If you're reading this, much love.
No words of advice for now, just stay happy, healthy, alive, and…
ENJOI
…
Summer had turned from a whispered promise at the end of a long spring into a stark reality. Outside the castle, the weather had turned ever warmer, the birds returned from their winter roostes in full force, and more flowers bloomed than ever before. The scene outside any window of Hogwarts castle was idyllic and serene, a Bob Ross masterpiece and a druid's dream come true.
But to all who knew him, the missing sight of Hagrid roaming the grounds, crossbow over a shoulder and faithful companion Fang at his heels, made the scenery look empty. If Hagrid's absence was felt, Dumbledore's was almost tangible. The students were escorted from class to class with bated breath. Everyone was terrified, and what little laughter that was to be found inside the castle was forced and fake and died quick and quiet deaths almost as soon as it left their lips.
Most of the teachers, despite their assurances otherwise, were mortified. McGonagall was hypervigilant even in class, her eyes always darting around for anything out of place. Flitwick never walked anywhere without his wand in his hand, and even Snape seemed to be permanently on edge. The Potion's Master had seized all bullying against non-Slytherin students, and had, in fact, actively tried to mentor Harry and James both on their latest essays on the known magical effects of doxy-wings.
Harry and Ron had both tried to visit Hermione and Travis one day, but were barred, as students were now no longer allowed inside unless experiencing a medical emergency. The news disturbed James, but he already had what they needed, and while he wished he could visit them to tell them their sacrifice hadn't been in vain, he knew they knew. Travis, at the very least, knew James wouldn't rest until he finished his work.
Meanwhile, Harry had fallen into the habit of constantly repeating Dumbledore's final words to himself "You will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me… Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it, whether from me, or the Guardians who would dream to defend it." But what good were these words, Harry had wondered. Who exactly were they supposed to ask for help, when everyone was just as confused and scared as they were?
Hagrid's final words had been easier to understand, but Harry had no idea that James had already figured it out. James had considered cluing him in, but thought against it, as he now felt responsible for everything and didn't want to bring any harm to his own twin like he felt he had their adopted brother. The fact that they were barely able to even see or speak to each other made such an exchange near impossible, anyways, as the Houses were now forced to segregate even at mealtimes to better keep a proper head count of all the students.
Only one person seemed to enjoy the oppressive and terrified atmosphere. Draco Malfoy and his ilk swaggered around the school like they now held exclusive rights to the damn place and challenged anyone who dared speak out against their crass demeanors. Harry thought he knew why Draco was so pleased until he overheard him spewing word vomit in Potion's class one day, proving his assumptions were far off base.
"Always knew Father'd be the one to sack that worthless blood traitor," Draco laughed as he slipped some frog legs into his cauldron. "I told you, he thinks Dumbledore is the worst thing to happen to this school in its history. Maybe now we'll get a new headmaster worthy of holding the title. Someone who wouldn't want the Chamber closed, someone who'll keep those worthless Mudbloods out of our halls. McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in, and I doubt a woman like her could actually fulfill that role with any degree of competence…"
Ron's fingers curled around the rim of his cauldron in a white knuckled grip, but Harry urged him with a hand on his shoulder to calm down. Snape passed by their seats, taking notice of Ron's reaction and saying nothing, but his eyes flicked to Hermione's empty seat and Harry swore he saw an expression of sympathy, or maybe regret, as Snape's dark eyes stared at her chair.
"Who do you think should take the job, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson asked in a breathy, awestruck voice, hanging onto his every word.
"Someone strong, someone knowledgeable about the dark arts and the history that makes Hogwarts great. One who appreciates the true order of things. Like… Professor Snape?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think they'll make you the new Headmaster?"
"I am quite sure I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Malfoy," Snape replied neutrally, walking away from his prized student with crossed arms.
"With Dumbledore sacked, they're going to need a new one," Pansy pointed out fanatically. "Surely you would apply for it!"
"Now now, Miss Parkinson," Snape said with a smile, but if Harry didn't know better, he would have thought it was forced. "Professor Dumbledore has only been temporarily removed from office. I am quite… certain, he will be rejoining us all very soon."
"Yeah, right," Draco flicked a hand through his hair and laughed. "I expect you'd have Father's vote if you applied, sir. I would even tell him you would be the best candidate for the job-"
"As honored as I am by your assessment of my abilities, Mr. Malfoy, I can assure you I do not need a Second Year student to vouch for me to the School Governors," Snape almost growled, his eyes flicking between Draco and Hermione's empty seat momentarily.
Draco paled at the anger Snape was showing, and backed down, looking confused about what he'd said wrong. Snape, to his credit, caught himself and straightened up from his threatening posture, smoothing out his robes and stalking out of the classroom and into his office. Seamus mimicked throwing up into his cauldron as soon as he was out of sight, but Draco laughed and shook his head.
"I'm quite surprised all the filthy Mudbloods haven't packed their bags by now," Draco mused whimsically, making Crabbe and Goyle guffaw. "Bet five galleons the next one dies. Shame it wasn't Barker and Granger; could've had the two-for-one special!"
Ron leaped off his chair to give Malfoy the butt-kicking he deserved but was cut off as the end of class bell rang. His efforts were hidden by everyone getting up to leave, but Harry and Dean Thomas still had to wrangle him to keep him out of trouble.
