The Diary's Plan (2/6)

"Be honest, I'm talking to you!"

William pointed his wand at an Acromantula the size of a small car.

Before they even got close to the territory of the Acromantula, the three of them grabbed a tongue.

This was purely accidental. William and his companions were walking along when they saw the spider running excitedly towards them... It didn't seem to be welcoming them, so it must have thought of them as food.

So William caught the unfortunate fellow.

Seeing that the spider was becoming restless and was about to spray venom from its black fangs, William's wand emitted a beam of intense light.

The curse landed on the spider, feeling like scalding lava. It cried out in pain, "That was just my saliva, not venom!"

"Be honest, answer whatever we ask!" Qiu said sternly.

"Then go ahead and ask..."

Cedric cleared his throat. "How many Acromantula are there in the territory?"

"I haven't counted, but it must be several hundred, maybe even a thousand, or tens of thousands."

William's wand spewed flames.

"No! No matter how many there are, they're all gone now!" the spider exclaimed hastily.

Where did you go?

"They went deep into the Forbidden Forest... I don't know what they're doing."

Is Aragog there?

"You know Aragog?" the spider asked in surprise.

"We are Hagrid's good friends."

"Me too... Then can you let me go so we can have a proper talk..."

William pressed his wand against one of the spider's eyes, and it immediately shut up.

"Take us to see him!"

"Good!"

William then took out a large bottle, several liters in size, from the watch he had made and placed it in front of the Acromantula.

"Alright, you can spit now. Remember, spit until your throat is full!"

"..."

The venom of the Acromantula is very valuable; a pint of high-quality venom can sell for hundreds of Galleon.

However, this animal is ferocious by nature, and even if it is captured, it will not cooperate with the shaman.

William hadn't expected to encounter such a coward; he was determined to squeeze every last drop out of it.

Of course, this spider might also be playing the fool, intending to lure them into its lair.

Cedric then began to get involved, transforming into Tony the Spider, wearing gloves and wielding a small knife to trim the spider's leg hairs.

He had a new idea: he could use the spider's stinger hairs as the core of his staff!

After tinkering, William conjured up a giant chair.

He tied a chair to the Acromantula's abdomen, wrapped rope around its body, and made it a large mask to prevent it from spitting.

The three sat comfortably in their chairs, William gently waved the reins, signaling the Acromantula to head to its lair.

The Acromantula, like a Hummer, immediately began to run through the jungle.

Cedric remarked, "The school could replace the Thestral with Acromantula; that would be much cooler."

I can picture it... William can imagine Dumbledore waiting and waiting in the Great Hall for his students, only to find that all the young wizards were dead!

After running for more than ten minutes, the Acromantula arrived at the edge of a wide depression. The trees in the depression had been cleared away, turning it into the spiders' territory.

Just as the spider under my buttocks said, most of the spiders had left, leaving only a dozen or so of their kind.

Each one was as big as a small car, with eight eyes and eight legs, all black and hairy, like enormous creatures.

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

Its companions surrounded it, and when they saw William and his companions, they excitedly moved their large claws, making a series of clicking sounds.

It definitely doesn't mean they're welcoming me; they're clearly hungry.

"Aragog!" the Acromantula cried Aragog.

From the misty, hemispherical spiderweb, a spider the size of an elephant slowly emerged.

Its body and legs were black with gray tinges, and each eye on its ugly head with large claws was covered with a layer of white film... It turned out to be blind.

"What's going on?" Aragog said, clicking his two large claws rapidly. "Was the plan executed successfully?"

"No, another wizard has come," said the Acromantula.

"Is that Hagrid?" Aragog said, moving closer. Eight milky-white eyes stared blankly into view.

"No, they are three little wizards."

"Then kill them all, but remember to be humane, don't let them suffer, and don't leave any traces so Hagrid can find out," Aragog said irritably.

William's wand sparked again.

"They are Hagrid's friends," the Acromantula under his rear end quickly said.

"Hagrid's friend? Hagrid never sends anyone to our depression," Aragog said slowly.

"Hagrid was arrested because of you." William stood up from his chair. "The Ministry of Magic thinks you're the monster from the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets."

"It wasn't me!" Aragog roared. "I wasn't born in this castle. I come from a faraway land. Before I even hatched from my egg, a traveler gave me to Hagrid..."

"I know it wasn't you," William interrupted. "It was the Basilisk."

Upon hearing the name of the Basilisk, Aragog gasped, and the spiders retreated in fear.

Anyone who touches the Basilisk's eyes will die... This creature is even more dangerous to spiders because they have eight eyes and cannot blink.

"I killed the Basilisk last semester," William said softly.

"Oh, I see. You're William Stark. I have heard Hagrid mention you." Aragog's tone softened slightly.

"Little wizard, since you know the Chamber of Secrets has nothing to do with me, what are you doing here?"

"Did a young red-haired wizard come looking for you?"

"Yes." Aragog seemed to recall something terrifying.

What does he want from you?

He ordered us to attack Hogwarts at the appropriate time.

William frowned. Had the diary controlled Ron to issue this order?

"You agreed?" Qiu asked loudly.

"No..." Aragog shook his head, "Hogwarts has Dumbledore, and so many professors, how could I send my children to their deaths?"

"However..." Aragog said slowly, "He changed his request again."

"What are the requirements?" Cedric asked.

He said that at some point, Dumbledore would be driven out.

"All he needs is for me to drive away the Magical Creatures in the Forbidden Forest and attack Hogwarts!" Aragog said softly.

"You agreed to this request," William said shrewdly. "Don't deny it, when we first arrived, you asked, 'Is the plan going well?'"

"Your people are all gone tonight; they must have gone to the Forbidden Forest to carry out the plan, right?"

Qiu retorted angrily, "You were raised by Hagrid, how dare you!"

"You have no idea what that wizard is capable of!" Aragog said resentfully, brandishing his large claws.

"You killed the monster... but he still has little monsters in his hands. He threatened me that if I didn't comply, he would kill all my children!"

If it were you, what would you choose? Humans!

"Let's go." William glanced disdainfully at the old spider. "Cedric, Cho, we must inform Professor McGonagall immediately."

With their numerous Acromantula, a full-scale attack could easily drive many Magical Creatures toward Hogwarts.

"Leave?" Aragog said slowly, "I think it's better not to..."

"My children obeyed my orders and did not harm Hagrid. But fresh human flesh has been delivered to their doorstep, and I cannot stop them from enjoying it. Farewell, Hagrid's friends..."

The spiders formed a solid, towering wall of steel, their large pincers clicking incessantly, and many pairs of eyes Winky on their ugly black heads.

I knew you were shameless, you old bastard! I'd kill you sooner or later!

William snorted, a silver sword appearing in his hand. He gripped the hilt with both hands and thrust it straight at the spider at his feet.

Slaying the Basilisk was effortless, and killing an Acromantula was even easier.

Cedric and Cho stood back to back, their wands emitting beams of light to stop the spider from advancing.

William calmly wiped the blood off the silver sword and casually tossed the blood-stained paper onto the ground.

William raised his wand, and golden flames erupted, raining down on the spiders around him like a golden shower.

The spiders let out a scream and retreated.

"They're gone."

William transformed into a giant sea eagle, and Cedric and Cho firmly grasped her enormous claws.

The eagle spread its wings, soared into the air, and shot straight into the dark night sky like an arrow.

(Second update)

I paid back a chapter yesterday, and today I owe another chapter of "Hell Cat." Sigh, the more I pay back, the more I owe.