Chapter 17:
Armanites
Harry breathed deeply of the mana from heaven that was his oxygen tank as he hiked the untamed wilderness. The purified oxygen offsetting the labor of each step through the rocks and tangled roots obstructing path, but only slightly. He kept going mostly out of pride, or perhaps stubbornness and denial of his new, diminished body.
He once jogged such terrain with Oliver and the rest of his team for fun, now a brisque walk nearly left him comatose and he could not accept that.
"Harry you are moving too fast!" Fleur pleaded from behind him between pants. "Please... slow... down."
Harry stopped, then knelt. Catching his own breath. He decided that perhaps he was pushing himself too hard trying to work his mutilated body like his old, clean one wasn't worth the added time in recovery after a mission. That he was fast becoming used to such recoveries could not be a good thing.
"Take five." He commanded to his team.
The small group collapsed on the conveniently waist high rocks, jutting tree roots or the col hard ground at his command, leaving Harry to wonder at their lack of cardiovascular health. Seriously, he was still recovering from two lung transplants, and he only needed to take a knee. At least Fleur was still on her fleet and was barely winded. Good on her.
"How... do you do it... Harry?" Arthur asked.
"Twenty years working in an office has made you weak, Arthur." Harry jokingly insulted.
"How far are we from Hogwarts?" George asked between mouthfuls of water.
"A few more miles." Harry said. "We should make it just after dark. As was planned."
Ollivander breathed a sigh of relief. He was the hardest hit by the difficulties of the trip.
Sneaking into Hogwarts through the Forbidden Forest by way of Dufftown like Sirius Black once had was a stroke of genius, genius from the mind of Sirius Black himself. The remainder of their infiltration of Hogwarts had been planned out by James and Peter with Sirius only offering half-hearted additions. Meanwhile the other teams proceeded towards their objectives. Fred's team to the ministry, Dudley's to Hogsmeade. Nearly all of his forces were being led by Fred and Mrs Cattermole for the distraction at the ministry.
Word had come to them that Voldemort's campaign in Russia had ended in a decisive victory, and after a month away he was finally returning to Britain. If he was still ignorant about Harry's recent successes he would not remain so for long, and unlike the average British wizard he wouldn't deny the obvious truth of his identity. They could not afford him or the brunt of his forces turning up at the castle or village tonight.
God, he hoped it would turn out to be unnecessary. He didn't want to lose anybody in the ministry raid while he wasn't there to save them. They'd been achieving casualty-free victories up until now. While he knew such a blessing couldn't last forever, he still wanted one last victory free of any more dead friends or allies.
"And how are we supposed to find the Ford Anglia?" Arthur asked. "This entire plan hinges on us being able to transplant it into the Hogwarts express."
"Not the entire plan. We have a plan b, it's just much riskier and with far fewer rewards." Harry said. "As for your old car, I daresay it will find us before we reach Hogwarts, or else the path to it shall be revealed to us by karma or providence."
"Will you settle for an old friend guiding your way?" The sole centaur who had been following them for twenty minutes now finally piped up.
Harry smiled beneath his respirator as his entourage all leapt to their feet and drew their wands. He raised a calming hand before they could actually strike Firenze down. He had been banking on the good divination professor finding them, and had amused himself for the last few kilometers wondering when the others would notice their shadow. Maybe Harry had just spent so much time in the wilderness over the last year in a constant fight or flight state that he was more in tune with his senses? Yeah, let's go with that.
"Do you have good news for us Firenze?" Harry asked, finally turning around to look at the man.
He pawed nervously, a deliberate act of a centaur trying to make his body language more readable to humans, whose facial expressions and body language were as far from subtle as unsubtle can be. Especially in comparison to other calm and withdrawn races.
"I certainly have news." Firenze told them. "But it is not good. Mosag has the Ford Anglia, and has for some time."
Everyone looked at one another, the name failing to ring a single bell with any of them. They eventually all turned to Harry for answers but he could merely shrug.
"Mosag is, was, Aragog's mate and mother to his many children." Firenze clarified.
Ohhhhh. Now it rang a bell.
"How did that happen?" Harry asked.
"After it rescued you and your friend Ronald from Aragog's den it went back for another round with them." Firenze explained. "It escaped once again but Mosag and her daughters tracked it down and captured it. She now keeps it as a trophy in her den."
