Night had fallen. Augustus moved silently through the Slytherin common room, ascended the floating staircases, and arrived at the entrance of the Great Hall. Using the spell of the Eye of Insight, he could see Harry and Ron, cloaked in an invisibility cloak, lurking cautiously in a shadowy corner.
"Are you ready?" a voice whispered near Harry's ear. He spun around, startled, as Augustus's figure slowly emerged from thin air. Harry removed the invisibility cloak, revealing himself and Ron in the open.
"We're good to go," Harry replied. Augustus gave a curt nod, and the group vanished into the night, making their way out of the school grounds.
Navigating through the castle was fraught with difficulty as they worked to avoid teachers at every turn. Eventually, they reached the entrance hall and slipped through the oak doors, squeezing through the crack as quietly as possible. The moonlit grounds stretched before them, bathing everything in a silver glow.
"How are we supposed to track them?" Ron asked as they crossed the dark lawn. "What if the spiders didn't even go this way? Sure, it looked like they were heading toward the forest, but what if—"
"Hagrid said to follow the spiders," Augustus interjected without hesitation. "We'll take his words literally—find the spiders, follow them, and see if their trail leads us to the clue we need. Perhaps it's hidden within their nest."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement. The three pressed onward, searching for signs of spiders.
Harry drew his wand. "Lumos," he whispered, and the wand-tip lit up with a soft glow, just bright enough to illuminate the ground beneath their feet.
"Good idea," Ron said. "I'd do the same, but you know—my wand might explode or something."
Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder and pointed to the grass ahead. A pair of solitary spiders scuttled away from the light, vanishing into the shadowy edge of the forest.
"All right," Ron sighed, bracing himself. "Let's get this over with."
The trio followed the spiders into the Forbidden Forest.
By the light of Harry's wand, they traced the spiders' movements along a narrow path. For about twenty minutes, none of them spoke, their ears straining to detect anything beyond the snapping of twigs and the rustle of leaves. As the trees grew denser, the stars above disappeared, and the glow from Harry's wand seemed feeble against the oppressive darkness. Then, the spiders veered off the path.
Augustus halted abruptly. Ahead of them lay pitch-black darkness, untouched by the glow of Harry's wand. The dense canopy overhead rendered the forest eerily silent and impenetrable. Their last venture into the Forbidden Forest had brought them face-to-face with Voldemort, but they had never ventured this deep before. Hagrid had warned them never to stray from the forest paths. But Hagrid was now miles away, likely sitting in a cell in Azkaban, and his instruction had been clear: follow the spiders.
"What now?" Harry whispered. "Do we keep going? If we do, we'll be completely off the path. Who knows what's out there?"
Augustus considered briefly before replying, "If we go deeper, we risk facing unknown dangers. I've decided to proceed. Will you come? Be warned: I cannot guarantee your safety."
Ron, without hesitation, said, "We've come this far. No way we're turning back now. Let's keep going."
Augustus nodded, and the trio plunged deeper into the forest, chasing after the faint, scuttling figures of the spiders.
Navigating through the thickets was slow and difficult. Gnarled roots and low-hanging branches constantly impeded their progress, and in the near-total darkness, they stumbled frequently. Several times they were forced to stop as Harry crouched to illuminate and locate the spiders' trail.
It felt like they'd been walking for half an hour. Their clothes snagged on sharp branches, and the underbrush seemed to grow denser with every step. Eventually, they noticed the ground sloping downward, though the canopy overhead remained as thick as ever.
Abruptly, Augustus halted, his form shimmering into view as he raised a hand to signal Harry and Ron to stop. Harry removed the invisibility cloak, following Augustus's gaze into the impenetrable darkness ahead.
"What is it?" Ron asked nervously, gripping Harry's arm tightly.
"There's something moving out there," Harry whispered, his breath shallow. "Sounds big."
They listened intently. To their right, something massive was crashing through the underbrush, snapping branches with every step.
Suddenly, a brilliant light flared to their right, searing their vision in the darkness. Both Harry and Ron shielded their eyes. Fang barked furiously, trying to flee but becoming tangled in a patch of brambles, his cries growing more frantic.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed, relief flooding his voice. "It's the car! The flying car!"
"What?"
"Come on!"
"There it is—still here in the forest!" Ron beamed as he walked around the car. "Look at it—completely wild now."
The car's body was battered, its exterior streaked with mud and scratches from the forest. It seemed to have adapted to life in the Forbidden Forest, moving freely through the trees. Fang, however, seemed wholly uninterested in the vehicle, staying glued to Harry's side and trembling visibly.
Just as Harry's breathing steadied, Augustus raised his wand. A brilliant orb of light shot skyward, illuminating the forest clearing in a harsh glow. At last, they saw the real threat lurking in the shadows.
Ron froze, his face pale, his eyes locked onto something towering behind Harry. Slowly, Harry turned, and his heart stopped.
A massive creature loomed before them, its eight hairy legs spanning the forest floor, its black, glinting pincers clicking ominously. The beast reached for Harry, lifting him into the air with a clawed leg, his world tilting as he struggled against the vice-like grip. A sickening clicking sound followed, and Ron was similarly plucked from the ground.
When the creature moved to seize Augustus, he surprisingly made no move to resist, allowing himself to be carried aloft. The spider that held them began to move swiftly, carrying its captives deeper into the forest.
The Forbidden Forest, dark and unknowable, seemed to welcome the reckless intruders, as if it had been waiting for them all along.
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