In this chapter, we'll be introduced to Cornelius Fudge.

And no, he does not work in a candy shop. And he is not a farmer, either. Those are both misconceptions.

He is the minister of the Ministry of Magic. You can't have a ministry without a minister, can you?

It's kind of like how Dumbledore is the headmaster at Hogwarts.

Fudge isn't necessarily good at his job…unfortunately.

Chapter 25: Follow the Spiders

Once again, Mary was enjoying a nice game of Quidditch.

It made her feel great, flying around on a broomstick.

It was a warm, sunny day.

"Woohoo!" exclaimed the girl.

It was a small wonder her father also happened to play Quidditch as well.

This time, she managed to catch the Golden Snitch when it crashed into a wall.

Luckily, it seemed to be alright.

"Woohoo!" exclaimed Mary.

As usual, her teammates were proud of her.

Luckily, the Hufflepuffs took it well. Though it was pretty lucky for Mary that the snitch had crashed. It made grabbing it a lot easier.

As for why the Hufflepuff seeker didn't grab the Snitch…he got hit by a bludger.

Fortunately, all he got was a bruise.

But after Quidditch was over, Ron told Mary something.

"Mary! There's been another attack!" exclaimed Ron.

He had discovered the victims this time.

Suddenly, the sky began to become rather cloudy.

"What?!" shouted Mary, her eyes widening in shock behind her glasses.

It seemed she had not heard the monster as she was busy playing Quidditch.

However, she heard the monster as she approached the infirmary.

"She was a real know-it-all…well, I taught her the meaning of true fear!" exclaimed the snake.

"No…don't tell me…" said Mary to herself. She had a bad feeling who that know-it-all might be.

Unfortunately, the Quidditch games for the rest of the year had been cancelled.

The teachers were worried that all the cheering and applause would draw the monster's attention. Muggle-borns did happen to enjoy these games along with everyone else, after all.

Though Mary was dismayed, she thought they all had a point.

Mary gasped.

It turned out it was Hermione who had been attacked, as she feared.

Seemed not even she was safe from the monster.

"Hmm, either Ron took his shirt off in front of Hermione, or she got attacked by the monster." noted the girl with glasses.

Ron's cheeks turned pink. Why would he take his shirt off in front of her?

There was also Penelope Clearwater. She too had been attacked by the monster.

She was wearing a badge saying "I Was Omitted From The Movie." with a frowny face on it.

"Well, we can't find actors and actresses for everyone." noted Mary. Besides, the movie was already two hours and forty-one minutes long. Wouldn't want the audience to have to pause the video and take a break from it, now would they?

"No! Not Penelope!" exclaimed Percy.

He started to cry.

It seemed he and Penelope were close.

And yes, just as his father was a supporter of Muggles, Percy happened to love a Muggle-born wizard. It didn't matter to him that her parents couldn't use magic.

Due to the situation that was happening at Hogwarts, students were strongly advised to stay inside their common rooms and their dorms when classes weren't in session.

Also, they were going to use the buddy system when classes were in session. Only with teachers added to the mix. One could consider the teachers to be their friends though.

Gilderoy Lockhart was upset that one of his biggest fans had been petrified. Especially since Hermione Granger knew so much about him.

On the lighter side of things, the mandrakes would be ready for harvesting soon.

That meant that the infirmary wasn't going to be half-full anymore.

Since they had classes during the daytime, the trio decided to visit Hagrid during the night.

They decided to wear the invisibility cloak in case the monster showed up.

To their knowledge, the monster wasn't after them (as none of them had two Muggle parents), but it wasn't worth taking unnecessary risks.

"Mary? Is tha' ye? Ye should be in yer dorm." advised Hagrid. It was nice to receive visitors, but he dreaded the thought of anything happening to his friends.

"I had my Invisibility Cloak." noted Mary. She figured she shouldn't roam Hogwarts without it these days. Dobby did say that the monster would eventually come after her, after all. Though Ron and Ginny were most likely safe. They were purebloods, if not Slytherin.

"Good idea. But I certainly hope the monster can't detect ye through scent." noted the half giant.

He knew an Invisibility Cloak wouldn't stop Fang from noticing Mary.

Suddenly, Hagrid heard knocking on his door.

It was Professor Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore? Good to see ye…but why'd ye come to visit me at night?" asked Hagrid.

"Cornelius Fudge wishes to talk to you." explained Dumbledore.

"Cornelius Fudge? The minister of magic? Tha' Cornelius Fudge?" questioned the half giant.

