Faustus rolled his eyes when Ben took his hand but didn't try and pull away. That was just Ben and the fact that Ben was still little He hadn't worked out that boys didn't hold hands. Faustus frowned slightly. Then again, his Dad and Draco had held hands just a little at Draco's party. Maybe it was only little boys and men who were like his Dad and Draco who held hands.
He laughed when Ben proposed a race and broke into a run. He was tempted for a moment to either let Ben win or the have it be a draw but then his comptetive nature took hold and he pulled out in front of the smaller boy and dived into the Forest ahead of him. He came to a halt and turned to wait for Ben to catch up.
"Hah, by the time you're as big as me, I'll be even bigger," he said, poking his tongue out at Ben. "So I'll always be faster."
He grinned then turned around to look around the part of the Forest they were in. It was kind of dark and smelled a bit strange and he could hear the leaves rustling strangely... at least he thought it was the leaves. But it was definitely cool and he wanted to see more.
He looked down when Ben took his hand and saw the look of fear Ben was trying to hide. He realised the Forest must be kind of scary when you were as little as Ben so he didn't object this time.
"Where would I be if I was a Centaur?" he said thoughtfully as he looked around. He then pointed further into the Forest almost arbitrarily. "That way." He grinned down at Ben and started walking deeper into the Forest, the light dimming further as they went deeper.