"Knock, knock, knock..." A series of knocks echoed from the door. Hagrid stopped crying."Hurry and cover yourselves up. Hide by the fireplace. Don't make a sound and stay quiet."
The invisibility cloak wrapped around Ron and Harry Potter, making them vanish from the room.
Hagrid opened the door. Standing outside were Dumbledore and the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge.
"Headmaster Dumbledore!" Hagrid set down the massive crossbow in his hands.
"Good evening, Hagrid. May I come in?" Dumbledore motioned toward Minister Fudge behind him.
"Of course! Come in, come in." Hagrid held deep respect for Dumbledore—how could he object to the headmaster bringing someone along?
"That's my dad's boss, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge," Ron recognized the man who had entered.
"To be honest, Hagrid, this is a difficult situation for me, but I had no choice. The attacks on students at Hogwarts have grown more serious. Many students have been petrified. The Ministry of Magic has to take action."
Fudge didn't really understand why he had to come here himself. A few days earlier, Regulus Black had approached him, saying that numerous attacks had occurred at Hogwarts recently. While most seemed to be caused by student infighting, the trend was growing concerning. Rumors about the Chamber of Secrets were also spreading through the school. Every duel seemed to involve the same Petrification Curse, making the legend of the Chamber feel increasingly real.
To curb the student infighting, they needed to treat this as a Chamber of Secrets incident. The Ministry had to be seen taking action. So, the minister was asked to make a formal appearance to summon the original suspect from fifty years ago for questioning.
Yes—just questioning, not arrest. They only needed that person to disappear for a few days. Hogwarts would handle the rest, ensuring students stopped using the Chamber as an excuse to fight.
"But I didn't do it! You all know I didn't do it!" Hagrid, thinking he was about to be arrested again, grew agitated.
"I want you to understand, Fudge—I trust Hagrid completely," Dumbledore spoke up on Hagrid's behalf.
"Albus, listen—Hagrid's record doesn't do him any favors. I have to take him in." Fudge shrugged as if to say this wasn't his decision. It was just routine! If it were up to the Aurors, they would've just stormed in. Perhaps that's exactly why the job had fallen to him instead—because a softer touch was needed.
"Take me? Where are you taking me? Not to Azkaban, surely?" Hagrid had once been imprisoned in Azkaban, an experience he would never forget.
"Don't worry, Hagrid. Until there's official confirmation, you'll just be held at the Ministry of Magic." These were Regulus Black's instructions—under no circumstances should someone be locked in Azkaban without proof of guilt.
Just then, another knock at the door. A silver-tipped cane appeared in front of everyone, followed by the entrance of Lucius Malfoy, with his platinum blond hair shining.
"Fudge! You're already here—excellent." Without waiting for Hagrid's response, he walked right in.
"What are you doing here? Get out of my house!" Hagrid had known Lucius for years. Back then, Lucius had been a Death Eater, and Hagrid was part of the Order of the Phoenix. The two had always been at odds. In the end, Lucius had weaseled his way out of punishment at his final trial.
"Believe me, I have no desire to enter this... is this even a house?" Lucius sneered with contempt as he took a few steps inside Hagrid's small hut, nearly bumping into two baby lions that darted toward the fireplace."I just came to the school on some business and was told Dumbledore was here."
"And what business do you have with me at the school?" Dumbledore calmly reminded Lucius that he wasn't here to critique Hagrid's home—he had a purpose.
"My fellow governors and I believe it's time for you to step down. This is your suspension order, signed by all twelve members of the board. We feel that you're growing increasingly muddled with age. If these attacks continue, Hogwarts' students will soon be wiped out. Just think what a loss that would be to the school."
Lucius remembered the task he'd been given—Regulus Black had asked for his help. This was all part of a staged performance with Dumbledore. Though Lucius found the request distasteful, he agreed—for Draco's sake.
