The enormous spider, which Thomas recognized as Aragog from Riddle's diary, landed right in front of him and Fang with a loud thud. The ground shook under its weight, and the smaller spiders scurried away in fear. Fang whimpered and hid behind Thomas's legs, while Thomas tried to keep his composure. He knew that Aragog was the leader of the spiders in the forest and that he had a taste for human flesh. And that meant that he had to be careful of what he was going to say and do in front of Aragog, as not only was the spider a very loyal friend to Hagrid but if stories were to be believed then the spider would not tolerate any insults.
"Who are you, human?" Aragog asked in a deep and raspy voice. "And what are you doing in my domain?"
Thomas swallowed hard and answered as calmly as he could. "My name is Thomas Grayson, sir. I'm a second-year student at Hogwarts and a friend of Hagrid."
The spider took a step closer making Thomas gulped before he heard him speak again." And where is Hagrid? My little children hadn't seen him anywhere in the forest."
"Sir, Hagrid is… not here right now. He had to go away for a while, but he will be back soon. He asked me to come here and talk to you because he trusts you and he thinks you can help me." Thomas lied, hoping that Aragog would believe him.
Aragog looked at Thomas suspicious of his words. After all, he wouldn't have lived all of those years if he couldn't sense that the boy was hiding something, but he also felt a faint connection to Hagrid through him.
"Help you with what, human? What do you want from me?" Aragog asked.
"About that… Fifty years ago the chamber of secrets had been opened and now after fifty years it got opened again."
Aragog narrowed his eyes and hissed. "The Chamber of Secrets? That is a dark and dangerous place, human. That's why Hagrid is not here is it?"
Thomas nodded his head and told the spider the truth about how the Ministry of Magic thinks that Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets since he had been the one at fault fifty years ago and how despite that he and his friends think otherwise after all Hagrid was not someone who would kill someone like that.
The spider listened to Thomas's story with a mix of anger and sadness. He knew that Hagrid was innocent and that he had been framed by the real heir of Slytherin. Someone who managed to control that beast that dwells in it.
"Hagrid is a good friend to me and my children, human. He has never harmed anyone, and he has always protected us from those who would hunt us. He did not open the Chamber of Secrets, nor did he unleash the horror that lives within it. He was only a boy when he was accused, and he was betrayed by the one who did it."
"Who did it, sir? Who is the heir of Slytherin?" Thomas asked eagerly, hoping to get a clue that could clear Hagrid's name and stop the attacks at Hogwarts.
Aragog shook his head and sighed. "I do not know, human. I only know that he was a student at Hogwarts and that he spoke the language of snakes. What I do know is that he tried everything to make me his pet, but I refused. When he saw that he couldn't control me, he blamed me for the death of a girl, and Hagrid took the fall for me. He was expelled, and I was banished to this forest. But he gave me a promise, human. A promise that he would return someday, and open the Chamber of Secrets again. And it seems that he got his revenge on the innocent."
"Sir, thank you for telling me what you know. It means a lot to me, and Hagrid. But I have one more question if you don't mind. What is the horror that lives in the Chamber of Secrets? What kind of creature is it?"
Aragog shuddered for a moment before speaking out again. "It is an ancient and terrible thing, human. A thing that hates all living beings, especially those who are not of Slytherin's blood. A thing that can kill with a single look, and petrify with a glance. A thing that speaks the language of snakes, and commands them as its servants. My kin fear it and believe me humans, not many could face it and live to tell the tale… It is called… the Basilisk."
Thomas froze when he heard Aragog's words. A Basilisk inside of Hogwarts? Which mad man would have brought the cret… The Slytherin founder of course, after all the man was said to have distrusted, the muggle-born wizards and witches, and what creature could cleanse Hogwarts of them if not a Basilisk that will only listen to the heir of Slytherin?
Truth be told, there were no known spider species both magical and normal that could petrify a creature, but a Basilisk was known to have that power, and with it free to roam the school… My God, Malfoy had doomed the students when he took Dumbledore away. There was no time to waste and so, Thomas turned towards the Spider and thanked him once again for everything before turning to leave.
"Thank you once again for everything, sir. I promise you that I will bring Hagrid back one way or the other."
Unbeknownst to the spider, Thomas was from being calm at that moment, and while he was no longer gripping his dagger and wand, he was still not a peaceful being in the presence of Aragog. The beast was at least an ultimate being, and that was purely on its presence alone. God knows what it could do with its venom.
However, even though Thomas had talked with it and thanked God, Aragog was keen to listen to him, chances are that his children will not be as willing to listen as their father.
At the same time, Aragog saw that something was bothering Thomas. He could sense the fear and urgency in the boy's voice and posture.
"Be careful, human. The Basilisk is a deadly foe, and you are not its master. It will not spare you or your friends, even if you speak the language of snakes. It will only obey the heir of Slytherin, and he is a dark and cruel wizard. "
"Thank you, sir. I will heed your advice."
