A/N: Believe me when I say this chapter was meant to be a double update! Seriously guys. I had almost completed this one as well. And then, exams rolled over and this was laid back. And so many reviews! I'm thrilled!
Dragged ya down below
Down to the devil's show
To be his guest forever
Peace of mind is less than never
Hate to twist your mind
But God ain't on your side
And old acquaintance severed
Burn the world your last endeavor
Nightmare- A7X
Harry woke up to find his vision blurry and his whole body aching. He felt weak and sweaty all over. His body temperature was high, yet, he was shivering. There was an inexplicable wish to go back to sleep and never wake up. This place or whatever had bit him had done something. He moaned out and shook his head.
The events came rushing down in his head just before he had collapsed on the floor and eventually fell asleep. Involuntary, he flicked his shoulder and cried out in pain. Suddenly, he head distinct thumps of footsteps approaching his way and Harry groaned. He fought desperately against his bonds, but he couldn't get rid of them. They were elastic but just as strong. Just in the corner of his eyes he could make out a huge web and he was just in the center of the web.
Desperation took over as he began to shake violently, all the sharp stabs of pain ignored. He wanted to free himself. And just as he had begun, it ended. He was thoroughly and utterly exhausted.
"No-rr use fighting-rrr, Serrrrrpent King." Harry looked up panting and saw six big eyes staring back at him maliciously. "Whe haver waited longr to tassste your blrrood." The voice boomed and the next moment, harry felt a something pierce his body and suction inside his arms.
'That creepy spider is sucking me dry!'
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT!
He watched helplessly, silently pleading him to stop. Only after a minute or so, when Harry's vision began to fade, the spider violently withdrew his mouth. The only thought before the darkness claimed him was that he needed to escape from here as soon as possible.
Frost was hysteric, hissing out at the snakes gathered. There were a bunch of snakes ranging from a one-inched muck-python to a runespoor. She smelled a familiar smell she came to associate with being close to wizards of his master. She commanded the large army to follow the trail to the familiar scent in hopes that perhaps, they could help where she couldn't.
"GREAT SALAZAR!" Draco shrieked at the huge army of snakes and aimed his wand.
"Wh're iz he?" Hagrid came lumbering forward and stopped at the sight of snakes looking up to him.
Frost hissed at him once and slithered in opposite direction trying to make them understand to follow her.
"I think it wants us to follow them." Draco said uncertainly.
"Of course you dim-witted slimy stash of blond monstrosity!" Frost hissed furiously.
"It was just ahead of here Professor; I saw that black demon trying to attack Harry." Draco said following Hagrid into the forest. They approached a familiar spot when Draco confirmed, "This is it, Professor. Wait…There was a unicorn here too! Where'd it go? Look there! It's his wand!" He said running forward and picking it up.
Hagrid looked down to the snakes and saw them slithering towards deeper into the forest. He turned around and saw the boy trembling with fear.
"Listen 'ere, Boy. Go back ter the castle. Fang will guide yer back ter the grounds. If yer stuck somewhere, send up red sparks five times and teachers will instantly come to find ye. Knoe the incantation fer the sparks?" He asked gently.
Draco who was shivering with no small amount for fear and guilt, for leaving behind Harry in the first place abruptly stomped down all emotions and sneered hard.
"Only squibs need incantation for sending up sparks."
"Right yer are then. Go on…back to the castle and tell Professor Dumbledore what happened. Off you go fang, with him." Hagrid made shooing gestures and Draco hightailed from there. The forest was creepy and he felt as if someone was watching him from everywhere.
Draco re-entered Hogwarts, almost sprinting towards the Grand Staircase and collided with some object. He looked up and found a scowling Professor McGonagall. Before Professor could say anything, Draco burst out loudly, "Professor, It's Potter-Harry, he's been taken by demon!"
