The sun is not good in the Forbidden Forest.

Especially as soon as you step into the territory of the eight-eyed giant spider, you can't see a little sunlight, even the gaps of the branches and vines are filled with the skin and bones of the prey by the group of diligent arthropods.

Fishy, rotten, cold.

Almost in line with all the fantasies of people who have never entered the Forbidden Forest.

Ron looked around.

The doubts just now were not just illusions, he remembered that he had really been here, with George and Fred, it was two years ago, and this was not the territory of the eight-eyed giant spider, and it was even far away from the territory of the eight-eyed giant spider.

Two years

Can you expand here unscrupulously?

"The eight-eyed giant spider is a creature with a strong ability to reproduce." Hagrid waved his wand and magically tore away the webs, "Two eight-eyed spiders will produce at least a hundred eggs at a time, and after six to eight weeks of hatching, they will break out of their shells, and they will reproduce about seven or eight times a year, almost every two months. ”

"The lifespan of such creatures is about sixty years, and they can reproduce from the age of five, and they lose their ability to reproduce at about fifty-five years old."

Ron snapped his fingers.

His arithmetic ability has grown significantly over the years, through the education of Harry and Hermione.

But this exponential explosion of quantitative growth, when he counted the second generation, he was unable to do it, and he couldn't count it.

Harry glanced at him, "The most important thing is that the Forbidden Forest has no natural enemies of the eight-eyed giant spider. ”

The eight-eyed spider has very few natural predators.

When this creature has not yet formed a large enough size, the spider catcher is a natural predator, and they can feed on the larvae of the eight-eyed giant spider, but there is no such creature in the Forbidden Forest.

When the eight-eyed spider reaches adulthood, the basilisk is their only natural predator.

But. There are no such creatures in the Forbidden Forest.

Organisms that have no natural predators, are free from the biological chain, and have a strong ability to reproduce, the consequences are extremely terrible.

Step by step, the eight-eyed giant spider encroached on the space of the Forbidden Forest.

Hagrid didn't speak.

Harry didn't speak, he stopped, and the sound of clicking and grinding came from the woods, so overwhelming that even Hermione and Ron noticed.

An eight-eyed giant spider jumped out, cautious, and kept a distance from them: "I remember you." ”

"The human wizard who killed many of our people!"

"And friends from Aragog"

"Ahead is our territory, please leave."

Harry whispered, "We want to see Aragog." ”

"We know what you're trying to do." The eight-eyed spider spoke, clawing its claws, "Aragog won't promise you, and we won't promise you. ”

"Contract?"

"That stuff doesn't make sense."

"Who knows, what tricks you human wizards will play."

Harry pulled out his wand.

The eight-eyed spiders retreated a few steps in response: "What do you want to do, do you want to start a war with us?" Mankind! ”

"No, I'm just informing you that from now on, this is not your territory." Harry whispered, as he spoke, grabbing a handful of seeds from his pocket and tossing them on the ground.

The wand waved, and the incantation was pronounced.

The seeds hit the ground, took root quickly, and then grew, and the branches pierced the cobwebs, enveloping the polluted trees, devouring the stench, maggot-like flesh and bones that hung on the trees.

In an instant, it was dawn.

Moonlight poured through the crevices of the branches.

In the woods, it is completely new in the blink of an eye.

Plants spawned by magic, cleansing trees, devouring cobwebs, and even the ground was covered with a new layer of moss, covering the ugly land polluted and corroded by spiders.

Ron and Hagrid looked at each other in amazement.

"W-what kind of magic is this?" Hagrid stammered, clutching his wand.

Ron nodded, he wanted to know too.

"Last year's herbal medicine class, Professor Sprout taught us." Hermione snapped.

Can you learn mantras in 5th grade?

Hagrid frowned, he had consulted with the professors, he had learned all the spells in the senior class, but he really didn't remember this kind of spell.

Ron meditated, too.

Fifth grade? Professor Sprout? Studied it yourself?

After a long moment, he slowed down and hesitated to speak, "Hermione, you mean the bonsai spell?" ”

Hermione nodded.

