Under Hagrid's lead, two people and a dog walked into a forest that was noticeably more sinister.
Heavy spider webs hung from the treetops, forming large cocoons of various shapes dangling from the tree trunks. Beneath the giant banyan tree lay a sunken clearing. The leaf-covered hollow was empty, but the rustling sounds around told them that they were not alone.
"Argo, Argo!"
Hagrid waded through the already decaying leaves to the center of the hollow, holding his crossbow, and called out loudly.
"..." After a shake of the leaves, from the thick spider webs above the hollow, emerged the head of a gigantic gray-black spider. Each of its eyes, on a head with ugly, massive pincers, was covered with a layer of white haze—it was blind.
"Hagrid?" Its giant pincers rubbed quickly.
"Yes, it's me, Argo, I've come to find you." Hagrid appeared somewhat happy, waving his hand even though the spider couldn't see at all.
"Oh, long time no see, Hagrid. It's been uneasy in the Forbidden Forest lately..." Argo's voice also had a hint of joy. It moved its elephant-sized body out of the hole, lying on the spider web closest to Hagrid, "What brings you here?"
"Uh, yes, uneasy..." Hagrid appeared puzzled, clearly not understanding what the other meant—but he didn't forget his task this time, "Right, Argo, do you still remember?"
"Remember what?"
"The reason I was expelled from Hogwarts—"
"Oh, of course, I remember!" Argo excitedly rubbed its massive pincers, "Those people said I was the culprit. They even kicked you out of the castle! But I did nothing, it was clearly that... that monster! It was the monster that killed that witch—"
"Yes, that's the monster. It has appeared again and attacked several people—"
"Really?"
"Yes, so you must tell me..."
"No, impossible, Hagrid, I told you, I cannot say the name of that monster—"
"Come on, other spiders have many eyes and don't mind much... But you're blind, yet still afraid of the Basilisk?" William couldn't hold back any longer from interrupting this tender moment between the giant and spider—he stared at the spider's head with those four pairs of milky eyes, speechless.
"How dare you... wait, who are you?" Argo seemed extremely agitated, its massive body retreating reflexively to the entrance of its hole, its eight thick legs trembling incessantly.
"He's William, Argo, he's my friend." Hagrid hastily placated.
"William? Who is Wil... no, how do you know that monster..." Argo was incredibly anxious, retreating back into the hole, leaving only half of its head exposed, cautiously scanning its surroundings—even though it couldn't see anything.
"It was a guess, but seeing your reaction, I'm sure I guessed right." William rubbed his chin, surveying this spider. So big, so old... Would its venom be more valuable?
Isn't it said that the older the (______), the more aromatic it is?
"No, yes, but... Hagrid, now that you know, you should leave—" Argo was momentarily incoherent, but quickly calmed down, speaking in a deep voice.
"No, he cannot leave!"
A voice, difficult to discern, came from another direction, and William looked up—
At some point, the clearing's surroundings had filled with a bunch of Golden Galleons... no, a bunch of Acromantulas, one of which was almost the same size as Argo, its front pincers rubbing. It stepped forward two steps, "You cannot let them leave, Argo!"
"What do you mean, Poke? Hagrid is my friend!" Feeling his authority challenged, Argo appeared somewhat angry.
"But that boy, he killed our companion!" Poke continued.
"No, it was me. I killed a spider with the crossbow on the way here, Argo," Hagrid shouted loudly, "But it was trying to attack us, you need to keep them in check—"
"No, Hagrid, this has nothing to do with you!" Argo sharply reprimanded, raising its head, "Are you sure, Poke..."
"I am absolutely sure, he is the wizard who has been slaughtering us in the Forbidden Forest lately!"
"?"
Hagrid looked bewilderedly at William, apparently not quite understanding what the spider meant.
"Ahem, to be honest, I didn't know these Golden Galleons were yours..."
William shrugged helplessly; these spiders had pretty good eyesight; those eight eyes weren't for nothing.
"Alright, Hagrid, you can leave, bring your dog—" Argo paused, "This person named William must pay for his actions!" The friction of the spider pincers around the hollow grew noisier.
"No, there must be some misunderstanding, William is just a new little wizard—" Hagrid raised his crossbow, warily eyeing the dozen spiders that had already started approaching from all sides, "Let us leave, Argo!"
Fang had also lost its courage from before. While it still stood in front of William, its trembling hind legs revealed its fear.
"No, Hagrid." Argo seemed to sigh, "Try not to harm Hagrid—"
"No, Argo, you cannot—"
But Hagrid's call received no response; Argo had already retracted back into its hole.
"Uh, alright, William... I'll try to get you out—" Watching the surrounding spiders rubbing their legs and pincers, Hagrid sighed, guilt in his voice, "I shouldn't have brought you here today..."
But William didn't respond, he simply pulled out his magic wand, then, "Incendio!"
A crimson wall of fire appeared three meters around them and quickly expanded outward, engulfing the whole hollow in the blink of an eye. The sizzling sound of the flames roasting shells echoed, and the dozen spiders that launched the attack almost instantly lost all signs of life.
"Alright, what were you just saying?"
Having done all that, William turned back to look at Hagrid.
"..."
Smelling the scent of roasted meat lingering on his nose, the giant's expression was filled with bewilderment.
"How dare you..." Up above the hollow, Poke waved its massive pincers in fury.
"Sectumsempra!"
The magic wand moved again, and the next moment, Poke's body fell to the ground, but its eight legs remained firmly planted in place.
Terrified rustling sounds arose around, and the spiders standing around the hollow looked on in terror at the struggling Poke on the ground. At this moment, the primal instinct of wild animals to avoid harm surged, and they almost reflexively began to scatter to the surroundings—
"Petrificus Totalus."
"OK..."
Looking at the group of Golden Galleons immobilized by his spell, William contentedly clapped his hands.
"...Poke?" From the nest above the hollow came Argo's somewhat bewildered voice.