Aragog
"Aragog?" Sirius asked nervously. "What's an Aragog?"
"I have an idea, and I don't think you're going to like it," Remus muttered. Sirius cringed. He could guess where his friend's thoughts were heading.
"A fairly innocuous name as pet names go. That probably means it's going to be awful," Kingsley muttered. "Based on Hagrid's prior naming."
"Well, given that it's very likely to refer to an acromantula, I think awful may be an understatement," Emmeline replied.
Summer was coming, but the lack of Hagrid striding through the grounds meant the view out of the castle windows didn't look right to Harry. Harry and Ron had tried to visit Hermione, but visitors were now barred from the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey told them they were taking no more chances as there was the possibility the attacker might come back to finish them off.
"I mean, surely that was always a possibility?" Tonks frowned.
"Protecting one or two students within the Hospital Wing is one thing for Madam Pomfrey with all of the wards in there, but four? And with Albus out of the school. It was considered too much of a risk," Minerva explained.
"Which is a good thing, considering one of those four had realised something important about the attacks," Bill pointed out. Most people shuddered at the idea of Hermione being attacked again to silence her.
With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread as never before, so that the sun warming the castle walls outside seemed to stop at the mullioned windows. There was barely a face to be seen in the school that didn't look worried and tense, and any laughter that rang through the corridors sounded shrill and unnatural and was quickly stifled. Harry found himself constantly repeating Dumbledore's last words to himself.
Albus smiled slightly.
However, he found them unhelpful as he had no idea who they were supposed to ask for help.
The headmaster's smile faltered slightly as he sighed.
He considered Hagrid's comment much easier to understand, but the spiders had all seemingly vanished.
"Well, they've been leaving since the attacks started, haven't they?" Charlie frowned. "I know Hogwarts is a big castle, but I'm surprised it took them all that long to clear out."
"Maybe not all of them left at once," Tonks suggested.
"Well, clearly," Charlie sighed. "I just wonder why. Unless they didn't all know what the monster was. I don't know how well regular spiders communicate. They can't all be acromantulas." Everyone shuddered.
Harry looked everywhere he went, helped (rather reluctantly) by Ron.
"Don't blame you for being reluctant," Fred told his brother. He wouldn't much fancy going to speak with a pet of Hagrid's, knowing what he did now.
They were hampered, of course, by the fact that they weren't allowed to wander off on their own but had to move around the castle in a pack with the other Gryffindors. Most of their fellow students seemed glad that they were being shepherded from class to class by teachers, but Harry found it very irksome.
Harry winced at some of the looks he was getting. "I know it was for protection, but it felt like the only way to solve it was to do this and I didn't want to go back to the Dursleys for good."
"Fair enough," George said. Nobody could fully argue with that.
One person, however, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere of terror and suspicion.
"Three guesses who," Charlie said dryly, eyeing Draco who winced.
Draco Malfoy was strutting around the school as though he had just been appointed Head Boy.
Several people snorted while Narcissa barely refrained from rolling her eyes at her son. He thought himself so like Lucius, but his father had never been so… blatant. Lucius understood that there was an image to maintain. People making assumptions about their beliefs were one thing, but to give them proof was foolish. Something her son clearly did not understand. The boy didn't possess an ounce of subtlety.
Harry didn't realize what he was so pleased about until the Potions lesson about two weeks after Dumbledore and Hagrid had left, when, sitting right behind Malfoy, Harry overheard him gloating to Crabbe and Goyle. He had always thought his father would get rid of Dumbledore and that now they might get a headmaster who doesn't want the chamber closed.
"Really? You said that? Out loud?" Charlie stared in amazement.
"He clearly did not inherit your brains, Narcissa," Andromeda stated, staring at her nephew with distaste. Draco flushed.
Snape swept past Harry, making no comment about Hermione's empty seat and cauldron.
"Well, of course not. There isn't much to say," Remus frowned.
"It's more I was expecting something snide," Harry told him.
"Fair enough. I'm surprised he didn't say something horrible too," Sirius agreed.
Draco asked why Snape didn't apply for the headmaster's job. Snape smiled slightly and replied that Dumbledore had only been suspended and would be back soon.
"Honestly, Severus, you should have at least discouraged him from saying such things. I had hoped I could count on you to teach Draco some sense of decorum," Narcissa frowned at Severus.
"I have certainly tried, Narcissa. Your son does not seem intent on listening to me." Draco sank down in his seat at his mother's glare.
Malfoy said that Snape would have his father's vote. He would tell Lucius that Snape was the best teacher there.
Several people around the room snorted and a large portion of the rest began laughing outright. Severus pursed his lips in irritation.
Snape smirked as he swept off around the dungeon, fortunately not spotting Seamus Finnigan, who was pretending to vomit into his cauldron.
Severus glared at the book while some people began laughing once more.
"Brave of Seamus. Good thing he didn't get spotted," Tonks chuckled.
Malfoy stated he was surprised that all the mudblood hadn't packed all their bags. He bet five galleons the next one died and that it was a pity it wasn't Hermione.
"Malfoy!" George growled as Hermione gasped slightly.
"Draco!" Narcissa scolded. Saying such things in the common room was foolish enough, to say it out loud in front of Gryffindors was a foolishness she struggled to comprehend. "Severus!" She rounded on the professor.
