It wasn't like this made any sense. Sometimes, he just didn't get the Hogwarts system.

Tynan knew why he was in trouble - he'd punched Erik in Transfiguration class, clean on the nose. His protests that Erik had make Noriko cry and therefore thoroughly deserved it had fallen on deaf ears. The further point that almost no one really cared he'd punched Erik had simply gotten him further into trouble.

But then they'd decided he had to go into the Forbidden Forest with Monaghan. At night. To help with... something.

To Tynan that was like telling him he'd be losing points, have to do extra homework...and then had to help eat all the candy left on the Headmistress's desk. How was this punishment? This was brilliant. Mairead and Keegan were going to so mad they'd missed it. There were Acromantulas and unicorns in there!

Oh, yeah, there was that direwolf from a few months ago. But if Kirhlehner and Storm could kill it, then so could he. Possibly with his bare hands, or with one tied behind his back. Okay, maybe he was being cocky; but he couldn't help it. This was going to be the best detention ever, asnd no werewolf was going to mess this up.

Tynan was conscious that looking too excited might get him taken back to the castle, and forced to write lines. So he restrained any outward sign of interest and just looked sour - which he was, thankfully, quite good at.

He was lead near the Thestral pens to wait as the sun dipped below the horizon. The forest already looked dark and, well, forbidding and he felt his stomach drop a bit. But he wasn't afriad. Not of anything in that forest - dragons would always be worse. He was a man. Or would be soon. Either way! Fear was the enemy!

Besides - he'd get to work. Hogwarts robbed him of working with his hands, and Tynan missed it. Ever since Schlagenweit had returned, he hadn't been able to work with or feed the horses, either.

Speaking of horses -

Tynan got an odd look as he walked to the fence of the Thestral pen, reaching up to stroke the nearby horse's nose. He could see them,but the aide apparently couldn't, and had Tynan been more socially aware he might have picked up on the Aide's sudden discomfort.

"Ah," he heard the Aide say, as footsteps came towards them. Tynan patted the Thestral one more time and hopped down from the fence.

"Mister Monaghan - this is MacFusty," the Aide said, waving Tynan over. Tynan walked towards the two men, his gase measuring up the man before him...

Colm was still new to Hogwarts. The last Gamekeeper, Shep or something, had left and Colm had jumped at the chance to work at the same place he had learned how to use magic. His job was enjoyable but hard. Even though Colm had been at the school for a few weeks* but had yet to introduce himself in any detail to many of the teachers. Being a person of a nervous disposition naturally this was normal. However he found it much easier to talk with the students. So when he was asked to take one of the students with him on his duties he said yes; quite happily.

The 6’2’’ wizard was wearing simple brown robes from head to toe. On his back was a loaded crossbow with about a dozen bolts. His wavy hair rested on his shoulders. He wore a large emerald ring on his finger and his wand pointed out of a pocket in the top of his shirt. ‘’Hey,’’ said Colm to the man who had walked with the young student to the Thestral Pen. Colm looked at the young boy and smiled before turning to the aide. ‘’Ill take it from here.’’

He held out his hand. ‘’I’m Mr Monaghan, though you can call me Colm So Tynan shall we get going?’’ With a quick smiled Colm turned on his feet and began to walk towards the forest. There was some light left to the day but virtually none of that would have been in the forest. Colm was slightly nervous. He had the kids safety to think about. Colm reached for his wand and held it infront of the air. ‘’Lumos,’’ he stopped and turned to Tynan. ‘’Have you been taught the spell yet?’’

Colm saw a fallen tree and took a seat. ‘’I guess you’re wondering what we are going to do today? Do you know what an Acromantula is? They’re basically a giant spider. Recently they have been making webs a little to far from their colony. So we have to get rid of them.’’ Colm wasn’t happy that he had to do this job. He felt it was bad that he had to destroy the way they ate food. But the forest had a natural balance. And he had to appease many sentient species.

‘’I doubt any Acromantula will be there. But if they are were going to have to leave....and quickly too. So…you know. Stay close.’’ The two of them started walking deeper into the forest. There were rustlings in the trees and shadows everywhere. He hoped the boy would be ok. Every few seconds he kept looking around to see if anything was about to pounce onto them.

Tynan was glad to see the nervous aide leave. He stepped towards Colm, his one remaining eye locked firmly not on the man's face, but on the crossbow on the man's back. He needed to get himself one of those, the boy resolved. A crossbow, a good sword, and a wand, and he'd be able to take on just about anything.

Except maybe exams. Stupid academic stuff.

