A Dark Forest… and Spiders
VII: A Dark Forest… and Spiders
He was minding his business when he heard the panicked screams - of girls, by the sound of it. Harry hurried towards what seemed to be the source of those screams, only to realise where it was. The Acromantuals’ lair, a place, in all his explorations of the Forbidden Forest, he had not dared go.
There was no point in visiting Class XXXXX Beasts in general, and spiders the size of a carthorse, with giant pincers, venomous fangs, and a taste for human flesh. He did not know of those well enough to consider how well he’ll fare against a few. An entire colony? It did not bear thinking about.
But to leave helpless witches to face those alone did not stand well with him. So, after a moment of hesitation, he continued to run towards the danger.
It was the Greengrass sisters that were struggling to fight against an oncoming horde of giant spiders, with their immensely long, hairy legs hurrying forth, and their black pincers clacking.
The younger one, Astoria, was panicking, trying to hide behind her older sister. Daphne was not calm either, but while terror was visible on her face, she cast spells, chanting with a shaky voice Reducto after Reducto, though half her spells missed.
Harry ran towards them, and yelled: “Get behind me!”. He turned his face towards the Acromantulas, and without the need to say his spells out loud, he cast a few cutting charms at the nearby trees. Some fell upon the spiders, though many of them scattered away.
A few Gouging Spells came out of his wand next. Though the spell’s purpose was to carve through earth and stone with ease, it did well against the bodies of the spiders, and most importantly, against the fallen trees.
A few Exploding Charms came next, the blasts being more effective in frightening the beasts, and shattering the trees, and splintering the wood. Confused as she was, the elder Greengrass sister continued casting Reductor Curses.
Once the trees had been reduced to splinters of wood, with a flick of his left hand - the wandless one, he levitated those, and flicking his hand once again, he began to form a whirlwind from them, growing more and more in speed as more and more splinters found their targets, impaling themselves into the spiders.
The splinters were not that sharp, so Harry proceeded with the second part of his plan. He maintained the wooden whirlwind with his left, as he cast a Transfiguration Spell with his right hand, and his wand. And soon, the splinters of wood began to acquire a metallic glint, and sharpened, becoming half-formed steel blades.
The transfiguration was not perfect, but the blades were sharp, and that was all that mattered. The blades cut through the spiders, mainly their legs, as Harry lowered their striking range.Their legs amputated, the wounded spiders cried out in anger.
With another flick of his left hand, the rough blades were lifted in the air, unmoving for a moment. But as Harry used his wand once more, they began to gather in groups and meld into each other, as metal turned to wood, and then to stone.
Then the stones fell, one by one, crashing down on the Acromantulas, bringing death. The stones danced in the air as some went up then down upon some spider head, only to rise again and fall once more. It looked as if someone tried to juggle too many balls, only for them to fall to the ground and bounced repeatedly.
It was a massacre in the end. Harry didn’t know how many giant spiders were in the colony, but he reckoned they were lucky that they were not in their nest - for the sisters had run away from it, pursued by the arachnids.
The spiders, or the bits remaining from them, were spread across the ruined patch of forest. Harry knelt beside one’s carcass when he heard the sound of hooves, and rose again swiftly.
With long, dark hair and a proud look upon his face, the leader of the half a dozen centaurs that appeared in the clearing advanced forward and spoke:
“Back again in the Forest, boy? Though we may have come to tolerate, grudgingly, your repeated presence here, we have warned you to not bring any companions. And it seems you were unwise enough to trouble the spiders.”
Behind him, the younger Greengrass stuttered: “We weren’t with him in the Forest.”
“Indeed” confirmed Harry. “I was just planning to ask,” he said, turning to the two sisters, “what in the bloody hell possessed them to wander around in the Forbidden Forest?
Somewhat frightened at his suddenly cold tone, Astoria tried to answer, though no words came from her mouth as she tugged on her sister’s arms. It fell to Daphne to clarify the matter: “Astoria wanted to see the unicorns, and I thought the Forest couldn’t be that dangerous, since the Weasley twins so often bragged about going inside it, so I took her.”
The centaur intervened angrily: “You ought to think better now, witch. But I see that the wizard has managed to save your skin this time, so I leave you. Get them out of the Forest quick”, he said, turning to Harry, “and make sure they do not come back here again.”
After the centaurs left, Harry continued his angry questioning: “You’ve got unicorns on the Care of Magical Creatures curriculum. I know it’s in fourth year and your sister is only a third year, but patience is a million times better than traipsing cluelessly around the Forest. I didn’t think you were so stupid, Greengrass.”
“My sister is not stupid”, intervened the younger witch, though her attempt at anger failed to show overly much in her timid voice. “But I didn’t take Care as an elective because I heard older girls last year talking about Blast-Ended Skrewts and I was too afraid. But last week I heard the older girls talking about petting a unicorn in Hagrid’s class and I wanted to see one for myself. And Daphne agreed to take me, but it’s my fault really.”
Harry wanted to say more, but he held his tongue. With a flick of his wand, he conjured several dozen vials and knelt again by the fallen spider.
“What are you doing?”asked the elder Greengrass.”The centaurs said we have to leave.”
“Do you know how much a pint of Acromantula venom costs?” said Harry. “Hundred galleons a pint. I’ve got maybe forty spiders here, and for half a pint of venom each, that means two thousand galleons.”
“Now obviously us coming from the Forbidden Forest with the two of you obviously having met some manner of trouble is gonna get us the attention of Slughorn. And while an open bribe for leniency is something even he won’t accept, me giving him a fair share of the Acromantula venom is a tad more palatable. So unless you want a month or two of detention I suggest you help me harvest it.”
It took a while, and the sun continued to come down, and night was nearer when they finished at least and began their way back towards the castle.
Harry was struck by a sudden whimsy, so he led the girls on a slightly different path. Soon they were in a meadow where a herd of unicorns frolicked freely.
Astoria Greengrass turned to him and ran to hug him while she thanked him again and again. He stopped her and warned them: “I’m only waiting half an hour, so if you don’t want to go back to the castle alone, don’t dally.”
a\
As the two girls tried to get close to the unicorns so they could pet them, Harry sat down gingerly, trying to avoid breaking the many vials of venom fastened to the inside of his cloak, which had grown heavy by its burden.
He sat there waiting, in his dark cloak, like he was a Byronic hero from some Gothic novel, brooding in a dark forest while around himself life went on gaily - or such he would have described it if he was of a more literate inclination. In truth he used that half hour to nap for a little, and the sisters had to wake him up when it was time for them to leave.
When they reached the castle grounds they met their Head of House sooner than they did expect, as Professor Slughorn was sneaking out of the greenhouses, hiding something in the pockets of his robe.
They stopped for a moment and looked at each other, and Harry, in a moment of panicked thinking shifted his cloak to show the many vials in it, and said to the Potions Master: “Professor, I had a question about Acromantula venom I wanted to ask you, if it’s not too late too indulge me.”
Slughorn stood silent for a minute, momentarily confused, then a greedy glint in his eyes formed: “Sure, sure, my boy. Come down to my office, I’d be happy to hear your queries. Though make sure to first escort your lovely companions back to the Common Room. It is slightly past curfew after all.”