The Last Heir of Merlin

"There is no way Hagrid is Slytherin's Heir," Jake said defiantly. It was the following morning when the four of them started to discuss what Harry had told them about what he'd seen in the Diary.

"I know what I saw, what Riddle showed me," Harry defended the Diary.

"What Riddle wanted you to see, you mean," Jake fired back.

"Come on, Jake, Riddle got an award for catching the one responsible," Harry reminded.

"Jake could be right," Hermione said, "Riddle might have got the wrong person. Maybe it was some other monster attacking people and not an Acromantula?" Hermione had done her best to hide any trace of her crying the previous night, or any heartache she still felt. It definitely worked, because no one was asking her if she was okay or whatever, and she was completely okay with that.

"How many monsters can this place hold?" Ron asked.

"Okay, look..." Jake said, "You said in the Diary, you saw the spider scurry out of the castle?" Harry nodded, "So why would the Heir write that the Chamber has been opened again?"

"Maybe to throw us off his or her trail?" Harry asked.

"You met Hagrid down in Knockturn Alley, didn't you, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, he said he was buying Flesh-Eating Slug repellent," Harry said quickly.

They all fell silent, 'Hagrid didn't open that Chamber, that much I'm certain of... but if he didn't, then who did?'

After a long pause, Hermione voiced the knottiest question of all in a hesitant voice, "Do you think we should go and ask Hagrid about it all?"

"That'd be a cheerful visit," Ron said, " 'Hello Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?'."

"Mad 'n' Hairy? You wouldn' happen tae be talkin' about me now would yeh?" Hagrid asked, coming up behind them.

"Hagrid!" Harry said in a surprised voice.

"No, no we, uh... we were talking about the Werewolf in Lockhart's book..." Jake said, covering their previous discussion.

"Well, we'll come and see you later, Hagrid, but we've got to get going," Hermione said quickly.

"A'right, you lot stay out of trouble now, eh?" He gave a hearty laugh and walked off.

They all let out a held breath in unison. It was now nearly four months since the attack on Justin and Nick, and nearly everyone seemed to think the attacker, whoever it was, had retired for good. Jake knew better and knew this wasn't over yet. Peeves had also got bored of singing his song for Harry and Ernie had even mustered up the courage to politely ask Harry to hand him a bucket of leaping toads in Herbology.

In March, several of the Mandrakes threw a loud and raucous party in Greenhouse Three, which delighted Professor Sprout, "The moment they start trying to move into each other's pots, we'll know they are fully mature," she told them, "then we will be able to revive those poor people and Mrs. Norris."

The Second Years were given something new to think about as well during their Easter Holidays. The time had come for them to choose their subjects for the third year, a matter that Jake and Hermione took very seriously. When she saw that Harry and Ron weren't being as serious about it, she got testy with them, "It could affect our whole future, the classes we choose for next year."

"I just want to give up Potions," Harry lamented.

"Well, it's one of the Seven Core classes and is mandatory all the way through Fifth year," Jake pointed out.

"Yeah, we know..." that didn't make them feel better.

Many of the Gryffindor Second Years just chose randomly what to take, but Jake and Hermione looked at each other and nodded, marking down to take every class next year.

Gryffindor's next Quidditch Match was against Hufflepuff, and Wood was insisting on the team practices every night after dinner, but Jake only showed up to four of the seven per week, because, as he reminded the Quidditch Captain, his studies came first. The training sessions did get better, or at least drier, as the days went on. The evening before Saturday's match, both Jake and Harry went up the stairs to drop their stuff off, brooms included, since Jake had joined the practice the night before the match. They both felt Gryffindor's chances had never been better.

But neither of them had the chance to remain in cheerful moods. At the top of the stairs to the dormitory, they met Neville, who was looking frantic, "Harry - I don't know who did it - I just found-" He watched them fearfully and just opened the door to their dorm room. Harry's trunk looked like it had vomited all over the place. His cloak lay ripped on the floor, the bedclothes had been pulled off his four-poster and the drawer had been pulled out of his bedside cabinet, the contents strewn over the mattress.

Harry walked over to the bed, open mouthed, treading on a few loose pages of Travels with Trolls . As he and Jake pulled the blankets back onto his bed, with Neville picking up odds and ends off the floor, Ron, Dean, and Seamus came in, and Dean, for the first time since Jake had known him, swore loudly.

