Chapter 7: Who's to Blame?
It was February. Hermione was out of the Hospital Wing, back to Normal, and Josh had learned that Harry and Ron discovered the second floor flooded and an empty diary that belonged to a Tom M. Riddle, which sounded vaguely familiar to Josh who just couldn't remember where he heard that name before.
The sun had begun to shine weakly on Hogwarts again. Inside the castle, the mood had grown more helpful. There had been no more attacks since those on Jusin and Nearly Headless Nick, and Madam Pomfrey was pleased to report that the Mandrakes were becoming moody and secretive, meaning they were fast leaving childhood.
Perhaps the Heir of Slytherin had lost his or her nerve, Josh would think. He thought that it must be getting riskier and riskier to open the Chamber of Secrets, with the school so alert and suspicious. Perhaps the monster, whatever it was, was even now settling itself down to hibernate for another fifty years.
Yet, Ernie MacMillan of Hufflepuff didn't take this cheerful view. He was still convinced that the Parselmouth Brothers, aka Harry and Josh, were still the guilty ones and that they had given themselves away at the Dueling Club.
And then there was Gilderoy Lockhart, mush to Josh's annoyance, who thought he was the one who had made the attacks stop. Josh and Neville overheard him telling McGonagall so while the Gryffindors lined up for Transfiguration.
"You know, what the school needs now is a morale-booster. Wash away the memorise of the last term! I won't say any more just now, but i think i know just the thing..." He tapped his nose and then strode off.
Lockhart's idea of a Morale-Booster became clear at breakfast time on February the fourteenth. Josh hadn't had much sleep as he had a nightmare about a giant and scary looking snake that was chasing him. He arose and ran down to the Great Hall, slightly late. And for a moment, He thought he had walked through the wrong doors.
The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. Josh went over to sit next to Neville who sat next to Harry, who was sitting across from Ron looking sickened, and sitting next to Hermione who was overcome with giggles and sitting across from Neville.
"What in the world is going on here?" Josh asked when he sat down and wiped some confetti off of some bacon.
Neville, with his mouth full, pointed towards the Teachers' table. Josh looked over to the table to see Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, and was waving for silence. Josh should of known this was that idiot's idea. He looked at the other teachers, on either side of Lockhart, and had stony faces. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of Skele-Gro.
"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may i thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards. Yes! I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all, and it doesn't end here!"
Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozed surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.
"My friendly, card carrying cupids!" Lockhart beamed. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to show you how to whip up a love potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog."
Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as if the first person to ask him for a love potion would be force-fed potion.
"Please Hermione, tell me you weren't one of the forty-six," Josh heard Ron ask as they left the Great Hall for the first lesson. Josh watched as she became very interested in searching for something in her bag and not bothering to answer Ron. And Josh knew she was one of the forty six, he saw her writing the card a couple days before.
All day long, the dwarfs kept barging into their classes to deliver valentines, to the annoyance of the teachers, and late that afternoon as the Gryffindors were walking upstairs for Charms, one of the dwarfs caught up with Harry.
"Oy, you! 'Arry Potter!" shouted a particularly grim-looking dwarf, elbowing people out of the way to get to Harry. Josh turned in amusement to see the little dwarf trying to get to Harry who was trying to escape. The dwarf, however, cut his way through the crowd by kicking people's shins, and reached Harry before he'd gone two paces.
"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person," he said, twanging his harp in a threatening sort of way.
"Not here," Harry hissed, trying to escape.
"Stay still!" grunted the dwarf, grabbing hold of Harry's bag and pulling him back.
"Let me go!" Harry snarled, tugging.
With a loud ripping noise, his bag split in two. His books, wand, parchment, and quill spilled onto the floor and his ink bottle smashed over everything. Josh couldn't help but laugh. why not just hear the dumb poem and get it over with.
Harry scrambled around, trying to pick it all up before the dwarf started singing, causing something of a hold up in the corridor. Josh would have helped, but he decided to just let it happen.
"What's going on here?" came the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. Harry started stuffing everything feverishly into his ripped bag. Josh knew he didn't want Malfoy of all people to hear Harry's Valentine. He looked behind Malfoy and saw Daphne and Tracey looking curiously.
"What's all this commotion?" said another familiar voice as Percy Weasley arrived.
