Chapter Fifteen: (Finally!)

            “And, the chapter of this title is—” Harry began dramatically, pausing slightly for…something akin to suspense. “Aragog.”

            “Aragog?” Sirius asked blankly. “What’s Aragog?”

            “You’ll find out after I read, okay?” Harry grumbled back before immediately beginning to read.

Summer was creeping over the grounds around the castle; sky and lake alike turned periwinkle

            Destiny- What kind of a word is periwinkle?

            Sirius- …A blue one?

            Destiny- …Yeah.

 blue and flowers large as cabbages burst into bloom in the greenhouses. But with no Hagrid visible from the castle windows, striding the grounds with Fang at his heels, the scene didn't look right to Harry;

            Remus- Yeah, what would Hogwarts be like without Hagrid?

            Sirius- A whole lot less fun, that’s for sure.

 no better, in fact, than the inside of the castle, where things were so horribly wrong.

Harry and Ron had tried to visit Hermione, but visitors were now barred from the hospital wing.

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

Draco- And just what exactly are you and Weasley going to do to Granger?

Harry- Apparently finish her off.

With Dumbledore gone, fear had spread as never before, so that the sun warming the castle walls outside seemed to stop at the mullioned windows.

            Sirius- So that means it was cold outside even though it was summer?

            Remus- No, it means that everyone was sad and gloomy.

            Sirius- Ah. Right.

 There was barely a face to be seen in the school that didn't look worried and tense, and any laughter that rang through the corridors sounded shrill and unnatural and was quickly stifled.

            Peter- How very happy you were.

            Harry- Oh, yes, we were just ecstatic that Dumbledore was gone and the Heir of Slytherin was still on the loose.

            Peter- But at least he…or she or it…wasn’t attacking anyone at the time.

            Harry- But they knew he was still around, so….

            Peter- ::shrugs::

Harry constantly repeated Dumbledore's final words to himself "I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me…. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." But what good were these words? Who exactly were they supposed to ask for help, when everyone was just as confused and scared as they were?

James- Dumbledore. Use your owl.

            Lily- …Would that be allowed?

Hagrid's hint about the spiders was far easier to understand—the trouble was,

            Sirius- There weren’t any spiders left. The all ran away from the basilisk already.

 there didn't seem to be a single spider left in the castle to follow. Harry looked everywhere he went, helped (rather reluctantly)

            Marauders/Destiny/Draco- ::snicker::

            Harry- ::scowls:: Shut up.

 by Ron. They were hampered, of course, by the fact that they weren't allowed to wander off on their own but had to move around the castle in a pack with the other Gryffindors.

            Sirius- Kinda like a school of fish, huh?

            Remus- Actually, there would have been about twenty eight schools of fish, even with the combined classes.

            Sirius- Rem, I didn’t ask.

            Remus- ::grins:: I know.

            Sirius- … ::smacks Remus::

 Most of their fellow students seemed glad that they were being shepherded from class to class by teachers,

            James- So they’re a herd of sheep?

            Sirius- But I thought they were fish!

            James- Well you can’t really shepherd fish, can you?

            Sirius- …I don’t know. I’ve never tried. Remind me to when I get home.

            Harry- You have a school of fish?

            Sirius- Yeah. Say, do you think I could convince my catfish to act as a sheep dog?

            All but Sirius/Destiny- o.O

            Destiny- ::giggles::

            Sirius- ::grins insanely::

            Remus- You are determined to make us wonder what the hell is wrong with you, aren’t you?

            Sirius- Nah, it comes naturally.

            Draco- I wonder why.

            Sirius- …That was an insult, wasn’t it?

            Draco- (sarcastically) No, it wasn’t.

            Sirius- … ::pokes Draco::

            Draco- Ow! ::rubs his side and glares at Sirius::

            Sirius- ::smirks::

 but Harry found it very irksome.

            James- But can you blame him? I mean, how can you play pranks if you’re being shepherded everywhere?

            Harry- I’ll have you know that I don’t play pranks.

            Draco- ::makes a cough that sounds suspiciously like “bullshit”::

            Harry- ::elbows Draco::

            Draco- ::elbows Harry back::

            Harry- … ::shoves Draco off the bed::

            Draco- Ack! ::grabs Harry’s arm as he falls::

            Harry/Draco- ::fall to the floor, Harry on top of Draco::

            Harry- ::blushes furiously::

            Draco- ::raises an eyebrow:: Do you think that you might want to get off of me, Harry?

            Harry- ::blushes even brighter…if that’s possible:: Sorry. ::pulls himself back onto the bed.

            Draco- ::smirks::

            Sirius- ::grins:: I still say you two look cute together!

            Harry/Draco- ::glare at Sirius:: SHUT UP, SIRIUS!

            Peter- Wow. That was even in the same pitch.

            Sirius- ::snickers::

            Everyone else- o.O

            Lily- Is it just me, or do our personalities keep getting worse?

            Remus- It’s not just you.

            Lily- Okay, good. That means I’m not going insane.

            Destiny- Unless it’s something like a mass hallucination.

            Lily- ::shudders::

One person, however, seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere of terror and suspicion.

            Draco- ::smirks::

 Draco Malfoy was strutting around the school as though he had just been appointed Head Boy.

            Draco- Yeah, you know I’ll end up as Head Boy.

