Chapter 73. An Accident Occurs
"Hmph..."
Crouching on the ground, Lee Jordan suddenly let out a muffled groan.
Fred Weasley, lifting a leg to leave, frowned in distaste and looked over.
"What's wrong with you? You keep making weird noises!"
"This fruit isn't right..." said Lee Jordan.
In front of him lay a smooth stick, and the fruit on its tip had turned into a heap of sticky pulp after hitting the ground, oozing inky juice.
"No kidding.
Why else would the pixies be using these fruits to attack us?" George retorted unhappily.
"I just touched it lightly just now, and my hand turned like this..." Jordan lifted his arm with a woeful face.
Only a bit of the juice remained on his index fingernail, and apart from that there seemed to be nothing wrong.
Fred studied it for a moment.
"I don't see any difference."
"My finger won't move, as if it had been chopped off."
Lee Jordan kept shaking his wrist, but his index finger stuck straight out in front, motionless.
"Huh?"
Fred and George were taken aback.
They carefully picked up a twig from the ground and poked at it gingerly; it felt like poking a stone.
"Jordan..." George said gravely.
"Your finger is ruined."
Lee Jordan's voice was on the verge of tears.
"Don't say things like that and scare me.
Hurry up and think of a way!"
"Don't worry.
It's only one finger.
Even if it's gone, it won't stop you eating."
Fred bent to help Jordan up.
George, meanwhile, carefully gathered up the fruit on the ground; he thought the stuff could be used in their prank gadgets.
"Where are you taking me?"
Jordan followed Fred and George blankly.
"To Professor Kettleburn, of course!" George replied.
"It's your finger that's hurt, not your head.
Why do you sound daft?"
"Oh, right, right, Professor Kettleburn.
He'll definitely have a way!"
Jordan immediately perked up, walking faster than the ones supporting him.
After five or six minutes, they ran into Duncan and Hagrid, who were patrolling around.
Seeing that Jordan looked off, Duncan asked at once, "What's wrong with him?"
Fred relaxed a little and described in detail to Duncan what had just happened.
Duncan smiled.
"Don't worry.
The numbing effect of that fruit only lasts a few minutes.
Going by the time, you should have recovered already; perhaps you're too frightened, so you didn't notice."
"Really?"
Jordan focused all his attention on his finger; though stiff, it slowly moved.
"You scared me to death..." Jordan let out a long breath.
"I thought I'd really have to eat with a four-fingered hand from now on!"
"When you were coming back, which direction did Graham Montague and the others head?" Duncan asked.
Earlier, Graham's nasty attitude had offended those small-minded pixies, so they were bound to take revenge.
Duncan had to hurry over and have a look in case the pixies took the game too far and something happened.
"Over there.
Just keep going in that direction and don't turn," Fred said, pointing the way they'd just come.
"All right.
Keep at it and see if you can catch a pixie before class ends," Duncan said with a smile.
Hagrid cheered the three on as well.
"Use your heads just a bit and you'll catch them for sure!"
Fred and the others gave wry smiles, especially Jordan, who had already suffered plenty at the hands of the little blighters.
Duncan bade them goodbye and prepared to leave with Hagrid, but as he took his first step, a bird dropped swiftly out of the sky.
The bird alighted on Duncan's shoulder, pacing back and forth uneasily and chattering nonstop.
As Duncan listened, his expression grew as dark as the waters of the Black Lake.
"What happened?" Hagrid leaned forward and asked, a little anxious.
Jordan's curious gaze drifted between Duncan and the bird on his shoulder; he didn't yet know Duncan could talk with animals.
"Graham Montague and the others are in trouble.
Hagrid, come with me—quick."
Duncan finished speaking and sent the bird off his shoulder into the air.
"Go and notify Professor Kettleburn.
Tell him to come at once!"
"Two Acromantulas have come this way..."
Duncan's words were cut off halfway.
Hagrid cried out in disbelief, "What!"
"What?
How's that possible?!"
Fred, George, and Jordan screamed as well, seemingly more worked up than Hagrid.
"Take us with you, Duncan—we can help!"
"Come with me, then.
We'll talk as we go."
Duncan frowned; although he found the trio a bit odd, he chose to take them along—having more people might help later.
He led them at a run toward the spot the bird had told him, and when they drew near, Duncan had everyone slow to recover their strength, in case they had to fight.
Screams mixed with giggles reached their ears, and strange looks crossed Fred and the others' faces.
Peering around the trees ahead and looking toward a spot not far away, they saw Graham and the others bound tight by vines and hanging in mid-air.
The vines seemed alive; their thin tips writhed deftly and kept tickling Graham and the others.
Farther off, two millstone-sized Acromantulas clicked their great chelicerae and closed in at great speed.
They had eight black eyes, a pair of gigantic chelicerae below, and their bodies were covered in dense black hair.
The pixies flew high overhead, bending their bows and loosing arrows without stop, but they couldn't halt the Acromantulas' advance at all; the fruit did nothing.
The vine trap was something Duncan had asked Professor Kettleburn to prepare; it was meant as a punishment for rule-breakers.
But now it was about to become a buffet for the Acromantulas to pick at will.
"Hagrid, now!" Duncan said in a low voice, seeing that the Acromantulas were only a few metres from the students.
A reluctant look flashed across Hagrid's face, but he clenched his teeth and took the crossbow from his back.
He set a bolt, drew the string back to a full moon curve, and with a thump the string twanged and the bolt shot like lightning toward the spider in the distance.
The Acromantula near the students was struck as if by a lorry; the hit spot burst open, the carcass leapt high, and it crashed down far away.
Duncan and the others were all stunned and couldn't help looking at the grim-faced Hagrid.
Even if Hagrid couldn't use magic, his skill with a crossbow alone would put many a wizard to shame.
"Hagrid, one more...."
This time, before Duncan could even prompt him, Hagrid notched and fired again, easily dealing with the remaining Acromantula.
"How did they come here?" Hagrid was plainly angry, his voice rising.
"Aragog promised me he'd keep his children in line and never let them run about!"
Enjoyed the story? Support me and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at: Patr*eon*.com/Resium
Free members can read 10+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Paid member can read 150+ Chapters Ahead of Release
Stories Available
Honkai? No, This Is Daily Life
Hogwarts Pet Master
Pokémon: Who Let Him Leave Pallet Town!
Scrolling Yu-Gi-Oh! Shorts