Aragog's enormous pincers snapped shut with a loud click. The surrounding swarm of spiders stirred uneasily, as though the name itself were taboo:
"Do not speak that name... It is... our natural enemy... from the deepest darkness..."
Its voice dropped even lower, carrying an instinctive tremor:
"It moves without a sound... Wherever its gaze falls... life turns to stone... Its presence... makes Aragog's descendants... want only to flee... as far away as possible..."
"It devours everything... living creatures... especially... spiders..."
"Little Hagrid... He feared for my safety... so he sent me out of the castle... But he was wrong... He was merely... a scapegoat... used by others... just like... now..."
Aragog's words struck like thunder, completely confirming Dumbledore's deductions and Harry's suspicions! Hagrid was innocent! The diary had told a monstrous lie! The true monster was the Basilisk, the spiders' natural enemy! A creature capable of petrifying life with a single glance!
"You are Hagrid's friend." It was not a question, but a statement. It recognized the scent. Its mouthparts moved again, not chewing this time, but swallowing. Its fangs withdrew into the sheaths on either side of its mouth, leaving only their tips exposed.
"Hagrid's friend is my friend. You want to know what happened fifty years ago. I can tell you." It paused, all eight eyes turning toward Ron. "Tell that redhead behind you to be careful. The young ones in the colony are not very good at controlling their appetites."
Ron's legs were shaking. His hand rose from his side and slowly, inch by inch, reached behind him. His fingers touched a spider's leg. It was hard and cold, its bristles pricking the back of his hand like fine needles. He pressed his fingers against the leg and pushed forward. The spider did not move. He pushed