            Harry- Not a chance. Why the hell would Dumbledore give you a position of authority?

            Draco- Hey, it’s Dumbledore. Who knows?

            Harry- …

 Harry didn't realize what he was so pleased about until the Potions lesson about two weeks after Dumbledore and Hagrid had left, when, sitting right behind Malfoy, Harry overheard him gloating to Crabbe and Goyle.

            Harry- ::scowls::

            Draco- ::winces::

"I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore,"

            All but Draco/Destiny- ::glare at Draco::

            Draco- ::looks innocent::

            Destiny- ::looks blank::

 he said, not troubling to keep his voice down. "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.

            James- Now that would not be a good thing!

            Lily- ::shivers:: Oh no, definitely not. Definitely not.

            James- ::hugs Lily and glares at Draco::

            Draco- ::winces:: Well, what do you expect from me? Praise on how great Dumbledore is?

            Sirius- Don’t we wish.

 McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in….”

            Sirius- ::looks alarmed:: Can you imagine what would happen if McGonagall was in charge?

            James- No more pranks! No more late-night rendezvous’! No more trips to the kitchens! No more sneaking out to Hogsmeade!

            Sirius/James- NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

            Remus- ::glares at Sirius/James:: Would you shut up, already? Gees.

Snape swept past Harry, making no comment about Hermione's empty seat and cauldron.

Sirius- Really? You’d think he would, wouldn’t you?

Draco- McGonagall’s in charge. He’s not stupid.

Sirius- Are you sure about that?

Draco- ::glares at Sirius:: Yes. I am.

"Sir," said Malfoy loudly. "Sir, why don't you apply for the headmaster's job?"

Marauders- ::growl::

Lily- ::rolls her eyes::

Destiny- ::snickers::

"Now, now, Malfoy," said Snape, though he couldn't suppress a thin-lipped smile.

            Sirius- ::growls::

            Remus- Uh…Sirius, that growl wasn’t really necessary.

            Sirius- Yes it was. It was a sentence about Snape.

            Others- ::anime sweatdrop::

 "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough."

            Marauders/Lily- o.O

            Destiny- Well that was a nice thing of him to say.

            Sirius- ::twitches:: Snape? Nice thing? In the same sentence? The world is ending, isn’t it?

            Destiny- ::shrugs:: Doesn’t seem like it. Yet.

            James- So the world is going to end?

            Destiny- (dryly) I certainly don’t know. I see auras, not futures.

            James- ^^; Ah. Right. Sorry.

"Yeah, right," said Malfoy, smirking. "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job—

            Sirius- Yeah, I wouldn’t doubt it.

I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir—"

            Marauders- Bullshit!

            Draco- ::glares at the Marauders::

Snape smirked as he swept off around the dungeon, fortunately not spotting Seamus Finnigan, who was pretending to vomit into his cauldron.

Sirius- ::snickers:: I rather like that kid.

James- ::grins:: Don’t we all?

"I'm quite surprised the Mudbloods

            All but Draco- ::growl::

 haven't all packed their bags by now," Malfoy went on. "Bet you five Galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger—"

            Sirius/James- Kill the Malfoy!

            Draco- Hey, come on! That was two years ago!

            Harry- But you’re not any different now.

            Draco- …Shut up. I’m trying not to be killed.

            Remus- Don’t worry, they won’t kill you. James’ mother gets really scary when you piss her off.

            James- ::twitches::

The bell rang at that moment, which was lucky; at Malfoy's last words, Ron had leapt off his stool,

            Sirius- Aw, isn’t that sweet?

            Harry- ::rolls his eyes:: Shut up, Sirius. I was ready to kill him too.

            Draco- ::pouts::

            Harry- ::snickers::

            Draco- Shut up, Potter.

            Harry- What, no Harry anymore?

            Draco- ::glares::

 and in the scramble to collect bags and books, his attempts to reach Malfoy went unnoticed.

            Draco- Unfortunately.

"Let me at him," Ron growled as Harry and Dean hung onto his arms. "I don't care, I don't need my wand, I'm going to kill him with my bare hands—"

Peter- That could be messy.

"Hurry up, I've got to take you all to Herbology," barked Snape over the class's heads, and off they marched, with Harry, Ron, and Dean bringing up the rear, Ron still trying to get loose. It was only safe to let go of him when Snape had seen them out of the castle and they were making their way across the vegetable patch toward the greenhouses.

Remus- So he only walks them to the doors? Wouldn’t that be kind of dangerous?

Harry- No.

Remus- … ::shrugs::

The Herbology class was very subdued; there were now two missing from their number, Justin and Hermione.

Professor Sprout set them all to work pruning the Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Harry went to tip an armful of withered stalks onto the compost heap and found himself face-to-face with Ernie Macmillan.

            Sirius- Who promptly began ranting about how horrible of a person Harry was to petrify his own best friend.

 Ernie took a deep breath and said, very formally, "I just want to say, Harry, that I'm sorry I ever suspected you.

            Sirius- ::looks surprised::

 I know you'd never attack Hermione Granger, and I apologize for all the stuff I said. We're all in the same boat now, and, well—"

He held out a pudgy hand, and Harry shook it.

Ernie and his friend Hannah came to work at the same Shrivelfig as Harry and Ron.