The bonsai spell is a very important learning content in the fifth grade - after all, it is a spell that can really help with employment. But the spell from Harry was not the same as the bonsai spell that Ron knew, and the magic of pruning potted plants could be applied to such a large forest?

He tried to pull out his wand, aimed it at a tree, and tinkered.

The eight-eyed spiders didn't like such a clean environment, and they snapped back.

"Hagrid, do you know where Aragog is?" Harry looked back.

Hagrid nodded, took a few steps forward, and led the way with an oil lamp.

The eight-eyed spiders followed, lurking in the forest, lurking in the forest, and lurking in their tracks, and the spider team grew in size.

All four were fearless.

Harry wasn't afraid of them, no matter how big they were, he could solve them himself, nothing more. The question of whether this forest can be retained.

Hagrid was confident that Aragog would not hurt himself.

Hermione and Ron completely believed Harry.

After more than half an hour, they rushed to the outside of a nest.

A huge eight-eyed spider awaited them: "Hagrid, my dear friend"

"I never thought we'd meet in this situation one day."

It speaks more in order than other spiders, and time brings not only physical aging, but also more wisdom.

Hagrid was about to speak.

Harry was one step ahead of him: "Aragog? ”

"It's me." The huge, old, eight-eyed spider nodded.

"An eight-eyed giant spider with a name, I thought you would be closer to humans." Harry walked over to it.

Eight compound eyes, reflecting Harry's figure, replied, "Aren't we close to humans?" We have lived in the Forbidden Forest for decades, and we have never harmed a single young wizard. ”

"Really?" Harry's tone was calm, "Then should I praise you?" ”

"Never hurt a single Hogwarts wizard."

He paused slightly, and said seriously: "If it weren't for the fact that he didn't dare to get out of the forbidden forest." ”

"If it weren't for the fact that you couldn't beat me."

Aragog tilted his head uneasily: "Human cubs, I have restrained them, but you killed so many of my children, you should be prepared for revenge." ”

"At first, your kid wanted to sneak up on us." Harry whispered.

Aragog's voice became weak: "They just want to play a joke on you." ”

"The Eight-Eyed Spider still has the ability to joke?" Harry smiled and turned back to Hagrid, "Dear Professor Hagrid, you can study this matter and maybe write a paper that shocks the world." ”

When it comes to papers, Hagrid's head is almost the size of his brother's.

Harry raised his wand and aimed it at it, "So, I'm going to invite you myself now, and I don't want to sign the oath?" ”

"Human, please allow me to refuse." Aragog shook his head, his tone stiff, "You're going too far!" ”

"This is the Forbidden Forest!"

"It's not you humans who should set foot and interfere"

Harry interrupted, "Looks like you've heard something, Ravenclaw did have a pact with the Forbidden Forest, and Hogwarts would not interfere with the development of the Forbidden Forest. ”

"But, you, the eight-eyed spider are not in the oath of the Forbidden Forest."

"It seems that you are Hagrid's friend, I will give you one last chance to sign an oath with Hogwarts, and Hagrid and I will discuss and draw a territory for you, and you eight-eyed spiders can only live in that territory in the future, and you can never cross it again."

The eight-eyed giant spider swarm clicked and became agitated.

They could tell Harry was about to reduce the size of his territory.

"Or."

"The last time I fought against you spiders was two years ago?"

"Perhaps, I should show you how much I have improved in the past two years?"

"I can show you, and I can wait until you know your mistake, admit it, and then make a vow."

Aragog was uneasy, and his voice was impatient: "Human, you are too much! ”

"And you chose the latter?" Harry raised his wand, and the flames erupted, turning into a flaming griffin, a tiny one, hovering above their heads, illuminating the space, "Are you sure?" ”

Aragog raised his voice: "No! Human wizards! ”

"That's the former?" Harry didn't put away his wand, his tone was cold.

Aragog looked at Hagrid and pleaded, "Let me think about it for a while, okay?" ”

"I have to be responsible for my people."

"Hagrid, my dearest friend, my dearest master, Hagrid, give me some more time to consider."

Hagrid was a little overwhelmed: "Harry."

"You're stalling for time." Harry waved his hand and pressed Hagrid's words to speak, and he looked at Aragog in surprise, "You're stalling for time?" ”

"Why?"

