Aragog's Kingdom

The Magic Power structure of Legilimency leans towards coldness and permeation, while the Lumos is relatively neutral and diffuse.

Forced fusion will either result in structural collapse or produce meaningless Magic Power fragments.

Then he thought of his Patronus.

The Patronus's Silver Light is a pure and positive emotion that can dispel the despair of Dementor and, to some extent, also has a direct influence on and coverage of the emotional realm.

This suggests that its Magic Power properties have a natural ability to influence emotions and consciousness. Could this substance be used as a binder?

Regulus did not summon the Patronus directly; instead, he recalled the Silver Light texture of the Starry Sky Kite when it appeared in his mind.

It is warm but not scorching, firm but not rigid, possessing a unique penetrating and resonant quality.

He tried to extract a trace of that quality's inherent tendency, using it as a buffer between Legilimency and Lumos.

When the new structure was simulated in consciousness, the sluggishness and conflict were significantly reduced. Although it was still far from smooth, at least a feasible direction was seen.

Several hours later, an extremely crude and inefficient initial framework took shape in his mind.

Enormous, cumbersome, incredibly energy-consuming, and extremely unstable.

To actually cast it, you'll need to prepare for a few seconds. The light it produces will be extremely conspicuous, and it needs to shine on the target's face for several seconds before it takes effect. The effect may only last for a moment, and the result is negligible.

But it does work.

The next step is to repeatedly adjust, optimize, and simplify this framework until it can be truly used in practice.

There's also information encoding, transmitting complex instructions, and creating long-term effects; each step is more difficult than the last.

But at this moment, all he wanted to know was whether the road was passable, so he needed to verify it.

The question is, where do we verify this?

Finding a junior wizard is not suitable; the initial version is too crude, and the risks are uncontrollable.

As for the ordinary animals in the Forbidden Forest, such as rabbits, foxes, and owls, their consciousness is not complex enough to clearly reflect emotional changes, so the experiment would be pointless.

He considered Werewolf, but then gave up. Werewolf, once transformed, completely lack reason and are even less rational than rabbits.

Therefore, the goal must meet several conditions.

Consciousness is complex enough to clearly reflect changes in emotions.

It possesses a certain degree of Magic resistance and can be used to test the penetrating power of Magic.

It would be best to communicate with them so that I can directly ask about their feelings.

At the same time, one cannot be a minor wizard, lest one cause trouble.

A name popped up.

Aragog, the Acromantula.

The one Hagrid raised could speak human language, was intelligent, possessed considerable Magic Power, was resistant to conventional Magic, and was the leader of the tribe, capable of controlling its subordinates.

Most importantly, it's deep in the Forbidden Forest, far from the Castle, so even if the experiment goes wrong, it's easy to control.

Regulus's lips twitched slightly.

This is it.

According to the Ministry of Magic's classification, the Acromantula is a Class XXXXX, extremely dangerous, and cannot be kept as a pet.

But Hagrid not only kept him as a pet, but also worried that Aragog would be lonely, so he specially found a female spider outside to keep him company, naming her Mosag.

As a result, a group of Acromantula appeared deep in the Forbidden Forest, multiplying generation after generation and becoming one of the most dangerous species in the Forbidden Forest.

Does this count as an invasive species?

Hagrid probably hadn't thought about any of that; he just felt that Aragog was too pitiful for a spider and needed a companion.

Then came Mosag, then came the little spider, and then came the little spider's little spider.

Now, deep within the Forbidden Forest, the spiderwebs are so dense that even birds might not be able to fly in.

Without the Centaur, in a few decades, that place probably wouldn't be called the Forbidden Forest anymore; it would be called the Spider Forest.

But who cares?

Nobody cares.

The first Tuesday of November, early morning.

The wind at the Astronomy Tower was much colder than the last time I came, carrying the chill of early winter.

Regulus stood at the edge of the ramparts, gazing at the silhouette of the dark forest across the Black Lake.

In the darkness, the Forbidden Forest resembled a crouching behemoth, silent and profound, concealing the secrets of countless Magical Creatures.

The moon was now just a thin crescent, and the light it shone through was so faint it was almost nonexistent.

The Magic we're testing tonight is still very rough.

The effect is theoretically clear: use a special beam of light to convey an emotional tendency of arrogance and contempt to Aragog, and observe its reaction.

But theory is just theory; it hasn't been tested in practice.

No one knows whether Aragog will suddenly feel invincible when that beam of light shines on him, or merely feel a strange sense of unease, or feel nothing at all.

He needs observation, feedback, and a test subject who is intelligent enough to withstand and handle unexpected events.

Regulus stepped out of the crenellation.

His body plummeted downwards, the wind rushed into his robe, and the hem of the robe flipped up.

After falling a few meters, the Levitation Charm was activated, and the downward momentum turned into forward gliding.

Like a night bird, he silently swept over the Castle rooftops, skimmed across the Black Lake, and descended towards Hagrid's Hut.

As he approached the ground, he lightly tapped his chest with his wand, and the Disillusionment Charm enveloped his entire body.

The light distorted on the body's surface, and the heat and Magic Fluctuation were also covered up.