Firenze then turned to Arthur and George.
"I am sorry for the loss of your youngest and bravest son." He said solemnly.
Harry decided not to ask how the trained astrologer and seer knew about Ron's death, as it might incite him revealing more knowledge he ought not to have and which Harry would prefer everybody else remain ignorant of.
"Is her den far from here?" Harry asked. "And how many of her daughters live with her?"
"Maybe another half hour, but you will have to go through rough terrain. And only the handful. Those that sought safety and peace with her over the chaos and cannibalism of Aragog's den." Firenze explained.
Hm. he had suspected that Aragog's brood fed on each-other more than the other creatures of the forest, and further suspected that there were so few creatures in the forest specifically because the den had picked it clean of edible creatures within their hunting grounds. Now he had confirmation of that suspicion.
"Will you guide us there, my friend?" Harry asked Firenze.
"Of course. As soon as you have all caught your breath." Firenze told them.
Harry looked around and was med with nods and shrugs of agreement. He stood up from the rock he was sitting on and the others who had remained seated after their scare did the same.
"Let us be on our way." Harry instructed.
And so they began walking directly to the east, right off of the deer trail and onto rocky, overgrown terrain. Fleur was the first person to break the silence.
"Soooo... Am I the only person who didn't understand any of that?" She asked.
Harry smiled.
"Acromantula nests. Aragog was the dad. His kids are assholes. They tried to eat Ron and I when we went searching for Aragog to get answers." Harry explained.
Arthur perked up.
"This is news to me." He said.
"Oh really? Ron didn't tell you that story? Not surprising really, it did involve us narrowly escaping from a hungry herd of giant spiders, and I'm sure you know how he feels about spiders." Harry told him. "You see, the evening began when we snuck out to visit Hagrid, when who should appear but Cornelius Fudge, Lucius Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore..."
Dudley marched along the train tracks with the small crew Harry assigned him. An honest-to-God Goblin called Griphook, a really spooky girl named Luna who spent more time lost in space than with them, a masked girl with frizzy hair who did not speak, and the pizza boy for some reason. Bill was there too but Dudley liked Bill. Everybody liked Bill. Bill was cool.
He also had his boys along for the trip.
"So, explain again how this illusion works?" Malcolm asked.
"I think they said it was called a ward. Muffle repellent. So, the place is what? Loud?" Piers added.
Griphook smiled like a Cheshire cat at the question. Before he could answer Luna explained things.
"It is better to think of it as an illusion covering the entire landscape." She said dreamily. "The castle and village will both appear as ruins to you, derelict and decayed. But only if you are a Muggle who is unaware of magic."
"Then... What's the problem?" Dennis asked. "We've seen so much magic, surely it won't affect us?"
Griphook and Luna both shook their heads.
"But do you admit to the experiences?" Asked Griphook. "Muggles see magic all the time, but their minds do not accept it. Do not admit to the impossibility of everyday occurrences by reasoning them away or just outright ignoring it. You have seen magic. You even recognize it as magic. But do you still believe in the fiction of a logical, scientific universe or recognize the impossibility and majesty of this incomprehensible world?"
They were all silent after that as they continued their hike.
Dudley himself wasn't so sure. He had seen so much magic in his life, and after it all when he encountered those dementors he not only couldn't comprehend them, but he also couldn't even see them. Was he better now? Was he stronger? He would find out soon.
What of his companions? Somehow, he doubted it. They weren't as invested as he was. Their families were still alive. And whole.
"If you aren't able to see through it do not worry." Said Luna. "Even wizards fail to see things that are very real, but that they do not believe in."
She then went back to staring off into space, perhaps at things only she could see.
When Firenze finally stopped to indicate a close crop of trees Harry was genuinely surprised to see the telltale spider webs criss-crossing them. The are around this colony was abundant in foliage and wildlife. He swore he saw a red deer take off as they approached, and the usual forest floor of dead leaves and dirt was lush with perennials.
"Are the acromantula here keeping a garden?" fleur asked Firenze.
"Indeed. Mosag and her daughters tend to their flower patches and oats to attract deer." Firenze explained. "They are only a few, so need only feed several times per month as a group. Outside of that they take good care of their territory and the life within it. You can't even tell an invasive species has taken over this section of the forests."