Harry woke up to the familiar sensation of grogginess and laziness. Pain scorched his arms and legs, slowly spreading towards his shoulders and thighs. He looked around to the familiar surroundings and groaned out. He was still stuck here! If no one came to rescue him, he would be reduced to the skeleton!
He tried to shake his body limbs and grew horrified to find that he couldn't do it. There was a sharp stab of pain if he even attempted to move the limbs in near vicinity of the other limbs. His arms and legs were absolutely numb!
'Venom.' Harry thought resigned. The next moment he thought desperately of some sort of measure to counteract the venom in his body. He looked desperately for a wand anywhere they might've kept it but then snorted in disbelief. There were monsters. They wouldn't care for the wand. It wasn't like he knew spells to heal himself. But he did know ParselMagic to heal wounds. The only thing was he had never tried to take steps necessary for practicing the art.
For one, he had to find his Magical core or whatever that meant. He hadn't had a clue what that meant and how to find it. He didn't have the patience to do that too. Back at Grimmauld Place, he could always find something more interesting to do and not read the boring instructions. Even when he was bored, he was not enough interested in spending long hours 'finding' something which he, Harry had no idea about.
It was clear to him that he only had one chance to do that before he was reduced to pile of bones. He closed his eyes and tried to map out the source from where his magic came from. He sighed. This was going to take a while.
'It's not as if you are going somewhere.' A voice spoke in his mind and Harry agreed to himself.
"Profe'ssor Dumbledore sir." Hagrid croaked. Dumbldore turned around to face him. He had been recently apprised of the events and was worried.
"Did the centaurs say anything, Hagrid?" He asked calmly.
"They sa'id sme-thing 'bout acromantula horde's covering all around 'em and talking 'Arry away." Hagrid sobbed.
"There now, Hagrid." Dumbledore consoled, "Surely you can talk to Aragog to let Harry go." He pressed.
"I'll talk to 'im right now." Hagrid nodded and walked away deeper into the forest.
"Should we tell the Ministry, Albus?" Minerva seemed anxious. Dumbledore seem to think about it and then shook his head.
"Not now." Dumbledore said dismissively and walked away.
"Why it's NOT WORKING!" Harry raged. He had been at it for hours and it wasn't yielding any results what-so-ever. He hung his head in frustration and winced in pain. His neck was burning if he made any attempt to move. Harry knew the feeling; it was like muscles grinding against themselves, and causing him internal bruising. There was the strange burning in his arms and legs. It was getting unbearable. Additionally he could see the blackness of the venom slowly spreading through the legs.
It was a race against time- Venom versus Harry Potter.
Every time he would try dwell deep, he would feel extremely vulnerable and then he could go no further. He felt utterly defenseless; his mind was of the strong opinion that it was in his best interest not to fall asleep or even close the eyes.
'Great Salazar!' Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Are…Are those SPIDER BABIES!" He shrieked. They were crawling up to the huge web, inching closer every second. He struggled furiously against his binds cursing as many curses he knew but soon he felt something crawling up his legs and arms.
The pincers dug painfully into his body and his struggles weakened. 'I won't die like this! I refuse…to die like this!' Harry thought furiously. He could see the spiders trying to rip out his flesh and he couldn't do a thing about it.
'I was born to survive…I…was… taught to survive…' Harry panicked and something deep strummed his core. And just as it had happened with the troll, it happened again.
He felt incredibly cold and focused. His eyes turned to slits and he looked at himself. He could see aura's pulsing around his body and he could feel a light right in the center of his navel. He closed his eyes and let a strand of Frostfyre loose.
The pain tripled in intensity. Harry clenched his jaw, refusing to let out a scream. The spiders fled at once sensing intense cold all around. The spider webs around his arms disintegrated and he was unceremoniously flipped 180 degrees, head first towards the ground. But the solid earth didn't come.
He opened his eyes and saw. . . Vernon Dursley?
His eyes glinted oddly.