"That Draco Malfoy character,"

            Draco- Merlin! Would you people stop talking about me?

            Harry- No.

            Draco- ::glares at Harry::

 said Ernie, breaking off dead twigs, "he seems very pleased about all this, doesn't he? D'you know, I think he might be Slytherin's heir."

"That's clever of you," said Ron, who didn't seem to have forgiven Ernie as readily as Harry.

Remus- Smart.

James/Sirius- ::roll their eyes::

"Do you think it's Malfoy, Harry?" Ernie asked.

"No," said Harry, so firmly that Ernie and Hannah stared.

Draco- ::snickers::

Harry- Shut up.

A second later, Harry spotted something.

Sirius- ::grins:: It was Draco!

Harry- Shut up, Sirius.

Several large spiders were scuttling over the ground on the other side of the glass,

            Sirius- On the other side of the what?

            Harry- The glass.

            Sirius- The grass?

            Harry- No. The glass.

            Sirius- But you just said grass!

            Harry- No I didn’t. Now shut up and let me read.

            Sirius- ::pouts::

 moving in an unnaturally straight line as though taking the shortest route to a prearranged meeting. Harry hit Ron over the hand with his pruning shears.

            Sirius- That’s painful, you know. ::glares pointedly at Remus::

            Remus- ::looks innocent::

"Ouch! What're you—"

Harry pointed out the spiders, following their progress with his eyes screwed up against the sun.

Sirius- And looking constipated.

James- ::smacks Sirius::

Sirius- Ow! ::rubs his head and glares at James:: Well, you do look constipated when you do that!

James- ::raises hand to smack Sirius again::

Sirius- ::dodges it::

Remus- Ow! ::tries to smack James back::

James- ::dodges::

Peter- Ow! Hey! ::grabs a pillow and throws it at Remus::

Remus- Eek! ::dodges::

Destiny- ::catches it:: … ::looks down at it for a second:: PILLOW FIGHT! ::promptly hits Sirius over the head with it::

Sirius- Ow! You bitch! ::grabs one of James’ pillow and swings it to hit Destiny::

Remus- ::gets hit:: Sirius! ::grabs James’ last pillow and hits Sirius with it::

James- Hey! My pillows! ::is promptly whacked over the head by Sirius:: All right, that’s it! ::runs over to the other bed, grabs a pillow, runs back over, and hits Sirius::

Peter- ::gets up and grabs one of the pillows on the other bed as well, runs back over and hits Destiny::

Marauders/Destiny- ::promptly have a five-way pillow fight::

Harry/Draco/Lily- ::jump off the bed and run to the other side of the room::

Lily- They are such idiots.

Harry/Draco- Yeah.

(Five minutes later)

Sirius/Remus- ::have once again started snogging on James’ bed::

James- Guys! C’mon!

Draco- ::sighs:: We could be here for a while.

Harry- …Anyone have some popcorn?

Others except Draco/Remus/Sirius- o.O

Draco- No. Sorry.

Harry- Damn.

Others except Remus/Sirius- o.O

Harry/Draco- What?

James- Nothing. Nothing at all.

(A few minutes later)

Harry- ::stares at Remus/Sirius:: How long can you possibly spend snogging without running out of breath?

Draco- (under his breath so nobody hears him) Would you like to find out?

Harry- What?

Draco- ::blushes:: Nothing!

Harry- Draco, do you want me to mess up your hair again?

Draco- NO!

Harry- Then tell me what you said!

Draco- ::blushes more:: I said… ::mumbles incoherently::

Harry- Draco.

Draco- ::takes a deep breath:: Iaskedyouifyouwouldliketofindout!

Harry- O.O

Draco- Er…Harry?

Harry- O.O

Draco- Harry, are you all right?

Harry- O.O

Draco- …Harry…? ::waves a hand in front of Harry’s face::

Harry- O.O

Draco- ::looks around helplessly at everyone else::

All but Sirius/Remus- O.O

Sirius/Remus- ::still snogging::

Draco- Ah…shit. ::pushes Harry, unnecessarily hard::

Harry- Ack! ::stumbles backwards and grabs onto Draco’s still outstretched arm::

Draco- Hey! ::stumbles into Harry::

Harry/Draco- ::fall over again::

Draco- …Harry?

Harry- Did you actually just say what I thought you said?

Draco- ::blushes:: Yes.

Harry- ::blinks:: Um….

Draco- ::raises an eyebrow:: Um?

Harry- …Maybe I would like to find out.

Draco- O.O

Harry- Draco?

Draco- YES! ::jumps back up, pulling Harry with him::

Harry- Shi— Oomph! …Mmm….

Draco/Harry- ::now they’re snogging::

All but Sirius/Remus- O.O

Sirius/Remus- ::finally stop snogging::

Sirius- Er…sorry, Ja—Hey, Rem! Look at Harry and Draco!

Remus- Huh? …O.O

Sirius- ::giggles:: WHAT DID I TELL YOU GUYS?

All but Draco/Harry- ::jump in surprise::

James- Somebody tell me I’m hallucinating.

Peter- I hope you’re not hallucinating the same thing I am.

Lily- Oh. My. God!

Destiny- ::blinks rapidly:: Hm. That didn’t take as long as I thought it would.

Lily- You mean you knew?

Destiny- ::shrugs:: Yeah. It’s all in the auras, you know.

