Aragog

In just a few minutes, the Wooden House, which had been crowded with people, became empty. The snowflakes fell gently, and the biting wind made the Wooden House door creak and groan.

Fang darted out of the hut. It could smell people but couldn't see them. It ran back and forth around the steps, barking anxiously.

Loren and the others appeared, their expressions complex. Harry's mind went blank; he was still processing the fact that Hagrid had been captured.

"Hagrid, Hagrid is innocent! He wasn't even in the Castle when the attacks happened!" Harry roared through gritted teeth, furious. "Those Acromantula were in the Forbidden Forest too! The Ministry of Magic had no evidence whatsoever, yet they arrested Hagrid!"

Ron leaned against the Wooden House wall, stunned. "That's not the normal procedure. Hagrid should have been summoned by the owl first... How come the Minister for Magic is leading the team himself..."

Hermione's brows furrowed as she pondered Hagrid's words before he left and the message Dumbledore had left behind.

From the moment he saw the note, Loren understood that things were still within Dumbledore's control. Therefore, he wasn't worried about Hagrid; rather, he was more concerned about the meaning behind Hagrid and Dumbledore's two sentences.

It bared its Fang and made a "gurgling" sound from its throat, while its short, powerful tail wagged rapidly.

"Calm down, now is not the time to worry about the program."

Loren crouched down and rubbed Fang's head to calm the restless hound. "Hagrid and Dumbledore have definitely found us. They're sending us a message. If we can find the true heir to the Chamber of Secrets, or resolve the Basilisk threat, Hagrid will be fine."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I think Hagrid means we should go to the Forbidden Forest to find Aragog, that Acromantula might have clues about the Basilisk."

Harry's eyes lit up. They had been overlooking the fact that Aragog, like Hagrid, was also a witness to the Chamber of Secrets incident.

"Hagrid and Dumbledore left Fang here so it could lead us to the Acromantula's lair," Loren said, scratching the hound's chin. "Right, Fang?"

As if it understood their conversation, Fang immediately darted out and wandered around the path leading into the depths of the Forbidden Forest, emitting urging cries.

"Let's go, Hagrid is waiting for us to save him." Loren rushed ahead, followed closely by Hermione and Harry.

In the short span of a few words, they had already set off to find the nest of the Acromantula. Ron stared dumbfounded at their retreating figures, gritted his teeth, and followed them.

The group followed Fang quickly through the Forbidden Forest. The cold wind and snow blew against their faces, the chill seeping into their brains and giving Ron goosebumps all over. "It's winter now, the Acromantula should all be hibernating. Is it any use for us to look for Aragog?"

Loren then remembered that Ron had arachnophobia and chuckled, reassuring him, "Don't worry, the Acromantula are magical creatures. They hibernate to conserve energy, not to die like ordinary animals. Don't forget, we saw Acromantula awakened last year."

In other words, they might encounter an entire nest of Acromantula, alive and crawling around. Ron looked distressed.

Listening to the sounds of branches breaking and leaves rustling, Fang skipped and hopped along a short distance ahead of them, occasionally stopping to dig through the snow and sniff the roots and leaves to find her way.

After running for what seemed like an eternity without a word being spoken, Harry wanted to say something to break the silence, "Why didn't Dumbledore take the Aurors to Aragog to prove Hagrid's innocence and get clues about the Basilisk? I mean, those adults are much faster than us, aren't they?"

Because Mr. Weasley worked at the Ministry of Magic, Ron knew a little about this. "As a magical creature, the words of the Acromantula cannot be taken as evidence."

"There are other reasons as well. Do you remember, the Minister for Magic mentioned the Board of Governors."

This level of running was easy for Hermione. She kept thinking about the details of what she had just heard. "The Board of Governors Professor McGonagall. They believed that these actions undermined the Board of Governors the school, so they joined forces to put pressure on the Ministry of Magic and took Hagrid away. Student safety was just an excuse. They wanted to use Hagrid to drag Dumbledore and regain control of the school."

