Hagrid's Secret
The dusty stone bow, the pumpkin patch overgrown with weeds, the surprisingly clean rubber boots, the tightly drawn curtains, and the pitiful Fang lingering outside again undoubtedly confirmed Harry and the others' suspicions— Hagrid had once again kept some forbidden Care of Magical Creatures!
"Poor thing, poor thing." Ron pressed down on Fang's head with one hand to prevent it from getting covered in saliva, while lovingly stroking Fang's chin with the other.
Fang hummed happily while wagging its tail rapidly.
"Who is it!—Watch out or your ear will be bitten off." Hagrid's gruff voice came from inside the cabin. He slightly opened the door and cautiously looked outside.
"It's you guys again?" Hagrid breathed a sigh of relief.
"What do you mean, 'it's just us again'?" Ron said, pushing the door open.
However, Hagrid stood in front of the door.
"Hey! What are you hiding from us?" Ron raised his head in displeasure.
Harry and Draco, who were standing nearby, also peered curiously through the crack in the door.
Did Hagrid not keep any Care of Magical Creatures?
The last time they were kept so tightly guarded was related to the Philosopher's Stone.
Could the secret in this room be another mission arranged by Dumbledore?
Harry and Draco couldn't help but show a confident expression.
"I don't have any secrets to hide from you kids—well—I just think the little ones inside, Harry and Draco can see, but you— Ron, I think you'd better stay outside." Hagrid waved his hand hesitantly, then stepped aside to make room.
"I refuse to believe it! — Hey!"
Bang!
Ron suddenly slammed the door shut.
He suddenly lost his color, and his skin turned like Draco's.
He turned his head blankly, pointed into the house with his right hand, and mumbled something in a low voice.
What is it?
Draco's face suddenly lit up with curiosity.
Draco's previous curiosity was merely a result of following the crowd; he wasn't actually that interested in Hagrid's secret.
It's perfectly normal for someone in Slytherin to have secrets they don't want others to know.
As a Slytherin, one should either be reserved in understanding the other person, or go to great lengths to uncover their secrets and gain their control.
The latter is generally used for opponents and enemies.
The former is undoubtedly the way to treat friends.
Hagrid is Draco's friend.
However, Ron's helplessness aroused Draco's curiosity.
Based on Hagrid's words—there must be something in there that Hagrid is certain Ron will be afraid of, something that he and Harry don't care about.
"Spiders?" Draco suddenly said.
Ron nodded with lingering fear, then shook his head a second later.
"The Acromantula?" Harry said immediately.
"Yes—yes," Ron said, taking a few steps back.
However, his intermittent tone, the occasional peeks through the crack in the door, and the preparatory movements to run away at any moment indicated that Ron had not yet emerged from the shadow of what had just happened.
"Yes, I've been spending time with Arasped lately." Hagrid's face softened with affection as he mentioned the strange name as if he were reciting the name of his son, whom he had had late in life when he was eighty.
"Not Aragog? — Ah, I see. You're doing what Harry said before, planning to raise another Acromantula by hand — and then make it the leader."
"To prevent the spider swarm from getting out of control?" Draco suddenly realized.
"Oh right!" Harry looked blank. His recent Quidditch training had made him forget all about these things, even though it was his idea.
"I knew those spiders were unreliable!"
"Hagrid, you must have sensed something bad." Ron's face regained some color.
"Good heavens!" Hagrid suddenly sobbed. "After that, Lupin had me test something—let Aragog leave for a while. Can you believe it, Harry!—the very next second Aragog disappeared, the other spiders wouldn't let me near their webs! Maybe they only didn't eat me because Aragog ordered it! Can you believe it, Harry?"
"I believe you, Harry?" Ron blurted out.
Harry's heart nearly leaped into his throat. He glanced quickly at Hagrid —thankfully, Hagrid seemed oblivious to Ron's rude remark.
"I don't believe it, how could they eat you— Hagrid."
"They just haven't been raised by you. Look, like Aragog, how obedient it is." Harry forced out the insincere words with a blank expression.
"That's great, only you say that." Hagrid wiped away his tears. "They're probably because of Mosag— " ("Who's Mosag?" Draco suddenly asked) "It's the wife I found for Aragog."
"It must have corrupted them, teaching them some of the bad habits of wild Acromantula," Hagrid angrily, tugging at his beard.
"Oh dear, I almost forgot—come in, I've kept you waiting at the door for too long!" Hagrid pushed open the door and pointed to a spider the size of Fang in the corner. "That's Arasped, Aragog's new son!"
This place is like a haunted house!
The once cozy little house was covered in cozy spider webs—even the large bed in the corner, covered with bedding made of scraps of cloth, was entangled in them.
There was no light in the house, the fire in the fireplace that had been burning all year round had disappeared, and even the boiling water that used to burn in the brazier was gone.
"As you all know, the Acromantula likes dark environments. When Aragog was a child, I kept it in a storage room in the dungeon."
"But now that my conditions are better, I can't treat this little guy too badly." Hagrid stroked the giant spider with eight eyes and black hair with gray flecks with affection.
"Look, some of these spider webs are made from Unicorn Tail Hair," Hagrid said proudly, pointing to a spider web on his bed.
"Are you sure you're going to sleep like this tonight?" Ron pointed with a trembling finger to the bed in the corner.
"What's wrong with that? This way I can stay with Arasped all the time!" Hagrid's expression was as if he heard Ron questioning him about why people need to drink water.
"Unicorn Tail Hair?"
"Any one of these here is worth 10 Galleon!"
"And if I'm not mistaken, this is dragon meat!" Draco's eyes widened as he pointed to a bucket of raw meat in the corner—it was a vibrant green, and each piece was slightly larger than a regular car tire.
"Oh, those Unicorn Hair, they're everywhere on the branches in the forest," Hagrid waved his hand dismissively.
"This is dragon meat."
"They're good stuff; they'll make Arasped grow stronger! You know, it's meant to become the king of the Acromantula." Hagrid stroked the spider affectionately again.
Ron couldn't help but shiver.
One more chapter will be posted later.
P. S.: Thanks to Taishi Yumi Xu and An Wan Ye for their monthly tickets, and to all the other students for their recommendations and subscriptions!