Dumbledore nodded. Fudge did come to visit Hogwarts sometimes, but he was usually busy in his office.

"I never thought I would get to meet him." remarked Mary.

It was like meeting the prime minister of England. Though to be fair, she did happen to be a famous celebrity. Perhaps it wasn't too shocking.

But even so, she felt excited.

Cornelius entered the hut.

"Cornelius Fudge? Wha' brings ye ter my humble abode?" asked Hagrid.

"Oh, the boys will explain." answered Fudge.

A barbershop quartet entered Hagrid's hut.

It felt odd seeing one in the middle of the night.

"I wonder what they're going to sing about." wondered Ginny.

Ron shrugged. It could be anything.

As it turned out, the quartet had some pretty bad news for Hagrid.

'You're"

"going"

"to"

"Azkaban!"

The barbershop quartet began to jog around the hut.

"You didn't listen to your mother when you were growing up and now look where you've ended up!"

"You're going straight towards the big house, it's what you get for being such a louse!"

"You'll be in there for the rest of your life, basically you're in a lot of strife!"

"You shouldn't have become a crook, you can bet the judge will throw the book!"

"It's all too clear that you're a bad guy, you're now locked up, oh my!"

"You're going to Azkaban! Not just jail, but full-blown Azkaban!"

"Are you sure that's the best way to deliver bad news to someone?" asked Mary.

She imagined there were better ways.

And it seemed rather insensitive.

Hagrid's face turned white as a ghost. Which was ironic considering that Nearly Headless Nick was one of the people who Hagrid was accused of attacking.

"I'm g-g-going to A-a-Azkaban?" asked the half giant.

First expulsion, and now this.

It seemed the large man could hardly speak. He was sounding an awful lot like Professor Quirrell, though he thankfully didn't have anyone inhabiting his body.

It was Ron, Mary, and Ginny's first time seeing Hagrid scared.

Seeing as he thought a giant three-headed dog was cute, it took a heck of a lot to scare the man.

So Azkaban must really be a horrible place.

"No! Ye can't lock me up! Who will look after me pets?" questioned Hagrid.

As Dumbledore had a pet himself, he happened to sympathize with the enormous man. Though a phoenix was one of the few pets that Hagrid hadn't had in his lifetime.

Fang whimpered. It seemed even he knew what was going on.

Chip was confused.

"I'm sorry, but it has to be now." apologized Fudge.

Ginny was upset. She happened to have a few things in common with Hagrid, like being animal lovers. She was hoping to take Care for Magical Creatures someday. Though with what was currently happening at Hogwarts, that might not come to pass.

Would he survive? She heard scary stories regarding that place. Her dad wondered if they should really be sending people there. Though to his knowledge, not one person had ever escaped.

All the more reason to be a good girl.

And there was nobody who could truly replace Hagrid as gamekeeper. Dumbledore certainly seemed to think so.

Additionally, Lucius Malfoy had a message of his own to tell Dumbledore.

He was with Cornelius Fudge.

"I guess you must be Draco's dad." noted Mary.

"How'd you guess?" asked Lucius.

"Your son looks a lot like you." remarked the girl.

"So I've heard." nodded Mr. Malfoy. He was happy that Draco had inherited what he considered to be his good looks.

Lucius Malfoy pulled out an Order of Suspension for Dumbledore.

"An Order of Suspension?" questioned Albus.

"Unfortunately, the governors aren't happy with your handling of this situation." noted Lucius. They felt that it wasn't safe for the Muggle-borns at Hogwarts anymore.

He had threatened to curse their families if the other governors didn't agree, but he left that out, of course.

"You're suspending Dumbledore?" asked Fudge.

Mary gasped.

Ron and Ginny's eyes widened with shock.

It was bad enough that Hagrid was going to prison, but now it seemed that Dumbledore was losing his post.

"Not even you can do anything about it." answered the blonde man.

"Ye can't fire Dumbledore! There'll be killings next!" exclaimed Hagrid. Considering somebody had died the last time the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, he might have a point.

Again, Hagrid was feeling scared in a very interesting change of pace.

"Threatening people to get what you want, are we? This is why you're going to Azkaban." noted Lucius. Of course, he was twisting the context.

"Don't worry, Hagrid. I'll always be with my students…in spirit." explained Dumbledore.

Rubeus sighed in relief. Though he was still worried about the Muggle-borns.

Hagrid, Lucius, Fudge, and Dumbledore all left the hut.

Lucius imagined his son would be happy with the news, given Dumbledore's support towards Muggle-borns.