"What happened, Harry?" Seamus asked.

"No idea," he replied.

Ron had been examining Harry's robes, noticing that all the pockets were turned inside out, "Someone's been looking for something. Is there anything missing?"

Harry quickly sifted through all of his things and threw them into his trunk when he grabbed it, until he went through everything. When it was all back in there, he immediately recognized what was missing. He got closer to Jake and Ron, "The Diary is gone!" He jerked his head to the door and they all went down to the Common Room, which was half-empty, and joined Hermione, who was sitting by herself, reading a book called Ancient Runes Made Easy .

When they told her what had happened, she looked aghast at the news, "But - only a Gryffindor could have stolen - nobody else knows our passwords-"

"Exactly," Harry said.

*******

They woke the next day to brilliant sunshine and a light, refreshing breeze. Jake wouldn't have to play, hopefully, but he was mentally prepared for it in case he had to, "Perfect Quidditch conditions," Wood mused happily.

He was loading the team's plates up at breakfast, telling Harry specifically that he needed to eat something.

Jake had been happily conversing with Hermione when it was ready to head towards the stadium. They decided to go and get Harry's Quidditch gear, and on the way back, Harry stopped, "That voice!" He yelled, looking over his shoulder, "I just heard it again, didn't you?" They all shook there heads when Hermione slapped her hand to her forehead.

"I think I just understood something... I've got to go to the Library!" She yelled and turned around hastily, running towards said room of the Castle.

" What does she understand?" Harry asked.

"Loads more than I do, but it is Hermione," Ron said, "when in doubt, go to the Library."

Jake stood there, dumbfounded. What did Hermione understand that he didn't? What did he miss that she saw? He didn't know and wouldn't for a while, "I'll meet you guys at the stadium..." he hurried away to the Quidditch Stands.

The teams were just about to fly into the air when he saw Professor McGonagall half-marching, half-running onto the field, carrying a purple megaphone. His heart started to beat quickly as he stood up and ran down to the Field to meet her, she just began talking into the megaphone, "This match has been canceled!" There was a pause, then she spoke again, he hurried his pace with each word she spoke, "All students are to make their way back to their House Common Rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further instructions!" Just before she stopped speaking, he was on the field, running up to her. He stopped in front of her, "Fernandes, y-you better follow me," she spoke in a hesitant voice, "Potter, you as well."

They both followed McGonagall and when they ran into Ron, she beckoned him to follow as well. Students all around them were complaining, or looking worried.

They followed McGonagall towards the Hospital Wing, Jake's heart was now thumping quickly and heavily in his chest, ready to burst through his ribcage, "Th-This will... i-it will be a bit of a shock," McGonagall said in a quiet and stuttered voice, "There has... b-been another attack, this time it was a double attack..."

Jake's face looked like he had one foot in the grave as McGonagall pushed the doors open. He saw two figures in the beds. He walked closer, slowly, and saw that one of them was a Ravenclaw girl, looked to be Fifth or Sixth year. It was when he saw the girl in the bed beside her that his whole reality shattered around him, "Hermione?"

His head was now pounding as he collapsed to his knees.

Madam Pomfrey was fussing over Hermione and the Ravenclaw girl when she suddenly stopped and stumbled into the wall. For a moment, breathing became incredibly difficult. Then the feeling went away just as fast as it happened. She looked over to McGonagall, Harry, and Ron and saw that they had the same feeling just now. She looked at Jake, he had fallen forward onto the ground. She rushed over to him and checked that he was alright. Minerva hurried over to her, "He's alright, he's just passed out," Poppy told her.

"Thank goodness. I'll take him back to Gryffindor Tower, if he were to wake up and see Miss Granger again..." McGonagall said nothing else, whipping her wand out and levitating him out of the Hospital Wing. She walked back to Harry and Ron, Jake's body following her, "Both of you, please follow me back to Gryffindor Tower," she said and led the way.

*******

Jake awoke several hours later to an empty Dorm room. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Images of Hermione's petrified form flashed in his mind. He clenched his fists and held the base of his palm on his eyelids; faint sobs could be heard coming from him.

The door opened, but he didn't care who it was until they spoke to him, "Jake, Ron and I are going to see Hagrid after everyone else has gone to bed... did you wanna go with us?" Harry asked him carefully.

