((OOC: **NOTE: This workshop is an rpg so stay in character, any off character messages should be place in parenthesis (OOC), thank you. ))

It seems like the Headmistress knew Merlin liked to hang a little too much in the Dark Forest, so when he was called into her office Merlin thought he will be kicked out of his prefect position, but what he didn't expect was to get permission to enter so he and other students will help her good friend, so now Merlin was handling flyers to students of every house and placing others on bulletin boards across the school. There were explicit orders on how to be dressed for the occasion.

It was the date stated on the flyers, February 25th, and Merlin was waiting for students to show up and also the person they would be assisting but so far no one had approach the border of the forest where he was standing with a sign on the floor reading :Workshop and nothing more on it.

There was a bench for students to sit while they waited for everyone to arrive with a green canopy tent covering the space that had baskets with fruits, breads, cheese platters, tea with biscuits and other goodies, and a small cart with pumpkin juice, by request of their guest and to Merlin's delight since it was his personal favorite.

Summary

Auror Tamsin will take the students to the forest in search of black flowers to gift them to her mother. The flowers are magical and can only be seen by minors, when cutting them the magic is released and anyone can see them but the effects are random yet temporary. They are harmless and shouldn't hurt anyone seriously. Students are now exploring the forest looking for adventure more than flowers. The flowers are very rare and hard to find.

2/27/2017 So far the students have found several creatures: bowtruckle, thestral, pixies, niffler, serkets (giant scorpions), a centaur named Arrow, a few speeding bees, and unicorns. Who knows what else will the found?

Two of the students were escorted outside the forest by Arrow, four black flowers have been found, and friendship have been tested.

2/28/2017 The group found traps on the forest and are now trying to figure out who is behind it and his/her purpose. The students are hiding on trees with the auror Tamsin, another auror have joined (Paul) to assist them. The centaur Arrow has gone to his people to find what the trap is and to get help from the wolves to track down the culprit.

3/2/2017 Inside a cave they found more traps and another room that was hidden. Tamsin explode the wall in order to get to the chamber, ended up half buried in rocks but was able to escape. Her explosion cause acromantulas to go after themsince the group catch up to her after they heard the explosion as well, and were forced to escape on top of a dragon, which was Merlin's animagus form. After he landed a little farther from the cave out of exhaustion, they placed barriers and looked for thestrals in order to escape the searching spiders and were now located in a safe place where the Ford Anglia dwell. Auror Paul went back to the cave to search for the clues they left behind in order to find the culprit behind the traps in the forest.

3/9/2017 Culprit was found and defeated and they have finally reached the meeting place. Now the students are having dinner at the meeting place and soon will be back to their rooms.

This is ready to begin if any of you are around please ping the group. Thanks.

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/wIWTZKb.png[/img] "Hello Merlin ()," Poppy shivered a little. "Would you like a cup of tea? Thanks for advising us on what to wear today. The gloves and scarf were a good call."

"Oh, hello Poppy!" Merlin smiled since he felt nervous. "It is a bit chilly and to walk in there.." He lift his head to point toward the forest. "...you need good shoes." He then looked at the tea table and nods. "Yes, please I may need it to calm my nerves a bit...that person is not here yet and I hope she comes or I will look like a fool."

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/wIWTZKb.png[/img] "I don't mind that it's cold. We are outdoors and it is winter after all. I'd rather be bundled up than sweating in there anyway." Poppy wiggled her toes in her boots. They felt snug but comfortable. "Do you take milk or sugar? I'm early, so I'm sure your person will be on time."

Merlin didn't loved cold weather and preferred when it was warmer but sweating didn't sound fun at all. "I guess you are right...and I like it without sugar and milk, just raw. Thanks." Merlin scratched his head. "Well, it is past ten, but she probably will wait for me to gather the students before coming, or I hope so...otherwise we can't go in and I would hate that." He giggled. "First time I get permission to go in without needing to sneak in and watch my back." He sighs. "But you are right, its early and there is no one but us, so I should try relax."

