Conquering the World, Changing the World

Aragog, who had obediently remained in his own nest, was the first to learn of the Basilisk's arrival.

Fifty years ago, when he had been no bigger than Hagrid's palm, he had already known that Hogwarts Castle housed his natural enemy.

"Run, Mosag—"

With his back to his wife, whose every hair stood on end, he said, "Take the children and leave our territory. Head toward the castle."

Mosag raised her enormous head. "What about you? Ever since that thing entered our territory, I've felt an instinctive fear."

"I'm old. I no longer have the strength to flee with you." Aragog turned around, his eight clouded eyes filled with sorrow.

"If you see Hagrid, remember to thank him for me. Thank him for the help he has given our kind over these fifty years."

"Aragog—"

"Go, Mosag. Take the children and leave this place."

The reluctance in Mosag's eyes hardened into resolve.

She had to survive. She had to take the children far from their terrifying natural enemy and find new land where they could continue living.

Having spoken his final words, Aragog quietly lay down on the ground.

Only after Mosag had left the nest did he slowly close his eight large eyes.

It was impossible not to fear the Basilisk, but he was the leader of the entire colony—and an elderly leader at that.

Fate had long decreed that he could not leave this place, the Forbidden Forest where he had spent his entire life.

McGonagall and Flitwick's judgment had been correct. The Acromantula colony had fled en masse, scattering in every direction.

The stretch of empty ground lay where the two of them stood, and it was also the Basilisk's route forward.

"We chose a good spot." McGonagall recalled the wooden giants she had stationed