Sirius- ::grins:: So they are perfect for each other, then! I knew it!

Remus- Yeah, good for them. ::pauses:: Er…what do we do now?

Sirius- Wait for them to finish, of course!

Peter- We’re going to be here for a looooooooong time.

Sirius- …Anyone have some popcorn?

James/Peter/Lily/Destiny- ::give Sirius weird looks::

Sirius- What? Was it something I said?

Remus- ::shrugs::

(Some small amount of time later.)

Draco/Harry- ::finally break apart, both breathing heavily::

James- (grouchily) Are you two quite finished?

Draco- …I think so.

Harry- Hm….

Peter- …Is Harry still going to be able to read?

Harry- (dreamily) I’m fine….

Draco- ::smirks::

James- ::sighs:: Oh, boy….

Sirius- Shut up, James. You’ve never been kissed by a Malfoy before.

James- And you have?

Sirius- ::scowls:: Yes. I have.

All- ::uncomfortable silence::

Harry- Um…. Let’s get back to the book, shall we?

Draco- Yes, that’s a good idea. A very good idea.

James- Definitely. Harry, where’d you drop the book?

Harry- It’s…er…right here. ::picks the book up:: Okay…page…. What page was I on?

Sirius- You just saw the spiders.

Harry- Ah. Right. ::finds his page::

All- ::get back onto the bed::

Harry- Right then. And off we go. Again.

"Oh, yeah," said Ron, trying, and failing, to look pleased.

            Sirius- Spiders plus Ron equals run screaming in the opposite direction.

 "But we can't follow them now—"

Ernie and Hannah were listening curiously.

Remus- Well make them go away. It’s none of their business.

Harry's eyes narrowed as he focused on the spiders. If they pursued their fixed course, there could be no doubt about where they would end up.

"Looks like they're heading for the Forbidden Forest…."

And Ron looked even unhappier about that.

At the end of the lesson Professor Sprout escorted the class to their Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

            Sirius/James- (deadpan) Yay. Lockhart.

 Harry and Ron lagged behind the others so they could talk out of earshot.

"We'll have to use the Invisibility Cloak again,"

            James- Yay!

 Harry told Ron. "We can take Fang with us. He's used to going into the forest with Hagrid, he might be some help."

"Right," said Ron, who was twirling his wand nervously in his fingers. "Er—aren't there—aren't there supposed to be werewolves in the forest?" he added as they took their usual places at the back of Lockhart's classroom.

Preferring not to answer that question, Harry said, "There are good things in there, too. The centaurs are all right, and the unicorns….”

Ron had never been into the Forbidden Forest before. Harry had entered it only once and had hoped never to do so again.

Marauders- Why not?

Lily- Boys!

Marauders- ::look innocent::

Lily- ::sighs::

Lockhart bounded into the room and the class stared at him. Every other teacher in the place was looking grimmer than usual, but Lockhart appeared nothing short of buoyant.

Harry/Draco- ::sigh miserably::

"Come now," he cried, beaming around him. "Why all these long faces?"

People swapped exasperated looks, but nobody answered.

"Don't you people realize," said Lockhart, speaking slowly, as though they were all a bit dim,

            Peter- They’re not the ones who’re a bit dim.

 "the danger has passed! The culprit has been taken away—"

"Says who?" said Dean Thomas loudly.

"My dear young man, the Minister of Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he was guilty," said Lockhart, in the tone of someone explaining that one and one made two.

Sirius- And here I’ve been thinking for all this time that it was eleven!

Draco- Eleven?

Sirius- Yeah! You know, when you put one and one next to each other instead of above each other?

Draco- …So what was one and one above each other?

Sirius- A really big line.

Draco- ^^;

"Oh, yes he would," said Ron, even more loudly than Dean.

"I flatter myself I know a touch more about Hagrid's arrest than you do, Mr. Weasley," said Lockhart in a self-satisfied tone.

Marauders- No you don’t.

Ron started to say that he didn't think so, somehow, but stopped in midsentence when Harry kicked him hard under the desk.

"We weren't there, remember?" Harry muttered.

But Lockhart's disgusting cheeriness, his hints that he had always thought Hagrid was no good, his confidence that the whole business was now at an end, irritated Harry so much that he yearned to throw Gadding with Ghouls right in Lockhart's stupid face.

            Sirius- Why didn’t you?

            Harry- I wasn’t exactly in any hurry to get in trouble, you know.

 Instead he contented himself with scrawling a note to Ron: Let's do it tonight.

Ron read the message, swallowed hard, and looked sideways at the empty seat usually filled by Hermione. The sight seemed to stiffen his resolve, and he nodded.

Sirius- ^-^

Others- ::roll their eyes::

 

The Gryffindor common room was always very crowded these days, because from six o'clock onward the Gryffindors had nowhere else to go.

            Sirius- And that, to put it bluntly, really sucked.

 They also had plenty to talk about, with the result that the common room often didn't empty until past midnight.

            Peter- What was there to talk about? How weird it is that nothing was happening? I think that would lose its entertainment after a while.

            Harry- (dryly) It did.

Harry went to get the Invisibility Cloak out of his trunk right after dinner, and spent the evening sitting on it,

            James- If you farted, I’m going to kill you.

            Lily- James!