Harry tried to make a run for it, but the dwarf seized him around the knees and brought him crashing to the floor.
"Right," he said, sitting on Harry's ankles. "Here is your singing valentine:
His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,
His hair is as dark as a blackboard,
I wish he was mine,
he's really divine,
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord "
Everyone was laughing around Harry except for his friends, except Ron who was coughing, obviously covering up his laughing. Josh actually didn't think the poem was that funny, and he kind of felt sorry for Harry at that moment. Harry stood back up pretending to laugh with the group as well.
"Off you go, off you go, the bell rang five minutes ago, off to class, now," he said, shooing some of the younger students away. "And you, Malfoy —"
Josh, glancing over, saw Malfoy stoop and snatch up something. Leering, he showed it to Crabbe and Goyle, and Josh realized that he'd got that diary that Harry had found a while back.
"Give that back," said Harry quiet as Josh stood next to Harry.
"Wonder what Potter's written in this?" said Malfoy, who obviously hadn't noticed the year on the cover and thought he had Harry's own diary.
A hush fell over the onlookers. Ginny was staring from the diary to Harry, looking terrified, and Josh noticed.
"Hand it over, Malfoy," said Percy sternly.
"When I've had a look," said Malfoy, waving the diary tauntingly at Harry.
Percy said, "As a school prefect —" but to Josh's surprise, Harry had lost his temper. He pulled out his wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and just as Snape had disarmed Lockhart, Malfoy found the diary shooting out of his hand into the air. Josh, grinning broadly, caught it.
"Nice one, Harry," he said and handed the diary back to Harry.
"Harry!" said Percy loudly. "No magic in the corridors. I'll have to report this, you know!"
Josh and Harry both smirked at Malfoy who was looking furious, and as Ginny passed him to enter her classroom, he yelled spitefully after her, "I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!"
Ginny covered her face with her hands and ran into class. Harry sighed and left to Charms, so did Percy. Josh turned to see Malfoy smiling triumphantly and noticed Josh looking at him, and then walk up to him. "Problem, Anderson?" he asked.
"No," Josh answered with a blank face. He then bucked at Malfoy who flinched violently, causing him to chuckle, shake his head, and point at Malfoy. "Two for flinching," he said then walked into the Charms classroom and sat next to Neville. Daphne and Tracey were laughing at the whole exchange until class had begun.
It was now nearly four months since Justin and Nearly Headless Nick had been Petrified, and nearly everybody seemed to think that the attacker, whoever it was, had retired for good. Peeves had finally got bored of his "Oh, Potter, you rotter" song, Ernie Macmillan asked Harry quite politely to pass a bucket of leaping toadstools or to Josh for some soil in Herbology one day, and in March several of the Mandrakes threw a loud and raucous party in greenhouse three.
This made Professor Sprout very happy. "The moment they start trying to move into each other's pots, we'll know they're fully mature," she told Josh and Neville. "Then we'll be able to revive those poor people in the hospital wing."
The second years were given something new to think about during their Easter holidays. The time had come to choose their subjects for the third year, a matter that Hermione, at least, took very seriously.
"… it could affect our whole future," she told Harry, Josh, Neville, and Ron as they pored over lists of new subjects, marking them with checks.
"I just want to give up Potions," said Harry.
"We can't," said Ron gloomily, who Josh was still ignoring when he was near him. "We keep all our old subjects, or I'd've ditched Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"But that's very important!" said Hermione, shocked. Josh and Neville shared a look and shook their heads.
"Not the way Lockhart teaches it," said Ron. "I haven't learned anything from him except not to set pixies loose."
To Josh's amusement, Neville had been sent letters from all the witches and wizards in his family, all giving him different advice on what to choose. Confused and worried, he sat reading the subject lists with his tongue poking out, asking people whether they thought Arithmancy sounded more difficult than the study of Ancient Runes.
Dean Thomas, who, like Harry, had grown up with Muggles, ended up closing his eyes and jabbing his wand at the list, then picking the subjects it landed on. Hermione took nobody's advice but signed up for everything.
Josh sort of followed. In the end, he decided on Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Divination (For Harry's sake and for an easy class), and was going to be taking Healing lessons with Madam Pomfrey.
Gryffindor's next Quidditch match would be against Hufflepuff. Everyone thought they were on the verge of winning the Quidditch cup which made the whole team very happy. But it didn't last long.
