"Everyone's okay,'' Adi said hurrying along with Bev and the Headmistress. "Hopefully the Groundskeeper is too.'' He shot Bev a look. Did she think the cry belong to the man? Gosh, noooooo! He must think positive thoughts. The other Professors? Did she mean the other staff? "I think only you and Professor Dakest know about this for now. He must be there or nearly there.'' Sophie and Toby had been fast; surely they had gotten to the man by now.

The Hufflepuff sped up. He had the urge to grab Truebridge by the arm to hurry her along even faster but that would be so... wrong. Instead, he settled for jogging and hoped his two companions would do the same.
...................

FINALLY!

They had arrived at the Forest. It seemed to him they had taken an eternity but he was pleased and relieved to see Sophie and Toby there already. This meant Dakest had already departed into the Forest since he wasn't around. Great! Back up for Thompson and Culloden. Let's hope Dakest didn't need back up too.

Adi halted next to his other two friends. "Guys, how long ago did Professor Dakest go in?'' Maybe there was enough time for Truebridge to catch up with him. He shifted his gaze to the woman. "Can you lift the barrier, Headmistress? We want to help too." He knew the answer even before he asked but he would rather know that he had tried and failed than did nothing at all.