Hermione said angrily, "I dare say that Dumbledore's every move is under their surveillance. He can't get a single useful clue, which is why Dumbledore entrusted us with investigating the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets. The Board of Governors would love for more attacks to happen so they have a reason to replace Dumbledore!"

Harry and Ron gaped in shock, their mouths filled with blizzard.

They thought that Basilisk was Basilisk, Chamber of Secrets was Chamber of Secrets; student safety was the root of all problems.

It's completely unexpected that the events in the Chamber of Secrets were intertwined with a power struggle between the Board of Governors and Dumbledore. They even went so far as to sabotage Dumbledore and obstruct the investigation in their quest for power.

"That Cornelius Fudge doesn't look like a good person!" Harry said angrily.

Ron chimed in, "Absolutely! It's outrageous! He's in cahoots with Malfoy and his gang!"

Loren followed behind Fang, recalling Snape's mention of property independence.

After the Grindelwald incident, Dumbledore feared power like a malevolent curse, avoiding it at all costs. For decades, he neither considered expanding his own power nor made any changes to the Hogwarts system.

The recent changes were proposed by Professor McGonagall. Professor McGonagall and other house Head of House are working to promote Hogwarts' independence, not only to break free from the control of the Board of Governors, but also to break free from the Ministry of Magic's control.

Dumbledore devoted most of his energy to Harry's plan to become the Chosen One...

Low branches and thorny vines frequently snagged their robes, the mud clinging to them and leaving streaks of yellow mud as the snow melted. After running for about half an hour, they noticed the roadside turned downhill, the ground seemingly sloping downwards.

Suddenly, Fang let out a loud bark that echoed through the woods.

Noticing Fang's unusual behavior, the four people behind her stopped and began to be on guard about their surroundings.

"Did Fang find something?" Ron asked in a panic, grabbing Harry's arm and peering into the woods, afraid that a giant Acromantula might suddenly leap out from somewhere.

A shadow flickered in Loren's eyes as he surveyed his surroundings, then solemnly drew his wand. "Friends, we've arrived at our destination."

Hermione, Harry, and Ron also took out their wands and looked around warily.

Click click...

Click click...

Click click...

A continuous clattering sound of shells rang out from all directions. At the base of trees everywhere, clumps of snow suddenly rose and arched, then were shaken off, revealing cocoons woven from spiderwebs—or perhaps sleeping bags would be more apt. From the center of these numerous hemispherical webs, one after another, Acromantula, just awakened from their slumber, very slowly emerged.

Each one was as big as a horse pulling a cart, black and hairy. It had eight eyes, six strangely long legs with thick hair, and the two in front were a pair of large Winky black claws.

Ron felt as if his feet were filled with lead, rooted firmly to the ground in the snow, unable to move.

It took them a while to regain their senses, and upon realizing that four fresh flesh and blood had arrived at their nest, they let out excited roars:

Aragog!

Aragog!

A spider, about the size of a small elephant, groped its way out from behind the tree. Its body and legs were a mixture of black and gray, and its eight eyes on its ugly head were covered with a white film. It was blind.

Aragog, somewhat agitated, communicated with a giant Acromantula beside him:

"What happened?"

"People."

Is that Hagrid?

"He's a stranger."

"Kill them! We should go to sleep!"

He had worked up a light sweat while running, and now that he had stopped, the wind made him a little cold. But after hearing Aragog's words, Loren felt his blood warm up again, and he slowly moved his wand, pointing it at the old, blind, Acromantula.

Hermione stood beside him, wary of areas outside his line of sight. She asked in a low voice, "Are you sure?"

"Don't worry, if we can't win, we can always run away."

The Acromantula, which had been pointed at by the magic wand, suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold. The hairs on its body stood on end, as if it had been stared at by some terrifying beast. For a moment, it froze in place, not daring to attack.

Loren twirled his wand and casually unleashed Piercing Charm: "[Piercing Bolt]"

A beam of red light shot from the tip of the wand, striking a thick beech tree and exploding with a deafening roar, revealing a huge hole.

The Acromantula around them all retreated a distance.

Loren shouted, "We are Hagrid's friends!"

The spider beside Aragog whispered something, turned its large pincers toward them, and said slowly, "Hagrid has never sent anyone to our Hollow before."