"I did not hear that," he stated, glaring at his godson. "Or he would have been in several detentions." Both for saying the word 'mudblood' and for wishing a classmate dead in front of non-Slytherin witnesses.
"Just when I think you couldn't get worse," Charlie's lip curled in disgust.
"I don't care if you think he's changed, I'm not being friendly with that," Ron muttered to Harry in disgust. Harry sighed. Even he was wondering if it was worth being friends with Draco. He'd forgotten that the other boy had wished Hermione dead for a second time and wondered how many chances he should be given.
"Sorry Grang…Hermione," Draco said softly. She glanced at him, unable to tell if he truly meant it or not.
"You've already apologised," she told him evenly.
"I think such a comment deserves more than one, especially since I was foolish enough to express the sentiment more than once."
"Well, you do like to repeat yourself." Draco ground his teeth but gave no further reply.
The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy's last words, Ron had leapt off his stool, and in the scramble to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.
"Shame. He deserves a punch in the face," Tonks muttered, glaring at her cousin.
"That's the least he deserves. I know he's just a stupid kid, but really, he needs to be taught a lesson or five," Bill agreed.
Harry and Dean held on to Ron who said he didn't need his wand, he'd kill Malfoy with his bare hands.
"Why are you stopping him?" Sirius asked incredulously.
"Because we were still in Snape's classroom. It wasn't worth Snape catching him trying to kill Malfoy," Harry said with a shrug. Draco winced at Harry's renewed use of his surname.
Snape told them to hurry up as he had to take them to Herbology. Harry, Ron and Dean brought up the rear, with Ron still struggling to escape.
Hermione smiled gratefully at Ron. "Thank you."
"He shouldn't have said that," Ron shrugged, his ears going slightly red.
"Hey, Hermione got her own back," Harry reminded them with a grin. Ron smirked slightly at that.
It was only safe to let go of him when Snape had seen them out of the castle and they were making their way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses. The Herbology class was very subdued; there were now two missing from their number, Justin and Hermione. They were pruning Shrivelfigs when Ernie apologised for suspecting Harry as he knew he wouldn't attack Hermione.
"About time he caught on," George snorted.
"Harry wouldn't attack anyone else either," Fred defended.
"At least he acknowledged he was wrong and apologised. It's more than most of the school," Neville pointed out.
He held out a pudgy hand, and Harry shook it. Ernie and his friend Hannah came to work at the same Shrivelfig as Harry and Ron. Ernie now thought the heir might be Malfoy. Ron sarcastically said that was clever of him, seemingly not forgiving Ernie as quickly as Harry.
"You say that like you didn't think it was Malfoy for ages," Charlie laughed.
Ernie asked Harry if he thought it was Malfoy which Harry denied so quickly the others stared in surprise.
"Probably should have at least considered the question," Remus told him.
"I didn't see the point in spreading false rumours," Harry said firmly. "Not even about Malfoy."
A second later, Harry spotted several large spiders were scuttling over the ground on the other side of the glass, moving in an unnaturally straight line as though taking the shortest route to a prearranged meeting. Harry hit Ron over the hand with his pruning shears.
"That really wasn't necessary," Ron complained as a few people laughed.
"That was a tad violent, Harry," Fred grinned. Harry blushed.
"Sorry, Ron."
Harry pointed out the spiders, following their progress with his eyes screwed up against the sun. Ron tried and failed to look pleased, pointing out they couldn't follow them now. Ernie and Hannah were listening curiously. Harry's eyes narrowed as he focused on the spiders. If they pursued their fixed course, there could be no doubt about where they would end up. He said it looked like they were heading for the forest.
"Well of course, where else would they end up?" Ron asked sarcastically.
And Ron looked even unhappier about that.
"Fair enough," George nodded. He wouldn't much fancy going into the Forbidden Forest to follow a trail of spiders, and he didn't hate them anywhere near the amount Ron did.
At the end of the lesson Professor Sprout escorted the class to their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Harry and Ron lagged behind the others so they could talk out of earshot. Harry said they could use the cloak and take Fang with them who is used to going into the forest with Hagrid.
"Besides, Hagrid did say that anything in the forest wouldn't attack if he or Fang were there. Fang might be a coward, but at least his presence should deter the creatures that might otherwise attack," Charlie said reasonably.
"As long as his presence also deters the acromantula," Bill muttered, too quietly for his mother to hear. Charlie winced and nodded his agreement.
Ron twirled his wand nervously and asked if there was supposed to be werewolves in the forest.
Remus rolled his eyes in amusement.
"Just don't go in on a full moon and you'll be fine," Percy pointed out. Ron blushed.
Preferring not to answer that question, Harry reminded him there were good things in there too. Ron had never been into the Forbidden Forest before. Harry had entered it only once and had hoped never to do so again.
"It's not so bad, really," Sirius told him, trying to inject a little bit of confidence he most certainly did not feel. He was terrified for his pup and only the knowledge that he made it out alive was stopping him from freaking out.
Lockhart bounded into the room and the class stared at him. Every other teacher in the place was looking grimmer than usual, but Lockhart appeared nothing short of buoyant.
Several people scowled.
He asked why all the long faces.
"He's not serious, is he?" Kingsley blinked.
"Of course he was serious," Minerva sighed. "He thought it was Rubeus and so everyone should be happy."