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/wIWTZKb.png[/img] Poppy was excited and curious about who Merlin's () special guest was. She poured him a mug of black tea before preparing her own with milk and two sugar cubes. "Careful, it's hot."

Despite the temperature, it wasn't too windy and the sky looked clear of clouds. Poppy hoped she would get to see parts of the woods she'd never been in. That would be easy since she'd only been there very infrequently with professors.

Suddenly Eirik was missing. Magnus had looked everywhere, had bothered a lot of Slytherins all to no avail. He worried. Was Eirik avoiding him or had something happened? Then he got a letter, Eirik had gone back home—too new a vampire to safely remain at Hogwarts. He felt bad that his friend was dealing with so much and wished things were different. Part of Magnus felt abandoned.

Then he got angry. Angry at the helplessness of it all—angry that he cared—angry that Eirik was gone and Magnus was left at school—angry that he was a werewolf and Eirik was a vampire—and that they weren’t normal. Angry at nothing and at everything. And with all that anger was sorrow and the loss of a friend that meant so much to him.

The staff noticed Magnus had withdrawn quite a bit. He wasn’t eating, was barely doing anything. He spent most of the time in the dorms, away from everyone—not even bothering to go to class. Because of this, it only took a few days before his parents were notified and he was pulled from school.

He wound up at Paul’s house (auror best friend of the Lees) because he was really well suited to help given that he’d spent so much time with vampires. Paul managed to assist Magnus in getting caught back up in his studies and bolstered the boy’s spirits--by taking an art class with him and visit the museum d'Orsay, among other things like just being there and listening. But his demeanour was still off; though only time could heal that.

Fade helped--a lot actually. The night Magnus returned to the castle they had talked and Fade helped to quell some deep seated fears. So he was feeling a lot better... and then the following morning Katsumi, his girlfriend, surprised him with a gift. Having known about the boy giving his owl to his mother who was swamped with Quidditch orders. Since her father was working in Africa, she used the opportunity to secure an amazing African Grey, with some training. Magnus gaped, stuttered and blushed at the amazing present and how thoughtful his girlfriend was. He’d so have to really think of something amazing for her to surprise her with… His new bird he named Ginger or Ginny for short.

Magnus cast a warm spell over Ginger and put her harness on so she wouldn't fly off if scared. He shouldered his bag and made his way to the meeting place. He was still not feeling a 100 percent, but he was trying. He saw Merlin and Poppy already there, so he waved feeling self conscious.

Merlin took the cup carefully. "Thank you. I hope we are not the only ones otherwise we will have to put up with her alone." He smiles. "I hope we find really cool creatures that I've never seen before, but hopefully no centaurs...they are a bit rude in my opinion."

Merlin saw Magnus approach, he looked in bad shape but like he was pushing himself to be there. "Hello, Magnus." Merlin waved at him. "I'm glad you came, please eat something before we leave since we can't take the food with us." He smiled but wondered if Magnus was well at all. "I'm here if you need anything, k?"

[img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/wIWTZKb.png[/img] Poppy blew on her tea and sipped it. "Here's Magnus () now." She turned to Merlin () and hoped he could tell that something was off. The Ravenclaw boy approached them awkwardly. She thought to herself, "He looks a bit peaky, even more than usual..."

"Magnus! What a beautiful bird," Poppy admired the lovely parrot that came into view as he got closer. [edit] {OOC: Stepping out for a bit, catch up with you later! <3)

Magnus nodded and got some bananas from the table. He peeled one and gave a piece to Ginger, letting her chew on it as he plopped a small piece in his own mouth. Swallowing he gave them a little smile. "It looks like you've thought of everything," Magnus said, mistaking Merlin's offer. "Oh... Thanks, Poppy," he said, "This is Ginger. She's me new pet. Katsumi gave 'er to me."

