The Heart of the Forbidden Forest.

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Shadow into the forest, running as fast as she could. The night was cold around her, but she didn't care. It was coming, and she could feel it. She had to get away from the school. She couldn't bear it if something happened and it was her fault. Her feet pounded on the mosy ground and she hurtled over fallen trees. She was nearly there, nearly there...

"It's ok....we're all going there anyway," said Natalie, beginning to walk again, "we need to hurry people...this forest can change even the most decent of men....or so I read in Hogwarts; A history."
Natalie grinned and beckoned for everyone in the group to follow her.
She walked quickly, careful not to trip iver lose tree trunks.
She smiled as she noticed the lights of Hogwarts nearby.
"We're getting close now," said Natalie to the group behind her, "but keep close to me."

"Aww you tryin to protect us?" Holly asked draping her arm over Natalie's shoulders but teetering slightly.
Riley grabbed her before she fell.
"Be careful kid," he warned, "I dont want to have to take you to the hospital......and thank you Nat. We would all be totally lost without you."
He smiled his brilliant smile.

Natalie smiled back, but kept walking.
The lights became brighten, and soon they were out of the trees and onto the path which up to the castle.
"Ok....so where are we taking Holly?" Natalie asked Riley, looking at Holly, "the dorm or the hospital wing?"
She supported Holly's other arm.
"You ok kid?" she asked her.

"Finally back at Hogwarts," Holly said smiling tiredly at the castle, "I say Dorm."
"Dorm it is then," Riley said grinning.
They opened the oak front doors and were at the Gryffindor dorms in a second.
"Hello chair," Holly said breaking away from Riley and Natalie and lying across one of the arm chairs.
"Shes tired then," Riley said flopping down beside her.

Natalie sat down in an armchair near them.
"That was....an eventful night," Natalie commented.
She sighed.
"You looked dreadful Holly....if you ate a blood-pop...it would give you some colour back...." said Natalie, frowning slightly at Holly's palid complexion.

"Im always pale," Holly muttered turning over and falling asleep.
"Aww," Riley crooned, "So sweet."
He pushed her fringe out of her eyes and turned back to Natalie.
"Those blood pops nice?"
It was a stupid question, but there you go.

"Yes....well...they would be for me...all things considered," said Natalie, grinning slightly.
She gave one to Holly.
"You can have this....I have loads," she said.
She smiled at Riley.
"Good job Rils," said muttered.

Leahna looked at the sleeping Holly with a slightly worried expression. "I have qualifications in first aid Riley," she said, "I can...heal her if you like?" she added.
Hayley looked at Riley, "Yeah?" she said, as if she was askign for Riley's permission.
"Would you like me too?" Leahna asked, turning to him aswell.
Hayley sat down on her bed.

"It's just the side effects of being inside a doll....or so Chucky said..." said Natalie, smiling slightly at Leahna.
She watched over Holly, in case anyone ever tried to hurt them in the night.

"So Rils...." said Natalie, "you thinkin' about what I said....you know...about Holly," said Natalie, frowning.
She crossed her legs on the seat.
And she smiled.

"I think she's alright," Riley said gratefully to Leahna, "But thank you."
He glanced at Natalie.
"About what?" he asked, unsure of the topic of discussion.
Holly rolled over in her sleep and George smiled slightly.
"Mm.....pixies...." Holly muttered.

"The thing about Holly loving you," said Natalie to Riley.
She let out a sigh.
"You ain't gonna do anything...are you Riley?" sighed Natalie.
She frowned at the sleeping Holly.
She sat back in her chair.

"No..." Riley said softly, "Its too complicated."
He smiled sadly and put his head on the chair next to Holly.
"S'been a long night..." he muttered, and in an instant he was in the exact same dream that Holly was.
George smiled ever so slightly as he read their minds.
"Kids these days..."

Leahna shook her head, and looked at Natalie, "Do they love eachother?" she asked. "Because if they do, then they should tell eachother now. I've been in a situation like this, and by the time I declared my true feelings...it was too late," her eyes welled up slightly, and she looked at the floor.
Hayley bit her lip, "Er, does...does anyone want tea?" she asked, takign out her wand.
Leahna shook her head.

George nodded once, grinning and patted Leahna's arm comfortingly. But of course, he was on Holly's side when it came to "do-we-like-this-new-girl-or-not" situations, so he climbed onto her shoulder, rested his tail on Riley's, and fell asleep.

It seemed like an age had passed when Riley finally awoke. It was dawn, and their eventful night had passed.
He checked on George, on Holly, on the others, and then went for a walk around the castle.

