Thank you to those that reviewed and followed! Now the story...
Sitting on a tree branch Lyla was watching the stars. She found them quite intriguing, the way they glittered and flashed above. She used to wonder if you could touch the stars and had often tried. But, to no avail. It had been one of those nights, where the fog that usually descended onto the forest, disappeared and one could look up and not have to squint to see the stars. She found it quite relaxing, giving her time to think things through.
One thing that had been her mind lately was the spiders.
Living in the forest so long, spiders were a natural occurrence and one gets used them after a while. But she knew spider behaviour and definitely didn't see this as normal. Because they all follow each other in a line, just like ants, right down deep into the forest. They came from all sorts of angles from the forest, but they all headed in the same direction. If they were to meet they just made a bigger line then the one they had before. It was very…intriguing. Just like stars.
She was almost about to doze off into a sleepless dream, when she noticed the dim light that slowly gained size, as she watched it. She sat up and slowly climbed down a few branches to get a better view of the light. That's when she noticed the two figures and a dog, surrounding the light. And as they got closer she recognised one of them…Potter boy.
She couldn't help but smile…It had been over a year since she last saw him…but then what was he doing back in the forest?
It was settled she had to find out.
So, when they were close enough, she jumped out of the tree right in front of them.
Surprised didn't cover it…
Potter boy, backed away in freight, a clear improvement from last year.
While his red-haired friend fell to the floor, in shock.
And the great big black dog, just barked once and then whimpered, stepping back.
Potter boy quickly recovered and acted as if he had known her a long time, bringing his wand up to her face.
"Lyla?" he said.
She nodded.
"What the bloody hell?" The red-head said.
Helping his friend up, Potter boy said, "Ron, remember last year when I got attacked by Voldemort in the forest?"
The boy flinched at the mention of Voldemort.
"Uh, yeah?" Ron said.
"Well…this is Lyla, the girl who saved me." Potter boy said.
Ron looked up and down Lyla taking in her appearance.
"Do you live in the forest or something?" he asked.
Lyla smiled, "Yes."
"Blimely…" Ron said.
"Lyla…do you know anything about where the spiders lead to?" Potter boy asked.
Lyla turned her attention to him, "Yes, they lead to a part of the forest that nobody goes."
"Oh great," Ron mumbled, "It had to be the place nobody goes too."
"Why that's?" Potter boy asked, ignoring Ron's comment.
"Don't know…I usually listen to what everybody says. There's usually a reason to why, so I don't go." Lyla answered shrugging.
Potter boy seemed to go into deep thought.
"Do you want to come with us?" He asked.
"Yes," she answered.
He smiled back at her and then gestured forward. "Let's go then."
They trudged along, following the steadily getting bigger line of spiders, much to Ron's agitation.
He mainly complained about someone called Hagrid, who seemed to have put them up to this mission to follow the spiders.
"Of course it will be spiders Hagrid wants us to follow. I mean after the dragon and the three-headed dog, of course it's going to be spiders!" Ron's says.
Lyla tilts her head looking at Ron, "Are you afraid of spiders?" She asks.
He looks at her strangely, "Uh, why…?"
"No reason…" She says, but shares an amused expression with Potter boy.
Then the black hound suddenly unleashed a deep throttled howl. Making the two boy's jump, Lyla didn't though, knowing there was a reason for the dog to howl and so started searching with her eyes for anything remotely recognisable. That's when she heard it…
"What?" Ron said, fear escaping his voice.
"There's something moving over there," Potter boy breathed. "Listen…Sounds like something big."
They listened and the sound of braking branches coming their way never can be good. Potter boy held his wand ready, as well as Ron.
"Oh no, oh no," Ron said, "Oh no, oh-"
He was shut up by Lyla's hand clasping over his mouth. She then brought one finger to her lips and hushed him.
A rumbling sound vibrated from where the thing was coming from and then silence.
"What do you think's it's doing?" Potter boy said.
"Probably getting ready to pounce," Ron said.
Lyla hushed them both, why can't they just shut up?
They waited, but were only met with eerily silence.
"Do you think it's gone?" Potter boy asks.
"Dunno-"
A blaze of light suddenly encased them, making each one shield their eyes in protection. Fang yelping and barking. Lyla had never seen anything like it before and was almost about to bolt when…
Ron shouted, "It's our car!"
Lyla had heard of cars, but had never seen one...She also didn't picture them moving around without an occupant.
Ron, followed by Potter boy and Lyla, rushed towards the blue car…well more like it's ruins. Even she could tell that it didn't use to look so dirty and muddy, with cracks and dents covering every inch of it…poor car.
"It was here all this time!" Ron said gazing at the car, "Look at it, the forest turned it wild…"
Potter boy put his wand into his pocket, while Ron continued to gaze and walk around the car.
"And we thought it was going to attack us," Ron said. "I wondered where it had gone!"
Lyla noticed Potter boy looking widely around at the floor. Then she noticed something in the dark.
"We've lost the trail," Potter boy said. "C'mon, let's go and find them."
But nobody listened to him, instead both Ron and Lyla stared transfixed onto the huge hairy spiders coming out of the darkness.
They didn't have time to react when the spiders rushed towards them, grabbing them around their middles, pincers clicking. Ron yelled, Fang whimpered and barked trying to fight off the creatures. Neither Potter boy or Lyla made a sound, too scared and surprised to say anything.
The spiders carried them for a distance, Lyla couldn't tell how long. She just tried to relax in its grasp, knowing that struggling wouldn't make a difference. She tried imaging herself somewhere else, but that had little effect of calming her down.
