The Potter Twins and the Chamber of Secrets {2}

24. Follow the Spiders *

"From that moment you'll be out of place and under dressed" ~ There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought Of It Yet, Panic! At The Disco

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Harry?" Tay whispers, as she, Ron, Fang and I walk through the Forbiddon Forest, lit by the light from our wands.

Finally deciding to listen to Hagrid's last words to us, we're 'following the spiders' through the forest, at night.

"I'd rather my mother kill me for losing Asher than die out here," she adds, jumping as a twig snaps beneath her foot.

"There's something moving over there," I breath out, ignoring her. "Listen...sounds like something big."

We all listen, only to hear loud snapping noises to our right.

"Oh, no," Ron says. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh-"
"Shut up, Weasley," Tay snaps. "Do you want it to hear us?"

We all step closer together, as we wait in the darkness for for whatever monster is coming.

"What d'you think it's doing?" I ask.
"Probably getting ready to pounce," Tay murmurs shakily, shivering in the cold.

"Do you think it's gone?" I whisper.
"Dunno-"

Suddenly, to our right, comes a blaze of light, so bright that we're forced to shield our eyes. Fang begins yelping frantically, and he manages to get himself caught in a tangle of thorns.

"Harry! Tay!" Ron shouts in relief. "Harry, Tay, it's our car!"
"What?"
"Come on!"

Tay and I blunder after Ron towards the light, our hands entwined in fear. We emerge into a clearing, to find Mr. Weasley's flying car, it's headlights blazing bright.

"Oh! This is 'the' bloody car!" Tay exclaims.
"It's been here all the time!" Ron says delightedly, walking around the car. "Look at it. The forest's turned it wild..."

The wings of the car are scratched and smeared with mud - by the looks of things Ta been trundling around the forest on it's own.

I feel Fang at my back of my legs, seeming to be unsure of the car.

I shove my wand back in my robes, my breath returning to normal.

"And we thought it was going to attack us!" Ron says, leaning against the car, patting it fondly. "I wondered where it had gone!"

I begin to look around for the seemingly endless trail of spiders, only to find them gone.

"We've lost the trail," I tell them. "C'mon, let's go and find them."

Neither Ron or Tay speak or move. Both of their eyes' are fixed upon something about ten feet above me.

Suddenly there is a loud clicking noise and I feel something long and hairy grab me around the middle. With a cry of fright I'm lifted into the air, and I find myself hanging face down.

Struggling and terrified, I hear more clicking, I see Ron and Tay's legs' also leave the ground, I hear Fang whimpering and howling, and then I feel myself being swept away into the darkness of the trees.

I can see that the thing that has ahold of me is walking on six immensely, long, hairy legs - the front two are clutching me tightly. I can also hear other creatures behind me, which are no doubt carrying Ron and Tay.

As we move into the very heart of the first, I can hear Fang fighting against a fourth monster, whining loudly.
But my throat is dry, and I can't find the words.

After what feels like hours, the darkness lifts suddenly, enough for me to see that the ground is now swarming with spiders.

I manage to turn my neck sideways, and I realise that we have reached a rim of a vast hollow - a hollow which has been cleared of trees, so that the stars shine brightly onto the worst scene I've ever laid eyes on.