Natalie, who was a vampire, so never slept, but she had been pretend...because lets face it...it's Riley...woke up and walked silently beside Riley....protecting him...like a silent shield....she just walked and looked at him..........
Finally, she spoke to him.
"I don't get you Riley," she said quietly.

Riley jumped about a foot in the air and gasped.
He sighed lightly when he saw it was Natalie.
"You scared the bejezuz outta me," he said smiling, "What dont you get dude?"
He continued to walk, oblivious to the dark shadows appearing in the court yard.
"Well?" he insisted, "An unasked question is like an unopened slushie. Pointless."

"Never mind...I was just thinking out loud...I should train myself to not do that," muttered Natalie cursing herself.
"Listen Riley...and I'm not going to drop this...who would you rather Holly be with....you...or Matthew....a vampire who clearly has hardly any self control....example...I dunno....him biting me!"
She sighed.
"Oh...and by the way...my best guess is that we are being surrounded and if we don't get out now.....we're buggered," said Natalie calmly and quietly.

"Maybe you should train yourself not to do that," Riley agreed, smiling his most goregous smile.
His smile faded at the sound of Matthew's name.
"Him.....Folkland. He's in my Charms class....No idea what she sees in him. He has no self control! Frankly....I hate the boy."
Riley looked around sharply.
"Jezuz....those are werewolves!" he whispered. A pause and then, "HOLLY!"
He began to sprint back to the Gryffindor common Room.

Natalie, meanwhile, was surrounded by hungry, angry werewolves.
She whipped out her wand.
"The vampires already have me..." Natalie stammered.
"It's not you we want..." said the nearest werewolf that Natalie new as Garyback...but he wasn't looking at Natalie, he was looking up a the Gryffindor tower.
"Riley and I will never let you take Holly!" Natalie shouted.
"Yeah right...two vampires can't fight off 6 werewolves alone." said Garyback, laughing, and the others laughed growl like laughs behind him.
"But we can try," said Natalie, raising her wand and hexing several on the werewolves.

Riley paused on the stairs and called back, "Nat are you sure you're okay down there?"
Without waiting for an answer Riley ran up the stairs to fetch Holly.
Imagine his surprise when he saw they werent there.
He sprinted back down.
"Nat," he panted, "Nat Holly, she's not there. George aint there either. Help, help me please."

Natalie looked at Riley.
"You better be kidding Riley," said Natalie.
"Well...we don't have her...do we guys....we're all here," said Greyback.
NAtalie didn't trust them.
"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE WITH HOLLY!" she screamed.
"WE DON'T HAVE HER!" he yelled back, "OTHERWISE WE WOULD BE FEASTING UPON HER FLESH RIGHT THIS MINUTE YOU STUPID GIRL!"
The word stung Natalie, and she bit her lip.

"Why would I kid about this?" Riley asked desperately, and at the word "stupid" he yelled, "OI! YOU SHUT UP ABOUT HER! SHES NOT STUPID! SHES THE SMARTEST PERSON I KNOW! AND WILL EVER KNOW! SO PUT THAT IN YOUR-"
Greyback flung his foot forward with enough force to kill Riley, knocking him out.
"He gets on my neves," he commented, "Blondie...."

Natalie screamed and ran at Greyback.
She dove on him, knocking him flat.
She got up quickly and put her wand to his head.
"This is the last time you or any of your clan are messing with me or my friends..." she hissed. She looked a Greyback, and with all the meaning in the word, she hissed, "Avada Kedavera."
Greyback...was dead immediately.

With Greyback dead the whole world was in utter peace. The fairies came out and brids began to sing.
Riley woke up, and seeing the blearly shape above him he said, "Holly?"
He sat up groggily and coughed up a little blood.
"Gross," he muttered.

"No...Natalie," said Natalie as the other werewolves began to retreat, "Riley...we need to find Holly...now!"
She didn't care that she'd just killed a man...he wasn't a man to her anyway.
She sighed and began to walk up to the castle.
"Well...are you coming?" she asked Riley.
She looked at his face, all covered in blood.
She handed him a tissue with a sigh.

"A tissue?" Riley repeated, unable to keep the sadness out of his voice, "Thanks..."
He took it and mopped the blood off of his face.
"She'll never want to go with me again...." he said sadly.
A clock chimed in the distance, making him jump.

"She will Riley...she loves you..." said Natalie, "she loves you unconditionally."
She frowned at him.
"Come on...we need to find her...she could be anywhere at all," she frowned at Riley, "oh...come on....it's not all bad..."
She looked to the forest.
"I don't think she's in there...we would have seen her go past..."