He was happy with how things had turned out himself.

"By the way, you should all consider following the spiders." recommended Hagrid.

Ginny wondered what that meant.

"Man, it feels like all of our friends are leaving us." noted Mary.

Ron nodded in agreement.

First Hermione, then Hagrid, and now Dumbledore himself.

She hoped that nobody else would leave her. She lost her parents before she even got to know them. Who was next? Ron Weasley?

Chip the gnome was upset.

He happened to like the big guy. Namely due to his affection towards magical creatures.

Though some of the animals he liked happened to be scary. They weren't going to eat him, would they? Though to be fair, he was growing teeth that were rather sharp, so he wasn't totally defenseless against predators.

"I'm sorry, but Hagrid won't be able to look after you for the time being." noted Mary.

If that was the case, Chip wondered who would.

A lot of people considered gnomes to be pests.

That made him sad.

Suddenly, Croaky hopped into Hagrid's hut.

Ginny wondered why she wasn't in her dorm.

Perhaps the monster was making it hard for her to sleep?

She had a feeling it was a snake of some kind. So that would make a lot of sense.

Chip seemed happy to see her.

"Mama!" exclaimed the gnome.

"Huh? Oh, that was right. Croaky was the reason Chip was born in the first place." noted Ginny.

She had decided to lie down on a rooster egg, resulting in the gnome being hatched.

Maybe the redheaded girl could adopt Chip, with his permission.

Ginny held out her hand…

…and Chip accepted it.

"You won't cause trouble in my family's garden, right?" asked the redheaded girl.

Chip nodded.

"You think Lucius is taking advantage of the situation?" questioned Ron. This seemed like a good opportunity to get Dumbledore removed from office. Though he felt that Dumbledore was doing his best in this sort of scenario.

"It seems possible." nodded Ginny.

This seemed like a golden opportunity to have Dumbledore removed as headmaster. It was anyone's guess as to who would replace him.

"How did he become a governor, anyway?" asked the Weasley boy.

"If I had to guess, he bribed his way there." answered the Weasley girl.

Ron nodded.

"I wonder what Hagrid meant by following the spiders." noted Mary.

Suddenly, she noticed spiders heading into the Forbidden Forest.

It seemed they were looking for a place to hide from the monster.

The Forbidden Forest seemed like a pretty good spot, now that she thought of it.

Well, Hagrid told them that they should follow the spiders.

It seemed possible that they knew something.

So it was worth a try.

"Why couldn't it be follow the butterflies?" asked Ron.

He found that to be a lot more preferable.

"Butterflies are vain." answered Chip the gnome.

Surprisingly, he had agreed to go with them.

It seemed he wanted to prove Hagrid's innocence.

Fang had decided to go with them as well.

"I'm inclined to agree with ya." nodded Mary. Butterflies were vain indeed.

Oddly enough, Ron noticed that his sister Ginny didn't seem to be afraid.

"Why aren't you scared?" asked Ron.

Normally, first years didn't even think about stepping foot in the forbidden forest. They were inclined to listen to Dumbledore.

But then again, the former headmaster had been given the boot just now.

"Well, I kind of have a spider's natural predator with me." pointed out Ginny.

Croaky nodded.

Ron understood.

The spiders led them to the heart of the forest.

At the heart of the forest was the biggest spider that they had ever seen.

But to Ginny, it looked familiar.

Didn't she see what he looked like fifty years ago?

The diary had shown him to her.

Though she wasn't expecting him to have grown so much since then.

Acromantulas had noticeable differences between their non-magical creature counterparts, however. Like being able to live longer, for instance.

"Are you…Aragog?" asked Ginny.

"Yes. I am Aragog." nodded the giant spider.

At night, as the boy was sleeping in his dormitory room, Neville's diary decided to tell him something.

He wondered why Ron wasn't with him. Had he been attacked? He was a pureblood, right? Surely he would be safe from the monster.

Neville knew that he was a pureblood too, but he still felt that he should stay in his room so that he didn't get docked house points.

"Neville…Neville…" said the diary.

This caused Neville to wake up.

"Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep…" complained the second year.

Though to be honest, he was starting to feel tired during the daytime as well as the night.

Maybe he needed some caffeine in his veins?

That might help.

"I'd like to meet Vector's friends. His toad friends." said the book.

"Sure, why not." nodded Neville.

Maybe tomorrow though? That would work best.

Is Aragog really the monster every Muggle-born is afraid of?

Tune in to find out.