Non Omnis Moriar

21: The Ambush

The toast was ashy on my tongue, the butter failing to soak in enough to make it appetizing. But then, it seemed that nothing felt good enough to be truly delectable anymore. I chalked it up to tension, stress piling up on my spinal column till it lay clumped at the base of my throat. It was ruining meals for me now.

I worried for Hagrid.

I worried for him and his...pet. A spider - one with the potential to grow into a humongous size and then start eating people.

One could argue that it really was not my place to hide something vicious and dangerous in the castle. But then, again, I glanced over at the high table, at Dumbledore calmly applying marmalade to his own toast. And further down at the Slytherin table, Tom Riddle silently chewed on whatever he was eating.

Two of the most notable people to pass through these walls and they had harbored enormous and violent beasts within the walls of the castle.

So why should Hagrid or I be treated differently?

I shook off those thoughts, thinking back to the patrol nights I'd spent sneaking around with Hagrid while he fed Aragog. The acromantula was now big enough to spread itself out - and by that of course, Hagrid meant that it needed to walk around.

All for the healthy development of a man eating spider, of course.

It was a mark of how much I truly liked Hagrid that I was alright with following him - under a disillusionment charm - and the spider, Aragog while they roamed the castle ways.

It was always possible for the House elves to be out and about and if one of them ever came across us, well...I didn't know how self controlled Aragog was now but I hoped to Merlin that Hagrid had enough sense to withhold him if it came to it.

Otherwise, I always had my wand. Although I wasn't sure if any spells would affect the spider. Acromantulas were notoriously impervious to magic and I could only wonder just how much his age would factor into it.

I took them through the routes I had once frequented, hiding from the Carrows and the ones I'd taken to sneak around with Ron, Hermione and Harry. Thinking about them sent a twinge through my heart now. Somehow being here, within the familiar walls and with Lila and Fawley and Alphard had taken me back to those times in a way that it didn't bring on old nightmares that had once plagued me.

I didn't know if it was a good thing or not, throwing myself so much into my friendships with the better Slytherin brood.

But it was what it was.

At least with them I didn't need to worry about my personal safety or that of the whole school.

Aragog lived in the room of requirement and I was sure that Riddle was aware of the room, if not the habitant. And if Riddle knew, then who was to say that the other Death Eaters weren't? What would I do if one of them came across the spider?

I shivered at the thought.

For now, there didn't seem to be any inkling that Riddle was up to any nefarious plans that would need him to take his little posse to meetings to discuss killings and maiming and other things that wizarding terrorists got up to.

So they had perhaps not been visiting the Room.

And Riddle acted friendly enough with me when we had to meet up for patrols. For him, of course, friendly meant a cold nod and a cautious backing away before he swept away to patrol on his own.

I could only imagine where the hell he went. Normally, I would follow, if only to find a nick of time to find out what he was up to and if I was lucky, to finish him off - so Dumbledore could send me back to my own time.