Riley smiled weakly at the words and then coughed gruffly.
"Yeah, lets find her."
He looked around.
"Not in the forest....somewhere in the castle....we should just try everywhere till we find her yeah?"
He looked expectantly at Natalie.
"Well?"

"Yeah...I agree," said Natalie airily.
She looked at Riley.
"Where to start?" she asked.
Hogwarts was so big...see?
She had her concerns...

With a loud crack, Hayley appeared beside Natalie and Holly. "Guys," she said, "The hairy dude knocked me out!" she said, wiping her tear and blood stained face, "I dunno where Holly is!"
Blueberry crawled onto Hayley's shoulder, "We have know idea!" she said, "We're sorry, we should have been looking after her!" she began to cry, burying her face in Hayley's hair.
Hayley sniffed, "What are we gonna do?" she asked.

Riley semed to struggle so as not to take his anger out on Hayley.
In an answer to Natalie's question he added, "I'll check the library and the first floor. Nat you take the four house common rooms, Hayley you take the kitchens....after that we'll meet to look in the dungeons."
He nodded at the two as if waiting for an answer.
"Okay?"

"Yes..." said Natalie simply, and with a loud crack, she was gone.
She started with the Slytherin common room.
"Slytherin's are supreme," said Natalie at the door, which opened with a loud creek.
She stepped inside.
"AHHH!" screamed a Slytherin first year, "GRYFFINDOR IN THE COMMON ROOM!"
"Shh, I'm not here to cause trouble...have any of you seen Holly Bristol?" she asked.
"NO!" yelled the first year, " NOW GET OUT! GET OUT!"
"Shut up Sybil," said an older slytherin girl sitting on a sofa nearby, "sorry about my sister...Ethal Hollow...please to meet you."
"NAtalie Patterson," said Natalie, "so that's a no to having seen Holly."
"It is...I'm sorry," said Ethal.
Natalie looked around the common room a bit...then went out.
"not in there," she muttered, and she walked down to the stairs...to the Hufflepuff common room.

Riley nodded at Natalie and made his way to the library.
"Holly...." he called when there. He scanned rows of books and eventually saw a sour face Slytherin sitting on his own in a corner, a book propped open in front of him.
"Hello..." Riley said anxiously, "You havent seen Holly Bristol have you?"
"Bristol? She broke my heart....went out with me...and then dumped me in front of the entire school..."
"That sounds like her," Riley said reasonably, "Have you seen her recently?"
"No," the boy said, "Now get out of my way or I will hex you."
"You wouldnt get in the way of me finding Holly," Riley said nodding seriously, "It would be the last thing you would ever do...."

Natalie was at a door oposite the painting of the huge fruit bowl.
"Fortunatus Friendtuitous," said Natalie the the door.
It swung open, to reveal several Hufflepuff first years and a prefect.
"Hello....I mean no harm...I just want to know...have you seen Holliya Bristol?" Natalie asked.
"Holliya Bristol of Gryffindor....no...haven't seen her," said the prefect cheerfully.
"Oh," said Natalie, and she exited.

"You know something?" Riley asked, eyes narrowed, wand pointing at the sour boy.
"No," he said, and left.
Riley made his way to the first floor. No luck.
He then went to the dungeons to wait on the others. In the minutes he was waiting he knocked on Professor Snape's door.
"Sir," he said when the door opened, "I was just wondering if you had see- WOW!"
it was not Professor Snape as Riley had thought, but a second werewolf, who grabbed and gagged him before he could finish the sentence.

Natalie felt there were signs of a struggle somewhere in the castle.
"Oh my gosh...Riley!" she muttered, and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her to the dungeons.
She saw Riley tied and gagged in Snape's chair.
"RILEY! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED....WHO DID THIS TO YOU?! Oh, you can't answer me..." said Natalie.
She looked around her, wand at the ready.

"Uh-huh!" Riley said in answer to the "WHAT HAPPENED" scenario.
He moved his head slightly to see an apparent commotion in the next room.
"Please dont kill me," Holly was muttering, "Please please dont."
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP! WE ARE TRYING TO ROB HOGWARTS!"
Holly whimpered slightly and Riley "psssst" 'ed.
Holly turned sharply and her face lit up when she saw Riley. "Shh!" she whispered and pointed to the backs of three werewolves who were robbing the place.

Natalie walked silently behind the werewolves and put full body binds on the three of them.
She untied Holly.
"So...they took you then...Greyback was lying...he's dead by the way....Greyback..." said Natalie, frowning.
She walked over and untied Riley.
"Get out your wands....just in case..." instructed Natalie.