People swapped exasperated looks, but nobody answered. He told them the danger had passed as the culprit had been taken away. Dean loudly asked who says that's true. Lockhart told him the Minister wouldn't have taken Hagrid away if he wasn't guilty.
Several people snorted derisively while the Ministry workers looked pained.
Ron said that he would, even more loudly than Dean.
"You tell him, Ron," George grinned.
Lockhart replied that he knew a touch more about Hagrid's arrest than Ron.
"Even if Ron hadn't been present at the time, that still wouldn't be true," Percy snorted.
"Yeah, but the only thing Lockhart is good at is flattering himself," Bill reminded him. "Even if every word that comes from his mouth is worth dirt."
Ron started to say that he didn't think so, somehow, but stopped in mid-sentence when Harry kicked him hard under the desk. Harry reminded him they weren't there. But Lockhart was disgustingly cheery and hinted that he had always thought Hagrid was no good.
"He said what?" Hermione asked in horror.
"I am surprised nobody hexed him. Namely Harry," Sirius muttered.
"I was incredibly tempted to throw a book in his face," Harry scowled.
"Good restraint," Remus told him, smiling faintly.
Additionally, he stated his confidence that the whole business was now at an end which irritated Harry so much that he yearned to throw Gadding with Ghouls right in Lockhart's stupid face.
"That would have been satisfying," Ron sighed wistfully.
"I didn't want another detention answering his stupid fan mail," Harry muttered.
"Fair enough. Nothing is worth that," Fred grimaced.
Instead, he contented himself with scrawling a note to Ron: Let's do it tonight. Ron read the message, swallowed hard, and looked sideways at the empty seat usually filled by Hermione. The sight seemed to stiffen his resolve, and he nodded.
Hermione turned slightly pink and pulled Ron into a hug. Ron coughed and looked awkward about the whole thing.
"You're a very good friend, Ron," Bill told his brother proudly. Not many twelve- or thirteen-year-olds would go into the Forbidden Forest to search for their worst fear to help a friend.
The Gryffindor common room was always very crowded these days, because from six o'clock onward the Gryffindors had nowhere else to go. They also had plenty to talk about, with the result that the common room often didn't empty until past midnight. Harry went to get the Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk right after dinner, and spent the evening sitting on it, waiting for the room to clear. Fred and George challenged Harry and Ron to a few games of Exploding Snap, and Ginny sat watching them, very subdued in Hermione's usual chair. Harry and Ron kept losing on purpose, trying to finish the games quickly, but even so, it was well past midnight when Fred, George, and Ginny finally went to bed.
"We wondered why you were playing so badly. Ron's never normally that bad," Fred said, eyes widening in realisation.
"You should have said, we'd have come with you," George told them, eyeing his little brother and Harry with concern.
"The cloak wouldn't have covered you two as well," Harry reminded them.
"We didn't need the cloak to get around undetected," Fred winked. Harry frowned and then recalled that the twins had still had the map at that point.
Harry and Ron waited for the distant sounds of two dormitory doors closing before seizing the cloak, throwing it over themselves, and climbing through the portrait hole. It was another difficult journey through the castle, dodging all the teachers.
All of the teachers pursed their lips. Obviously they weren't expecting to catch anyone under an invisibility cloak, but it still galled them that two second-years had made it past all of their security.
At last they reached the entrance hall, slid back the lock on the oak front doors, squeezed between them, trying to stop any creaking, and stepped out into the moonlit grounds. Ron pointed out that they might get to the forest and find there is nothing to follow or the spiders might not have been going there at all.
"No such luck," Ron cursed.
"You're with Harry Potter. Of course there's no such luck," Sirius sighed.
"Well, at least the Potter luck is likely to get them out of the situation as well," Remus reminded him.
"Definitely luck," Harry muttered to Ron who nodded grimly. He had no desire to relive what had happened that night in the forest, but he couldn't deny it had been pure luck that got them out of that situation.
They reached Hagrid's house, sad and sorry looking with its blank windows. When Harry pushed the door open, Fang went mad with joy at the sight of them. Worried he might wake everyone at the castle with his deep, booming barks, they hastily fed him treacle fudge from a tin on the mantelpiece, which glued his teeth together.
A few people snickered.
"Poor Fang," Luna mused, looking upset for the dog.
"He was alright. He just couldn't bark for a few minutes," Harry hurriedly assured her.
"Wonder if that would work on Sirius," Remus smirked. Sirius pouted at him.
"I'm sure Hagrid would make us some treacle fudge to try it out," Harry grinned.
Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on Hagrid's table. There would be no need for it in the pitch dark forest.
"Uh, no! Not true! There are plenty of reasons it would be useful in the forest," Kingsley shook his head.
"Not least that the things that live in there are used to it and can likely see in the dark!" Moody growled. Harry grimaced. He hadn't thought of that.
"At least this way it won't end up dropped and left behind in the forest," George pointed out.
"Plenty of creatures would still be able to smell them like Mrs Norris can," Charlie agreed. "It might not have been all that useful and there's no risk of it getting damaged."
Harry told Fang they were going for a walk and the dog happily bounded out of the house after them.
"Poor Fang. Bet he won't be so thrilled when he finds out where they are going," Ted muttered.
The dog dashed to the edge of the forest, and lifted his leg against a large sycamore tree.
"Good timing," Charlie laughed.
"He was being fed and looked after, wasn't he?" Luna asked in concern.
