Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 306 Ron's Good Friday

He was happy for Hagrid.

To put it bluntly, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts is just a menial job. Hagrid is getting old and can't stay a menial job forever. Compared to the gamekeeper, being a professor is undoubtedly a respectable and secure job (this is a continuation of the real British and American system, where professors have tenure).

Most importantly, becoming a professor might give Hagrid a chance to have the punishment he carries lifted and regain his wizarding status.

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Come to think of it, he and Harry had been asking Hagrid for quite a while, but Hagrid hadn't said why he was stripped of his wizarding status.

He didn't have his usual big mouth at all.

This was unusual. Ron's intuition told him that Hagrid's past must be hiding some earth-shattering secret, but he didn't want to think about it right now.

Having finally reached the depths of the Forbidden Forest, Ron, who had been filled with anxiety and unable to concentrate on observation and play, now felt much better and just wanted to cherish this opportunity and remember everything he saw.

"I dare say, even Fred and George have never been here, otherwise they would have bragged to me about it."

Ron led Harry to the front of the group. A thin mist drifted through the woods, carried by the cold air blowing from the Black Lake. It hung "heavily" about three feet off the ground, making the lush forest seem as if it were floating in the clouds.

"We should have brought a camera."

Harry said regretfully, looking at the beautiful scenery, the two of them temporarily forgot how dangerous the Forbidden Forest was, as Hagrid had warned them beforehand.

The scenery here is not only mysterious and enchanting, but there are also many magical plants.

In the past, two academically challenged students might have only been able to watch the excitement, but this semester, with the reform of practical courses and the Duel Club, Harry and Ron may still be academically challenged, but their knowledge has greatly increased.

Whether in practical classes or dueling clubs, after these days of continuous experimentation and revision by Vaughn and Isabella Rozier, the basic principle that has been established is "pragmatism".

In detail, in practical classes, you don't need to care about any theories or written knowledge. When you see magical plants and magical animals, you may not know their habits, habitats, or values, but you must be able to recognize what they are, what their names are, and whether they are dangerous at a glance.

From a teaching perspective, this is undoubtedly wrong; it's too much of a rote learning approach.

But what makes the practical course so valuable is that it doesn't rely on textbooks; instead, it takes the young wizards out into the wilderness.

Teaching people is utterly useless.

Practice teaches people; they'll learn it in one go!

As the young wizards suffer at the hands of magical plants and fantastical creatures, their memories naturally improve.

That's how Harry and Ron are.

"Harry, look! There are wild Chinese bitter cabbages here."

After walking for a while through the dense holly bushes, I spotted a rather unremarkable plant in the distance, lying on the ground with only a few leaflets vaguely resembling teeth, looking like a cabbage.

Ron's eyes sparkled.

The Chinese man-eating cabbage is a rather ferocious carnivorous magical plant. In its normal state, as Ron sees it now, it disguises itself as an ordinary cabbage spread out on the ground. Those basal leaves (heart leaves) that look like teeth are actually its mouth.

Counterintuitively, the Chinese man-eating cabbage doesn't always stay rooted in one place and wait for its prey to come to it, unlike carnivorous plants in Muggle society.

The man-eating cabbage will take the initiative to attack when it senses the bite of its prey.

Their wrinkled, seemingly wilted stem leaves (the leaves spread out near the roots) actually possess a powerful springiness. When the biting cabbage decides to attack, it uses its leaves to launch itself out like a cannonball.

They use impact and high-speed piercing and cutting with their sharp teeth to kill prey and enemies.

Those unfamiliar with this attack pattern often find themselves in a very awkward situation when biting cabbages, especially when their numbers increase.

Don't ask Harry and Ron how they know this—for more than half a month during practical classes, the curriculum was dominated by biting kale.

None of the five grades that were teaching at the time could handle these guys who were jumping around on the ground and seemed like they weren't troublesome at all.

It wasn't until the biting cabbage became increasingly aggressive that Isabella Rozier had to cancel the biting cabbage practice course for safety reasons, finally freeing the young wizards from the torment.

However, it was after that incident that Chinese biting cabbage became popular at Hogwarts Castle.

Although the young wizards are mischievous and playful, they are not stupid. If guided properly, their intelligence is actually quite good.

After experiencing the fear of being dominated by man-eating cabbage, at a dueling club event, a fourth-year Hufflepuff wizard came up with an idea—man-eating cabbage is so powerful, why don't we raise a few as helpers?

This idea resonated with most of the participants.

Imagine what it would be like to carry around a few intelligent, proactively attacking shells.

Of course, there are still problems. Biting cabbage is not the common fluffy plant; it is a dangerous magical plant that can only be encountered by fifth graders (as mentioned in the original work, Order of the Phoenix). Only qualified professional herbal shops can grow and sell it.

As Harry cautiously approached, Ron quietly drew his wand, staring at the biting cabbage over there, and whispered, "The Hufflepuff seniors have been offering high prices for biting cabbage seeds lately, and now the price has risen to 3 copper knuckles per seed. Maybe we can scavenge some from it."

