For Hagrid, the Ministry of Magic investigators were terrifying, as their hands held the power to send him back to Azkaban.
The school board's investigators, on the other hand, were troublesome, because Amostas could, on behalf of the school board, expel him from Hogwarts. Although Hagrid knew Headmaster Dumbledore would definitely speak up for him, it was still a very troublesome matter.
Amostas and Hagrid walked with difficulty into the depths of the Forbidden Forest. Although it was daytime, the dense trees blocked most of the light from the sky.
The forest was dark, and Amostas had to pull out his wand and illuminate it for himself. The surroundings were quiet. Even listening carefully,
besides the snapping of branches and the patter of rain on leaves, no other sound could be heard. Hagrid seemed very familiar with this place. He jumped down from a slanted tree trunk, glanced around, then, panting, waved to Amostas.
"This way, Professor Bleane."
Another ten minutes of difficult walking. This place was long uninhabited, and the ground was covered in a carpet of thick, rotting leaves, several feet deep. Every step felt like sinking into a mud pit.
"I think you're wasting your time, Professor." Because of his enormous weight, with every step, Hagrid sank deeper. To ensure he wouldn't be completely swallowed by the quicksand-like rotten leaves, Hagrid had to continuously grab onto the tree trunks overhead as he moved forward.
"I've asked it many times, Professor Bleane, but it always refuses to speak. It only says that the monster in the castle is a very terrifying ancient creature, a natural enemy of spiders. The rest, it refuses to tell me at all. From what I see, it's unlikely to tell anyone else—"
"Let's try, Hagrid." Compared to Hagrid's disheveled state, Amostas moved much more elegantly. He cast a spell on himself, reducing most of his weight, allowing him to almost glide forward. "I cannot give up any clue."
"Then you'll have to be mentally prepared, Professor Bleane, because Aragog's temper has grown increasingly irritable over the years due to its old age and inability to move around much. I can't guarantee I can appease its anger."
"You don't need to worry about that either, Hagrid. Sometimes..." Amostas easily leaped over a small puddle. Passing by Hagrid, he casually helped him up. "My temper can also be very irritable."
As the surrounding woods gradually thinned, the ground began to slope downwards. Behind the thorn-covered bushes, black shadows the size of stone blocks vaguely flickered. Amostas knew that their destination was almost reached.
Amostas stood at the edge of a depression like a meteorite crater, raising his glowing wand and looking down. In the large pit, sparsely covered with trees, hundreds to thousands of spiders resided. These spiders were not fluffy little creatures; each one among them was as large as the eight-eyed spider he had captured before.
The moment Amostas appeared, this quiet depression suddenly erupted in a chorus of clicking sounds, echoing throughout the silent forest.
"Who's there?" In the center of the depression, amidst a misty, hemispherical spiderweb, a spider the size of an African elephant slowly emerged. Its body color was different from the other spiders; it was black with greyish tinges. Each of its ugly, large-clawed eyes was covered with a white film, seemingly unable to see clearly.
"Who disturbed my slumber? Is it Hagrid again?" This large spider asked in a sharp voice, like fingernails scraping a blackboard. Click, click, click! The large group of spiders around answered this question in their unique language.
"Oh, really? A stranger has come here. Oh, then I apologize," Aragog's two large claws moved quickly as it offered its opinion, "Children, what are you waiting for?" Amostas narrowed his eyes, inwardly calculating how much venom he could obtain if he truly had to make a move.
"Oh, wait, Aragog, just wait!" At this moment, Hagrid, looking as if he had just had a mud bath, finally arrived, panting heavily. "It's me, I'm Hagrid, Aragog!" The old spider in the center of the web heard this familiar voice.
Its trembling claws paused, then its piercing voice sounded a little friendlier. "Oh, sorry, Hagrid, it's you. I thought a stranger had intruded upon my family territory.
So, about what I mentioned to you last time, about those centaurs hunting my children, have you discussed it with them? If they don't restrain themselves, Hagrid, I'll have to retaliate."
"Actually, Aragog, I heard a completely different story from the centaurs. They believe... well, I'll go ask them again, Aragog. Today, I'm here to ask you something else." Hagrid, like a keeper of order in this Forbidden Forest,
commanded the basic respect of every intelligent magical creature, regardless of their feelings towards wizards. The smaller spiders around were scuttling about in the large pit,
their long thin legs supporting their bodies. The rustling sounds were extremely agitated. They continuously relayed messages to Aragog, whose eyes were already blind.
"Hagrid!" Aragog, whose animosity had just subsided, sounded furious again. It aimed all eight of its white-filmed eyes at Amostas, questioning angrily, "Did you bring someone else, Hagrid? You promised me you wouldn't!"
It seemed this old spider wasn't that easy to communicate with. Amostas thought to himself, silently observing Hagrid's interaction with it from the side.
"Professor Bleane is also an investigator dispatched by the Hogwarts school board to investigate the Chamber of Secrets. He insists on speaking with you face-to-face, Aragog. I hope you can—"
"Chamber of Secrets!" Before Hagrid could finish, Aragog's emotions immediately became agitated. Amidst its angry clicking sounds, many spiders from all directions surrounded Amostas and Hagrid.
They remained dozens of feet away from the two, emitting even more dense rustling sounds. With just one command, they would immediately pounce! "I've told you many times, Hagrid, we are afraid of that monster.
We absolutely will not mention the name of that ancient creature to outsiders. If too many wizards know about it, they will covet its power and use it to exterminate us!"
Heh, that logic is quite unique! Amostas couldn't help but chuckle. Then, he saw Hagrid shrugging helplessly at him. "You see? This is the result.
Professor Bleane, you know everything. If it had been willing to reveal that monster back then, perhaps I wouldn't have been kicked out of Hogwarts."
"Don't give up so easily, Hagrid—" Amostas stepped forward two steps with a relaxed tone. "Let me try to communicate with it."
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