Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OC Bailey, her pups, and mate, and any alterations to the original storyline plot her presence creates to various readers amusement everywhere across the globe.

A Dog's Purpose Is Strange Magic 2 Chapter 25

Things have gone downhill fast, forcing their hand and now action must be taken. In this serious set of events that have escalated into something awful with all that is amiss in this ongoing investigation.

That evening when everyone else had turned in for the evening Harry and Ron snuck out of Gryffindor Tower underneath the Invisibility Cloak with Bailey underneath accompanying them. On the way down to Hagrid's they had so many close calls. Teachers, prefects, and ghosts are marching down the corridors in pairs on guard for any signs of unusual activity. They nearly got caught when Ron accidentally stubbed his toe close to the checkpoint Snape is on watch for in the entrance hall. Fortunately, Snape had sneezed at that moment and the two sounds intermixed.

They made it through without hindrance.

Only when they were in view of Hagrid's house did they even start to breathe a bit easier.

However that breath is quickly stolen away when the door leading into the house swings open revealing Hagrid aiming a crossbow at them once they knock on the door and remove the Invisibility Cloak from them.

Fang is barking loudly behind him and Bailey barks even louder in reply to get him to stop.

Properly identifying them, lowering the crossbow, and staring at them, Hagrid said "Oh. What are you doing here?"

"What's that for," demanded Harry, pointing at the crossbow as they stepped partially inside.

In a stammering mutter, Hagrid said "Nothing. Nothing. I've been expecting…doesn't matter. Sit down. I'll make tea."

Ron and Harry do so with Bailey hanging back.

Bailey is in no mood to tolerate Fang's usual foolishness and Harry knows it.

Patting her on the head, Harry said "You stay out here, Bailey. We'll only be a few minutes."

Any who might come by Hagrid's and see her will just assume she came here on her own to be with her children. It only makes sense she'd want to spend time with them in this dark hour of mourning.

Bailey woofed lightly, pawls clicking down the stone stoop.

The door shuts behind her as Harry and Ron step inside to have a serious talk with Hagrid, bathing her in darkness.

Bailey rises on her hind legs, unlocking the enclosure gate with her nose and then slipping inside.

Bailey's remaining pups are slumbering peacefully underneath the starry sky. She hadn't laid eyes on them since earlier that morning when she'd picked Dreamer up from the brood for quality time.

The sound of the gate swinging shut awoke Bounder and Ranger from the pile. Their ears twitch and they are groggily roused. Ranger yawns, opening his jaws wide. Blinking the sleep away from his eyes he spots their mother first. Perking up immediately Ranger woofs drawing Bounder's attention over to Bailey as he points a left forepaw in her direction. Bounder goes over to greet her arrival as Ranger wakes everyone else up by either poking a paw in their side or nudging their heads until the sibling opens their eyes. All surround Bailey returning her soft nuzzles and gentle licks with some of their own. While she's happy and relieved to see the rest of her children are safe and sound for the night the uncertainty behind Dreamer's fate still weighs heavily on her mind. Her children can feel it. Whining they lead her over to the sheltered den to comfort her with some cuddle time. Grateful for the distraction from her woes Bailey sets about giving them late night baths starting with Charmer. But this respite doesn't last for long.

Bold is standing lookout and he alerts everyone that others are approaching from the castle. Bailey extracts herself to stand beside Bold, eyeing the approaching figures. As the distance narrows between them and the light from Hagrid's windows glows onto them she recognizes one of the two being Headmaster, but the 2nd is a stranger. Later on, she'd learn this man is Cornelius Fudge the Minister of Magic. The two bypass the enclosure, heading straight for Hagrid's door. However, Bailey thought she caught a flickering glance Professor Dumbledore cast in her direction. It's only a fleeting one, but she's pretty sure she spotted it.

Nonetheless, the family of dogs is ignored.

Their purpose is unknown as Bailey watches them with sharp eyes as they step inside the small dwelling. Bailey hopes that Harry and Ron have gotten under the Invisibility Cloak in time. Judging by the fact she nor the pups heard any angry and indignant yelling as a result she assumes that they did.

More time passes as the two men converse with Hagrid despite not being able to make out the subject they're speaking of. Their voices were muffled, blocked by thick rock and stone.