"Lemme at 'im," Ron hissed.
"Not now, let it go. Your wand's useless against him anyways…"
"I don't care," Ron growled, struggling against Harry and Dean Thomas's grips. "I don't need it. I'll kill him with my bare hands!"
"Hurry up," Snape barked over the din of everyone gathering their belongings. "I need to escort you all to your next class, and I'm short on time."
By the time they reached the greenhouses, Harry and Dean managed to get Ron to calm down, but the rest of the class was subdued. They were missing two of their number, both Justin and Hermione, and everyone kept sparing glances at their missing spots. Sprout put them to work pruning shrivelfigs, but the menial grunt work had done little to cut the edge off the tension they all felt.
Just as Harry had went arms deep into a compost heap, he looked up to find himself face to face with none other than Ernie MacMillan, the chubby-face blonde looking like he had something to say but was unsure of how to say it.
"What is it, Ernie?" Harry griped, wiping some sweat from his brow and pulling his gloved arms free from the compost.
"I just wanted to say- I- you know, I know you wouldn't have done that to Granger and Barker- they're family- I-"
"Spit it out, Macmillan," Harry demanded.
"I'm sorry," Ernie laughed nervously, taking his turn to wipe sweat from his face. "I'm sorry for everything I said, and for suspecting you of being the Heir. I have tried to say it earlier, but I just-couldn't find the words to say."
Ernie held out a pudgy hand, and Harry rolled his eyes at being forced to remove his gloves to shake it. After that, Ernie and his friend Hannah found it somehow okay to join him and Ron at their station, where Ernie and Hannah did what they were best at; gab.
"That Malfoy character," Ernie laughed as he broke off dead twigs from his fig. "He seems all too pleased with all of this, don't you think?"
"Oh, we hadn't noticed," Ron scoffed sarcastically.
"Ever think maybe he's the heir of Slytherin?" Hannah asked politely.
"Well, there's a thought that should have never crossed anyone's minds," Harry snarked at her, making her deflate a bit.
"Do you think it was him, Harry?" Ernie asked.
"No," Ron and Harry chorused before looking at each other, regretting saying that much.
"Can I ask why?" Hannah pried, looking suspicious.
"Think about it," Ron shrugged. "Daddy Malfoy's a governor on the school board. It would be stupid to risk that sort of public backlash, don't you think? One slip up and he could ruin the entire family's precious reputation."
"That does make sense," Hannah conceded.
"Doesn't mean he doesn't have to hate it," Harry scoffed. "He just has to make sure he isn't a part of it."
Ernie went to say something in response, but Harry cut him off with a hand as he noticed something peculiar. He spotted something and pointed out the army of spiders, all of whom marched in a straight, single file line, making their way out of the green house.
"S-spiders?" Ron squeaked.
"What are they doing?" Hannah asked as she knelt to inspect them. "I never seen spiders act like a group before…"
"Because they normally don't," Ernie replied. "Most spider breeds aren't usually communal beings."
"How do you know?" Ron demanded suspiciously. "you a spider expert or something?"
"Travis Barker told me," Ernie shrugged. "He had been doing some pretty heavy reading about magical and non-magical creatures at the beginning of the year, and told me all about acromantulas, who are community based, travel in groups for protection, and are actually intelligent enough to talk when they get to a large enough size. Acromantulas… that's what I think these all are… Which explains why they are grouped together like this."
"It looks like they're heading towards the Forbidden Forest," Harry deduced as he tracked their path against the light of the midday sun.
"Huh," Ernie shrugged and stood up, dusty his hands. "Nothing we can do about it…"
"We're going to the Forbidden Forest, aren't we?" Ron whispered fearfully into Harry's ear.
"You can bet your last galleon we are."
Before Ron could argue, Lockhart bounded into the greenhouse, all smiles and bouncing on his heels. It was nearly time to move onto their last class, Defense Against the Dark arts, and he was there to escort them to class. He noted the grim, dark faces of the students and frowned in concern, putting his hands on his hips. "Come now, why all these long faces?"
Everyone looked at each other in exasperation, but nobody said anything, as if the why and how should have been apparent. Lockhart was having done of it and clapped his hands. "Oh, come now, children! Don't you see? The threat is over, and the culprit has been taken away!"
"Says who?" Seamus Finnegan demanded angrily, cracking his knuckles.
"My dear boy," Lockhart flipped his hair and smiled a carefree smile, an act that no longer had the effect it used to on the girls of the class. His voice was condescending, as if he were telling a toddler that one plus one equaled two, making everyone grit their teeth in annoyance. "The Minister of Magic himself travelled all the way out here to take Rubeus Hagrid to Azkaban! He wouldn't have done so if he wasn't a hundred percent sure he was guilty!"
"Oh, yes he would," Seamus growled and balled his fists. "The Minister of Magic would throw his own mother under the bus to save his own image."
"I flatter myself I know a tab bit more about Hagrid's arrest than you do, Mr. Finnegan."
"Maybe," Ron whispered angrily. "But not us."
Harry kicked his shin. "We weren't supposed to be there, remember?"
But Lockhart's disgusting cheeriness, his hints that he had always thought Hagrid was no good, his confidence that the whole business was now at an end, irritated Harry so much that he yearned to throw Gadding with Ghouls right in Lockhart's stupid face. Instead, he contented himself with scrawling a note to Ron later in class: Let's do it tonight.
