In her next letter, Johanna chose not to share with her daughter the events of the previous night.

Hilda, likewise, did not divulge any details on her investigation into the Chamber. Had she been willing to, she'd be unable to share much, as the investigation had stalled yet again. This latest roadblock was the theft of the Diary from Harry's dormitory.

"Who could have done it?" Ron asked the next morning as the group gloomily munched their toast.

"Maybe it was whoever threw it into Hermione's cauldron," Hilda suggested. "They may have wanted it back."

"It's probably for the best," Hermione sniffed, still sore about the sabotage of the Polyjuice Potion. "From what you were telling us about it, that thing sounds like a work of dark magic."

David ran over to the table. "Have you seen Frida?" he asked.

"No. She must still be sulking," Hilda replied.

"I feel bad about our fight yesterday."

Hilda bit her lip and nodded. "We were a little harsh on her, I guess."

"She's probably in the library again." Hermione stood up and gathered her things. "If you're going up, David, I'll come with you. There's a lead I need to pursue."

"What lead?" Ron asked.

Hermione smiled. "Well, it's more of a hunch, but if it leads to something I'll tell you all about it tonight. By the way, David, that spider is back."

"Really?" David brushed the creature off his shoulder. "I don't understand why he likes me so much. Hilda, are you coming?"

"I can't, I have Saturday detention with Snape."

"What did you do this time?" Hermione asked.

"I spoke out in class again."

"You need to stop antagonizing him," Harry said. "He doesn't need more of a reason to pick on the Gryffindors."

"Professor?"

Snape looked up from his grading and eyed Hilda warily. "Shouldn't you be scrubbing?"

"I am," she gestured to the table. The stains were still nowhere near close to coming off, despite her valiant efforts. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"More questions," Snape muttered. "Very well. As we're not in class, I won't deduct points for not raising your hand." He gestured for her to go ahead.

"Why do you dislike the Gryffindors so much?"

"Is that what you all think?" Snape frowned. "Typical. Your inflated egos are one reason, I suppose. I don't know how you get it in your heads, but it seems that all Gryffindors have a hero complex."

"Is that a bad thing?" Hilda asked.

"Heroes, Miss Dahl, tend to have short life expectancies. Potter's father had a hero complex, and look where it got Lily."

"Lily?"

Snape went stiff, realizing his blunder. "Enough questions," he said.

"But-"

"If you can manage to remove that stain, then perhaps we can talk further."

Hilda looked down at the mess on the table. "It doesn't seem to be coming off."

"And it won't," Snape replied, smirking. "Not with those tools your using."

"Then why am I doing this?" Hilda demanded, throwing the scrub brush down.

"Ahh, here's another example as to why I dislike Gryffindors: you're all so quick to do, but you never stop to think."

Hilda growled and turned back to the mess. "Never stop to think," she muttered. She sighed. "What am I going to do?"

Maybe I can be of assistance.

Hilda sat up, then gave a sly grin and put her hand to the stain. With a discrete flash of blue light the stain vanished. "Finished!" she said brightly.

When Snape looked up and saw the spotless table his jaw nearly hit the floor. "What?" the usually unflappable professor asked.

"I guess I get to ask another question then," Hilda said. "Who is Lily?"

Snape ground his teeth for a few moments. "Lily was a… friend of mine," he finally said.

You have friends? the Voice asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Was she a Slytherin?" Hilda asked instead.

"She was sorted into Gryffindor, to my dismay."

"So Lily was like Professor McGonagall's friend Lotte."

Snape gave a hint of a smile. "An apt comparison."

"And what did Harry's father do to her?"

Snape's expression darkened, and Hilda saw pain in his eyes. "He killed her," he whispered. A moment later his face returned to its usual impenetrable mask. "Your detention is over, Miss Dahl. Please get out."

Hilda reached the library just as it was closing. "You just missed them," Miss Runa said as she collected a stack of discarded books from a study table. "Hermione, Frida and David just left."

