At the center of the clearing stood an oak tree, the only tree still standing there. Its trunk was thicker than Hagrid's waist, its bark a dark grayish brown, hard and rough, polished shiny by something rubbing against it. Its crown was so vast that it blocked out every last trace of moonlight.
Just then, a scalp-prickling rustling, like a surging tide, swept in from far and near, flooding toward them from every direction! The sound was so dense it made their hearts race, as though countless tiny claws were crawling frantically!
"Sp... spiders!" Ron's voice shook so badly it was barely recognizable.
From the darkness around the clearing, countless giant spiders emerged like a black tide, their ghostly green or dark red compound eyes gleaming, their bodies covered in bristles and armed with enormous fangs! They varied in size—some as large as dogs, others comparable to ponies! They swiftly surrounded the clearing, and the two beneath the Invisibility Cloak as well! Countless pairs of cold compound eyes swept through the darkness as their fangs clicked open and shut with a teeth-grating sound!
Ron's wand light fell on the nearest one. Its legs were longer than Harry and Ron stacked on each other, and its joints were thicker around than Ron's waist. Its legs were covered in dense, black, needle-like bristles. Its body was grayish black, its abdomen swollen and round, marked with a dark hourglass-shaped pattern.
It had eight eyes arranged in two rows, four above and four below. All eight were staring at Ron. Once Ron saw the spider in its entirety, his whole body went rigid. He stared at it without daring to breathe. Moonlight leaked through gaps in the leaves, falling over the spider's carapace and giving it a dull, rust-colored gleam.
Ron let out a