Aragog nodded before continuing. "You are welcome, human. You have shown me respect, something that not many humans do for we are just beasts, and you have spoken well of Hagrid. You may leave in peace. But remember, human. You are still in my domain, and my children are hungry. They will not listen to me as you did. They will only see you as food. Run, human. Run fast, and do not look back, but don't kill them if you can."
As soon as he heard Aragog's words, Thomas didn't waste any more time and with Fang beside him, he dashed towards the exit, which mind you was not easy to reach in pitch-black darkness. He had barely taken a few steps when he heard the scuttling of hundreds of legs behind him making him turn his head just for a second, but that was more than enough to see dozens of giant spiders emerging from the shadows, ready to eat the fresh meat of a human and his dog. They were faster than them, and no matter what he would do, Thomas knew he had no chance of outrunning them, not without a broom.
Just the some of the spiders were about to outrun him, Thomas reached for his wand, but then remembered Aragog's warning. Yes, he could kill some of them, mayhap it would be wiser to not anger Aragog, after all for better or worse, the spider was anything but mean to him. Besides, Hagrid might not like it, which considering everything … would not be something he wanted to happen, not after learning just how much had Hagrid suffered.
Without any less bloody choice, Thomas looked around, hoping to find a path or a gap that would lead him and Fang to safety, but he saw nothing but trees and webs. Then, almost out of nowhere, a strange and crazy thought appeared in his mind and so, Thomas decided to try a different tactic.
"Stop! I am a friend of Aragog! He has permitted me to leave! Do not harm me or the dog!"
The spiders paused for a moment, and if their faces could show some emotion, Thomas knew that he would see their confusion. Has their father ordered them to stop, or was this human lying? Then again if he met his father and lived… maybe just maybe the human was telling the truth.
Seeing that all of the spiders stopped chasing him, Thomas didn't waste any more time and dashed away from them, but not before shooting a few Lumos charms at the spiders, praying to God to scare them away. Or at least he hoped that the bright flashes of light would blind and stun the spiders, giving him and Fang enough time to escape. And since he wasn't going to "harm" per se his children, mayhap Aragog would not be angry at him, then again, the spider was not what Thomas had imagined him to be.
So, he ran as fast as he could, following the faint trail of light that marked the exit while at the same time, he felt Fang's fur brushing against his leg, being twice as scared as he was, and for a good reason, as just a few seconds later, a loud roar almost made him froze in place. Fang didn't even turn to see what made the noise, instead, he ran even faster leaving Thomas alone to face whatever was coming his way.
Thomas turned his head and his heart almost jumped out of his chest when he saw a spider bigger than Aragog's children but still smaller than him looking strangely enough angrier and hungrier than all of them. However, Thomas didn't have any time to react, as the spider lunged at him with a terrifying speed.
Luckily for him, he barely dodged the attack, feeling the spider's fangs graze his shoulder. Fearing that the spider might have poisoned him Thomas glanced for a second at his wound, knowing that even a small dose of the spider's venom could kill him in minutes. Thankfully it was just a flesh wound and no venom made its way inside his body yet. The slightly bigger spider didn't give Thomas any time to rest and lunged at him again, this time though, aiming at his chest rather than his head.
Yet, before the spider could reach him, Thomas managed to quickly draw his wand and his dagger, hoping to use both magic and steel to fend off the beast. With nothing to lose other than his life, he decided to fight the beast head one. Since he lacked a water source big enough to create a decent-sized spell, Thomas went with the second-best thing he learned from Tsubaki and that was wind magic.
Just as the spider was about to fall on him, Thomas just out a wind slash towards it hoping that it would at least crack its carapace, but alas that was just a wishful thought as the slash did nothing but enraged the beast. That made him realize that he had to get closer to the spider as his spells were not enough to stop it. And so, gripping his dagger tightly, he waited for the right moment to strike. When the spider lunged at him for the third time, Thomas dodged right under its belly before stabbing his dagger into the spider's abdomen. He felt the blade sink into the flesh, but it was not deep enough to kill the spider. However, that was still enough for the spider to let out a shriek of pain as he shook its body violently, trying to dislodge Thomas and his dagger.
Holding his dagger with one hand, Thomas used his wand with the other and stabbed it right into the creature's jaw before going for the kill.
"Confringo!" A blast of fire erupted inside the spider's mouth and as soon as he saw it, Thomas pulled the dagger from the spider and threw himself to the ground before watching as the fire was roasting the spider from within.
Not wanting to take any chances, the boy didn't even wait for the spider to die, instead, he run as fast as his legs could take him until he finally saw Hagrid's hut and Fang sitting nervously near the door… Alas, he was back.
< Just change "3" with "e" Patr3on Link : https://patr3on.com/meatbunkun>