After Albus Dumbledore departed from Hogwarts, fear spread through the castle with unprecedented speed. Even the sun, which warmed the castle's outer walls, seemed unable to penetrate the mullioned windows.
Every face in the school looked anxious and fearful. Every burst of laughter echoing in the corridors sounded harsh and jarring, only to be quickly suppressed. Despite this, there were no plans to suspend classes at Hogwarts. As long as the sky didn't fall and the earth didn't shatter—as long as the apocalypse hadn't arrived—lessons would continue.
The students finally endured until evening, but they were informed they could not return to their respective common rooms. Until the Basilisk was caught, they were to spend the night in the Great Hall.
Under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak, the Savior Trio quietly slipped out of the Hall. All day, they had been dwelling on Hagrid's parting words: "Follow the spiders to find the answers." Near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Harry quickly spotted a line of spiders crawling deep into the woods.
"Harry, I don't think this is a good idea," Ron whispered, swallowing hard as he stared into the pitch-black forest.
The Forbidden Forest was extremely dangerous for young wizards even during the day, let alone at night. They weren't like Kyle and his lot, who could treat the forest like their own backyard. However, Harry, driven by a sudden surge of Gryffindor recklessness, ignored the risks and dragged Ron toward the dark depths of the forest. Hermione followed closely behind them.
The three soon arrived at the hollow that Kyle's group had visited previously—the nest of Aragog, the Acromantula. A series of clicking sounds drifted from the massive web in the center of the depression.
"Is that Hagrid? Or a Weasley?"
The Trio stood in stunned silence as they heard the giant spider call out Ron's surname. Ron forced down his fear and took a step forward.
"I'm Ron Weasley. We're friends of Hagrid's."
"Hmm? You're not one of the twins?"
Hearing Aragog's words, Ron suddenly felt a wave of relief. He hadn't realized that while his two older brothers were mischievous troublemakers, their connections had actually extended all the way to the Acromantulas. Ron silently gave his brothers a mental thumbs-up.
What he didn't know, however, was that the relationship between Aragog and the twins was not one of friendship, but of a deep-seated grudge. Since the last time Kyle had brought the other three "Father-Sorrowers" to force the Acromantula colony into signing a humiliating, "spider-rights-stripping" unequal treaty, the twins had been the ones coming to the door every time to collect venom.
Cedric didn't need that many Galleons; his current wand business provided a healthy financial cycle. But the twins' alchemy studies were a literal money pit. They were the ones who truly needed to sell venom for profit. Consequently, the Acromantulas' hatred had gradually converged on the two of them.
"Hagrid's in trouble," Harry said, his breath coming in short gasps. "That's why we've come."
Hermione briefly explained to Aragog that Hagrid had been taken away by the Ministry of Magic. Upon hearing that Hagrid had been imprisoned in Azkaban, Aragog momentarily set aside his grudge against the Weasleys.
He clicked his massive pincers angrily. "The one who opened the Chamber was never Hagrid! Those people are all fools!"
Hermione hurried to explain, "We already know the monster in the Chamber is a Basilisk, and we know it's hiding in the pipes…"
A violent clicking from Aragog's pincers interrupted her.
"The monster in the Chamber is no longer the main concern. An even more terrifying darkness is breeding deep within the Forbidden Forest…"
Hermione could hear a profound sense of dread in Aragog's voice.
"What more terrifying darkness?" she pressed urgently.
Aragog's body trembled slightly with fear. "I cannot say."
"Then do you know where Lockhart is?" Harry stepped forward and shouted at Aragog.
"I cannot tell you," Aragog's voice betrayed a hint of agony. "That man is coercing us, commanding us Acromantulas to do his bidding."
Slowly, spiders began to converge from all directions. Sensing that things were going south, Hermione warily drew her wand.
"His bidding? What does Lockhart want you to do for him?" Harry shouted desperately.
Aragog slowly retreated into his dome-shaped web while the spiders continued to close in on the three of them.
"He wants us to launch an attack on Hogwarts tonight. Judging by the time, the operation should be starting about now."
At Aragog's words, Hermione's pupils shrank. She suddenly whipped her wand toward Aragog and cast a Blasting Curse. A violent boom echoed through the hollow.
"Harry! Ron! Run!"
As the smoke and dust cleared, Aragog's unharmed figure was revealed. Several Acromantulas had shielded him from Hermione's curse.
"Run? You cannot escape. My sons and daughters obey my command not to harm Hagrid, but when fresh human meat delivers itself to our door, I cannot stop them…"
Aragog swung his pincers sharply, and the swarming spiders launched their attack.
"Die, Weasley boy!"
Hermione flicked her wand, and a seductive, orange-red flame erupted from the tip, forcing the surrounding Acromantulas back. However, a moment later, the spiders lunged again. More than ninety percent of them were gunning for Ron.
Hermione continued to use the Impediment Jinx and Stunning Spells to repel the lunging spiders. But there were simply too many of them; she couldn't handle them all alone. As for Harry and Ron—those two useless sorts—they offered little help beyond providing auditory and mental pollution with their high-pitched screaming.
If no one came to save them, the three of them would be nothing more than a pile of spider droppings by morning. The sound of Hermione's incantations began to carry a note of despair.
Just as she was about to give out, the roar of an engine thundered through the Forbidden Forest. A military-green behemoth smashed through the countless obstructing spiders, hurtling toward the surrounded trio.
With its sharp, angular exterior, its tall and mighty frame, its robust and overbearing physique, and its cold, resolute face…
The moment Harry and Ron saw this thing, they were so moved that tears nearly fell from their eyes.
Mr. Weasley's Centurion Star Destroyer roared down the slope, its tracks ruthlessly crushing the Acromantulas. With a screeching halt, the tank stopped in front of Harry and Ron, and the hatch popped open.
Harry shouted in pleasant surprise, "We're saved! Get in!"
Ever since it had crashed into the Whomping Willow on the first day of school, the tank—driven by its own momentum—had charged straight into the Forbidden Forest. They hadn't seen it since.
They never expected it to show up now on its own.
————
Supporting me on Pa-treon to gain early access to advanced chapters and enjoy expedited updates. Your support is greatly appreciated.
pat-reon .c-om/Dragonhair
(Just remove the hyphen - and space, to access Pa-treon normally.)