Suddenly Whisper and Friendly start growling aggressively at the boundary fence and Bailey realizes there's about to be a third interloper added into the mix. Bailey is about to quiet them when she makes out the person's face and then she's joining in with them. She showed her teeth and warned the person not to dare come near them.

Lucius Malfoy.

What the hell is this piece of trash doing here?

Certainly not to visit his son if he's brought his condescending presence to Hagrid's humble abode.

Lucius Malfoy sneers at the tight-knit pack. He knocks on the door with the snakehead on his cane and is reluctantly let in. Judging by Hagrid's angrily raised voice at Lucius's arrival this man is without a doubt not welcome. Lucius Malfoy's sardonic voice is now put in with the others nonchalantly.

A couple of minutes pass by with little to no activity going on.

Then we now have movement.

The door opens and out walks Dumbledore with Lucius Malfoy following behind. Hagrid is third and Cornelius Fudge is at the rear. Hagrid wanders over to the enclosure.

Sticking his hands in to pet the pup's heads, Hagrid whispered "You lot behave yourselves. Be good for your Ma now and don't cause her any further grief." The pups whine pawing and licking at his fingers. Hagrid then strokes Bailey's head. "Watch over them."

Bailey sits with an erect posture as an answer, head raised proudly.

Hagrid chuckles. He then walks away following the other three back up to the castle.

The pups bark calling for him to come back but their cries to Hagrid go unanswered.

Only when they are out of sight do Ron and Harry emerge. Fang, depressed with Hagrid leaving him behind, remains inside sulking on an armchair.

Ron and Harry rush over to hush the pups so their barking doesn't draw anyone else's interest down here.

Hoarsely, Ron said "We're in trouble now. No Dumbledore. They might as well close the school tonight. There'll be an attack a day with him gone."

Dumbledore gone?

So that's what Lucious Malfoy was here for, but what about the Minister?

"I still can't believe they took Hagrid away. There's no proof he's doing this. He's lived here for years," said Harry, furiously.

"What do you think Hagrid meant when he told us to follow the spiders," asked Ron, perplexed, rubbing Friendly and Charmer's bellies to calm them.

Freezing with his hands dug into Bailey's fur, eyes wide as he catches little spiders crawling in a straight line from Hagrid's house, Harry said "I don't know but we're going to find out."

Looking at where Harry was pointing, cringing at them, Ron said "Oh no, don't tell me."

"Yup. We're going in," declared Harry, determinedly.

They're going into the Forbidden Forest.

They need to move quickly or else they'll lose the trail.

"We got to go. Come on," said Harry, exiting the enclosure.

"I wish Hermione was here," whimpered Ron.

So does Bailey. Hermione would tell them not to do this.

Leaving the gate on the pen secure they take off after the spider's trail.

Harry uses the Lumos spell to ignite a tiny light at the end of his wand, just enough to let them watch the path for continued signs of spiders. They managed to catch sight of two solitary spiders at the end of the line hurrying away into the shade of the trees.

The trio don't get far into the Dark Forest when they hear loud rustling coming from behind them.

Bailey spins around on her paws to face the potential threat. Ron's wand is useless, and Harry is using hs wand for light so it's up to her.

Bailey needn't have bothered.

Out of the darkness steps Bold and to her surprise Ranger, one of her more well-behaved pups.

Indignantly, Ron exclaimed "How in the world did they get out?"

Bailey would like to have an answer to that as well.

Ranger has his head bowed to her in a placating manner while Bold stands there panting with his tongue lolling out of his mouth as if he hasn't done anything wrong.

Bailey will kill them later. Right now they have spiders to track.

Bailey snapped her teeth at her sons in chastisement to get them in line. Ranger and Bold do so by standing on either side of Ron and Harry, instinctively taking up defensive positions.

Honestly, neither of them is really too bothered by this in spite of Ranger only coming along to keep his bothersome brother out of trouble after he snuck out. Noble yet incredibly foolish. They view this as an adventure not knowing the dangers behind this.

Bailey is pretty nervous herself, struggling not to show how anxious she is in front of her sons. None of them have ever traversed this deep into the forest before not even when they'd been in detention with Hagrid last year. Wisely they stay on the path but who knows how long this'll last. The spiders can easily alter direction at any given moment.

They keep following the darting shadows of the spiders into the looming trees. They couldn't move very quickly now. Various tree roots and stumps are in their way, barely visible in the near blackness. Any of them can quite easily trip and sprain an ankle. They continue walking for what seems like half an hour stopping multiple times so Harry can crouch down and find the spiders in the wand light.