…
Tonight was the night. James looked out the window of the darkened grounds from his perch above Ravenclaw Tower, once again dressed as the Black Forest Guardian, crouched on the sill with one hand stabilizing him against the stone, while the other tapped the experimental magical walkie talkie on his ear. He had finally, after days of searching, found a group of spiders running from the castle and tracked them, finding that they were running for the forest. His research concluded they were acromantulas, like Hagrid had predicted.
"Check, check," Brian's voice rang in his ear loud and clear, breaking the midnight silence.
"Its perfect," James replied, and looked over at Brian and Kiara, who were both hanging out the dormitory window and looking at him with forlorn expressions. "Guys, we talked about this."
"But I want to go," Brian complained.
"Me, too," Kiara crossed her arms.
"I need an overwatch," James insisted for the third time. "And besides, after last year, I don't want to risk running into anything crazy in the forest and you two getting hurt. We don't have enough gear for all of us…"
"That bull and you know it," Brian muttered with a frown. "You're just scared that what happened to Travis will happen to us."
James looked down and away from him in shame. He wasn't wrong, but James wasn't going to admit it, either. "You will do better here, in the sky and in the castle keeping a watch for anything untoward. These earpieces are going to work much better out in the open, but their range is still limited, I need all the help I can get."
Brian huffed and shook his head, and Kiara rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry. He hated making them feel like this, but he just… he couldn't afford to see them hurt like Travis now. It'd hurt him more than he could handle emotionally, and it would throw him off course too much.
"I appreciate you playing along, though," he finally said, giving them both a soft smile. "It's nice to know I'm not going in completely alone."
"But you are," Brian scoffed.
James tapped his ear. "Not with you two whispering sweet nothings, baby."
Brian sneered, clearly unappreciative of James's humor, and pulled himself back into the dorm. Kiara watched him walk away before slipping out of the window and swinging her leg over her own broom. Once in the air, she joined him in a formation, and they took off for the tree line of the Black Forest.
They were both quiet, not saying anything as they descended through the moonless night. The silence was palpable, and he knew Kiara had a lot more that she had wanted to say to him, but he didn't badger er about it and kept his eyes peeled. They came to a stop twenty feet above the edge of the treeline, and James turned to her, only to find she'd gotten close and in his face.
"Don't screw this up," she warned him, her eyes meeting his in the darkness.
"I won't," he replied back, taken aback but not faltering under her look.
"Travis almost died defending Hermione over this lead," Kiara muttered, hard gaze softening to a sad warmth as she looked down for a moment before looking back up with her mask back in place. "Don't mess it up because of your stupid pride."
"I am intimately aware of what's at stake," James said back neutrally, his face settling into a stoic mask of his own. "I didn't need reminding."
"Maybe, maybe not," Kiara shrugged, then grabbed James's wrist in a painful twist. "But your insistence on rolling this one solo has shaken Brian's confidence in you, he thinks you don't trust him. You don't want him thinking you think he's a liability."
"I already explained-"
"And it was a terrible explanation. He feels the same as you, if not more so because he saw it happening in his head and wasn't given the chance to do anything about it. You are robbing him of his own chance at personal vindication, and its messing with him. If anything happens to you in there and you didn't let him help stop it, it'll kill him."
Kiara then grabbed James by the collar and pulled her face close into his with a stern glare. "So, for the last damn time… Don't. Screw. Up."
James gulped and fell quiet before nodding. "Yes, Mom, sorry Mom."
She shoved him backwards and tore off into the night sky, disappearing into the inky darkness instantly, leaving James feeling more ashamed and alone than ever before. He didn't get a real chance to process that fully, however, as a light caught his attention in his peripheral. Someone just lit a lantern inside Hagrid's hut…
…
"Ron, you're stubbing my toes!" Harry hissed as they trundled their way into Hagrid's hut. Fang started barking like mad, so Ron quickly pulled out a barrage of treacle he'd hoarded from dinner and all but smashing it into the more-than-eager dog's mouth, effectively gluing his gums shut.
"Sorry, mate," Ron heaved a heavy sigh and looked around the bleak, dark hut.
It had gotten dustier since Hagrid had left, and only James had been given permission to check on and feed Fang, so it wasn't like Harry's illustriously lazy twin brother had concerned himself with cleaning. Fang, however, had been one of James's absolute weak spots that he adored spoiling, and looked to have packed on even more weight, going from a large fat dog to practically overweight.
"Looks like somebody needs some extra exercise," Harry muttered as he gave the dog a hearty head scratch. Lighting one of the few lanterns Hagrid bothered to keep in the hut, Harry then pulled Fang's large leather lead and, for good measure, Hagrid's crossbow and bolts, off the mantle and slung the weapon on his back and the clip onto Fang's collar. "We'll give you a nice good walk tonight, chum."
If Fang appreciated the sentiment, he didn't sshow it as he chomped at his gums to clear the treacle glue holding them together. Ron rolled his eyes as he folded the Invisibilty Cloak into his pack. "Think Hagrid has a spare one a' those laying 'round?" he asked, pointing to Harry's appropriated crossbow.