But invasive species they were, although it sounded like Aragog's colony was the problem group. The sons and daughters that stayed with him for so long were surely feral now with him deceased. Two years without him well and truly surpassed lord of the flies to something for frightening. To learn that his mate had tried her best to civilize their children was uplifting, that she only succeeded with a handful was not.
"Is she expecting us?" Harry asked.
"Of course. It was she who sent me to find you. Somehow, she foresaw your coming when I did not. But this is not surprising, the stars no longer whisper to me." Firenze explained.
Harry suspected there was more hurt in those words than he let on but chose not to pry.
They circled around the crop of trees to find an entrance, a tunnel made of webs similar to a tarantula nest. Branches and leaves had been carefully laid out on the ground to make it easy for non-acromantula to walk without finding themselves glued in place. It was an open invitation if Harry had ever seen one.
he took point this time, motioning for Firenze to stay back with the others. Together they marched into the nest.
"Greetings Harry Potter." Mosag greeted as soon as he stepped into her domain.
Mosag had made a lovely home for herself. The twelve-meter-wide meadow was wreathed in a thin layer of silk and studded with layers of dead flowers. The entire place was nearly pitch black, protected from the outside by the thick bunch of trees enclosing it and their branches.
"Arthur Weasley, you and the others may take the Ford Anglia and leave. I have much to discuss with Harry Potter." Mosag instructed without any preamble.
Harry looked to Arthur, Fleur, George and Garrick. They all shared a concerned look for him, and he was touched that they still held such concern for him.
"It is fine. I was planning to walk the remainder of the way to Hogwarts alone once the Ford was secured anyways." Harry told them.
His eyes were finally adapting to the darkness and he could make out the boxy shape and light blue color of the familiar vehicle. If he squited really hard the many spindly legs of Mosag above the Ford looked more spiderlike than branch-like. Then she released the Ford and it fell to the earth with a crash. It had been bound and held aloft by a single thread and she must have snapped it with a strike from her powerful pincers.
With dawning comprehension Harry realized Mosag was significantly larger than Aragog. Not in mass, but in dimension. All of her legs were much longer, more akin to a spider than a tarantula, as was her abdomen. that part was long and thin and shrivelled up.
"Does it still function?" Arthur asked as he took a tentative step past Harry.
"I have no way of knowing. It has been wrapped up and held prisoner here for six years, if that tells you anything." Mosag answered.
A car sitting in an enclosed garage for six years had poor prospects of running well, one in the great outdoors for that amount of time? If worst came to worst Arthur could probably remove the part necessary and carry them off on foot to Hogsmeade, but it would be better to fly in it.
"Oh. It should be fine then." Arthur waved the concern away as he reached the vehicle and place a hand on the hood. "All the enchantments for preventing wear and tear should have kept her in tip top shape. Isn't that right beautiful?"
To everybody's surprise the car actually answered him by roaring to life, its headlights filling the entire meadow with blinding white light. The entire meadow erupted with the clicking of mandibles and chitinous legs as the half dozen acromantula, fled from the high beams.
"What do you say girl? Do you have one last flight in you? We'll be putting you into a new home tonight." Arthur asked.
The Ford answered by flinging all of its doors open for them all to enter. Arthur obliged by crawling into the driver's seat. George, Fleur and Olivander walked past him to do the same.
"Be safe Harry." Fleur told him as she planted a kiss on his cheek and joined the others.
"Always." Harry assured her.
Harry stepped aside as they idled past him in the windowless and windshieldless car. Firenze followed suit and they watched patiently as they drove through the small, webbed opening to the wide world beyond.
They waited a few moments later as the listened to the others lift off and fly away. When the sound of the enine finally vanished, Harry turned to Mosag.
"I came here tonight to collect my army from Hogwarts. Massacring an entire colony of acromantula was not on the itinerary and doing so will take valuable time away from my mission tonight." Harry began the negotiation.
"And yet, you shall do what needs to be done regardless. Most of my children have become aberrations, incestuous and vile. They do not belong in this nation and unlike me they refuse to at least try and coexist with the local life." Mosag countered.