Bailey spends this time making sure Bold doesn't stray and get lost. Already she's had to call him back to her side whenever he attempts to slip away unnoticed to look at something.

On the other hand, Ranger suddenly lets loose a great, echoing bark, making both Ron and Harry jump.

"What," said Ron, loudly, looking around into the dark and clutching Harry's arm in a panic.

Squinting his eyes, Harry said "There's something moving over there. Listen…sounds like something big…"

Some distance to their right, something big was snapping branches as it carved a path through the trees. Far louder than Ranger and Bold did when they snuck up on them.

"Oh no," gasped Ron, fearfully.

"Shut up," whispered Harry, sharply. "It'll hear you."

In an unnaturally high voice, Ron said "Hear me? It's already heard the dogs."

There's a strange rumbling noise.

One that Bailey faintly recognizes.

It can't be.

Then to their right came a sudden blaze of light that caused Bailey, Ranger, and Bold to duck their heads so they weren't blinded. Harry and Ron flung up their hands to shield their eyes.

Voice breaking with relief, Ron shouted "Harry! Harry, it's our car!"

"What," said Harry, blinking the dots from his eyes.

"Come on," said Ron, tugging Harry with him.

Indeed it was Mr. Weasley's car. Standing empty in the center of thick trees under a roof of dense branches, headlights ablaze. The sides of the car are scratched and smeared with mud. Apparently, it had taken to trundling around the forest on its own. As Ron walks open mouthed toward it the car slowly moves toward him. Its behavior resembles how Bailey and the pups act whenever greeting someone they know and have affection for.

Walking around the car delightedly and patting it repeatedly, in astonished amazement, Ron said "It's been here all the time! Look at it! The forest's turned it wild. And we thought it was going to attack us! I wondered where it had gone!"

Bailey doesn't hesitate. Greeting the rickety car with a lick on one of the headlights, tail wagging.

Bold and Ranger aren't that keen on it. This is the first mechanical vehicle they've ever seen and a magical one at that. They and their siblings had been in Bailey's womb the first time they rode one. No way they'd remember it.

Harry gets them back on track. The dogs relocated the spiders, and they were back on the trail. The group of five follows the spiders until they reach a vast hollow. By the time they reach here the ground is basically swarming with spiders all moving to congregate in one single place.

His arachnophobia becoming close to overpowering Ron begs for them to turn around and leave but Harry presses on forcing everyone else to do the same.

Bold and Ranger are now showing signs of being ill at ease. The two sense the same thing their mother does. They are being watched and not just by these tiny spiders that are underfoot.

No, there are eyes everywhere all around them, watching the group advance with predatory and hungry gazes.

As soon as all five step into the hollow the holders of these eyes are revealed.

Gigantic spiders the size of carthorses.

As terrifying as the scene is for some reason none of them make a move toward them as they walk down the steep slope toward a large den covered with webs. Right when they come to a stop in front of it the spiders close in all around, clicking their pincers in excitement.

A rumbling warning growl rises in Bailey's throat telling them all to stay away. Ranger and Bold echo their mother. They may be outsized by these things but that doesn't mean they're just going to permit them to attack.

One of the spiders crawls from the crowd to stare at them.

Ron gulps, holding onto Harry's arm.

Finished scrutinizing them, it called "Aragog! Aragod!"

And from the middle of the web, a spider the size of a small elephant emerges, very slowly. There is gray in the black of his body and legs and each of the eyes are milky white. This Aragog is blind.

Clicking his pincers rapidly in tired irritation, Aragog said "What is it?"

"Men," clicked the younger spider.

"Is it Hagrid," said Aragog, moving further out.

"Strangers," clicked the younger spider.

Fretfully, Aragog said "Kill them. I was sleeping…"

"We're friends of Hagrid's.

Aragog pauses in his retreat.

Bewildered, Aragog said "Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before."

Breathing very fast, Harry said "Hagrid's in trouble. That's why we've come."

Clearly concerned, Aragog said "In trouble? But why has he sent you?"

As calmly as he could, Harry said "Up at the school they think that Hagrid's been setting something on the students. They've taken him to Azkaban this night."

Aragog clicks his pincers furiously and all around the hollow the sound is echoed by the crowd of spiders.