            Harry- Don’t worry, I didn’t.

 waiting for the room to clear. Fred and George challenged Harry and Ron to a few games of Exploding Snap, and Ginny sat watching them, very subdued in Hermione's usual chair. Harry and Ron kept losing on purpose, trying to finish the games quickly, but even so, it was well past midnight when Fred, George, and Ginny finally went to bed.

            Sirius- Gees.

Harry and Ron waited for the distant sounds of two dormitory doors closing before seizing the cloak, throwing it over themselves, and climbing through the portrait hole.

It was another difficult journey through the castle, dodging all the teachers. At last they reached the entrance hall, slid back the lock on the oak front doors, squeezed between them, trying to stop any creaking, and stepped out into the moonlit grounds.

"'Course," said Ron abruptly as they strode across the black grass, "we might get to the forest and find there's nothing to follow. Those spiders might not've been going there at all.

            Sirius- Fat chance.

            Destiny- Have you ever wondered why “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean the same thing?

            Sirius- Many times. I’ve never figured out why, though.

            James- And we want to finish this book sometime in the near future, so if Harry could just get back to reading....

            Destiny- ::sticks her tongue out at James::

 I know it looked like they were moving in that sort of general direction, but…"

His voice trailed away hopefully.

They reached Hagrid's house, sad and sorry-looking with its blank windows.

            Sirius- So does that mean his house is sad since Hagrid’s not there?

            Remus- ::sighs:: Sirius. Shut up.

            Sirius- ::grins::

 When Harry pushed the door open, Fang went mad with joy at the sight of them. Worried he might wake everyone at the castle with his deep, booming barks, they hastily fed him treacle fudge from a tin on the mantelpiece, which glued his teeth together.

            Sirius- Ah. Hagrid cooking.

Harry left the Invisibility Cloak on Hagrid's table. There would be no need for it in the pitch-dark forest.

James- I wouldn’t be too sure of that if I were you….

"C'mon, Fang, we're going for a walk," said Harry, patting his leg, and Fang bounded happily out of the house behind them, dashed to the edge of the forest, and lifted his leg against a large sycamore tree.

Sirius- Said tree promptly run away in horror.

Peter- I don’t think trees can run….

Sirius- …Shut up, Pete.

Peter- ::smirks::

Harry took out his wand, murmured, "Lumos!" and a tiny light appeared at the end of it, just enough to let them watch the path for signs of spiders.

"Good thinking," said Ron. "I’d light mine, too, but you know—it'd probably blow up or something….”

James- But wouldn’t that be amusing?

Lily- No. Not really.

Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder, pointing at the grass. Two solitary spiders were hurrying away from the wandlight into the shade of the trees.

"Okay," Ron sighed as though resigned to the worst,

            Peter- They’re just little spiders…. You just wait and see what you’ll be running into next.

            James- I’m sure they don’t want to know.

 "I'm ready. Let's go."

So, with Fang scampering around them, sniffing tree roots and leaves, they entered the forest. By the glow of Harry's wand, they followed the steady trickle of spiders moving along the path. They walked behind them for about twenty minutes, not speaking, listening hard for noises other than breaking twigs and rustling leaves.

            Draco- Shouldn’t you have been listening for sounds other than the ones you made? You’d be surprised what will jump out at you after you hear something else breaking twigs…or rustling leaves.

            Harry- Shut up, Draco.

 Then, when the trees had become thicker than ever, so that the stars overhead were no longer visible,

            Sirius- ::pouts:: I’ve been blocked!

            Others- ::roll their eyes::

 and Harry's wand shone alone in the sea of dark, they saw their spider guides leaving the path.

Harry paused, trying to see where the spiders were going, but everything outside his little sphere of light was pitch-black. He had never been this deep into the forest before. He could vividly remember Hagrid advising him not to leave the forest path last time he'd been in here. But Hagrid was miles away now,

            Peter- Which, of course, means that such warnings don’t need to be followed anymore….

 probably sitting in a cell in Azkaban, and he had also said to follow the spiders.

            Sirius- So which do they do?

            James- Decisions, decisions.

            Remus- I vote follow the spiders.

Something wet touched Harry's hand and he jumped backward, crushing Ron’s foot, but it was only Fang's nose.

All but Harry/Lily- ::snicker::

Harry- ::flushes:: Shut up.

"What d'you reckon?" Harry said to Ron, whose eyes he could just make out, reflecting the light from his wand.

"We've come this far," said Ron.

Sirius- Before he promptly turned tail and ran back for the safety of the castle. Harry stared blankly after him for a moment before shrugging and wandering into the depths of the forest.

Peter- And then he was eaten by an Acromantula. The end.

James/Lily- ::smack Peter::

So they followed the darting shadows of the spiders into the trees.

            Sirius- Why’d they fallow the shadows of the spiders instead of the spiders themselves?

            Destiny- Sirius, do you ever shut up?

            Sirius- No.

            Destiny- ::sighs:: Was afraid not.

 They couldn't move very quickly now; there were tree roots and stumps in their way, barely visible in the near blackness. Harry could feel Fang's hot breath on his hand. More than once, they had to stop, so that Harry could crouch down and find the spiders in the wandlight.

They walked for what seemed like at least half an hour, their robes snagging on low-slung branches and brambles. After a while, they noticed that the ground seemed to be sloping downward, though the trees were as thick as ever.