He removed his hands from his eyes and looked at them, 'I don't care what Slytherin's Monster is, I'm going to find it...' he blinked, "Sure," and laid back down, to try and focus on anything but her, 'And when I find it, I'm going to kill it.'

Later that night, after everyone else had gone to bed, the three boys got under Harry's cloak and made their way out of the Castle, Harry recounted what McGonagall had said to them and Jake understood why the teachers were distressed.

The journey through the dark and deserted corridors was eerie. But the closer they got to the Entrance Hall, the more teachers and ghosts they came across, all traveling in pairs.

They thankfully got out of the Castle just fine, but did have some close calls with Snape, who just did not want to get out of the way until McGonagall called for him.

Once out of the Castle, they didn't take the Cloak off until they found themselves right in front of Hagrid's door. Jake knocked quickly, and they were greeted with a Crossbow, aimed right at them. Fang barked loudly and excitedly, "Oh," he said, lowering the weapon, "What're you three doin' here?"

"Who or what is the Crossbow for?" Jake asked as they stepped inside.

"Nothin' - nothin'-" Hagrid muttered, "I've bin expectin' - doesn' matter - sit down, I'll make some tea," Hagrid said. It seemed to them like he was scatter-brained at the moment and didn't rightly know what he was doing one moment to the next. He nearly extinguished the fire from almost spilling water onto it from the kettle, and then he smashed the teapot with a massive jerk of his hand.

"Are you okay, Hagrid?" Harry asked him, concern laced his voice, "Did you hear about..." he trailed off, not wanting to upset Jake.

"Oh, I heard all righ'," he said with a slight break in his voice.

He kept glancing over towards the windows, "Expecting someone?" Jake asked him.

"No... no... maybe, I don' know..." Hagrid replied, he was about to pour them large mugs of water when there was a loud knock at the door.

The three of them were quick to cover themselves with the Cloak and hide in a corner of the room. Hagrid quickly checked they were hidden, grabbed his Crossbow, and flung the door back open, "Good evening, Hagrid," Came the voice of Dumbledore.

The old Headmaster then entered the humble abode, looking deadly serious. He was followed by a second, odd-looking man. Jake had only seen him once when he had to go to the British Ministry of Magic and register as a citizen of Britain's Wizarding Community. The man was Cornelius Fudge, the British Minister for Magic.

He looked like he did last time Jake saw him; he had rumpled gray hair and an anxious expression, and was wearing a strange mixture of clothes: A pinstriped suit, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak, and pointed purple boots. Under his arm, he carried a lime-green bowler.

"That's dad's boss," Ron said quietly, "Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic."

Jake wrapped an arm around Ron and placed his hand over his mouth, keeping him quiet.

Hagrid had gone pale and sweaty. He dropped into his large chair and looked between Dumbledore and Fudge, "Bad business, Hagrid," Fudge said in rather clipped tones, "very bad business. Had to come. Four attacks on Muggleborns. Things've gone far enough. Ministry's got to act."

"I never-" Hagrid said nervously, and looked imploringly at Dumbledore, "You know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir-"

"I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence," Dumbledore said without missing a beat. He was glowering at the Minister.

"Look, Albus," Fudge spoke, clearly uncomfortable, "Hagrid's record is against him. Ministry's got to do something - the school governors have been in touch-"

"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes full of a fire that Jake had not seen before.

"Look at it from my point of view," Fudge said, fidgeting with his bowler, "I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back in no time and no more will be said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty-"

"Take me?" Hagrid said, trembling visibly, "take me where?"

"For a short stretch only," Fudge said, and Jake noticed he wasn't meeting Hagrid's eyes, "not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology-"

"Not Azkaban?" Hagrid's voice was on the verge of breaking from the fear in his voice.

Before Fudge could answer, there was another few knocks on the door. Dumbledore answered the door and Jake had to cover Harry's mouth as he let out an audible gasp that thankfully didn't reach anyone else in the room.

Lucius Malfoy strode into the humble abode. He was swathed in a long black cloak. He wore a cold sneer that turned into a satisfied smile. Fang started to growl, and Jake was approving of Fang's reaction, "Already here, Fudge? Good... good..." he spoke in an approving tone.