Hayley apparated next to Riley and Natalie. "No Holly in the kitchen-" she looked at everything that was going on around her.
"What's going on?" she muttered to Natalie.
Blueberry shivered in her robe pocket.
"Ssh," Hayley whispered, stroking her.

Holly waved her hand once to get Hayley's attention and mouthed, "They are robbing the place. Get out now."
Riley shook his head fiercely.
"We cant leave you here," he hissed, and started towards her. One of the werewolves had seen.
"OI!" he yelled pulling Holly backwards, "Though we tied you....oh...the whole clan's here....brilliant."
He snarled and pushed Holly into a smaller room leading off and beckoned for his friends to follow him.

Natalie ran after them.
"HEY HEY! BUDDY BOY....IF YOU THINK YOUR TAKING HOLLY THEN YOU GOT ANOTHER THING COMIN' TO YA!" she yelled.
The wolf whipped around.
"Ah....look...it's Mona the Vampire..." he jeered.
"It's Natalie actually," Natalie hissed.
"Whatever...." said the werewolf, grabbing for Natalie's arm, "come here then..."
"No!" Natalie yelled, and she dodged behind him to try and free Holly.

"Nerdalie will you please go look after Riley?" Holly asked, strangely calm.
"I DONT NEED LOOKED AFTER!" Riley yelled, bursting into the room, "DONT UNDERESTIMATE ME WITCH!"
Holly rolled her eyes, "Look, nerds, its not safe in here, case you havent noticed. These people-" she gestured to the werewolves, "Are bad people. Meanies. Baaaad. Yes?"
The werewolf rolled his own eyes, shoved Holly into a closet, and with a squeal from Holly, closed it.
"Right....I think we can do away with you two...." he said thoughtfully, "The way I see it, one less vampire...and one less freak...."
"OI!" Holly yelled from inside the closet.

Natalie scowled.
"Hey....he is not a freak....just unusual!' yelled Natalie.
She took out her wand.
"Why don't you duel me like a wizard!" she sneered.
She sent several hexes at him.

"Unusual?" the werewolf repeated, and he laughed wolfishly.
Riley blushed. "Im not," he said, "Im a normal boy! NORMAL I TELL YOU!"
"Suuuure," Holly said front the closet.
"QUIET YOU!" Riley hissed.
Holly giggled.

"Not really normal as such....RILEY! WILL YOU BLOODY WELL HELP ME!" Natalie yelled.
She hexed the werewolf several more times.
She screamed.
"HELLO!" she yelled, "HELP ME!"
She screamed again.

"What's the problem?" Riley asked, confused, "We're just talking with the nice were people....oh no...wait I get it!"
He began to hex the werewolves, who howled, annoyed.
"YOU ARE REALLY PEEING ME OFF!" one of them yelled and he threw his fist backwards so that it made Riley bounce off the wall.
He moaned and rolled over. "Owwww....." he groaned, "Jezuz that was painful...."
"Riley?" Holly asked, voice crystal clear even though she was in the closet, "DID YOU HURT HIM WEREY?"
"The names Mac," the werewolf said, thoroughly annoyed at this.

Hayley snarled at 'Mac.'
"Don't touch my friends!" she yelled, close to tears,"
She drew her wand, and began throwing hexes around her, before getting hit in the stomach with a curse from a werewolf.
She hit the floor, moaning.

Riley moaned too.
"Hurts Hayley? Dunnit?"
"Can someone please let me out?" Holly called annoyed. She pushed on the wood, and it opened.
"Are you telling me that wasnt even locked?" she asked outraged, and kicked a werewolf from behind, bringing him down to the ground.
"Dont kick ME please," Riley requested.

Natalie looked around her, and in a panic, she cast crucio on werewolf who had hurt Holly, Riley and Hayley.
He screamed and howled...
But she didn't stop.
"THAT'S FOR HURTING MY FRIENDS....YOU HORRIBLE BAG OF FLEES!"
She let go of the spell finally.

Hayley groaned and got up, crawling over to where Riley lay.
"Riles? You okay?" she asked, biting her lip.
Blueberry raced out of Hayley's pockets, and ran around, nipping the ankles of werewolves.
Hayley half-grinned, and rubbed her head.
She got up, and looked at Natalie, "Dude, calm down," she said, rubbing her back, "You alright?"
She looked around, "I don't think anyone's badly hurt. Except maybe Riley,"
She bent down to him again.