Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 307 Aragok's Fear of Vaughn

Although he had never seen it with his own eyes on either occasion, Harry had described the power of Vaughn's magic to him countless times over the years.

Moreover, the Divine Sword Without Shadow was a magic outside his knowledge, one he had never heard of before, so it left a deep impression on him!

Now, he has finally seen it with his own eyes!

Seeing the curse, barely outlined by the giant spider's blue-green blood, slashing through space with insidious sharpness, piercing through several large trees, and disappearing into the distance.

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Only then did Araclad, suspended in mid-air, let out a painful screech.

Compared to "Alavi," this giant spider, just like its name suggests, was wise and sensible. The excruciating pain from the severed limbs did not drive it mad. Instead, it immediately abandoned Harry, who was still entangled in the spider silk, and used its remaining seven limbs to retreat back into the dense canopy with a mobility that seemed exceptionally agile for its enormous body.

Of course, Ron was no longer concerned with where it had receded to; all his attention was focused on the falling Harry.

An urgent feeling compelled him to break free from his physical stiffness, and he raised his wand.

But a spell had already been cast before him:

"rreoMomenum"

Harry, trailing a long, agonizing scream, abruptly stopped as he fell, as if he had suddenly fallen into a soft, dense mass of gel.

The person was suspended only 2 feet above the ground.

Ron's legs went weak with shock—thankfully, he hadn't had time to cast the spell, otherwise, at this distance, if he had been just a fraction of a second slower, Harry would have—

The battle began quickly.

It ended very quickly.

By the time Ron finally recovered from his shock, Vaughn, Hermione, Hagrid, and Professor Kettleburn had already arrived.

Hagrid helped the pale-faced Harry up, anxiously checking his body for injuries. Vaughn, wand between his fingers, looked around, with Hermione beside him.

The little girl's cheeks were flushed; she must have been very excited to see Vaughn defeat the two giant spiders with just a few spells.

As for Professor Kettleburn—well, this professor is worthy of his two missing limbs, he's already hobbling off in the direction Allavi disappeared.

It seems they were trying to find the remains of that giant spider.

"Are you alright, Ron?"

Hermione looked at Vaughn with sparkling eyes for a moment, then seemed to finally remember her good friend. She looked at Ron with concern and asked him.

"...

""

Damn it, this guy won't even lift a finger to help him up!

Ron made a few noises, but ultimately didn't say anything and got up on his own.

He was depressed, in every sense of the word.

Whether you're joking and singing, you might suddenly encounter a giant spider.

He was still so afraid of the giant spider that he couldn't even imagine what would have happened to him and Harry if Vaughn hadn't been there today.

Over the past few months, he has been actively involved in Defense Against the Dark Arts practice classes, just like all the other students, and he considers himself to have made great progress.

But today, it turns out he wasn't as strong and capable as he thought.

"—You two mischievous troublemakers, what did I tell you before you left? What did you promise me? What do you think the Forbidden Forest is? The flowerbeds in the courtyard of Hogwarts Castle? Or Professor Sprout's cozy greenhouse? How dare you run ahead alone!"

Ron swore this was the first time he had ever seen Hagrid lose his temper since he had known him.

That once kind, honest, and humorous-looking big, fat face was now so angry that the hair on it seemed to stand on end.

It was exceptionally ferocious.

He glared at Harry and Ron, his giant hands gripping their thin arms tightly yet carefully, as if pinching tender buds, seemingly unwilling to let go: "You cannot leave my sight again until we return to the castle!"

He roared.

But it seems that he was angry not only because Harry and Ron were disobedient.

Hagrid looked up at the treetops above him: "Arachneid (rcnoid, arachnoid membrane), I know you're the one who ran away. Your ass looks like a human brain, that's why I named you that. You'd better come to me and admit your mistake, or else—"

He wasn't finished with his threat.

Beside him, Vaughn waved his wand to summon Araclewd's severed limb. As he examined it, he said, "No need to call, Hagrid. That giant spider has already run away. It's probably gone back to get reinforcements to cause us trouble."

"impossible!"

Hagrid paused for a moment, then said firmly, "Aragok promised me that he would keep his and Mossag's children in check, and that they would not attack or prey on humans—"

He shut his mouth before he could finish speaking.

Because Vaughn shook the giant spider limb in his hand.

Just now, two giant eight-eyed spiders attacked Harry and Ron right in front of him!

Hagrid's face flushed red as he struggled to think of a way to explain himself. Just then, the woods, which had been unusually quiet due to the magical sweep a few moments earlier, were filled with strange noises once again.

rustling sounds—

At first, the sounds were low and scattered, but soon they grew into a chorus, approaching from afar.

The mist still lingered in the forest, casting a hazy white hue over everything. Combined with the sunlight blocked by the tree canopy, the forest environment was quite dim.

Looking out into the distance, one can only vaguely make out bushes, tall trees, and grass through the gaps left by the scattered trees against a blurry, indistinct black background—branches and leaves swaying everywhere.