Then Fang suddenly let loose a great, echoing bark, making both Harry and Ron jump out of their skins.

Destiny- But what do the skins do without them?

Remus- I doubt we want to know. ::looks pointedly at Sirius::

Sirius- ::pouts::

"What?" said Ron loudly,

            Draco- That seems really out of place for some reason.

            Harry- ::shrugs:: Well that’s what he’d said.

 looking around into the pitch-dark, and gripping Harry's elbow very hard.

"There's something moving over there," Harry breathed. "Listen…sounds like something big….”

They listened. Some distance to their right, the something big was snapping branches as it carved a path through the trees.

"Oh, no," said Ron. "Oh, no, oh, no, oh—"

"Shut up," said Harry frantically. "It'll hear you."

"Hear me?" said Ron in an unnaturally high voice. "It's already heard Fang!"

Draco- ::smirks:: Some brave Gryffindors you were.

Harry- There’s a difference between bravery and stupidity. We’re not stupid.

Draco- Are you sure about that?

Harry- Do you ever plan on snogging me again?

Draco- ::shuts up, but glowers at Harry::

Harry- ::looks innocent::

Others- o.O

The darkness seemed to be pressing on their eyeballs

            Destiny- Is that even possible?

 as they stood, terrified, waiting. There was a strange rumbling noise

            Sirius- It’s the car!

 and then silence.

"What d'you think it's doing?" said Harry.

"Probably getting ready to pounce," said Ron.

They waited, shivering, hardly daring to move.

"D'you think it's gone?" Harry whispered.

Lily- Did it make any noise to announce its leaving?

Harry- Why would it?

"Dunno—"

Then, to their right, came a sudden blaze of light, so bright in the darkness that both of them flung up their hands to shield their eyes. Fang yelped and tried to run, but got lodged in a tangle of thorns and yelped even louder.

Destiny- Dumb dog.

Sirius- ::smacks Destiny::

Destiny- ::smirks::

"Harry!" Ron shouted, his voice breaking with relief "Harry, it's our car!"

"What?"

"Come on!"

Harry blundered after Ron toward the light, stumbling and tripping, and a moment later they had emerged into a clearing.

Mr. Weasley's car was standing, empty, in the middle of a circle of thick trees under a roof of dense branches, its headlights ablaze. As Ron walked, open-mouthed, toward it, it moved slowly toward him, exactly like a large, turquoise dog greeting its owner.

Sirius- I wanna be a turquoise dog!

Remus- (threateningly) That can be arranged, if you like.

"It's been here all the time!" said Ron delightedly, walking around the car. "Look at it. The forest's turned it wild…."

Lily- I never did like it when wizards played with cars….

James- What’s wrong with it?

Lily- ::shrugs:: I don’t know, I just don’t like it.

James- …

The sides of the car were scratched and smeared with mud. Apparently it had taken to trundling around the forest on its own. Fang didn't seem at all keen on it; he kept close to Harry, who could feel him quivering. His breathing slowing down again, Harry stuffed his wand back into his robes.

Sirius- Which wa—

Remus- ::smacks Sirius:: Shut up!

Sirius- ::pouts::

"And we thought it was going to attack us!" said Ron, leaning against the car and patting it. "I wondered where it had gone!"

Harry squinted around on the floodlit ground for signs of more spiders, but they had all scuttled away from the glare of the headlights.

"We've lost the trail," he said. "C'mon, let's go and find them."

Ron didn't speak. He didn't move. His eyes were fixed on a point some ten feet above the forest floor, right behind Harry. His face was livid with terror.

Peter- Wee. Spiders.

Harry didn't even have time to turn around. There was a loud clicking noise and suddenly he felt something long and hairy seize him around the middle and lift him off the ground, so that he was hanging facedown. Struggling, terrified, he heard more clicking, and saw Ron's legs leave the ground, too, heard Fang whimpering and howling—next moment, he was being swept away into the dark trees.

Sirius- Screaming in terror?

Harry- No.

Sirius- Well, why not?

Harry- ::ignores him::

Sirius- ::pouts::

Head hanging, Harry saw that what had hold of him was marching on six immensely long, hairy legs, the front two clutching him tightly below a pair of shining black pincers. Behind him, he could hear another of the creatures, no doubt carrying Ron. They were moving into the very heart of the forest.

            Peter- ::winces:: That’s so not good.

 Harry could hear Fang fighting to free himself from a third monster, whining loudly, but Harry couldn't have yelled even if he had wanted to; he seemed to have left his voice back with the car in the clearing.

            Sirius- Oh. That’s why not!

He never knew how long he was in the creature's clutches; he only knew that the darkness suddenly lifted enough for him to see that the leaf-strewn ground was now swarming with spiders.

            Destiny- Ugh.

 Craning his neck sideways, he realized that they had reached the ridge of a vast hollow, a hollow that had been cleared of trees, so that the stars shone brightly onto the worst scene he had ever laid eyes on.

Spiders. Not tiny spiders like those surging over the leaves below. Spiders the size of carthorses, eight-eyed, eight-legged, black, hairy, gigantic.

            Remus- There’s something wrong with that sentence….

            Sirius- There’s lotsa somethings wrong with that sentence. Can we get a move on, please?

            Remus- Okay.