He landed on the edge of the pumpkin patch next to Hagrid's Hut, his steps as light as if he were walking on cotton.

The windows of the Cabin were dark, and muffled snoring could be heard from inside. Regulus walked around the Cabin and headed straight for the entrance to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

The moment you step into the Forbidden Forest, it's as if most of the light is sucked away.

The air was humid, the smell of humus was cloyingly strong, and the cries of nocturnal animals could be heard in the distance, short and sharp.

Regulus determined the direction and headed deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

The path to the Aragog nest is less a path and more a passage carved out by the spider's legs.

The further you go, the more regular patterns appear on the ground: shallow grooves pressed out by fallen leaves after being repeatedly crawled over by multi-legged creatures, and dried mud spots and tiny scratch marks left at the base of the tree trunks.

Regulus followed these faint traces, and the trees gradually grew taller and their canopies became denser, almost completely blocking out the sky.

The light grew dimmer, and he had to conjure a faint glow from his fingertips, just enough to see his feet.

Fog began to rise around us, and it grew thicker the further we went, like layers of milky white gauze, reducing visibility to less than ten meters.

The ground beneath our feet became soft and damp, and sometimes we would sink slightly when we stepped on it.

Spiderwebs began to appear, a few scattered among the trees; the further in you went, the denser and larger the webs became.

The clattering sound of chelicerae rubbing together began to reach my ears, seemingly from afar, a few scattered sounds, gradually becoming more frequent, coming from all directions.

He knew he had entered the Spider Colony's active area, or rather, its warning zone.

The terrain begins to slope downwards, and the fog here is so thick that it almost becomes a solid substance.

After passing through the last unusually dense, twisted grove of trees covered in thick spiderwebs, a huge depression suddenly appeared beneath our feet.

The depression appears to have been created by a meteorite impact, with a diameter exceeding 100 meters and steep edges.

The trees inside had been completely cleared away, and the ground was covered with a thick, pale layer of something that had accumulated over the years from cobwebs and rotting leaves.

In the center of the depression was a huge, hemispherical nest woven from countless thick spider silks, lying there like a giant egg.

The nest's surface was covered with holes, and small to medium-sized spiders covered in black hairs kept going in and out.

The entire depression is perpetually shrouded in thick fog rising from its bottom, mixed with the smell of spider silk and secretions, making everything appear indistinct and shadowy.

This is the kingdom of Aragog.

Regulus stood on a protruding rock at the edge of the depression, looking down as he spread out his Magic Perception.

Within the central lair, a powerful, dark, predatory magical Magic Power, like a torch in the darkness, emanated from Aragog.

Nearby was a slightly weaker Magic Power, but equally conspicuous, carrying a chilling and nurturing quality—that was Mosag, Aragog's companion.

He didn't linger; his body slid down the steep slope and into the depression.

The ground was covered in a sticky layer of spider silk, which sank slightly when stepped on.

He walked through the fog, past spiders patrolling or mending their webs, some as large as hunting dogs, others as small as house cats. Their compound eyes reflected the empty fog, oblivious to him.

Regulus headed straight for the central lair.

The interior of the nest appears more spacious and complex than the exterior, resembling a labyrinth woven from grayish-white spider silk.

He dispelled the Disillusionment Charm and revealed his true form.

The clicking sounds suddenly erupted from all directions, rapid and dense, carrying a sense of vigilance and threat. The compound eyes behind the shadows and the netting all turned towards him.

In the relatively open area in the center of the nest, the ground was covered with a thick layer of compacted velvet-like material.

Aragog's massive body lay there, supported by eight legs as thick as tree trunks and covered with stiff, black bristles.

Its two foremost legs were slightly raised, and its huge chelipeds were half-open, revealing the inner walls covered with barbs, which were dark red in color.

Eight single eyes reflected a pale white light in the dim light, arranged in two rows, the top pair being the largest, staring at him without blinking.

In the shadows a little further behind Aragog, another female spider, slightly smaller and with a more bloated abdomen, slowly raised its forebody.

Its eight legs shifted restlessly, making a rustling sound, and its eyes were fixed on Regulus with even more obvious vigilance and hostility.

"Wizard." Aragog's voice was deep and husky, like rough boulders rubbing against each other, each syllable carrying a certain resonance.

"You shouldn't be here. Has no one taught you manners? The Forbidden Forest at night belongs to its inhabitants."

Regulus stood still, not in a hurry to make a move.

His gaze swept over Aragog, over Mosag, and over the adult giant spiders that gradually emerged from the webs and shadows, partially surrounding him.

Each of them is about the size of a small foal, with its chelipeds opening and closing, emitting a menacing clattering sound.

"I've come tonight to ask for your help with an experiment." His tone was calm, yet remarkably clear in the empty nest.

They said "please" verbally, but their words were hardly polite. However, since Aragog was willing to communicate, they decided to do so first.

Besides, he was somewhat curious about Aragog.

"An experiment?" Aragog lowered its top pair of eyes, its chelicerae suddenly opened, fully exposing the dark red inner walls covered with barbs standing upright.

Its forelegs slammed heavily onto the velvet floor, causing several spiderwebs around it to tremble. "Using my people? For experiments?"