House: Slytherin
Category: Drabble
Year: Prefect #1
Word Count: 439
Prompt: [Creature] Acromantula
A/N: This is ridiculous, but so I do not lose points, there are various dark themes such as horror, suspense, and AU in this fic. Yes, AU is a dark theme XD
A/N #2: Thank you Kristina for beta-ing!
oO0Oo
The moon shone down on the Forbidden Forest, its harsh silvery light casting strange dancing shadows upon the thin, tapered, finger-like branches which reached out, as if trying to pluck unwary travellers from their paths. Monstrous tree trunks loomed in the darkness, and the quiet rustle of leaves as various creatures moved through the night echoed in James's ears.
The Forest was beautiful at night.
And for tonight, he was one of its denizens. Tonight, he could prance through its depths unmolested. With a low groan, the trees shifted in the wind, allowing the light of the full moon to reach the forest floor. Its harsh light illuminated James, and he blinked in the sudden brightness; then, he heard it. A heart-wrenching cry of almost unbearable loneliness echoed throughout the entire forest.
It was Remus. His howl spoke of pain and beauty hand in hand, of both the curse and the peace of lycanthropy. James held still, listening to his friend call upon the moon… then the leaves behind him rustled. James spun, ready to charge whichever creature had decided he looked delectable… but there was nothing. Yet in the shadowy darkness of the forest, something glimmered.
What was it? His body tense, James cautiously stepped forward. His hoof brushed against something soft and sticky; looking down, he saw a cable or silvery silk as thick as his foreleg. What… what was that?
The leaves rustled again, and James stumbled backwards, his four slender legs tangling on each other. He hurriedly regained his footing, but by then it was too late — when he raised his head, he saw pincers as large as his horns looming above him, the spittle coating them hanging down almost to the forest floor. Raising his gaze, he met the eight bulbous eyes which stared unblinkingly at him… whinnying in shock and alarm, James reared back, throwing his forelegs before him, hoping to impale the monstrous spider's eyes—
But the pincers snapped shut around his leg.
James bleated in distress, thrashing in the acromantula's hold as it slowly and inexorably dragged him closer to its mouth… then, a flash of silvery grey darted between James and the spider, and gashes appeared upon the acromantula's flesh. It released James, turning to face its assailant.
James turned as well, swivelling to see Remus in the moonlight, his canines bared and his claws unsheathed. Remus snarled, almost foaming at the mouth, his amber eyes feral and merciless… then he charged the acromantula, and all James could think was, If it weren't for Remus, Sirius would be writing my tombstone, and it would say: the spider ate well.