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Part 17The day was bright and clear, there were a few clouds in the sky and the ground was hard, but not too hard. It was the perfect weather for a Quidditch Match and Harry was happy to be playing. It should turn out to be a very exciting match indeed.
The entire castle was on their way down the Quidditch pitch, Ron, Erin and Hermione among them, when Hermione suddenly stopped. "Oh my goodness! I just thought of something! Give me five minutes in the library!"
"Hermione, wait!" Erin said. "What have you figured out?"
"Harry is a Parselmouth!" She said excitedly and then ran from them.
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron asked.
"I think she figured something out, but I don't know what." Erin said shrugging. "She'll tell us at the stadium. Hey, Neville, how about a ride?"
The plump boy looked confused for a moment he looked back at them. And then he laughed. "Sure, hop on." He said.
Erin hopped onto the boy's back and Ron shook his head laughing. "Want to sit with us, Neville?"
"Love to." He said grinning. He like Erin and Ron, he liked Harry and Hermione too. He knew he wasn't officially part of their little group, but he took whatever he could get. They were all nice and friendly to him, and Erin and Hermione were always helping him out in class. They were good friends and very loyal to each other. Neville knew that they would never be mean to him for anything and they would always stand up for him… they were his friends, some of his only friends.
By the time the three of them got to the stands they were giggling and laughing. "It's a good thing Erin isn't heavy at all." Neville said. "Surprising with the way she eats."
"Fast metabolism." Erin said automatically. "I'm just too active. Way too active most of the time."
"She's right." Ron told Neville. "Erin just doesn't stop most of the time."
"The match should be starting any moment." Erin said.
"Attention!" The turned to see Lee at his spot in the teacher's stand prepared to commentate. "This match has been cancelled. You are all to return to your House Common Room immediately.
The three of them looked at each other. "What could have happened?" Ron asked as they made there was down the stairs in the parapet.
"I don't know." Erin shrugged. "You don't think there's been another attack?"
"I am afraid there has been." They looked up as they came out of the entrance and prepared to join the throng. They found McGonagall and Harry there. "Would you two come with me, please? Neville, please walk back with Fred and George."
They noticed that Fred and George were walking behind them looking, for once, very subdued. Fred reached out his hand and took Neville by the arm. "Come on, let's go." Neville went with them glad he had someone to walk with.
Ron and Erin followed McGonagall and Harry. "Professor, you can't possibly thing that Erin or I had anything to do with this." Harry was saying.
"No, Potter, I am afraid there is no doubt that you didn't, you both were here at the time and well, I won't say anymore. We're going to the Hospital Wing."
The three students looked at each other wonderingly. They walked the rest of the way in silence. When they went in McGonagall stopped them "This will be a shock." Then she stepped back and they saw Hermione lying on a bed…petrified.
"Hermione!" Erin gasped out and hurried over to her side. Ron and Harry were quick to follow looking shaken and dumbfounded.
"She was found outside of the library. Can any of you explain this?" McGonagall held up a mirror. "It was found beside her and another girl that we also found."
Harry and Ron both said no, but Erin was looking at the mirror as if she was trying to figure it out. "Hermione said that she had figured something out, Professor and that she needed five minutes in the library to make sure of it…"
McGonagall nodded. "Thank you, Miss Lyancomp…well, if that's all I will escort you back to the Common Room. I have to address the House as it is."
They followed her back and found the entire House waiting for them. Erin sat down in an available chair and Harry and Ron sat down on either side of her on the arms. "All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock every the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. A teacher will escort you to each lesson. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities." McGonagall rolled up the parchment she had been reading from. "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will close if the perpetrator is not caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward." When no one said anything she left.
Lee Jordan sighed. "That's two Gryffindors, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw and one Hufflepuff." He said bitterly. "Haven't any of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it obvious all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The Heir of Slytherin, the monster of Slytherin? All they seem to do is concentrate on Harry and Erin, when it's obvious the two of them have just been in the wrong spots and the wrong time. It's preposterous to even suspect them of anything like that!" He was working himself up now. "Why don't they just chuck all the Slytherins out?"
Most people cheered, but the three of them noticed Percy did not look so good and he wasn't even paying attention. Fred leaned over. "That other girl, that was attacked, Penelope Clearwater, she was a prefect. I think Percy knew her pretty well and I don't think he even thought that the monster would attack a prefect. The thing is, Penelope is a pureblood…it looks like the monster may have been after Hermione and Penelope was just caught in the fire."