"I would think so," Harry muttered, looking around. "I only grabbed it because I can hear my inner James telling me to be safe rather than sorry…"
"… Because its not your inner James, but your outer," a muffled voice said whimsically from above them, coming through the shabby slats of the roof.
"Ah!" Harry screamed and wheeled around, pulling the trigger to the crossbow in the direction of the sudden voice.
"Ow!" it hollered back. "I mean, you didn't hit me but Jeeeeezus! Are you trying to kill me?!"
"James?" Ron asked meekly.
"Yeeeees?"
"Oh, thank God," Harry sighed heavily, loosing a held breath he didn't know he keeping in and nearly dropping the crossbow in defeat.
"God isn't here, so you can settle on thanking me," James muttered as he nimbly flipped down from the roof and through an open window. He was dressed oddly, all in black with a mask over the lower half of his face. "After you apologize for nearly shooting me!"
"You should have known better than to scare us if you didn't wanna be shot!" Harry snarked back.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought I'd show you how ABSOLUTELY STUPID YOU ARE FOR LIGHTING A LANTERN INSIDE THE HOUSE OF A MAN WHO ISN'T HERE!"
Harry snapped his mouth open to clap back, but snapped it back closed as he realized how stupid that really was of him to do. "You… may have a point, there. But still, getting he jump on us like that is partially your fault."
James looked down, thinking for a moment, then shrugged. "Fair point. So what are you nitwits doing out here?"
"Following the spiders."
"You found them too?" James demanded.
"Yeah. In Herbology," Harry shrugged. "They're heading-"
"Right into the Black Forest," James finished for him. "Acromantulas."
"How do you know?" Ron asked, dumbstruck.
"Because he was here," Harry guessed with confidence. "You were the one Hagrid's had set out kettle on for before we arrived, weren't you?"
James held his hands up like he was an all-star, and his eyes looked like he was smiling. "One and only. I figured out who the monster is and everything, too."
"So we don't need to run and find the spiders then," Ron chirped happily, clapping his hands and rubbing them like they'd done a good night's work. "James has it all covered, so we can just run off to bed-"
"Not likely," Harry and James chorused, as Harry horse-collared Ron from running away.
"Hagrid wasn't able to give me all the details before you two showed up, and then he was taken away before he could tell you anything at all. All he gave us was 'Follow the spoiduhs,' so… here I am. Getting answers for why my brother and best friends are locked up like statues in the hospital wing."
James's words seemed for form something of a rod in Ron's spine and he straightened up a bit. James, however, seemed to look down and away, seemingly morose at the reminder of Hermione and Travis's condition. Harry stepped forward and wrapped an arm around him.
"He'll be back to normal in no time."
"They all will, and they are going to wakeup to a happy and healthy Hogwarts, free of any basilisk that would dare touch them ever again, too."
Harry nodded. "Right. Wait, basilisk?"
James seemed to chew his lip for a moment. "The monster kept in the Chamber. I found the book Hermione and Travis used to figure it out. It's a basilisk. Big ugly snake that has the capacity to either poison or petrify its victims before eating them."
Ron gulped and Harry paled. "That means…"
"Travis got a heaping helping of venom when it bit him. Pompfrey will know how to fix it, I already researched the cure and have the recipe to give her, if the stupid teachers will ever gimme an opportunity to give it to her…"
"We kill that thing, we can all tell her together," Harry said firmly with a decided nod.
"How in the bloody hell do you suppose we kill an oversized snake?" Ron demanded.
"Tacticlly," James replied simply.
"We are twelve!" Ron cursed.
"Incredibly smart and mature twelve, thank you," James sniffed. "But this argument is invalid if we don't even know here to find the damn thing, we need to know where it's lair is. Which is exactly what I'm hoping to find out from Aragog."
"Aragog?" Ron asked.
"The Acromantula," James explained, pointing towards the forest. "Hagrid set him up in the forest and found him a female to shack up with after Dumbledore got him the job here at 'Warts. Anyway, Hagrid dropped the hint that it-he- whatever the damned thing is, knows what's going on. Dunno how an overgrown spider's supposed to tell us anything, but alas, here we are…"
"Acromantula's are intelligent and can talk once they reach a certain size," Harry informed him. James stared at him hard, making him shrivel a bit. "Apparently Travis told Ernie all about them earlier this year…"
"Oh," James deadtoned, once again adopting a sad sort of look at the mention of Travis. "Right, sounds… sounds like… well, my research never said anything about that, but sounds like Travis might have had a different source?"
"Let's go get this over with," Ron said with a slight surge of courage. "For his sake."
"Uh, yeah," James nodded hollowly. "Not going to lie, I avoided telling you all what I knew to hope to keep you all outta this. I was gonna run this all solo."
Ron snorted. "That's stupid."
"Excuse me?"
"You're stupid. You think you're smart and tough, which, I mean, you are, from a certain point of view. But you're still a kid like us, and you don't know nearly as much as you think you do."
"Wow, rude."
"Just facts, mate," Ron shrugged but didn't relent. "You can't even play your way out of a game of chess, what makes you think you can outsmart a thousand year old snake or interrogate a fifty year old talking spider by yourself?"
James glared at Ron. "I'd figger it out."
"On the fly, right? You know you aren't solely responsible for everything and everyone, right?"
"Says the kid who can't even stand there without trembling in fear everytime someone says the word spider."
