"No! You can't! Get out, get out of my house!" Hagrid roared, more furious now than even when they mentioned sending him to Azkaban.
Lucius raised his chin, calm and smug. "Oh, we certainly can. And this... well, let's be generous and call it a house. Not that I'd like to stay in it a second longer."
Hagrid gritted his teeth, stepping forward. "If you force Dumbledore out, there'll be blood on the walls of this school!"
Lucius waved the threat off like dust on his cloak. "That's no longer your concern. You'd do well to focus on your time in Azkaban."
Ted watched him carefully, noting every little twitch in Lucius' expression. 'He knows about the diary. He knows it opens the Chamber... but if he knew it was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, would he still look this smug? Doubtful. What would he look like then?'
Hagrid, powerless, turned to Dumbledore in desperation. "Dumbledore, you can't go! You can't!"
But Dumbledore's voice remained calm and steady. "Hagrid, don't worry. I will follow the School Governors' orders. But let me be clear: the Headmaster of Hogwarts will never truly be gone as long as there are those who remain loyal to him. At this school, help will always be given to those who ask for it."
Dumbledore glanced meaningfully at the wall—right where Ted and the others were hiding under the Disillusionment Charm.
It was a message. A promise.
And then, both Hagrid and Dumbledore were led away.
Before they disappeared completely, Ted used a quick psychic message spell to whisper to Hagrid: *"Your bracelet! The password is: 'Hear Me Roar!' Don't forget it! Hear me roar!"
Hagrid paused at the threshold, threw on the bearskin coat Ted had given him, and shouted loudly, "If anyone's lookin' for answers, follow the spiders! That's where you'll find the truth!"
Fudge and the others exchanged baffled looks, clearly thinking Hagrid had lost his mind.
He ignored them and muttered under his breath, "Hope someone remembers to feed Fang for me..."
The hut, once warm with company, now felt cold and empty.
The six friends sat silently around the round table. Fang whimpered, pawing at the door. Ted gently stroked the dog's head to calm him.
Jerry looked stricken. "He didn't do anything wrong. He was framed!"
Ted nodded grimly. "And the worst part is, the Ministry probably knows it better than we do."
Neville frowned in confusion. "But why? Why frame him?"
Ted's voice was bitter. "Because they don't care about the truth. They just need a scapegoat. Something to calm the public. Someone to blame. And the people doing the blaming always know how wrong it is."
Hermione clenched her fists. "That's revolting! I used to want to work for the Ministry of Magic after I graduated."
Ron stared at the floor, muttering, "Now what do we do?"
Jerry suddenly stood. "Hagrid said something... follow the spiders!"
Hermione wiped her eyes. "He also asked us to take care of Fang... When is he coming back?"
She started crying again.
Ted gently patted her head. "Don't worry. We'll make sure Hagrid comes home."
But even Harley couldn't stay hopeful. Without Dumbledore, everything felt darker.
The six of them stayed for a while in the quiet, Hagrid-less hut before they made a decision: they would follow the spiders.
Sure enough, little spiders were crawling out of the window, moving in a panicked line out of the house and into the woods.
Jerry squinted. "Why does this feel familiar?"
Ted, while gathering anything in the hut that might be helpful, nodded. "You mentioned it back in winter. Remember? You said you saw a bunch of spiders fleeing the castle, heading outside even though there was snow."
...
With Fang leading the way, the six of them raised their wands and followed the tiny trail of spiders toward the Forbidden Forest.
About ten minutes in, Ted recognized the path. It was leading them toward the Acromantula's territory.
He let out a quiet sigh. 'Hagrid... always thinking what's safe for him is safe for everyone. But not everyone is a half-giant. Doesn't he realize how dangerous this is?'
The Acromantulas weren't just dangerous—they were man-eaters. And thanks to Hagrid's affection for them, not only had their numbers grown, but they were now a terrifying presence in the forest.
An apex predator.
