Bring a fairy tale to Hogwarts!

Chapter 78 Eight-Eyed Giant Spider

However, because the venom sacs of the Octopoda only remain on a recently deceased spider for a short time, Hagrid has none in stock. Only by venturing into the Forbidden Forest and visiting the Octopoda's lair could one possibly find one or two freshly fallen venom sacs.

So Hagrid said he would go over and check it out tonight.

Out of curiosity about this creature, Victor decided to go with Hagrid.

Hagrid did not refuse.

As the game keeper at Hogwarts, Hagrid knew the Forbidden Forest inside and out, as well as the creatures within. Hagrid stated that as long as someone was with him, no animal would harm anyone he brought along, so Victor was permitted to enter the Forbidden Forest if he wanted.

"Sometimes students are taken on patrols in the forbidden forest while in solitary confinement. Oh, and you can bring your teeth—that way no animal will ever try to hurt you. They all recognize us."

At dusk, Hagrid led Tooth out of the hut and handed the rope to Victor.

Tooth was a big dog, its arched body as tall as Victor's leg, with a sharp snout and white teeth—making it look more like a source of danger than any other creature.

But Hagrid clearly didn't think so.

After making some simple preparations, Hagrid put the books he had borrowed from the library into the hunting lodge. The only odd thing was...

He did these things in a rather furtive manner, as if he were afraid that Victor would see something inside the house.

Before he slammed the door shut, Victor saw one of the books he'd thrown in was titled: "A Few Things You Must Know About Dragons."

"Would you like to keep a fire dragon, Hagrid?" Victor asked.

"I—, I—yes, I'd really like to have one." Hagrid stammered somewhat strangely as he spoke. "You know, dragons, they have beautiful scales and powerful flames, who wouldn't be attracted to them?"

"That makes sense. But the dragon smelled a bit bad when it left the gold, I don't know if you can accept that," Victor said.

"Smells bad? What do you mean?"

"Dragons have very high body temperatures, and gold is the easiest thing to cool them down. Your Muggle term would be 'good thermal conductivity.' Without gold underneath them, their massive bodies and relatively limited skin area would make them increasingly hot, causing them to smell sweaty, and their tempers to flare up at the slightest provocation."

"You can ask them about this yourself."

"One of my dragon friends became extremely irritable and easily angered after trading away all his gold," Victor said.

A moment or two of silence fell between Hagrid and Victor. As Hagrid parted the bushes and walked deeper into the Forbidden Forest, he tried to think through Victor's words.

"—? Well, I'll consider the gold. But can the dragons talk? How can I ask them?"

"Huh? The fire dragon over there can talk," Victor said, puzzled.

Hagrid frowned in confusion. But after a while, he convinced himself and a hint of joy appeared on his face. "You're right. If Aragog can talk, there's no reason why dragons can't. Maybe the dragon trainers just haven't discovered a way to communicate with them yet." Hagrid suddenly became excited. "I'll definitely give it a try!"

Victor offered no comment. He simply nodded slightly and then asked:

Who is Aragog?

"Oh, that's the eight-eyed giant spider I'm taking you to see. It's the leader. Don't worry, Aragog is quite cute and kind-hearted, not at all like the bad ones in the books."

Hagrid seemed very confident when he spoke.

As the two spoke, they had already ventured deep into the Forbidden Forest. The forest was now bathed in moonlight, filtering through the dense foliage and casting indistinct shadows. In this vast expanse, it seemed only the small lantern in Hagrid's hand provided any light.

Before long, Victor noticed some changes in the jungle illuminated by the lantern.

The moonlight filtering through the surrounding trees wasn't clear enough; upon closer inspection, it seemed as if something hazy was blocking the way.

The further down you go, the clearer this hazy thing becomes—it's a spider web stretching across the trees. As the forest grows taller, the spider webs become so dense they block out the sun.

As Victor walked by, a spider web stuck to his cloak, and he had to reach out and tear it off.

Spider silk has a resilient texture, like thick hemp rope, and is about the thickness of an adult's finger.

It goes without saying what a spider capable of producing such silk needs to eat.

As they walked, spiders gradually appeared around Hagrid and Victor. In the jungle at night, these spiders were not very noticeable at first glance, but when they shone their lanterns down carefully, they would find that the flowing darkness under their feet, on the trees, and in the grass was made up of countless spiders of all sizes.

As he left, Victor could still hear whispers, low and almost drowned out by the wind:

"Hagrid, it's Hagrid—"

He and someone—

"That's our food? Hagrid finally changed his mind—."

Koko's voice came along with this talking sound. At the same time, there was a "click-clack" sound as the large claws opened and closed.

Sometimes, just as Victor lifted his leg, the gap he had just left to land was already filled by spiders.

But as he moved forward, the spiders spontaneously made way for him.

Finally, Hagrid and Victor arrived at a clearing in the woods. There swarmed countless enormous spiders, each the size of a horse, black and with eight gleaming eyes. The one in the very center was as big as a small elephant, but its eight eyes were covered in a layer of white.

Aragok! Aragok!

Upon seeing it, Hagrid waved his arms excitedly and strode over to it.

"Hagrid?"

The spider, as big as a baby elephant, slowly turned around and stared blankly into the air.

"It's me, Aragog," Hagrid said with concern. "Are you feeling better lately?"

"It's the same as always—but my children and grandchildren say you brought someone with you?"

"Oh, yes, it's Professor Victor, who teaches divination. He has some questions for you." Hagrid said, waving to Victor behind him. "Don't be nervous, Victor, Aragog is very friendly."

But it wasn't until Hagrid actually saw Victor behind him that he realized he had said "don't be nervous" too early. When Hagrid turned around, Victor was standing next to a huge eight-eyed spider, calmly shaking the spider's hairy forelimbs in front of its eight rotating black eyes.

When he held it, the giant spider's large claws were almost touching Victor's face.

But Victor didn't even flinch.

"Oh, Hagrid is right."

"You guys are really cute."

After Victor finished speaking, he gently released the eight-eyed giant spider's forelimbs, which were covered with barbs like blades, as if he had really shaken hands with it.