Josh and Neville walked up to their dorm when they found it a mess, and it was only Harry's things. It looked as if a tornado had gone through all his things an threw them around the room. "Neville, go get Harry," he told Neville who nodded and left to go find Harry. Josh was examining the mess, when minutes later, Neville came back with Harry, Ron, and Hermione in tow.
"What happened?" Hermione asked.
"No idea," Josh replied while moving something with his foot.
"It looked as if someone was looking for something," Ron said while examining Harry's robes. "Is there anything missing?"
Josh watched as Harry rummaged around for a couple minutes and then answered Ron. "Yeah, Riddle's diary. It's gone." Everyone looked at one another. Who could have stolen it and why?
"But — only a Gryffindor could have stolen — nobody else knows our password —" Hermione commented.
"Exactly," said Harry. Josh felt like someone was staring at him. He looked up to see Ron looking at him suspiciously, and he knew what Ron was thinking, that Josh was the one who took it, and that he was the Heir of Slytherin.
They awoke the next day to brilliant sunshine and a light, refreshing breeze.
"Perfect Quidditch conditions!" said Wood enthusiastically at the Gryffindor table, loading the team's plates with scrambled eggs. "Harry, buck up there, you need a decent breakfast."
Meanwhile, Josh was staring down the packed Gryffindor table, wondering if the new owner of Riddle's diary was right in front of his eyes. After the whole debacle yesterday, Ron had done nothing but accuse Josh of everything having to do with the attacks when they were alone. Josh didn't care really. He knew it wasn't him, and he could and would prove it if he was arrested for it like Hagrid was back then.
As he left the Great Hall with Neville he heard it again
"Kill this time… let me rip… tear…"
Josh shouted aloud causing Neville jumped away from him in alarm.
"The voice!" said Josh, looking over his shoulder. Daphne and Tracey had heard him and walked over to him and Neville. "I just heard it again — didn't you?" he asked Neville who shook his head. Josh looked at the two girls who shook their heads too. He also looked at the passing people who seemed to be minding their own business and not even know there was a voice either.
And then it hit Josh. A voice, one that only him and Harry could hear, and maybe one that they could only communicate with, just like that day at the Dueling Club. Josh then began walked foward, hurriedly.
"Josh?" Neville said.
"I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library," Josh said and then ran off before saying, "I'll see you at the Quidditch game!"
Josh entered the library and then ran towards the magical creatures section, where he found Hermione and an older girl with Ravenclaw robes on.
"Hermione!" Josh called her.
"Josh? What are you doing her?" She asked him.
"I know what the monster is!" Josh answered surprising the older girl. "I just need to make sure."
"I think i know too," Hermione said. "Listen to this, 'Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious or more deadly than the Basilisk, known also as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eye shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before the Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy, and the Basilisk flees only from the crowing of the rooster, which is fatal to it.'"
"That's it!" Josh exclaimed excitedly. "We've figured it out!" he shouted and gave Hermione a hug. But then...
"Rip...tear...let me kill...let me drink blood...sooo tasty..."
"Oh no!" Josh said as he let go of Hermione and looked around. It was that icy cold voice again, and this time, it sounded very, very close.
"What is it, Josh?" Hermione asked as the older girl was getting worried as well.
"It's here," Josh whispered.
"What's here?" The older girl asked nervously.
"Slytherin's monster," Josh answered as the two girls looked at one another with fear in their eyes.
"What do we do?" Hermione nervously asked. Josh looked at the two girls who were both very afraid and looking at him expectantly.
"Okay, let's get out of here, and get to Dumbledore, okay?" He said. The two girls nodded. Josh slowly and cautiously walked down the aisle. Hermione grabbed his hand and then the older girl grabbed hers. They reached the end of the aisle when Josh heard a dragging sound, so did Hermione and the older girl.
"What was that?" the older girl asked, but neither Gryffindor answered, and then, books fell behind them. The girls screamed, and the three ran. They turned and turned and turned, and Josh felt as if they were in a maze, and they couldn't find their way out. And then, they hit a dead end, and ran into a window between two shelves.
"Great," Josh said as he ran and looked out the window. He saw the grounds, and the Quidditch pitch, and could see people walking towards it.
"What do we do?" the older girl asked.
"I don't know," Josh answered, looking out the window. "I wish there's a way we could look behind the shelves without being killed."