"Insults and personal attacks are the only weapon in the arsenal of people who know they're wrong," Harry quoted their mother, making James snarl.
"Quit acting like Mom," he hissed.
"I'll quit acting like Mom, when you quit acting like Dad," Harry pressed, crossing his arms. "You aren't doing this alone, you can't, and to think you could is bad, and you should feel bad."
James threw his hands up and stomped towards the window. "Fine. Whatever, go into the forest on foot or whatever, Detective Lions. Since I'm apparently completely stupid and useless and reckless, I'll just stay outta your way."
"James," Harry tried to reach out to grab him, but James threw him off. "We weren't saying that at all, we aren't saying to leave!"
"Yeah, well, ya didn't have to, pally," James growled as he pulled himself out of the window. "Ya talked me out of it when ya told me I was dumb and reckless, so I guess ya's can all just figger it out on your own."
Before they could respond, he was out and in the air, taking off on a broom before they could even react. Harry watched in confusion as he took of into the air, but as he flew off, Harry could swear he heard a voice whisper, "They're right, you know…"
…
"They're right, y'know," Kiara muttered as James flew into the air.
"Shut it," James snarled. He wasn't in the mood for a lecture. Granted, he was never in the mood for a lecture, but after that spat he wasn't up for taking one. What made it worse was that they were right, and he was still feeling raw about it after figuring that out himself. He had been reckless, he had been stupid, and he had been petty. Them bringing it up just stung harder than a murder hornet.
"You know they're right, don't you?" Kiara asked innocently, but her voice and her question was enough to make James want to rip the damn radio thingymajigger right out of his damned ear.
"I figured it out weeks ago and I feel bad enough, kindly stop rubbing salt into the wound."
"Oh."
"Yeah. Look, if all you're going to do is try to talk about feeelingss and whatnot, just go to bed, I am not going to tolerate it right now."
"I'll stop."
"Mind you do."
Silence reigned after that, as James hovered over the edge of the forest, pondering whether he should go in after the disappearing forms of Ron, Harry, and Fang, or just give it up and go to bed like a good boy for once. His thoughts moved to Travis, motionless in time, his back carved open with a pained smile on his face. He knew then what he was going to do. He wasn't going to see Harry and Ron and Brian and Kiara or anyone else like that, not ever again. With an aggravated huff, he angled his broom down, and started silently weaving through the boughs and leaves of the forbidden Black Forest.
His flight was quiet compared to the trundling and pushing that Ron and Harry were doing in the dense underbrush of the forest. They had passed through the relatively sparse forest floor minutes ago, and started to get into the deeper, wilder parts now. Well of the beaten path, they followed the trail of spiders, Fang whimpering getting louder and more cowardly the deeper they got.
Moonlight barely percolated through the dense canopy above, and the humid, muggy air turned colder and denser the further in they went. Soon, even though it was mid spring, their breathing turned into clouds in front of their faces, and yet that was the only indication James gave of himself being there at all. Ron and Harry couldn't notice, as their faces were practically buried in the dirt trying to keep an eye on the spiders. Finally, they came across what looked like a small ravine in thee forest, a massive dip in the floor that was pronounced up above by the trees within being shorter in comparison to the rest.
James nearly fell of his broom when Fang barked, a ruff so loud that it nearly made his ears ring.
"What's happening?" Kiara asked over the radio.
"Dunno," James whispered back. "Gimme a sec."
"What is it?" Ron wheezed in fear.
"Dunno," Harry unknowingly mimed his twin. "Wait, there's… there's something over! Listen, you hear it? Sounds big!"
They all listened. A few dozen meters to Harry and Ron's right, a sound could be heard. The sound of something hard scrabbling over something hard, like stone on stone, but wetter, or like metal on gravel, or something of that sort.
"Oh, hell no," Ron whimpered as he trembled in trepidation. "Oh, nonononono!"
"Shut up," Harry hissed, clapping a hand over Ron's mouth. "It'll hear you!"
It already has, you dolt! James screamed internally as he pulled his wand free and pointed it in the direction of the approaching giant… whatever it was. Ron and Harry stood stock still, Fang trembling at Harry's side as he held onto his lead with white knuckles as the thing grew closer and closer to them. Faint traces of moonlight reflected dully off its surface, giving James brief glimpses of dented metal and dirty, teal paint…
James almost fell off his broom a second time, this time trying to control his peels of laughter. They'd gotten all worked up over the Anglia! It was the Anglia!
"Is that dad's car?" Ron suddenly laughed, and stepped forward. The car turned its lights on and trundled forward toward Ron like a dog greeting its owner. It nudged Ron's shin as he approached, and Ron patted the hood in wonder. It seemed to approve of the behavior, because it revved its engine and flickered it lights in an almost adorable fashion. "It is! Bloody hell, its still out here! Think the forest's made it a bit wild."
"What's it doing out here?" Harry balked as he and Fang approached.
"I dunno," Ron replied with a scoffing laugh.
"C'mon," Harry urged as he searched the now illuminated ground for the baby spiders, but not finding any. "Lost the trail… we need to find them!"
James, from up high, heard something to his left, and immediately bolted up into the trees to hide. As he did, three large, sider-like forms fell down past him, either not noticing him or not caring. The spiders, acromantulas by the looks of them, scittered towards Ron, Harry, and Fang, snagging them up before James could get a spell off.
