Marked || ONEUS Leedo

8

It was early in the morning, the sun was still down. Dongju, Enya and Keonhee had decided to meet up at the western gate when the first sun rays were showing. Enya was still sitting in her bed, packing a little magical bag with all kinds of things; food, bandaids, a tent, and sleeping bags. It all fit into a clutch-sized bag as she had put a spell on it.

Her roommate was still sleeping, she had to be quiet. Classes would start in three hours, so they had to get away from the castle as soon as possible.

She looked at Geonhak's ring. Without a second thought, she pulled it off her finger.

Traitor.

That was all she could think about. The ring reminded her of him, his betrayal. It would never cease to sting. Before she threw it away, Enya paused. It connected them. He had probably put a spell on it. This way, they were able to find each other. She didn't know how exactly since she hadn't witnessed this kind of magic yet.

It could be useful, yet it meant he could also locate her anytime. The female decided to take that risk. Enya wanted to conceal the ring, so she remodelled a strong string to a necklace with the ring as an ornament. Hiding it under her clothes, she grabbed her things including her broom and left the dorm to meet her waiting friends outside.

The hallways were deserted. Not even Filch's, the housekeeper's, cat was lingering in the castle yet.  The paintings were still asleep, at least Enya thought so. The Fat Lady slowly started moving as her eyes were flickering, a sign that she was about to wake up. The girl needed to hurry. Soon after that, the cold autumn air welcomed the Ravenclaw.

"Good morning." Enya greeted her friends. She was the last to arrive at their spot.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, I hope you slept well," Keonhee said "We need to hurry now."

No sooner said than done, they were walking straight towards the Forbidden Forest intending to leave the castle grounds as quickly as possible. The cold and moist air made the journey way tougher than expected. It was close to winter, the first snow would fall soon.

They had to reach their goal fast. But what even was their goal? They wandered into the distance with the short-term goal of leaving Hogwarts, but what came after that once they had left the school grounds behind?

It didn't take long to reach the Forbidden Forest. Lucky for them, it was already morning by now, so the sun gifted them a little light. However, the dark wood remained to intimidate the three. No sunlight in this world would help them there.

"Pull out your wands, guys," Dongju remarked as they stood in front of it.

"Remember" Enya spoke up "Stay close. We need to stay together. If someone gets lost, send a light signal into the air, but be aware that it might attract the creatures of the forest."

Keonhee hadn't said anything since they had started walking. Even now, he was just standing there staring into the darkness of the uncountable pine and oak trees. The Ravenclaw took his hand as the male shivered.

"Keonhee?"

"Y-yes, let's just make it quick." He looked at his worried friends and managed a crooked smile.

Not leaving the paths, none of the dared to speak. They had it up the tips of their wands with the Lumos spell before they entered the density of the Forbidden Forest. Off the paths, it was practically impossible to move. It was already difficult enough to navigate through the darkness, but huge tree roots all over the place made it even harder.

The path they were walking on seemed endless. It seemed as if there was no sky above them, no sun, and no hope. Just darkness they were wandering in. All of them were highly concentrated as they kept an eye and ear open for any possible threats. Even though not every creature wanted violence and the death of its visitors, the forest was home to many highly dangerous creatures. It was said that everything that wasn't able to live alongside humans was out there. Anything wild and dangerous that needed a place to live was simply put there.

The three never lost sight of each other to the point where they were occasionally holding hands to not get lost. It was so silent. None of them dared to speak which was why they shrieked when they suddenly heard a noise.

"Guys?" Keonhee's words were stuck in his throat.

Enya and Dongju turned around to him. Shivers ran down the girl's spine as she caught sight of not just one Acromamtula, but dozens of smaller ones that were still twenty times the size of a normal spider, the quicker ones. Everyone froze, suddenly, it was dead silent.

Then, the huge one hissed.

"Run!" Dongju screamed at the top of his lungs as the spiders started chasing them mercilessly.

They ran. They were already able to see the end of the dense trees and grasses. There was light just some hundred metres in front of them. Thorns and other stinging grasses were tormenting their skin and clothing, yet they ran. Their life depended on it. Enya looked behind them and the Acromantulas were still chasing them, threatening to get them. Directed at a tree they had just passed, she yelled,

"Bombarda!"

An explosion. The tree immediately fell in the giant spider's way. That would slow it down. It would give them enough time to reach the end of this hellish forest.

Panting, in need of air, they had left the forest and were now standing in another green meadow. The sun was fully up by now, giving the shaking friends a bit of warmth. Not many metres away was another, more welcoming forest. Compared to the Forbidden Forest, its trees were green, not as dense and there were actual sun rays able to get through the leaves. They had successfully left the castle grounds behind. And they were still breathing.

"Never again." Keonhee groaned.