Chapter 18: Spinning a Web of Truth

As summer arrived on the grounds of Hogwarts castle, the mood inside the castle improved; except for Neville, Harry, and Ron. The sight of Hagrid's empty hut was a constant reminder that he was absent, only less obvious to his empty chair at the staff table at dinner. The only thing that made matters worse was the fact that Madam Pomfrey barred any visitors to the hospital wing.

"I'm sorry, boys. I can't risk someone attacking these poor people again." Madam Pomfrey shook her head, shooing them away.

One person seemed to be happy about the headmaster being gone. Malfoy spent the next Potions class gloating over how his father helped suspend Dumbledore. "Professor, I'm sure I can convince my father to make you headmaster next. He is after all, a governor, and I have spoken so fondly about you to him." He said, loudly enough for the whole class to hear.

"Now, now, Draco. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will be back with us before long." Professor Richman chided, a small smile playing across his lips as he swept around the dungeon.

As Harry, Ron, and Neville packed their bags and let the dungeon, Harry turned to them as they were escorted by Richman to their next class, Herbology. "I've been thinking about the last words Dumbledore and Hagrid said before they left…"

"Yeah, what about it?" Ron asked.

"Hagrid's is easy enough, just follow the spiders. But I don't get what Dumbledore meant." Harry frowned.

"Following the spiders is easier said than done. Have you noticed that there has been no sign of spiders since the attacks?" Neville asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Without the spiders, we can't take Hagrid's advice. We'll have to keep an eye out for them." Harry pointed out, quietly.

Richman escorted the Gryffindors to Herbology and left to take the Slytherins to their next class. As the three gathered around the nearest plant they were working with for that lesson, Ernie leaned over toward them. "Look, Neville, I'm sorry I thought you were the Heir of Slytherin. I know you wouldn't attack Hermione."

Neville looked around, noticing that Justin and Hermione's absence was more obvious in Herbology class. "It's okay, Ernie. I don't blame you for believing it was me." He gave a small smile, which Ernie returned.

Neville was disrupted by Harry, who whacked him with a trowel. "Hey, what was that?" He grumbled, turning to Harry.

But Harry was pointing to the window ledge of the greenhouse, where a line of spiders were scuttling up the wall and through the window. "They look like they're heading to the forest." He said, following the line of sight.

"We can't skive class to follow them, we'll get caught for certain." Neville pointed out, concerned.

"Lockhart's next, I'm sure we can figure out some way to get away from him." Ron muttered. "He'd do anything for you, Neville."

"Don't remind me." Neville muttered darkly.

After lunch, they had Defense Against the Arts. Lockhart was escorting the Gryffindors to their next class, complaining loudly about having to take time out of his schedule. "I don't see why I have to escort you students to your next class. Hagrid attacked those students, and I'm sure when they wake up, that's the first thing they'll say."

"You're right." Harry said at once, making the other students stare. "We're almost there, there's no need to escort us all the way there."

"Good point, Harry. I'll leave you here to go-er-finish my lesson plan." Lockhart bustled away.

"More like he's going to curl his hair." Harry muttered, as the class moved on, leaving the three of them behind. "Let's go, and keep an eye out for the spiders."

The three of them hurried out of the castle, not meeting anyone on their way. At the greenhouses, they spotted the line of spiders scurrying toward the forest. They followed carefully, entering the forest. Soon the forest enclosed on them, leaving the forest dark as night. "Lumos!" Harry whispered, lighting the tip of his wand. Neville did the same.

"Sorry, I don't think I should." Ron said sheepishly, holding up his Spellotaped wand.

"Good idea, we don't want any mishaps." Harry nodded. "Stay close."

The three boys continued following the line of spiders through the forest by the light of the two wands. They ventured further than any of them had ever gone before in their previous trips into the forest. The spiders scattered finally in a little grove deep in the heart of the forest. "Where did they lead us?" Neville asked, shining his lit wand up into the trees. Great white cobwebs hung from the branches above, giving him a sense of unease.