"What're you doin' here?" Hagrid asked, his fear turning to fury, "Get outta my house!"

"My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure being inside your-" Lucius walked inside and glanced around, "you call this a house!?" He asked in utter shock. He regained his composure, "I simply called up at the school and was told the Headmaster would be down here."

"And what exactly did you want with me, Lucius?" Dumbledore asked politely, but he maintained the fire in his eyes.

" Dreadful things, Dumbledore," Lucius said lazily, taking out a long scroll of parchment, "but the governors feel it is time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension - you'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you are losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no more Muggleborns left at Hogwarts, and we all know how awful a loss that would be to the school."

Jake felt his anger rising, but he couldn't let the adults know they were there. He closed his eyes and took slow, deep, quiet breaths.

"Oh, now see here, Lucius," Fudge said, looking quite alarmed, "Dumbledore suspended - no, no - last thing we want just now-"

"The appointment, or suspension, of the Headmaster is a matter for the governors, Fudge," Lucius said smoothly, "And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks-"

"See here, Lucius, if Dumbledore can't stop these attacks,'' Fudge said, whose upper lip was now sweating, "I mean to say, who can?"

"That remains to be seen," Lucius said, his face contorting into a nasty smile, "But as all twelve of us have voted-"

Hagrid leapt to his feet, his black hair grazing the ceiling, "Yeh can' take Dumbledore!" Hagrid yelled, which caused Fang to whimper and cower into his basket, "Take him away, an' the Muggleborns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!"

"Calm yourself, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, his eyes never leafing Malfoy Sr, "If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course, step aside-"

"But-" Fudge started.

" No !" Hagrid growled.

Dumbledore had yet to take his bright blue eyes off of Lucius' cold gray ones, "However," Dumbledore spoke slowly and clearly, so that none of them missed a word, "you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. You will also find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."

For a second, Jake saw Dumbledore's eyes flicker over towards their corner they were hiding in. He knew they were there, but was saying nothing.

"Admirable sentiments," Lucius said, giving a bow, "we shall all miss your - er - highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope that your successor will manage to prevent any - Ah - killins ."

He strode to the cabin door, opened it, and bowed Dumbledore out. Fudge, fiddling with his bowler, waited for Hagrid to go in front of him, but Hagrid stood his ground. He took a deep breath and spoke clearly, "If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff , all they'd have tae do would be ter follow the spiders . That'd lead 'em right. That's all I'm sayin'."

Fudge stared at him like he'd lost his marbles.

"All right, I'm comin'," Hagrid said gruffly, pulling on his moleskin overcoat. As he was about to walk through the door, he stopped abruptly and spoke loudly, "An' someone will need ter feed Fang while I'm away."

The door banged shut and Jake waited ten seconds before finally releasing their mouths. Ron threw the Cloak off of them, "We're in trouble now," he said hoarsely, "No Dumbledore... they may as well close the school now. There'll be an attack a day with him gone.

Fang started to howl, scratching at the closed door. Jake walked up to him and got his attention. He sat on the ground and Fang nuzzled into him, "I know, boy... I know..." he looked off to the side when some movement caught his eye. It was a line of Spiders, "Follow the Spiders..." it clicked immediately, "Harry, Ron! What Hagrid said, 'Follow the Spiders,' he meant it literally, and those spiders are going in one direction, the Forbidden Forest."

Upon hearing that, Ron paled, "Wh-What do you mean 'literally'?"

"Just that, Ron, we follow the line of spiders. Maybe not tonight, though... I need a good night's sleep before we do something like that."

*******

Summer had just started creeping onto the School Grounds around the castle; sky and lake alike turned periwinkle blue and flowers large as cabbages burst into bloom in the Greenhouses.

Jake had taken it upon himself to take care of Fang in Hagrid's absence. He did it mostly to keep busy, but he visited Hermione at least once a day since she had been admitted to the Hospital Wing. At least he had been, but Madam Pomfrey put a stop to that by barring anyone from visiting the residence of the Wing. She said they were taking no more chances and that the attacker might come back, so she couldn't allow any visitors.

He and Pomfrey got into a heated argument over this on the third day of him being denied entry, and he got furious, but McGonagall had shown up and talked him down. He stomped away angrily.