"I know," Hermione said and pulled out a small hand mirror. "I have this mirror." Josh didn't watch as Hermione and the older girl decided to looked behind the shelves.
"Okay, I say we make a run for it," Josh said and then turned around, and his breath was caught in his throat. Hermione and the older girl were standing there motionless. Josh stared wide eyed as right behind his back, his best friend and a girl he just met, were petrified. "Hermione?" he said.
"Tooo late...Killl...tear...rip apart..."
Josh quickly closed his eyes and turned around.
"Killl...turn around... let me drink the blood...turn around!"
"No!" Josh shouted, in parseltongue.
"What?"
"I said no! Leave me alone!" Josh shouted. "Go back where you came from!"
"As you command."
Josh opened his eyes. Did the monster just do as he said? But why? He thought that only the heir of Slytherin could command it. Unless...? No, he refused to believe it. It couldn't be true. Josh sat agianst the window, and stared at Hermione and the older girl. Was this his fault? Did he bring them to this dead end on purpose without evening knowing it? And did he really attack those others without knowing it did?
Josh stared as his eyes glistened with tears as he believed that this was his fault. It was it fault, right? Josh covered his face and began to cry.
"Oh, my dear lord!"
Josh looked up with his tear strained face to see Madam Pince looking back in shock. "I...I...I..di.." Josh stuttered as he couldn't speak a full sentence. He threw his face back into his hands and cried some more. It wasn't until minutes later, Pince came back with McGonagall. She gasped in shock at what she saw, and didn't say anything as she led Josh out of the Library and into Dumbledore's office. McGonagall left as he waited, waited to be convicted and blamed for these attacks.
A couple hours later, Josh was wiping his face when Dumbledore finally entered his office. He was obviously busy with the attacks and other things. Dumbledore walked over and sat behind his desk. Josh looked up and connected eyes with Dumbledore.
"Sir, I..." Josh started, but couldn't finish then bowed his head.
"Joshua, it is important that you tell me what is going on?" Dumbledore said calmly. "But, answer me this. Did you have anything to do with these attacks?"
"I don't know," Josh whispered.
"What do you mean?" Dumbledore asked. "Explain."
"Just now, when Hermione and that older girl were petrified, I heard the monster," Josh said. "I could here is speak. And when it was going to attack me, I said no and then told it to go away, and then it said something."
"What did it say?" Dumbledore asked.
"As you command," Josh quoted and then sniffed. "The monster listened to me, Professor." he said then looked up at the Headmaster. "He listened to me!" he shouted. "I thought that only the Heir of Slytherin could command his monster! And it listened to me!" Josh repeated for a thrid time.
"Do you think that you did these attacks and did them unknowingly?" Dumbledore asked the twelve year old.
Josh shrugged. "I don't know, maybe," he answered, then looked at the headmaster. "Is it possible to do something without remembering you did that something?"
"It's possible," Dumbledore replied. "But i do not think it's happening to you. And I still believe you are innocent, Josh. I know you are not a bad wizard."
"How do you know!" Josh shouted at the headmaster.
"I just do," was Dumbledore's simple reply.
"That doesn't explain how I know Parseltongue," Josh murmured as he crossed his arms, feeling like he wanted to cry again.
"That is one big mystery," Dumbledore said and before he could continue, the fireplace roared to life, and out stepped a man in purple and blue ministry robes looking dignified and professional. "Ah, Cornelius Fudge, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Dumbledore asked the Minister of Magic.
"Evening, Albus," Fudge greeted. "I am here to speak to Hagrid."
"Very well," Dumbledore said as he stood. "Joshua, if you would please follow us." Josh nodded and stood up as well.
Minutes later, Dumbldore knocked on Hagrid's door with Josh and Fudge behind him. Josh heard shuffling as if one or more person was in there, and seconds later, the door opened to reveal the half-giant.
"Good Evening, Hagrid," Dumbledore greeted. Hagrid stepped back as the three entered the hut. He gave Josh a puzzled look who was looking at the ground. Josh felt like someone was watching him, and he swear he heard a whisper, but when he looked behind him, no one was there. Meanwhile, Hagrid dropped into one of his chairs and looked from Dumbledore and Fudge, looking pale and sweaty.