 The massive specimen that was carrying Harry made its way down the steep slope toward a misty, domed web in the very center of the hollow, while its fellows closed in all around it, clicking their pincers excitedly at the sight of its load.

Harry fell to the ground on all fours as the spider released him.

            Peters- Crushing a ton of the poor little spiders. Such a shame.

 Ron and Fang thudded down next to him. Fang wasn't howling anymore, but cowering silently on the spot. Ron looked exactly like Harry felt. His mouth was stretched wide in a kind of silent scream and his eyes were popping.

            Draco- ::snickers::

            Harry- It isn’t funny.

Harry suddenly realized that the spider that had dropped him was saying something. It had been hard to tell, because he clicked his pincers with every word he spoke.

"Aragog!" it called. "Aragog!"

Remus- That’s only one word.

Sirius- Or name, rather.

Remus- …Shut up.

And from the middle of the misty, domed web, a spider the size of a small elephant emerged, very slowly. There was gray in the black of his body and legs, and each of the eyes on his ugly,

            Peter- I don’t think the author likes spiders very much.

            Destiny- Who would?

 pincered head was milky white. He was blind.

"What is it?" he said, clicking his pincers rapidly.

"Men," clicked the spider who had caught Harry.

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

"Strangers,"

            James- Not much for conversing, are they?

 clicked the spider who had brought Ron.

"Kill them," clicked Aragog fretfully. "I was sleeping….”

"We're friends of Hagrid's," Harry shouted. His heart seemed to have left his chest to pound in his throat.

Click, click, click went the pincers of the spiders all around the hollow.

Aragog paused.

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

Peter- Hagrid’s also never been to Azkaban before. What a coincidence, eh?

"Hagrid's in trouble," said Harry, breathing very fast. "That's why we've come."

"In trouble?" said the aged spider, and Harry thought he heard concern beneath the clicking pincers. "But why has he sent you?"

Harry thought of getting to his feet but decided against it; he didn't think his legs would support him. So he spoke from the ground, as calmly as he could.

"They think, up at the school, that Hagrid's been setting a—a—

            Sirius- Basilisk?

something on students. They've taken him to Azkaban."

Aragog clicked his pincers furiously, and all around the hollow the sound was echoed by the crowd of spiders; it was like applause, except applause didn't usually make Harry feel sick with fear.

"But that was years ago," said Aragog fretfully.

            Destiny- Does he say everything fretfully? Gees.

 "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?" said Harry, who could feel cold sweat on his forehead.

"I!" said Aragog, clicking angrily.

            Sirius- I wish we had something to make clicking noises.

            Remus- I wish you hadn’t come up with that idea. If either you or James moves from this bed, I’m going to kill you.

            Sirius- But you won’t kill James?

            Remus- No. I’ll consider it, though.

 "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….”

            Lily- Even the little spiders?

Harry summoned what remained of his courage.

Draco- Not much, was there?

Harry- ::glares at Draco::

"So you never—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 who was killed 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 that girl?"

            Sirius- It’s called a basilisk. Read up on it, why don’t you?

            Harry- Sirius, shut up already!

 said Harry. "Because whatever it is, it's back and attacking people again—"

His words were drowned by a loud outbreak of clicking and the rustling of many long legs shifting angrily; large black shapes shifted all around him.

"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?" said Harry urgently.

More loud clicking, more rustling; the spiders seemed to be closing in.

"We do not speak of it!" said Aragog fiercely. "We do not name it!

            James- The Voldemort—

            Peter- ::winces::

            James- Of the beasts. Nice.

 I never even told Hagrid the name of that dread creature, though he asked me, many times."

Harry didn't want to press the subject, not with the spiders pressing closer on all sides. Aragog seemed to be tired of talking. He was backing slowly into his domed web, but his fellow spiders continued to inch slowly toward Harry and Ron.

"We'll just go, then," Harry called desperately to Aragog, hearing leaves rustling behind him.

"Go?" said Aragog slowly. "I think not….”

"But—but—"

"My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid, on my command. But I cannot deny them fresh meat, when it wanders so willingly into our midst.

            All but Harry- Yes you can!

 Good-bye, friend of Hagrid."

Harry spun around. Feet away, towering above him, was a solid wall of spiders, clicking, their many eyes gleaming in their ugly black heads.

Even as he reached for his wand, Harry knew it was no good, there were too many of them, but as he tried to stand, ready to die fighting, a loud, long note sounded, and a blaze of light flamed through the hollow.

James/Sirius- Yes! Go car!

Mr. Weasley's car was thundering down the slope, headlights glaring, its horn screeching, knocking spiders aside; several were thrown onto their backs, their endless legs waving in the air. The car screeched to a halt in front of Harry and Ron and the doors flew open.

"Get Fang!" Harry yelled, diving into the front seat; Ron seized the boarhound around the middle and threw him, yelping, into the back of the car—the doors slammed shut—Ron didn't touch the accelerator but the car didn't need him; the engine roared and they were off, hitting more spiders. They sped up the slope, out of the hollow, and they were soon crashing through the forest, branches whipping the windows as the car wound its way cleverly through the widest gaps, following a path it obviously knew.

Harry looked sideways at Ron. His mouth was still open in the silent scream, but his eyes weren't popping anymore.

"Are you okay?"

Ron stared straight ahead, unable to speak.

