Chapter 298 To Save Or Not To Save...
Evan quickly got the hang of riding a Hippogriff. He could grip Buckbeak's flanks firmly with his heels.
The massive wings flapped beside him, and he tried to loosen his arms around Buckbeak's neck.
There was no discomfort apart from the occasional mild sensation of nausea.
Instead, he felt himself adapting more and more.
Compared to broomsticks, which were challenging to master, he felt more secure flying at great altitude on the Hippogriff.
Riding the air currents, they entered the Forbidden Forest from above.
Passing through the clouds beneath their feet, Evan saw towering trees.
He had seen this scene countless times from the top of the castle. But due to his new different angle, the feeling was entirely distinct. Observing the Forbidden Forest from top to bottom, the succession of trees, the hidden ones, and the ancient trees reaching towards the clouds were more awe-inspiring, immersing in the grandeur of nature.
But before Evan could appreciate it, the trees ahead of him began to dwindle as if unearthed.
The color of the trunks gradually turned into an unhealthy gray. Here lay the territory of the Acromantulas.
In a corner, several Acromantulas emerged slowly from the hidden shadows. They watched vigilantly as the visitors approached from the sky.
Evan quickly crouched down and huddled over Buckbeak.
Click, click...
Discovering that the intruder was just a Hippogriff, the Acromantulas, tasked with alerting their kin, slowly retreated and disappeared back into the darkness.
While relatively common in the Forbidden Forest, with a few Hippogriffs trespassing into the Acromantulas' territory, it was not absolute.
They did not spot Evan seated on Buckbeak's back, nor did they report to Aragog and the other Acromantulas to defend themselves.
With Buckbeak's help, Evan remained undiscovered, smoothly infiltrating, and his plan was successful.
He and Buckbeak flew towards the center of the Acromantulas' territory. Evan peeked out and used the space between Buckbeak's wings to carefully observe Aragog's Lair.
Since the big fire that occurred a few months back, he had never returned there.
With each passing moment, the landscape before him grew increasingly striking.
Unlike the last time he was there, it was very hard to see trees on the ground in the core of the Acromantulas' Territory, as if they had been swept away by a tornado and corroded by something. Even the soil turned dark gray occasionally revealing some red hues.
White spiderwebs, animal bones, and signs of destruction could be seen everywhere. Viewing from the great height, the slope of Aragog's Lair was deeply sunken into the ground, full of folds and irregular ravines, looking peculiar.
Thick leaves were no longer visible on the ground, and the charred black sand seemed to have covered the surface with a thin film.
Even from several hundred feet above, the smell of burnt leaves in the air, soil, raw meat, and the scent of blood was discernible...
The most striking aspect was the entrance to the Lair, like a vast doomed spider web.
It seemed just as enormous as before, densely populated with all sorts of animal corpses.
Among them, Evan even saw the body of a Centaur.
It was placed prominently and seemed to be a display for intruders.
From the Lair, a pale milky mist occasionally emerged, like a volcanic crater, faintly dispersing the scent of blood all over the slope.
The scene before him was too dreadful, and the fire Evan had ignited months ago seemed to have opened the gates of hell.
Now that Aragog had degenerated, he was not restraining his offspring but succumbing to his instincts and becoming a dark creature that only knew how to kill.
Even worse, his brutality had disrupted the balance that Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest should have.
The revenge of the Acromantulas had turned the Lair into almost a purgatory.
The current situation was even worse than the information gathered by the Centaurs' investigation. It was necessary to stop the Acromantulas from unleashing their fury further as soon as possible and also vital to eliminate Aragog.
In addition to the ubiquitous corpses, what troubled Evan was that he sensed a hint of dark magic in the mist drifting from Aragog's Lair.
Dark magic, could it be Voldemort?!
Evan shook his head. With his understanding of Voldemort, the latter would not use malignant dark magic to control, influence, and transform the Acromantulas. If he were to use such magic, he would prefer to use the Killing Curse to directly eliminate the enemy.
In Dumbledore's words, Voldemort despised life and feared death more, that was his greatest weakness.
In his opinion, he believed that death was the greatest fear for everyone.
Avada Kedavra was Voldemort's favorite curse, not any other complex malignant dark magic.
It couldn't be Voldemort who had left that dark magic. Furthermore, he couldn't even be near Hogwarts now.
If it wasn't Voldemort, then who could it be?!
Evan thought about the unknown entity that could be hiding in Aragog's Lair. This was just his assumption. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should already know important information about the matter, but he couldn't think of it...
Just as the bodies shrouded in mist before him, the forgotten dreams seemed to be related to this entity.
Evan couldn't recall those dreams, but anyway, the scene before him was enough to inform Dumbledore and prompt him to deal with these Acromantulas.
Buckbeak carried Evan and they flew around Aragog's Lair a few more times. After Evan recalled the hiding places of most of the Acromantulas, they began to return to the castle.
Just then, Evan saw a group of Acromantulas emerging from the center.
Due to the lack of trees, he could clearly see that the group consisted of twelve or thirteen Giant Spiders. The one in the lead was obviously much larger than his companions. Behind him, the spiders were dragging three wizards in Hogwarts robes, Malfoy, Goyle, and Crabbe.
"Curse it, what are these three doing?" Evan was surprised and almost fell off Buckbeak's back.
Malfoy and the other two were supposed to be in the castle. How could they have been caught by the Acromantulas?
What should he do now?
Go to save Malfoy? This was just a joke! Besides the disappearance, Evan noticed that the number of hidden Acromantulas nearby was no less than a hundred. Once he fought and alarmed them, the consequences would be absolutely unimaginable.
Moreover, from any perspective, Evan had no reason to risk his life to rescue Malfoy.
On second thought, if his life was in danger, Malfoy would have no conscience and wouldn't save him.
If he left it as it was, or left and returned to inform others, then from what he saw, in a few minutes, Malfoy and his companions would become the new trophy in the huge spider web.
Evan was certain that he would certainly not feel sadness if he heard that Malfoy had died.
But witnessing Malfoy's death before him was something entirely different.