"Bad Business, Hagrid," Fudge said in rather clipped tones. "Very bad business. Had to come. Four attacks on muggle-borns, and nearly a Half-blood. Things've gone far enough. Ministry's got to act."
"I never," said Hagrid, looking imploringly at Dumbledore. "You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir-"
"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence," Dumbledore said, frowning at Fudge.
"Look, Albus," Fudge said, uncomfortably. "Hagrid's Record's against him. Ministry's go to do something - the school govenors have been in touch -"
"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest," Said Dumbledore glancing at Josh who noticed that the headmaster's eyes were full of fire he'd never seen before.
"Look at if from my point of view," said Fudge, fidgeting with hos bowler. "I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen to be doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back, and no more said. But i've got to take him, Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty -"
"Take me?" said Hagrid, who was trembling. Josh gulped, scared for Hagrid. "Take me where?"
"For a short stretch only," said Fudge, not meeting Hagrid's eyes. "Not a punishment, Hagrid, more of a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology -"
"Not Azakaban!" croaked Hagrid and shocking Josh. They were going to take Hagrid to that awful wizarding prison?
And before Fudge could answer, there was another loud rap on the door. Dumbledore answered it. Josh was surprised to see Lucius Malfoy stride into Hagrid's hut, swathed in a long black traveling cloak, smiling a cold and satisfied smile. Fang started to growl.
"Already here, Fudge," he said approvingly. "Good, good..."
"What're you doing here?" Hagrid said furiously. "Get outta my house."
"My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure at all in being inside your - er - d'you call this a house?" said Malfoy, sneering as he looked around the cabin till his eyes fell on Josh who looked away. "I simply called at the school and was told that the headmaster was here."
"And what exactly do you want with me, Lucius?" Dumbledore asked politely, yet the fire was still blazing in his eyes.
"Dreadful thing, Dumbledore," Malfoy said lazily taking out a parchment, "but the govenors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension. You'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we felt you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon, and nearly a...Half-blood, wasn't it?" he said as he glanced at Josh who stayed quiet. "At this rate, there'll be no more muggleborns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school." Josh's eyes widened, take their headmaster away? What good will that do.
"Oh, now, see here, Lucius," said Fudge, looking alarmed, "Dumbledore suspeneded -no, no - last thing we want just no -"
"The appointment - or suspension - of the headmaster is a matter for the govenors, Fudge," Mr. Malfoy spoke smoothly. "And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks - "
"See here, Malfoy, If Dumbledore can't stop them," said Fudge, whose upper lip was sweating now. "I mean to say, who can?"
"That remains to be seen," Mr. Malfoy said with a nasty smile. "But as all twelve of us have voted -"
"An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?" Hagrid roared.
"Dear, dear, you know, that temper of yours will lead you into trouble one of these days, Hagrid," said Mr. Malfoy. "I would advise you not to shout out at the Azkaban guards like that. They won't like it at all."
"You can't take Dumbledore away!" Josh finally spoke, and all heads turned to him. "Take him away and we won't stand a chance. If he's gone, there might be killings next!"
"Are you sure about that, little boy?" Malfoy said as he glared at Josh suspiciously.
"Why don't you - "
"Calm yourself, Mr. Anderson," Dumbledore said sharply. Josh nodded and went back to being quiet. Dumbledore looked back at Malfoy. "If the govenors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course step aside - "
"But -" stuttered Fudge.
"No!" Josh and Hagrid growled.
Dumbledore had not taken his bright blue eyes off of Malfoy's cold grey ones.
"However," said Dumbledore, speaking very slowly and clearly so that none of them could miss a word. "You will find that I will only truly leave this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."
For a second, Josh was almost sure that Dumbledore's eyes flickered towards the corner behind him.
"Admirable sentiments," Malfoy said, bowing. "We shall miss all your - er - highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope that your successor will manage to prevent any killings."
Malfoy strode to the cabin door, opened it, and bowed Dumbledore out. Fudge, fiddling with his bowler, waited for Hagrid to go ahead of him, but Hagrid stood his ground, took a deep breath, and said carefully, "If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they'd have to do would be ter follow the spiders. That's lead them right! That's all I'm sayin."
Fudge stared at him in amazement.
"All right, i'm coming," said Hagrid, pulling on his moleskin overcoat. But as he was about to follow Fudge through the door, he stopped again and said loudly, "An' someone'll need ter fee Fang while I'm away." And the two left with Josh still standing in the hut alone.