"Whaaaa! Harry!" Ron cried as he was snatched up in the grip of a four-foot long spider.
"I know!" Harry yelled back as Fang's lead was torn from his grip. They were quickly whisked away deeper in the forest so fast James couldn't keep up, mush less get a good shot for a spell. The only way he could even tell what direction they were heading in was because of Fang's barking, which was growing fainter by the second as James swooped, dived, and pirouetted through the tree branches.
"Dammit!" he cursed, tapping the radio. "Kiara, they just got snagged up by oversized spiders the ssize of great danes!"
"Acromantulas?" she asked urgently. "James, that's not good! They aren't fully intelligent at that stage and their venom is highly concentrated!"
"I know, dammit! Arrrgh, dammit! Brian? Brian! Are you hearing me!"
"-arely," Brian's voice came over the radio through static. "-'s go-g on?"
"Get out here we need you!" James cried as he ducked and weaved through branches. "Kiara, tell him we need him here now!"
"Brian, James says get out here now! Teenage acromantulas are taking off with Ron and Harry!"
"-and Harry? Wh- they-out there?!"
"I dunno just get here!"
James left the communicating to them as he flew as fast and as daringly he could after Fang's barking, barely managing to realize that it was now getting closer as if it came to a stop. He slowed as he neared, and eventually came to a stop as his eyes found one of the most terrifying things he'd ever saw. The entire section of the forest was in was covered from canopy to floor in spider webs. Hundreds-no, thousands of acromantulas, ranging in size from common house spiders to mountain lions were congregated in a massive clearing, looking almost like an arachnid noble court. There, at the far end of the clearing atop a massive dirt pile, rested their King, a massive and scarred Acromantula who looked like it had lived through a hundred battles.
The spiders dropped Harry, Ron, and Fang in the center of the clearing. Ron immediately grabbed Fang by the neck with both arms, the two of theem whimpering into each other's shoulders as Harry stood up, dusting himself off. James aimed his wand at the King, but stayed his spell as something nagged at the back of his brain, telling him to wait this moment out until the last second.
"Aragog!" the spider who had been carrying Harry called out to its King. It's voice was raspy and gritty, like sandpaper grinding on a finger nail and made James's ears hurt hearing it. "Aragog!"
"Yes, Kemagor," the King spoke in a deeper, slightly smoother voice. "What is this?"
"Men!" Kemagor replied in a tone James thought might be enthusiasm. "Found men! Fresh meats for tribe! No eat children!"
"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog asked, moving forward so that he was more exposed in moonlight. His scars, which were noticeable from a distance, become more pronounced and were far more extensive than James originally thought. They criss-crossed across his carapace, some deeper, some shallower, and he even had a few dry-rotting arrows sticking out in places. His eyes, glazed over by filmy white cataracts, seemed to have a hard time seeing, which was why he moved forward to get a getter look at Ron and Harry. "No, 'tis not Hagrid."
"Strangers," Kemagor hissed, his mandibles clicking in hunger as he turned towards Harry vicisously.
"Kill them and share with your brothers and sisters, child," Aragog instructed. "They should have known better than to cross our territory."
"We're friends of Hagrid's!" Harry shouted at Aragog, his hands held up to keep Kemagor at bay while his eyes pleaded with Aragog. "He's in trouble and told us to come to you for help!"
"What's going on?" Kiara whispered into James's ear.
"They were taken to Aragog's place," James whispered back. "Hold tight, I think they're going to talk… Just be ready to swoop in when I shoot a flare, okay?"
"Okay."
"Hagrid's in trouble?" Aragog stopped short of his hike away from the court and turned back to regard Harry. "What is your name, son of man?"
"Harry Potter."
Hisses and clicks filled the clearing in a cacophony of the acromantula version of an uproar, and Aragog held up a foreleg to silence them. "Harry Potter you say? Yes, Hagrid has told us much of you, Banisher of the Dark Lord. Tell me, child. Quickly, what has Hagrid gotten into?"
"He's been taken to Azkaban," Harry informed him as he stepped forward with steel in his spine. "The Minster took him away because they think he opened the Chamber of Secrets!"
Araagog's mouth pincers clicked together in a rapid motion while his mandibles worked furiously. "That is a lie! Hagrid never opened the Chamber!"
"We know," Harry nodded. "Hagrid sent us here to get more information that could help free him and clear his good name."
"Yes, that would be prudent of him to do so…" Aragog muttered, his head turning to and fro in thought. "Fools thought I was the monster of the Chamber. I, a mere acromantula! What fools are they to mistake a serpant for a mere, humble spider."
James gulped and looked Aragog up and down. Judging by his battle scars and sheer size, he'd venture to guess Aragog was selling himself a bit short. He was easily the same size as the Ford Anglia, if not a taad bigger. The hairs of his carapace was eaily twice as long as one of James's fingers, and his eyes were as big around as small saucer plates. The fangs on his mandibles were easily as long as daggers, and they dripped entire teacups' worth of venom onto the ground as he spoke.
Humble spider, indeed.
