Don't go into the Forest [OPEN]

[lily anne snape]

It was Lily's favourite time of day. Night was just beginning to fall. The blood orange glow of the setting sun had sunk, leaving only a dim glow of fire around the trees. There was a bite in the cold air, and it nipped at Lily's face. She didn't mind though. She liked the sharpness of a cold breeze.

Less than a decade ago, Professor Lily Snape had been a student at Hogwarts. Even then, she had loved the Forbidden Forest. The secrets it held, the magical creatures full of untamed power, the mysteries beyond the tree-line had been too much for her to resist. Now, as a professor, she walked the rarely-traveled paths of the forest every night. Part of it was for her own enjoyment, and part of it was that as a former rule-breaker turned teacher she felt responsible to ensure no students wandered into the forest.

She heard a sudden rustling. Her head whipped around, instantly drawn to the noise. Even for teachers, this place could be dangerous. She had her wand out, ready, just in case.

[helena metis fawley]

Helena was now four months into her tenth year of working at Hogwarts. She usually only counted her nine years of teaching Divination, considering that was her real passion, but she never forgot the year beforehand during which she had worked alongside the matron in the hospital wing. It had been a very sudden change of occupation, having just returned from six years of travelling around the world to learn other methods of divination, but she had appreciated it nonetheless. It had given her an opportunity to apply her other knowledge from the likes of Potions and Charms which she had noticed she didn't get to use as often as she might like when pursuing a career in foretelling the future.

The sun was now giving way to the night sky and Helena began her walk down to the edge of the forbidden forest, her dark violet robes billowing gently in the evening breeze. Her wand rested within her right hand, emitting a dim glow from its tip that gradually grew brighter as the sun set further beneath the horizon. As Head of Hufflepuff, it was generally expected of her to patrol the castle and grounds even when it wasn't officially her turn to do so. While most of the students would either adhere to the rules or listen to a professor that caught them going against them, there were a fair number within the school that would need a little extra persuasion and it was for this reason that there was usually always at least one member of senior staff out and about to support whichever professors were on duty.

Tonight, Helena didn't expect to see anyone. Professor Matthews had been due to walk the forest and ensure there weren't any students venturing in for a midnight adventure but she had been overtaken by a headache at the staff table and no arrangements had been made as to who would take her place. As such, Professor Fawley had taken it upon herself to do so. While leaving a floor of the castle unpatrolled would potentially leave it open to troublemaking, it wasn't anywhere near as dangerous as leaving the grounds unattended. All sorts of creatures lived within the trees and she was sure she wasn't the only person in the castle that would rather wake up to a suit of armour scattered everywhere than a student sprawled motionless across the ground.

"And what brings you to the forest at this hour, Miss Snape?" she asked with a light smile, lowering her wand enough that it wouldn't blind the colleague she had just found among the trees but still in a position to illuminate their immediate surroundings.

Over the course of her teaching career, she had seen three sets of students right through their Hogwarts life from first to seventh year. What Helena enjoyed most of all was hearing from her old students after they graduated and hearing of what they've done with themselves since leaving her classroom for the last time. This year, she had more than heard from one of her former pupils. Lily Snape was now teaching alongside her, although in the Potions department, and it was interesting to watch her as a professor rather than a student. Her first year in the job would be a challenge under any circumstances but with all of the current drama concerning the resurrection of the founders and the Nex Domino, Helena would keep any eye out for her to make it easier where she could.

[lily anne snape]

"Professor Fawley," Lily greeted her once-teacher and now-colleague. She was surprised to see her but pleasantly so. Lily had really liked her Divination lessons even though it had not been her best subject.

Lily smiled. "I like the scenery," she replied as she took a few steps closer to the other professor. "And seeing as I was once one of those students that liked to break the rules when it came to the forest, I feel somewhat obligated to patrol it."

Lily felt a little awkward. She never really knew what to say to the teachers that had once taught her.