"Wow, they didn't even notice me anymore," Josh murmured to himself. "Weird."
"Yeah it is!"
Josh yelped and jumped when he heard Harry's voice from behind him. He turned around to see Harry and Ron.
"And you're right," Harry said. "With no Dumbledore, there'll be an attack a day." Josh nodded and turned to Ron who was staring at him.
"You think I attacked Hermione, don't you?" Josh asked him.
"I mean, how can I not," Ron said. "You were there. They were petrified and you weren't. Sounds very fishy to me."
Josh sighed heavily. "Look, Ron, I only took my eyes off of them for a second and when i turned, they were petrfied. I didn't tell that monster to do it."
"What did you do then?" Ron growled.
"I told him to go away," Josh said calmly.
"Oh, and he just went away did he?"
"Yeah," Josh said quietly. "He did." Ron looked at Josh, trying to figure out what that meant.
"Look, we don't have time for this," Harry spoke up. "Now, Look!" he said pointing at something. Ron and Josh looked to where he was pointing to see a line of spiders, climbing up the hut wall and out a little crack in the window. "Well, come on. Come on, Fang!" Harry said and headed out the Hut with a lantern.
Ron and Josh turned to look at each other as Harry walked out the door with Fang at his side, a look of fear in Ron's eyes, and a roll of Josh's eyes because of Ron's stupid fear of spiders.
Josh shook his head and quickly followed Harry with Ron in tow, Josh pulled out his wand and using Lumos to light his wand as he walked outside, following behind Harry who carried the huge lantern. From what Josh could see, the spiders were all making their way into the dark forest.
"Come on!" Harry said, and Josh followed without whining, Ron however was the opposite.
"What?" Ron cried, his voice crackling in fear.
"You heard what Hagrid said; 'Follow the spiders,'," Harry repeated, walking ahead as Josh rolled his eyes.
"But they're headed to the Dark Forest!" Ron yelled after him.
"Man up, Ron, and come on!" Josh said. "For Hermione." That seemed to get Ron to go in, but not to stop him from whining.
"Why spiders," Ron whined. "Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies'?"
It took a long time of following the spiders into the dark forest before the three Gryffindors got anywhere. They came to where a bunch of trees were huddled together and their roots created a tunnel which all of the spiders were crawling into.
"Harry, I don't like this… Harry, I don't like this at all!" Ron whined, his voice cracking again as we all stared at the tunnel.
"Shush!" Harry and Josh shushed him.
"Can we go back now?" Ron whispered.
Harry looked over at Ron before sighing and walking toward the tunnel of spiders. "Come on," Harry said, crouching down to go into the tunnel. "You don't see Josh whining like a girl." He told Ron. Josh looked back at Ron and smirked. Ron just ignored him. The three entered the tunnel and a minute later, Josh, Harry, and Ron emerged and they all looked around together.
They were sort of standing into the center of a bowl, which was surrounded by trees and tree roots with large spider webs hanging everywhere. The three Gryffindors continued to follow the spiders until they all disappeared down a hole where surrounded by tree roots.
Crunching and the sound of falling trees sounded as They then heard a deep booming voice coming form the whole. "Who is it?"
"Don't panic," Harry whispered to Ron as he began to wheeze and Josh who gripped his lit wand tighter.
"Hagrid? Is that you?"
"We're friends of Hagrid's," Harry called to the voice.
Suddenly, big, hairy, huge, icky, giant spider legs emerged from the hole, followed by an equally big, hairy, huge, icky, giant spider. "And you? Y- y-you're Aragog aren't you?" Harry asked as Josh and Harry stared at the enormous spider. Josh had never seen one so big. He looked at Ron who was on the verge of crying from fear.
"Yes. Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before," the huge spider named Aragog said.
"He's in trouble. Up at the school, there have been attacks. They think it's Hagrid. They think he opened the Chamber of Secrets… like before," Harry explained.
"That's a lie! Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets!" Aragog yelled at us making Ron whimper and take a step back. Since Ron's wand was broken, Josh thought it would be appropriate to take the rear as Harry was in front.
"Then you're not the monster," Harry asked it.
"No! The monster was born in the castle. I came to Hagrid from a distant land, in the pocket of a traveler," Aragog told Harry.