"Yes, Miss Lovegood. He was fed and exercised twice a day," Filius assured her. She nodded.
Harry took out his wand and caused a tiny light appeared at the end of it, just enough to let them watch the path for signs of spiders. Ron said he'd light his, but it would probably blow up.
"Oh, yeah. I didn't think about the fact they've only got one working wand between them," Emmeline frowned unhappily.
"In all fairness, aside from a light, I don't believe wands are going to help the boys much in the forest. They simply don't know enough magic," Kingsley pointed out. "And acromantulas are resistant to magic anyway. It won't make much difference."
"That's not particularly reassuring, Kings," Tonks told him. He shrugged. It was the truth and both boys had clearly made it out alive and without permanent injury.
Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder, pointing at the grass. Two solitary spiders were hurrying away from the wandlight into the shade of the trees.
"Brilliant," Sirius muttered sarcastically.
Mr. and Mrs Weasley dragged Ron over, so he was sitting between his parents. Ron looked horribly uncomfortable but made no effort to leave his new position.
Ron sighed as though resigned to the worst before saying he was ready.
Bill reached over to squeeze his brother's shoulder. It was an incredible thing Ron was doing for his friends. It was brave of Harry too, of course, but Ron was literally facing his worst fear for this. Many others would have let Harry go alone.
So, with Fang scampering around them, sniffing tree roots and leaves, they entered the forest.
Molly whimpered and clutched Ron tightly while Sirius held onto Harry's hand.
By the glow of Harry's wand, they followed the steady trickle of spiders moving along the path. They walked behind them for about twenty minutes, not speaking, listening hard for noises other than breaking twigs and rustling leaves. Then, when the trees had become thicker than ever, so that the stars overhead were no longer visible, and Harry's wand shone alone in the sea of dark, they saw their spider guides leaving the path.
Several people grimaced.
"It was inevitable, but I still hate it," Remus murmured to himself.
"Even Hagrid said not to leave the path!" Molly shrilly reminded her son.
"Hagrid was also the one who told us to follow the spiders. We assumed he knew they wouldn't be on the path," Ron pointed out.
"Hagrid should have told Dumbledore much sooner if the spiders have such vital information," Arthur told his son firmly. "I know he has a misguided belief that his pets won't hurt people, but it was still irresponsible of him to leave this to two second years."
Harry paused, trying to see where the spiders were going, but everything outside his little sphere of light was pitch black. He had never been this deep into the forest before. He could vividly remember Hagrid advising him not to leave the forest path last time he'd been in here. But Hagrid was miles away now, probably sitting in a cell in Azkaban, and he had also said to follow the spiders.
Most of the adults grumbled. They could slightly appreciate that Hagrid was desperate, nobody wanted to be in Azkaban, and he was innocent, but he shouldn't have put the responsibility on the two kids. Even if Dumbledore had also been suspended, they were very sure he had ways of communicating with the staff so the adults could take care of it. Harry might have good reason not to trust adults, but Hagrid trusted Dumbledore implicitly, and so should know better.
Something wet touched Harry's hand and he jumped backward, crushing Ron's foot, but it was only Fang's nose.
"Sorry," Harry muttered.
"Don't blame you," Ron waved away the apology.
Harry asked what Ron thought. He replied that they had come this far.
"True, that was a lot of effort to go to just to give up now," Charlie agreed.
"No. On the path with Fang is one thing, but leaving the path? They should have gone back," Remus said. "But we know exactly why they won't do that so let's just hear the rest of it."
So they followed the darting shadows of the spiders into the trees. They couldn't move very quickly now; there were tree roots and stumps in their way, barely visible in the near blackness. Harry could feel Fang's hot breath on his hand. More than once, they had to stop, so that Harry could crouch down and find the spiders in the wandlight.
"Yeah, don't lose them," Bill winced. "Not after this long."
"Have you given thought as to how you're going to get back out? Are you going to remember the way?" Ted wondered suddenly.
"We hadn't thought that far ahead, but Ron's got a pretty good sense of direction," Harry admitted.
They walked for what seemed like at least half an hour, their robes snagging on low slung branches and brambles. After a while, they noticed that the ground seemed to be sloping downward, though the trees were as thick as ever. Then Fang suddenly let loose a great, echoing bark, making both Harry and Ron jump out of their skins.
Everyone cringed.
Ron asked 'what' as he looked around, gripping Harry's elbow tightly. Harry told him there was something moving and it sounded big.
They all listened intently to Hermione's voice, barely daring to breathe themselves.
They listened. Some distance to their right, the something big was snapping branches as it carved a path through the trees.
Ron and Harry were both gripped even tighter by their respective guardians.
"Never again," Sirius muttered.
"You know we went into the forest this last year, when we rescued you," Harry reminded him in an undertone.
"I meant from now on."
"Fair enough. I promise I'll try." Sirius didn't seem particularly reassured by that.
Ron repeatedly muttered 'oh no'. Harry told him to shut up as it would hear him.
"I'm pretty sure whatever it is has already heard Fang, and Ron when he asked 'what'," Bill pointed out grimly.
Ron told him it had already heard Fang. The darkness seemed to be pressing on their eyeballs as they stood, terrified, waiting. There was a strange rumbling noise and then silence.
"A rumbling noise?" Charlie frowned. "Spiders don't rumble."
"Maybe Harry misheard?" Tonks guessed.
