It was twenty minutes until midnight and Arcadia could feel the lump in her throat growing larger.  She wrapped her Nimbus in a blanket because explaining this to any prefect or professor roaming the halls at night would be extremely difficult.  Arcadia made absolutely sure that no one was left in the Common Room and crept out into the dimly lit hall.  Double-checking that her wand was in the left pocket of the cloak, she reassuringly patted the soft material.  She padded as quietly as she could through the hallways and down the stairs of Ravenclaw Tower, paying attention to any noise that might give her away or warn of someone coming.  Arcadia made it to the front entrance and exhaled in relief.  She had made it.  Opening the door as slowly as she could manage without a creak she peered outside only to hear the voice of Professor McGonagall. 

"…out this late, whatever did you think you were doing?"  The focus of her stern tone told Arcadia she had caught another student wandering Hogwarts grounds, more than likely on their way to see the race in the Forbidden Forest. 

The student let out a whimper as McGonagall dragged him back up the steps to the entrance.  She's coming this way!  Arcadia quickly ducked into the darkest corner should could find, hoping it would still provide cover if McGonagall decided to illuminate the Entrance Hall.  Fortunately for her, Professor McGonagall went straight up the marble staircase with the student in tow, cowering in fear of that fate that would be his detention. 

Arcadia relaxed and quickly headed out the door, running as fast as her legs could carry her to the Forbidden Forest.  I bet Gideon let it slip to someone that students would be outside after curfew… he was hoping it would be me that was hauled off by McGonagall so it would look like I forfeited!  Arcadia gritted her teeth at the realization that Maigny was using dodgy tactics even before the race had started.

Breathing heavily, she ran under a few thick branches and made her way into the pitch black of the forest.  Arcadia stopped briefly to compose herself and looked around for any indication of where the race would be.  In the distance, she noticed an eerie blue light cast on the trees; it reminded her of some strange underwater scene except for that fact that it was set in a forest.  She headed towards the lights and noticed more and more students gathering as she got closer.  Ravenclaws, Gryffindors, Slytherins and even Hufflepuffs!  There were a total of forty students in all and the congregation was quite surprising to Arcadia; she had no idea word had gotten around so quickly.  Thankful that it wasn't the entire school, she though that if it had been, the professors would have been here reprimanding everyone faster than Arcadia could say Quidditch. 

She entered the crowd and cleared her throat.  Several pupils made way for her as she walked to the starting line.  In those dozen or so steps, all the people who offered her advice earlier, bombarded her with even more. 

"Keep your wand handy in case Gideon or anyone else tries to hoodwink you!"  "Remember duck and roll manoeuvres, those are the most useful here!" 

"This race is about reflexes, not speed!" 

Arcadia appreciated all the support and even saw that Noelle had managed to sneak out earlier.  She waved cheerfully and wished Arcadia good luck. 

Arcadia unwrapped her Nimbus from the blanket and looked down the path of the race through the Forbidden Forest.  It was a straight line, the path brightened by Bluebell Flames in levitating glass jars.  A rather ingenious idea, thought Arcadia.  While the path didn't have twists and turns, it had a great many obstacles; large branches and tree trunks were intertwined throughout the track.  She turned to face her opponents, two boys from Hufflepuff, a girl from Gryffindor, and Maigny.  Arcadia found it odd that no other Slytherins were racing; perhaps his cronies were lying in wait within the shadows.  She mentally prepared herself for any kind of obstacles that might be thrown at her during the race. 

A Gryffindor stepped forward to explain the rules to the five competitors.  "It's simple.  You blokes follow the blue lights to the end of the path, loop around and come back right here," he stomped his foot on the white line.  "First broomstick with a student across the line wins.  Look for green sparks to mark the end of the course."  The Gryffindor took a step back and withdrew his wand.  "Ladies and Gentlemen, take your positions!" 

The five straddled their brooms and took turns eyeing each other up and down.  Arcadia turned to examine the path illuminated by Bluebell Flames: it was intimidating to say the least.  The flickering lights danced as the shadows made the entire forest look alive.  Tree limbs snaked out to create barriers throughout the entire length of the track.  Just as one of the pupils had pointed out, this was going to take a lot of ducking and rolling. 

Arcadia took a deep breath, slowly removed her wand from the pocket, tensed her muscles to kick off the ground, and listened for the countdown. 

"Three… two… one… GO!"  Sparks flew high into the air from the Gryffindor's wand and the five were off.

Gideon immediately checked one of the Hufflepuff boys and sent him behind the group as he coaxed more speed out of his Firebolt.  Arcadia did her best to maintain the same position as Gideon while staying on the opposite side of the cluster of riders.  The tree limbs were now everyone's main concern; everyone separated and began their sequence of weaving, dodging, and scraping stray branches. 

Arcadia quickly glanced right to see where her competition was.  The lagging Hufflepuff boy had caught up and now everyone was faring rather well in the tangle of tree limbs as shadowed cloaks swooped in and out of open spaces and continued to press forward. 