"Like it, boy." Harry flinched, horribly. Vernon laughed loud. Harry wanted nothing to do but hide or run far away from that. . . Voice. It promised him of pain heaped with so much malicious pleasure.
"You are not going anywhere." He continued in soft, sinister voice.
"I'll kill you VERNON!" Harry roared. He struggled with all his might. He didn't care for the pain but. . . but it was all in vain. He couldn't do anything.
He certainly wanted to cry out in frustration and in despair. The pain was now almost unbearable and Harry wished he would just pass out. His eyes were about to close when he heard the loud thumps he had come to know with the big giant spider.
He just wished this would never have happened.
"What's wrong Draco? You look like you've seen a Ghost!" Pansy said sounding concerned.
"Potter-"Draco said gasping for air. He had run all the way to the dungeons clutching Potter's wand.
"What about him?" Pansy asked a bit irritated.
"He's-"Draco looked up and said in an un-naturally soft whisper,looking up somber. "-He's been taken by a demon." There were gasps of shock and surprise all around him accompanied by mutterings of disbelief.
'And I left him there! Running away… scared…' Draco said internally. He collapsed on the sofa staring at the wand of Potter as if it would offer some reassurance of Potter being safe. His mind was in whirlwind of thoughts and he was in no place to sort them out. What should he do? Should he alert the ministry? Should he alert his father…Or should he wait for teachers to find him out?
"What happened, Draco? Tell us from the beginning." Daphne said soothingly sitting beside him. Draco took a deep shuddering breath and began filling them about the events happened in the forbidden forest.
A day passed in flurry of activities and anxious anticipation. Teachers were busy finding a way to make sure that no 'funny' rumors made it across the Hogwarts. The official version of the events was that Harry Potter had suffered an injury while serving a detention at the forbidden forest and was now resting in the Hospital Wing.
The most delicious rumors were heading past the students. Slytherins were wary of any attention directed towards them. Draco had told them almost everything and to an extent downplayed his action of not able to help Harry instead of running away. Slytherins were telling the close groups of their friends about Harry Potter being taken by Demons. Snape had warned them not to tell other students of other houses.
The other rumor that made across was of that Centaurs had taken hostage of Harry Potter and wanted him to be hailed as a new savior. The popular rumor across the Gryffindor table, spread by Weasley to whom anyone would listen-that Harry Potter was killing the unicorns and they had decided to the take matters into their own hands to impart justice to a 'Dark Wizard' like Potter.
"Pro'fessor Dumble'dore sir." Hagrid croaked.
"What is it, Hagrid?" Dumbledore said with false calm. The day was almost over and Hagrid had just returned with his talks with Aragog. He was getting impatient.
"He's says 'e won't give 'im up!" Hagrid wailed. Dumbledore sighed in resignation. "Says they'll devour 'im."
Dumbledore stood up and started pacing around. This was certainly bad news. Too much depended on Harry Potter to be dead by the hands of a simple Acromantula.
Well, he was relatively speaking.
Acromantulas certainly were not so simple. He was now regretting letting Hagrid taking them to forbidden forest. But the punishment seemed fit at that moment.
Why? Why oh why Minerva approved of sending them into forbidden forest in the first place! But forbidden forest was safe!
Well, almost.
There was an unsaid agreement that creatures in the forest would not seek to harm Hogwarts students and the centaurs were always on guard to protect students if necessary.
'Harry Potter must not die now…' Dumbledore mentally whispered. His thoughts zoomed at the wording of the Prophecy. 'Either must die at the hands of the other'.
Dumbledore looked at the instruments rotating and whistling away. Atleast Harry was alive now and Dumbledore had to do something about it quickly.
"Come with me, Hagrid. We must talk to Arragog."
"Arright, headmaster." Hagrid sniffed. "I dunno they'll listen. Only Arragog listens to me." Hagrid said most of it to himself.
"I'll say!" Weasley said walking with Thomas Dean and Seamus Finnegan. "Potter got what he deserved!"
