Chapter 137: Spiders And The Dark Mark
Two Acromantulas covered entirely in hard shells, their bodies massive like small elephants, with dense and tough fur, eight long and powerful legs extending from both sides of their bodies, the hard shells clashing with clicking sounds, eight eyes on their heads arranged in two rows, faintly glowing with ferocity in the dark Forbidden Forest.
Ron’s eyes were fixed dead ahead, his face ashen, teeth chattering with a clacking sound, his face full of fear.
Hermione spotted an Acromantula outside her books, her eyes equally terrified, muttering nonstop: “Acromantulas live deep in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, especially on Borneo. They are considered a species bred by wizards, inherently cruel, fond of eating human flesh, with a weakness in the abdomen covered by hard armor…”
The massive beasts kept closing in, Harry gripping his wand tightly, his expression tense.
They knew very well that Acromantulas were 5X-level dangerous creatures, causing damage comparable to fire dragons each year. They had dared to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest to gather intelligence, thinking that Aragog and Hagrid were friends, the Forbidden Forest bordered Hogwarts, and these intelligent creatures capable of communication were probably like the centaur and unicorn groups, following some rules and not harming them proactively.
But when the Acromantula truly appeared before them, that unique feral savagery and cruelty hit them head-on, involuntarily captivated by those eight eyes, hearts racing, a faint bloody scent lingering at their noses—that accumulated from years of hunting and slaughtering—stinging the little wizards’ delicate stomachs uncomfortably.
Melvin remained unhurried and calm, simply watching the two Acromantulas quietly, observing them with keen interest.
Black fangs opening and closing slightly, powerful mandibles with biting force comparable to a crocodile, dripping saliva carrying a faint acidic rotten smell, which should be the Acromantulas’ unique venom, market price 100 Galleons per pint.
The Acromantula’s abdomen slightly bulging, covered in fine bristles, the dark gray patterns on it resembling human faces upon close inspection, adding a touch of eeriness and ferocity.
As the Acromantula drew closer, Harry pulled Ron, but the guy was already frozen in fear, body rigid, mind unresponsive.
Harry glanced back at the professor and shouted to the two giant spiders: “We are Hagrid’s friends, we are here to find Aragog!”
The two spiders stopped and looked at each other; though no expression or gaze was visible on their faces, Harry felt they understood.
Seeing them eyeing his and Hermione’s wands repeatedly, Harry put away his wand and said reassuringly: “We really are Hagrid’s friends, we mean no harm.”
No sooner had he spoken than the two spiders lunged forward; such massive bodies yet not clumsy at all, eight legs pedaling rapidly, the rugged terrain posing no obstacle to them.
In the blink of an eye, Harry felt his legs leave the ground, two hard, slender, somewhat furry things scooping him up by the waist and constraining him.
The giant spider knew well how to subdue prey; it shook him a few times when grabbing him, flipped him upside down, hanging in mid-air with blood rushing to his head, making Harry dizzy.
“We are Hagrid’s fri…”
Harry twisted and shouted, but the increasing pressure from the two front legs made it hard to breathe, and he soon gave up struggling.
He could only pin his hopes on the professor, straining to look sideways, then froze.
Ron was also gripped by a giant spider, right beside him, eyes bulging, mouth clenched tight—no more chattering teeth, but unable to say a word.
The other giant spider held Hermione and Professor Levent in its front legs; Hermione’s face was terrified, while Professor Levent was unperturbed, even leisurely widening his eyes to examine the spider’s head, expression calm and somewhat relaxed.
Seeming to notice his gaze, Professor Levent turned his head, tilted it slightly, and gave him a perfectly timed encouraging look.
What did the professor think this was?
A classroom pop quiz!?
Harry shook excitedly a few times, then paled as the grip made breathing difficult, forcing him to settle down and let the spider carry them deeper into the Forbidden Forest.
Melvin, however, found this perspective quite novel.
