Proairesis━𝐢𝐢.( PJO/HP )

𝐱. THE ACROMANTULA NEST

▬▬▬▬▬ CHAPTER TEN ▬▬▬▬▬

THINGS WERE STILL BAD AT Hogwarts despite the lack of attacks. Everyone was eager for winter break to come, no doubt everyone would be leaving for home.

Esmerelda needed to find answers quick. For her sake and the school's sake. Even if Luke had nothing to do with this, the monster still had to be dealt with. She wondered why Dumbledore hadn't called any—what were they called again?—Aurors to come deal with the problem or at least shut the school down while they were investigating.

She was no child of Athena, so finding the answers she needed was easier said than done. It was times like this that really made Esmerelda wish the wizarding world was more up-to-date on the latest Muggle technology because she did not want to go through hundreds upon hundreds of books in the library. If only a wizarding version of Google existed than her problems would be much easier...

Her foot tapped impatiently as she waited to excuse herself from Defense Against the Dark Arts for probably the hundredth time since term started. She usually waited at least ten minutes before asking for permission to 'go to the bathroom'. When the clock struck the ten minute mark, she rose from her seat and walked over to Lockhart.

"'Scuse me, Professor?" She asked politely.

He hummed in response, looking up from the portrait he was admiring. "Ah, yes?"

"May I go to the bathroom?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sure, go on ahead! Oh wait—!" He suddenly said, making her freeze. This was not part of their process. "Esmerelda, correct? Ah, I don't recall ever receiving any work from you these past few months..." He trailed off, looking at her questionably.

Her heart began to pound, but she forced herself to calm down. This problem could be fixed with a little Charmspeak. She used the Mist to trick a couple of mortals before but with illusions like making people think cotton lint was gold. She had never really... controlled someone's way of thinking before.

I can do this, she told herself. It was Lockhart after all.

She held her smile. "Perhaps you misplaced them," she said. A weird sensation rippled through the atmosphere, the same sensation that came whenever Alabaster used his powers.

He looked at her confusedly before gasping in realization. "Oh you are absolutely right! Silly me! I can't believe I'd be so irresponsible..." She was sure the other students were gaping at them now because Lockhart was actually admitting to making a mistake. "I'll deal with this mess, Esmerelda, you go on to whatever you need to do."

She smiled sweetly. "Thank you sir." She said, turning and walking away. Her classmates all gawked at her, Hannah even mouthed How did you DO that? but she just shrugged innocently before grabbing her things and strolling out of the room.

As usual, she headed off to the Forbidden Forest while the hallways were still empty. She didn't really know what to do there, but she wanted to have a lazy day for once so she wasn't planning on practicing any magic. The forest, despite it's dangers, was a good place to relax. Some of the creatures there learned to avoid her after she grew a reputation for killing monsters and they wisely didn't want to be next on the chopping block.

Winter break would be coming soon, she mused. She wondered how camp was doing. Of course, her friends would keep her updated through letters, but she just really missed the place. It was her home, after all. It came with her most fondest memories... and her worst.

She tried to push the thought of Ethan and her siblings away to no avail. They were constantly on her mind. Where were they? Were they doing okay? Were they dead? She hadn't been getting any dreams lately, which could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. It was good because at least she wasn't getting anymore disturbing dreams of Kronos, but it was also bad since she had no clue what was happening to her loved ones. The dreams were the only way for her to even catch a glimpse of them.

Her peaceful nature walk was disrupted when she ran into a group of familiar centaurs. Smiling, she walked over to their camp and greeted them. Most of them greeted her back, but the older ones nodded respectfully at her and she did so back in turn.

An idea came to mind. Maybe the centaurs knew something about the Chamber of Secrets! Quickly, she sought out Firenze and found him speaking with Bane nearby a tree.

"Bane! Firenze! I need some help!" She said quickly, rushing towards them.

"What is it?" Bane grunted, arching a brow.

"I don't know if you've heard, but the Chamber of Secrets has been opened and something's been going around petrifying students," she explained in one rapid breath. "Do you know what that creature may be?"

At first, the two centaurs didn't reply and glanced at each other instead.

"When was the Chamber of Secrets opened?" Firenze asked.

"Halloween night," she answered firmly. "Or well, at least I think so... A message was written on the wall that night saying the chamber had been opened, but I don't really know when."

"October..." Firenze murmured. "That is when the Acromantulas began to behave oddly."

"They've been relocating." Bane muttered as Firenze nodded in agreement.

"Acromantula? Is that the monster?" She asked.

