Week Four: Task #16 - “Hidden Dangers”

[Aquaria Sandalwood]

This scavenger hunt has been quite the wild ride, and a lot has happened! You have encountered all kinds of things that you have thought were very dangerous and scary, but apparently there was also a lot you did not encounter, because today you are learning about the different dangerous plants and animals that can be found in the forbidden forest and how to combat them! You may have thought you were already an expert after all you’ve been through on this hunt, but there is still more to learn!

As you listen to the professor talk about things like centaurs, acromantulas, and thestrals, you count yourself lucky for the things you didn’t see! There are so many dangerous things in here, even plants like bubotubers, black flowers, and who knows what else!

As you reflect on your time here in the Forest, you think about how things could have gone much worse! You wonder what you would have done if you had encountered any of these things. Hopefully you never have to find out!

Task: What plant or animal found in the forbidden forest do you find most dangerous? Write at least 100 words telling us which one you choose and how you would get past it. You can use one mentioned here (thestral, acromantula, centaur, bubotubers, black flowers) or come up with one on your own!

This activity is worth 10 beans/sapphires, with an additional 10 beans/sapphires available if all Week Four tasks are completed by the due date. Everything is due at 11:59 pm HOL time on November 30th.

[River Fenwick]

I find the centaurs of the Forbidden Forest to be the most dangerous. I consider them the most dangerous because of their known skills, such as their ability in magical healing, Divination, archery, and Astronomy. They're intelligent, often regard themselves as better than humans in such a trait, and are classified as XXXX-rated beasts. They don't take too kindly to wizardkind and are more of a threat when they're in herds, like the colony in the Forbidden Forest. They don't take kindly to outsiders and can get violent with them or members of the herd that betrayed or threatened the colony. The best course of action is to avoid them, but if a confrontation happens, one's best chance would be to create obstacles and use longer-range spells in defense.

[Luna Ravenlong]

I think I find the Acromantulas the most dangerous creatures in forbidden forest. Their venom is highly toxic and they secrete poison when they are excited so are incredibly dangerous to be near. Despite the fact that they are sentient and capable of human speech, they have a taste for human flesh so we are prey for them-and the fact that they are social animals and live in colonies makes them even more dangerous. The only way to rally gain their loyalty is by raising one from an egg. If you encountered just one Acromantula, you might be able to get away if you had someone with you/were an incredibly strong caster. But I’m not sure there’s any way of defeating a group-so I’d just avoid going too deep into the forest-at least not without Hagrid!

[Galena May]

I think that I find the werewolves in the Forbidden Forest most dangerous. What makes them so to me is that the very knowledge that they are human prevents our conscience from launching serious attacks that could actually harm them. We would want to protect ourselves and yet each time we raised our wand, we would be reminded that they are actually human like us, and will probably be in human form by the next day.
I think that the best way to deal with them is to completely avoid any possible encounters with them by never going to the Forbidden forest on a full moon. But if it happens to be the Full Moon, I would use my wand to contain or restrict the werewolf and its movements, instead of injuring it. Some spells that I would try are the Full-Body Bind Curse, Confundo, The Knockback Jinx, The Stunning Spell, and Incarcerous. This would help me leave them temporarily incapacitated and not permanently injured. Also, if I happened to encounter and temporarily restrain or stun one, I would make attempts to mark them somehow or fish for signs of their human identity so that I can identify their human form and offer them Wolfsbane when they are in their human form.