"Where were they going?"

Miss Runa rolled her eyes. "I don't know everything," the librarian replied.

"...You kinda act as though you do, sometimes."

"Being mysterious has its perks." She turned to face Hilda and frowned. "Did you come up here alone?"

"Yes."

"Hilda! All students are supposed to travel in groups of two or more after four o'clock. Curfew rules."

"But there's no one else around."

"Actually, I believe there is one person." Miss Runa peered around a bookcase. "Mr. Malfoy!" Hilda groaned. "You and Hilda seem to be the last two students here. Would you kindly escort her to dinner?" Draco scowled as he caught sight of Hilda, but nodded. "Excellent. Now run along."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, neither daring to make the first move. "Still acting like a prat?" Hilda finally asked.

"Still talking to yourself?" Draco retorted. Hilda's eyes widened. "Oh, come off it, half the school has seen you doing it. You're starting to seem madder than that Lovegood girl."

"Don't talk about Luna like that," Hilda snapped. "She's a good person."

"Hardly. Her father's a complete loon. Believes in all sorts of nonsense—fairy tales and the like."

"Believing in fairies isn't as mad as believing in blood purity."

Draco was about to respond with a cutting remark when they rounded the corner and nearly collided with Hermione and David outside of Myrtle's toilet. "Watch it!" he snarled, regaining his balance.

"Hilda!"

"Hi, David. What's with the mirrors?"

"We'll explain when we get to dinner," Hermione said quickly. "Now c'mon."

"Where's Frida?"

"She left the library before us," David said.

"Alone? We have to get her!"

Malfoy snorted. "She's probably already at dinner, or holed up in the Ravenclaw common room with the other study nuts."

"She's not nuts," David said hotly.

Draco smirked. "Oh, did I strike a nerve, Andersen? You don't like it when I insult your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend," David said, blushing.

"Could've fooled me, the way you follow her like a lovesick puppy. Rather silly, really. As if you'd have a chance. Imagine, a fool and a nut. Quite the pair."

With a cry of anger, David threw himself onto the Slytherin, sending them both to the ground. Fists were thrown, and the two rolled around on the stone floor, each trying to get a decent blow in. Fortunately, neither knew how to land a proper punch. Hilda and Hermione pulled the Hufflepuff off of Draco.

"Really, David, he's not worth it," Hermione said, smoothing off the boy's robes.

David's face lost its red color as he took a few calming breaths. "You're right, Hermione."

"Look what you've done, you stupid Mudblood!" Draco said. "You've gotten my robes all wet!"

Hilda glanced down and noticed a stream of water an inch deep washing over the stones. She followed the source to the door to Myrtle's bathroom. "What on earth?" she muttered.

At that moment, the door was flung open. David, who had also been staring at the water, stiffened at the sight of something reflected in the pool. Before Hilda could ask him what was wrong, the boy fell over, petrified.

"Hilda! Draco!" Hermione raised her mirror. "Close your eyes. For Merlin's sake, don't look at it!"

"What?" Draco asked. Hilda tackled the Slytherin back to the floor and covered his face with her hand, screwing her eyes shut as well. She listened in horror as something large emerged from the toilets, a loud hiss filling the air. There was another thud as something or someone fell, and then the creature moved off, its massive form scraping against the walls and ceiling.

They waited for nearly a minute before opening their eyes. "Hermione!" Hilda crawled through the water to the girl. She lay beside David, her face frozen in shock.

Draco sat up and caught sight of the two petrified forms. "Wh-what?" he said, eyes wide in terror.

Footsteps echoed through the halls. "Ms. Dahl! Mr. Malfoy!" McGonagall and Snape rounded the corner and froze. "Oh, no," the old woman whispered.

"David! David! Snap out of it!" Hilda pleaded, but the boy could not respond. She punched the ground, sending up a geyser of water. McGonagall and Snape grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to her feet. "Let me go!" She screamed.

