Professor Snape still hadn't woken up. The Old Wizard, Professor Fiennes, had done something especially sinister: he'd planted a spider on Snape's arm to keep his body alive.
The obviously juvenile Acromantula was only about the size of an adult's fist. It was milky white, with many markings that faded from pink to deep red across its body, making it look like a piece of living jade.
Each of the Acromantula's legs was soft and curled like an octopus's tentacles, tightly wrapped around the arm. The bristles on them had sunk into the skin like roots.
According to Professor Fiennes, they would grow roots beneath the skin like a plant, connecting to the nerves, blood vessels, muscles, and everything else.
He even used the principles behind the Soul-Transferring Charm to explain it to Anton, saying that the Acromantula hatchling was now, in a sense, the master of Professor Snape's body.
Just as a house fell into ruin if no one lived in it, a body without a soul attached to it would naturally decay.
"Absolutely nothing to worry about!"
The Old Wizard deftly pried open Professor Snape's eyelids and examined them for a while. Then he washed his hands, returned to his Experiment Table, and took out his wand to stir the potion in the Cauldron.
"Men, you know. It's perfectly normal for them to pine for their first love. The more unattainable she is, the more wonderful she seems. They're all masochists."
"But then, heh heh heh, when they realize they'll never get a response, men always grow weary and disheartened, decide love isn't worth the trouble, and obediently return to reality, keeping their feet on the ground."
Anton listened to the Old Wizard with a strange expression. While Fiennes wasn't looking, he took a Muggle wafer from the