Lily- (dryly) Apparently he isn’t.

They smashed their way through the undergrowth, Fang howling loudly in the back seat, and Harry saw the side mirror snap off as they squeezed past a large oak. After ten noisy, rocky minutes, the trees thinned, and Harry could again see patches of sky.

The car stopped so suddenly that they were nearly thrown into the windshield.

            Destiny- And the moral of the story is: always wear your seatbelts!

 They had reached the edge of the forest. Fang flung himself at the window in his anxiety to get out, and when Harry opened the door, he shot off through the trees to Hagrid's house, tail between his legs. Harry got out too, and after a minute or so, Ron seemed to regain the feeling in his limbs and followed, still stiff-necked and staring. Harry gave the car a grateful pat as it reversed back into the forest and disappeared from view.

Harry went back into Hagrid's cabin to get the Invisibility Cloak. Fang was trembling under a blanket in his basket. When Harry got outside again, he found Ron being violently sick in the pumpkin patch.

All- Ew….

"Follow the spiders," said Ron weakly, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

            All- Ew!

 "I'll never forgive Hagrid. We're lucky to be alive."

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

"That's exactly Hagrid's problem!" said Ron, thumping the wall of the cabin. "He always thinks monsters aren't as bad as they're made out, and look where it's got him! A cell in Azkaban!" He was shivering uncontrollably now. "What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out, I’d like to know?"

Sirius- That you’re too dense to realize that it’s a basilisk?

Harry- ::pouts:: We get it. Eventually.

"That Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets," said Harry, throwing the cloak over Ron and prodding him in the arm to make him walk. "He was innocent."

Ron gave a loud snort. Evidently, hatching Aragog in a cupboard wasn't his idea of being innocent.

Destiny- It really isn’t.

James- You don’t like spiders very much, do you?

Destiny- No.

As the castle loomed nearer Harry twitched the cloak to make sure their feet were hidden, then pushed the creaking front doors ajar. They walked carefully back across the entrance hall and up the marble staircase, holding their breath as they passed corridors where watchful sentries were walking. At last they reached the safety of the Gryffindor common room, where the fire had burned itself into glowing ash. They took off the cloak and climbed the winding stair to their dormitory.

Ron fell onto his bed without bothering to get undressed. Harry, however, didn't feel very sleepy. He sat on the edge of his four-poster, thinking hard about everything Aragog had said.

Sirius- And then he realized it was a basilisk?

Harry- No.

Sirius- ::sighs::

The creature that was lurking somewhere in the castle, he thought, sounded like a sort of monster Voldemort—

            Peter- ::winces::

            James- Well, that’s what it is.

even other monsters didn't want to name it. But he and Ron were no closer to finding out what it was, or how it Petrified its victims. Even Hagrid had never known what was in the Chamber of Secrets.

            Sirius- I know!

Harry swung his legs up onto his bed and leaned back against his pillows, watching the moon glinting at him through the tower window.

He couldn't see what else they could do. They had hit dead ends everywhere. Riddle had caught the wrong person, the Heir of Slytherin had got off, and no one could tell whether it was the same person, or a different one, who had opened the Chamber this time. There was nobody else to ask. Harry lay down, still thinking about what Aragog had said.

He was becoming drowsy when what seemed like their very last hope occurred to him, and he suddenly sat bolt upright.

"Ron," he hissed through the dark, "Ron—"

Sirius- Go get me a rooster!

Ron woke with a yelp like Fang's, stared wildly around, and saw

Harry.

"Ron—that girl who died. Aragog said she was found in a bathroom," said Harry, ignoring Neville's snuffling snores from the corner. "What if she never left the bathroom? What if she's still there?"

All but Harry- Myrtle?

Ron rubbed his eyes, frowning through the moonlight. And then he understood, too.

"You don't think—not Moaning Myrtle?"

Remus- Oh, no, definitely not.

James- It does rather make sense, though.

Remus- Unfortunately enough, yes, it does.

Sirius- That’s wonderful. Can we get on with the book, please?

Harry- Yes, we can.

 

(1) First: Sorry about the looooooong delay in this chapter. I’ve been trying to get this done for about a week or so now, but what with my Junior year of school in full swing, it’s been kind of hard to really get to work on any of my fics.

(2) Um…any questions to answer today? Oh, yes, here we go. To Xamona: The way I see it, Harry wouldn’t be freaking out over Peter because he truly believes that you shouldn’t mess with time. If he would start ranting about Peter or whatever, and the others caught on, there is a good chance that it would eventually change time, which Harry doesn’t really want to happen, despite the horrible life he’s had. To Chang Wumei: I’ll think about it. To Ashley: I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. The pairings I’ve chosen so far are staying, and you’ll just have to deal with them (or, it, rather, since you like RL/SB). Thanks for the input, though. To Torva: Don’t worry, this is it on the pairings…for the MST part, at any rate. And the OC that will be important…well, you’ll just have to see. I’m sorry, I can’t really say any more than that…I don’t want to give anything away. ^^

(3) Wee, no more reviews! ^^; One last message here: if you don’t have a yahoo id or simply don’t want to join my yahoo group or whatever…I’m also posting fanfic stuff on my new livejournal so you can go there to see it. And, hey, you never know…you might find some teasers there, even! ::grins:: Just click on that linky up there. ^^

Chapter Sixteen