Draco's pace slowed down and his left hand gave a small twitch. Theodore, Blaise and Goyle slowed down. Crabbe turned to look at Draco.
"Malfoy! Eh Malfoy!" Weasley barked. Draco stopped and turned around.
"What?" Draco said in a deadly calm tone.
"No witty retorts now?" Weasley sneered and added further, "Sad that ickle Potter got whisked away by centaurs?" Dean laughed nervously but Ron was oblivious to it. "I knew that Potter wasn't any good with a wand much less a wizard. Makes one wonder how he got rid of You-Know-Who?" Ron said in a tone that screamed of false wonder and amazement.
Draco's fists clenched but he didn't give any outward response but his hand suddenly went deathly still.
"Miss Potter?" Weasley sneered. Ron didn't realize that Dean and Seamus were slowly stepping back trying to avoid the confrontation.
"THAT'S IT!" Draco shouted, "Crabbe, Goyle grab them!"
"In the classroom," Draco directed. The two Gryffindors were dragged inside. The Slytherins filed in orderly.
"Lock the door," Draco ordered.
Theo stood guard on the door while the three Gryffindors were struggling to get free.
"You can't do this, Malfoy!" Weasley shouted angrily, struggling against Crabbe's iron grip.
"You should have kept your mouth shut, Weasley. Now not only do you have to suffer, but your friend does as well."
"Now wait just a second here," Finnigan protested.
Draco pointed his wand and cast his favorite hex, "Furunculus!"
Blaise was fuming with anger. Weasley just didn't know when to quit. He had had it with him calling names against Slytherin, holding out it against the whole bunch of them. He was aching to cast some hexes of his own at Weasley, but Theodore and Draco was casting for all they were worth. It would be enough.
The next few minutes were not pleasant for Weasley, Thomas and Finnigan. Held firmly by Crabbe and Goyle, they couldn't fight back or even dodge the hexes and jinxes that Theodore cast at them. Their cries of pain, which they'd made an effort to hold back at first, echoed loudly off the stone walls.
After Theodore worn out, Draco hit Finnigan with about a half-dozen hexes. Weasley took a full dozen before another Boils Hex fizzled out before reaching him. Draco's next two spells also failed to materialize. Breathing heavy, sweat glistening off his brow, his usually neatly combed hair nearly as untidy and he staggered and nearly fell. Weasley and Finnigan were allowed to collapse on the floor, crying.
"Stay out of our way, Weasley or else…" Draco said in gasps, spitting on the boy. He turned back to his friends. "Let's get out of here. I'm knackered."
He led the way out through the open door where they came to a sudden halt. Professor Snape was standing in the corridor, arms crossed, and looking very imposing.
"S-sir," Draco stammered.
Snape said nothing, keeping the pressure on. They continued to sweat. Theodore and Blaise were panicking inside, sure that this meant detention, or even expulsion.
"All in all a neat bit of work, Mister Malfoy," Snape finally said, "but you might want to pick a different room next time. I'll deal with those three. You lot get out of here."
He swept past them into the classroom and slammed the door shut.
The boys looked at each other. With one mind, they dashed back to the common room and began to laugh.
"I-I-I," Theodore said, trying to control himself. "I thought we were dead for sure."
"What happened?" Tracy looked very concerned.
"Weasley tried to start trouble," Draco began, "and failed utterly at it." He couldn't keep talking for his laughter.
Blaise picked up the tale. "We dragged him and Finnigan back into the Potions classroom, and Draco gave them all the hexes they deserved."
Theo laughed so hard he fell out of his chair and onto the floor, kicking his feet weakly. Tracy began laughing at him.
Blaise chimed in. "It didn't take more than a few minutes, but when we left, Snape was watching us."
"Oh boy," Millie said. "Did you get in any trouble?"
"Not a whit," he replied. "I thought it would be detention and lots of points for sure."