Harry seemed to be looking for spiders to follow from Hagrid's hint, but with everyone having to be shepherded around like sheep, it made it very tedious, Jake then voiced his thoughts, "There might only be spiders at Hagrid's hut."

Harry agreed with this train of thought, it was just getting back out there without risk of getting caught that proved difficult.

There was one person who seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere of terror and suspicion. Draco Malfoy strutted around the school as though he'd just been appointed head boy. One day in Potions, Jake, Harry, and Ron were all sitting behind Draco and his two cronies. His reason for being in high spirits was immediately understood, "I always thought Father might be the one who got rid of Dumbledore," he said, not even bothering to keep his voice down, "I told you he thinks Dumbledore's the worst Headmaster the school ever had. Maybe we'll get a decent Headmaster now. Someone who won't want the Chamber of Secrets closed. McGonagall won't last long, she's only filling in..."

Snape swept past Jake, slowing down as he did. Jake didn't look up at him, but he knew Snape was looking at him, and he knew he was grinning wickedly. He wanted to say something, but held back. He knew Jake was Merlin's Descendant, marking him as a powerful Wizard. Was Snape afraid of him? He hoped so.

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

"Now, now, Malfoy," Snape said, though he couldn't suppress a thin-lipped smile. "Professor Dumbledore has only been suspended by the governors. I daresay he'll be back with us soon enough."

"Yeah, right," Malfoy said, and Jake could just imagine the smirk on his face, "I expect you'd have Father's vote, sir, if you wanted to apply for the job - I'll tell Father you're the best teacher here, sir-"

Snape smirked as he swept around the dungeon. It was fortunate that he didn't see Seamus pretending to vomit into his Cauldron.

"I'm quite surprised all the Mudbloods haven't packed their bags by now," he continued. Jake could feel himself growing angry. He closed his eyes and tried to picture Hermione beside him, keeping him calm. He knew she was really good at it, "Bet you five galleons the next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger-"

Jake opened his eyes and the next thing anyone knew, Draco's seat collapsed underneath him. Slytherin and Gryffindor alike were all laughing at Draco's unfortunate situation. The bell rang a second later and everyone packed up, leaving the dungeons.

"Hurry up!" Snape barked at them for not moving fast enough, "I've got to take you all to Herbology!" They all marched out of the building, following Snape as he led them to Herbology. He clearly wanted to be doing anything but this, and probably wanted to let the monster take all of them so he could be spared the responsibility.

In Herbology, the class was very subdued. Two from the class were petrified, and Jake could feel eyes on him. They knew Hermione was his best friend, and he could feel their gazes, pitying him.

Professor Sprout was quick to set them to work on pruning the Abyssinian Shrivelfigs. Jake and Ron awaited Harry's return as he went to get them some to work with. He came back with Ernie and Hannah, Ernie having apologized to Harry for blaming him.

"That Draco Malfoy character," Ernie said as he broke off dead twigs, "he seems very pleased about all of this, doesn't he? D'you know what I think? I think he might be Slytherin's Heir."

"That's clever of you," Ron said, and Jake caught the displeased tone of voice. Jake hadn't forgiven Ernie either, but he also had more important things to focus on.

"Do any of you also think it's Malfoy?" Ernie asked them.

"Believe me when I say this, Ernie, I really wish it was Malfoy, but I just don't think he is, and I've thought that since the first attack," Jake said to him, sighing after he spoke.

After class ended, Harry, Ron, and Jake lagged behind while Professor Sprout took them to Defense Against the Dark Arts, "I don't think we should wait any longer..." Jake told them, "We shouldn't have waited this long anyway."

"We never really had a chance to, and how do you know we'll have a window of opportunity to do it now?" Ron asked him.

"Well... if one doesn't exist, make one," Jake said as they walked into class.

They sat at the back like usual, "Aren't there dangerous things in the Forbidden Forest?" Ron asked him.

"There are, but there are good creatures too, like the Centaur, but... not all of them are friendly, at least not to me..." Jake answered and class had begun.

Lockhart looked as buoyant as ever, which was the polar opposite of every other teacher, "Come now," he said, staring at all of them, "Why the long faces?"

People swapped exasperated looks, but no one answered. Jake was busy thinking up his Three-Hundred and Forty-Second way of killing Lockhart without leaving any sort of evidence behind.

