Capítulo 83: Chapter 83: Acromantula
In the inky depths of the Forbidden Forest, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley ventured forth hesitation in their every step. Other than the relentless moaning of the wind, the surroundings teetered on the brink of silence.
A sudden rustle, abrupt and unnerving, left them startled, even the famously 'stalwart' Fang who whimpered and darted around nervously.
From the gloom, a figure was highlighted by a shimmering beam of light, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief.
"Professor Forester!"
Sherlock Forester replied with a stern look, his gaze fixed sternly on Harry and Ron.
"Why did you two sneak out of the castle at night and venture this deep into the Forbidden Forest?"
Harry swiftly grasped that encountering Sherlock under these circumstances wasn't particularly beneficial. His immediate feelings of relief gave way to trepidation.
"We were… Well…"
Struggling to weave a convincing tale, Harry was interrupted by a sharp cracking sound that echoed ominously around them. The noise announced the arrival of something large barrelling its way through the nearby bushes towards their location.
With Fang raising an alarming howl, and Harry and Ron exchanging worried glances, they found themselves whisked behind Sherlock in a swift move.
"Stay behind me. We will talk about your little adventure once we are safely back in the castle!"
Sherlock's Lumos spell wqas far more effective than Harry's, revealing the hulking shapes that had silently closed in on them.
Monstrous spiders, three of them!
Each towering over the height of a fully-grown man, they paused their slow encroachment after clocking Sherlock, Harry, Ron, and Fang. Nevertheless, they remained menacingly poised for an attack.
"..Humans..."
One of the monstrous spiders chattered its monstrous pincers while producing humanoid speech.
Despite the looming threat, Sherlock held his composure. Reducing his gaze with a squint, he ordered, "Take us to Aragog."
The utterance of that name caused the three colossal arachnids to halt in their tracks. After what seemed to be an exchange of silent deliberation, the previously vocal spider stuttered, "F…..follow….us."
It seemed the spiders were corralling Sherlock, Harry, Ron, and Fang deep into the heart of the Forbidden Forest.
Gulping audibly with trepidation, Ron warily asked, "Professor... Professor, where are these spiders taking us?"
"Towards their ancestor, Hagrid's friend Aragog," Sherlock replied with air of nonchalance, "You had the courage to explore the Forbidden Forest this deeply while blissfully ignorant of the dangers, so don't get scared now, this is what you signed up for after all."
Sherlock's statement left Harry and Ron embarrassed, unable to meet Sherlock's piercing gaze.
Sherlock, for his part, didn't seem intent on delivering a lecture amidst the Forbidden Forest. Moreover, his words were more considered, an attempt to reassure them. "If you trail behind me closely, you won't face any danger tonight."
Despite his efforts, his reassurances did little to lighten the mood, the tension gripping Harry and Ron only intensified upon hearing Sherlock's prediction, leaving them frozen in place momentarily. They snapped back into reality only when the spider nudged them from behind with its oversized mandibles. With crestfallen faces, they walked in the wake of their professor.
"Harry, I don't want to die..." Ron whispered into Harry's ear, his voice quivering on the verge of tears.
Harry, who had paled considerably, was shaking with uncontrolled shivers. He somehow steadied himself enough to respond, "No, we'll be alright, Ron. Nothing's not set in stone. At the very least, the professor didn't outright say we would make it out alive, so we'll just face a bit of danger, nothing lethal.."
Their whispered conversation was drowned out by their arrival at an expansive hollow in the ground. The hollow, blanketed by dense foliage, was teeming with even more giant spiders, all visible through a foggy whiteness, setting the skin of Harry and Ron on edge.
The spiders gracefully guided them into the hollow's center. With a clatter of clicks from the pincers of surrounding arachnids, the forest echoed excited anticipation.
A giant spider, grander than the others, emerged from the mist, its bulky silhouetted form displayed mammoth pincers. Its eyes were clouded over by a milky film, a mark of blindness.
"What have you brought here?" Aragog, the eldest of the arachnids, asked; his command over the human language was much better than his kin. "... Men... not like Hagrid... seeking you, I gather?"
Ushering a reply, Sherlock introduced himself, "I am Sherlock Forester. Hagrid and I are good friends. I bring with me the regards of Professor Dumbledore."
"Dumbledore..." Aragog mused upon hearing that name as if it spurred a memory, "Aided by him, Hagrid was able to transfer me to this safe haven in the forest."
"Sadly, Hagrid has found himself in a predicament," Sherlock amped up his volume, "This year, Hogwarts has suffered another assault, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again, leaving four students petrified by the monster. The Ministry of Magic has arrested Hagrid simply because they don't have any other suspects."
The gravity of the ongoing conversation between Sherlock and Aragog had Harry and Ron temporarily disregarding their immediate fear.
"It was the same fifty years ago!" The tone adopted by Aragog sent them reeling, "Half a century ago, Hagrid and I were the scapegoats! But we're not murderers, the incident back then had nothing to do with us!"
Sherlock responded sharply,"While Hagrid chose to shield you by withholding the truth, his wand was destroyed, and he was expelled from Hogwarts, robbing him of his magical abilities forever." Sherlock locked eyes with the ancient spider,
"At present, the Ministry has him in custody again. Should we fail to expose the true culprit, Hagrid might get written off for good this time. The consequences this time around will prove to be much graver - Hagrid's an adult now. If convicted, he's destined to rot in Azkaban for the remainder of his existence, subjected to unfathomable torment!"
There was a pause, a silence that lingered in the air before Aragog finally spoke, "What do you want me to do about this, human?"
Sherlock managed to voice his intention, "You have knowledge of the creature, the one that's been attacking the students back in the castle."
The mention of the creature caused a significant twitch in Aragog's claws. "That's the bane of our existence! I feared it so much that I didn't even tell Hagrid what it was, no matter how many times he asked."
"Hagrid gave up his life as a wizard for your sake, yet you were unable to confide a simple name," Sherlock interjected with an indignant tone,
"I have no need for the name of that monster, however, all I need to know is where it hides in the castle. If we can just find it we'll be able to prove Hagrid's innocence, you must help us Aragog."
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