to be a werewolf on the prowl.

"Guys..." she muttered, studying the paper. "He didn't give us any distances."

"What?!" Elma shouted.

"Elma. Shush," Dimia shushed Elma as she yelled. The Forest was alive with activity and it made the girls paranoid. Dimia was too focused on trying to find a trail. A broken twig. Bark off a tree. Half a boot print. Something to give her a clue that they were right.

"Look. If we don't bother anything in the Forest, nothing will bother us in return. Don't focus on the noise. We have to keep our wits about us," Dimia told them, looking around.

"Let's keep moving," Dimia told them, noticed a broken twig. She kept leading the way through the Forest, feeling nervous. Not exactly scared, but nervous. They just had to keep moving.

"Dimia, when are we supposed to turn west?" Elma asked. Dimia shrugged and Elma groaned. Dimia stopped when she saw a clearing up ahead, with some hairless horses with wings were standing in the moonlight. Dimia stared at them in fascination.

"What are you looking at?" Elma asked. Dimia looked at her and then back at the horses. They didn't have hair just skin and bones. They gently neighed at each other. How could Elma not see it?

"You don't see them?" Dimia asked, as the horses started to walk back into the Forest.

"No. What are you seeing?" Elma asked. Dimia sighed and told her to forget it. They went into the clearing and found a few boot prints, leading in a different direction.

"I guess this is where we turn," Dimia told them. Suddenly, they heard some meowing. Dimia looked around. A little kitten was sitting on the edge of the clearing, looking hurt.

"Awww. Poor kitty," Elma said, going to it and picking it up. Dimia smiled as they carried the kitten with them. Dimia suddenly stopped and pulled the girls behind the tree. Up ahead was three gnomes. They seemed to be talking and Dimia looked to the girls on what they should do. They had to get past them to continue.

Reyna wondered why a kitten was out here in the middle of the Forbidden Forest. It'll probably turn into a dragon and eat us, she thought morbidly, accepting their fates.

"Guys, l think we've already come to the fork in the path," she whispered, not making eye contact with the gnomes up ahead. "Look."

She was right. Their 'path' forked a few feet in front of them. One direction went to the gnomes, and the other was clear...for now. Without even waiting for a consensus, Reyna walked to the clear path. The forest was slightly less dense here, so she figured they must be getting close.

"Okay, I think this is where we turn again," she said, coming up to another path veering to the right. "Shall we?"

Dimia kept an eye on the gnomes as they chose the other trail, ready to hex them with the few spells she knew if they suddenly attacked. But, Dimia's philosophy seemed to work; they ignored the gnomes and the gnomes ignored them too. Dimia breathed a sigh of relief. They continued through the Forest, turning East and then continuing North for about an hour. It did seem to be clearing up with each new direction. The girls didn't seem as unhinged as before. The only other magical creature they saw was a little patch of Doxy's, which they were careful to avoid. Rainecourt's quiz came in handy, letting them know that Doxy's bite and were poisonous. But, soon enough, they came to the Lake, with Hogwarts in the distance.

"Thank God! Look! We're almost there!" Elma cried happily. Dimia smiled. Thank's to Kolby, they got out safe and sound and unharmed.

"Now, we just need to walk around the Lake. There's even a path," Elma said happily. They started to walk a bit more leisurely now, taking in the amazing view. Elma even tried to catch a few fireflies. Dimia walked back with Reyna.

"Are you going to tell your brother about this? I think he should know. But, only if you think that he won't actively seek revenge. We don't need duels on our hands," Dimia advised. But, Symon was more even-headed then that. But, you never know what could happen when you mess with little sisters.

Reyna considered falling to her knees and kissing the ground when they reached the lake, but then she figured that may be a bit dramatic.

"I've never been so happy to see that squid," she grinned, watching the giant squid propel himself across the ink black surface of the water.

"This place is beautiful at night," Elma sighed, in awe. "Yes, I got one!" A little firefly glowed on her palm.

As Elma skipped around catching bugs, Dimia had come back to chat about what they'd just been through. Should she tell Symon?

"I don't know," Reyna gulped, coming to a stop. "Listen, I've never said this out loud before, but...I think Symon used to be involved with that group of Slytherins."

"What?!" Elma cried, running over to them and lowering her voice. "Are you telling me your brother was in the Ministry of Mischief?"

"Is that what it's called?" she shrugged. "To be honest, he might still be...I just know he got extra secretive the past couple of years, and bit angsty. He'd always meet with people, but wouldn't say who."

"You got to be kidding me!" Elma exclaimed, hearing what Reyna was explaining. Dimia thought about it. She only saw him as Reyna's brother and knew that he was honorable and just. Seeing him as head of Templar, he seemed perfect for the part. Dimia couldn't see him doing anything bad ever. But, maybe she wrong. Maybe he was putting on appearances. Dimia couldn't tell.

"Elma, even if he was, he's not there anymore. He's head of Templar, for crying out loud! Obviously, he's had a change in heart," Dimia defended Reyna. Elma huffed and went back to fireflies.

"Look, I think you should tell him. Symon is even-headed and honest. I don't think you should keep secrets from your brother. But, make absolutely certain that he wouldn't overreact, like buffing up security around you or seeking revenge on the place. He had power and power can be dangerous. Just think it over. I'm sure that you'll do the right thing," Dimia told her, as they walked upstairs to a side entrance of the school. A guard caught them.

"I'm sorry sir! We just needed some fresh air," Dimia tried to play off coolly.

"We were kidnapped and dropped off in the forest sir! It was horrible!" Elma exclaimed. Dimia shushed her and the guard, which was just an animated suit of armor seemed confused.

"As you can see sir, my friend had a horrible dream. We thought a nice walk in the fresh air could calm her down," Dimia played. The guard tilted its head, or its helmet and seemed to glance the girls up and down. Then, it saluted the girls and let them back inside the castle, escorting each of them personally to their dorm. Apparently, the night guards don't do much. Dimia was the last to be dropped off, so she managed to hug each of her friends good bye, before returning to the Grryffindor dorm.