He followed Colm into the forest eagerly, but he step was almost instantly tempered. It was like stepping through a veil; the moment the trees closed in around them it was night, even though outside the forest the light was still warm and bright. Inside the forest...it was oppressively dark. It wasn't just the lack of the light, either; there was a sense of evil about the place. It was like looking into the shadows and having the shadows look back...

Tynan resolved quietly that they should be out of here before midnight. It was one thing for it to be dark - true night in here was an experience he'd rather avoid. Even with that crosssbow to help - how had Shep left, anyway? Had he gotten fired, or had he just...not come back out of the woods?

Tynan tried not to let it get to him. He was a MacFusty; born, bred and raised to walk into dragon's lairs and drag the creatures out again kicking and screaming. Some whispering and darkness and scratching - and howls too now, wasn't that nice - weren't going to scare him! He nodded curtly to Colm's question, drawing his own wand and lighting the end. The light on the end was bright and unflickering, to Tynan's silent relief; Lumos wasn't his best spell.

"Aye, I know what an Acromantula is," he said. Massive spiders. Incredibly deadly; poison was worth hundreds of galleons. They'd factored in the stories he'd been told as a child. The thought of seeing one made his heart race, both from excitement and a healthy dose of fear.

"How do we git rid of the nests?" He asked as they continued on, obeying Colm's order subconsciously. His eyes scanned the woods, more than once hearing footsteps behind them...

Dark wizards were said to live here. He wasn't sure how they could stand it. It'd be very hard to get any sleep; and, now that he'd been here, he knew he could warn the others - if they were going to go into the forest, it would not be at night.

Obviously Colm noticed the boys eye; well lack of. He didn’t really care though. He didn’t find it weird or strange. Colm had scares across his body so he knew what it was like to be judged by others. Obviously the boy would likely get some stick from some idiots at school and outside of it. ‘’Nice spell work Tynan. I never used to like that spell much.’’ He smiled at the kid. He liked him already.

‘’Destroy their nests?’’ The Irish Wizard chuckled. ‘’My god no! I would never want to hurt those guys. And god knows it would take more than one Gamekeeper and a student to get rid of an entire nest, we just have to get rid of some of the webs’’ his laugh was very deep. ‘’But your question still stands.  I’d recommended Incendio,’’ he waved his hands in a motion to indicate the fire, ‘’but were not in the best place right now to throw fire balls around.’’

‘’The spell were going to use depend on the web size. Their webs can be HUGE. We generally use explosive spells. Reducto, Confringo and Bombarda. It’s been quite a few years since school so I’m not sure if you’ve learned any of those spells yet? If not I’ll show you; though the Charms Professor won’t be too happy. Lets get moving.’’ Colm jerked his head to the left to indicate the direction. As they were walking Colm started to talk to the First Year. ‘’Your surname gives away your Celtic origins and your accent says Scotland, I’m Irish myself, though I never did have much of an accent. So where did you grow up?’’

Colm remembered his own home. A beautiful Island of the Irish coast. Full of Centaurs, Flotaing plants and trolls. He loved the place! It took about five minutes to reach the first web. Colm held out his hand to stop Tynan from advancing. ‘’One sec, I want to examine it.’’ He crouched down infront of the web. It was only about an hour old. It was small, only about two foot high and three foot wide. He had not expected them to be this close to the school grounds. This may be more serious than I thought.

“This was spun by a baby spider. Do you want to try and get rid of it before we get to the bigger ones?’’

Tynan considered this. Somehow, he didn't see Kirchlehner caring so long as he didn't turn those spells on his fellow students - something Tynan was not likely to do. Why say with a spell what you could say with a punch, after all?

He followed Colm further into the forest, looking at the man with surprise when he asked where he was from - and then feeling rather a tit, because while Tynan's family might be the most amazing and biggest in the world as he knew it, Hogwarts was swiftly teaching him they were just isolated islanders. Tynan licked his lips before he finally answered, his response slightly tempered as he diligently kept an eye on the long shadows that surrowneded them.

"MacFusty," he said. "Dragonskeepers. My faimily comes from a long line. Guards the Hebridian Black." He paused as a loud rustle disturbed some of the trees nearby, his step much closer to Colm now, almost in physical contact. "I grew oop'on Mingulay Island." The tiny, deserted island had been his entire world until last year; Hogwart's surroundings might be wild, but nothing compared to the towering seacliffs, the gently rolling surface and the fury, smell and sound of the sea. Or of the heat and the roar whenever the dragon burned the house down. Tynan was intensely homesick; he felt his stomach twist just thinking about it. "It's a nice place," he added, a bit more quietly.

The first web they encountered was rather small, compared to what he'd been expecting. It was also not as deep into the woods as he'd thought. He'd paused when Colm stepped away, but as the man asked if he'd like to have a go at it the boy almost lept forward.