"Ms. Dahl, please. There's nothing we can do!"

"I'll fetch Nurse Pomfrey," Snape said. "Draco, are you alright?"

"She saved me," Draco muttered.

Snape looked back at Hermione. "Yes, she did. Come, I'll take you back to the Common Room."

Hilda sat by the hospital bed, one hand resting in David's cold hand. She had been there all night, hoping against all odds that David would come out of his spell, that he would blink up at her and smile. But he didn't. She looked across the aisle at Colin Creevey, his hands still gripping a missing camera. "I couldn't protect you, either," she said, looking back at David. A tear fell from her eye onto David's hand, but it didn't break the spell. There's no magic in tears, she supposed.

Frida hadn't shown her face, which only angered Hilda more. "Some friend," she muttered. As she spoke, the infirmary doors opened, and she looked up in surprise, only half-expecting to see her former friend standing there.

Instead, Harry and Ron rushed in, stopping at Hermione's bed. "No," Harry whispered. He turned and noticed Hilda, then looked down at David. "Oh, Hilda, I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too," she replied, letting go of David's hand. "I was right there and I couldn't do anything."

"What could you have done?" Alfur, who had ridden in on Harry's shoulder, asked her. "You could've been on one of these beds too, or worse."

"They took Hagrid away," Ron told her. "We were at his hut when the Minister of Magic came and arrested him. He's being taken to Azkaban."

"Why didn't Dumbledore stop them?"

"Dumbledore's gone too," Harry said quietly. "Malfoy's dad had him removed from his post."

The hospital doors opened again, admitting Draco Malfoy. "Hi," he said, stopping a few feet from the group. "Are you alright?" he asked Hilda.

"As fine as I can be, considering."

"What are you doing here?" Ron spat, standing up and stepping between Hilda and Draco. "Come to gloat? Because we're really not in the mood."

"Ron," Hilda stood and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Hermione saved him, too."

"...Oh," Ron rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact with Draco. "Well, thanks for coming, I guess."

Draco walked over to Hermione's cot and looked down at her. "Why did she do it?" he asked the room, shaking his head. "After all I said and did to her. Why?"

"Because she didn't care about your blood or your house," Hilda said. "She cared about your safety."

"I didn't deserve it," Draco replied. He sat down on the edge of David's bed and propped his hands up with his chin.

"Yes, you did," Harry said finally.

Hilda sat back down beside David and smiled grimly. "Mum was right, I'm in over my head." She noticed something on David's shoulder and chuckled. "Look, the spider's back."

"Where?" Ron stepped back, eyes wide. "Don't let it anywhere near me."

Draco couldn't help but smirk. "Honestly, Weasley. You're afraid of spiders?"

"Shut up, Malfoy," Ron replied. He blanched, then coughed. "Sorry."

Hilda scooped the little spider into her palm and brought it up to her face. "He's kinda cute, actually. Hello, little guy."

To her surprise, the spider raised its little foreleg and waved. "Hello!"

"What on Earth?" Hilda gave a start. "Did you just talk?"

The spider nodded its head. "My name's Lucas." His voice was small and high-pitched, like a young child.

Harry leaned over Hilda's shoulder. "Wow, a talking spider!"

"He's still a spider," Ron muttered.

Harry's eyes widened in recognition. "The spiders!" He leaned down to Lucas. "Hagrid told us to follow the spiders. Do you know what that means?"

The spider rubbed its mandibles thoughtfully. "Follow the spiders? Oh! We're going to Aragog! It's not safe in the castle with It around."

"Who is Aragog?" Hilda asked.

"He's our leader!" the spider replied. "He's really scary, but if you have any questions, he can answer them, probably."

"Where is he?" Harry asked.

"In the forest."

"Then we're going to the forest."

Ron shook his head emphatically. "I am not going into the Forbidden Forest to talk to a bunch of spiders."