"H-Harry? N-Neville?" Ron stammered, sounding terrified. Neville felt a tug on his robe sleeve.

"Shh, I'm trying to figure out where we are." Neville hissed.

"H-Harry!" Ron pleaded, sounding more terrified by the second.

"What?" Harry demanded, turning around. His mouth dropped open and he tugged on Neville's robe sleeve as well.

"What?" Neville asked, turning to see what the alarm was. His lit wand caught dozens of shining black eyes as the narrow beams of light encompassed spiders crawling into the grove. Enormous spiders crawled in to surround them as a gravelly voice grumbled, over clicking sounds, "Who goes there?"

The three boys spun around and saw a giant of a spider appear at the other entrance, which was covered in spiderwebs. Each of the eight eyes was milky and they realized the spider was blind.

"Strangers." Another voice sounded, the clicking more prominent this time. "Three boys."

"Kill them. They interrupted my sleep." The blind spider grumbled.

"Hagrid sent us!" Harry called out in panic. "He sent us to find you!"

"Hagrid sent you? He knows not to send men into my forest." This time the spider's voice sounded intrigued.

"Hagrid is in trouble. The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again and he is being blamed." Neville piped up. "They think he opened it."

"Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He has been kind to all creatures, even me. He hatched me from an egg he received as a boy." There was almost a fondness in the spider's voice as he spoke this time.

"If Hagrid didn't open the Chamber of Secrets, who did?" Neville asked, confused.

"I do not know." The spider sounded angry this time, the pincer clicking so fast it was hard to decipher the words.

"Wait, if you're not the monster within the chamber, what is?" Harry inquired.

"We spiders do not speak of it. It is an ancient creature that plagues our kind. We fear no other creature more than it. Fifty years ago, the last time that it roamed the castle, it killed a girl. She was found in a bathroom and Hagrid was blamed for someone else's actions and he placed me in the forest for protection. Thanks to him, I found my wife Mosag, and we spawned a whole generation of spiders." The spider clicked its pincers rapidly as it spoke.

Ron whimpered, terrified. Harry and Neville noticed spiders large and small were closing in on them from all sides. "Thank you for your help. We shall take our leave and save Hagrid." Neville responded, backing a way a few steps.

"Go?" The spider asked, confused. "I think not."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, nervously.

"I do not hurt Hagrid out of respect for him. But when fresh meat wanders into my forest, I cannot help but deny my children the feast. Good-bye, Hagrid's friend." The spider was already crawling back into its webbed cavern as the spiders swarmed closer.

Ron whimpered again as the three of them huddled together, terrified. Suddenly, twin beams of light shone in over their heads from behind them, causing the spiders to flee from the illumination.

"What is that?" Harry asked, turning around and shielding his eyes.

"I don't believe it!" Ron croaked, recognizing the source. "It's Dad's car!"

"What?" Harry asked, shocked. He hurried after Ron, Neville trailing after him. The old Ford Anglia was idling in the clearing, with its paint scratched, dents in several places, and covered in leaves, twigs, and dirt. "It looks like it's gone wild."

"Who cares, do you think it can get us out of here before the spiders come back?" Neville asked.

"Don't remind me." Ron moaned, as he got into the front seat. Harry took shotgun and Neville slipped into the backseat. "Do you reckon we should-?"

Before Ron could finish his sentence, however, the car shifted gears on its own and shot backward, spinning around to face the other direction. It trundled through the forest and onto the moonlit grounds. Once the car stopped, the three boys got out of the car and watched it disappear back into the forest.

"Well, that was a waste of time. Follow the spiders! If he ever gets out of Azkaban, I'm going to kill him myself!" Ron grumbled, looking pale.

"It wasn't a complete waste of time." Neville said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, looking at him.

"We know one thing. Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He's innocent." Neville answered, looking between them.

Dread settled on the three of them as they realized the implications. The real culprit was still out there, waiting to attack again.