"Uh—" Harry hesitated, "The school won't approve of this, will they? Last time someone stole Moonfox dung and sold it, Professor McGonagall caught them and deducted 20 points—"

"Silly, we'll do it secretly. This thing is a treasure trove of money. Not only can we sell the seeds, but it's also a great medicine. We can make Bone Regenerating Elixir (the recipe comes from Lego Harry Potter) — I heard all this at club events. The older students are all rich and don't have to worry about finding a market for it."

Upon hearing this, Harry gave Ron a strange look, feeling that his friend was becoming more and more like his brothers, Fred and George.

Harry wasn't short of money; the Galleons his parents left him could feed him for a lifetime. But after a few words, he still gave in.

Because Ron told him, "Even if you don't sell it, you can keep it to brew your own potions. I've done my research; Bone Spirit was invented by your Potter family ancestor, Lynfred of Stinchcomb. With this kind of heritage, I think Harry, if you work hard, you might be able to participate in Vaughn's Potions Exchange—there will be many foreign wizards there!"

Harry couldn't quite put his finger on what it was about him that moved him.

Perhaps it's the Potter family's ancestors and heritage?

Or, is there a possibility of participating in a potion exchange event?

No young person doesn't want to be in the spotlight, and Harry wanted to show off his own abilities, not the scar on his forehead, or the so-called "great achievement" of killing the mysterious man that he never actually did.

The potion-sharing event has been very popular in the castle lately, partly due to Minister Fudge's recent activity, who has been enthusiastically promoting it in the newspapers, making all sorts of boasts and claims.

On the other hand, judging from the rumors, the scale of the potion exchange event was indeed very large. Not only did Busbarton, Castorbuscher, and the Central Magic Academy of the mysterious Eastern superpower participate, but newspapers also reported that Vaughn had specially developed a spell for the exchange event. This spell was the essence of Vaughn Weasley's characteristic theory and magic extraction method, and it had the grand ambition of unifying the standards of potion ingredients and creating a new discipline.

According to Rita Skeeter, if Vaughn succeeds, he will become a master among masters in the field of potions.

Harry was captivated.

Having reached an agreement, the two quietly crept towards the biting cabbage hidden deep in the bushes, subconsciously ignoring Hagrid's distant urging Ron to hurry back for a drink.

"How do we subdue it?"

Harry asked in a low voice.

Ron's reply was very Gryffindor-esque: "Summon all the spells you know. I checked, and this is the only one around. It's not like the ton of spells we have in practice class. I don't believe that your magic and mine can't even make a cabbage!"

"Oh, this—"

Harry was about to say something when Ron, who had already touched the biting cabbage, raised his wand, ready to cast a spell.

But as soon as they opened their mouths, through the hazy mist, the two saw the bushes where the biting cabbage was located suddenly sway a few times.

With a rustling sound, the biting cabbage disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"————?"

Harry and Ron looked at each other in bewilderment.

Before they could react, a voice came from the other side, a sharp male voice, like metal scraping together: "Pah, grass doesn't taste good! Alavi doesn't like grass!"

"This is called cabbage. It does taste a bit off, but it can fill your stomach." Another rough voice came, slow and deliberate.

"Alawi doesn't like it, Alawi wants to eat meat!"

"This forest hasn't had any meat in a long time. Apart from some blind fools who accidentally wander in, anyone with a brain wouldn't dare come here."

"But there's meat on the outside!"

"Aragok won't let us go outside. Aragok promised Haig, and Aragok must keep its promise."

"No, I want to eat meat! Alavi wants to eat meat!"

In the distance, Harry and Ron were completely confused.

There were undoubtedly two people talking over there, but—who would live in the Forbidden Forest? Apart from the centaur and werewolf tribes, they had never heard of any other human or humanoid race living in the Forbidden Forest.

They also mentioned the name Aragog.

The two of them still remembered that Hagrid, Vaughn, and Professor Kettleburn had come to the depths of the Forbidden Forest to see Aragog.

"Isn't Aragog a magical creature?"

Ron looked at Harry with a blank expression and asked in a low voice.

Harry responded with an equally bewildered expression.

The two exchanged a glance, then looked again at the still swaying bushes. The mist and dense foliage made it impossible for them to see what the person hiding behind them looked like.

All that could be made was that the voices of the two people talking sounded strange.

But Harry and Ron didn't think much of it, nor did they naively run out to greet people—at this moment, they remembered Hagrid's instructions.

The two exchanged a glance and prepared to quietly slip away to find Hagrid and Vaughn.

Just then, the crying of "Alawi," who was clamoring for meat, suddenly stopped.

Susu!

Waaah!

The surroundings suddenly became incredibly quiet, with only the howling wind and the rustling of leaves in their ears. Harry and Ron, who had just taken a step, quickly stopped.

What happened?

Why is there no sound from over there?

An indescribable feeling inexplicably crept into their hearts. Ron felt his heart suddenly race. He looked at Harry, and his pupils clearly reflected the fine beads of sweat on Harry's forehead and the goosebumps on his neck, stimulated by the sweat and cold mist.

