Disclaimer - The world of Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling and various publishers. I make no claim to ownership.
A/N: Thanks to my beta Vettesr, and those kind enough to review.
Chapter 9: Spiders Everywhere
Whispers followed Harry around all week, people avoided him as if he had the plague. On top of that, Harry and Hermione were sure that the library had an answer to the snake question. The problem was, that they were so busy, they hadn't had time to look.
Draco avoided them, sneering that it was impossible that he was the Heir of Slytherin.
Life went on inside the castle, but the teachers were again pushing the students to revise for term tests. End of year exams were still months away, but Hermione pushed their group hard to study. Harry took it in stride, but Ron was more interested in chess and relaxing after a hard day in class. Neville was a bit more serious and continued to study hard. Ginny still seemed distracted and would again disappear for hours, claiming to be studying with Emily and Luna.
Oddly, Emily and Luna were not to be found at the same time. When they would return, they each seemed dazed and lethargic. Harry and Hermione tried to talk to them, but could learn nothing.
Quidditch practice was a constant, with Oliver Wood pushing the team even harder. The weather turned cold and frost could be seen in the mornings on the pumpkins that Hagrid cultivated behind his hut.
***
One cold morning, as the pair walked down to breakfast, a shout was heard.
"Another student has been petrified!"
"Who is it," someone else asked.
"Justin Finch-Fletchley," the student replied. "He was a Muggleborn too!"
"You'll be next Granger," Malfoy smirked.
"Stuff it Malfoy," Harry threatened. "or you'll join him in the Hospital Wing."
Draco quickly shut up, not wanting to test Harry's resolve.
The school was even more on edge if possible. Students were advised to travel in pairs or groups and the teachers were seen constantly patrolling the corridors.
Dumbledore and the teachers are worried Harry. I've heard they may have to close the school if the culprit is not caught soon.
***
Visiting Hagrid one evening, Harry and Hermione sat talking with him, when a loud knock at the door caused them to pause.
"Hide under yer invisibility cloak," Hagrid motioned to the pair. "It looks like Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic," he whispered. "Yeh two shouldn't be here at this hour, yeh'll only get in'ta trouble."
Quickly donning the cloak, Harry and Hermione scooted to a quiet corner of the hut, as Hagrid opened the door and greeted his visitors.
"Hello Hagrid," Dumbledore greeted. "You've met Minister Fudge?"
"Good eve'nin Minister, what brings yeh here?"
"Good evening Hagrid, I'm afraid you'll have to come along with me. It's gone too far and the parents are worried."
"What, what do yeh mean, not… not Azkaban! I didn't… not… Headmaster?"
"Minister, I want you to know I have complete faith in Hagrid."
"Albus, his history is against him, the governors have insisted, my hands are tied," Fudge explained.
Another knock on the door and Lucius Malfoy entered. "Fudge, Dumbledore."
"What are yeh doin in my house, yeh evil git? Get out!" Hagrid shouted.
"House? You call this… a house? Never mind, I only came to deliver this document to Dumbledore. I'm afraid the School Board of Governors have rather lost faith in your leadership Headmaster. You'll find that it's signed by all the Governors, removing you from office until this matter is cleared up," Lucius smirked.
"Remove the Headmaster? Hagrid exclaimed, shocked. "Yeh mark my words, there'll be killin's next!"
"Indeed? Then I hope this matter is resolved quickly," Lucius smiled, knowing it wouldn't.
"Perhaps a more suitable Headmaster can be found. I myself have offered my services."
"No Lucius, Professor McGonagall will assume the duties, after all she is the Deputy Headmistress. I, of course, will step down for now."
A shocked silence fell over the hut as these words were exchanged. Harry and Hermione barely were able to restrain their gasps at this news.
Hermione, if the Headmaster is gone, what will happen? It looks like Mr. Malfoy is trying to engineer a coup!
Of course, Harry. Draco is always on about his dislike of the Headmaster, calling him weak and a bumbling old fool! This plays right into his hands. Hagrid is right; without the Headmaster, people might start dying. What can we do?
"Come along Hagrid," Fudge urged.
"Just so anyone knows, yeh want ter know about er… anythin'. Jes' follow th' spiders. Yeh, that'll lead yeh aright. Jes' follow th' spiders. Oh, and Fang'll need feedin."