"Ye jus' want a little spell, right?" He asked, though it was a rather silly question; he thought to the list of spells the man had mentioned, and without really considering what each of them might do - "Bombarda!"

The small web detached from its anchors and shot away, hitting a tree with a rather unimpressive swap.

Tynan carefully lowered his wand and cleared his throat. "Sorry," he said.

Colm listened to the detentionee. He smiled and nodded. ''My family home seems similar to yours. We grew up on a small magical island, muggles can't find it, but what can they find 'ey?,'' Colm had nothing against Muggles, he thought Muggle prejudice was stupid. His brother, a virtual squib in the Navy, had married a Muggle only last year, but for the love of Merlin they seemed utterly blind. ''For generations my family looked after the animals and plants on the small island. I saw very few people except my family. I got a huge shock when I got to Hogwarts, I can tell you.''

Colm knew he would not be able to speak this easily around someone his age. They always seemed judgmental to him. But not just that. They pretended to like you while judging you; at least kids tell it as it is. ''Do you know my sister, Margaret Monaghan?, probably not. She is a few years above you...and a Ravenclaw.''

He watched, wand still drawn, as the boy attempted the spell. He knew, mainly from first hand experience, that magic could go very wrong. And being a younger person, with all that confusing stuff running through your head made it even worse. Colm's magic had only recently gotten back to normal after his parents surprising deaths.

"Sorry," he said.

''What you on about? You did fine. It's not attached to anything anymore so it's fine. It's a bit worrying that the webs are this close though; Snarky will have to learn about that,'' he cleared his throat, ''id rather she didn't find out I called her Snarky,' he winked. The Headmistress was someone who scared the pants off Colm. Colm was sure she secretly poisoned the teachers or something similar for some sort of Department of Mysteries experiment. Although he didn't particularly like the woman he respected her. And he was thankful she had given him the job.

''So you hit a guy?'' He asked. His tone was unchanging, with no hint of condescension or judgement. He wasn't a teacher. It wasn't his job to discipline the students. ''You know there are usually better ways to sort things out than using violence. Try talking to the guy. But if that doesn't work for you can I reccommend a job as a Hitwizard,'' he chuckled as they came across a series of webs. They were all thicker and larger than the one before. Some of them had the dead remains of birds and lizards wrapped up.

''Incendio!'' He commanded. His wands tip spurted out a line of fire that ignited one of the webs. It hit it's centre and then ran over the web in every direction, traveling and destroying the cords as it went. Within two seconds the web was gone. ''I'm not allowed to let you use fire...' he stated. He felt slightly bad. Fire was fun! There were about six more webs where they were at the moment. He was wondering if they should turn back. This many webs, with rather recent kills? He was pretty sure more than a few eyes would be watching them soon.

''Well get rid of the rest of them together.''

Pointing his hand at a second web he spoke, ''Reducto,'' The spell caused an explosion that was concentrated on the web and it dissipated and turned to dust.

Tynan looked up at Colm curiously. "Yeah," He said, carefully - tone hesitant to show too much interest, less Colm think that he was - god forbid - excited. "Would ya tell me about it?" He asked suddenly. "Later, o' course. Dinnae think the spiders'd sanction a chat in the middle 'o their woods." Admitting he was homesick directly was a bit beyond Tynan, but singing the praises of the quiet, open islands certainly gave away where he'd rather be.

"I stick tae t'Gryffindors," he said. "There's too many people 'ere," he added quietly. "An' all they worry about is books and...study." He didn't exactly have anything against studying. He just felt it didn't really apply to him. He didn't need to learn History of Magic - he could just ask Gran. She knew everything, and her versions were much more exciting than Austerlitz's. They had more people gettin' hit with things, for example. And her narration was far more colorful. He'd grown up with Voldemort being 'Him-What-Must-Not-Be-Named (Except to Call Him a Tosser)'. It was certainly easier to spell.

He nodded, with a hint of a smile, to Colm's wink. He was still holding his wand and he gripped it tighter as Colm asked about the incident that'd landed Tynan here in the first place, preparing to go on the defensive.

"'e made a girl cry," he said, glowering. To Tynan that was reason enough to hit him. "An' besides, he's Erik. Erik doesn't listen to words." The fact Erik didn't listen to Tynan's fist either didn't seem to bother him. Tynan's logic was hard to follow, when one didn't know the confusing code Tynan lived by. "Ye might see 'im one day. 'e's always got detention."