"I agree," Draco replied. "This is madness."

"I can't believe I'm going into the Forbidden Forest to talk to a bunch of spiders," Ron muttered, following the glow of Harry's wand through the trees.

"I agree," Draco looked around at the shadows and shivered. "This is madness."

"Still scared of the woods, Malfoy?" Harry asked, hiding a smirk.

"No! I just think this isn't our problem."

"You want to help Hermione, don't you?" Hilda asked.

"Well, yes, but-" Draco huffed and pulled his coat collar up. "Whatever."

"I don't understand why people are afraid of us," Lucas said. He was sitting beside Alfur on Hilda's shoulder, giving directions into her ear. "I mean, I know we have too many eyes, but we'd never hurt a fly. Well, I mean, we hurt flies, but not people."

"What about bats?" Harry asked, pointing. The trees around them were coated in webbing. Bats, squirrels, and other small creatures cried and writhed in their traps. Wrapped forms dotted among the living showed their eventual fate.

"The big ones eat those," Lucas replied. "Too big for me."

"Big ones?" Ron squeaked. "How big?"

Lucas pointed to Twig. "Bigger than him."

Draco paled. "Wait, we're not talking about spiders, we're talking about acromantulas." He put his head in his hands. "We're doomed."

Ron shook his head and turned to go. "Nope nope, nope. I'm out of here."

"Ron!" Harry hissed.

"No, don't scold me! I've had all I can put up with tonight, and I will not become a giant spider's dinner."

"That's a shame," a voice said from above them. "Because I was looking forward to having you." All heads turned up. Ron's next words faded into an indecipherable dribble of words. Above them loomed a spider the size of a small car, its mandibles dripping venomous saliva as it gazed down at the children with its four red eyes. They stepped back as it descended on a string of webbing to land before them. "Trespassers," it said in a hushed, raspy voice. "My favorite."

Draco turned to run but froze. "Guys!" Harry and Hilda looked around. More spiders had emerged from the trees and the shadows and surrounded them in a tight circle. All hands went for their wands.

"What brings you to my forest?"

"Um, hi, Mr. Aragog!" Lucas waved to get the acromantula's attention. "My name is Lucas. These humans wanted to ask you some questions."

"Hmm. Not often my meals have last requests. Most are too busy begging for their lives, which gets so tiring."

"We're friends of Hagrid," Harry said, eying the surrounding spiders nervously. "He said to find you."

"Hagrid? My father. He saved my life. For that, I suppose I mustn't eat you. How is Hagrid? He has not been around in a long time."

"He has been arrested," Hilda said, speaking up. "They think he is responsible for the creature in the castle."

"You were there in 1945," Harry said, recalling the memory from Tom Riddle's Diary. "They thought you were the monster. They thought you killed that student!"

"I did not kill that girl," the giant spider said, pounding the forest floor with a massive leg for emphasis. "The foolish humans, they did not understand Hagrid's kindness, his generosity. I was cast out into these woods like a common beast."

"If you're not responsible, then who is?" Hilda asked.

"We do not speak Its name," Aragog said in a hushed whisper. "It is the enemy of my people."

Harry smiled. "Well, uh, thank you, Aragog. We'll just be going now."

"Going? I think not. You must stay for dinner."

"You said you weren't going to eat us!" Draco shouted, shaking in fear.

"I did say that. My children, however, are starving, and you are a fine meal for them."

With that, the spiders attacked.

Johanna's eyes flicked open. She sat up alert in her bed, eyes drifting across the dark room. Something had startled her from her sleep, a sound. She listened intently, her breath held. There! The sound of footsteps crunching through the snow. She got out of bed and padded barefoot towards the nearest window and peered out between the heavy velvet curtains. She could make out a set of tracks crossing the snowy lawn, heading from the woods and around the side of the manor.