The Acromantula’s legs were long and powerful; each step drove the sharp barbs at the ends deep into the soil, full of explosive force in motion, advancing at a steady pace whether through shrubbery or crushed stone paths, with excellent shock absorption.
Encountering impassable puddles or wetlands, they simply leaped onto branches, clicking as they turned and proceeded.
Massive build, broad torso—really resembling a small carriage, covered in thick fur; add a seat and it would surely be comfortable.
While Melvin’s mind wandered, he heard the little witch’s voice from beside him: “Professor, why…”
“Aren’t you the ones looking for Acromantulas?”
“You mean this way is faster and less likely to get lost?”
Hermione relaxed a bit, her tone much lighter.
She knew it—the professor wouldn’t let them be caught by spiders, nor face dangerous and vicious Acromantulas head-on.
Melvin smiled without saying more, casually snapping a branch from a passing treetop and tucking it into his sleeve.
Tree roots and stumps everywhere, they weaved through the dense forest depths, but with the spiders’ help, low branches and thorny vines didn’t snag their clothes.
After some time proceeding this way, the ground ahead sloped downward, the underbrush thinning as if deliberately cleared, occasionally spotting leaves covered in tiny spiders.
The spiders brought them to a wide, flat depression; Melvin heard the little witch beside him breathing raggedly and turned to look.
Starlight and moonlight poured unobstructed, illuminating the depression: a slope the size of the Quidditch Pitch, crawling with hundreds of Acromantulas; seeing prey brought back by companions, each spider excitedly crowded forward, clacking their large chelicerae in a cacophony.
Down the steep slope to the nest’s central bottom, a misty hemispherical web like a massive silver curtain covering the depression’s nest base, thick sticky threads gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
“Thud…”
The spiders released their front legs, dropping the group heavily to the ground; one fiddled with its large chelicerae and crawled forward, shouting from its mouth:
“Aragog! Aragog!”
Like a middle-aged wizard’s voice, tone very strange, muffled and gruff, accent very similar to Hagrid’s.
Hearing human language from a spider’s mouth stirred a strange feeling in Hermione; the mist in the pit carried a chill, making the hairs on her arms and back stand on end, utterly creeped out.
She couldn’t explain why she felt this way.
At that moment, Melvin said softly beside her: “If in a deserted dense forest, a traveler or wizard loses direction and hears this call, heading toward the sound…”
Hermione instantly shivered in dread.
From the misty web interior, a decrepit Acromantula emerged, larger than the others, movements sluggish, body covered in patchy graying black fur, eight eyes on its head clouded with white cataracts, extremely murky.
From its head-turning scrutiny, it was clearly blind.
“What’s going on?” Aragog’s voice was hoarse and aged.
“Humans, we caught four humans.”
“Is Hagrid there?”
“No, strangers.”
“Kill them, don’t disturb my sleep.”
“Wait! Wait!”
Hearing them mention Hagrid, Harry relaxed slightly, but quickly hearing the rest, he hurriedly declared: “We are Hagrid’s friends.”
Aragog turned his head this way, drawling: “Hagrid never used to send people to our depression.”
“We came on our own; we’re investigating the truth of that incident back then. Do you know any clues?”
“That was many years ago, many many years ago…”
Awakened Aragog was unusually patient, recounting events from fifty years prior.
A traveler gave spider eggs to animal-loving Hagrid, then just a student; he hid them in a castle cupboard to hatch, feeding it breadcrumbs from the dining table until Moaning Myrtle was killed, others discovered Aragog and held it responsible for her death.
Hagrid and Dumbledore protected it, saving it from the Magical Creatures Regulatory Department’s executioners; thereafter it lived in the Forbidden Forest.
“Hagrid even found me a wife, Mosag, but she’s dead now.”
Aragog’s words were full of gratitude for Hagrid. “Look how prosperously our family has grown, all thanks to Hagrid… Out of respect for him, I’ve never harmed any human.”
