Several days had passed since the unicorn's death.
During that time, Hagrid had spoken with the magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest. From the centaurs, he learned that an evil presence was roaming its outskirts.
So the two of them would patrol the outskirts that night.
John could gradually keep up with Hagrid's strides now, while Fang ran ahead.
The dog was enormous, but he was a terrible coward.
He was even less courageous than Tom.
During their patrol, a spider the size of a human head appeared in front of John.
Startled, he tightened his grip on his wand and prepared to cast Reducto.
"That's a huge spider."
"Wait! That's one of Aragog's descendants."
Hagrid shouted to stop John. As John watched with his scalp prickling, Hagrid seemed to communicate with the spider.
"Aragog wants to see me."
Aragog was Hagrid's friend. Hagrid had taken him in when he was young, and after Hagrid got into trouble, he had escaped into the Forbidden Forest, where he had grown into an old spider.
John nodded numbly. Hagrid really was far too easygoing. If that spider so much as touched Ron, he would probably drop dead on the spot.
Following the spider, they headed toward a cave.
John had already seen plenty of spiders before they entered, but once inside, his goosebumps never stopped.
Spiders stretched as far as the eye could see. Here, even the ones the size of human heads looked tiny.
There were dozens of spiders as tall as a person.
"Hagrid, you're sure they're friendly, right?" John swallowed hard and edged nervously closer to Hagrid.
Hagrid's towering frame could make anyone feel safe-as long as they were outside, rather than inside a spider's nest.
"Don't worry. These spiders are Aragog's children. They won't hurt you."
Hagrid sounded utterly certain, but John had his doubts.
Those spiders are practically drooling, and you're telling me they won't hurt me?
His left hand had already closed around his wand. If any spider dared approach, John swore he would fire off Reducto without hesitation.
At the end of the cave sat a gray spider the size of a car. He was an acromantula, an old spider whose cataracts had left him barely able to see.
"Hagrid, you've come."
Aragog was delighted by his friend's arrival. He restrained his restless offspring and told Hagrid about what was happening in the Forbidden Forest.
"Something has come into the forest. It's very evil, and it's tracking unicorns."
Hagrid had asked Aragog to investigate the unicorn incident, and Aragog had sent his offspring throughout the Forbidden Forest.
"He's very powerful. Many of my children have been killed. He comes and goes like a wandering spirit."
Acromantulas ate humans. Though Aragog kept his offspring in check for Hagrid's sake, acromantulas were certainly not easy to deal with.
The intruder had killed several acromantulas single-handedly. His strength was no less than an Auror's.
Although they had encountered him, Aragog had been unable to stop him from leaving.
Hagrid's heart grew heavy as he listened. Just as John had said, that evil man had not given up on the unicorns.
Unicorn blood carried a curse, but it could also keep someone alive even when they were on their last breath.
"I understand, Aragog."
Hagrid said goodbye to Aragog and prepared to leave, but the surrounding acromantulas began creeping closer.
"Aragog?" Hagrid looked at his friend in confusion.
Aragog said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Hagrid. I told my children not to hurt you, but they can't resist other humans."
"Oh no!"
At Aragog's reminder, Hagrid realized how foolish he had been to bring John along.
"John, we need to go!"
He scooped John up, his enormous body charging forward like a human truck.
A spider blocked their path, and Hagrid rammed straight into it, sending it flying.
With such a rare chance to feast on a human, the spiders refused to give up.
John showed no mercy either. He drew his wand, aimed at an approaching acromantula, and fired a spell.
"Reducto!"
White light struck the spider, instantly knocking it back and drawing blood, but not killing it.
"Nice spell," Hagrid praised him.
Despite his size, Hagrid was remarkably agile.
With Hagrid carrying him, John did not need to worry about dodging and could concentrate on being a mobile cannon.
"Incendio!" Flames jetted from his wand and set a spider ablaze.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" A fallen log smashed into the spiders behind them.
Under the constant bombardment, John's magic gradually ran dry.
With quick eyes and quicker hands, he grabbed a stone and hurled it at a spider.
[Ding! Magic leveled up successfully. Current magic: level 3]
John felt a warm current surge through his body, replenishing his magic.
An acromantula the size of a small car appeared ahead. John aimed at the spider and cast a spell.
"Reducto!"
This time, the white light was much larger. Before, it had only been the size of a mandarin orange; now it had grown noticeably bigger.
The instant it struck the acromantula, cracks spread across the spider's body, and then it shattered.
The spell's power had more than doubled. John turned and fired spells at the spiders pursuing them.
Working together with Hagrid, John successfully escaped the spiders' nest.
Once they were outside, Hagrid said guiltily, "I'm sorry, John. I thought Aragog could control them."
Aragog had indeed been able to control them before, but now he was too old. Perhaps he only had a few years left to live.
The younger spiders no longer obeyed him as they once had.
"It's all right, Hagrid, but you'd better not take anyone else there."
John had been lucky to survive this time. Anyone else without Hagrid's help would probably have ended up as a meal.
Hagrid, too, was shaken by their narrow escape.
The two searched the Forbidden Forest a little longer before ending that night's patrol.
In Hagrid's Hut, John poured Fang a large bowl of dog food.
The big dog had run faster than anyone in the spider cave. He was probably exhausted.
After saying goodbye to Hagrid, John returned to Hogwarts.
He opened the Marauder's Map and took a look. Professor Quirrell was not in his office.
[Ding! Blessing acquired: Night Demon] [Night Demon: Blend into the darkness, increasing concealment and visibility. Damage from stealth kills increased.]
He had reached one hundred hours of nighttime wandering. John extinguished his wand's light and blinked a couple of times as his eyes began adjusting to the darkness.
The pitch-black corridor gradually became clear to his eyes. Though it was not as clear as daylight, he could now read without any light.
"This certainly makes things easier."
With the Night Demon trait, John would be difficult to spot even if he walked through the corridors without using the Disillusionment Charm.
With the Disillusionment Charm, he could achieve the same effect as the Invisibility Cloak.
Over the following days, John frequently "happened" to run into Quirrell.
Quirrell, who normally put little effort into teaching, could not have been more attentive to John in private.
He constantly hinted that John could come to him with any questions, even subtly suggesting that he was highly accomplished in dark magic.
John played dumb every time, acting like a bookworm, though he did have some interest in dark magic.
After all, dark magic such as Fiendfyre was incredibly powerful, something ordinary magic could rarely match.
Finally, he asked Quirrell to teach him Fiendfyre, and Quirrell gladly agreed.
Although Quirrell himself was not particularly proficient in the spell, he did have the second Dark Lord backing him.
With Quirrell ostensibly teaching him and Voldemort providing the actual guidance, John finally learned Fiendfyre.
However, he would not try it lightly. Fiendfyre was the most uncontrollable of spells.
Once ignited, Fiendfyre could not be extinguished.
Meanwhile, Quirrell stopped pretending. Where he had previously only dropped hints, he now openly discussed the Dark Lord.
John understood what he was getting at, so he could only brush him off each time, occasionally showing agreement with the Dark Lord's ideals.
Amid the endless pestering, December quietly arrived.
After enduring an entire Potions class under Snape's gloomy gaze, everyone eagerly discussed their Christmas plans.
Ron would not be going home either. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had made a last-minute decision to visit Charlie Weasley, who worked with dragons in Romania.
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