Harry Potter - Fanfiction

Year 2 - Aragog

Summer is creeping over the grounds around the castle; the sky and lake alike turning a periwinkle blue and flowers large as cabbages burst into bloom in the greenhouses. But the scene isn't quite right; with Hagrid and Dumbledore being taken away leaving Harry, Ron, and myself outside of his house in the dead of night.

"Now what?" asks Ron as we stand helpless outside Hagrid's door.

Out of the corner of my eye I notice these small blobs of black against the brick moving out the window.

Nudging Harry I point towards the open window, "look! Spiders."

We all move a little closer and notice them all forming a line as they walk out towards the Forbidden Forest.

Harry grabs a lantern as he calls Fang, "c'mon Fang."

Ron answering in a squeaky voice and looking rather sick, "what?"

"You heard what Hagrid said, follow the spiders."

Ron answers in a shrill tone, "they're heading to the dark forest."

Harry and I head off towards the forest as Ron lags reluctantly behind. "Why spiders? Why can't it be; follow the butterflies."

And so, we follow the darting shadows of the spiders into the trees. They can't move very quickly now; there are tree roots and stumps in their way, barely visible in the near blackness.

We walk on for what seems like at least half an hour, our robes snagging on low-slung branches and brambles. After a while, we notice the ground seeming to slope downward, though the trees are as thick as ever.

Further into the forest we walk as we reach the ridge of a vast hollow, a hollow that has been cleared of trees, so that the stars shine brightly onto the worst scene we had ever seen.

Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those surging over the leaves below. Spiders the size of carthorses, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic.

"Can we go back now?" A small peep escapes Ron's lips as he gazes upon all the spiders. His lips trembling at an immense speed that you can almost hear it.

We walk further into a misty, domed web in the very centre of the hollow. The spiders closing in all around, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of us.

Fang is cowering silently on the spot. Ron's mouth is stretched wide in a kind of silent scream and his eyes are popping out of their sockets from the sight of all the spiders.

From the middle of the misty, domed web, a spider the size of a small elephant emerges, very slowly. There is grey in the black of his body and legs, showing his age.

"You're Aragog?" Harry stumbles.

"Yes, what is it?" he says, clicking his pincers rapidly.

"We're friends of Hagrid's," Harry shouts.

Ron gaping at all the spiders surrounding us as he steps closer to Harry and me.

"Hagrid has never sent people into our hollow before," Aragog says slowly.

Harry looks over to me unsure. I take a brave small step forward, addressing Aragog, "Hagrid's in trouble."

"Trouble?" says the aged spider. "But why has he sent you?"

Harry speaks up as calmly as he can, "up at the school there have been attacks. They think it's Hagrid, so they've taken him to Azkaban. They think he opened the Chamber of Secrets like before."

"That's a lie. Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets." Aragog clicks his pincers furiously at our statement.

"So, you're not the monster?" Harry asks, I can see a cold sweat on his forehead as he speaks to the spider.