"No. His descriptions have been beyond accurate so far," Kingsley stated. "If it says he heard a rumble then that's what he heard." Harry was unable to stop himself smiling slightly at the praise.
Harry asked what Ron thought it was doing. Ron guessed it was getting ready to pounce.
Molly whimpered once more.
They waited, shivering, hardly daring to move. Harry asked if it was gone. As Ron replied that he didn't know, a sudden blaze of light came from their right, so bright in the darkness that both of them flung up their hands to shield their eyes. Fang yelped and tried to run, but got lodged in a tangle of thorns and yelped even louder.
"It's not a teacher, is it?" Fred wondered.
"No. A teacher would have stopped this nonsense long before now," Minerva stated grimly.
Harry shouted that it was their car.
"What?" Arthur asked in complete confusion.
"The car?" Draco gaped in disbelief.
"Yep. It was the car," Harry grinned.
"Well, that explains the rumbling," Bill laughed. "But what on earth is the car doing there?"
"Is the car still in the forest?" George wondered excitedly.
"As far as I know," Harry shrugged.
"Wicked," the twins said in unison.
Harry blundered after Ron toward the light, stumbling and tripping, and a moment later they had emerged into a clearing. Mr. Weasley's car was standing, empty, in the middle of a circle of thick trees under a roof of dense branches, its headlights ablaze. As Ron walked, open mouthed, toward it, it moved slowly toward him, exactly like a large, turquoise dog greeting its owner.
"That is incredible," Filius murmured to himself.
"It recognised Ron?" Andromeda asked in bemusement. "How strange."
"What did you do to that car, Arthur?" Amelia wondered.
"Nothing that would cause that," Arthur replied, looking stunned.
Ron delightedly said that it's been there the whole time. The forest has turned it wild.
"I seem to recall the car being pretty wild before," Sirius muttered.
The sides of the car were scratched and smeared with mud. Apparently, it had taken to trundling around the forest on its own. Fang didn't seem at all keen on it; he kept close to Harry, who could feel him quivering. His breathing slowing down again, Harry stuffed his wand back into his robes.
"Potter!" Moody growled.
"It really wouldn't have helped," Harry told him unhappily.
Ron commented that they had thought it would attack them. He had been wondering where it had gone. Harry squinted around on the floodlit ground for signs of more spiders, but they had all scuttled away from the glare of the headlights. He told Ron they'd lost the trail and suggested they go and find it again. But Ron didn't speak. He didn't move. His eyes were fixed on a point some ten feet above the forest floor, right behind Harry. His face was livid with terror.
"Oh no," Charlie groaned.
"I think the car might have been warning them," Bill mused.
"At least tell me it's the spiders and not something else that's terrifying Ron?" Percy asked worriedly.
"Ten feet!" Sirius yelped. "Ten feet off the ground? That's…" he trailed off, unable to find appropriate words.
Bill and Charlie exchanged looks. The few acromantula they had come across had certainly never been that size. They hadn't been even six feet tall. Ten feet was horrific. They were honestly impressed Ron hadn't fainted on the spot.
Harry didn't even have time to turn around. There was a loud clicking noise and suddenly he felt something long and hairy seize him around the middle and lift him off the ground, so that he was hanging facedown.
"Harry!" Sirius yelped.
"It was alright. In the end," Harry told him. "We all got out ok." Ron coughed but didn't say anything. He had gone very pale, and Molly had him in a tight hug.
Struggling, terrified, he heard more clicking, and saw Ron's legs leave the ground, too, heard Fang whimpering and howling—next moment, he was being swept away into the dark trees. Head hanging, Harry saw that what had hold of him was marching on six immensely long, hairy legs, the front two clutching him tightly below a pair of shining black pincers. Behind him, he could hear another of the creatures, no doubt carrying Ron. They were moving into the very heart of the forest. Harry could hear Fang fighting to free himself from a third monster, whining loudly, but Harry couldn't have yelled even if he had wanted to; he seemed to have left his voice back with the car in the clearing.
"Don't blame you for that," Fred told him weakly.
"That's…" George didn't even have the words.
"I can't believe you guys did this," Neville breathed in horror.
"We barely believe it and we were there," Harry assured him.
He never knew how long he was in the creature's clutches; he only knew that the darkness suddenly lifted enough for him to see that the leaf strewn ground was now swarming with spiders. Craning his neck sideways, he realized that they had reached the ridge of a vast hollow, a hollow that had been cleared of trees, so that the stars shone brightly onto the worst scene he had ever laid eyes on. Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those surging over the leaves below. Spiders the size of carthorses, eight eyed, eight legged, black, hairy, gigantic.
"I'm going to murder Hagrid," Sirius growled, but it came out as more of a whimper.
Even those of the group who didn't mind spiders were looking horrified at what the boys had witnessed.
"That…that needs to be taken care of," Amelia said weakly. "The Disposal of Dangerous Creatures Squad needs to destroy that nest. It cannot remain, especially so close to the school."
Hermione was staring down at the book in horror at what her friends had been through, in an attempt to help her. She stared over at Ron in both shock and gratitude.
The massive specimen that was carrying Harry made its way down the steep slope toward a misty, domed web in the very centre of the hollow, while its fellows closed in all around it, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of its load. Harry fell to the ground on all fours as the spider released him. Ron and Fang thudded down next to him. Fang wasn't howling anymore, but cowering silently on the spot. Ron looked exactly like Harry felt. His mouth was stretched wide in a kind of silent scream and his eyes were popping.