"That's a lie," exclaimed Aragog, angered on Hagrid's behalf.

Bailey can understand what Aragog is feeling. She's been enduring the same turmoil of emotions all year with people sending Harry accusing stares left and right when he's innocent of any wrongdoing.

"That was years ago," said Aragog, incredulously. "Years and years ago. I remember it well. That is why they made him leave the school. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought assumed that Hagrid opened the Chamber and set me free."

"And you…you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets," broached Harry, cautiously.

Clicking in distress, Aragog said "No. The monster was born in the castle. I came to Hagrid from a distant land in the pocket of a traveler as an egg."

"But if you're not the monster then what did kill that girl 50 years ago," said Harry.

There's a loud outbreak of clicking and the rustling of many long legs shifting angrily.

Harshly, Aragog explained "We do not speak of it! It is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others."

Urgently, Harry asked "But have you seen it?"

"I never say any part of the castle, but the cupboard in which Hagrid kept me," informed Aragog. "The girl was discovered in a bathroom. When I was falsely accused, Hagrid brought me here."

The spiders seem to be steadily closing in.

A factor that Ron, Bailey, Bold, and Ranger are noticing. Ron moves closer to Harry. Bailey, Ranger, and Bold circle around them while staying close together. Growling, snarling, and snapping at any of the spiders that get too close.

They need to leave now.

But Harry still wants more information.

"What is it," he asked.

"We do not speak of it," said Aragog, fiercely. "We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that dread creature, though he asked me, many times."

The intent of the horde of spiders is all too obvious now. The hungry look in their eyes and the saliva dripping from their pincers makes it all too plain.

Dropping the subject, choosing not to overstay their unannounced welcome, Harry said "Thank you for the information you've given us. We'll just go then."

"Go? I think not," said Aragog, slowly. "My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into our midst. Goodbye, a friend of Hagrid."

So much for Hagrid's instructions.

One of the spiders can't wait anymore and lunges for the boys. Bailey intercepts, avoiding the pincers, biting one of the legs and tearing it off. The spider shrieks backing away into its fellows as every single one of them closes in.

Bold and Ranger separately stand in front of Ron and Harry quivering with fear.

This is a fight they can't win even if Ron's wand wasn't on the fritz.

An unexpected savior comes to the rescue.

Mr. Weasley's car had followed them here. It came thundering down the slope, headlights glaring in a threatening manner. Its horn is screeching loudly, knocking spiders aside. The car may be wild but its loyalty to the Weasley family remains strong. A good thing it holds no grudge toward the kids. Many spiders are knocked aside. Several are thrown onto their backs, their endless legs waving helplessly in the air. The car screeches to a halt in front of Harry and Ron and the doors flew open.

"Get the dogs," yelled Harry, grabbing Bold.

Ron snatches Ranger. The pups are tossed inside, and Bailey promptly joins them in the back seat.

Harry dives into the front seat with Ron on the opposite side.

The car doesn't waste time. The engine roars and they are off, hitting more spiders on the way. They sped up the slope, out of the hollow, and they were soon crashing through the forest, branches whipping the windows as the car cleverly wound its way cleverly through the widest gaps, following a path it obviously knew. It's had plenty of practice during the long months of solitude.

With the exception of Ranger and Bold barking and whining from being jostled so much, unused to the feeling completely, no one else makes a sound as the car smashes through the undergrowth.

Finally, they reach the edge of the forest with Hagrid's house back in view. The car pulls up to a stop next to it.

Inside the pen, Bounder, Friendly, Charmer, and Whisper are monitoring its progress. Friendly and Bounder in front of their sisters to act as the first line of defense.

The doors open and everyone stumbles out on shaky legs. The four youngsters can relax.

Ranger and Bold collapse onto the ground. The experience as a whole is too much for them leaving their legs numb and hardly able to move. Bailey licks each of their heads in soothing comfort. She had been planning on punishing them for leaving the enclosure without permission but decided that the terror they felt was suitably sufficient.

Bailey leads them back over to the pen to recuperate from the horrifying experience.

Harry gives the car a grateful pat in appreciation as it reverses into the forest and disappears back into its new home.

Fuming in sheer infuriation, Ron said "Follow the spiders. We're lucky to be alive. I'll never forgive Hagrid. If he ever gets out of Azkaban, I'll kill him."

