Eternal Despair (Harry Potter/OC)

𝟙𝟝: Aragog

The arrival of summer slowly transformed the grounds around the castle. The sky and the lake mirrored each other in a serene periwinkle blue, while flowers the size of cabbages exploded into vibrant bloom within the greenhouses.

The boys had made several attempts to visit Hermione, but the hospital wing had now barred all visitors.

Madam Pomfrey, peeking through a crack in the infirmary door, informed them sternly, "We're taking no more chances. No, I'm sorry, there's every chance the attacker might come back to finish these people off...."

With Dumbledore's absence, an unprecedented fear spread throughout the castle. The sunlight warming the castle walls seemed unable to penetrate the mullioned windows.

Every face in the school appeared anxious and tense, and any laughter that echoed through the corridors sounded shrill and unnatural, quickly fading away.

Enzo found Hagrid's hint about the spiders easier to understand, but the problem was that not a single spider seemed to be left in the castle to follow.

He and Harry searched everywhere, with Ron reluctantly helping them. Their efforts were hampered by the fact that they weren't allowed to wander off on their own and had to move in a group with the other Gryffindors. Most students seemed relieved to be shepherded from class to class by the teachers, but Enzo found it both irksome and stimulating.

One person, however, seemed to relish the atmosphere of fear and suspicion. Draco Malfoy strutted around the school as if he had just been appointed Head Boy.

Harry didn’t understand why Malfoy was so pleased until a Potions lesson about two weeks after Dumbledore and Hagrid had left. Sitting right behind Malfoy, Harry overheard him say, “I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore.

I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst headmaster the school’s ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent headmaster now, someone who won’t want the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall won’t last long; she’s only filling in...”

Snape swept past Enzo, Harry, and Ron without commenting on Hermione's empty seat and cauldron. “Sir,” said Malfoy loudly. “Sir, why don’t you apply for the headmaster’s job?”

“Now, now, Malfoy,” Snape replied, though he couldn’t suppress a thin-lipped smile. “Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he’ll be back with us soon enough.”

“Yeah, right,” Malfoy smirked. “I expect you'd have Father’s vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job. I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir.”

Snape smirked as he swept around the dungeon, fortunately not noticing Enzo, who was pretending to vomit into his cauldron.

“I’m quite surprised the Mudbloods haven’t all packed their bags by now,” Malfoy continued. “Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn’t Granger—”

At that moment, the bell rang, which was lucky because Ron had leapt off his stool at Malfoy's last words. In the scramble to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.

“Let me at him,” Ron growled as Harry and Dean held onto his arms. “I don’t care, I don’t need my wand; I’m going to kill him with my bare hands—”

Enzo was also furious with Malfoy but in a more calculated way. He was thinking about which of Fred and George’s inventions would best injure Malfoy without getting caught.

“Hurry up, I’ve got to take you all to Herbology,” Snape barked over the class’s heads, and they marched off, with Enzo, Harry, Ron, and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still struggling to get free.