Suddenly she was dumped onto the ground and realised that one of the spiders was talking, calling out to someone, its pincers clicking every time it spoke.
"Aragog!" It said, "Aragog!"
She then noticed that everywhere she looked she was met with more...huge spiders.
Then appearing through the mist another spider appeared. Except this one was a big as an elephant and was older looking then the others. Grey hairs inhabiting its body and it's eyes a misty white colour...it was, she realised blind.
"What is it?" he said.
"Men and a lady." Clicked the spider that had caught Potter boy.
"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog said his milky eyes sweeping the scene.
"Strangers," clicked the one holding Ron.
"Kill them," Aragog said retreating back into the shadows. "I was sleeping..."
"Were friends of Hagrid!" Potter boy shouted as a last minute defense. "He-he sent us here."
The giant spider stopped saying, "Hagrid had never sent Men and a Lady into our Hallow before..."
"Hagrids in trouble," Potter boy said. "That's why he sent us..."
"In trouble?" The aged spider said, "But why has he sent you?"
Still sitting on the ground Potter boy spoke back. "They think, up at the school, that Hagrid's been setting-a-a something on the students. They've taken him to Azkaban."
Aragog clicked his pincers furiously, the sound mimicked by all the other spiders.
"But that was years ago," Aragog said fretfully. "Years and years ago. I remember it well. that's why they made him the leave the school. They believed I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and sent me free."
"And you...you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets " said Potter Boy looking fearful. But not as much as Ron who hadn't moved from his place sprawled on the floor. His eyes glued to the giant spider. Lyla not faring any better.
"I?" Aragog said anger printed in his voice. "I was not born in the castle. I came from a distant land. A traveler gave me to Hagrid as an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in the cupboard in the castle, feeding me scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend and a good man. When I was discovered and blamed for the death of the girl, he protected me. I have lived in the forest ever since, where Hagrid visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness..."
"So you never-never attacked anyone?" Potter boy said.
"Never,"croaked the old spider. "It would have been my instinct, but from respect of Hagrid, I never harmed any human. The body of the girl who was killed was discovered in the bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind like the dark and quiet..."
"But then...do you know what killed the girl," Potter boy said. "Because whatever it is, it's back and attacking people again-"
He was cut off by the clicking and sheer movement of hundreds of hairy spiders.
"The thing that lives in the castle," Aragog said, "is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about the castle."
"What is it?" said Potter boy urgently.
"We do not speak of it!" Aragog fiercely. "We do not name it! I didn't even tell Hagrid the name of the dreaded creature, through he asked me, many times."
Potter boy seemed to understand not to press the matter further and Lyla was glad he did. All those spiders seemed terribly close...
"Er, we'll be just going then."
"Go?" Aragog said slowly. "I think not..."
"But-but-"
"My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat, when it wonders so willingly into our mist. Goodbye friends of Hagrid." And with that Aragog disappeared into his own mist.
They didn't have to turn round to know that thick wall of spiders was behind them, the sound of clicking pincers and scuttling feet, only proved it more. It was, Lyla thought...show time.
She turned round, holding both her hands up at the spiders, only to have licking flames cast out from her hands. Barbecuing the nearest spiders.
Potter boy and Ron stared at her mouths agape, the spiders completely forgotten from their minds.
"How the hell?" Ron began. Fang already sprinting off into the forest.
"Run!" Lyla shouted at them grabbing a hand from each boy. "Unless you prefer death by huge, hairy spider."
Their legs kicked into motion, carrying them along at a fast sprint, trying not to trip in the pitch black. The spiders though, had already regained themselves...
A stampede erupted behind them as hundreds of spiders thundered towards them. It only made them run faster. But the spiders were getting closer.
"Shoot more fire!" Ron yelled to Lyla.
And she was about to, when the area was suddenly flooded with light, the spiders retreating from the glare.
And there stood the blue car, swinging it's door hinges out. Fang quickly jumped in.
"Into the car!" Potter boy shouted rushing towards it.
"Duh!" Lyla couldn't help but shout.
They clambered in, just as the spiders swamped the area. It was, Lyla thought, much more cramped then she imagined...or was it that it seemed like millions of spiders squeezing the car inwards.
Spiders...definitly.
Ron pushed the accelerator down, the car giving a jolt, then speeding forward flinging the spiders off the car. Bangs were heard outside as rogue spiders tried to break into a fast moving vehicle, failing dramatically.
And then...the spiders just stopped.
Even when the spiders had stopped, they carried on going, until they reached the edge of the forbidden Forest.
"Follow the spiders?" Ron said, all standing outside the car. "I'll never forgive Hagrid."
"He sounds like a great guy..." Lyla murmured.
"Great?" Ron said in disbelief. "What hell have we learned from going in there?" Ron gestured towards the forest.
"That Hagrid didn't open the Chamber of Secrets," Potter boy said. "He was innocent."
There was a pause between them. It was then they both noticed that Lyla had disappeared.
"Where the hell did she just disappear off to?" Ron said looking with-in the forest for a certain dirty girl.
"I don't know," Potter boy said. "She does that..."
"Who the hell is she anyway? Does Professor Dumbledore know that she lives there?" Ron asked.
"Yeah...he does actually." Potter boy said. "He said...we shouldn't really question it and that we can't tell anybody."
Ron look dumbstruck at the news. "Why would he let someone live in the forest for?"
"Dunno..." Potter boy said gazing at the dark forest. "We can only guess..."
Chapter two done!
I have no idea when the next one will be up, you'll just have to wait and see.
So did you like it? Wish to tell me any mistakes I've made?
Review!