The fact most of the time Erik got detention for being bloody brilliant was not worth mentioning at the moment. "'sides, I'm a MacFusty," he added, with more than a hint of hesitation and a definite sense of wavering will. "I already got a job tae do." And until this year, he couldn't imagine wanting to do anything else. Now the world was open with so many opportunities that it felt completely overwhelming. It was therefore easiest to just ignore it and try to bullheadedly continue being a MacFusty and cram the world into the naive worldview he'd constructed for the past 11 years.

They continued on into another glade. Tynan looked around at the webs - which looked fresh, as far as he could tell. But Colm said nothing and went about destroying them, and Tynan raised his wand and started blasting. He wasn't the most finessed spellcaster; webs shot off into the darkness and one just exploded, sending sticky lines and bird bits everywhere.

''Sounds good,'' he said as he finished off the last of the webs with a quick verbal spell. Colm never saw the point of using non-verbal spells, during a duel the only exception. He thought people usually did it to show off, which was really something Colm disliked. His sister, who had recently learned how to do non-verbal spells, was always trying. But like most beginners she looked like she was going to pass out due to concentration when she attempted it.

"I stick tae t'Gryffindors," he said. "There's too many people 'ere,"

''I was the same,'' Colm didn't mention that he rarely mixed with more than three boys in his entire school years, ''I was sorted into Gryffindor. Can't beat them. But I always wondered why their animal wasn't a Griffin? Their just as brave as lions.'' He left the remark hanging as he heard something to his left. He spun quickly, he had learned that reflexes kept you alive in duels, but he saw nothing there. ''Stay close Tynan, OK?''

''Who knows, maybe you and this Erik will be best friends in seven years!" He had seen it before. It was much more common than people believed.

He looked to his feet as the boy mentioned his pre-destined profession. He sat down on another fallen tree, they were actually a great place to have a five minute rest while working. ''I know what you mean. My family never expected me to do anything else. I didn't either. I left Hogwarts with excellent marks and went back to Ireland and worked with my dad. I loved it. But something...happened. And it made me reevaluate what I wanted,'' realising he was babbling he tried to cut it short, ''all I'm saying is what you end up doing should be up to you.''

''Lets get o...'' he turned just in time to see a gigantic spider launch himself towards him. His eyes, all eight of them, were wide and fascinating, its fangs beautiful and spectacular. But there was no time to admire them. Luckily Tynan was close by so when Colm cast the Protego spell it protected them both and the spider, about nine feet legspan, bounced of the spell and fell, dazed. But within seconds it was back up and attacking again.

Colm was torn between not wanting to do the Spiders any harm and their lives, he decided that he at least needed to protect the boy. Colm pointed his wand at the fallen tree that he had been sitting on only a moment ago and transfigured it into a large serpent that went about attacking the Spider. As it distracted him he grabbed ahold of Tynan and dragged him through the forest as he ran. They had only gotten about 20 feet when a giant web was infront of them. As he was about to destroy it he saw two more spiders, and one about to kill the serpent infront of him.

He saw Tynan with wand in hand.

Colm regretted what he was about to do but he pointed the wand at the larger spider, it was the same age but a female, and set it on fire. It seemed to scream as it ran backwards. Colm visibly winced. Unable to help the poor spider his eyes were stuck to it as he saw the second spider leap for him.

Tynan had been struggling to find the words  convey his dilemma: he felt like he owed his family, but he didn't know what else to do. Being a MacFusty was so wrapped up in his sense of self he didn't know how to be anything else.

However, a spider interrupted him. While he might normally be grateful for a rescue from the awkwardness...in this case, perhaps not.

He barely restrained a startled shout when the spider bounced off the shield - and then Colm was dragging him away. Panic arose, so quickly it was like an instinct - the memories flooding into his head. The heat, the noise, Ailis's charred body and the pain -

Tynan clung to Colm's tunic and tried to pull himself out of what felt like a full on hallucination, his mouth slightly agape, barely registering his feet were on the ground again. The fire helped, oddly; the spider's screams penetrating the oppressive haze of memories. His own revulsion at himself helped; he was over that incident. It wasn't going to stop him from - from doing something!

Another spider lept for them. Tynan turned, raising his wand - and feeling oddly like his body wasn't fully under his own control, he aimed. His voice was steady and his will strong. "Bombarda!"

It missed, the spell rocketing off and blasting the top of a tree, sending branches crashing down. The spider landed before them, its front legs up, its eight eyes gleaming and its long fangs dripping with poison -

Tynan settled for his next best, and his mot panicked reflex; he punched it in the eyes as hard as he could, feeling the soft tissue give way.

