It was around nine when Loren arrived at Snape's office. The sky was completely dark.
The wind outside had stopped. Through the window, he could see a faint sliver of moonlight, and now and then, streaks of light crossed the starry sky.
The shoulders of Snape's robes were wet. He had probably just returned from outside and had not had time to change.
He was carefully pouring a thick black liquid from one bottle into another, whose surface was engraved with magical patterns.
When Loren approached, he caught a foul stench and felt a wave of dizziness.
"Stand back, idiot." Snape did not even glance at Loren.
"Acromantula venom. Premium material, worth a hundred Galleons an ounce." Snape spoke as he worked. "If I were you, I would have extracted the venom as soon as the Acromantula died."
After seeing Loren and the others off, Hagrid had informed Dumbledore about the Acromantula and the fact that someone else had entered the Forbidden Forest. Neither Dumbledore nor Snape had been at dinner. Loren guessed that Dumbledore had taken Snape to deal with the corpse during that time, and they had only just returned.
Listening to Snape, Loren said nothing. Experience told him that silence was best at times like this.
"This was an aged Acromantula. Its eyes had already faded, it was weak and sluggish, and it could not even trigger Potter's Sneakoscope."
When an Acromantula grew old and its eyes turned white, it meant it had gone blind. Its shell became brittle, and it no longer had enough strength. After being awakened from hibernation, it had been unable to deal with the prey in the Forbidden Forest, so it had turned its attention to a few young wizards.
Loren had noticed something off about the spider during the day as