Old and Young, Inside Out

Chapter 20

Two spiders grabbed Harry and Ron. A third went to take Nico, but he melted into the shadows before it could grab him. Nico stopped himself at the last second from killing them, instead following them to see where they were going to take the two boys.

He crept along the dark path, his wand out and at the ready. Shadows moved with him, walked with him, hid with him. He always found comfort when the shadows listened to him, but the dark was something he would now always fear.

They eventually got to what Nico could only describe as a giant spider nest. They were everywhere, over everything. The two spiders dropped Harry and Ron on the ground, the one speaking. "Aragog!" it called. "Aragog!"

Nico's eyes widened as the spider came into view, the largest spider he had ever seen. A spider that uncomfortably resembled Arachne.

"What is it?" the spider asked.

"Men,"

"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog asked, moving closer, his eight milky eyes wandering vaguely.

"Strangers,"

"Kill them,"

"We're friends of Hagrid's!" Harry shouted. Nico kept his wand out and at the ready, trying to think of how he would fight the spiders without a sword if he had to.

"Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before," Aragog said slowly.

"Hagrid's in trouble," Harry answered. Ron was frozen beside him, which Nico would have thought of as funny at any other time. "That's why we've come."

"In trouble?" Aragog seemed concerned, but Nico still didn't trust the thing "But why has he sent you?"

"They think, up at the school, that Hagrid's been setting a... something on students. They've taken him to Azkaban." Harry answered.

"But that was years ago," said Aragog fretfully. "Years and years ago. I remember it well. That's why they made him leave the school. They believed that I was the monster that dwells in what they call the Chamber of Secrets. They thought that Hagrid had opened the Chamber and set me free."

"And you...you didn't come from the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked.

"I!" said Aragog, "I was not born in the castle. I come from a distant land. A traveler gave me to Hagrid when I was an egg. Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me on scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When I was discovered, and blamed for the death of a girl, he protected me. I have lived here in the forest ever since, where Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and you see how our family has grown, all through Hagrid's goodness..."

"The death of a girl," Nico spoke up, stepping out from the shadows. "You mean Myrtle, right?"

Aragog didn't seem surprised by his appearance, but the other spiders moved forward. "Son of Hades, you think to spy on my family?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "I'm with them. Hagrid's my friend, too. And Azkaban is no place for him."

"So he's never attacked anyone," Harry watched the spider. "You've never attacked anyone."

"Never," croaked the old spider. "It would have been my instinct, but out of respect for Hagrid, I never harmed a human. The body of the girl was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw any part of the castle but the cupboard in which I grew up. Our kind like the dark and the quiet..."

"But then...Do you know what did kill her?" Harry asked. "Because whatever it is, it's back and attacking people again -"

The spiders started moving restlessly. Nico moved by Harry and grabbed his arm, whispering a low "shut up".

"The thing that lives in the castle," said Aragog, "is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go, when I sensed the beast moving about the school."

"What is it?" Harry spoke despite Nico's warning.

"We do not speak of it!" Aragog said fiercely. "We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid the name of that dread creature, though he asked me, many times."

"I'm sorry for him," Nico spoke up. "He didn't mean to offend you, he's just worried about Hagrid and scared of the creation himself. I apologize for any inconvenience and annoyance he's caused. And I apologize for the state my brother is in, as well." He pulled Ron to his feet, who stumbled and leaned against him, still white with fear.

Nico grabbed Harry and Ron before the spider could do anything else and shadow traveled back to Hagrid's cabin. Ron collapsed into a chair as Nico shadow traveled back into the forest, looking for Fang. As soon as he found the dog, he went back to Hagrid's.

"Follow the spiders," said Ron weakly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He didn't leave the chair. "I'll never forgive Hagrid. We're lucky to be alive."

"I bet he thought Aragog wouldn't hurt friends of his," Harry defended.

"That's exactly Hagrid's problem!" Ron had started to regain his color. "He always thinks monsters aren't as bad as they're made out, and look where it's got him! A cell in Azkaban! What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out, I'd like to know?"

"Calm down." Nico sat by him. "You're just upset because you're scared of spiders."

"Who wouldn't be?" Ron asked. "Why didn't you kill the things? You let them carry us away!"

"I wanted to see what would happen." Nico shrugged. "I was watching the whole time. And you two finally know that Hagrid is innocent."

"We should get back to the castle," Harry spoke up. "There's nothing else to do tonight."

Nico stood up and stretched. "I'll take you back to your dormitory."

Ron shook his head in exasperation. "You two, ready to sleep! Did you see the spiders?!"

"Yeah, yeah, and we know you're scared of them." Nico held his hand out. "Come on. You can continue to freak out if you want when we get there." Instead of waiting for Ron to grab him, he grabbed them both before shadow traveling away, his brother complaining the whole time.