Merlin noticed the bird after Poppy mentions it, he was distracted by the looks of Magnus which worried him. "Oh my what a beauty! I guess Spells will have a friend to spend time with during our adventure." Merlin scratched his owl's neck. "Katsumi knows how to please you, you must be very happy with Ginger." Merlin grabbed a banana and put in his bag. "Just in case I get hungry later." Then grabbed biscuits, strawberries, and cheese. "I think I'm getting hungry now since my adrenaline is getting high. I want to run into the forest already." Merlin placed the plate with his food and cup of tea in one of the tables and started jumping. "Ok, don't look this means I'm excited." He stops suddenly and smiles at both friends. "Do you want to eat something Poppy? The tarts are really good."

"Ain't she? Kat knew I gave me mum my owl... Yeah, they should get along well... She's great. Tryin' to teach 'er some tricks. She know 'ow to play basketball though." Rather than being spooked, Ginger watched Merlin jumping and she wolf whistled, then cooed. She held her banana in one claw and went back to nibbling it. "Like running then?" Magnus asked as he shifted awkwardly.

Merlin nods. "Yes I like running a lot, but I also...want to fly, but I guess many of us do." He awkwardly smiles at Magnus. "Do you like running? I just really like the wind on my face and the energy pumping through me while I do it."

"Flying would be cool," he said. "Yeah, I like running. I'm very fast cos o' what I am." He glance down at the ground, sliding his hands into his pockets. He felt so out of place. Ginger finished her snack and started preening Magnus' hair.

(( - as a side note, I did not receive a ping for this thread from the wizarding group - did you ping everyone? I only found this thread through Raven's ping to me. ❤️))

((will edit in Rp soon or make new post, whichever is better at the time))

(( one of the admins has to ping the group, sadly. That's why no wizarding ping.))

(( - Oh! I had no idea that only admins could ping, makes sense though! ^.^ Thanks for that information! ))

((I am so bad, playing at work, but hey we're not busy and I have this slight addiction to HP rps 😄 Also I will edit this post later or show in another Drew's current look. It takes me forever when I play in the wardrobe lol and I want to jump in and rp now!))

Drew ran toward the meeting place for the Forbidden Forest workshop, his dark hair ruffled by the wind, Slytherin scarf flapping, and his leather bag bouncing against his side. Dodger, used to his master's excitement when it came to exploring, ran beside the boy, giving a few happy and excited yips of his own. As they reached the green canopied area, Drew was glad to see that he wasn't too late this time. And he also spotted some familiar figures. "Hi, Merlin!" he called waving to his housemate and prefect. And then he hurried over to the other figure. "Mags!! You're back!," he called happily. "I've missed seeing you around lately. And you've got a new pet!" He grinned as he thought of the conversation he and Magnus had had about the younger boy getting another pet. Dodger sat down at Drew's feet when the boy stopped and cocked his head, eyeing both Magnus and the new bird, his nose twitching as he took in the scents.

( no prob :) )

Drew came up to them and addressed him. "Yeah, sorry...Dad took me outta school. Yeah, me girlfriend surprised me with 'er. Name's Ginger. Say 'ello Ginger." Ginger looked at Magnus and then said, "Hello pretty." He saw the dog and was staying as still as possible, letting him decide to come up to Magnus. Kippers was stalking the food table.

"Well I'm glad you're back now," Drew smiled at Magnus. Then he asked in a quieter tone, "Are you feeling better? You know you can come talk to me, right?"

Drew chuckled at the greeting from the lovely bird and said, "Hello, Ginger. You are the pretty one, so I'm thinking you're talking about yourself and not me." He rested a hand lightly on Dodger's head. "This is Dodger. Dodge, meet Magnus." The dog looked from the strange being in front of him to his master. He knew his cue, but was confused by the smells he had scented. Still with a soft whine he obeyed the customary greeting command and offered his paw to Mangus.