It made sense. After that Erin followed Harry and Ron up to their dorm. "What're we going to do?" Ron asked flopping back on his bed. Erin sat down on Harry's pulling up knees to her chest. Harry was pacing the floor. "Do you think they suspect Hagrid?"
"Probably." Erin snorted letting her legs fall back to the floor. "Hagrid was convicted of the crime 50 years ago, so it's obvious they suspect him now." After all their talks they had figured out that Hagrid must have been convicted, and Erin had found old Daily Prophets which mentioned that Hagrid had been expelled from Hogwarts and spent 3 years in Azkaban. "It won't help though! Doing anything to Hagrid, he's not behind the attacks!"
"Erin, you don't know that!" Ron said.
"Stop it, you two." Harry said finally speaking. "We've got to go talk to him. I know you don't think he did it, Erin, but he's the only chance we've got. If…if he as let the monster loose then he'll know how to get inside the Chamber and that's a start."
"But McGonagall said to stay in the tower…" Ron said.
"I think it's time to get my dad's cloak out again." Harry turned to Erin. "It's probably better for you to be invisible, just this once."
Erin grinned a little. Last year Harry had caught that she had been throwing things on the floor on purpose just to see him bend over. He didn't know about the bending over part, but he had figured out that she was doing it on purpose and told her to stop going invisible. She had…and now she sighed and went invisible.
Ron and Harry disappeared under the cloak and the three of them left the tower.
Erin knocked on Hagrid's door. "Who's there?" They heard called from inside. "Who is it?" He opened the door wielding a crossbow. "Who's there?"
Harry and Ron threw off the cloak. "What's that for?" Ron asked.
"Oh, nothing, I just thought you were…well, nevermind, come in, come in…" He put the crossbow down and let them in.
When Erin was in the room she sat down, forgetting that she was invisible. "Did you hear about Hermione?" Erin asked.
Hagrid looked around. "Oh, Erin, don't do that to me." He muttered. "Come out."
"Oh, sorry." Erin said becoming visible again. "I forgot."
Hagrid nodded. "Yes, I heard about that all right."
"Hagrid…" Harry said hesitantly. "Do you know about the Chamber of Secrets?"
Hagrid sighed and Erin suddenly spoke. "Hagrid, I know you don't have anything to do with that! I don't care what people say, you wouldn't attack a student or allow any creature to either!"
Big tears welled up in the giant man's eyes. "Erin, what would I do without yeh?" He smiled fondly at her and then cleared his throat and wiped his eyes with the back of his huge hand.
"Hagrid." Harry said. "Do you know who opened the Chamber of Secrets?"
Hagrid sighed. "Now, what you have to understand about that is—"
"We know it wasn't you, Hagrid, but you were here when it was opened before." Erin said.
Again Hagrid smiled at her, Erin was loyal to him and it felt good to have someone like her believe in him. "Anyone would be lucky to have friends like yeh three. Now, Harry, fifty years ago—" There was a knock on the door. "Just a minute!" Hagrid called out. "Under the cloak, Erin invisible!"
They all hurried to do what Hagrid told them to do and then he opened the door with his crossbow in hand. "Professor Dumbledore."
From her vantage point Erin could see not only Dumbledore, but also another man, that she knew all too well, Cornelius Fudge, the weakest Minister of Magic ever to 'grace' the office. "Good evening, Hagrid, may we come in?"
"Of course, of course." Hagrid said letting them in.
"Bad business, Hagrid." Fudge said taking off his green bowler hat and twisting it around in his hands. "Four attacks on Muggle-borns…"
"No, Fudge." Dumbledore said. "There has been three attacks on Muggle-borns, one on a Squib's cat and one on a pureblood."
Fudge nodded. "Yes, of course. Thing's have gone far enough, though, Hagrid and we've got to act."
"I never!" Hagrid said. "Professor, you know I never…"
"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence in this…"
"Look, Albus, Hagrid's record is against him. We got to do something…and it's only for a while…if Hagrid proves to be innocent we will let him go with a full pardon."
Yeah right, Erin thought to herself, were they going to give him back his wand? Were they going to make up fifty years of never being a full wizard? She was incensed at what Fudge thought he could do and not do. They had the wrong man; there was no way around it.
"Taking Hagrid will do nothing!" Dumbledore argued.