Harry and Hermione waited under his cloak until they all left and the door closed.
You heard what Hagrid said; follow the spiders.
But Harry, what does that mean? I haven't seen any spiders for weeks now.
I dunno, let's look around.
Leaving Hagrid's hut, they started back to the school when Harry suddenly stopped.
Look, Hermione, this is odd! Here's some spiders and they're acting strangely. Looks like they're heading to the Dark Forest, and they're all in a line. They're moving fast, let's follow them.
Are you sure Harry? The forest is forbidden, remember what happened last year!
C'mon Hermione, this may be our only chance to find out anything! We know loads more spells this year; we should be able to protect ourselves if we're careful. Hold my hand.
Going back to Hagrid's hut, they grabbed a torch. Following the spiders into the forest, the pair quickly caught up to the spiders, only to see more spiders. They all seemed to be heading in one direction, deeper into the dark forest. Odd chitterings could be heard, and more than once a loud crack sounded. Hermione was definitely scared now. Harry was feeling the tension from Hermione and tried to calm her. Finally getting their emotions under control, Hermione paused and stared ahead.
That's odd Harry, spiders don't usually act like that. There's more spiders than I've ever seen before, there must be thousands of them.
The forest soon opened to a clearing revealing a large gathering of spiders. Not just ordinary spiders, however. These were huge. Many were as big as a small dog. Fear spread through the pair. They had not bargained for this.
Suddenly, the largest spider either had ever seen crept out of its nest. Large really didn't do it justice. It must have been twenty feet across with wicked looking pincers, which continually clicked menacingly. Its eyes were clouded, as if by great age, and Harry suspected it might be blind.
"Who goes there? Who invades my home?" this was spoken in an ominous hollow voice from the spider.
"H-hello, we're friends of Hagrid," Harry stuttered. "Hagrid suggested we follow the spiders. D-do you know what is in the castle causing people to be petrified?"
"We do not speak of it! All spiders are afraid of this evil. Hagrid brought me here from my home in Transylvania many years ago. A girl was killed and Hagrid was blamed but I escaped. Hagrid is the only one I allow to approach my home."
"T-thanks," Hermione stuttered, fear rapidly taking over. "W-we'll just leave n-now."
"Leave? I think not. We do not harm Hagrid, but my children will not be denied fresh meat when it so conveniently presents itself! Goodbye, friends of Hagrid!"
With that, the giant spider withdrew, but hundreds of other giant spiders formed a ring around them and started to advance.
Gulping, Harry and Hermione tried to retreat, but found their way blocked, as more spiders joined the ring. Holding tightly to Hermione's hand, Harry quietly asked: "Do we know any really good spells we could use just now?"
Concentrate Harry! Together we should be able to clear a path. Use our wands and try stunners, hopefully that should be effective.
As they concentrated, a large shield formed around the pair. The light from the shield was almost too much to bear and the spiders started retreating. As they moved forward, the spiders closed the gap again, but a sudden surge of magic from the pair, threw the spiders away, many landing hard against trees, crumpling to the ground and not moving. As the magic increased, the ground itself started to tremble, trees swaying and branches close by snapping. Harry and Hermione's feet left the ground a few inches and they started slowly moving forward. The spiders were in full retreat by this time. Harry and Hermione quickly moved through the now suddenly silent forest until they exited near Hagrid's hut. As the shield collapsed, The pair sunk to the ground exhausted.
Hermione, we have to get back to the castle. I'm shaking so much, I can hardly stand.
We should rest a bit Harry, I think we used a bit too much magic in that effort and it left us weak. Let's sit down here for a bit before we start back.
Sitting down and leaning against each other with arms tightly wrapped around the other, both quickly fell into a deep sleep. Neither noticed the strong golden aura that protected them.
***
A bright light woke Harry first and he prodded Hermione, who blearily opened her eyes and gasped. Standing over the pair was a very angry looking Professor McGonagall with a lantern in her hands.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger! What are you two doing out here at this hour?" she demanded. "Half the teachers have been worried sick looking for you!"