"Don't you people realize?" He asked, speaking slowly as if everyone suddenly became less intelligent than him, "the danger has passed! The culprit has been taken away-"

"Says who?" Dean asked loudly.

"My dear young man, the Minister for Magic wouldn't have taken Hagrid if he hadn't been one hundred percent sure that he was guilty," Lockhart said in a tone that someone would use to explain one plus one equals two.

Ron was about to speak, but Jake beat him to it, "So you're saying you have no trust in Professor Dumbledore?"

"My dear deluded boy, what does he have to do with this?" Lockhart asked with a sneer.

"Dumbledore wouldn't allow Hagrid anywhere near Hogwarts if he for even a second thought he was guilty of something as heinous as being Slytherin's Heir. To believe Hagrid to be guilty is to doubt Dumbledore," Jake said, and the class immediately agreed with his line of thinking.

"My dear boy, I think I know a little bit more about this than you do," his sneer didn't leave his face.

"Really? So who was it that was right on Mrs. Norris being petrified when someone else was saying she had been killed? Oh right, I said she was petrified, you said she was killed. I was right, you were wrong, why should anyone believe a word you say?" Jake asked him calmly.

"Exactly!" Seamus yelled.

"I think Fifteen Points from Gryffindor will settle the matter," Lockhart said, ending the topic.

'If it wouldn't cause trouble, I'd break your spine right now.'

He was then slid a note by Harry, Let's go into the Forest, tonight .

*******

The Gryffindor Common Room was always crowded these days since the attack on Hermione and Penelope. From Six o'clock onwards, they had nowhere else to go with the mandatory stay-in orders. The Common Room was always full until some time after midnight, so going out to the Forest wouldn't be easy.

Jake passed the time reading and Fred and George had challenged Harry and Ron to Exploding Snap. Ginny had sat down in Hermione's usual chair in a subdued state. Jake noticed she was even paler than usual. He wondered what exactly was going on with her. She was fine when he'd seen her in Diagon Alley, but since arriving at Hogwarts, she hadn't looked so good.

He couldn't worry about her right then, because they had to head for the forest once everyone else went to bed.

It was well past midnight when they went to bed, and after the satisfying click of two doors closing, they threw the Cloak over themselves and made their way out of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

It was just as difficult as the last time they did this. Dodging teachers and ghosts was not easy or fun, but they had no choice, they couldn't turn back now. Ron began to complain a little about this, but Jake ignored him. They soon reached Hagrid's house and the sight was nothing short of sad, seeing no lights on in its blank windows. They walked inside and Fang immediately jumped all over Jake, who managed to keep him calm enough to not bark.

Harry left the invisibility cloak on Hagrid's table, as there would be no need for it out in the dark of the forest, "Let's go, Fang," Jake said, patting his leg. As they walked towards the forest, Jake raised his wand, " Lumos !" He said and his wand tip started to shine. The path before them was now illuminated and they could see any Spiders that they would have to follow.

"Good thinking," Ron said, "I'd light mine but... I might just end up blowing all of us to pieces..."

Harry tapped Ron on the shoulder and pointed to where Jake's wand was aimed and there were two spiders scurrying off away from the wand light.

Ron took some deep breaths, "Okay..." he inhaled one more time before exhaling, "I'm ready, let's go."

With Fang accompanying them, sniffing around tree roots and bushes, even urinating on one of the trees, they bounded deeper into the forest. "Just stay with me, and you'll be fine," Jake told them. He slowed his breathing down so that he remained calm. On the inside, he was afraid of being taken by surprise. They followed the spiders as they moved along the path. It wasn't long before the stars above them disappeared from view, the canopy getting thick and preventing any light from getting to the forest floor. The sound of crunching leaves and twigs underfoot was all that could be heard aside from Fang's occasional whimper. When it got almost too dark to see, even with the spell, Jake enhanced it with a better version, " Lumos Maxima !" He yelled and the light grew to be three times brighter than the regular spell.

"Well that certainly helps," Harry said in a dry tone.

"Come on," Jake urged them forward.

They walked for quite a while, occasionally getting their clothing snagged on low-hanging branches or thorns. The spiders ahead of them tried their best to escape the light, but with how far it reached and how fast they were moving compared to the spiders, they weren't making much headway.

