A/N: This was originally written for a school assignment in which I had to include two conflicts with resolutions, so I appologize if it comes across as a little cheesy. That was not my intention. Also, just as a forewarning, this is my first "published" piece of writing. This is just a short one-shot for now, but I might add more chapters because I would really like to be a beta, and to do that I need to have 10,000 words published. Please R&R. Happy reading!
The Beginning of Aragog
Knock, knock, knock. Bam, bam, bam!
"Comin'! Hold yer hippogriffs!" the overgrown boy shouted in the direction of the dormitory door. Bam, bam, bam! Hagrid leapt over his school trunk and yanked open the door. "Mr. Raggen, sir, hullo." He glanced both ways down the hall before letting the newcomer inside. "Come in. Would you like some tea? I just fetched a fresh pot from the kitchens."
"No, no. I mustn't be sidetracked. Especially seeing as we've yet to decide on a fair price for my services. As you know, it is very difficult to procure this type of item, which is of course why you hired me in the first place. Very illegal, very dangerous."
"Yea, yea. O' course I know," was Hagrid's only reply, for he was so nervous to get his prize that he didn't want to offend Mr. Raggen by offering up too low a reward.
"So," Raggen started, "now that the formalities are out of the way, let's get down to business. I would say an object of this value, plus my services, would require payment in the range of five hundred galleons."
"Five hundre'! Yer estimate before was two-fif'y. Why's it suddenly gone up so much?" Hagrid protested.
"This particular job was more difficult than the previous ones I was basing off. So: five hundred. No moola, no spida," Raggen returned.
"Tell yer whats, I'll give ya half now, an' half in six months, after t' egg shoulda hatched. How's that sound, eh?"
"Make it three hundred now, and I'll consider that doable. But be warned: I won't forget, so don't try to cheat me out of those remaining two hundred galleons. I will be back for them."
"O' course, o' course. So lemme see the egg now. I wanna make sure th' baby's alright 'afore I surrender that much money ter ya." Raggen extracted an object the size of a robin's egg from the pouch at his hip. Perfectly round and white like a pearl, it looked nothing like one would expect. Hagrid took it carefully in his large hands and tenderly rolled it over, checking for any obvious signs of damage or deceit on Mr. Raggen's part. Finding none, he grunted in approval.
Raggen handed over the small protective pouch as well, before extending both hands, palms up, to receive the agreed-upon money. As soon as Hagrid tossed it over, he turned around and disappeared out the door.
It was easy enough for Hagrid to keep the tiny egg hidden in the pouch for the first four months, but then it began to grow. In just one week, it doubled in size, and the next week it had doubled in size again. Bt the end of that fifth month it had reached the size of an average man's fist (though not nearly yet the size of Hagrid's fist).
The egg no longer fit in the pouch, so it was placed in Hagrid's trunk. It started emitting occasional clicking noises and rolling around. Fearing for its wellbeing, Hagrid was forced to relocate it once again. This time, however, he had nowhere to hide it. He had to find a place in the castle of Hogwarts where it would remain, and with the hatching date rapidly approaching, he had to find it fast.
He could hardly sleep at night with this problem on his mind, and with the happy thought that his brand new friend was going to be born soon. Instead, he took that time to roam the castle under cover of darkness and away from suspicious eyes for the spider's future home. One night just a week before a new moon, and particularly dark because of it, Hagrid stumbled upon what he thought to be the perfect spot.
It was a largish storeroom in an unused section of the dungeons, far away from the rest of the castle. Not having expected to find anything that night, he had neglected to bring along his wand. He returned to his dorm room, which he got to himself due to his enormous size. He had left the egg on his bed under the covers as a temporary safe place. He took down the wall charms he had erected around his bed, making invisible but physically impassable walls for its protection. Upon picking up the egg, he immediately noticed a large crack running its length. It was hatching.
Snatching his wand off his bedside table, he hurriedly wrapped the egg in his cloak and practically ran back down into the dungeons. Through the endless twists and turns he went until he reached his destination, the room he discovered earlier that night. He jerked open the door and transfigured a strange pedestal in the center of the room into a dog bed. Then he set the egg, oh so gently, down onto its surface. Hagrid sat down on the ground to watch it hatch.
A second crack now branched off from the first. Another appeared, and another. Soon it looked a miracle that the egg was still holding together, as splintered as it was. The clicking sound that had been emanating for some time now reached a climax in volume and frequency. Suddenly, the clicking sound ceased and the egg exploded outward in a poof of dust.
In its place was a baby acromantula, the size of a tarantula. Hagrid gently picked it up and brought it level with his eyes. The first thing the spider saw was Hagrid's huge face, and it began clicking once again.
"Hullo, li'l guy. I'm Hagrid. I'm yer mummy.!"
"Click-click-ar-click-gig?" the tiny creature echoed, almost as a question.
"I think I read somewhere that I'm suppos' ta name ya after the firs' thing ya say. Yeah, yeah, I did. So, I guess yer name's gonna be Aragog. How's that?" Hagrid asked the spider. It began to click very rapidly. "I guess ya like it?" The spider, now known as Aragog, began to skitter back and forth on Hagrid's large hands. Aragog looked up into the eyes far above him and Hagrid got the feeling that the baby acromantula understood him as no one else did. The bond between them was that of mother and child, of giant spider and half-giant, of best friends. And both felt as if it would stay that way forever.