"It's bloody impressive you didn't just faint," Bill told his brother, voicing his thoughts from earlier.
"Didn't sleep properly for ages," Ron muttered.
"And we don't blame you for that. Although you should have gotten some Dreamless Sleep from Madam Pomfrey, even just for a couple of nights," Tonks suggested.
"Didn't think of it," Ron shrugged.
Harry suddenly realized that the spider that had dropped him was saying something. It had been hard to tell, because he clicked his pincers with every word he spoke. It called for Aragog.
Everyone shuddered.
And from the middle of the misty, domed web, a spider the size of a small elephant emerged, very slowly.
"A small elephant?" Tonks squeaked.
"Oh Ronnie!" Molly yelped.
"Mum, can't breathe," Ron grunted. She loosened her grip ever so slightly.
"I don't want to hear about you going into that forest ever again, young man. Am I clear?" She shrieked.
"Very," Ron winced, moving as far away as was possible from her loudness.
"I can't believe you made it out of there alive," Remus muttered weakly. "That Aragog must be a very good friend of Hagrid's." Harry couldn't stop himself snorting at that. All eyes turned to him and he grimaced. He gestured pleadingly for Hermione to read.
There was gray in the black of his body and legs, and each of the eyes on his ugly, pincered head was milky white. He was blind.
"Well, he's at least fifty years old. That's pretty old even for an acromantula," Charlie said.
He asked what it was. The spider who caught Harry said men. Aragog asked if it was Hagrid and the spider denied it, so he instructed them to kill the strangers as he had been sleeping.
"NO!" Molly, Arthur, Sirius and Remus all yelled at the same time.
"So sorry to disturb your nap," Fred muttered worriedly.
Severus began passing around calming draughts to several of the adults.
Harry shouted that they were friends of Hagrid's. Aragog paused and slowly said that Hagrid had never sent men into their hollow before.
"At least he's listening," Bill sighed in relief.
Harry told him they had come because Hagrid was in trouble. The aged spider sounded concerned as he asked why Hagrid had send them.
"That's one hell of a bond if he's actually concerned about a human," Charlie whistled in astonishment. He was terrified for Harry and Ron, but couldn't deny a slight twinge of envy. Harry got to interact with all of the coolest creatures. First he got to see a dragon hatch, then ride a Centaur, see a Phoenix being reborn and now actually speak to an acromantula. It was insane.
Harry thought of getting to his feet but decided against it; he didn't think his legs would support him.
Several people nodded understandingly.
So he spoke from the ground, as calmly as he could.
"It's incredibly impressive you remained calm enough to actually talk to it," Remus noted.
"Well, we'd come all that way, and I didn't think Ron would be saying anything anytime soon."
"Definitely not," Ron shuddered violently.
He explained that they thought Hagrid was setting something on the students and had taken him to Azkaban. Aragog clicked his pincers furiously, and all around the hollow the sound was echoed by the crowd of spiders; it was like applause, except applause didn't usually make Harry feel sick with fear.
They all shuddered.
"This is so creepy," Tonks muttered.
"And we aren't even there," Bill agreed. Everyone was looking with new respect at the two boys.
Aragog said that was years ago. He remembered it well and it was why Hagrid had been made to leave the school, they believed Aragog was the monster that dwelt in the chamber. Harry asked if he came from the chamber. Aragog angrily said he was not born in the castle but was from a distant land. A traveller gave him to Hagrid when he was an egg.
"Who gives a, what, thirteen-year-old kid an acromantula egg?" Amelia hissed.
"Well, Hagrid is a half-giant. There's a good chance he could have passed as an adult even at the age of thirteen or so," Kingsley said slowly.
"But how could he afford it? An acromantula egg is incredibly rare and would have been expensive?" Charlie frowned.
"Acromantula venom and silk are rare and valuable ingredients," Severus agreed. Everyone shrugged, not having an answer.
He continued that Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for him, hiding him in a cupboard in the castle, feeding him on scraps from the table. Hagrid was his good friend, and a good man. When Aragog was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, Hagrid protected him. Aragog has lived there in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits him. He even found him a wife, Mosag, and they could see how the family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness.
"I think finding him a wife was a little unnecessary," Andromeda muttered unhappily.
"Yeah. One acromantula wouldn't be too bad, but to have created a whole colony?" Charlie winced.
"He probably didn't want his friend to be lonely," Luna said, a little sadly.
"That might be so, but it was an incredibly foolish thing to do," Filius told her gently. "Even with their hollow being so deep in the forest, they are still a danger."
Harry summoned what remained of his courage and asked if he had never attacked anyone.
"You actually asked him that?" Sirius yelped.
"We still didn't have what we came for. All we knew was that Hagrid definitely didn't open the chamber, but it was hardly proof. We couldn't exactly go and tell Professor McGonagall we thought Hagrid was innocent because we spoke to a giant spider and it said it wasn't the monster," Harry reminded him.
"Still, maybe don't provoke said giant spider," Remus offered weakly.
The spider said never.
"Never? It has never attacked a single person?" Charlie asked in astonishment.
"That's what he said," Harry shrugged.
He continued that it would have been his instinct but out of respect for Hagrid he has never harmed a human.
