Tiberius was hustling as fast as he could back from the forest and into his dormitory, which thankfully resided of the first floor. His face was covered in sweat and his hair had mud and twigs haphazardly entwined within his slight shag. Sure, he was sore and a little roughed up from this latest bout of flying failures. But he knew he had to get back soon, and before anyone saw.
The story had worked since his sixth year. Using it only twice, no one thought anything was the matter when Tiberius had returned to the castle in a rugged quidditch kit after a solo practice on the pitch. However, he felt a great dead of dread in his confidence in selling the lie this time around. His clothes were not only ragged and stained, they were cut in several places and had burrs covering them from the neck down: all things not usually found on or near the pitch.
His run in with Amos was not met kindly.
Amos and Tiberius had been friends ever since Tiberius' first year (which would have been Amos' first). Both fun loving Hufflepuffs, they both shared a certain admiration for Quidditch, flying, and nature. Tiberius shared much of what he learned and what he wanted with Amos. He had even confided during Tiberius' fifth year that he wished not to go into the ministry and would rather explore the wilds of the earth, something no one else ever would hear. But he didn't share everything with such a close friend...
"Ah! Amos! What are you doing here?", he opened with. He had decided that if asked anything, he would claim he was searching for the thing killing the forest creatures, but was worried about making it believable due to his current nerves and shock.