Chapter 421: The Shameless Old Spider
Chapter 421: The Shameless Old Spider
By the time the two of them slowly approached, the creature, a human-headed lion-bodied scorpion-tailed beast, had already calmed down.
It glanced at the growling Rover at their heels and took another cautious step back.
"That idiot doesn't have any hostile intentions," it said, eyeing Rover. "Do you know Hagrid?"
"He's my professor," Kyle replied, standing his ground. "We heard you were injured and came here in the middle of the night to help."
"Help me?"
"Yes," Kyle nodded, glancing at its bandaged hind leg. "We have a lot of experience treating these kinds of bites. We're professionals."
Newt timely took out a bottle of medicinal powder and walked to the side of the creature's front leg.
The spot where Rover had just bitten it was still oozing blood.
Feeling the pain from the wound, the creature couldn't help but curse at Rover again.
If it had known this would happen, it never would have followed Hagrid here. And to think he had said that Fluffy would protect it from other creatures while it was healing... What protection? It would rather face those giant spiders now...
Newt parted the creature's thick fur and sprinkled the powder on the wound.
This particular powder had been prepared by Newt during his trip to Rome, specifically for dragons. It contained white balsam essence, a mixture of various herbs, and even a drop of phoenix tear.
If it worked on dragons, it would surely be effective on the human-headed lion-bodied scorpion-tailed beast.
Soon, the bleeding stopped.
As the pain gradually faded, the creature gave Newt a curious look.
Hagrid had been changing its bandages for several days, but the healing progress was nowhere near as fast as these past few minutes.
"I told you, we're professionals," Kyle said with a smile, taking out a fresh cow leg.
Rover immediately drew closer, his nose twitching eagerly, drool dripping onto the ground.
"None for you," Kyle said, patting one of its heads. "You bit someone, and now you want to eat? Go sit over there."
Rover looked a little aggrieved but obediently lay down, using its claws to cover its eyes and nose.
Out of sight, out of mind.
However, with three heads, two front paws weren't enough. The middle head could only close its eyes and nudge its nose into a hollow tree stump next to it.
Seeing Rover's pitiful state, the creature's mood improved significantly. As it tore into the cow leg, it deliberately made loud noises.
Rover covered his ears.
While the creature ate, Newt removed the bandages and reapplied the medicine.
With the bleeding stopped and a full stomach, the creature's attitude towards Kyle and Newt softened even more, and it even initiated a conversation with Newt.
Its emotions were as stable as a sphinx's, showing none of the "violent temperament" it was supposed to have.
From midnight to dawn, as the sky gradually brightened, Kyle, who had spent the entire night in the Forbidden Forest, prepared to leave. It was Monday, and he had classes to attend.
Newt, on the other hand, decided to stay a while longer. He had intended to escort Kyle out of the forest before returning, but since Rover had already tagged along, he abandoned the idea.
After leaving the messy thicket, Kyle noticed Rover's dejected mood and quietly took out three dried Tufted Hogleg legs.
Rover's eyes lit up instantly, and the drool started flowing again.
"Go on, eat up. These are much more delicious than cow legs..." Kyle patted its head.
Rover immediately pounced excitedly and devoured them in a few bites, licking his chops afterward as if he wanted more.
Kyle produced three more.
These were meant to be treats for Norberta, but while they wouldn't fill Rover's stomach, they would certainly satisfy his cravings.
After giving Rover his snack, Kyle led him toward the hollow where the Acromantula was located.
It was Hagrid, talking to Aragog, the old spider gesturing excitedly as he spoke.
Kyle could make out some of the disjointed words.
"...little wizard...unscrupulous...ambush...blackmailing for venom..."
Kyle twitched his lips.
He thought of many possibilities—breaking promises, ambushing in numbers—but he never expected this old spider to go complain to Hagrid.
He had only asked for a few pints of venom. Was that too much?
After all, it was a Level 5X magical creature. If you can't beat them, join them—did it really have to stoop so low?
Kyle took a deep breath and patted the excited Rover. "Run around from here and come back after a few laps."
Rover looked a little confused but did as he was told and ran off, his legs thundering across the ground.
"Rover?" Hagrid noticed him too and called out, "What are you doing here? Stop right there..."
Rover hesitated for a moment but soon started running again.
Hagrid immediately left Aragog and ran after him without looking back.
"Stop, Rover...what's wrong with you?"
After they had gone some distance, Kyle emerged, his face gloomy, holding a large flowerpot.
A group of eight-eyed giants surrounded him.
"Human..." The old spider sounded proud. "It's best if you leave here immediately. Hagrid said you're not allowed in the Forbidden Forest.
If you leave now, I'll pretend I didn't see anything."
"What about my things?" asked Kyle.
"What things..." The old spider waved his pincers, clearly intending to renege on the deal.
"Hagrid is nearby, and the noise of the fire dragon is enough to attract his attention. If you don't want to cause trouble, it's best to leave quickly."
Kyle narrowed his eyes. "So you don't plan on living to see tomorrow, do you? Hagrid can't stay here forever..."
"We'll report you!" said the old spider. "We'll go to the castle. You're not allowed to keep fire dragons either, and we know it..."
"I understand." Kyle narrowed his eyes. "Since you put it that way, I'll just have to find a more reasonable solution."
Kyle took out his wand.
"Wizard!"
Aragog couldn't see, but another eight-eyed giant beside him stepped forward. "Using magic...are you declaring war on us?"
"War? Of course not," said Kyle. "I'm just feeling a bit cold."
In front of all the eight-eyed giants, Kyle simply cast a spell to give himself a pair of earmuffs. Then he put away his wand and freed a hand to grab a bunch of leaves from the plant in the flowerpot he was holding.
He looked around to make sure no one else was nearby...
"So, how about we listen to some music?"
With that, Kyle pulled the mandrake out of the flowerpot.
A piercing scream rang through the Forbidden Forest... The surrounding eight-eyed giants struggled for a moment before collapsing to the ground.
After a few seconds, Kyle pushed the mandrake back into the pot.
It didn't take long for the effect to wear off, and the eight-eyed giants wouldn't die, but it would be enough to put them to sleep for a while.
When the screaming stopped, only Aragog and some of the larger spiders were still standing among the eight-eyed giants present.
"How was it? Did you enjoy the music?"
Kyle looked at the old spider and said, "By the way, I have about a dozen more mandrakes like this, enough to put on a concert for you.
Also, it's completely legal, and as long as the listener isn't a wizard, it won't matter if they're discovered."
...
(End of Chapter)
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