Ted stopped and turned to the others. "Everyone... we need to be ready. This could get dangerous. Real dangerous. Be ready to fight if it comes to that."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Think about it," Ted said, glancing at the others. "What kind of creatures live in the Forbidden Forest? And what kind of pets does Hagrid love?"
Instantly, the group began to connect the dots.
From the dragon in first year to the three-headed dog named Fluffy, Hagrid's taste in pets was, well, terrifying.
Ted continued, "Actually, I've been here before..."
Hermione turned on him with a sharp look. "Wait a minute! Didn't you promise not to enter the Forbidden Forest without me? You said if anything came up, you'd take me with you."
Ted winced. He realized he'd let that slip. "Don't be mad, alright? I just needed a few things from the forest for some experiments. I didn't want to disturb your sleep. You know how important rest is for class... and, uh, growth and all."
Hermione crossed her arms and let out a soft huff, clearly filing that grudge away for later.
Harley tilted her head. "So? You've been here before. What does that mean? What's out here?"
Ted nodded. "I think I know what Hagrid was raising back then."
Jerry leaned in. "What was it?"
"An Acromantula."
"A what?" Ron asked, already looking pale.
"A giant spider. Eight eyes. Massive body. Very smart. Can talk. And yes—it eats people."
At the word "spider," Ron visibly shivered.
"He nearly sent me into a spider's nest?!" Ron stammered, looking horrified. "I swear, when I see Hagrid again, I'm giving him a punch right in the arm!"
Neville grimaced. "Great. So do we keep moving or what?"
The tiny spider that had been leading them had almost vanished from sight.
"We follow it," Ted said firmly.
Harley stepped forward. "I have a plan!"
Their friends immediately turned their head away from Harley and face Ted. "Ted! Tell us your plan!"
Harley blinked. "Hello? I said I have a plan!"
The group all looked to Ted expectantly. "You're probably right, Ted. What do we do?"
Ted blinked. "I didn't even say anything yet..."
'It's fine to trust others,' Ted thought, 'but walking into the lair of a man-eating spider? That deserved a little caution.'
What he didn't tell them was that Hagrid hadn't just raised one Acromantula.
He'd started a colony.
If Ron knew that, he'd be running in the opposite direction right now.
As they followed the spider deeper into the forest, they quickly began working out their backup plan. If the spiders were peaceful, great.
If not? Then they'd have to defend themselves.
With Dumbledore gone from Hogwarts, who cared about school rules?
They walked for over twenty minutes, leaving the safer edges of the Forbidden Forest far behind.
The trees here were eerie and twisted. Most had blackened trunks, bare limbs, and strands of thick white spider silk floating between branches.
Ron was a mess. His knees trembled at every strand of silk. Just thinking about all those legs skittering around made his stomach flip.
"Guys," Ron said weakly. "I... I have a confession. I don't want to go any further. I'll just wait here, alright?"
But before anyone could respond, they stumbled upon a massive pit.
It looked like an abandoned crater—as big as two Quidditch fields laid side by side. In the center was a huge tunnel, and something inside was stirring.
Under the faint moonlight, the six of them saw it clearly: a spider bigger than a Ministry carriage.
Its entire body was coated in thick, bristling black hair. Each of its eight legs was thicker than a grown man's thigh. Eight eyes sat atop its head, though all were cloudy with age.
It was even larger than the Acromantula Ted had fought before. This one... this had to be the elder.
Aragog. Acromantula of the Forbidden Forest. Level 13 (-5)...
Maybe it had lost power due to old age and blindness, but its presence was still overwhelming.
It seemed aware of their arrival, possibly tipped off by the smaller spiders.
Before Ted could react, the spider spoke in a deep, rasping voice: "Is it Hagrid?"
Then, without waiting for an answer, it sniffed the air. "No... the scent is wrong. Who are you?"
Harley took a bold step forward and called out, "We're Hagrid's friends. He sent us to speak with you... about what happened in the castle fifty years ago."