Fang suddenly and without warning let out a resounding bark. It scared Harry and Ron, but only startled Jake, "What!?" Ron said in a panicky voice.

"Over there," Jake said, pointing his wand in the direction that Fang barked.

Whatever it was, it was coming right towards them. Jake wasn't worried, but if it was a pack animal, then he would have to be mindful of flank attacks, "Oh no... oh no, oh no, oh no," Ron said, panic in his voice rising.

"Shut up will you? I can't hear over your panic!" Jake said in a loud whisper. Ron tried to calm himself, but as it got closer, he started to panic more.

Soon, it went away, but Jake still had an unnerving feeling, like he was still being watched. Then a blinding light came from their right and the thing emerged from the treeline. Fang yelped and tried to run when it emerged, but he got tangled in a bunch of thorns and he yelped even louder. Jake went over to him and carefully helped him out, calming him down, "Who's a good boy?" Fang's tail began to wag and Jake knew he'd be okay.

"Harry," Ron shouted, "Harry, it's the car!"

" What ?" He heard Harry ask in an astounded voice.

"Come on!"

"Let's go, Fang," Jake said and they followed Harry and Ron.

They approached the car and Jake noticed how much it was acting like an oversized puppy. "It's been here all this time!" Ron said in delight, walking around the car, "Look at it, the Forest has turned it wild..."

The car looked far worse than Jake last saw it flying in the air alongside the Hogwarts Express. It was scratched and smeared with mud, it must've been trotting around the forest the entire year. Jake wondered if Charmed cars didn't have to worry about fuel? Fang wasn't keen on it, and stuck close to Jake, who felt him quivering.

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

Jake had kept his wand out and looked around for the spiders, but didn't see them, "Come on, we've lost the-" he stopped talking as he suddenly felt a presence that wasn't there before. It was menacing, but it wasn't just one, it was hundreds or thousands of presences, bloodlusting, but holding back, as though on order. He turned and aimed his wand high above him, and to his complete horror, he saw dozens and dozens of large Acromantula.

He didn't have time to react as they rushed the three of them and Fang. They didn't attack in a lethal sense, but they took them alive, dragging them away, bringing them to something, Jake suspected. Fang was yelping in terror, but Jake couldn't calm him down this time.

Jake knew they weren't native to Britain, but after what Harry had told them in the Diary, Hagrid had an Acromantula that he called Aragog. They were held by two legs as the Acromantula scurried on six legs to wherever they were taking them.

The spiders eventually brought them to a halt and one of them began to speak excitedly, "Aragog! Aragog!"

From the middle of the misty, domed web, an Acromantula the size of a small elephant came slowly out to them. There was gray in the black of his body and his eyes were milky white. He was both old and blind. "What is it?" He clicked quickly.

"Men!" The one that had dragged Harry said.

"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog asked, his eyes moving aimlessly. He moved closer to them, awaiting an answer.

"Strangers," said the one who brought Ron.

"Kill them," Aragog said fretfully, turning back towards the dome, "I was sleeping..."

"We're friends of Hagrid's" Harry spoke quickly and loudly.

The smaller Acromantula clicked rapidly.

Aragog turned back around, "Hagrid has never sent men into our hollow before..."

Jake slowly stood up, "Hagrid is in trouble and he sent us here to get him help."

"Help? What help could I possibly offer to you?" Aragog asked him.

"Well," Harry said from the ground, "They think Hagrid has been setting loose a... a... something on students. They've taken him to Azkaban because of it."

Aragog clicked his pincers angrily, and all around the hollow, the sound was echoed by the smaller spiders, "But that was years ago... years and years ago... 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 Hagrid had opened it and set me free."

"No... you didn't come from the Chamber... Acromantula are native to Borneo," Jake said knowledgeably.

"Intelligent you are, boy. It is true, I was born in a far away land, likely the one you mentioned. A traveler had given me to Hagrid when I was but an egg. He was only a boy when he took care of me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, being fed scraps from the table..." Aragog seemed like he was reminiscing happy memories, "Hagrid is my friend and a good man."

"Of that we have no doubt. He's one of the nicest men I know," Jake said in a respectful tone.

"It's true, when I was discovered and blamed for the death of a girl, Hagrid protected me. He let me go so that I could thrive here in the forest. He even found me a wife, Mosag, and around you are all of my children. Hagrid is a good man," Aragog said proudly.