"I'll say Theo," Draco said regaining some composure. "That was some spell work out there. Never seen you so angry before."
Theodore puffed out his chest and smiled.
"They got what they deserved. Weasley was begging to be shown his place." Blaise hissed and gave a smirk. There was mutterings of agreement all around.
"Hope Potter's fine." Draco said in a soft voice. Feeling of guilt and anger welled up in him but he shoved them away, arguing that he couldn't have possibly done anything better.
With that, Draco sealed his place as a leader, for the rest of the year.
The legs of acromantula touched Harry and the next moment, he was bound by white silky thread below his neck. He could not move and he was now finding hard to breath. The hairs on the legs of the spider brushed against his face and he had a sudden urge to vomit.
"No one-rrr escapesss frrrrom heeerrrreee.." Arragog roared. Harry looked around in despair and resignation to find huge spiders all around him.
'This is it.' Harry thought. 'They're going to kill me now…' Just as the thought passed by, he could feel the spiders nearing. And to think that he had just learnt how to conjure Frostfyre!
Well if this was the way he was going to die he would take them all with him!
"Any laaassst worrrrrds… Sertrrrpent King?" Arragog's deep voice rumbled. The voice grated his nerves further. Harry looked up, the green-emerald pupil burned intensely and a nasty smile crossed his face.
"Burn in hell."
He went all out.
The next moment fire lit up around him and the net crumbled down instantly. Harry forced the forstfyre through his palms willing it to incinerate anything and everything around him. The sight was terrifying and yet the odd blue blur of light around him, fit him fine.
He took a staggering step forward. He was on pure adrenalin. Gradually, he got up. Step after step, away from the burning mass of spiders. The shrieks and screams of them helped Harry to stay alert and not succumb to sleep. His right arm wasn't working. His shoulder burned at the slightest movement he made. His neck was stiff and he couldn't turn around without causing himself pain. His left leg was not responsive. He was finding it difficult to limp all the way! His clothes were burned off but he didn't care. All he wanted to go away from here. He was amazed that he didn't actually get burn but his body seem to shiver from the unnatural cold around him. He chanced a look back and saw to his horror that Arragog had somehow withstood his forstfyre attack and was gaining forward. Harry could see a part of his leg was missing and so was a part of his front leg.
He smiled and staggered forward as quickly as he could. Two left turns and a right turn later, Harry could taste the air around of the woods. All he had to do was to make it above the forest. It was easier said than done.
Dumbledore was engaged in a heated battle outside the area surrounding the entrance of catacombs. The acromantula had refused to give entrance or any type of audience to their king Arragog. Things had quickly degraded from there when Dumbledore raised his wand and Acromantula, sizes big and small charged towards the pair of them.
After firing repeated rounds of 'Arania Exumai' Dumbledore was getting wary of hordes them descending endlessly towards them. Hagrid could only watch in awe and in sorrow as Dumbledore cast a wide arc of the spell quickly followed by giant blasts of fireballs. There was a quick dispersion of Acromantula from all around and now they were attacking from all directions. Dumbledore and Hagrid were literally surrounded.
The last thing which Dumbledore did before whisking Hagrid with him was cast a flame arc all around burning as many acromantula possible. His feet landed back in the school grounds and Hagrid could clearly see the signs of fatigue on the Headmaster. His breath was hitched and his forehead was covered in sweat. They had been at it for hours fighting the hordes and on top of it, Dumbledore hadn't slept in at all the previous day.
"Do you need to sit down, sir?" Hagrid asked gearing in action.
"No Hagrid. I must tell the ministry to send aurors in the forbidden forest." Dumbledore straightened and rushed towards the school.
Frost and the hoard of snakes slithered as fast as they could towards the den, which now, lay in ruins. There were scorch marks all around and smoke lay thick in the woods giving the forbidden forest a strange haunted look.