Firenze shook his head. "No, the Acromantulas are a magical species of large spiders. They cannot petrify people. However, I recall nearly getting trampled by a stampede of frightened acromantulas during an October night. It was strange, because the acromantulas had never moved a spot from their original nesting place."

Esmerelda thought deeply about this piece of information. "You think the acromantulas relocated when they sensed the creature in the castle. They're trying to get farther away because they're afraid."

"That is my deduction," he confirmed. "However, I'm not quite sure. The only way to know—"

"—Is to ask them..." She finished bitterly. "I take it magical spiders can't talk?"

"They can," Bane replied.

She snapped her head towards him. "Wait, seriously?!"

He nodded. "They can speak. However, the eldest one—Aragog—is more fluent. You will be able to ask him your questions."

"That's perfect! Do you know where they are right now?"

"I'm afraid we don't," Firenze said apologetically. "As they have relocated... All I can tell you is that they are somewhere much deeper into the forest."

Firenze really should've specified how deep into the forest they were, because Esmerelda was sure at least five hours had passed since she began searching for the new acromantula nest. Night had already fallen and she prayed to the gods that she wasn't missing dinner at the moment.

After hours of walking around while carrying her labrys (as a precaution), her arms began to grow tired. Just when she was about to turn it back to her brooch, she heard branches snapping followed by what sounded like a hundred footsteps scuttling her way.

She looked around and saw nothing at first, but then they appeared. It was a child of Athena's worst nightmare: a whole horde of giant spiders were coming at her. They were all hairy, with eight beady black eyes, six immensely long legs, and a pair of shiny black pincers. They were truly horrifying to look at, especially when they were heading straight towards you.

She had a love-or-hate relationship with the magical creatures her mother created. They either loved her (ie. the elves) or they wanted to eat her (ie. the three-headed dog). In this case, the acromantulas clearly wanted to eat her.

Esmerelda didn't hesitate to start hacking away. They weren't Greek monsters, so instead of turning into golden dust, the blade of her axe was slicing through actual flesh and blood was spurting from their bodies. The acromantulas squealed in pain, but more kept coming, spurring her to keep fighting.

She didn't know how long she kept fighting, but it was hard fighting with so many trees in the way and a lot of a large dead bodies littered on the ground. She kept tripping over their many legs, and it seemed like she was fighting against a whole army of spiders. How many were there, or had she just been fighting the same spiders over and over again?

Her foot got caught on a tree root and she went falling down. A pair of pincers clicked at her way, but she yanked at one of her charms and threw a knife directly at one of the spider's eye. She pushed herself back up and retrieved her knife before slashing and hacking away again.

Suddenly a croaky voice shouted, "Enough! Enough! Fall back!" He ordered.

The surviving spiders stopped what they were doing and obediently retreated. Their pincers clicked and she heard them call out, "Aragog! Aragog!"

Aragog, she recalled, was the name of the eldest acromantula. The one Firenze said could answer her questions better.

The spiders gathered around a misty, domed web where a larger spider emerged. Unlike the others, it was obvious old and his eyes were milky white instead of black. Aragog was blind.

"Who are you? Who are you to come to my nest and slaughter my children?"

"Your children tried to kill me." She shot.

"Only because you smell of food," he hissed venomously. "Now answer me: who are you?"

She pointed her blood-coated labrys threateningly at him. "I am the daughter of Hecate. My mother brought your species to this world and since I'm basically a mini her, I can very well take you out of it."

A hundred clicks were heard as the smaller acromantulas muttered nervously, "Demigod, demigod, demigod...!"

"If you want to live, then answer my questions." She offered.

"Fine!" Aragog spat. "What is it?"

"I was told that you relocated sometime during October," she began, the blood soaking through her clothes making her feel colder in the December night. "Specifically around the time the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Do you know anything of it? Or more importantly, what the creature is?"

Aragog began to tremble, either from fear or rage, she wasn't sure. "We do not speak of the creature! The monster that lurks inside of the castle is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others!"

That wasn't good enough.

Esmerelda stepped forward and gripped her labrys tighter. "You'll tell me now." She said firmly. "People I know are getting hurt by it so I want to get rid of it before the issue escalates even further. So, tell me the name."

"It's... the Basilisk." He said fearfully. "It kills with just one gaze."

Her eyes widened in surprise. The basilisk was a Greek monster as well and it was also able to kill people with its eyes, similarly to Medusa. But none of the victims had really died... They were just petrified, and it wasn't even the permanent, uncurable kind. Maybe this one was just weaker? She didn't know. But at least she finally got the answer she needed.