Facing Harry’s questions, it didn’t hide: “The thing that killed that girl, the one living in the castle, is an ancient creature we spiders fear most. I still remember sensing that beast’s aura and begging Hagrid to let me go.”
“What exactly is it?”
“I can’t say; I didn’t even tell Hagrid, let alone would it mean anything telling you.”
“Why?”
Aragog sighed faintly, not answering, instead turning to the adult wizard nearby, his eight blind eyes dull and lifeless: “Who are you?”
“A Hogwarts professor.” Melvin nodded slightly, holding his wand. “Happened to catch students night-wandering in the Forbidden Forest; couldn’t stop them, so followed to check the situation. Will punish them with detention later.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary…”
Aragog spoke slowly, waving a front limb.
The instant they saw its signal, a dozen nearby spiders reared up, aiming spinnerets at Melvin, shooting silver-white threads.
First thread wrapped his slender wooden stick, others densely entwining it, interlacing and sticking, layering and nesting; in seconds, it sealed into a thick cocoon.
Hermione stared blankly, her sense of security finally vanishing, panic rising.
Instinct told her the professor couldn’t be subdued so easily, but the fierce gazes around reminded her they were in a 5X-level dangerous creatures’ nest.
“Crack!”
A nearby spider bit down hard, snapping the wand taken from the young professor.
Harry glared furiously: “What do you mean by that?”
Only then did Aragog drawl: “Fresh human flesh delivered to the door, I can’t stop the children from enjoying it. Farewell, Hagrid’s friends…”
“Damn it!”
Harry’s roar drowned in the cacophony of countless giant spiders moving, massive black shadows closing in on them; Aragog fell silent, slowly retreating into his web nest depths.
Ron snapped to then, looking up to find them at the sunken nest bottom, steep slope dense with Acromantulas, shells clacking en masse, many pairs of eerie eyes flashing menace.
Like a wall of spiders advancing steadily.
Hermione quelled her racing thoughts, took a deep breath, trembling hand gripping her wand tight: “Break their encirclement, rescue the professor!”
In the sunken nest, dazzling spell lights began blooming repeatedly.
【Repel Enemies Three Feet】
【Flames Blaze】
【Whirlwind Sweep Clean】
……
Deep in the hemispherical web, Aragog’s eight legs slowly groped the grid, following the familiar path back to his nest.
Lying on soft hide, Aragog quickly grew drowsy; as for Hagrid possibly blaming him upon learning this, he didn’t care much.
The scant humanity learned from Hagrid was all spent on him. Living decades in the Forbidden Forest, Aragog revered the law of the jungle more—the root of the clan’s growth.
Outside combat sounds filtered through layered webs and winding caves to this aged spider’s ears, muffled; but via web vibrations, he discerned those little wizards tougher than expected, prey harder to tackle than wolf packs.
Perhaps many offspring would die in the fight.
Meat stripped from four wizards would sate only one or two spiders; most fed on kin corpses.
But that didn’t matter.
Sleepiness came; the aged Acromantula closed his eyes, murmuring half-asleep: “Beasts are like this—everything for survival, everything for reproduction.”
“Quite right; living in the forest means following the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest—this is something even the vixen knows. They delivered themselves to the nest, so they should become your rations; I’d do the same.”
The Acromantula jolted up in horror; blind as he was, seeing nothing, but through web vibrations and voice tone, he faintly outlined a young wizard’s figure.
Leaning against the nest wall, curiously looking around, right hand holding a slender wooden stick.
He’d heard this voice recently, very familiar, but that young professor was cocooned in the web, wand broken, surely paralyzed by web toxins and unconscious—how was he here!?
“You! Just now…”
“You mean this?” Melvin waved his wand before its eight blind eyes. “You spiders have eight eyes, but poor eyesight; what they broke was a branch I snapped on the road.”
Before it could question further.
The woody-scented wand swung, blooming a verdant green light.
【Dark Mark】
