บท 89: 89: Anger of a Dragon
After some time, Harry was reluctantly carrying Daphne on his back, his face showing his discomfort.
Meanwhile, John was busy thanking the Demiguise.
"Thanks for the help, buddy" he said.
If it weren't for the Demiguise knocking Riddle out earlier, John wouldn't have won so easily. Who would've thought that such a wide-eyed innocent looking creature would enjoy playing dirty tricks?
John shook hands with it, not caring whether the Demiguise understood the gesture.
"John.. so.. you have a gun?"
"Oh, that was .. um, aren't you feeling hungry? I'm starving! Let's just go quickly and eat something"
"O-Ok..."
The Demiguise's big eyes began to glow with colorful lights, and suddenly it started shouting anxiously.
"Hmm?"
Just as John was wondering what was going on, he heard rustling sounds around them.
"Why does that sound so familiar?" he muttered.
As he looked up to find the source of the noise, he saw a spider the size of a small car staring intently at them.
"Fuck—Run!" John shouted, immediately deciding to flee.
Fang, the cowardly dog, had already disappeared, probably sensing the danger. After all, dogs have that instinct.
When Harry saw the enormous spiders, he was terrified, wishing he could use a Transfiguration spell to grow a second pair of legs.
The two of them sprinted wildly through the Forbidden Forest, and then...
They stumbled upon a massive spider nest.
"Are you kidding me..." John nearly cursed. They had run straight into the spider's lair.
It turned out that Riddle wasn't the real danger; these spiders had been lying in wait, ready to strike.
*Tap-tap-tap!*
*Cri-cri!*
The Acromantulas, with their eight greedy eyes glinting, let out sharp cries as they advanced on them.
"Harry, fight back!" John shouted.
He drew his wand and fired a blast of white light at the nearest spider, causing its body to explode like a watermelon.
John and these spiders had a long-standing enmity.
Harry, struggling with the weight of the person on his back, managed to swing his wand and fight back.
However, his attacks were no match for John's. When John saw a spider about to pounce on Harry's back, he quickly turned and struck.
"Arania Exumai!"
The spider was blasted away, but John's action drew the attention of a much larger spider.
Without pausing, John pulled a sword from his small bag as he turned.
Swoosh!
Just as the giant spider lunged, John cleaved its head in two with a single stroke.
With his right hand holding a sword and his left hand wielding a wand, John was a force to be reckoned with—using the wand for long-range attacks and the sword for close combat.
However, even with his balanced offensive and defensive strategies, John was being gradually overwhelmed by the sheer number of spiders. He was forced to retreat step by step until he and Harry were standing back to back.
Harry was panting heavily, his hands trembling—a sign of severe magical exhaustion.
He had completely run out of magic.
John wasn't in much better shape either. After his intense duel with Riddle, his magical reserves were nearly depleted.
"What do we do?" Harry asked, desperation in his voice.
John's mind raced, searching for a solution as more spiders continued to emerge from the shadows, surrounding them.
At that moment, a strange noise came from the distance.
Beep beep—
Harry and John turned to look. Two large, bright eyes were cutting through the mass of spiders, barreling straight toward them.
No, not eyes.
Headlights!
"Harry—!" Ron's voice called out from inside the car, and John spotted a familiar bushy-haired head next to him—it was Hermione.
The trio reunited as the Weasley's magical car plowed into the mass of spiders.
Fang was inside, barking wildly.
"Hermione, Ron!" Harry called out in relief and joy, grateful that his friends had come to the rescue.
The car door swung open, and Harry, with Daphne on his back, quickly ran inside, shouting to John, "John, hurry up and get in!"
The spiders were closing in, but John's expression shifted several times as he stood outside.
He stared at the spider-infested nest, and a spark of anger ignited within him.
These Acromantulas had almost devoured him last time, and now they were at it again.
Even the most patient person would find it hard to forgive these creatures, and John was no exception. Despite Harry's urgent calls, John leaped onto the car's roof.
As the spiders surged toward the car, John took a deep breath, tightly gripping his wand as he drew a large circle in the air.
"Fiendfyre!" he incanted.
Crimson flames erupted from the tip of his wand, and John's eyes turned into slits as a powerful wave of anger enveloped him.
The fiery blaze transformed into a massive dragon, and the approaching spiders were instantly ignited by the cursed fire. The dragon opened its mouth, spewing flames that consumed the spiders, incinerating them all.
Everywhere it passed, the crimson dragon left behind a sea of fire, turning the area into an inferno.
|Let me show you what it means to mess with a dragon!| John roared.
He felt the rapid depletion of his magical energy as he controlled the Fiendfyre, carving a path through the inferno.
The agonized screams and wails of the spiders filled the air, leaving the trio utterly stunned.
Fang was trembling and curled up in the backseat, and the Demiguise had somehow sneaked into the car as well.
