My partner at Hogwarts is Tom

Chapter 86 Children of Nature and Inquiry

The horsemen led them to the tribe's settlement, a clearing in the woods surrounded by ancient trees.

The campfire was lit, burning with fragrant wood and the rich aroma of spices. The smell was not pungent, but rather refreshing.

The elder of the centaurs, an old centaur with a beard that almost reached his chest, whose eyes seemed to be blind, yet seemed to see through people's hearts and the stars.

He had Victor sit on a smooth boulder, while he himself looked up at the gradually brightening sky and began a long and obscure narration.

"The stars' trajectory has not shifted, but shadows have climbed the castle walls—ancient bloodlines whisper, and cold hatred grows in the cracks of the stones—an uneasy throbbing comes from the depths of the earth, a forgotten vow, a bound rage—child of nature, what you hear is not the wind, but the panting of a prison—danger is not far away, it is right beneath your feet, lurking and awakening beneath your laughter—"

Viktor listened patiently, trying to extract useful information from the symbolic and prophetic words.

When the elder finally stopped and wearily lowered his head, Victor concluded.

"You mean an ancient, hateful being, bound deep within the castle, has awakened and brought danger. Danger is imminent."

The elder nodded slowly and said nothing more. Bain stepped forward.

"The forest can feel that evil chill, but its lair does not belong here. This is all we can tell you, child of nature. Beware where the water meets the shadows."

Leaving the centaur tribe, Victor's mood grew even heavier.

The clues point to the depths of the castle, but remain vague.

They then visited the unicorn herd.

These sacred creatures roamed beside the crystal-clear forest streams, led by a creature entirely silver-white...

An ancient unicorn with horns resembling pearls.

It approached gracefully, touched Viktor's hand with its warm nose, and a pure yet worried emotion seemed to flow from its body as if by telepathy.

"Evil—ancient evil—a cold gaze—it makes the forest tremble."

In addition, Unicorn could not provide any more specific information.

The dark valley where the Thestrals roosted was filled with uneasy commotion.

These creatures, which can only be seen by those who have witnessed death, flapped their skeletal wings restlessly, emitting silent hisses.

They are exceptionally sensitive to the "sense of death," but what they perceive is an "ancient, solidified, and terrifying aura that is not truly death," the source of which also points to the castle.

Buckbeak, the hippogriff, was relatively polite to Victor.

However, it and its people can only express an instinctive aversion and vigilance towards powerful predators, unable to describe the details.

Finally, Victor ventured deeper into the Forbidden Forest and visited the special pack of wolves.

A being born from the union of a werewolf and a wolf, born on the night of the full moon, possessing intelligence no less than that of humans.

Their leader was a gray wolf of exceptionally large size, whose eyes gleamed with a mixture of intelligence and wildness.

It can communicate in a low, intermittent human language.

"The smell—an unpleasant smell—is seeping from the stone—I smelled it long ago—I smelled it before—"

Danger—great danger—not the wolf, not any creature of nature—"

Similarly, no further findings were made beyond confirming the dangerous "unnatural" and "ancient" characteristics.

Just as Victor was about to leave in disappointment, the oldest unicorn slowly stepped forward and communicated telepathically once again.

"Spiders—eight-legged web weavers—they come late, but perhaps remember more—the last time—when the cold awoke—they had just arrived in the forest."

Viktor's heart skipped a beat: Eight-Eyed Giant Spider!

He immediately turned toward the direction of the eight-eyed giant spider's nest.

Tom seemed to recall his pleasant "scavenging" experience and the delicious "crab legs" from last time. His ears twitched, and he followed Victor briskly.

The eight-eyed giant spider's nest now appears much emptier than when Victor last "visited" it.

The enormous spider webs were still layered upon each other, but the number of "stock" hanging on them had clearly decreased, and the number of active spiders was also much less than before.

As they approached, several patrolling young giant eight-eyed spiders first made threatening clicking sounds and rushed forward, waving their long, hairy legs.

However, when they saw that the newcomer was Victor, and Tom, who was baring his teeth and whose claws were flashing coldly, on his shoulder...

The spider at the front slammed on the brakes, its eight eyes simultaneously flashing with terror. It let out a sharp hiss, turned tail, and ran, even crashing through a spiderweb in its panic.

The other spiders scattered instantly, rustling as they disappeared into the shadows and the depths of the cave.

Viktor successfully reached the deepest part of the nest and met the eight-eyed giant spider leader, Aragog, who was almost exhausted.

Its massive body is now emaciated, covered in a grayish-brown shell, and most of its eyes are cloudy and blind, only occasionally revealing a glimmer of light when it turns its head.

It lay paralyzed in the center of the enormous spider web, barely able to move.

"It's you again—the wizard who took away so many of my descendants—" Aragog's voice was hoarse and low, filled with exhaustion and a lingering fear. "And—that horrible cat—"

Tom meowed smugly and licked his paws.

"Aragog, I need information about the attack on Hogwarts Castle fifty years ago," Victor said bluntly. "The unicorn told me that you came to the Forbidden Forest after that."

Aragog's massive body seemed to tremble slightly, a fear stemming from the depths of his memory.

"Fifty years ago—it was during the time of terror—in the castle—someone was released. Its voice grew weaker, as if the memory itself was a burden."

"A cold, deathly gaze—through the wall—a young human female—dead—"

Right there in the bathroom—the crying never stops—

Viktor's heart tightened: "That thing? What does it look like? Did you see it?"

"No—no spiders saw it—" Aragog gasped.

"But we felt it—utter terror—more terrifying than the hungriest dragon—colder than the deepest darkness—G. Friend—he was accused—because he kept...—they said—we killed the girl—"

"So, fifty years ago, the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a girl died, and Hagrid was framed."

Viktor spoke slowly, the clues gradually connecting.

"And that's why you followed Hagrid into the depths of the Forbidden Forest?"

"————Yes————" Aragog's voice was barely audible. After saying this last sentence, he seemed to have exhausted his strength. His huge head drooped down and he no longer responded.

Victor didn't ask any further questions. He solemnly nodded to the spider leader, whose life was already coming to an end.

"Thank you, Aragog. Get some rest."

Leaving the gloomy, damp spider's nest and returning to the relatively fresh air of the forest, Victor's mind raced.

The "thing" that could instill such intense fear and threat in these top-tier, highly perceptive magical creatures of the Forbidden Forest must be extraordinary.

The scope has been greatly reduced.

Unnatural, ancient, powerful, filled with cold hatred, active fifty years ago, imprisoned deep within the castle —