"You can't dismiss Dumbledore! If he leaves, Hogwarts will truly be doomed! Mark my words—Muggle-borns won't stand a chance. They'll be slaughtered!" Hagrid, unaware of the plan, was visibly shaken. He knew such a suspension could lead to dramatic changes at Hogwarts.
"Is that what you believe?" As one of the school's governors, Lucius cared no less than Dumbledore or Hagrid about its future.
"Hagrid, calm yourself. If the board of governors wants me to leave, then I must. But as long as there's someone at Hogwarts who calls for help, someone will always come to answer."Dumbledore's gaze fell directly on the two figures hidden beneath the invisibility cloak.
"Touching. Please, be my guest." Lucius knew his part was done. The rest was no longer his concern.
"Let's go, Hagrid," said Fudge. His task had been to take Hagrid away—but Dumbledore's dismissal was an unexpected twist.
"Ahem... If anyone's looking for something, all they need to do is follow the spiders. That's right, the spiders will lead them. That's all I have to say. Oh! And I need someone to feed Fang for me."Hagrid knew he had to go, but he still left behind these cryptic words—not that Harry Potter and Ron would necessarily understand them.
What on earth is he talking about? Fudge glanced around the hut in confusion. Could it be some kind of wizard spell? Never mind—whatever it was, he chose to ignore it.
"Hagrid's right. If Dumbledore leaves, there'll be attacks every day," Ron caught only that one sentence.
"Look! The spiders are crawling out. Let's go! Come on, Fang!"As soon as Harry noticed the unusual movement of the spiders, his determination to find answers kicked in. He grabbed a lantern and followed them out.
"Where are we going?" Ron had no idea what Harry was thinking, and when he saw the spiders—his greatest fear—he felt a chill run down his spine.
"Didn't you hear what Hagrid said? Follow the spiders."
"But they're heading into the Forbidden Forest!" Ron was almost in tears. Not only were there spiders, but the danger of the Forbidden Forest, too.
"Why spiders? Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies' instead? Harry, I don't like this. I really don't like this. Can't we just not go?"As they followed the trail of spiders, Ron didn't stop complaining the whole way.
After a long trek through the dark Forbidden Forest and crawling through a tunnel, Harry Potter and Ron arrived at the lair of Aragog, the giant spider.
Aragog was a male Acromantula, adopted by Hagrid in 1942 and now living deep in the Forbidden Forest. By 1992, Aragog had grown gray with age and was blind from cataracts.
"Who's there? Hagrid, is that you?"Barely able to see, Aragog slowly emerged from his nest.
His enormous body was the size of a small hill, and each of his eight legs stretched nearly two meters long.
"Don't panic, Ron. We're friends of Hagrid's. You're Hagrid's friend too, aren't you?" Harry asked bravely. Since they had made it this far, he wasn't going to leave without getting some answers.
"Yes. Hagrid never brought anyone else here before," Aragog replied. His eyes were clouded white, turning as he tried to make out the humans in front of him.
Harry Potter: "Hagrid's in trouble. There have been attacks at the school. They're saying it's because Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets. I came to find the truth."
Aragog: "That's not true. Hagrid never opened the Chamber."
Harry Potter: "Then you're not the monster from the Chamber. If you're not the creature, who killed Moaning Myrtle fifty years ago?"
Aragog: "Indeed, I am not. The monster was born in the castle. I was brought here in the pocket of a traveler, from a faraway place. We never speak of that creature—it is a very ancient being, and the one we spiders fear the most."
Harry Potter: "Have you ever seen the monster?"
Aragog: "Never. I was kept in a box by Hagrid and never saw the rest of the castle. The girl was found dead in a bathroom. When they accused me, Hagrid brought me here to protect me."
Ron, face pale and miserable, pointed to the growing swarm of spiders around them."Harry! We need to leave. Look..."
Aragog: "Leave? I'm afraid not. My children won't harm Hagrid because I've forbidden it—but now that fresh meat has come to us of its own free will, I can no longer hold them back. Goodbye... friends of Hagrid."
"Now can we be afraid?"
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