Harry took a deep breath and stepped forward, the cold air rushing through his trachea to his chest. "Hagrid is in trouble, that's why we're here."

"Trouble?"

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again, and the Ministry of Magic has taken Hagrid away. We need clues about the Chamber of Secrets," Harry paused, "About the Basilisk."

"Basilisk!"

"No wonder there seem to be more spiders escaping into the Forbidden Forest."

Upon hearing the word "Basilisk," the numerous Acromantula uneasily shook their large pincers, and their countless long legs moved rustlingly, making rapid clicking sounds.

"We've located the Basilisk ..." Aragog was also somewhat terrified, but his fear quickly turned to anger. "You shouldn't have provoked it! I didn't even tell Hagrid the name of that horrible creature, even though he asked me many times. If it enters the Forbidden Forest, it will be a terrible disaster for all living things!"

It knows about the Basilisk!

Harry's face lit up with surprise. "What other clues do you know? Tell us quickly, we need clues to save Hagrid!"

"You shouldn't provoke it; it's good to let it stay in the Castle," Aragog said quietly. "Since fresh human flesh is being delivered to our doorstep, we might as well accept it..."

The spiders gathered from all directions, slowly approaching them inch by inch.

"[Full-Power Repulsion] "

A dazzling Magic Power light burst forth from the tip of Loren's wand, and several enhanced Repelling Charm knocked over the nearest Acromantula. The magic, enveloping the spiders, crashed into the tree trunk behind them before stopping. Snow piled up on the branches and fell, burying the spiders beneath the tree once more.

Loren didn't immediately go for the kill because Aragog was Hagrid's friend. He was also wary of provoking the Acromantula's ferocity, fearing that a fight to the death might injure the others nearby.

But the warning spell didn't calm them down; instead, the spiders became even more ferocious. The Acromantula standing next to Aragog shouted, "Form an iron wall! Seize them!"

The spiders moved their limbs, stacking themselves together and raising their large pincers to form a solid, towering wall, hiding their vulnerable bodies behind it. The spider wall slowly approached them.

Fang, who was standing in front, was very clever. Sensing something was wrong, she quickly darted out through the gap in the encirclement, without holding the others back.

Loren fired a few more Repelling Charm, which hit the spider wall and caused some ripples, but failed to knock the target away.

Hermione's Fire Charm burned the large black claw, but only reduced some of its black fur to ashes; it failed to ignite anything in the icy snow.

Harry's Disarming Charm had little effect. Ron, suppressing his fear, gritted his teeth and unleashed a few spells, but their power was less than what he usually practiced.

"What should we do?" Ron was starting to panic.

"Testify for me: if Hagrid investigates, they were the ones who attacked first," Loren said casually, turning his head.

"[Piercing Bolt] "

Magic Power gathered at the tip of the wand, emitting a blazing red light. A beam of Magic Power, thicker than a tree trunk, struck the wall of spiders like an aurora borealis.

Boom!

Hermione and the others felt the entire Hollow shake, and a wave of heat hit them.

A small mushroom cloud rose into the air, and the air expansion caused by the explosion created a visible air wave that swept across an area of several meters, shaking off all the snow hanging on the treetops.

As the smoke cleared, the snow in the center of the Hollow melted, but the plants buried beneath it did not survive; they were all burned to ashes.

It looked impressive, but the casualties among the Acromantula were not too bad. Apart from a few Acromantula facing the curse in the center of the wall that could not be pieced together, most of them lay scattered on the ground, missing only some limbs, with their heads and bodies still intact.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron looked at the Acromantula lying on the ground, their eyes twitching, as if they had just seen Merlin. There were even ashes of the Acromantula floating in the air. They began to have some doubts about themselves and Hogwarts.

Is this a second-year wizard? Am I a second-year wizard?

We learned from the same school, so why is there such a big difference in our learning styles?

Seeing the power of the Piercing Charm, Loren gasped in shock.

The night he regained his memories, he was in pain all over, thinking it was just another ordinary Magic Surge. He never expected it to be so much stronger.