"I was not born of that castle nor of this land. I was born in the distant land of cold fog and long nights. A travler bought me as an egg and sold me to the young Rubeus Hagrid, who tended to me and cared for me as not a pet, but as a person. He kept me in a cupboard in an abandoned room, feeding me table scraps and pieces of raw chicken. It wasn't until that boy that night the girl with bad eyes died that my entire life was thrown into chaos. They believed I was the monster, but no. I heard the calls of it and rightfully feared it so. I wanted to run, but was too young and dependant on Hagrid to survive on my own. That boy, the one who was the Harbinger of Hagrid's ruin, tried to kill me and I was left with no choice but to run in the end. After he was expelled from his colonly, Hagrid found me here and set me up in the forest, found me my wife Mosag, and we founded our own colony."
"So it wasn't you who attacked the students?" Harry asked, his shoulders sagging in a bit of relief.
"It twasn't I," Aragog affirmed. "Never would have, either, less they stumble upon our land. Twould have on instinct alone, but alas, I have great respect for the Man, Hagrid. The body of that girl was found in a room Hagrid said was for baths. I never saw it, so I know not what it was used for… I only ever saw my cupboard, and the halls that I retreated down before making my way here. We acromantulas love our dark and our quiet."
"So what did attack this girl?"
"The thing that lives in that castle is a creature not of nature but man, a cruel, vile serpent who thinks naught of anything but itself. It can only be controlled by its master, whose blood it can smell, and suffers not the wasting of time, nor the passing of it. It grows and feeds and hungers, nothing more. This is a creature we fear above all others, even the massing of men and wand."
"A serpent, you say," Harry nodded, looking down in thought.
"The basilisk," James whispered to himself. He never did get around to telling Harry and Ron about it in greater detail.
"You say something?" Kiara asked.
"Yeah- well, no," James replied quietly. "Sorry, they are talking to Hagrid's Aragog, and he's not telling anything we don't already know."
"Does he mean the basilisk James mentioned?" Ron asked in a quivering voice.
The name caused an uproar among the spiders, and Aragog stomped toward them threateningly. "Do not speak its foul name here, Son of Man!"
"Sorry!" Ron squeak-yelled, holding his hands up pleadingly. "So sorry!"
Aragog growled and backed up a bit, his body shuddering as he rested back on his rear legs a bit. "We do not speak of it! We do not speaketh its vile name! It is a terror of terrors who we dare not so much as whisper about! Not even to Hagrid, who pleaded we tell him!"
"Right, right," Harry nodded in faux understanding, looking nervously at the other acromantulas who were now closing in on them. "We're sorry. We'll-uh, we'll just go-er, now, if that's okay."
Aragog turned his back to them and started cresting back up his mound. "Go? Go where? I think not, for I am sorry, Harry Potter, Son of Man. I made a promise to Hagrid to never venture outside our colony to hunt for the flesh of Man. My children, however, made no such promise, and I cannot deny them the chance fro fresh meat of Man, no matter their relationship to out friend and sponsor."
"What?" Harry gasped.
"I am sorry. I cannot deny them fresh meat, not when it wanders so willingly into their midst. Goodbye, Harry Potter, friend of Hagrid."
James watched in horror as the spiders, now clamoring over each other in a struggling, growing wall of spiders, bore down on Harry and Ron as Aragog nestled on his pile of earth. If there was ever a time to reveal himself, this was it, and unleash his spell he did.
"Confrigo!" James roared, pointing his wand at the massing pile. It exploded in bright violet light, sending spider parts and gore flying as the center of the group was torn to shreds. The force knocked them back, as well, giving Harry, Ron, and Fang a window to bolt.
"Run for it!" Harry cried, snagging Fang's lead in one hand and Ron's arm in the other. They sprinted through the now mangled and confused center of the spider's desperate formation, heading back towards the direction they saw the Anglia.
"What?!" Aragog gasped in shock as he stood back up, filmy eyes searching desperately for James. "Another! There was another Man of Magic! Get him! Get them all!"
"Not on your life, you eight legged freaks!" James barked as he pointed his wand at Aragog. "Stupefy!"
Aragog flew backwards and hit the trunk of a tree behind him with the force of a car, splintering the ancient tree's bark and cracking his carapace. Aragog heaved in pain but was ignored as more of his children flooded into the clearing, walking over his crumpled form in the process.
"Confrigo!" James casted the blasting spell again, carving up a large section of the center of the clearing into a crater. "Confrigo! Confrigo! Run, you fools! Run! I got you covered!"
"Running!" Ron cried, his voice already carrying from thee distance.
Having had his fill of spider hunting, and assured he'd broken their lines into enough chaos, James turned and bolted through the trees, clutching his broom with one hand and his wand in the other, barely taling the time to point it upwards into the sky to cast aa quick, "Periculum!" The red, sparkling flare shot through the trees upwards, telling Kiara and Brian just exactly where they were.
"We see ya," Brian called over the radio. "Need some help?"
"Yes, please!" James replied as he ducked under a branch and narrowly missing the claws of an acromantula that had hid in the trees. "Stupefy!"
"Sounds like it is getting hairy!"
"In more ways than one, Brother!" James shot back as he heaved the slumping, hairy, out cold spider out of his path.
Harry and Ron, meanwhile, were beeling, knowingly or not, right towards the Anglia. Spiders were hot on their heels, fangs salivating venom as they scarbbled after their prey. James shot at them one by one, focusing more on the ones closest to them than using more blasting spells, lest it shot them up as well. His covering fire was made hard, though, as the spider's were getting smarter about the concept of him flying after them, and started climbing the trunks of trees to get at him.
