Aragog Has Died
It was just nightfall at Hogwarts.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all wearing Invisibility Cloaks, moved through the dark Corridor.
"I mean, why are we even going to that Aragog funeral?" Ron asked in a low voice.
"Hagrid assures us we'll love it," came Hermione's voice. "You've never even seen Aragog, how can you have such a strong prejudice against that creature?" (Note 1)
"Oh my god, don't tell me you don't know what kind of person Hagrid is. He even assured us we'd love the Blast-Ended Skrewt. Just think about it, the smelly, slimy, and ever-exploding Blast-Ended Skrewt."
Harry stopped them both. "Alright, stop talking. And we need to take smaller steps; the Invisibility Cloak isn't big enough anymore."
As he spoke, the three men's legs below the calves would occasionally peek out, making it look as if several severed legs were moving on their own.
"Shh—there are footsteps," Hermione said.
The three of them stood motionless against the wall, afraid of being caught by the professors.
First, light shone from the corner of the Corridor, and the three of them held their breath slightly—this definitely couldn't be that student who was out at night.
Then.
"Yawn--"
A long yawn came from around the corner of the Corridor. The three of them froze, then they saw... Will?
Will looked very different from usual, lacking his usual slow and steady elegance. Instead, he resembled a complete bookworm, his hair disheveled, and he was carrying a thick book in his hands, flipping through it as he walked.
A ball of light floated above his head, emitting a soft glow, while to his left, a half-full glass of deep red Grape Juice hung in the air.
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, Will stopped and looked at the three of them. "Why are you wandering around Invisibility Cloaks in the middle of the night? It's a bit too small for you now, isn't it?"
Harry noticed that Will had large dark circles under his eyes.
"Will, what's this?" He pulled off the Invisibility Cloak, looking surprised.
Will waved the heavy book in his hand. "I just came back from the Library. I had some questions I couldn't figure out tonight, so I went to look for some books."
"I guess you mean the Restricted Section, right?" Hermione examined the book.
"What difference does it make?" Will smiled. "If you don't mind, you haven't answered my question yet."
"Oh, well, we're going to Aragog's funeral. He was Hagrid's animal friend," Ron replied.
"Oh... I remember now, Hagrid invited me too." Will seemed to recall something. "You guys go ahead, I'll be there soon."
"Will, are you going too?" Harry's face lit up with joy.
Will nodded. "Yes, but I'm a bit pressed for time. I have some research to do tonight, so I'll have to arrive later."
Harry, it's great to see you're back to a good mindset.
Harry felt a warmth in his heart—the research Will mentioned was probably about the soul, all to help him...
"Alright, I'll go back to the Room of Requirement first. You guys go ahead, you won't have to wait for me for too long."
"Huh?" Harry was a little confused.
Ron was also confused. "What do you mean we should go first... you're going to wait for us?"
"Will can Apparition." Hermione sighed—she had two brilliant minds by her side, and Will was a genius.
Harry and Ron then realized what was happening. "See you later."
"See you later." Will nodded and walked towards the Room of Requirement. Harry, and the others put on their Invisibility Cloaks and disappeared into the dimly lit Corridor.
Turning around, Will's face was ashen, and a murderous glint flashed in his eyes.
Aragog... and those little Acromantula, they're all no good. So what if they're Hagrid's friends?
In the original timeline, they even tried to eat Harry and Ron, indicating that these Acromantula had cannibalistic tendencies.
Cannibalism... What kind of creature dares to have such improper thoughts about humans? Will naturally felt no goodwill towards the Acromantula.
Moreover, in the original timeline, Aragog and Mosag (Hagrid found Aragog a mate for Aragog) had tens of thousands of offspring, forming a huge colony of Acromantula in the Forbidden Forest. While Aragog was alive, he was still able to control the behavior of the colony members.
However, after Aragog's death, the entire colony of the Acromantula lost its control and was eventually manipulated by Voldemort during the Second Wizarding War to join the attack on Hogwarts.
Cannibalism and treason—these crimes alone were enough to make Will loathe these creatures. Now... Will would deal with them after Aragog's funeral.
On the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
Hagrid was digging a hole with a tall figure. It was Grawp, who had become somewhat intelligent and could now communicate simply with Hagrid, and even help with some tasks.
The pit was huge and ridiculously deep, with a thick layer of cedar wood shavings at the bottom— the Acromantula was so large that it couldn't have been placed in a smaller pit.
Harry, Ron, Hermione were hurrying this way when Harry suddenly remembered something. "Wait, if Will uses Apparition... aren't Apparition not allowed inside or near the Castle?"
Hermione pondered, "Perhaps he used the Vanishing Cabinet to reach the High Tower first, and then Apparition. The High Tower area should be within the range where Apparition is allowed."
"Oh, don't worry about these things," Ron said casually. "Will definitely has his own way of handling things; I see Grawp, let's go."
The three of them trudged through the rotten soil covered with leaves in the Forbidden Forest, heading towards the large pit.
"Looks like Will hasn't arrived yet." Hermione didn't see Will; it seemed Will was a little late.
Then, with a "snap".
After the explosion, Will appeared near Hagrid...
Note 1: Aragog is an Acromantula that was adopted by Hagrid in 1942 and has lived in the Forbidden Forest ever since.
During his childhood, Hagrid hid Aragog in a cupboard in the Castle and cared for him; the two became good friends. Aragog, Aragog was discovered and wrongly accused of murdering Moaning Myrtle, so Hagrid let him hide in the Forbidden Forest and cared for him to raise his offspring.
In the original book, Harry and Ron, in their Second Year, went to the Forbidden Forest to find Aragog in order to help Hagrid, who had been falsely accused, and learn about the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened.
However, in this book, Hagrid was not falsely accused, and Harry and Ron were not involved in the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets, nor had they ever seen Aragog.