Coup de Foudre [Fred Weasley] [6]

⚡️ Chapter 43 ⚡️

Vega was still comforting Hagrid when there was knock on the door, and Hagrid turned to answer it, blowing his nose on his great spotted handkerchief as he did so. Slughorn hurried over the threshold, several bottles in his arms, and wearing a somber black cravat. Vega watched this in silence, knowing that the alcohol would work in their favour.

"Hagrid," Slughorn spoke up, in a deep, grave voice. Vega and Harry shared a look, agreeing to stay quiet for a few moments. "So very sorry to hear of your loss,"

"Tha's very nice of yeh," Hagrid replied, still very emotional. "Thanks a lot. An' thanks fer not givin' Harry and Vega detention neither..."

"Wouldn't have dreamed of it," Slughorn assured him. "Sad night, sad night... where is the poor creature?" Vega bit her lower lip as she watched the scene.

"Out here," Hagrid answered in a shaking voice. "Shall we – shall we do it, then?"

The four of them stepped out into the back garden. The moon was glistening palely through the trees now, and its rays mingled with the light spilling from Hagrid's window to illuminate Aragog's body lying on the edge of a massive pit beside a ten-foot-high mound of freshly dug earth. Vega frowned, still unable to believe that he was gone.

Even after all that they tried to do to help him.

"Magnificent," Slughorn said, approaching the spider's head, where eight milky eyes stared blankly at the sky and two huge, curved pincers shone, motionless, in the moonlight.

And Vega thought she heard the tinkle of bottles as Slughorn bent over the pincers, apparently examining the enormous hairy head. She suddenly aware that he was trying to collect the poison from the dead body and just sighed to herself.

"It's not ev'ryone appreciates how beau'iful they are," Hagrid said to Slughorn's back, tears leaking from the corners of his crinkled eyes. "I didn' know yeh were int'rested in creatures like Aragog, Horace,"

"Interested?" Slughorn asked, stepping back from the body. "My dear Hagrid, I revere them," Vega saw the glint of a bottle disappear beneath his cloak, though Hagrid, mopping his eyes once more, noticed nothing. "Now... shall we proceed to the burial?"

At that, Hagrid nodded and moved forward, followed closely by Vega. She used magic to heave the gigantic spider into his arms and Hagrid – with an enormous grunt – rolled it into the dark pit. It hit the bottom with a rather horrible, crunchy thud.

Hagrid started to cry again.

"Of course, it's difficult for you, who knew him best," Slughorn said, who like Vega and Harry could reach no higher than Hagrid's elbow, but patted it all the same. "Why don't I say a few words?"

Slughorn must have got a lot of good quality venom from Aragog, Vega thought, for he wore a satisfied smirk as he stepped up to the rim of the pit and said, in a slow, impressive voice, "Farewell, Aragog, king of arachnids, whose long and faithful friendship those who knew you won't forget! Though your body will decay, your spirit lingers on in the quiet, web-spun places of your forest home. May your many-eyed descendants ever flourish and your human friends find solace for the loss they have sustained!"

"Tha' was... tha' was... beau'iful!" Hagrid howled, and he collapsed onto the compost heap, crying harder than ever and Vega felt bad for their friend.

"Hagrid, it's okay to let everything out," Vega said, patting Hagrid's shoulder and using her wand to move the huge pile of earth rose up and then slowly descended onto the dead spider, forming a smooth mound before marking the grave.

"Let's get inside and have a drink," Slughorn said. "Get on his other side, Harry, Vega..." He watched them hurry over. "That's it... up you come, Hagrid... well done..."