Something is approaching at high speed.

And now, at this location and at this time, it's not hard to guess what might be coming.

Soon, Vaughn, Hagrid, and the Iron Triangle saw the dense foliage of the bushes and trees in front of them part with a rustling sound.

Two eyes, radiating a ghostly light like lanterns, appeared in the dark forest, set against the backdrop of six other, slightly smaller eyes.

Moreover, as the branches and grass swayed, more and more of these eight-eyed creatures, in such a matching arrangement, continuously lit up from the darkness and shadows.

They silently surrounded the clearing where the group was, without making a sound, like inanimate objects. Only when the cold wind from the Black Lake blew by, and their massive bodies were vaguely revealed between the swaying branches and leaves, and their terrifying limbs bent and stretched slightly, could one feel the cold and cruel meaning contained beneath the silence.

"Giggle one"

A trembling voice came from beside me.

Vaughn looked back and saw Ron. His previous brush with death had clearly not desensitized him to spiders. The horde of giant spiders surrounding him had terrified him; his face was as white as weathered bones, which looked even more ghastly against his red hair.

Shaking his head, Vaughn gently pulled him, Harry, and Hermione to his side.

Meanwhile, Hagrid, who was shocked beside him, finally came to his senses. This half-giant, who was usually unreliable, showed no fear even when surrounded by giant spiders.

He rushed forward angrily, shouting, "What are you doing? Are you planning to attack me? Where is Alaclay? Where is Aragog? Make them come out to see me!"

Behind him, Vaughn, while fiddling with his wand and observing the giant spiders around him, keenly noticed that when Hagrid appeared, the giant spiders paused for a moment, and their dense, eerie eyes in the shadows instinctively looked toward one spot.

This is very interesting.

Wild giant spiders do not have a social habit, which is obvious. Given that they can grow to 15 feet in size when they are adults, each one needs a large territory as a hunting ground in order to survive and form a natural supply and demand cycle between predators and producers.

This was not a conscious choice, but rather a spontaneous consequence of habitat and natural conditions.

But these eight-eyed giant spiders are different; they seem to have become accustomed to living in groups and have thus formed a social structure—

The direction those eight-eyed giant spiders were looking must be that of their leader.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a hoarse voice came from the depths of the woods where the giant spiders were looking, speaking slowly and deliberately: "Aracleide, this isn't what you said. You didn't tell us Hagrid was here too. Are you lying to us?"

As they spoke, they all saw the eight-eyed spots of light, representing the giant spider and emitting a ghostly glow, slowly parting in the shadows of the forest.

Before long, the figures of two giant spiders emerged from the dense forest.

One is Alacride, whose characteristics are aptly summarized by Hagrid: this giant spider does indeed have a rear end that resembles a human brain, and its enormous abdomen is covered with grooves and wrinkles.

Another less distinctive feature is its jet-black body. Perhaps due to the moisture from the cold mist, its entire body looks oily and rather inconspicuous.

But this giant spider was breathtakingly large.

It walks on the ground, and even without its eight huge arthropods fully extended, it is roughly estimated to be at least 18 feet long.

This might be hard to understand, but if it could stand up, it would be almost twice as tall as Hagrid. If you were to convert it to the height of a Muggle house, it would be at least two stories high!

Compared to its size, Aracleef, a standard 15-foot adult eight-eyed giant spider, looked much thinner and even appeared petite and adorable.

Vaughn noticed that when the giant black spider appeared, Hagrid, who had been very excited, immediately became cautious.

The fat face, obscured by hair, held no expression, but his booming voice softened as he greeted the giant spider: "Mars, long time no see."

"Yes, Hagrid, the last time we met was in the summer when you brought some cows to visit Aragog and Mossag. I still remember how delicious the beef was; it was much better than those birds and mindless insects in the forest."

Mars spoke slowly, his tone as relaxed as if he were chatting about the weather with an acquaintance.

The mannerisms and temperament conveyed in the tone and pronunciation, and the subtle meanings revealed in the words, are quite intriguing.

If you ignore its terrifying appearance, Vaughn might even think that the person speaking is a person.

This ability to express oneself in human language is something that many humanoid creatures (such as mermaids) cannot do, let alone animals.

very funny.

Vaughn looked at the giant spider's head, which seemed much smaller than its enormous abdomen, and thought to himself.

On the other side, Hagrid struggled to control his temper: "Mars, I don't know what Alacride told you, but that cunning scoundrel must have spread rumors. In fact, he and Alavé attacked my friend first, violating the rules we agreed on."

"Oh—that's certainly different from what Araclead said. Well, I really don't know who to believe. So—Hagrid, why don't you call Alavé out and I'll ask him?"

"Well----"

Hagrid was stunned.

Across from him, Alarclyde, who had remained silent since appearing, suddenly cried out in a shrill voice: "Honorable Mars, you will not see Alarcly again. That poor child was killed by the red-haired wizard beside Hagrid. In a flash of blue light, he was engulfed by the sandstorm summoned by the red-haired wizard, his body torn to pieces—look, those are his pincers!"