"Get us out of here!" John shouted.
Ron floored the accelerator, speeding away from the sea of flames. With his last bit of strength, John directed the fiery dragon into the heart of the spider nest.
"You wanted to eat me, huh? I'll wipe you out!" John muttered darkly, a fierce expression on his face. The spider nest turned into a catastrophic scene.
Countless spiders were burned alive by the rampaging dragon. The aging Aragog watched in terror as its reckless behavior led to the near extinction of its Acromantula offspring.
The webs inside the nest became the perfect fuel, allowing the fire dragon to rage for a full two hours before finally dying down.
Thick smoke rose into the sky, forming dark clouds, and rain began to fall, extinguishing the remnants of the flames. The Aragog's colony was almost entirely wiped out.
...
The Weasley family's enchanted car sped to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where John jumped down from the roof, feeling much calmer.
''Haah.. haa..."
'Looks like I shouldn't drink too much Felix Felicis,' John reflected with lingering unease. He realized that his emotions had been out of control, recalling the warnings about Felix Felicis—overdosing could lead to toxicity, making one overconfident and reckless.
John typically avoided using Fiendfyre, not only because it was dark magic, but mainly due to its inherent instability. Controlling Fiendfyre was an incredibly difficult task unless one's magical power significantly surpassed it.
'Worth it!'
After torching the spider nest, John felt a sense of satisfaction, though he couldn't help but wonder if Hagrid would cry when he returned to find the nest destroyed.
The trio exited the car, and John carried Daphne out.
The enchanted car gave its doors a quick slap and then shot back into the Forbidden Forest.
"...Did that car just go feral?" John was baffled, not understanding what just happened.
Hermione marched over, furious, and pointed at John and Harry, scolding them, "How could you be so reckless? You've broken at least fifty school rules!"
An angry Hermione didn't care whether they were the Boy Who Lived or John Wick; both were scolded like children caught by a parent.
Ron wisely kept quiet the entire time, displaying his lower rank in the family dynamic.
Harry nudged John with his elbow, signaling him to say something to calm Hermione down.
"Ah?" After a moment's thought, John said, "Don't blame Harry; Riddle took Daphne, and I lost my composure."
As Hermione's anger began to dissipate, she noticed Daphne. The girl was stunning and frequently seen with John.
"Who's Riddle?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"Oh, that's Voldemort," John said casually.
Harry nodded rapidly beside him; after all, they had just fought Voldemort and then narrowly survived the spider nest.
As soon as Voldemort's name was mentioned, it felt as if a chilling wind swept through the area.
"~Ugh~~" Ron shivered, visibly frightened. "Don't say that name."
Hermione also felt a twinge of fear. If they hadn't arrived just in time, Harry and John might have met their end at the hands of the spiders.
In the end, Hermione couldn't stay mad at Harry for long; she scolded them, but that was it.
Carrying the unconscious Daphne, the four of them headed back to the castle.
Their disappearance had nearly driven everyone at Hogwarts to panic. The first person they encountered was Professor McGonagall, who was clutching her chest and taking deep breaths to calm herself.
Professor McGonagall led them into the castle and then to the Headmaster's office.
John noticed that Professor Snape was also there, and he felt a bit guilty.
Because he had taken an entire bottle of Felix Felicis, he had become much more reckless.
He had even done something as bold as snatching a potion from Professor Snape's hands, not caring at all about the loss of house points.
Now that the effects of the potion had worn off, John suspected he might be in for even more point deductions.
Fortunately, fate seemed to be on his side—Dumbledore had returned.
He had been suspended from his duties, but when trouble struck Hogwarts, he was the first to return.
Among the five of them, one was unconscious, two were disheveled, and two others dared not lift their heads.
In the Headmaster's office, there was a couple present—Daphne's parents.
"John! Thank you so much! Thank you.. I.. I.." Seeing that their daughter was unharmed, Daphne's mother, who had a striking appearance, even forgot that John was of Muggle-born origin.
"The Greengrass family will not forget your kindness," Daphne's father said solemnly, though his expression suggested that John had somehow wronged his family.
It wasn't just the Greengrass family present; the Weasleys were also there. Mrs. Weasley, overwhelmed with emotion, hugged Harry tightly.
Ginny had confessed everything to Dumbledore, and so he felt it necessary to summon the Weasley family.
Mrs. Weasley also hugged John enthusiastically. If it weren't for these two boys, Ginny might have been burdened with the guilt of harming a fellow student for the rest of her life.
John placed the diary and the Sword of Gryffindor on the desk, also producing the basilisk fang as irrefutable evidence.
With this concrete proof, and Harry's detailed ten-minute explanation, Ginny was naturally absolved of any blame.
"Well done, Harry, John," Dumbledore praised them without hesitation. Even though the two of them had broken about a hundred school rules, Gryffindors never worry about such things... Well, neither do Slytherins, Heh~
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