"Bloody hell," Kingsley muttered.
"That's…I didn't know acromantula were capable of forming bonds that deep with a human," Charlie breathed. "It's incredible. Hagrid truly is one of a kind."
"I bet his wife and kids can't say the same though," Percy pointed out grimly. Charlie grimaced. That was probably true, but the fact that even one of them hadn't harmed a human ever, against its own instincts, was beyond belief.
Aragog informed them that the body of the girl who was killed was discovered in a bathroom. He never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which he grew up.
Harry grimaced.
Harry asked if he knew what killed the girl because it was back. His words were drowned by a loud outbreak of clicking and the rustling of many long legs shifting angrily; large black shapes shifted all around him.
They all cringed once more.
Aragog stated that the thing that lived in the castle was an ancient creature that spiders fear above all others.
"I wonder why though. I mean, I know basilisks are super deadly, but it still seems strange there is nothing they fear more," Percy said.
"Well, when spiders are that big there probably isn't much that bothers them," Charlie shrugged.
He pleaded with Hagrid to let him go when he sensed the beast. Harry asked again what it was but Aragog told him they don't speak of it as the spiders seemed to be closing in.
"He's not going to tell you. Time to go!" Sirius said urgently. Harry patted his arm, not bothering to remind him that there was nothing he could do about it now.
Aragog stated he hadn't even told Hagrid, although he asked many times. Harry didn't want to press the subject, not with the spiders pressing closer on all sides.
"Wise choice," Remus muttered.
Aragog seemed to be tired of talking. He was backing slowly into his domed web, but his fellow spiders continued to inch slowly toward Harry and Ron. Harry desperately said they would leave. Aragog said he thinks not.
"What?" Molly yelped.
"But then…how?" Charlie breathed in alarm. "How in the name of Merlin's y-fronts did you escape from that?"
"Magic," Harry said, offering a slightly wobbly grin. Most of the room were staring at either Harry or Ron in abject horror. Hermione was one of them until Neville nudged her arm indicating for her to read on.
Aragog stated that his children do not harm Hagrid on his command, but he can't deny them fresh meat when it wanders so willingly into their midst.
"I think 'willingly' is a bit of an overstatement," Bill muttered weakly.
He said goodbye to the friends of Hagrid. Harry spun around. Feet away, towering above him, was a solid wall of spiders, clicking, their many eyes gleaming in their ugly black heads.
Everyone cringed horribly.
"Oh god, oh god," Sirius whimpered.
Even as he reached for his wand, Harry knew it was no good, there were too many of them, but he would stand, ready to die fighting.
Sirius let out a long, keening noise at that statement.
"Oh, Harry," Remus said wetly.
All of the Weasleys were crowded around Ron, so much so he was barely visible.
Then, a loud, long note sounded, and a blaze of light flamed through the hollow.
"The car!" Arthur exclaimed.
"No way," Charlie said in shock.
Mr. Weasley's car was thundering down the slope, headlights glaring, its horn screeching, knocking spiders aside; several were thrown onto their backs, their endless legs waving in the air. The car screeched to a halt in front of Harry and Ron and the doors flew open.
"Holy…" Bill whispered.
"If those boys hadn't flown that car to school…" Amelia muttered.
"If Dobby hadn't tried to save Harry's life by closing the barrier. If the Weasley's had flooed to the station instead of driving. So many choices that all led to that car saving their lives. If a single thing had been done differently…" Kingsley trailed off, shaking his head. It was unbelievable.
"Bet you're glad we flew that car now, hey mum?" Ron asked, trying to sound cheerful. Molly let out a loud sob and clung to her son. "Oh, ah, we're fine. The car savedu s and we're fine," he said, awkwardly patting his mother on the back.
Harry yelled for Ron to get Fang before diving into the front seat. Ron seized the boarhound around the middle and threw him, yelping, into the back of the car—the doors slammed shut—Ron didn't touch the accelerator but the car didn't need him; the engine roared and they were off, hitting more spiders. They sped up the slope, out of the hollow, and they were soon crashing through the forest, branches whipping the windows as the car wound its way cleverly through the widest gaps, following a path it obviously knew.
"Wow," Fred whistled. "That car is beyond cool."
Harry looked sideways at Ron. His mouth was still open in the silent scream, but his eyes weren't popping anymore. He asked if he was ok, but Ron was unable to speak. They smashed their way through the undergrowth, Fang howling loudly in the back seat, and Harry saw the side mirror snap off as they squeezed past a large oak. After ten noisy, rocky minutes, the trees thinned, and Harry could again see patches of sky. The car stopped so suddenly that they were nearly thrown into the windshield. They had reached the edge of the forest.
Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief.
Fang flung himself at the window in his anxiety to get out, and when Harry opened the door, he shot off through the trees to Hagrid's house, tail between his legs.
"I don't think he'll be going out with you two ever again," Charlie chuckled weakly.
"He kept avoiding us for a while after that," Ron agreed.
Harry got out too, and after a minute or so, Ron seemed to regain the feeling in his limbs and followed, still stiff necked and staring. Harry gave the car a grateful pat as it reversed back into the forest and disappeared from view. Harry went back into Hagrid's cabin to get the Invisibility Cloak. Fang was trembling under a blanket in his basket. When Harry got outside again, he found Ron being violently sick in the pumpkin patch.
