Scarred from the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter Fan Fiction Retelling)

Chapter 16: Unless You Want to Be Spider Food, I Suggest You Drive

Harry opened the door to Hagrid's hut just slightly. He wanted to make sure Dumbledore and the Minister were gone and that no evil monsters were lurking about, even though him getting petrified would be a great way to clear his name. All he saw was the distant shape of the petrified Grubbly-Plank, which apparently Dumbledore didn't bother to have removed. The sun had just set, so the horizon was an explosion of reds and yellows quickly turning into blues and purples. He opened the door all the way and stepped onto the grass. "Ron, the coast is clear."

"Oh, joy," Ron muttered, following him. "Are we really going to follow the spiders like Hagrid said?"

"Only if we want answers."

"But why do we have to do it? Why don't we tell McGonagall or Flitwick about it, and they can find whatever answers are out there? It's literally none of our business."

"Because they think I'm the Heir Slytherin. They'll probably think I'm trying to lure them out of the castle to petrify them."

"True that."

Harry looked into the hut and saw Hagrid's dog sniffing the Invisibility Cloak. "Should we bring Fang with us?" The dog barked and slipped underneath the cloak. He disappeared. "Never mind. Looks like he's just as scared as we are."

"So you are scared?" Ron griped, grabbing Harry's arm.

"Of course I am. I'm petrified—no pun intended. Come on."

Harry dragged a whimpering Ron toward the tree line. At his feet were dozens of scurrying spiders of all kinds. Every now and then, he heard a sickening crunch under his shoes. The tree line was like an ominous warning sign. As soon as you stepped through them, the bright, fresh air turned into a misty, ominous feeling. They had no choice. They had to follow the spiders if they wanted answers. He desperately wanted to clear his name so he could be happy at Hogwarts again.

As they trudged deeper into the Forbidden Forest, the trees grew larger. Their knotted trunks spiraled like groups of reaching arms into the canopy of prickly leaves and vines. The spiders continued crawling beneath the dense foliage littering the ground. Every now and then, Harry noticed tiny eyes looking up at them from the shadows. He had no idea what other creatures lurked inside the forest besides unicorns and centaurs. He was about to find out if the forest was really a horse sanctuary or not.

Speaking of horses, Harry noticed a wild centaur by a tree a few feet away. He stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes. "Lisa Turpin?" The annoying Ravenclaw sat on the centaur's back.

"What? I told y'all I like horses."

"For the hundredth time, I am not a horse!" the centaur said angrily.

Harry rolled his eyes and pushed Ron forward.

🪄 🪄 🪄

After about an hour of continuous walking, Harry took his wand out to light their path. The radiating beam pulsed over the spiders. Harry saw Ron take his wand out too. He doubted Ron would be any help if they encountered danger. His wand was still dripping glue.

A loud crack stopped them in their tracks. Harry held out his arm. Ron walked right into it and screamed. "Shut up!" Harry seethed. "I was just about to tell you to be quiet since there's something over there, but now whatever it is definitely knows we're here."

"I thought your arm was a spider," Ron whined.

"I only have five fingers, not eight." Harry pointed his wand at the ground. The spiders had stopped moving forward. Now they were running around in circles. It looked like they had reached their destination.