The Resurrected Tom

From one perspective, William was not lying; the Forbidden Forest was indeed very safe.

To the east is Hogwarts, to the west is the Centaur Tribe, to the north is the Giant legion, to the south is the Acromantula... and in the middle sits an adorable Fluffy.

After seven years of operation, most of this forest has almost become William's backyard.

However, this was not the case for Professor Slughorn.

He'd known ever since he started school as a child that this forest was really dangerous.

"William, is it really necessary to come to the Forbidden Forest? I still think it's safer to bury Hagrid in Hagrid pumpkin patch."

Even after entering the Forbidden Forest, Slughorn remained relentless, attempting a final struggle.

"The fire dragon Norbert is buried there," William explained in a low voice.

"Aragog doesn't like fire dragons, so let's not let them be neighbors after they die."

During the Paris attacks that year, Norbert was Basilisk and fell from the sky, Diffindo.

William took the dragon's corpse and conducted magical research on it, but gave the dragon's horns to Hagrid as a cenotaph.

However, this reason is indeed quite absurd. Slughorn scratched his head and said again:

"I've heard that the Forbidden Forest is home to many colonies of Acromantula, so it's not particularly safe. There are also other dangerous Magical Creatures..."

"It's alright, I'm here," William reassured her. "One comes, I'll kill one."

Slughorn wanted to leave, but they had already come this far, and it would be foolish to go back now.

Since we can't go back, let's take this opportunity to collect some venom, since we'll be burying it soon.

In any case, the bold get rich, and the timid starve.

Moreover, he genuinely believed in William's abilities.

He walked toward Aragog's corpse, his body jingling with the sound of bottles clattering.

Old Aragog was dead; his eight milky-white eyes stared blankly at the sky.

It was placed on a wooden cart, pulled by Acromantula, like nine dragons pulling a coffin.

Slughorn bent down in front of the giant turtle, seemingly examining its hairy head, but in reality, he had already quietly taken out quite a few bottles.

William saw this but did not stop it.

Without substantial benefits, why would Slughorn possibly follow him into the depths of the Forbidden Forest?

The three of them continued deeper into the valley until they reached a canyon where a pit had already been dug in the ground, along with a tombstone.

"Shall we begin the funeral now?" William said, standing before the tombstone.

Hagrid nodded, stepped forward, dragged the giant spider, roared, and rolled it into the black pit. The corpse hit the bottom of the pit with a terrible creaking sound.

Hagrid started crying again.

He was the only one who was heartbroken at the scene.

Needless to say, Slughorn came specifically for the Acromantula Venom;

As for William... Aragog probably hates him to the core.

Over the years, William has been using that Basilisk to enslave and raise this tribe.

Aragog has always wanted to relocate his people away from William.

Unfortunately... because of Akali's deliberate publicity, everyone outside is hunting down the Acromantula, a Magical Creatures whose entire body is a treasure.

It's actually safer to stay here.

Seeing Hagrid crying so hard, Slughorn went over and patted him on the elbow.

"Of course you can't bear it, because you know him best. But let me say a few words, a few words of condolence, so he can rest in peace."

Hagrid wiped his nose with a handkerchief, then nodded.

Slughorn was quite satisfied with the large amount of venom he had collected, and his mood became more serious as he spoke in a slow, solemn tone:

"Because Death, in His mercy and good will, allowed Aragog, our king of spiders, to lay down the burdens of this life, we lovingly laid him to rest in the earth."

He was dust, and he is still dust.

We know that all life is in the hands of the eternally loving Death.

And he will promise to grant eternal life to...

Click click~

A strange sound suddenly interrupted Slughorn's eulogy.

A group of enormous Acromantula burst out from the cliffs on both sides, spraying out spider silk.

Slughorn was taken aback; he didn't know what the Acromantula was up to, but his vigilance was heightened.

Although he was old, he was still able to react; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to evade the Death Eaters for a year.

Slughorn instinctively raised his wand and cast a spell.

But wherever the light passed, the spiderweb did not continuously fold. It stretched slightly, and then snapped back like a drawn bowstring.

Slughorn used three spells in a row and finally managed to cut some of the spider silk.

But even more massive, tightly sealed nets had already been laid down neatly, each line as thick as a rope.

The Acromantula suddenly flicked its black stinger, and before Slughorn could react, he found himself hanging face down in mid-air.

He struggled, terrified, and desperately wanted to ask someone else for help.

But when he turned around, he found that Hagrid had also been wrapped up like a dumpling.

Slughorn also heard William casting spells to stop the giant spiders.

"William, save me!" he cried.

He ventured deep into the Forbidden Forest precisely because he believed in William's abilities.

William seemed to be entangled by the Acromantula and couldn't come to his rescue.

Slughorn was thus dragged along, running towards the edge of the valley.

He screamed in terror, and his wand fell to the ground during the dragging.

Slughorn desperately wanted to Apparition away, but the Acromantula suddenly extended its strangely long, hairy legs.

It had a pair of large, Winky Dahei stingers on it, and then injected the venom into his neck.

Slughorn felt weak all over.

It's over...

He knew better than anyone how potent the venom of the Acromantula was; if he didn't take the antidote immediately... he would die very soon.

The spiders continued to drag the fat old man deeper into the Forbidden Forest.

Slughorn felt his vision blurring. He forced himself to focus and found himself at the edge of a wide depression.

The trees in the hollow were cleared away, and the stars illuminated what he had never seen in his life—the most terrifying sight he had ever witnessed.

Countless Acromantula knelt on the ground, trembling and crawling towards something in the center.

The Acromantula descended the steep slope and headed towards a misty, hemispherical spider web in the very center of the depression.

Slughorn quickly realized what the spiders were afraid of.

A python, five or six meters long, was entirely green, gleaming with the vibrant sheen characteristic of venomous snakes, and its body was as thick as an oak tree trunk.

It stretched its upper body high into the air, its flat, large head staring at Slughorn.

Basilisk.

Slughorn quickly averted his gaze, avoiding eye Basilisk.

Fortunately, the Troll's eyes had already been covered by a black cloth.

On the Basilisk's head stood a young wizard.

Slughorn's gaze shifted upwards, and when he saw the familiar yet strangely unfamiliar divine figure, he was struck dumb, his face turning deathly pale, and his body began to tremble violently uncontrollably.

It was a tall, slender figure, about sixteen years old, with jet-black, shiny hair, and incredibly handsome.

The young wizard toyed with a magic wand between his long, slender fingers, a strange smile playing on his lips.

"Professor Slughorn, it's been a long time... almost fifty years, hasn't it?"

Slughorn's breathing became more rapid, and he murmured:

"Tom... Riddle?!"