Chapter 227: The New King
Chapter 227: The New King
Felix hesitated for a moment, then turned to ask the Acromantula Gok, “If I let you manage this Acromantula colony, do you think you can do it, Gok?”
He felt the large spider beside him tremble, and its large pincers tightened, crushing the goblet even more.
Felix quickly tapped it with his wand, and Gok uncontrollably went limp. The goblet fell from its pincers and floated to Felix's front. Felix glanced inside and said uncertainly, “It should be fine...”
Aragog angrily said, “Wizard, what do you intend to do!”
But no one paid attention to it. Felix was waiting for Gok's answer. Time seemed to stretch, and finally, Gok replied, “I think I can.”
It knew it had been tricked by this Wizard.
Felix smiled in satisfaction. “Will you keep your kin in line?”
Gok replied heavily, “Yes!”
Aragog was enraged. It waved its large pincers, “Go, kill that Wizard, kill that traitor!”
The Acromantula behind it quickly approached, a few already leaping, but Gok made no move. It knew the Wizard would handle everything.
The scene played out as before. Felix held the rapidly spinning Spherical Vortex, surrounded by hundreds of blue magic lines. Under the terrifying suction, these large spiders had no chance to resist as they were dragged closer, shrinking to the size of a fingernail.
Felix gazed at the dozens of Acromantula in the vortex and marveled, “Every time I see it, I am amazed by the wonder of magic.”
Gok said dejectedly, “I am too.”
The hollow ground no longer held any Acromantula larger than a pumpkin. From the perspective of an observer, Gok saw it all more clearly. It remembered how it had been just as helpless.
Felix waved his wand, making the shrunken spiders in the vortex float in mid-air, along with those in the goblet. They were densely packed, struggling fiercely. “Tell me, Gok, which ones will be obstacles for you?”
Gok examined the floating Acromantula, hesitantly pointing out a few. “They have eaten humans, not Hogwarts students, but Muggles and Wizards who wandered into the Forbidden Forest, and a werewolf.”
Felix nodded and extended several small, pale white flames from his fingertips, which instantly turned them to ash.
“Any more?”
Gok trembled. “Besides, besides Aragog... there are no others.”
“Very well,” Felix said. He placed Aragog in a glass bottle and let the other Acromantula fall to the ground, restoring them to their original size.
His surroundings suddenly became crowded as the large spiders piled up in layers, forming a circular wall around him.
“Gok, I won't keep you from reclaiming the colony. We'll celebrate your ascension to the new king another day.” Felix prepared to leave.
“Mr. Heap,” Gok asked, “What will you do with Aragog?”
Felix replied calmly, “It is old and sick. I will bring it to Hagrid, who can take care of it. Maybe it will live a few more years.”
Felix put the glass bottle, along with its new prisoner, into his pocket, took out his Broomstick from his ring, and shot up into the sky.
...
In the evening, Harry, Ron, and Hermione knocked on Hagrid's door.
Hagrid looked at them suspiciously, then at the sky outside, muttering, “It's not too late yet, come in.” He stepped aside.
Harry was covered in mud, holding a Broomstick—having just finished training, he was exhausted. He plopped down on the cushion, not wanting to move an inch.
Ron's eyes roamed around, quickly spotting Fluffy under the small table. He pulled it out and cradled it in his arms. “Professor Hup has been here? The last time we came, Fluffy was as big as Fang.”
“Yes,” Hagrid said, his mood somewhat somber.
“Hagrid, what’s wrong?” Hermione asked.
“Is it that obvious?” Hagrid pointed toward Ron. “It’s Aragog…” Only then did Ron notice a fist-sized spider lying on a dirty rug.
Ron recoiled with a scream; he was terrified of these things, especially since this one seemed to be an old spider, its fur half-black and half-gray, its eyes clouded, and its appearance quite frightening.
Harry, on the other hand, wasn’t particularly scared. He said, puzzled, “The name Aragog sounds familiar…”
Hermione reminded him, “That was the name of the Acromantula Hagrid raised fifty years ago. He was accused of opening the Chamber of Slytherin because of it.”
Harry’s eyes widened in realization. Then, he had a new question: “But the Acromantulas in the pictures are much larger… Oh, I see, it’s something Professor Hup did, like with Fluffy?”
“Exactly,” Hagrid mumbled. “Felix came by this morning and told me something. I didn’t expect Aragog to… never mind, he’s old anyway.”
He stopped at a crucial point, leaving Harry, Ron, and Hermione itching to know more. But Hagrid wasn’t willing to say more, and they couldn’t force him.
Hermione couldn’t help but say, “Hagrid, I read in a book that Acromantula venom is highly toxic.”
Hagrid waved his hand dismissively. “He’s too old to produce much venom, and he’s blind. He can’t hunt in the wild. The Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest are all his descendants. At least this way, I can take care of him and not worry about him being eaten by other spiders.”
The three of them took turns hugging the three-headed dog, Fluffy, who resignedly didn’t struggle, and its three heads vied for the rock cakes in Ron’s hand. Ron seemed to enjoy this activity, eagerly feeding the rock cakes into each of Fluffy’s mouths.
“Don’t feed him too much!” Hagrid shouted. “He’ll get indigestion.”
…
Harry and his friends didn’t stay long; they had promised Professor Mcgonagall they would return to the castle before dark.
In the common room, Harry and Ron were doing their homework, but they seemed distracted. Harry sighed, rummaging through his bag for a piece of parchment and a notebook, constantly comparing the notes.
Ron glanced over and immediately pushed his own homework aside. “Are you working on the essay Professor Hup assigned you?”
Harry said, “Yeah, it’s about the dueling system. I boasted a bit.”
“Is it difficult? Your Disarming Charm is already excellent.”
“No, I can’t rely on just the Disarming Charm. If Hermione were here… Hermione, why didn’t you go to Professor Hup’s office today?” Harry looked at the young witch across from him, puzzled.
Hermione looked flustered and quickly raised her head. “What? Oh, I don’t need to go today.”
Ron teased her, “You didn’t forget, did you? You’ve been acting strange lately. Losing things, talking nonsense…”
“You’re wrong,” Hermione sat up straight, giving Ron a haughty glance. “I’m creating the third-year Ancient Runes exam. If you think that’s strange…”
Ron stammered, “Third-year exam, Hermione, you don’t mean…”
“That’s right, you’ll see it next week,” she said sternly.
Harry watched with interest as Ron continued to praise Hermione, hoping to get a glimpse of the exam content. “Just a little, Hermione, even a hint would be great…”
(End of Chapter)
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