Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 65 A Newcomer Arrives in the Woods

On the way from the castle to Hagrid's hut, Loren and his companions shivered in the cold wind as they made their way forward.

Since there were no classes in the afternoon, Harry didn't continue torturing Loren's conscience; instead, they decided to take the opportunity to visit Hagrid.

There are fireplaces in the castle, and perhaps some kind of warming magic. The castle is very warm inside, and now these few people are truly experiencing Hogwarts winter.

All four of them tucked their hands into their sleeves and gathered them in front of them, hiding most of their faces in their scarves to cover their eyes and below.

"Sigh!" Ron sighed. "Why did we have to visit Hagrid in this freezing weather?"

Harry tightened his grip. "We haven't been back since it snowed. Hagrid must miss us terribly."

Hermione's teeth chattered as she said, "Hagrid has to guard the Forbidden Forest; we can't leave him alone."

Loren missed the fur blanket in his trunk. He hadn't paid attention to it then, but now he realized it must have been a refining item, windproof and warm, so he wouldn't need a campfire on the snowy mountain at night. Nico had casually taken it to sell at a street stall and wrap books, and it eventually ended up in his hands.

That was a mistake; I'll definitely bring it next time I go out.

Walking into the woods, it's just a short walk to Hagrid's cabin.

Click click~

Harry craned his neck, glancing around. "Did you hear anything?"

"It's just a rumor," Ron muttered.

The four continued walking forward.

"squeak!"

A giant spider suddenly darted out from behind a tree in front of them, hissing at them.

Ron's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He had been afraid of spiders since he was a child, let alone such a terrifying monster.

The giant spider is about the same size as Hagrid, with thick black hair all over its body. Next to its huge eye on its head are six slightly smaller, white eyes, and its pincers make a clear clicking sound.

"Eight-eyed giant spider!" Loren recognized it at a glance with such obvious features.

Loren pulled Hermione along, and Harry pulled Ron along; the four of them quickly retreated, not wanting to have any contact with such a dangerous magical creature.

Harry felt that Ron was stiff as if he were under a binding spell.

But the giant spider kept its eyes fixed on the direction of the four people's footsteps; it had its sights set on this group of young wizards.

"We're Hagrid's friends, let us through!"

Loren retreated while tentatively making a sound.

Giant eight-eyed spiders can communicate, and their intelligence is not much lower than that of humans.

"Humans have disturbed my hibernation, and they will pay the price!" The eight-eyed giant spider's voice was distorted, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female. Its head was always turned towards the four people.

"[Standing stiff and death]"

"【Blazing Flames】"

Loren and Hermione got into position and cast their spells one after the other.

Loren's communication was merely a test; he never trusted the beast. Hermione, however, was familiar with Loren's spellcasting and quickly reacted to follow suit.

Harry quickly followed up with a "Petrify All" spell, while Ron remained stunned in a daze.

The Leg-Locking Charm struck the eight-eyed spider, instantly binding five of its eight legs together, leaving the spider with only three legs for balance. Hermione's Fire Charm ignited the spider's black fur, and flames quickly spread across its entire body. Finally, the spider collapsed to the ground under the effects of the Binding Charm.

The group slowly retreated while observing the situation. Compared to the trolls with their thick skin and near-magic immunity, the eight-eyed giant spider, which could be controlled, didn't seem so terrifying. Except for Ron, the others weren't as panicked.

After the flames burned through the giant spider's black fur, they failed to ignite its limbs and quickly went out. The eight-eyed giant spider also broke free from the binding spells and leg-locking spells.

"Die, all of you!" The eight-eyed giant spider wiggled its limbs and scurried rapidly toward the group.

Loren, Hermione, and Harry aimed their wands at the eight-eyed spider, but before they could chant the spell, a muffled sound suddenly came from the woods.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

Whoosh! A huge figure burst out of the bushes, leaving a small ditch-like mark in the snow, with Ya Ya following behind.

"Hagrid!" Harry called out joyfully.

Hagrid, a gigantic creature, charged forward, not even glancing at Harry, and crashed into the eight-eyed spider.

Bang! Bang! Bang! A series of loud crashes. Hagrid, with the giant spider on his back, slammed into seven or eight large trees before finally stopping.

Harry and his three friends quickly went over to check on the situation.

The giant eight-eyed spider collapsed to the ground, most of its limbs smashed to pieces, several large holes torn open in its abdomen, from which white spiderweb slime spurted out, congealing into clumps and webs. It didn't even have time to let out a scream.

"Phew, are you all alright?" Hagrid asked in a muffled voice, slightly out of breath, his leather coat torn in several places.

The scene just now was too shocking; Loren and Hermione hadn't recovered yet. One was a giant spider monster, the other a giant humanoid warrior; a simple, direct, and decisive charge swiftly ended the battle.

Unlike any magical battles they were familiar with, there was absolutely no magic. No wonder Hagrid could live in the Forbidden Forest; few things in the entire forest could withstand the savage charge.

Ron was completely bewildered from beginning to end; it was the first time he had ever seen such a large spider, and his mind was still blank.

Harry shook his head. "How did you know we were here?"

Hagrid began to explain what had happened. Just now, Tooth had suddenly become agitated, barking restlessly, and dragged Hagrid outside. When they got closer, Hagrid saw Harry and the others' situation. Overwhelmed with worry, he had rushed towards them in his haste.

"Why is there an eight-eyed giant spider on the edge of the Forbidden Forest? It just said someone woke it from hibernation." Hermione wanted to know the reason; something was wrong with today.

Hagrid said sadly, "These are Aragog's children. They should stay in their dens during the winter, and the forest dwellers won't bother them."

The eight-eyed spiders were all the children of his friend Aragog. He hadn't thought much about anything when he saw Harry in danger, and now he felt sorry for Aragog.

"There must be other ill-intentioned people who have ventured deep into the Forbidden Forest," Loren warned.

Quirrell's body is much weaker than it was at the beginning of the semester, probably because they disturbed the hibernating giant spiders when they went into the forest to look for blood.

"Come inside and warm up first," Hagrid said as they walked. "I'll inform the centaur tribe later tonight."

"I'll also go and see Aragog," he said to a few people, without telling them this.

"Should we inform Headmaster Dumbledore?"

That makes sense.

The cabin warmed up as soon as they entered, and Hagrid poured tea and served them some snacks.

With Yanpibing's comfort, they quickly put the matter of the eight-eyed giant spider aside and started talking about some things at school.

Harry tells Hagrid that he already knows about the Philosopher's Stone.

Hagrid felt guilty, believing that it was his revelation of Nicolas Flamel's name that allowed Harry to find the Philosopher's Stone, and that he had betrayed Dumbledore's trust.

When Snape was talking about stealing the Philosopher's Stone, Hermione secretly observed Loren's expression and was relieved to see that he didn't react in any particular way.

Hagrid, somewhat angry with himself, snapped, "Snape would never want to kill a student! Now listen to me, all of you, this has nothing to do with you, and it's dangerous! Forget about Fluffy, forget about the Philosopher's Stone, and never get involved in this again!"

Harry wisely kept quiet, and Ron and Hermione didn't bring it up either.

Loren took a sip of tea, remained silent, and chuckled. If any of the three of them could understand even a single word of what he said, they wouldn't be Gryffindor.

Putting aside the Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid quickly forgot the unpleasantness from before and started talking about the Christmas holidays, mentioning that Sirius had recently taken back his flying motorcycle.

"You're going to have a Christmas you'll never forget, Harry!" Hagrid was happy for Harry.

Harry was looking forward to the upcoming Christmas.

(End of this chapter)