Sirius & Eliza ▼ Sirius Black Love Story

TWENTY FIVE

 "You good, mate?" 

"Good luck!"

"Just try your best."

"You got this, Evans." 

I stood in front of the whole student body, getting ready to walk willingly into the Forbidden Forest, where creatures not even known to some of the professors, lurked behind shadows. I tried hard to focus on the goal ahead of me and keep a straight face for my peers, but on the inside I was tearing at the seam. This was the one place that scared me even more than riots in the Ministry or the werewolves hunting for flesh in the night. This was the place where nightmares came true, where hope lost and despair flourished. Where light had given up to the darkness. 

I locked eyes with Lily and she gave me a slight nod. She understood but she also knew that I had to do it. The professors had told each of the champions that if we were ever in serious trouble then all we need to do is send up sparks and then we would be rescued. That also meant that we would forfeit the first and second place titles for this second task. 

'Out in nature I can be seen, but I don't fall from an evergreen,
To open a door, you can knock, or use this item to unlock,
Out in the open, you will see, many things that need a key,
Choose the one that will grant you free passage, or suffer eternal damage,
As harmless as it is, go against it and it will cost you to go amiss.'

The words from the riddle played through my head as the cannon sounded and each of us ran into the forest, taking separate routes. As soon as we got out of the gates, it grew dark and I had to light my wand. I was thankful for my thermal pants and snow jacket because it had been bad weather this morning, covering the forest floor with a fresh blanket of snow. 

The first and second lines of the riddle had been connected, I had assumed, and the third had told us the answer to the first too lines. I had to find a key in this forest that would open, I'm assuming a door that would transport me back to the rest of the school. I would have to choose the right door that would bring me back or else I would probably only be brought farther out into the forest. The last line had been trickier, but when I thought about it more, it could only have meant one thing. I was going to have to get out in a quick enough time or else I would have a penalty.

All of a sudden, I heard a rustle of leaves and a gust of wind that sounded out of place.  I turned around but couldn't spot anything. I knew that I had to get to the heart of the forest to even have a shot of getting first place or even out of here. But without the key, which I had no idea where to look, I would be hopeless. The rustling sounded again and as I turned to check, this time, there was something there, a unicorn. I had seen one in Care of Magical Creatures but other than that, I had never really seen them up close. It was like a shining beacon in the dark. 

I took a step forward, trying to approach the magical horse but it got scared and started to back up before it took off entirely.

"Wait! Come back!" I called after her and took off, trying to follow her path. I had a feeling that this horse was my ticket out of here. As I followed her, she took twists and turns, getting deeper into the forest, and hopefully towards the heart of it. I passed glimpses of other creatures and plants and even once I passed Dimitar running in the opposite direction, trying to get away from a horde of angry Bowtruckles.  

I lost her twice. Once, I was so tired from running after the creature that I had to stop to slow my breathing back to a more normal rate. The other time, I looked to my side once to make sure I wasn't going to get plowed down by a massive tree and she disappeared. Both times I had found her again, as if she was meant to guide me. 

Soon she stopped all together on a place that was substantially flatter with more grass than trees. She grazed on the grass that was on the ground and it was clear that we weren't going anywhere else. I took this time to catch my breath before taking a look around. There wasn't anything that I could see plainly out in the open but after some searching deep in the hole of a tree trunk I pulled out a small leather bag with a strap on it so that I could sling it around my shoulder.