As she leaned and ducked through the branches, Arcadia tried to take in as much of her surroundings as the dim blue light would permit.  She caught a figure up ahead poised behind one of the trunks, highlighted only by its occasional movements.  I knew Gideon would have some surprises in store.  He just waited until we were far enough from the crowd to guarantee his innocence if someone cried foul play.  There would be no witnesses this far down the line.  Arcadia berated herself for not foreseeing Maigny's treachery sooner.  She focused her peripheral vision on the shadow behind the tree while rolling and dodging the branches and trunks as they came at her.  Speeding through the course, the air whipped her hair around when she finally understood what the figure was about to do, he was holding onto a large branch!  A split second after Arcadia's recognition she heard a cry of "NOW!" echo through the forest.  An object came hurtling towards her and out of reflex, she thrust her wand in front of her and cried "Diffindo!"  The branch split in half and Arcadia flew through as the two pieces sailed in either direction. 

The outcome was not so favourable for the others.  One of the Hufflepuff boys caught the full force of a branch in the chest.  The broom was launched out from under him; as a lungful of oxygen was huffed out he spread his arms and fell backwards into the darkness below.  Arcadia gulped as she saw how the Gryffindor girl fared.  There was a thick slash through her cloak and the blue flame cast light on a trickle of fluid seeping out of the wound.  She clutched her side and winced in pain as she slowly fell behind in the race.  Apparently the taut branch had been let go to act like a whip, tearing both clothing and flesh.  That left Arcadia, Gideon and one of the Hufflepuff boys. 

The three had finally reached the end of the track; Arcadia quickly leaned back and pulled up on her Nimbus, rotating upward, manouvring a vertical 180 and speeding back down the course.  She checked to her left and noticed that Gideon had not come out of the ambush unscathed.  A large gash on his right arm was bleeding, and it was effecting his ability to steer.  I'm the only one who's come out of this with just minor scrapes.  I hope I can keep this up.  Arcadia narrowed her eyes and attempted to retrace her path through the trees.  It was far more difficult than she had imagined.  The path looked completely different when speeding in the opposite direction. 

Arcadia leaned forward and made herself as narrow of a projectile as she could.  The wind was making her green eyes water, but she pressed on.  I'm more than half way finished, no effing way am I letting Gideon beat me now!  Arcadia swerved around the thick tree trunks and ducked under every branch that came into her line of vision.  She concentrated on the obstacles in front of her and gradually gained more distance on Gideon and the Hufflepuff boy.  Arcadia heard a painful grunt behind her and briefly looked to see what had happened.  Gideon had edged up right by the Hufflepuff and elbowed him straight in the face.  Blood sprayed from his face as he was sent sprawling onto the soft earth of the forest floor. 

Now there were just two competing for the finish line.  Arcadia gritted her teeth, tightened her grip on the handle, and urged as much speed out of the Nimbus as she could possibly afford without losing control in the dense forest. 

A left lean and then a tight roll through a collection of branches, Arcadia pulled the broomstick closer to her chest.  The perimeter of the Bluebell Flame's light showed more shadows moving and this time they didn't look human.  These things are definitely dangling in midair and have more than four bloody appendages!  Holding her Mahogany wand in front of her face, Arcadia split her attention between weaving through the relentless assault of gnarled tree branches and the impending attack.

Then, from the ceiling of the forest, came the creatures that seized the initiative of surprise.  Oversized arachnids with appendages poised to strike were bearing down on Arcadia's narrow form.  She drew in a sharp breath and pointed her wand at any spider that blocked her route.  "Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!"  Every creature that was hit with the stunning spell received a shock with enough power to convulse and lose control on the tether that suspended them from the trees. 

"Arrrgh!"  Gideon cried out in fear as Arcadia looked over her shoulder to see that the arachnids were managing to slow him down. 

"StupefyStupefy!"  Arcadia stunned two of the giant spiders to give Gideon a fairer chance to overcome the menace.  The constant spell casting was starting to wear her down.  She could see green sparks in the distance, the finish line!  With every ounce of her strength she shot through the trees like an arrow, avoiding the larger branches while taking the brunt of the damage the thinner ones dealt her.

Arcadia's vision was starting to blur as she was feeling the physical drain of pushing her endurance to the limit.  Then she saw a devious grin in the low blue light.  A heavy branch came swinging towards her and her reaction time was seriously impaired at this point because of the fatigue of the race.  Arcadia swung her right arm away from the Nimbus's handle and leaned left to pull away from the limb as much as she could. 

It wasn't enough and the end of the rough bark ripped through her side, tearing her cloak and leaving a deep wound in her ribcage.   She grunted and slipped off of her broomstick right as she crossed the finish line.  The crowd cheered and ran towards her as she quickly descended onto the forest floor, still clutching the broom as she rolled through the damp soil.  Gideon crossed the finish a few seconds after and set down, catching his breath.  Arcadia lay facedown, covered in moss and dirt with one arm wrapped around the Nimbus.  The students surrounded her with whispers of concern.