Aragog tilted his head.

It is indeed very smart, but it has only dealt with Hagrid for so many years, and it has no wisdom and no experience in dealing with people.

It's like a display screen that reveals all the ideas of its brain's operation without reservation.

"You don't have room to think about it." Harry looked at it, withdrew his wand and flames, and thoughtfully, "You know, no matter how long you think about it, the end result is the same, there is no point in delaying this time for you, unless you have to escape the Forbidden Forest, but this is even more impossible, you should know that the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts, me and Dumbledore will not tolerate such a large group of eight-eyed spiders cholera." ”

"But you still want to stall."

"Tell me, why?"

Aragog remained silent.

"Soul Capture!"

Harry raised his wand and pointed it at it, reciting the incantation.

Psychic power scavenged its brain, and its memories were peeled apart layer by layer, and Harry plucked one of them and spread it out.

This is a memory from more than a year ago.

It was a darker black than today, where Aragog and a man met in the Forbidden Forest.

"Human wizard, you're dangerous." Aragog stared at him, "You're not here for Venom, what do you want to do?" ”

"This is the Forbidden Forest, I am."

The emaciated, pale-faced man shook his head: "I have no ill will. ”

"It's just that your child is a little disobedient, and I want to see you, so I have to use some means."

"I came to visit this rashly because I wanted to discuss something with you."

Aragog looked at him.

"You must have had a hard time in the Forbidden Forest." The man whispered, "You can only hunt some birds and rodents for food, and many times you can't even eat enough, and that half-blood giant will often make you restrain yourself." ”

"This is my sincerity."

With a wave of his wand, the pocket around his waist opened.

More than a dozen corpses flew out.

Harry, who was watching from the sidelines, saw more than a dozen corpses, both men and women, all of them with uniform features, the skin on his left arm was corroded by strong acid, and some traces were erased.

"Human flesh! It's the smell of human flesh! ”

"Food, it's food!"

The eight-eyed giant spiders gathered around shouted and became excited.

"Enjoy." The man waved his hand.

The eight-eyed spiders pounced, leaving two of Aragog's fattest corpses, and the remaining ten or so were dragged away by them and enjoyed without hesitation.

"What do you want to do?" Aragog's voice was a little softer.

The man looked up, looked at it, and asked, "Do you want to be free?" ”

"Freedom not to be confined in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Want to eat your food without impunity?"

Aragog shook his head: "Of course I want to, but it can't be, Hagrid won't allow it, the old white-bearded wizard in the castle, the little wizard with cat's eyes won't allow it." ”

The man's voice was low, full of demagogy: "But my master allows it." ”

"Cooperation, huh?"

"Hogwarts has a pact with the Forbidden Forest, the castle can't hurt the Forbidden Forest, and the Forbidden Forest can't hurt the castle, but you are an exception, you eight-eyed giant spiders don't belong to the Forbidden Forest, as long as you want, you can break into Hogwarts at any time, those little wizards, but they are all your ready-made food."

Aragog continued to shake his head.

The man nodded, "Of course, I know your concerns, Dumbledore and Potter. ”

"Sooner or later, my master will get rid of them, and of course it will take a little help."

"Would you like to work with us?"

Aragog hesitated, he stared at the two corpses in front of him, although they were badly decomposed, the breath of human flesh couldn't help but jump into the fluff on his legs, a sweet, delicious taste!

After a long moment, Aragog asked, "What are you going to do?" ”

"When this sign is lit up in the sky, you rush to the castle, and when it is done, the master will promise you a piece of land, and you will be able to establish a kingdom of your eight-eyed spiders on this land." The man waved his wand, and a small mark was made, and the black skull opened, and a hideous snake crawled out of its mouth.

It's the Mark of the Dark Magic.

Aragog clicked and pulled the two corpses into his belly: "Humans, if that old white-bearded wizard and the cat-eye wizard were still in the castle, we wouldn't have stepped out of the Forbidden Forest. ”

The man smiled: "Rest assured, everything will go smoothly." ”

He looked up, his pale face smiling hideously.

Harry watched from the sidelines, and saw his face clearly—it was Barty Crouch Jr., who had never been masked.

(End of chapter)