"MEEEEAAAT!" one screamed as it dove for him, and James was sure he goose was cooked as it hurtled towards him in almost slow motion. He was saved by a scarlet beam of energy, though, as Kiara came hurtling through the treetops and unleashed a stunning spell of her own on the creature. It halted its jump midflight and was slammed into the ground, its body cracking and dying from the force of the hit.
"Holy hell I could kiss you right now!" James shrieked as he jinked and bobbed over a tree branch.
Paving the road for Ron and Harry got a lot easier thanks to Kiara's help, and with Brian, unsteady on his broom but keeping it under control enough to watch their backs. This disn't stop the horde, however, and it still got closer and closer to the fleeing boys and dog on foot. One acromantula made a flying leap at Ron's back, but was surprisingly crushed down by none other than a large, teal car, who appeared seemingly out of nowhere, landing from the air and turning it's lights on. Its doors flew open and it honked its own horn, and Ron and Harry stopped short, gawping at it for a second in shock.
"Get in you clatty dolts!" Kiara ordered as she blasted another spider. "Get in before you become a glorified spider sack!"
They didn't ned to be told twice. Ron dove into the drivers seat while Harry slid across the hood Dukes of Hazzard style, wrangling Fang into the back seat before getting inside himself just in the nick of time. The car slammed the doors shut, catching the leg of one acromantula who tried to grab at Harry's arm, snapping it off gruesomely as it fore off through the underbrush. Now having the advantage of speed, they were off, and James and company could now focus merely on flying, putting distance between themselves and their pursuers with greater efficacy.
They followed the car all the way to Hagrid's hut, where it shut its lights off wisely to avoid detection. Ron, Harry, and Fang stumbled out of it, and Ron patted its hood affectionately. "'Follow the spiders,' that was great advice… I never thought I would ever say this before in my life… but good Car. Good, good Car."
The Anglia purred its engine affectionately, then backed up, turning to trundle its way back into its newfound home.
"That… was way too messed up," James gasped as they landed on the ground, He pulled off his hood and yanked his mask down, wiping the sweat from his face.
"Nobodies ever going to believe us when we tell this story to our children," Harry agreed.
"If we even survive ling enough to have children," Ron joked, running a shaky hand down his own pale face. He started laughing, a sort of full body, from-the-belly kind of laughter that made his whole body shake, and soon, they were joining him, laughing the tension of the entire situation away. They fell quiet after a few moments, and James led them on shaky legs inside the hut, where they all congregated to sit down.
They still all remained quiet as Kiara boiled a kettle for tea over a small, stealthy fire. She passed them all steaming hot mugs pulled from Hagrid's selection of hand carved wooden cups, and settled down on the floor beside James, sipping at her own. They stayed like that for a while, just processing the absurdity of the situation they were in, while also coming down from the adrenaline high.
"So… what was that about?" Brian finally asked, breaking the social ice that had been forming.
"Aragog was Hagrid's spider back in his days here at 'Warts," James explained. "He told us all about how he wasn't the monster in the Chamber."
"That's it?" Kiara asked. "We already all knew that."
"Yeah, he wasn't too keen on talking about the real monster, though," Harry sighed as he leaned forward in his chair, hands hugging his mug and elbows resting on his knees. "Its real taboo for them, they're so afraid of it."
"So this was a wasted effort," Brian muttered. "All that arguing, all that emotion, all that fighting… for nothing. We killed a bunch of those things."
"Good Ron scoffed, spitting on the fire with distaste. "Bloody things had it coming, you ask me. Seriosuly, why did it have to be spiders?"
"Because Hagrid doesn't see a puppy and think cute," James rolled his eyes. "Just… 'boring.' Nah, in his twisted hellhole of a mind, he sees the clawiest, snappiest, thorniest, most ugly monsters and creatures in the world and thinks, 'Awwww!'"
"Wasn't it Newt Scamnder who said, "There isn't any strange creatures, only blinkered people'?" Kiara proposed.
"If Newt Scamander thinks that, he's more of an idiot then people give him credit for," James scoffed as he sipped his tea.
"I'll drink to that," Ron muttered, holding his mug in in Cheers before taking a hearty chug.
"We're back to square one, then," Harry sighed. "We know what it is, but not where it is. We can't do anything without knowing where the Chamber is."
"Yeah, Aragog wasn't exactly helpful," Ron replied weakly. "Hey, uh, James?"
"Yeah?"
"Sorry," he he spoke quietly, his eyes down on the floor.
"'Bout what?"
"Earlier, what we said?" Ron prompted, looking up with a quirked, worried eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah, that," James droned, earing a slug to the arm from Kiara. "I mean-er, uh… don't sweat it?"
"We weren't trying to insult you," Harry pressed, standing up and offering a hand to his twin. "We're just-"
"Its been a hard month," James cut him off, taking the offered hand and letting his twin haul him to his feert for a hug. "We're all a little sore in the head."
"We'll get 'em back," Harry whispered into his. "We'll get 'em back."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," James grouched, shoving Harry back, but with a slightly playful smirk. "We just need to get a little brainstorming in is all. C'mon, finish up your tea. We can fly you guys back to your dorms, avoid the whole sneaky-sneaky thing all together, right?"