"And you never harmed a human because of Hagrid?" Jake asked him.

"Exactly. It was my instinct, but out of respect for the man who cared for me, I have never harmed a human. The body of the girl who died was discovered in a bathroom. I never saw the outside of the cupboard I grew up in. Our kind like the dark and the quiet..."

"Do you know what did kill that girl?" Jake asked, but that made Aragog angry.

"The thing that lives in the Castle is an ancient creature that we spiders fear above all others. Well do I remember how I pleaded with Hagrid to let me go when I sensed it moving about the Castle," the large spider said.

'If it's moving about the Castle... how is it doing it? And the girl... I think I know who it was.'

"What is the creature?" Harry asked in an urgent tone.

"We do not speak of it!" Aragog said fiercely, "We do not name it! I never even told Hagrid what the creature was called, even though he asked me many times."

They all decided that it was better to not press their luck, "Well, thank you for all your help, we'll just go now..."

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

"But-"

"My sons and daughters do not harm Hagrid on my command, but I can't deny them flesh when it so willingly walks into our midst..."

"But if we die here, then we can't help Hagrid," Jake tried to reason with the old spider.

"That is not my concern... Hagrid will live even if he's in Azkaban... good bye, friends of Hagrid," Aragog said and retreated back into his domed web.

The Acromantula began to swarm the three of them and Fang, who was hunkered down near Jake. Jake himself felt a surge of anger at the betrayal of Aragog. His eyes glowed red and he raised his hand, bringing it palm down onto the forest floor. All of the spiders that were within a two meter radius of them were blasted back forcefully, letting out shrieks of pain.

Suddenly, a loud, droning sound of a car horn could be heard heading their direction. Blazing headlights forced spiders aside as it drove towards them. It opened its doors and they all scrambled in, Jake tossing Fang into the back seat. He pulled his wand out, his surge of anger subsiding and he aimed it at the nearest spider, " Arania Exumai !" It was blasted backwards farther than the spiders hit with the area of effect attack Jake used.

They piled into the car and it drove them towards the exit of the forest. The Acromantula were fast, however, and tried several times to get in the car, Jake and Harry keeping them at bay. Soon a wall of Acromantula was in front of them and Ron tried his best to get the car airborne. They eventually did and were then safe from the spiders. Fang was whimpering in the back seat, but Jake was comforting him.

They soon made it out of the forest and back near Hagrid's house. They all got out of the car and Fang jumped up on Jake, thanking him for keeping him safe. Ron ran over to the side and began violently vomiting in Hagrid's pumpkin patch, "Follow the Spiders..." Ron said weakly, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, "I'll never forgive Hagrid for this, we are lucky to be alive."

"I bet Hagrid never thought Aragog would've hurt his friends, no matter how much Jake tried to reason with him," Harry said, sighing.

"That's Hagrid's problem," Ron said, quite peeved, "he always thinks monsters aren't as bad as they are made out to be. Well look where that's got him, a cell in Azkaban!" Ron kicked the ground angrily, "What was the point of sending us in there? What have we found out? I'd like to know."

"That Hagrid is innocent," Jake said, walking up to them with Fang, "That he never opened the Chamber, and that this Tom Riddle fella lied to you, Harry."

They went back to the hut and retrieved the Cloak, Jake telling Fang to try and get some sleep.

They returned to the Castle and managed to reach the safety of the Gryffindor Common Room, heading up to their dorm room. Ron flopped on his bed, not even bothering to undress.

Jake sat on the edge of his bed, racking his brain like he was about to play a game of billiards, 'The Monster is something the Spiders are afraid of... above all others. The Monster petrifies its victims. It's able to move about the Castle... without anyone knowing,' he sighed in frustration, 'Hermione... she must have figured it out, and she saw it before me... I should've gone with her, she'd not be petrified if I had...' before Harry and Ron fell asleep, he spoke to them both, "That girl that Aragog said died in a bathroom..."

Harry looked at him, "Yeah, I think I know who it is as well."

"What are you on about?" Ron asked, looking at them both.

"Think about it, what if she never left?" Jake asked him.

"You don't mean..." Ron trailed off for a second, "not Moaning Myrtle ?"