Another sound startled her, this one from inside the house: a window breaking downstairs. Johanna got onto her knees and pulled the hunting rifle out from under the bed. Checking it was loaded, she pulled on her dressing gown before creeping out into the hall and towards the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs, she found Tontu peering through the living room doorway and clasping his hands nervously. "What is it?" she asked.

"A man broke in through the conservatory," the Nisse whispered. "He's in the kitchen."

There was a crash from something being knocked over. She peered over Tontu's head through the living room door and saw a light emanating from under the door to the kitchen Someone could be heard rummaging through cupboards. "It could be the Woodman," she whispered. Then the door opened, and a large form appeared. Johanna jumped in surprise, her finger tightening around the trigger of the rifle.

There was a bang, followed by a cry of pain. The figure in the doorway fell back, collided with the kitchen table, and went down. Johanna ducked into the hall and reloaded with trembling fingers. "You killed him!" Tontus cried.

"I didn't mean to," Johanna replied, trying hard to control her panic. When the blood stopped pounding in her ears, she could make out a pitiful whining noise. "That's not a man's voice," she said, standing up. She went back through the living room and looked through the kitchen door. "It's a dog!"

A large black hound lay by the fridge among the remnants of their leftovers. Johanna's shot had struck him on the rear left leg, and the dog was licking at its wound and whining. It noticed Johanna and jumped clumsily to its feet, scrambling around to the other side of the fridge.

"Oh dear," Johanna lowered the rifle. "Tontu, get the first aid kit." She stepped forward. "Easy, boy." The dog struggled to its feet and scampered around the table. With a leap, it threw itself through the window above the sink with a crash of glass. Johanna ran to the window and peered out, but the dog had vanished.

"What a mess," Tontu said. "I hope I'm not expected to clean this up."

Johanna stared out into the darkness, biting her lip. "The poor thing," she whispered, before turning back to the mess of her kitchen. "We need to board up the window. Check the basement for planks or something similar."

The Nisse shook its head as it left the room. "I should've stayed asleep."

Despite a valiant defense, the spiders had advanced to within arm's reach. With his wand malfunctioning, Ron had found a large branch, which he was using to whack back the enclosing mob. A particularly large acromantula tore the branch from his hands and reared back to attack, its fangs bared, when a curse took its head clean off. Ron turned to see who had saved him.

"Thanks, Malfoy," he said, relief mixed with disbelief that those words would ever leave his lips.

"Please don't mention it," the Slytherin replied before turning his attention to another breach in the defenses.

Hilda recoiled as one of the acromantulas snapped at her. There are too many of them, she thought, panic rising in her throat. We're doomed.

Not if I can help, the Voice said. Give me control, now.

Hilda took a deep breath and shut her eyes. When the opened, they were blue orbs. Raising a hand and closing it into a fist, she brought it down onto the ground. A burst of blue light momentarily blinded the students and sent the gathered spiders flying back.

Hilda's eyes regained their proper state, and she stood back up, looking down at her fist in surprise. "What the bloody hell was that?" Malfoy asked, pausing to rub the spots from his vision.

Hilda was saved the explanation by Harry. "Look!" he pointed to a gap in the line of spiders. "Let's go!"

They ran, and the spiders followed. "I'd just like to say that I don't want to eat you!" Lucas shouted as he clung to Hilda's scarf. "Not even a little bit!"

"That's very kind of you to say," Alfur replied, smiling in spite of the danger.

"Who said that?" Draco asked, head whipping around.

"If we survive this, I'll give you the necessary forms to sign," Hilda answered.

Ron glanced to his left, then his right. "They're trying to flank us!" he shouted. As the words left his mouth a bright light-make that two-flashed on in front of them. The students screeched to a halt, and Ron's brow furrowed in recognition. "Is that…?"

"What is that?" Malfoy asked, squinting to see past the twin beams.

"It's the Anglia!" Harry said, running towards the car.

"What's an Anglia?" Malfoy asked,

"It's a car," Hilda explained,

"...What's a car?"