"That's fair," George said.
"You did really brilliantly, Ron," Bill assured his brother, who was looking faintly embarrassed. "Throwing up after all that is a pretty tame reaction to be honest."
"I can't believe you made it out of that alive," Tonks said, shaking her head.
"That bloody Potter luck," Remus gave a half hysterical laugh.
"You did brilliantly to," Bill looked over at Harry. "Keeping your cool like that and getting answers." Several people nodded.
Ron wiped his mouth and stated he would never forgive Hagrid and they were lucky to be alive.
"That didn't last," Harry laughed. Ron grinned slightly, though he was still very white.
Harry stated that Hagrid most likely thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his.
"A gamble that almost cost the two of you your lives," Minerva huffed angrily.
Ron said that it was exactly Hagrid's problem. He always thinks monsters aren't as bad as they are made out and it got him a cell in Azkaban.
"To be fair, Riddle would have blamed someone anyway," Ted pointed out.
"Ron has a point though. Hagrid's lack of caution has already proved problematic. Ron was bitten by a venomous dragon last year, and now this," Arthur frowned.
Ron was shivering uncontrollably now. He asked what the point was of sending them in there and wondered what they found out. Harry pointed out they knew Hagrid was innocent as he threw the cloak over them. Ron gave a loud snort. Evidently, hatching Aragog in a cupboard wasn't his idea of being innocent.
Several people looked like they agreed with Ron on that as well.
As the castle loomed nearer Harry twitched the cloak to make sure their feet were hidden, then pushed the creaking front doors ajar. They walked carefully back across the entrance hall and up the marble staircase, holding their breath as they passed corridors where watchful sentries were walking.
The professors all shook their heads once more.
At last they reached the safety of the Gryffindor common room, where the fire had burned itself into glowing ash. They took off the cloak and climbed the winding stair to their dormitory. Ron fell onto his bed without bothering to get undressed. Harry, however, didn't feel very sleepy.
"Oh, I wasn't particularly sleepy, I just wanted to forget about everything that had happened," Ron stated.
"You fell asleep pretty quickly," Harry told him.
"He's a Weasley. They can always eat, and they can fall asleep at the drop of a hat," Fred laughed.
He sat on the edge of his four-poster, thinking hard about everything Aragog had said. The creature that was lurking somewhere in the castle, he thought, sounded like a sort of monster Voldemort—even other monsters didn't want to name it.
Everyone grimaced at the parallel.
But he and Ron were no closer to finding out what it was, or how it Petrified its victims. Even Hagrid had never known what was in the Chamber of Secrets. Harry swung his legs up onto his bed and leaned back against his pillows, watching the moon glinting at him through the tower window. He couldn't see what else they could do. They had hit dead ends everywhere. Riddle had caught the wrong person, the Heir of Slytherin had got off, and no one could tell whether it was the same person, or a different one, who had opened the Chamber this time. There was nobody else to ask. Harry lay down, still thinking about what Aragog had said. He was becoming drowsy when what seemed like their very last hope occurred to him, and he suddenly sat bolt upright. He hissed for Ron who woke with a yelp like Fang's.
"Sorry," Harry winced.
"It's fine. I was having a nightmare anyway," Ron sighed.
"To be expected," Percy nodded.
Harry recalled that Aragog had said the girl who died was found in a bathroom. He asked what if she was still there.
"Moaning Myrtle?" Tonks gasped.
"She's been under their nose the whole time. Surely she saw something useful?" Charlie frowned.
"But if she had, then surely, she would have said something? Dumbledore, at the very least, must have known she was the victim and already asked her," Kingsley frowned.
"She said she did not know who the heir was, nor did she see the monster before it killed her," Albus informed them.
"That doesn't mean she doesn't know anything useful," Amelia said.
"But why would she hide it if she did know something? Surely, she would want her murderer brought to justice?" Ted pointed out thoughtfully.
"But she's also incredibly temperamental. If the question wasn't asked in exactly the right way, there's a good chance she'd get upset and fly down the U-bend or something," Tonks said slowly.
Ron rubbed his eyes, frowning through the moonlight. And then he understood, too. He asked if Harry meant Moaning Myrtle.
"That's it," Hermione announced, a little shakily.
"Let's take five minutes before we start the next heart attack, I mean chapter," Minerva muttered. She knew it wouldn't be long until Ginny was attacked, and the boys went into the chamber.
A few people went to fetch some snacks, stretch their legs or use the facilities. All of the Weasleys remained in a tight group around Ron while Sirius and Remus stayed with Harry, holding onto him tightly.
"It's…it's going to get worse," Harry warned them grimly.
"Worse? Worse than facing an acromantula the size of a small elephant, that told its kids to eat you?" Sirius' eyes looked like they might pop out of his head in sheer horror. Harry winced and nodded.
"So, basilisk then?" Remus asked, closing his eyes briefly. Harry nodded.
"Maybe calming draughts for the next couple of chapters," he suggested.
"I think that's a good idea," Remus agreed. He reluctantly got up and made the suggestion to Andromeda who wholeheartedly agreed and went to speak with Severus about brewing some more. Before she got that far, the room produced several dozen.
About ten minutes later, everyone was back, and many people had taken more calming draughts in preparation for whatever horror would come next. Hermione handed the book to Ron who looked at it as if it were a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Reluctantly he turned to the right page and began.