Tynan cast a spell but it missed. Colm moved his wand towards the spider that he was virtually in direct contact with. However he knew he would not be quick enough. However something happened that gave him more time. Tynan punched the Acromantula! Who in the world would punch an Acromantula? He felt impressed and proud of the kid but he had no time to waste. The punch would hurt, and surprise, the spider but not stop it. ''Bombarda Maxima!'' He yelled.

A red light erupted from his wand and hit the spider. It flew into the air. It's legs giving way as it bounced from tree to tree landing about 60 feet away and they scurrying off. The third spider, who had just killed the serpent (which then turned back into a tree log,) decided not to attack the Wizard-with-a-wand and the Little-One-Who-has-Fists and followed it's injured brother. Without saying a word Colm turned and destroyed the web that had been in their escape route before hand and grabbed Tynan and ran again.

He said nothing. Already he knew the forest almost perfectly so he was able to avoid the trees while looking around constantly. Colm heard the sound of clicking fangs behind them ''Where did they come from?'' He asked. He knew they would catch up, purely by the laws of mathematics 8 legs were better than 2, not to mention their length advantage, and Colm knew they would surround them.

Colm was about to turn again to face their arachnid foes. However he heard another noice, hoofs. He turned to Tynan. ''Duck,'' he then pushed him to the floor as he himself followed. Seconds latter the air was full of arrows and the sound of galloping horses. Colm could barely make them out but Centaurs had come to their rescue! They launched their arrows at the Arcomantula who soon turned back. The largest of the Centaurs then walked up to the two Wizards.

Colm gave Tynan a hand up as he addressed the Centaur. ''Thank you my friend. You likely saved our lives,'' He bowed deeply.

''It was nothing Groundskeeper. However I want you and your friend to be careful. And something done about their, he pointed in the direction of the colony, expansion.'' With that he turned and galloped off.

''Tynan! Are you ok?'' He asked.

Stop the broom, Tynan thought as he was hauled off through the woods again, spiders still closing in. I'd like tae get off, if ye don't mind. And then he was shoved into the dirt before he could even react to Colm's order, and decided to just give up and lay there. He still turned his head to look at the noise, though, and his mouth opened slightly.

Centaurs! On top of everything else. This forest had to be packed. The stunned and confused part of Tynan's brain wondered how much space the forest actually had. No wonder they all griped about territory disputes.

What a silly line of thought. Tynan gawked at the centaurs, feeling profoundly stupid a few moments later as they moved off. But his heart was hammering in his chest and his body fully under the effect of adrenalin, and so it didn't bother him much; his thoughts were running a basic loop of 'Oh shit, spiders,' and 'Merlin's pants, Centaurs!'

"Tynan! Are you ok?"

Colm's voice got Tynan's grey eye to focus, and he looked up at the Groundskeeper as he hauled himself to his feet. It was then he realized his arm was covered in...well, blood, most likely. Eyejuice, yes, and weird little hexagonal bits. He made a face, getting fully to his feet and trying to wipe it off on his trouserleg. That just got it on his trousers, too. The dirt and pine needles from the forest floor were mixed into now, too.

"Huh? Yeah. Fine," he said after a moment, still trying in vain to get the gunk off his arm. It was splattered up to over the elbow and some had hit his shirt. "This a normal day for you, is it?" He asked, with just a hint of sarcasm. The fact he was starting to come off his adrenalin high was giving him the major urge to laugh, which he was trying to restrain. At the moment he was just glad to be alive.

''Well usually I get into a fight or two with a Centaur, over boundary disputes and such, but seems like they are warming to me at last,'' Colm smiled and looked backwards as the Centaurs galloped back into the dark forest. He had had his disputes with the noble creatures but they had saved his life, and whether that was just because they hated the spiders or not he didn't care, and he was grateful. He would seek them out some time tomorrow and thank them properly. He would also contact the ministry and tell them hat the Acromantula colony was getting a bit too large for it's own good.

Colm walked towards the castle, though they were still in the forest, as he turned to Tynan. ''You were very brave today. I'll be telling your Head of House. You can expect some points I suppose.'' Colm knew the kid was a true Gryffindor. He had punched a giant spider in the face for Merlins sake! No doubt the story would circulate through the castle in days. It would likely grow until someone told the story of the boy who killed seven Acromantula with his bare hands and saved a Centaur. These kinds of things usually do. He thought.

Colm would come back tomorrow and finish the web job. But he decided that they should get out of the forest now. So they headed north and it was only a few minutes before  the huge castle came into view on the horizon. High above a mountain and above a beautiful lake full of incredible creatures. He smiled when he saw it. The most amazing place in the world. How Muggle children missed out, he thought, afterall they supposedly hate their schools.

OOC: Shall we leave it here. Sorry for the small and late reply.