The car popped its doors and honked impatiently. "Just get in!" Hilda shouted, shoving Draco into the backseat and following him in.

The Anglia's tires spun fast in the mud before it rocketed off, knocking aside any acromantula unfortunate enough to get in its path. Malfoy watched in shock as a spider was knocked up onto the hood before being dragged under the wheels and squished. "Such a beastly thing," he said. He tried the vinyl seats. "Comfy, though."

"I bloody hate spiders," Ron muttered.

"I don't really blame you," Lucas said, glancing out the rear window at the mob they were leaving behind. "That's not a nice way to treat new friends."

The next few minutes were spent in silence, as each passenger contemplated their close call and the revelations given by Aragog. "So, Hagrid was set up, then," Harry finally said. "He didn't open the Chamber."

"Who in their right minds would believe that to begin with?" Draco asked. "He's not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and certainly not clever or evil in any way."

"Thank you for your support," Harry replied dryly. "Even if you didn't phrase it the right way."

"How was I supposed to phrase it, Potter?"

"Less prat-like, probably," Hilda postulated.

Draco turned his attention to Hilda. "Perhaps now you can tell us what happened back there?"

Hilda gave a naive grin. "I don't know what you mean."

"That magic you used, that wasn't regular magic," Draco continued. "That was elemental magic, the oldest and most uncontrollable magic there is."

"Uncontrollable?" Ron asked. "How so?"

Draco frowned. "I don't know exactly how. It's the rawest of magic, pulled from the elements by the first wizards-the Druids and the Norsemen and the Shamans and what have you. It's not something that's taught much anymore; I suppose Runes are the sole exception."

"So, it's like fire," Ron said. "It's powerful, but you can get burnt."

"It's elemental," Draco reiterated. "So yes, it's like fire, and water, and wind. Almost impossible for a human to control without consequences."

"I knew someone who tried to control the weather," Hilda said, remembering Victoria Van Gale's laboratory. "It didn't work out too well for her."

"So you can see my surprise that you managed to pull old magic out of your literal hands," Draco said.

Hilda winced. "I don't know how I can explain it, you'll think I'm mad."

"I think you're impossible at the moment," Draco said. "I think mad would be an improvement."

Hilda looked down at her hands, tugging at the fraying cuffs of her sweater. "There's… something inside of me."

"Something?" Harry asked.

"Well, maybe someone."

"I really don't follow," Ron remarked, rubbing his eyes as he focused on the path through the trees ahead of them.

"There's a voice in my head," Hilda explained. "It speaks to me, it fights with me. I don't know who she is, and I don't know if I can trust her, because I think she wants to take full control of my body."

"Hilda, this sounds extremely dangerous," Alfur remarked. "You need to tell someone."

"I'm telling you all," Hilda shot back. Hilda sighed. "I'm sorry, Alfur. Who can I tell? Mum worries enough, and if I'm impossible, as Draco put it, then the wizards will probably poke and prod at me like a lab rat." She kicked at the seat in front of her, eliciting a short honk of irritation from the Anglie. "It's just frustrating. She's dangerous, and I know that she's not helping me for the right reasons, but the fact is we'd have been eaten by spiders back there if not for her." She looked at Harry. "And if not for her, we'd never have escaped the Dementors."

"Dementors?" Ron asked, startled. "What were you up to on your holiday?"

Harry winced. "I'll explain later."

Alfur frowned. "Hilda, I suppose the question to ask is, is this power worth the risk of losing control to the voice?"

Hilda looked out the window, watching the moon through the trees. "I don't know."

Well, we're getting close now, aren't we? I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I can't believe we have over 3,000 views. It's probably not much for some, but I'm happy for it, and thankful for my readers. Please follow and favorite, and leave a comment if you enjoy the story. If you have any questions or would like to point out any edits, feel free to PM me. Happy New Year, everyone!