Something is wrong!

Just as the realization dawned on Ron, he saw a large shadow suddenly appear behind him in Harry's suddenly dilated pupils.

At the same time, a shrill voice called "Alawi" came from behind: "Meat! It's meat! Hello, meaties! Are you the silly guys Alacride was talking about who would accidentally barge in?"

Damn!

Damn!

When did they arrive?

And listen to what they're saying! Who's the fool? Who's the prey?

What era are we living in? Do you think people still eat each other?

Ron turned around instinctively.

"Alawi" came into view.

Then, in that instant, the world went silent.

Merlin—

Ron slowly opened his mouth, raised his head, and looked at the spider, as big as a small elephant, hanging in front of him. Its eight black limbs, like the tentacles of some evil creature, slowly opened and danced in mid-air.

Ron's heart pounded wildly in his chest, whether from the hormones Vaughn had mentioned or from the psychological factors of panic and fear, he found that all other noises were fading away from his ears, leaving only the long tinnitus caused by his heartbeat pumping blood.

The world seemed to slow down. Ron saw the hideous bristles on the spider's legs swaying in the wind, saw Harry draw his wand and stand in front of him, and saw Harry open his mouth, with mist spreading out in ripples around his lips.

Through his ringing ears, Harry's seemingly distant shout rang out: "Ron, run! Reduc One!"

Before the spell was even finished, Harry was airborne the next second—a thick spider silk had somehow slid down and was very sticky, wrapping itself around Harry and pulling him into the air.

At the same time, another equally enormous spider slowly descended from the sky, casting a shadow over the world!

This is double the happiness!

Ron wanted to curse, to raise his wand, to save Harry, but a fear that seemed to come from the depths of his soul rendered him unable to do anything.

He froze, his mind a blank and a jumble of thoughts.

He knew, of course, that he was afraid of spiders, but he never imagined he would be this afraid, much less that one day he would encounter such a huge spider.

He suddenly recalled Vaughn's strange smile when he brought Harry and Hermione to Hagrid's hut earlier that day and insisted on coming to the Forbidden Forest with them.

hateful!

I knew that guy was up to no good!

I----

Ron realized he wasn't actually angry at being fooled; perhaps he had already expected it? On the contrary, he was now eagerly anticipating Vaughn's appearance.

Being tortured or ridiculed by Vaughn is better than—it's better than facing a spider!

Perhaps Merlin heard his prayer.

Just as Ron froze, Harry was hoisted up, and a giant spider named "Allavi" slowly extended its legs toward Ron, rubbing its chelicerae.

A flash of blue light appeared at the corner of his eye.

boom!

roar.

It wasn't an explosion, but everything in sight seemed to be driven by some magical force. They were like being swept up by a gale, or like a shock wave erupting. The entire area of ​​soil, stones, grass clippings, and even broken trees—everything came crashing down.

Ron saw the spider named "Alavé" have its enormous body instantly submerged in the raging torrent.

The Sand and Stone Spell!

Despite his body still being stiff, Ron recognized the unfamiliar incantation immediately as the roar, torrent, and blue flash appeared.

The name of this curse is unremarkable.

And in practice, it seems that this is indeed the case. Ron had seen Fred and George use this spell to send the ghoul out of the attic window.

It was just a flight.

The damned ghoul was unharmed, and that very night it ran back to the attic, barking and howling as if it were alive and well.

but----

Everything before my eyes is so different from what I knew back then!

A fierce wind howled through the forest, and everything around was swept into the air by some violent force, whistling and screeching—the tearing sound of countless objects cutting through the air at high speed.

And then, screams!

That was the giant spider "Alavé" that was submerged by the flood. Ron saw with his own eyes its enormous body being engulfed and swept up by the raging torrent.

Like a frail, drifting leaf.

It tumbled and was thrown more than ten feet away. The violent force tore its body apart like a tree breaking. The terrible and hideous limbs were torn off its body, like tender branches, scattering blue-green sap as it rolled.

That's the blood of the giant spider "Alavé"!

"ah"

Harry's scream came from above.

Oh, right, Harry's been arrested!

Ron instinctively looked up, and his stiff neck actually moved. Before Ron could even be surprised, his gaze fell upon Harry's body covered in spider silk, which seemed to have been cut by an invisible knife, breaking off strand by strand.

The other giant spider that had grabbed Harry, named Aracleed, trembled rapidly around its mouth, making a chilling rubbing sound.

The terrifying arthropods slithered rapidly, trying to pull Harry to their side before the spider silk was completely severed.

Then, one of its spider legs inexplicably broke off—or rather, inexplicably.

As the giant spider's blue-green blood splattered out, Ron finally managed to see a thin, almost invisible scratch that swept across the clean, smooth wound on the giant spider's leg.

Silently.

It's the Divine Sharpness Without a Shadow!

Ron recognized him.

Last Halloween and at the end of last semester, Harry was attacked by Quirinus Chino twice, and Vaughn used this spell to save Harry both times.