Frost hissed in displeasure as the wave of acrid smell hit her tongue and with the lightning fast speed slithered ahead. Frost slithered over acromantulas easily, her whole body engulfed in her inherent forstfyre.
The snakes left behind stopped momentarily to look an acromantula burned in half. The next moment, their legs were burned in similar fashion and it fell to the ground screaming in agony. Snakes shared one last glimpse of the battlefield and saw the Frost-winder going through the same motions with other and they commenced their own.
The acromantulas didn't know what hit them. One moment they were marching forward and the next moment, a errie blue light raced towards them. It felt like a wisp of cold wind before the terrible chill bruned their hides and legs to dust. They could only watch as the horde of snakes descended. They were soon to be feasted upon.
Harry inhaled the fresh air but could only despair in return. The opening was above and his legs had given up. He was reduced to moving like a one year old boy who'd cry out if any sand granule would pierce his delicate scabbard knees.
He instinctively rolled right and the next moment felt the earth thrum as something pierce the ground he was just on. Arragog's pincer dug deep into the earth and he was virtually trapped. Arragog gave a piercing shriek and Harry felt his head split in half. His vision colored and the headache reached a new level. His ears were grown deaf and he could only hear a sound produced in fine-tuned forks.
Harry could only watch as all six of Arroagog's eyes seem to bore into him, trying to kill him. His attempt to remove the pincer off the ground and, a part of his pincer dropped down and Arragog's was pushed backwards due to its own force.
"Irrr see you againrrrr. Serrrrrpent King. Yourrr willrrr pay." Arragog rumbled in a deep tone.
Harry's eyes became unfocused and he felt darkness flowed over his eyes. The only thing he was aware off was his breathing and he held on to it, despite the pain and the darkness pulling him inside.
"He'll be fine, Albus." Minerva said wringing her hands. Minerva had felt tense since the news. It soon eclipsed in worry and escalated to fear as Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all time failed to battle the hordes of acromantula and returned empty handed. How was this possible? A simple detention had gone so sour.
Besides her, Severus Snape could only envision two possibilities before him. It was well-known fact that he was a death eater and if, IF, Harry Potter was found dead there would be very through inquiries from the ministry as well as the board of Governers. The most probable thing that would occur would be- if the fortunes smiled on him, was to be fired from the post of Potion master. The other, he didn't even want to think of.
Death eaters would be proud of him, or so he hoped, at first. But Dumbledore was going on about how Dark Lord wasn't dead and if he managed to come back… A shudder crept through his spine. Dark Lord wouldn't just give a pat on the back and tell him all was fine and well, would he? That he had managed to kill Harry Potter that Dark Lord was to do so. He had seen enough torture to last a life-time and he didn't think he could go through that, again.
"It is all your fault, Minerva!" Scowled Snape venting some of the nervousness off. "I'm telling you Albus right now, that once the Minister arrives I'll not stand for this. Not only, I was not informed by her-" Snape jabbed a finger straight to Minerva's face, "that Draco Malfoy and Potter were to spend a evening's detention with Filch but Hagrid? And that too in forbidden forest IN THE NIGHT!? BUT ALSO THE PLACE WHERE A CREATURE WAS HUNTING DOWN UNICORNS!"
A trill sounded through the room calming everyone's temper down. Snape felt a minor irritation from his left fore-arm but retained his composure.
The door burst open and auror burst in, stumbling forward.
"We found him!"
The non-descript auror had run all the way from the ground to the headmaster's office. When he burst in the room to deliver an important message, he had atleast expected a pat on the back. But, all the three of them lunged on him.
"WHERE IS HE?" The auror mumbled a reply and he was then shoved away and all three ran out of the office. In the silence of the room he thought about how strange it was that Harry Potter was literally found besides a snake pit and what an interesting tit-bit of information it would make.
But now he wasn't going to tell it to them, after they were so rude to him in the first place! Really, least they could do was keep up a proper decorum.
A/N: Let me know what you thought of this chapter! Review!