Groggy with sleep, they stood, leaning heavily on each other. "We're sorry professor, we… er… um…" Harry temporized. "Actually, we were at Hagrid's place and when we left, we felt really tired and decided to sit down for a bit. It looks like we fell asleep."
McGonagall didn't buy this for a minute.
"What aren't you telling me? I think you're leaving a bit out of the middle of the explanation Mr. Potter!"
Hermione jumped in at this point. "Oh, Professor, Harry and I were investigating something Hagrid told us before… um… before he left." Not wanting to tell McGonagall that they had been present when Hagrid was arrested, she continued. "Follow the spiders, he said, so not knowing what he meant, we spotted some spiders acting strangely and followed them."
"Followed them where?" McGonagall asked suspiciously.
"Into the Forbidden Forest, Professor," she relied meekly.
"Good Heavens! You two should know better than that! You could have been seriously hurt or killed in there! It's forbidden for a reason, you know!" McGonagall continued to rant at them a bit longer, admonishing Hermione about what her parents would think and the dangers they faced last year.
The pair hung their heads and acknowledged that they had not thought out their actions properly.
"I hate to deduct points from my own house, but I'm assessing you to fifty points for your serious lack of judgment and a detention for each of you. Now off to bed with you two. Merlin knows we have enough trouble with all that's happened!" She continued to grumble loudly as she escorted them back to their common room.
Yawning loudly, the pair went up to bed, falling asleep immediately.
***
Late the next morning, Ron and Neville accosted them when they appeared in the common room. Hermione was still yawning widely and Harry looked exhausted as well.
"Where were you two last night?" Ron asked. "When you didn't show up for supper, we got worried."
Neville interjected. "Nobody had seen you since late afternoon, so we went to McGonagall. When did you get to bed? Where did you go?"
Harry and Hermione jointly told them what had happened, pausing to sort out the details in their minds.
"Spiders? Ron squeaked. "I really hate spiders! Fred dumped abunch of them in my bed when I was three once and I've never liked them since." Ron neglected to tell them he was deathly afraid of spiders, and when they told him how big they were, he shuddered.
"So that's why Hagrid was expelled," Neville exclaimed. "My Gran, told me that he was expelled in third year, but never said why. Dumbledore must have believed him and kept him as Gameskeeper."
"You just fell asleep when you left the forest?" Ron asked. "Seems a bit strange to me."
"Yes Ron, Harry and I used most of our magical reserves last night and it exhausted us."
"We're still knackered Ron," Harry admitted. "Don't think we'll be much use today. We still want to check the library to figure out what I'm hearing in the walls."
"By the way guys, have you seen Emily, Luna or Ginny lately?" Hermione asked.
"Um… I think I saw Luna at breakfast," Neville said.
"Yeah, and Ginny left as I came down for breakfast," Ron added.
"Haven't seen Emily since yesterday though, Have you Ron?" Neville replied.
"Nah, those three just hang out together, Merlin knows where," Ron supplied.
"We're going down to see if we can catch a bit of breakfast, we'll see you later," Harry stated.
C'mon love, we can hit the library after.
I hope we don't run into McGonagall, Harry. She was really mad at us last night.
That was not to be, for the Professor was waiting for them as they entered the Great Hall.
"You two will be serving detention with Professor Lockhart this evening, starting at seven. He'll release you when he feels your lesson."
***
After a late breakfast, Hermione led Harry to the library. Searching for the proper book, Hermione found it and sat beside Harry. Leafing through the book, they came across the section on snakes.
"Look Harry, this is probably the one you heard and is petrifying those students! It's a Basilisk! It's looks can kill. Spiders always flee from the Basilisk, as they are mortal enemies. The only thing the Basilisk fears is the rooster, as the crowing of the rooster is fatal to a Basilisk. It's capable of reaching lengths of up to fifty feet and living for hundreds of years."
"They flee with good reason it looks like, Hermione! It says it's hatched from a chicken egg under a toad.
"We should tell McGonagall about this, Harry. Someone has set it loose in the school and it's probably traveling in the pipes."
Professor McGonagall, it seemed, had left the school, leaving Professor Snape in charge. He quickly shooed them outside and wouldn't listen to them, saying the Headmistress was called to London by the Minister of Magic and would be away all day.
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