"Look at it from my point of view," Fudge said still nervous. "I'm under a lot of pressure, got to be seen 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."
"Take me where?" Hagrid roared. "Not Azkaban prison!"
No…Erin thought, not Azkaban…the place gave her nightmares, what went on there…the Dementors, evil and sucking up all the happiness…what that could do to an innocent man…
There was another knock on the door. Dumbledore answered it. "Lucius."
"Headmaster." He said and saw Fudge. "Already here, Fudge? Good, good."
"What're you doin' 'ere? Get out of me house!" He said looking at Lucius Malfoy with contempt as he strode in.
"My dear man, believe me, I offer no pleasure at being…you call this a house? Hmmm. No I simply called in at the school and was told the headmaster was here." He turned back to the three men. "I hold here an Order of Suspension."
"What? No." Fudge said. "Dumbledore suspended is the last thing we want."
Dumbledore held up his hand to the Minister and took the parchment that Lucius was holding out to him. He opened it. "You'll find all twelve signatures."
"Yeh can't do that!" Hagrid burst out.
"Hagrid!" Dumbledore warned.
"No! If Dumbledore leaves the school there will be killin' next, you mark my words! Dumbledore is the only chance these kids have! The only thing standing between them and death!"
"Hagrid!" Dumbledore warned even more explicitly. "Calm yourself. If the governors want my removal, then I shall of course stand aside…"
"Dumbledore!" Fudge couldn't believe his ears.
"No!" Hagrid shouted.
"However," Dumbledore said. "You will find that I will only have truly left this school when none here are loyal to me. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who seek it." He looked pointedly over to the corner where Harry and Ron were under the invisibility cloak and then his eyes flicked to the girl standing behind a chair watching him with calm eyes.
Lucius looked around wondering whom he was talking to. "Admirable sentiments."
Lucius and Dumbledore left. "Come on, Hagrid." Fudge said.
Hagrid stayed for a moment bouncing a little on the balls of his feet. "If anyone wanted to find out some stuff all they would have to do is follow the spiders. Yes, that would set them right." He said and went past Fudge, who looked downright dumbfounded. "Oh, and someone will have to feed Fang while I'm away."
Fudge looked around and then looked at Fang, who had remained motionless in a chair. "Good dog." He left closing the door.
The three became visible again. "Hagrid's right." Harry said. "Taking Dumbledore away and they'll be an attack a day." He sighed frustrated. "And then Hagrid too. What are we going to do?"
"Follow the spiders." Erin said as they left Hagrid's cabin. Fang followed them looking lost. Erin put a comforting hand to the gray dogs head.
"Hey look." Harry said. There, on the ground, was a line of spiders going towards the Forbidden Forest. "Let's go."
"What?" Ron said. "They're going into the Forest!"
"So?" Erin asked wondering what was going on with Ron.
"Spiders." Ron said. "Why couldn't it be follow the butterflies?"
"Wait a minute…" Erin said thinking. "Spiders…they were leaving the castle the night Justin and Nick were attacked…She couldn't quite remember…there was something… something Hermione figured out…Spiders flee before it…
"Erin?" The girl looked up at her friend. "Erin, are you all right, what is it?"
She looked at Harry; he looked so concerned, "Nothing…" She said shaking her head. "I thought…no, it's gone, I was thinking about something and no…" She said shaking her head. "I thought I was getting something, but I can't remember."
She didn't say anymore and Harry led them into the forest following the spiders. They didn't speak for a long time; they just followed the line of creeping black things on the forest floor. "I don't want to go in there." Ron muttered.
They had come to a place that was a natural tunnel under a very large tree. "Let's go." Harry said. Erin followed not saying a word, she was trying to get back the train of thought she had back at the hut, she couldn't though and it was annoying the heck out of her.
They emerged from the tunnel and Erin's eyes widened. "Uh, Harry…I really don't think we should be here…" All around them was spider's web and Erin didn't think all these tiny spiders made it.
"Who's there?" A deep voice asked and Erin backed up a little. She wasn't afraid exactly, but it sounded big. Long thin legs appeared over a small hill or something…or as Erin thought…a burrow…a burrow for a creature to sleep in and it was huge. Milky white eyes appeared. It was blind… "Who's there? Hagrid, is that you?"
"We're friends of Hagrid." Harry said. "There's been trouble, up at the school."
"Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before…" The acromantula said.
"Hagrid has been sent to Azkaban." Erin said.
"What?" The spider sounded afraid and angry. "Why? Why have they sent him there again?"
"There have been attacks up at the school, again." Erin said. "The monster has been released from the Chamber once more and they think Hagrid set it loose, like last time."
"That's a lie." The old spider said. "He never set loose the monster. It is something we spiders fear more than anything. They believed I was the monster, but you know I am not."
"Yes, I know." Erin said. "The monster petrifies people, you don't have that power. You would just eat them."
"Harry…"
"Quiet, Ron."
"Yes, it is true. I was not born in the castle; I came to Hagrid in the pocket of a trader. He raised me and I never saw any part of the castle except the closet where he kept me…until the night that awful boy tried to kill me…then Hagrid smuggled me out and brought me here, he even found me a mate."
"You're Aragog, then." Harry said.
"Yes."
"You never harmed anyone then?" Harry asked.
"Never, I have never tasted human flesh, it would have been my instinct, but out of respect for Hagrid, I never attacked a human, never. The body of the girl was found in a bathroom, as I have said, I never saw any other part of the castle until after she died."
"What did kill the girl?" Erin asked. She knew it, in the back of her mind, but she couldn't remember, something was nagging at her.
"Harry…" Ron tugged on Harry's sleeve.
"Shoosh." Harry said listening.
"We do not speak its name. It is an ancient creature that we spiders fear above all others."
"What is it?" Harry asked eagerly.
"We do not speak of it!" Aragog repeated adamantly. "I never even told Hagrid its name, though he asked many times."
"Harry…"
"What?" Harry asked.
Ron pointed up looking like he had peed his pants about five times already. Harry and Erin looked up and saw about a hundred of the huge acromantulas coming down out of the huge trees. "Right," Erin said. "We'll just go now."
"Go?" Aragog said. "I think not. My sons and daughter do not harm Hagrid upon my request, but I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Goodbye, friends of Hagrid."
"He is so not going to be happy with you when he gets out of Azkaban." Erin said scathingly to the spider.
"Arana exume!" Harry cried out and a spider was blasted back from them.
The hulking beasts were coming closer. Erin were blasting them back, never saying a word and Ron and Fang were crying and shouting…or in Fang's case, barking.
Suddenly a huge shape came out of the darkness, two bright lights coming from it. It landed ramming into many of the spiders. "Harry, it's the car! The forest has turned it wild."
"Get in!" Erin said pushing the Fang and Ron into the car. She got in herself and had Fang huddling next to her in the backseat.
The car shut the doors after them and Ron drove them out of there knocking spiders left and right. The car stopped outside of the hollow and they breathed a sigh of relief, until Ron screamed. They whirled towards him. He sat there with a spider and its legs wrapped around the poor boys neck trying to drag him out of the car. "Get out of the way!" Harry yelled. Ron moved his head. "Arana exume!"
The spider flew back. "Thanks for that." Ron said.
"Don't mention it."
Ron put the car into gear and pressed the gas. "Get the car up!" Erin shouted using her wand out of the broken out back window. "RON!"
Harry put his hand over Ron's, which was trying to push the gearshift into the right place and the two of them managed to wrench it into place. The car flew up just in time clearing the trees surrounding the spider's hollow. They knocked into a few and Erin was breathing a sigh of relief. All of them had come over the hill following them. "Oh, I can't believe we got out of that."
The car took them just past the edge of the forest outside of Hagrid's hut. It opened the doors and they got out, before it trundled its way back into the forest. Ron groaned. "Follow the spiders! Follow the spiders! If Hagrid ever gets out of Azkaban I'll kill him! What did we find out?"
"Well, now we know for certain Hagrid is innocent." Harry said.
Erin snorted. "Nice to have you on my side, finally"
"Look, Erin, I'm sorry, ok?" Harry said. "I know I shouldn't have doubted Hagrid, but well…"
"Harry, you listened to a boy in a diary from 50 years ago! A boy that you don't know! A boy that could have been lying! A boy that for all we know could have been the Heir of Slytherin himself! And just fingered Hagrid to keep the blame off himself!"
"Yeah, I know." He said sighing. "I screwed up, but I'm sorry."
"Oh, Erin, just forgive him!" Ron said. "If you don't he'll moping around until you do and I really don't want to see that."
"Ok," she sighed. "I forgive you."