"Why do you feel so certain that I will do this for you?" Harry asked.
"Because the opportunity to recruit an acromantula queen and her daughters, plus three armanite warriors in the ranks, is too valuable for you to pass on." Mosag explained.
"Armanites?" Harry asked.
"She means us." Firenze offered. "Armanite is a slur for disowned centaur. Especially those who make war with or beside humans. It refers to one of the demons in our faith."
"Is it spelled with a K?" Harry asked. "Arma Knight?"
"No. Why should that matter?" Firenze asked.
"I had the fantasy of wreathing you in armor and a halberd or joust." Harry explained. "A silly thought, one I hoped to share to provide levity."
"I do favor polearms to bows." Firenze said with a hum.
"Fascinating. But you said we and she mentioned three armanites. Who are the other two and why are you all being disowned?" Harry asked.
"That would be us." Another centaur's voice filled the meadow and from the thickets walked two familiar faces.
Had they been here the whole time? How had he missed them?
"Ronin. Bane." Harry greeted. "I understand why Firenze was disowned, between saving me and becoming a Hogwarts teacher. After tonight his role as emissary to the acromantula will be defunct. But near as I know you two are in good standing with the herd."
"You are correct on all accounts." Ronin, the red haired centaur, answered. "We are disowning the herd instead of the other way around. The chieftainess has refused to get involved in the war until now, despite the stakes and despite the stars going silent for us all. I find this intolerable."
Harry turned to Bane.
"The stars have gone silent? Have you all lost the sight?" Harry asked.
"We have. As such the only future we can be certain of is the one we help to create." Bane explained. "And I believe that starts by ridding this forest of an invasive species. And then to make war with Voldemort. The three of us are the only ones who feel this way, but I foresee the rest coming around."
Harry nodded.
"I don't know how to make use of you as subordinates, but I'm sure I'll figure it out later. you are all three exceptional martial artists, hunters and wilderness survivalists by definition. I could certainly use allies within the Forbidden Forest, if for no other reason than to keep an eye on Hoggwarts." Harry thought aloud.
"Actually ,that is where I come in." Mosag interrupted. "The stars do not speak to the centaur any longer, but my FarSight is as grand as ever."
Harry stared at Mosag. Farsight was an exceptionally rare and exceptionally powerful ability. It has been likened to astral projection, but more resembled telescopic vision. Or, perhaps, remote vision? It was akin to creating psychic cameras in your mind and projecting them across space, giving its holders the ability to remotely spy on pretty much anyone and anything. Kind of like his own Horcrux and Moody's eye, but iwthout hte physical limitations.
"So that's how you know I was approaching." Harry surmised. "You saw us land. You were right to be sure that I would accept your terms. Do you have a way to keep in contact?"
"Yes. By simply speaking to you." Mosag told him. "I will be joining you in person at whatever base of operations you eventually settle on. I need not be near Hogwarts to FarSight into it, nor any other place. I have had fifty years to master this power I was blessed with."
Hmm. Housing an acromantula queen and her six remaining daughters? That could get hairy, pun intended. That probably wouldn't fly with either Malfoy Manor nor Grimmauld Place. He'd have to consult the dead to figure that out.
"Then I shall have to hurry to find such a base capable of housing you all, and with urgency." Harry concluded. "But tonight all I have to worry about is killing your children. Is it safe to use fire on them?"
That part Harry directed at ronin and bane.
"It is spring and it has recently rained. There is little to no risk of causing an out-of-control forest fire." Ronin assuaged. "So long as you do not resort to fiendfyre of course."
"Which we must insist you do not." Bane growled.
Harry decided not to reveal his ignorance as to what fiendfyre was. he made a mental note to ask Albus or the others about it later.
"Very well. Mosag, you and your daughters need not join us. I will find a way to get in touch at a later date. I wish to spare you the horrors of taking part in what will be happening soon. Stay here and mourn. Tonight, you can be assured that I will be ending the suffering of your children, as much as the cure will break your heart." Harry told her in compassion so genuine he was surprised he felt it for such an alien creature.
"Not as horribly as seeing them wither into less than beasts already has." Mosag said solemnly.
Harry nodded and turned to Firenze.
"Come, my armanites. We have work to do." Harry ordered.
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