The Forgotten Adventure by Naomi Evans
Chapter 5 Spider Fight
The giant spider sat in the middle of its web carefully repairing the damage that had been done. It looked as if someone had brushed aside the web and walked through the door on the other side. The large spider was not like the one Ron and Harry had encountered in their second year. Its body was the size of a fat four year old child and its eight long legs extended outwards. There was a large red skull mark on the back of the spider. The giant spider did not seem to notice Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It was too enthralled in its meticulous work in string back together its web.
Harry stood silently looking over the situation. It was to their advantage that the spider had been too busy to notice them. He looked over at Hermione who stood on his right side. Hermione nodded her head as if to tell Harry she didn’t know what to do. He looked over at Ron who looked petrified and his eyes never leaving the spider. It was as if he look away from the spider, it would come and kill him. Harry turned back to the spider, ascertaining the situation, wondering how they could get around the spider without its notice. Before Harry could come up with any plan to surprise attack the spider Ron’s whimpering brought the spider’s attention to them.
“What do you want?” its deep voice boomed and echoed off the walls of the maze surrounding them. “Come to destroy my web again. I will not let you do that.”
“We don’t want to destroy your web,” Hermione told the spider gently, but her unsteady voice gave away that she was very frightened of the large creature in front of her. “Is there some way we could get by before you finish fixing it that way you won’t have to fix it twice.”
“My beautiful hard work destroyed in seconds. You think that I will allow you by to destroy it again. Strange and stupid creatures you are. Just like the two that came through here only minutes ago ruining my web,” The spider complained as it finished fixing one strand and moved onto the next.
“Who were these two people?” Harry asked quickly. He hoped to gain some sort of knowledge about who was behind all of it. Deep down he knew it had to be Bellatrix but Harry wanted to know for certain not just a sure guess.
“An older looking and a younger looking creature. The same beautiful hair as that creature there, but longer.” The spider said moving a few of its eyes too look at the children, while it kept the rest of its eyes on its work.
“Can we get through your web please, it is a matter of life and death,” Harry told the spider urgently. It looked at Harry then began fixing the web again and ignored the three of them standing there. Harry nervously ruffled his messy black hair. He wanted to do this without a fight, but he was sure they couldn’t move the spider peacefully.
“Why can’t they ever just let us in? Why does it always have to end up like this?” Ron asked as he wined looking at the spider then back at Harry and Hermione.
“What are we going to do?” Hermione questioned as she looked to Harry again. Her face was frowning with fear and worry.
“Do you have any useful spells Hermione?” Harry whispered back and smiled hopefully at her. He encouraged her with an assured nod that she was the smartest witch of her class. Her face smiled and her eyes lit up but quickly died as the booming voiced interrupted them.
“What are you whispering about?” The spider replied tying a strand of web together.
“Why should we tell you?” Ron angrily spat back. His fear seemed to turn to rage towards the spider, but the fear seemed to still be there as his eyes never moved from it.
“I’ll let you pass only if I can eat one of you. I’m hungry and one of you would do. Not too much to pay to get by and save another,” The spider bargained.
“No way!” Ron cried out venomously. He glared at the spider with a mixture of rage and repulsion. His body seemed to shiver with fear every so often.
“Fine, then I will enjoy all of you for a meal,” the spider answered as it angrily clicked its pincers. It jumped from its web and landed on top of Hermione. Harry quickly sent a spell at the spider, the aim was off and the spell hit the wall making it crumble and crack.
Hermione laid on the floor screaming as she kicked and hit the spider in any ways she could. She kept dodging the venoms fangs as the spider kept trying to bite her. Hermione’s wand had been knocked to the ground and out of her reach, trapped by the legs of the spider. Harry sent another spell towards the spider. At that moment Hermione rolled to the side to dodge the fangs and luckily knocked the spiders’ legs causing the creature to fall and the spell to hit the wall.
Harry cursed and looked to Ron who stood there petrified. “Ron get moving!”
“It’s a spider!” Ron replied frightened as he shivered looking at the spider that still held Hermione captive.
“Ron do something!” Harry roared at him. Ron just blinked his face a pasty white. Harry hopelessly shoved his wand into his pocket and did the last thing he could think of. He rand over and charged the spider and trying to push it off Hermione.
Hermione screamed louder as the spider’s pinchers and fangs came closer to her face. When Harry charged the spiders, it jerked its head to the side. Hermione cried out as she felt her face get cut. With that last scream from Hermione, Ron jumped into action.
“Move Harry!” Ron shouted as he stepped forward. His eyes determined as his jaw stern. Harry leapt back from the spider. Hermione screamed again with horror as the spiders’ fang came closer to her face and this time there was no escape for her.
“Hermione hold still!” Ron said as he raised his wand at the spider. Without waiting for a reply, Ron sent a spell at the spider. It hit the spider and knocked it into the wall. As the spider fell to the ground it bounced back up as though it had fell on springs and was ready to fight. Hermione by this time had gotten to her feet and snatched up her wand. She stood ready with her face filled in anger, pointing her wand at the spider. The spider, who was charging at her, stopped mid-stride with a glance at Hermione face.
“I swear right here and now, if you don’t let us through that web, I will kill you,” Hermione threatened. The spider didn’t wait a moment shied away to a dark corner away from the door.
“My web is not hard to fix,” The spider began to reconsider from the dark corner. “You may go through it.”
“Wait,” Harry called out to Ron who was already climbing through the web. “We should ask it some questions.”
“Good, idea!” Hermione replied, her face bleeding a bit from the wound she received. She would have been normally scared to question a dangerous spider, but now that it was under her control she wasn’t too worried at all. Hermione pointed her wand at the spider that hid in the dark corner.
“Just hurry it up, I don’t want to be around that thing any longer than I have to,” Ron said. He eyed the spider suspiciously.
“Alright, I think you know more than you are telling us. Who was it that ruined your web the first time?” Harry demanded forcefully pulling out his own wand.
The spider looked from Hermione’s wand to Harry. The wise spider eyed them both for a moment and then quickly told them, “It was Bellatrix and a red-haired girl.”
“Why did Bellatrix kidnap Ginny, the red-haired girl?” Harry interrogated. His mind was on a roll now. He knew for sure that it was Bellatrix doing all of this, but he still couldn’t put together why and what her motives were.
“I don’t know,” The spider replied. It pulled itself further into the darkness afraid that its answer wasn’t enough.
“How can you not know? You’re obviously working for her!” Ron exclaimed disbelievingly. His fears seemed to be gone as his desire to know about his sister over took him.
“I do work for her, but I don’t know what she is doing. She told me just to stall you,” The spider answered nervously. A few of its legs fidgeting with fear.
“Is that all,” Hermione asked acidly. Her wand menacingly pointed at the creature.
“I know nothing more, I swear,” The spider nervously clicked its pinchers.
“I think he’s telling the truth,” Hermione answered looking at Harry.
“Let’s go,” Harry sternly replied.
Ron nodded and quickly went through the web and opened the door. Harry looked at Hermione.
“Go ahead, I’m right behind you,” She replied backing away from the spider towards the web. Hermione stood there waiting with her wand ready and Harry motioned her in. She smiled and went through the door. Harry still pointed his wand. At the spider and with one quick glance at the spider in the corner, he followed Hermione.
“She will find your weakness in the end and then kill you!” The spider suddenly threatened. Harry could hear those words, but it was too late to stop and asked what the spider meant. The door was closed and the words were all Harry had. Words that made him frightened as he never had been before.