Like a puppy, Alacride trotted along and retrieved a claw from the grass.

At the same time, a commotion came from the direction Professor Kettleburn had run off to. A short while later, Professor Kettleburn, whose leg was injured, was driven back in a sorry state by several giant spiders.

He was also holding a crystal bottle in his arms, which was about half full of a clear liquid.

Araclew screamed, "Oh God, poor Alavé, he won't even rest in peace in death! That wretched old wizard desecrated his body and stole his venom!"

"Hmm" 6

Mars extended a segmented limb and casually fiddled with Alavi's chelicerae on the ground. Its eight eyes swayed, and in its long, deep contemplation, its attitude was strangely ambiguous.

Professor Kettleburn naturally sensed something was wrong. He stared blankly at the giant spiders, then at Hagrid, as if trying to figure out whether Hagrid could actually control these eight-eyed giant spiders.

Hagrid ignored the other's glances and looked at Mars, already sensing that something was amiss.

Although he has a carefree personality, he is actually very perceptive in areas he is familiar with.

In the past, when he came to Aragog's lair, the giant spiders behaved very well, including Mars, who was the strongest child in Aragog. It is almost certain that he will succeed Aragog as the leader of the colony after Aragog's death.

The eight-eyed giant spider is ferocious by nature, but these descendants of Aragog are different. Hagrid and Aragog taught them from a young age that only by following the rules could they survive in the Forbidden Forest.

But why—

Just then, he heard a familiar voice coming from afar: "Enough!"

Upon hearing the shout, Vaughn looked around and saw that the patches of eight-eyed light hidden in the shadows stirred up again with the rebuke.

They rubbed their chelicerae together, scrambling out of the shadows in a flustered manner, like Molly cleaning the attic and spraying it with seductive spray.

Countless giant spiders surged out like a tide.

Behind him, Ron groaned, his eyes rolling back in his head.

But no one was in the mood to care about his situation; everyone was focused on the dark forest from which the sound had come, causing the giant spiders to flee in panic.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, a giant eight-eyed spider slowly but powerfully parted the darkness and emerged.

He looked as large as Mars, and many tall, sturdy trees appeared as short as grass next to his enormous body, brushing against their branches as his massive frame passed by, snapping countless twigs mercilessly.

Amidst the cracking and booming sounds, some trees even broke and collapsed.

but----

Even Harry, who knew nothing about the eight-eyed spider, could tell that the spider was very old; its fur, like that of an aging human, had turned grayish-white.

And those eight eyes.

The eyes of the other eight-eyed giant spiders glowed with an eerie light, but this one did not; all its eyes were shrouded in a misty white haze, just like the dense forest shrouded in mist, devoid of any light.

"He's blind."

Harry guesses.

But the other person must have been very powerful and prestigious before they went blind.

Harry noticed that with his appearance, all the giant spiders that had been hiding in the shadows like venomous snakes crawled out. They no longer stared at Vaughn and the others, but humbly lowered their bodies and surrounded the giant spider.

Even the cunning Aragred, that giant spider with a rear end that looked like a human brain, waddled closer: "Respected Aragog, why are you out here? You should be resting in your nest—"

So that's who he is!

The next second, Harry, who was deep in thought, was startled by a loud bang—

It was Aragog, the blind giant spider, who used one of its thick legs to violently whip Aragog over. Aragog tried to struggle to get up, belly up, but in an instant, with another loud bang, its leg, which was mostly embedded in the ground, stopped in its tracks in fright.

Aragog bent down, his grey eyes looking at his child, his tentacles rustling as he stroked the child's little head: "My eyes are blind, but my heart is still there. If I rest any longer, I don't even want to think about where you and Mars will lead my colony. Either you will eat my friend Hagrid and the friends he brought, and then be destroyed by the angry Hogwarts, by human wizards."

"Either you fools were all killed by that red-haired wizard like he crushed bugs, and I can sense your confusion, Aracleef, my foolish son. You don't believe me? I must say, Hagrid's expectations of you were wrong. He named you that because he thought your ass looked like a brain, hoping you would have wisdom, but in reality, you really are just an ass!"

Yes, Aragog is indeed blind.

Spiders are not naturally good at visual perception; they have other ways of perceiving the world, such as the bristles that cover their bodies. A large number of these bristles are "auditory bristles," which can sense the slightest vibrations in the air and form an echo map in their brains.

It also has perception, a special ability of the eight-eyed giant spider, a kind of mental early warning function, mainly used to alert predators.

In Aragog's perception, not far away, the little wizard Hagrid brought was as terrifying as the octopus spider's natural enemy.

Heavy, reality-altering magic gathered around the opponent, like a volcano poised to erupt; beneath its calm surface lay a violent force capable of destroying everything.

Most importantly, Aragog, who has lived in the Forbidden Forest for decades, is not, as his children thought, old and waiting to die in his den.

He was actually very well-informed about the Forbidden Forest.