Her shoulders sank and she lowered her labrys. "Okay," she took a deep breath. "Thank you for telling me. I'll let you guys live."

They didn't thank her, but that was to be expected. Her labrys was back to a brooch again, and she sprinted as fast as she could back to the castle. While running, she whipped out her wand an aimed it at herself.

"Tergeo," she muttered. The blood that had splattered all over her was siphoned out, leaving her looking clean and less like a serial killer.

The whole castle seemed practically empty, meaning that she had completely missed dinner and that everyone was probably well on their way to bed. She didn't care about that. She headed straight for Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle stationed outside didn't budge.

"Open!" She ordered, and the door to office magically swung open a little too harshly. Inside was the headmaster and Professor McGonagall who jumped from the sudden intrusion.

"Miss Esmerelda, how did you—"

"—It's a basilisk!" She told them quickly.

Professor McGonagall cocked her head back. "Excuse—"

"—The monster attacking everyone is a basilisk! I don't really know how it hasn't killed anyone yet, but the acromantulas—"

"—The what?" Professor McGonagall asked sharply. "How do you even know what those are?"

"The centaurs told me—"

"—The centaurs—?!"

"—So I went to ask the acromantulas and Aragog said—"

"—Miss Esmerelda!" Dumbledore finally interrupted. She stopped talking. "Please, take a breath and explain things more clearly. How did you come to this conclusion?"

She took a deep breath and spilled it all out. "The centaurs told me that the acromantulas were acting weird around the time the Chamber of Secrets opened so I went to go find them. The eldest one, Aragog, said that they relocated farther away from Hogwarts because the monster that was released was something they feared the most—a basilisk."

"And where," Professor McGonagall's nose flared. "Were you when this all occurred."

"The fo—" She stopped herself.

Students weren't supposed to go to the Forbidden Forest. Whoops.

"The forest," Professor McGonagall finished for her, looking ready to blow up. "You were at the Forbidden Forest, weren't you?"

She gave her a meek look. "Yes, but—"

"—The Forbidden Forest is forbidden for a reason, Miss Esmerelda!" The woman burst. "Do you know how dangerous that place is? You could've very well died! And what were you doing talking to centaurs and acromantulas—I didn't even know there were acromantulas here!"

"I—just—um," she swallowed thickly, knowing that she was in a lot of trouble now. "I just wanted to know what was attacking the students."

"That isn't any of your business, Miss Esmerelda." Professor McGonagall said pointedly.

She gave her an incredulous look. "How is it not? It's attacking students! Which is what I am!"

"You need to leave this problem to the professionals, Miss Esmerelda," Dumbledore said patiently.

"What professionals?" She blurted out. "Shouldn't you guys be calling a bunch wizard police or something? Why hasn't anyone been trying to figure out what's going on? Look, you have to listen to me, the monster that's attacking everyone is a basilisk—"

"—It can't be," Professor McGonagall shook her head in denial. "A basilisk kills with it's eyes. How do you explain why it's targets have only been petrified?"

She paused for a second. "I... don't know, but—"

"—I think," Dumbledore spoke softly. "That you should leave this to us, Esmerelda."

She stared at them in pure disbelief. "You don't believe me." She said. It was like the foster homes all over again. Whenever she saw monsters, the mortals wouldn't believe her because of the Mist. Even the mortals here in a school of magic were refusing to believe her.

"It's outlandish." Professor McGonagall stated. "And I hope you know how much trouble you're in for breaking school rules."

She forced herself to calm down. "Fine," she said stiffly. "Don't believe me. But what are you even doing to combat the problem?"

"We are doing the best we can." Dumbledore said in an assuring tone, which wasn't assuring at all since his words were extremely vague.

Esmerelda said nothing, and just stared at him. Professor McGonagall took the chance to speak up. "Now," she began. "Let's discuss your punishments."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Professor McGonagall was harsh on the punishments she dished out. She spent the remaining few days scrubbing trophies and knight armors, resupplying bags of dirt for the greenhouses, cleaning up classrooms after hours, and other laborous things without using magic. It was agonizing, and it angered her to no end that nothing was being done about the school. The only good thing was that Professor Sprout (who expressed her disappointment of her after she had been rehashed of the situation) was making Mandrake Droughts for those who had been petrified.

Other than that, the basilisk was still roaming about freely.

— author's note —

Loool the Athena cabin should go to Essie for spider extermination. She's 10/10 very effective 👍 👍 👍

Short chapter, I'm sorry D: I wanted to save most of the action for next chapter, so GET READY!