Chapter 15
The Encounter
Harry suddenly awoke covered in a cold sticky liquid. The effect of Grishnac, the eight-foot spider, had worn off but Harry found that he still couldn't move. Grishnac was nowhere to be seen but there was something just standing in the middle of the room. "H...Hello" stuttered Harry, still unable to move, "can you help me get out of this?"
The figure turned round to reveal a manly physique with a difference. Harry gasped. The man had no face or even a head for that matter. He was dressed in a black cloak with a hood draped disconcertingly over the shoulders. "Ah, awake at last. Good, good." Harry was stunned. The body with no head was talking.
"I am Professor Gull. I was a teacher here until a pupil called Lucius Malfoy decided it would be funny to blow up my potions laboratory." Harry stared in amazement, "That's how I lost my head." He turned towards a large wooden door and called out, "Grishnac! Come forth!" The huge wooden door opened slowly, creaking as it did. From inside there was a loud hissing as Grishnac's fiery yellow eyes became visible in the darkness. Harry struggled to break free.
At this Grishnac's two front legs appeared from the darkness. Harry grabbed his wand and ripped open the sticky cover that had imprisoned him. Jumping to his feet Harry shouted "OPTIM DRACONUM!" A bright light spurted from the end of Harry's wand, knocking the spider backwards. It quickly righted itself.
Retreating from the horror before him, Harry was shocked to find himself backed up against a wall. The eight-foot spider rapidly advanced upon him. "I need a better spell," thought Harry. "If I don't, I can't harm him."
The spider was right above him.
"I'd say you have about two minutes left of your life, Potter," cried Gull with delight. Grishnac's ugly grin revealed his giant fangs, yellow and sharp. A liquid dripped, smouldering a hole in the floor as it hit.
That instant, Harry leaped to the side, pointed his wand fiercely and cried, "IMPREVA EVARASKSA!" A bolt of lightning flew across the room and struck the spider on the head immediately turning him to ashes.
Gull was furious. "How did someone of my power create a monster as beautiful as Grishnac, only to be destroyed by a silly, little boy? How did the greatest sorcerer in the world fail to kill you and leave you with only a scar? You will die eventually Potter, that wound is more than enough to kill you." With this he disappeared.
Harry fell to his knees exhausted. Ron and Hermione ran in just as he fainted upon the floor. "Harry! Harry!" cried Hermione. "We had better get him to Madame Pomfrey" she said to Ron, noticing the huge bite mark on his left arm. The bite was oozing pus, Harry's arm was red and had swollen to three times its normal size. He was sweating feverishly; his face had gone very pale. He felt himself slipping away into the nightmare of sleep.
The Encounter
Harry suddenly awoke covered in a cold sticky liquid. The effect of Grishnac, the eight-foot spider, had worn off but Harry found that he still couldn't move. Grishnac was nowhere to be seen but there was something just standing in the middle of the room. "H...Hello" stuttered Harry, still unable to move, "can you help me get out of this?"
The figure turned round to reveal a manly physique with a difference. Harry gasped. The man had no face or even a head for that matter. He was dressed in a black cloak with a hood draped disconcertingly over the shoulders. "Ah, awake at last. Good, good." Harry was stunned. The body with no head was talking.
"I am Professor Gull. I was a teacher here until a pupil called Lucius Malfoy decided it would be funny to blow up my potions laboratory." Harry stared in amazement, "That's how I lost my head." He turned towards a large wooden door and called out, "Grishnac! Come forth!" The huge wooden door opened slowly, creaking as it did. From inside there was a loud hissing as Grishnac's fiery yellow eyes became visible in the darkness. Harry struggled to break free.
At this Grishnac's two front legs appeared from the darkness. Harry grabbed his wand and ripped open the sticky cover that had imprisoned him. Jumping to his feet Harry shouted "OPTIM DRACONUM!" A bright light spurted from the end of Harry's wand, knocking the spider backwards. It quickly righted itself.
Retreating from the horror before him, Harry was shocked to find himself backed up against a wall. The eight-foot spider rapidly advanced upon him. "I need a better spell," thought Harry. "If I don't, I can't harm him."
The spider was right above him.
"I'd say you have about two minutes left of your life, Potter," cried Gull with delight. Grishnac's ugly grin revealed his giant fangs, yellow and sharp. A liquid dripped, smouldering a hole in the floor as it hit.
That instant, Harry leaped to the side, pointed his wand fiercely and cried, "IMPREVA EVARASKSA!" A bolt of lightning flew across the room and struck the spider on the head immediately turning him to ashes.
Gull was furious. "How did someone of my power create a monster as beautiful as Grishnac, only to be destroyed by a silly, little boy? How did the greatest sorcerer in the world fail to kill you and leave you with only a scar? You will die eventually Potter, that wound is more than enough to kill you." With this he disappeared.
Harry fell to his knees exhausted. Ron and Hermione ran in just as he fainted upon the floor. "Harry! Harry!" cried Hermione. "We had better get him to Madame Pomfrey" she said to Ron, noticing the huge bite mark on his left arm. The bite was oozing pus, Harry's arm was red and had swollen to three times its normal size. He was sweating feverishly; his face had gone very pale. He felt himself slipping away into the nightmare of sleep.