"Harry, Josh," Ron whined, making only Josh look at him questioningly.
"Shush," Harry hissed at him, yet Josh followed where Ron was looking. Spiders, the size of large dogs and small vehicles were pouring in around them without Harry's notice. "But if you're not the monster, then- then what did kill that girl fifty years ago?" Harry asked the giant spider.
"We do not speak of it. It is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others," Aragog told Josh who had just remembered something, but he was too worried about the spiders that were surrounding them at the moment.
"But have you seen it?" Harry asked.
"I never saw any part of the castle but the box in which Hagrid kept me. The girl was discovered in a bathroom. When I was accused, Hagrid brought me here," It said.
"Harry!" Ron and Josh cried loudly, getting Harry's attention.
"What?" Harry hissed. Ron pointed upward at the spiders dropping down from the trees, making him back up into Ron and Josh moved closer to the two, his wand aimed anywhere he saw movement, which was almost everywhere.
"Well, thank you. We'll just… go," Harry tried, forcing him and his friends all to back up toward the entrance.
"Go? I think not. My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Good-bye, friends of Hagrid," Aragog said.
"Can we panic now?" Ron whined as a spider dropped down in front of the three. Ron squeaked and Harry whacked the thing with the lantern, but unfortunately loosing it to the spider as well.
"Know any spells?" Ron whined to Harry and Josh.
"One, but it's not powerful enough for all of them," Harry said, sounding panicked.
"What is it!" Josh quickly asked as the three were facing different directions and surrounding Fang.
"Arania Exumai," Harry said, and Ron and Josh nodded.
"Where's Hermione when you need her?" Ron cried.
"Don't worry Ron, Me and Harry can do this, just don't try anything with your broken wand," Josh told Ron desprately who nodded while still whimpering.
Suddenly, The three boys heard the roaring of an engine and found the spiders retreating even more from the headlights of a car speeding toward them which stopped in front of the three boys before the doors flew open.
"Let's go!" Harry yelled pushing Ron in front of him and Josh yanked the seat forward and got in. "Arania Exumai!" Harry yelled before jumped in and slamming the door. Spiders dropped on top of the car making it rock. "Go!" he yelled to Ron who was in the Driver's seat.
Ron hit the gas and shifted the stick and the car flew out of the hollow and after a couple of minutes, they landed safely on the ground.
"Glad we're out of there," Ron sighed happily before a spider appeared, biting Ron's neck through the window. All three boys screamed out of terror.
"Arania Exumai!" Harry yelled, and a bright white-ish blue light sprang from his wand and hit the spider, knocking it off of Ron.
"Thanks for that," He said.
"Don't mention it," Harry replied.
Josh looked through the cracked windshield, seeing the long line of spiders staring back at us before the began to charge at the car. "Get us out of here. Now!" he shouted. The car roared to life and spun until we were moving forward, trying to get away from the spiders. "Come on! Come on! Move faster! Go on! Go! Get us in the air," Josh shouted at Ron.
"The flying gear's jammed!" Ron shouted back.
"Come on! Pull!" Harry shouted as he tried to pull the gear with Ron.
"I'm trying!" Ron groaned out.
Josh stared wide eyed as spiders appeared in front of them, trying to head them off. The car slammed into them as Ron and Harry tried to pull the flying gear until finally the car was lifted off the ground and started flying towards the sky. After a few minutes, the car finally crashed down near Hagrid's hut where Harry, Josh, and Ron jumped out and Fang ran out and ran back into Hagrid's hut.
"Follow the spiders! Follow the spiders!" Ron yelled angrily as he came around the car to Harry and Josh's side. "If Hagrid ever gets out of Azkaban, I'll kill him!" He continued to shout as Josh watched the car take off back into the forest on it's own.
"I mean, what was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out?" Ron asked. Josh turned to Harry for the answer as well.
"We know one thing. Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was innocent," Harry said, sounding guilty and happy at the same time. Josh and Ron shared a look and nodded.
"Oh, and just becasue we had that little adventure together," Josh started at Ron who looked back with his eyebrows raised. "Doesn't mean we're friends again."
"I feel the same way," Ron agreed with his arms crossed.
"Well, at least you two agree on one thing," Harry said with a sigh.
"Shut up, Harry." Ron and Josh said in unison.