Speaking in Hagrid's defense, Harry said "I bet he thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his."

Bailey loves Hagrid to death, but in this, she agrees with Ron full heartedly. Hagrid could've easily gotten them killed. She came close to losing two more of her children for real.

Shivering uncontrollably in a mixture of fear and rage, Ron said "What was the point of sending us in there?"

Throwing the Invisibility Cloak over the three of them so they can get back to Gryffindor Tower undetected, Harry said "That Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was innocent."

Back to square one. Not an inch appealing.

Ron collapses in his bed and Bailey is more than ready to give over to sleep herself.

Harry has too much on his mind to sleep yet.

Bailey is lying there with her head in her boy's stomach getting drowsy when he bolts upright.

Hissing through the dark, Harry said "Ron."

Ron awakens with a snort.

Leaning closer, Harry said "Ron, that girl who died. Aragog said she was found in a bathroom. What if she never left?"?

Eyes wide, Ron said "Moaning Myrtle?"

Well, that would explain why Moaning Myrtle is always so constantly miserable.

Authors Note:

Should Bailey go down into the Chamber of Secrets with Harry or stay in the hospital wing under Harry's orders to protect Dreamer and Hermione?

I'm sure those of you on fanfiction have been facing the many unwanted ads when you're reading a story. Well, yesterday, I finally had enough, and I got an adblocker app. It worked! No more ads on any level! The one I got is Adblock Pro: Safari Ad Blocker. It really works. Just follow the instruction video that it attached to it.

Heads up everyone there's someone on fanfiction you need to seriously watch out for. Early a couple of months ago after I woke up I was checking my email and I saw I had a new guest review on my A Dog's Purpose Is Strange Magic 2 sequel. I took a look at it and got a very big shock. Some random person I've never spoken to before on here or anywhere else in my life was basically threatening me. Intimidating and practically ordering me to write a threatening letter to someone on their behalf, telling to stay off of for life or else they and everyone else close to them would be killed, disgustingly telling them to kill themselves. And at the bottom of the message this crazy person wasn't done. Warning me that if I don't send the letter then they would kill me and for confirmation to email them to make absolutely sure I complied with their demands. Of course I did nothing of the sort. Instead of doing what they wanted I reported them to the website, sent copies of this deplorable guest review message to police officer cousins of mine so they could have it on file, and I went to a nearby police station and reported it.

When I spoke to the police officers and they checked everything on the message they saw, that while the address and names of business were accurate the people and their names were not. They agree it was more than likely a scam because of the email address on the bottom in order to perhaps get access to personal information or potentially hack my computer. Despite that I'm still very happy they took it seriously as I showed and told them everything. All the same I'm still very happy that I brought this to the attention of law enforcement. Even though the entire thing might be fake I'm still very happy to have brought this to the attention of those who can do something about it if it was legit in some way. This may have been a scam, but it's obvious these people are beyond irresponsible if they try to goad people into sending death threats to random strangers just to get access to info.

Be that as it may if this does unfortunately happen to you do not send any messages to the email addresses they put down and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you bring the message to the authorities immediately whether it is legit or not.

Because it's a guest review it might not be visible for a couple of days as it loads if it is sent to you. But when it does you should definitely pressing the report abuse button and send it to the email that leads to the support staff that is available.

Just a heads up to those of you who aren't aware of this yet, Email alerts for this website are now only active if Email opts is enabled in account settings.

I hope you all like this one! I certainly did while writing it for your vast enjoyment! ;D

For those of you just starting out with my stuff there are other works on my profile that may catch your interest. I highly recommend you take a look as soon as the opportunity presents itself to you. Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised by what you discover.

Stay safe everyone. Especially with all of these crazy natural disasters occurring a lot lately due to global warming and climate change everywhere for sure. I swear it's like they're getting worse and worse all the time and it's like officials are simply just ignoring it or pretending it doesn't exist entirely just to go on with their daily lives. Especially those in multi-million dollar companies that rely on certain elements of our planet that we rely on to naturally keep us safe instead of adapting and finding new safer ways to keep in business. There are so many options out there where they can adapt, but they just refuse to see it because all they care about is money. Climate change is altering so much faster than anyone can really keep track of.

So, in light of all this, it is important to live life to the fullest as much as anyone can.

I know I am. ;) See you guys next time.